CHAPTER II. WASHINGTON PERSONAGES IN THE FIFTIES.

Journey to the Capital—An Early “Congressional Limited”—A Stump Orator of Alabama, the “Maker of Senators”—Arrival at the Capital—The Night Clerk Refuses Us Accommodations at the National Hotel—Undercurrents of Strife in Society—Mrs. Pierce—Pennsylvania Avenue in the Fifties—Survey of Washington’s Hostesses—Mme. de Bodisco and the Glacées—Her Second Marriage at Old St. John’s—Foreign Legations—Reminiscence of Octavia Walton in Washington—Mrs. Riggs Gives a Midnight Supper to Patti—Heller Appears; Likewise the Grand Elephant Hannibal 19