itself behind--only the front breadth held it onto my person; the back
breadths were trampled on as far up as people could trample and were
dirty beyond words.

A large dinner was prepared for us, where patriotic toasts were drunk
galore.

We went out to the grounds the next day and rolled about in what they
call "rolling-chairs," and had things explained to us by some nice
gentlemen with gold-braided caps.

We will go once more to see what we left unseen, and then I turn my
head toward Cambridge.


WASHINGTON, _March, 1877_.

The question of the annual _dîner diplomatique_ was cleverly managed by
Mr. Evarts. Mr. Hayes wanted to suppress wine and give tea and mineral
water, but Mr. Evarts put his foot down. He said that the diplomats
would not understand an official dinner without wine, and proposed,
instead, a _soirée musicale_--in other words, a rout. The diplomats had
a separate entrance (a novelty) from the garden side. There was an
orchestra at the end of the Blue Room which drowned conversation when
you were near it. I noticed that most of the young ladies found it too
near, and sought other corners.

The supper _ne laissait rien à désirer_, and there was a sumptuous
buffet open the whole evening; punch-bowls filled with lemonade were
placed in the different _salons_. On the whole, it was a great success.