The Washington herald., 1906-12-30

ceiving with much cordiality and great
dignity the long line Of distinguished
people who came to pay court to her and
to her brilliant husband. for brilliant
he was, if he did not shine in the drawing
room. but only on the battlefield.
IF I dwell much on the simplicity OF
the Grants, do not, ] beg think that any
OF them lacked wit, for without exception
they were all equal to the high position
where fate had placed them. l remember
with especial pleasure a response Mrs.
Grant made to a little shrimp of an at
tache. who waltzed in to a New Years
reception use the word advisedly. he lit
orally waltzed-and addressed Mrs. Grant
i'm French. She responded in English
oh" exclaimed the little specimen, Ma
dame Ia Presldente does not speak &c
French?" NO, responded Mrs. Grant In
our great united country the knowledge of
one language sufices, but 1 can well inn
agine that in the country where you come
from. which is made up of countless states.
not one of them bigger than a pocket
handkerchief, # is necessary TO know
dozen.
1T was at one OF the Grant receptions
that I first met Kate Chase Sprague, and
at that time she was the most beautiful
and fascinating woman in town. ] wish
I could give YOU some idea of how she
looked, but il is impossible, for her beauty
was the beaute de diable, changing always
and always more charming. This radiant
creature was above the medium height
very slender. with a neck not like the
white column that Peter Ibbetson gave
his duchess, but swanlike in its grace, a
neck to rave about and write about. and
die for. Her head was small. perfectly
formed. and crowned with goldfish blond
hair: her face was ivory white. the checks
family pink, and her eyes. big and blue
soft or brilliant, according 10 her mood,
the eyes Of an angel or devil. as ctrcum-
stances dictated; her nose trifle re-
trousse, gave piquancy to her face. but
with her expression was everything. At
one moment she was the Venus al Milo,
cold and classic, the next she was 2 sub
tie Cleopatra. tearing her desire from the
heart of the world. With her beauty and
her magnetism she dominated every circle
she graced, and the title. Queen Of
Society generally applied to her. was well
deserved. But If she was the Queen Of
Society in prosperity. she could lay no
claim to such a royal title in adversely,
which broke her pride. her spirit, her am
bition, and ravaged her beauty. l Will
not sadden you by telling OF her later
days. nor will I sadden myself, tor / like
best to remember her as a radiant and tri-
umphant beauty.
"One New Years Day, in the early
seventies, I asked all my callers to write
their autographs in a book which l have
here for your amusement. You will ad-
nit that IL contains a galaxy Of distin-
guished names. See, here at the very
head of all my visitors is James a. Car
field. He was in Congress then, and was
Just as honest, simple, and direct as his
writing denotes him to be. Blaine fol-
lows him with writing a little more bold.
The Plumed Knight was Speaker Of the
House at this time and swinging around
his gavel At tremendous rate just IN
derneath his autograph is that of VIII
liam p. Frye, a more honest man or more
sincere patriot never sat in Congress, and
here is one OF his predecessors, Hannibal
Hamlin. Oh, you poor young people. how
much you are deprived OF in not knowing
the great men OF the past, ] wish 1 had
q fairy's wand and could summon Han
nibaI Hamlin before you. He was, you
know. wee EEESlIftlt III L44ittbllA = AAAlli4l4-
istration and after that Senator from
Maine. I knew him very well as a
young girl. and remember him as the
handsomest man and the plainest, the
sterncst man. and the tenderest I ever
knew In word. he was a contradic-
ton When I had quite made up my
mind he was fOrbidding, stern, and severe
and wanted to run from hts presence,
he smiled the most enchanting and IN
viting smile and I rushed into his arms
20 be coddled and petted. From the time
he entered politics at least from the
time when I first knew him, and that
is so far back 1 cannot remember. he
wore. what was then called a swallow
tail coat. which is Ike the evening coat
Of to-day, and never an oyercoat. no
matter how fierce the weather re-
member he took my sister and me 10 see
Little All Right a diminutive japanese
acrobat, who travelled all over the world
with his troop a century or so ago, al
the National Theater. I shall never for
get the experience, for he walked home,
and the night was bitter cold.
When We rounded the corner Of Penn
syIvania avenue and Fifteenth street, the
| Senator shivered, visibly shivered. Ny
sister. who was and IS a tender and sym
pathetic soul. offered her wrap, but tc
deprive her for his own comfort was, nat
urally. not TO be thought of. and he re-
! fused. Then my good angel Of sister
/ fshed out a little lace handkerchief. il
must have been as much as three inches
| square. and about as warm as a cObweb
/ this potent defense against the cold he
calamity accepted. and I shall never for
/ get how ludicrous it was when he tucked
/ Il about his neck and gave little gruni
OF comfort at the warmth it afforded
Here Is another man I loved. Justin
/ Morrill,, OF Vermont. When / have want
/ ed TO inspire my sons have always cited
/ this distinguished man as an example. He
! represented all that was best in Ameri
canism, and stands as a type of patri-
/ otism without Chauvinism. Of cleanli
/ ness without mawkishness. Some Of yOJ
remember how distinguished and impos
/ ing his presence was, how simple and
/ genial his manners
! But I am sad thinking of these dear
/ old friends Let US skip to the name.
| that mean less TO me. Here is BlacquC
/ Bey, for instance, the handsome TURK
/ who served here as Minister just at this
| time. and Mr.. Mori, the Minister to Japan
and dear Sir Edward Thornton. YoJ
/ know, I am speaking to you especially
| Mr.. Diplomat how closely he was con
/ nected with this country. his father hav
/ ing been the secretary to the first min
4 lister appointed here. and then for year:
+ and years the representative in some ca
/ pacity Of his government. There are dOz
1 ems Of others. You see-everybody and his
/ brother called in those days-but they
must wait until some other time. Adieu.