The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1897-02-27

Capt. Herndon, who esid with bis dying
breath: "Don't give up the ship
Facing the northwest corner Of La
fayette park, and d~iagonally opposite
the residence Of Secretary Lamont, IS
the antique reBideDee which Commodors
Decatur built in 1912. After D~ecatur's
death the house was successiveiy oc-
cupied By Henry Clay. Martin Van
Buren, Edward Livingstone. J~ackson's
secretary of state; George H.. Dallas,
Judah p. Benjamin, and finally Gen.
Beale, whose guest Gen. Grant has been
for weeks at . time. The window in
the south wall Of the house was ordered
cut by Van Buren, In order that he might
see the signals displayed by jackson
from the white house.
Only a few doors from the old Woods
house is the home Of the Cosmos, the
largest scientific club in the world. II
was erected by James Madison in lsOl,
when he came to Washington TO serve as
Jeherson's secretary Of state. Twenty
years later Dolly Madison returned
after her husbands death, and there
for IS years she held court and dis
pensed during the remainder Of her
life the gracious hospitality which mada
her name memorable.
In the next two houses have dwelt
Secretary Window, Senator Fenton and
Col. Robert g. Ingersoll. In the next
house below lived Admiral Paulding,
a son Of the obstinate soldier, John
Paulding, who captured Maj, Andre.
The house is now owned and occupied
by Senator Don Cameron.
The most famous house in the his
toric square is no longer In existence.
Upon its site now stands a grand opera
house. 1t is a shame upon the com.
mon Of our lawmakers that the
old residence should have been de-
stroyed. 1t was originally the elite
clearinghouse of Washington, and
numbered among its guests John G.
Calhoun, when he was Monroe's Sec
rotary of war, and afterward vice pres
ident, and Henry Clay lived in it when
he was Adams secretary of state. Then
it became the property of the cele-
brated Washington club, of which
Sickles and Key were both members,
and the tragedy which associates their
name took place in front of its door.
Later it became the war residence of
Secretary Seward. and there the dead
ly assault was made upon Seward BY
Paine at the time of Lincoln's assassina-
ton. Last it was renovated for the
home of James g. Blaine, who dwelt and
died beneath its roof. The widow Of
that great man, with characteristic lack
of respect for the brilliant husband
whose whole life was clouded by domes-
~ticcares, soldthe historic mansion to peo-
pie who made no secret of their pur-
pose to erect q playhouse there. Con-
gress had an opportunity to buy it,
but failed to do so.
Society has circled around the square
in which these houses of historic re-
noEvn are located, just as moths fut-
ter around a light OF course, the wife
OF the president is 'the first lady in
the land" and no woman has more
worthily worn that title than Mrs.
cleveland has worn IL. She has always
been gracious and unconventional with
the general public, while size has been
regal and superb in official functions
of society. But Mrs. Cleveland is like
all good mothers. She cares less for
society than she does for her little ones.
During the first administration OF her
husband, when she was a young bride,
she was delighted with her high So
cial position, and enjoyed every mo-
ment of her time in social leadership.
During the present administration she
has been more domestic; and yet her
official functions have not been neg