The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-03-23

and then she replied with the greatest
civility:
MOT in the least. lost my leg in
the battle Of Waterloo
The ministerial person fabbergast-
eddy threw UP his hands and got Oh
the car at the next stop"
Before Mr.. Henderson had assumed
his cork leg and 500 after his arrived
in Washington he wM riding in a
Pennsylvania venue car toward the
Capitol when a grizzled special agent
of the eleventh cShsus, who had lost
his left leg during the rebellion.
boarded the a and took a seat on the
other side of the car aisle from where
Mr.. Henderson was sitting.
The two men didn't know each 9TH
er, but presently, after the car had
started Mr.. Henderson fell to looking
at the one shoe, the right one, of The
man across the way. That shoe was a
bit the worse for yea and, being
caught looking at it, Mr.. Henderson
smiled at the other one-legged man,
who smiled back and then looked down
at Mr.. HendersOn's n shoe, the left
one. MI. Henderson's one shoe was
a bit the worse for wear, too, and run
down at the heel.
Mr.. Henderson swung himself to the
other side of the car ON his crutches
and took his place alongside the other
one legged veteran of the Civil war.
Looks like a chance for III get
ting a pair Of shoes, my friend" said
Mr.. Henderson to the special age1. Of
the census. Were both in need of
a shoe, and probably we're mates.
Think so myself said the other
veteran. Been waiting for my shoe
mate to come along. What size do
You wear?"
Eight and a half" said Mr.. Hender-
son.
Same here" said the grizzled spe-
ciai agent.
Then they signalled to the conduc-
tor that they wanted to get off. and
they got off the a together and
repaired to a Pennsylvania avenue
shoe establishment, where they bought
a pair of shoes between them.
= * 4
A delegation of Iowa ministers, IL
Washington attending a religious con-
ference, once called upon Mr.. Hender-
son at a. very inoppOrtune time. This
was during the debate on the French
spoliaJion claims in the house of repre-
sentatives during the closing days and
nights Of the session terminating in
1881.
Scenes we're enacted on the house
side at the time that have rarely been
equalled in the Capitol. All hands
seemed t let down, and the three or
&c., Iox,~ o~J ~trh%r ,rir MI iap
The debate lasted comprised a sOrt of
Saturnalia in which everybody joined.
The debating lasted all night for
the session was to end at noon of
March 4, and the people handling the
Measure were determined to have the
thing thoroughly threshed out on the
floor of the house. Liquor was sold
in the Capitol restaurants in those
days, and the legislators were far
more careless in their ways than they
have been in recent years.
In a number of the house committee
rooms big bowls of punch were kept
filed to the brim all night and day
for days and nights running, and
many of the members lowered around
the punch bowls in the intervals Of
debate. The hilarity and utter lack Of
restraint increased and by night OF
March 3. there were some astonishing
doings on the house side of the Capt.
tol.
Tired members of the house were
stretched out on couches in the COM
mittee rooms. and more than tired
members slumbered peacefully in their
seats in all attitudes. Word of the
hot time on at the house, on and off
rhe floor, peroolated around Washing
ton and a swift element of the Wash
ington population took possession of
the corridors and galleries and the
house restaurant and turned that
wing of the building into a sort OF I'M
restrained carnival scene, in which the
popping of corks furnished the musical
lett motif.
Scores of pretty women laughed
nolsily all over the place and there
we're not lacking instances in which
some of them public!y went through
TIE evolutions of extraordinary dances.
with clutched skirts and legislators
looking on applaudingly.
A bunch of hilarious members Of the
house sent out for gangs OF singing
and buck dancing negro boys and
presently the committee rooms ana
corridors beneath the floor Of the
house resounded with the merry
twanging Of banjos and guitars and
mandolins, while the darby boys buck
and wing danced surrounded by en-
tnus!astic groups of merrymaking leg
is: tors, who added the %clappiae y:
their music the better to aid the dane
e:s in keeping time An1 AL lie time
the punch bowls were kept filled to the
brim and the contents virtually free to
everybody who looked right to the
servers
Mr.. Henderson's committee room
was right alongside one of the mer-
riIst during this engaging period of
fe<tiVity. There wasn't any nulch
bowl in his committee room, nor was
Mr., Henderson taking any part in the
festivities.
But that party of twelve clersymen
from his state, after winding MP the
business of their religious SESSION in