The times., 1899-03-19

hence the name Dolly Madison House by
which the building has long been known
to guides and tourists.
The building is one of the oldest in the
city. having been built, it is claimed, in
1883. The British troops trampsd by it on
their way to burn the White House and
after that catastrophe President Madison
lived there and in one of its rooms the
treaty of peace which followed the ces-
sation of hostilities was ratified. The
house afterward became the home of Com
modore John Wilkes. who captured Mason
and Slidell on the high seas en- route TO
France. II was strange irony of fate
that made Slidell and his capturer, Admi-
raj Wilkes. at one time neighbors on La
fayette Square. During the civil war the
house became the headquarters OF General
McClelland and his staff, including the
Prince de Joinville and his nephews, Duke
de Chatres and Count de Paris.
Built next to the Cosmos Club on the
south is the house formerly occupied by
William Window at one time Secretary of
the Treasury. Adjoining it is the house in
which Robert G. Ingersoll once lived. and
below the latter comes the old home OF
Admiral Paulding, whose father, John
Paulding. captured Major Andre during
the American Revolution. Former Sena.or
Don Cameron bought the house and lived
there while he was Senator. since VIII ch
time the house has been put down in guide
books as the Cameron House. Vice Presi-
dent Hobart is its present occupant. Sep
arated from the Cameron house by small
alley is the modern built Lafayette Square
Opera House, which stands out in bold
contrast to the historic old house which
until several years ago stood upon the
same spot.
In that old mansion. known as the Sew
ard and Blaine mansions at different peri
DDS of its history, lived such men as Cal
houn. Seward, and Blaine. 1t was the most
famous house on the whole square and the
only structure of the historic thirty-one
10 disappear before the advance of modern
civilization. Occupied at one time as what
would now be styled swell boarding
house. the old structure sheltered such
"boarders'' as John C. Calhoun, when he
was Secretary of War under Jackson and
when Vice President, and by Henry Clay
when he was Secretary of State. The house
next became the property of the old Wash
ington Club, celebrated as being the rem
devious of the gay and rich young men
OF the Capital in former lines. General
Daniel Sickels and his rival Barton Key.
were frequently seen at the club, and the
tragedy which followed the crossing of
their threads of life occurred in front of
its very windows. William II. Seward next
occupied the house, and it was there he
narrowly escaped assassination one April
night at the hands Of Payne who was in
the Booth conspiracy. The house was last
ly occupied by James G.. Blaine, as Secre-
tary OF State, and it was there that he
died.
Present Distinguished Occupants.
Ranged opposite Lafayette Square on the
west side extending southwark from the
Decatur mansion is still another row of
residences with places in history. They
complete the list of houses on the square.
Beginning with the William L. Scott home,
next to the Decatur house. they are in the
order named the C. C. Glover. George F.
Appleby, Major General Parke, Washing
ton Mclean, James Blair, Senator German.
Admiral Olden, Mrs. Green, Col. W. H.
Philip. and Peter Parker houses. The last
named. opposite the State, War, and Navy
Building was occupied by Peter Parker.
Minister 10 China, and Is now used as the
headquarters of the Bureau of American
Republics. The Mclean House in the CEN
ire of the square was the home of Vice
President Schuyler Colfax. and others. Ma
jor Henry r. Rathbone, who was with
Presiden. Lincoln when the latter was
shot at the Old Fords Theatre on Tenth
Street, lived in this row Of houses.