The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-24
BUFFUM'S "REMINISCENCES
"Extsndsd In the Record"

hue In Der halt opened victoria n The capt
iol, leaned back gracefully In = great arm.
chair 10 the mafbie goom IN GLOSS cohs
Ssrse with acme Senator ~ ot~n mind and
laaulfina disposition, NJ eat upright and
dianihe,i In tho reserved gallery studying
the progress ~ measures and The conduct
~ men In order ~ facilitate tia passage ~
tho great cotton claim, ~ which she waa
now the solc beneficiary,
The Capitol loungrra, oflclal and IN.
ofhclal, we're won 10 wink understand.
Inaly NJ one another ~ her scaflet pafaeol
came into view, and many q comment was
whispered. sidemouthed.
A dashinR and a pretty picture. There
we're contrasts and contradictions In the
girls face which made II, like the spirit IL
foreshadowed, q fascinating study TO me.
Her brow was perfect, with lie ivory set
In soft and ripping black. Her eyes, cam
did, elusive, beguiling, responded to the
light and shade Of her mood even as the
sea. with whose hues they were endowed,
responds to the variance Of the sky.
Her full. red lips were even more human,
and yet just as divine, for are there not
angelic weaknesses2 But her chin-it was
q disappointment, a warningi 80 heavy.
80 masculine, IL bespoke purpose and will
INSCRIPTIONS, indomitable; IL recalled her
oormorant Of a mother, who for years had
Toasted upon the credulity and greed Of
two continents.
Dolores certainly had good pluck and
nerve to attempt to revive this claim;
but the hunting instinct was In her
blood; probably it made her relish the pur-
suit more than she would the capture.
Besides, what else was there for her to dor
1t was her only asset-except herself.
And, il there was any truth in those oyni-
cal asides, she had more han q fighting
chance OF success. Was it not limited that
in her, and was he not chairman OF the Com
mittee on War Claims, to which the bill for
her relief had been referred?
My Senator, MI. Savage, for some one OF
those always good reasons Of his OWL, had
avoided acquaintance with Miss Fernandez.
Perhaps he anticipated disaster and wanted
to keep clear Of 1t.
As his private secretary, l couldn't help
but know, through that process OF absorption
which int innate association brings, that he
was about through with Billings, his COL
league and creature though Billings was;
that he was beginning to look with favor
upon Representative Merrileld, q young,
fresh man, Of large following and good
Fepute, now serving his first term as Con-
gresham at Large from Sequoia. Senator
Savage's ambition was a vampire-it bat
tened on human victims, and when it let
60 OF one of them, nothing remained but
inanimate skin and bones,
Outside of thisc consistent polity, there was
O spirit OF the perverse in my Senator,
which more than once had induced him to
plot and with much OF that
mischievous delight a wanton boy may md
In setting in motion a machine beyon- lis
understanding and control.
I say outside. but really the Senator's
polity and perversity were inextricably
mingled, From their unexpected efec'
came much Of the strength and weakness
of his career. In the admiration he aroused,
In the hatred he provoked, there was always
the element Of uncertainty, giving zest
and intensity to either emotion.
Ican't say that I felt concerned over Sena-
tor Billings's impending ocoultation. A
bully to the weak, q time server to the
etrong; in his face, rude featured, coarse
grained, one could detect, through it's habit
ual mask Of geniality, shrewdness, the power
OF persistent industry, cunning, a~varioe,
eensuality; but never a trace Of a kindly
thought OF q generous impulse.
As to Dolores, I felt sorry for her, as one
trained by time and trouble may feel sorry
for ono 30 contemptuously ignorant,
DO rashly defiant Of them. So when
chance threw me in her way, I ventured
q word Of warning, as usual, futile.
One sultry spring afternoon l went on
q matter Of routine business to the office
Of the Congressional Record, in a corner Of
statuary Hall, on the main floor of the
Capitol. Though both houses were in
session, the throngs of busybodies, place
hunters and sightseers alike in their eager
ness for the shadows and echoes In which
the place %abounds, were gone: scattered
doubtless by the heavy rolls Of thunder.
and the blackness settling over the sky
lights the thicker for being cut by vivid
flashes.
Presently the rain came with a roar and
q plunge, aa il the rope to some cosmic
shower bath had been pulled. As I turned
away from the desk, disoonsolate at the
prospect OF a sweltering wait, a CLEAN Of
crimson opposite caught my eye.
There, on one Of the sofas reserved for
women, sat or rather Croucned MISS FER
nandez, palpably suffering from fright and
the electrical disturbance Of the storm.
/ fetched a fan and a glass of water from
the clerks room, and then telling her who
! was, and with reassuring reference to
my years, I ventured to suggest that
might sit with her until the storm abated.
"Oh, I shall be eternally grateful to you,
IL you only will she exclaimed, the childish
terror in her eyes and tremble Of her lips
eflacing for the moment the obduraoy Of
her chin.
So down I sat and, as is natural with a
frightened child, began to talk Of the near
est thing at hand, the GRAND that had
brought me to the Capitol and how little
was known about the Congregational Record,
though in q way it was one Of the greatest
publications in the world, with a daily
Of at least 10000 during the
session and ~aggregating Thousands OF pages
and millions of words, reporting, as it did,
every syllable uttered in Congress, to-
gether with additions innumerable under
the privilege to extend remarks.
Then I went into detail somewhat, show
ing how this enormous supply Of matter,