The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-12-16
CAPT. ISAAC BASSETT.
"reminiscences Of the Nestor Of the
United States Senate.
For Over Sixty Years He Has Been a
Trusted Employe of the Upper House
His Appointment by Dam
iel Webster
Especial Washington Letter. l

Special washington LeItert
From time to time, in letters concern,
ing the senate, the senators, the EN-,
ployes and habitues of the capitol, men.
ton has been made of Capt. Isaac.
Bassett, the Nestor of the senate; but he
has never been formally introduced tc
nv readers. No description of the sen.
ate would be complete without some
reference to Capt. Bassett. If you come
to Washington when congress is in SEES.
sion, you will certainly visit the senate
and be seated in the gallery. You will
see the vice president in his chair with
the little ivory gavel in his hand; and
at the same time. sitting below and
about six feet to theNleft of the presid.
ing officer you will see a handsome old
gentleman with snow-white, luxuriant
beard, and very thin crown of silken
silver hair He is always in his seat.
save when a message is received from
the president or from the house. Upon
such occasions the venerable chief page
stands in the center aisle and an,
nounces to the vice president and the
senate that a message has been deliv-
cred to him.
No man in all the United States has
more valuable aggregation of sena-
torial incidents. and legislative
anecdotes than Capt Isaac Bassett, the
venerable attache Of the senate-the one
man in the employ of that body who
can hold his place in spite of changing
majorities and chameleon-like admins
trations. AS reservoir of interesting
81 e., -
He is also nearly unique in another
sense-he is the only man in several
million who politely refuses to talk
about himself For this there are at
least three reasons: he is extremely
modest; he doesn't think it good policy
to talk about senators, and ne hopes to
publish his great collection of expert
ences and impressions in book form.
The latter reason by itself would be
sufficient to keep the mouths of most
men closed. But there are times when
the amiable old gentleman chats
affably ''of the days of auld lang syne''
and smiles when the scenes of more
than half century glide panoramically
before his mental vision. You may well
imagine what treat it is to sit quietly
beside the personified past, and listen
to the recital of the scenes of long ago.
II can sometimes scarcely realize,'
said Capt. Bassett, s'that I have spent
sixty-one years of my life in the United
States senate. Although am painfully
conscious of the fact that I am grow
ing old, sometimes feel as though it
was but a little while since Ia young
ster of twelve years-frst entered the
senate. Do you know I was the second
page the senate ever employed? The
first one was Grafton Hanson who left
the senate soon after I arrived. He was
too big for the place, and page is not
acceptable when he commences to grow
into manhood. My appointment came
through Daniel Webster; it took a big
man to secure such an appointment, for
there were but two pages then. When
l entered upon my duties found Han
son wearing suit of blue cloth adorned
with brass buttons. My new suit was
precisely like it, and for time it looked
as though blue and brass would always
be necessary parts of pages uniform.
The habit of wearing such clothes
ceased, however, and since then the
youngsters have worn almost any kind
of garments they liked best. The pages
of that time had more to do than their
successors have now. We never had
much idle time when the senate was in
session. We two boys had to file
all the bills, I doing one side
while my companion did the
other. That was good deal of a
job, although the senate was much
smaller then than it is now A duty of
considerable Importance, with which
the pages of to-day are not conversant,