The Washington herald., 1906-12-09

madam's German butler, who has been a
member OF the household ever since
madams husband was attached 10 the
legation in Berlin, places the tea table in
front Of his mistress, and then for the
next hour madam is at her best, talking
brightly of the past, the present, the fu-
ture. telling jokes and 'jollying" her
friends as she breWs their tea. 1t is a
charming picture, this bewitehing little
old lady in her plain satin gowns. with
broad collar and cuffs of exquisite old
point. Her eyes are as bright her checks
as pink as when she was eighteen, but
her hair is perfectly white and waves
away from a low brow making a shin
ing aureole about her youthful face. The
fire on the hearth, cracking and blazing.
is reflected in the shining cups. brings
out the color in the big sapphire brooch
in its setting Of brilliants madam wears
at her throat. and lights up the whole
scene-and the tea, the tea is "a necktie
mt for the gods" as Mrs. Green would
say; and there We're never such mullins
as the stately. dignifed Hans passes
about, nor such dainty and delectable
cakes And, chatting around the tea table
one forgets whether the sun shines or il
rains cut of doors.
1t is difficult place to come away
from, madam's drawing-room, and one
never leaves it without feeling in
little better mood than when he
entered it. Madam is such an op-
timist and looks at things in such
broad way. Then. too, the room has
charm all its own. 1t might have been
moved intact from French chateau OF
the eighteenth century. so perfectly has
the style of that period been followed.
and the pictures and bTic-a-brac, collect
ed from eli over the world, are rare and
beautiful. 1t is truly stately chamber,
but the books scattered about, the photo
graphs placed IN every convenient spot,
and the madame's wOTkbasket, which al
ways holds mass of downy knitting,
gives it an air of ''hominess,' of being
lived in. that makes the humblest room
attractive
I have been looking over my treas
ures," madam announced the other day,
''and came across these" She handed two
pictures to the visitor on her right. who.
after looking at them, passed them on.
One was a photograph of President Lin
coin, the other of a baby, some two or
three years old, tucked snugly into a
baby carriage.
They may not suggest anything to
you," she said, "but they mean very
much 10 me, and thereby hangs a long
story of which my eldest daughter,
Princess Hertefeldt, is the heroine. In
the early days OF the war we lived in
F street just opposite the Ebbitt. a
fashionable quarter at that time, and
Ottilie was a baby between two and three
years old when the incident | am going
TO tell about happened. One bright
morning. the nurse started out for an out
Ing with her and her two little brothers.
When she reached the door the air was
sharper than she had thought and leav-
ing the baby in the care Of the little boys,
she ran upstairs to get an extra wrap. 1t
took her only q few moments to find a
shawl, but when she returned 20 the front
door baby. baby carriage, and the boys
had disappeared. Thinking they might be
hiding from her in q joke nurse rushed
around the corner and back by the alley,
shouting their names, but her little
must remember the town was in a very
excited state at that time. Queer things
were constantly happening, and we never
knew what to expect; So not finding the
children at once. Nora took il for granted
they had been kidnapped and she ran
into the house screaming that the baby
and the boys were stolen.
Everything was in confusion until we
were able 10 get coherent tale from her.
then messengers were dispatched IN every
direction. but no one Of US all seemed to
have theory as TO what had become OF
the children. tt was as though the earth
had opened and swallowed them up. FL
naily. an old clerk who had been in my
husbands employ for a great many years
said: I have an idea Just after Nora
and the children went by my Office a reg
iment of soldiers on their way to be re
viewed by the President passed by the
house. Is it possible that the boys, at
tracted by the music followed after
them?' Ny husband didn't wait to discuss
the question. but acted quickly on the
suggestion and. ClGpping his hat on his
head, started on run toward the White
House. where. 10 his great joy. he found
Miss OttiIe snUgIy ensconced in the arms
of President Lincoln, who turned from the
soldiers In front of him TO talk baby talk
20 his little unlimited guest, whose tiny
hands played over his rough cheeks. The
two little boys were comfortably seated
on the marble steps and the whole party
was as happy as possible when they We're
interrupted.
''The old clerks idea was the right one.
Attracted by the music and the uniforms
of the soldiers. the boys followed the pro-
cession TO the very door of the White
House, where the President himself had
rescued the baby from her carriage and
invited her volunteer nurses to seats on
the p0rtico. On his appearance the Pres
ident rallied my husband on neglecting his
children, and surrendered the baby very
reluctantly giving her a hearty squeeze
before he passed her over to her father.
The strange part OF il all is that Ottlie
insists upon il that she remembers the af-
fair, and whether she has learned the
tale from hearing il often told or really
does recall it, I can't say, but il is a fact
that she tells the story better than any of
us, and when she was a little girl she
would never allow certain spot on her
cheek to be touched, because. she claimed
It was where the President had kissed
her. 1 believe that If to-day one were TO
ask her what was the most notable Incl
dent in her life, she would say her stolen
visit to President Lincoln and the cud-
ding she had in his great arms; yet she
is married 10 a mediatized prince. and has
been presented at every court in Europe.
The President never forgot his little guest
and wherever her father-who was in the
government service at that time, and
called frequently TO the White HoUse-saw
the President he would invariably ask
after his baby friend"
And so you went TO the opening Of
the Senate on Monday?' queried madam