The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-12-16


dent and house. That is forty-eight
years. It was on March 4, 1874, that /
first turned backwards the hands of the
senate clock. The senate, then in what
is now the supreme court room, was
considering and voting upon an appro-
priation bill, when 1t became evident
that the bill could not become a law
before the hour of noon. Some one sug-
gested to the president pro tempore
(Senator Wiley P. Mangum, of North
Carolina), that the hands of the clock
might be SO manipulated as to lengtheu
the official day. I was sent for and was
ordered by Mr.. Mangum to put the
hands back ten minutes. The senate
clock then was a tall one, and | remem-
Der very distinctly climbing up to it's
face. The time thus manufactured was
sufficient and the bill became law. Only
on rare occasions was there any med
ding with the clock to within the past
twenty years. Since then the hands
have been turned back at least once in
every congress.
Concerning the work of pages sixty
years ago, or even twenty years ago
and now, Capt. Bassett said: ssThe boys
used to have to run all over the building
into all the committee rooms, shouting
and calling the senators when yea
and nay vote was being taken. Now
adays, I merely press little button
here, and little bells ring all over the
senate wing of the capitol, announcing
the fact that yea and nay vote is be-
ing taken"
Capt Bassett informed me that during
the past sixty-one years he has been alb
sent only thirty days when the senate
was in session; and twenty of those days
have been on account of sickness during
the past five years. 1t grieves him to
think that he must suceumb to the in
exorable laws of nature, and he says:
ssWhen sickness has kept me indoors, in (
spite of all of my endeavors to be cheer
full. am simply miserable. You can
not understand how I feel. After six
ty-one years of service, the idea that
the senate is in session and / am not
there seems awful can picture to my
mind the vacant chair, and of course l
feel confident that nobody can perform
my duties satisfactorily" This is a
touch of human nature.
Capt Bassett has numerous tokens of
the regard of the distinguished men
whom he has served for these many
years; but above them all he prizes his
'sofficial present" as it is appropriately
termed On the fiftieth anniversary of
his appointment as a page, he was pre-
scented gold and silver snuff box, upon
the lid of which is the following inscrip-
ton: Each member of the United
States senate has joined in presenting
this testimonial to Isaac Bassett on the
completion of the fftieth year of his
services as an officer of that body in
recognition of his personal worth and
official fidelity. December 5, 1881"
Capt. Bassett has private nook in
the senate wing of the CAPITOL which
few people ever see and fewer still have
ever heard of. 1t is near the room of
the senate committee on the library
and would be very dark little den but
for the gaslight In that cubby hole is
a lot of historical and antique articles,
each of which has volume of reminis-
cences clustering about it. He has all
the snuff boxes there which have been
used by senators. You know that there
used to be snuff boxes in the inches on
each side of the vice presidents chair,
and, as they were replaced by new ones,
Capt. Bassett kept the old ones and Ia
beled them. Snuff boxes used to be as
necessary as water pitchers are nova
days, for almost everybody used snuff.
He also has a piece of the cane which
Preston Brooks broke over the head of
Senator Sumner. But what else he
has cannot describe, for I do not
know. He is keeping all of these
things for description in the book
which he will some day publish about
his official life. SMITH d. Fry.
A House in a Bottle.