CHAPTER XIX

CONCLUSION 382

Mr. Roosevelt Returns from Africa—Calls at Beverly—An Agreeable Meeting. A Cruise on the _Mayflower_. The President of Chili. A “Whirlwind” Existence. A Cabinet House Party. Fitting Charlie out in Long Trousers. Helen’s Début. Our Silver Wedding. Renomination. Plans for a Quiet Future. An Expression from Mr. Taft.

ILLUSTRATIONS

Mrs. William Howard Taft _Frontispiece_

FACING PAGE

Mrs. Taft’s childhood home on Pike Street, in Cincinnati 4

Mr. and Mrs. John Williamson Herron, Mrs. Taft’s father and mother 8

Members of the salon. Mr. Taft in the centre with the author at his right 12

Mr. and Mrs. William Howard Taft at the time of their marriage 16

Mrs. Taft with Robert and Helen, when Mr. Taft was Solicitor General 26

Charlie Taft when he went to the Philippines 36

Nikko. An ancient cryptomeria avenue and a glimpse of the famous temples 52

Entrance to the Imperial Palace gardens in Tokyo 56

The State Dining-Room of the White House, showing tapestry presented to Mrs. Taft by the Empress of Japan 62

Helen Taft in Japanese costume 76

Mrs. Taft in formal Filipina costume 90

A carved _Nara_ or Philippine mahogany bed, now in Mr. Taft’s room at New Haven 98

A typical Philippine river scene and some Filipino laundry work 104

(_Left to right_) General Wright, Mr. Taft and Judge Ide, as Philippine Commissioners 118

A typical Filipino menu and place card 148

Triumphal arch at Bataan 152

Filipino members of the organising party enjoying afternoon repose on the deck of the _Sumner_ 158

The Sultan of Sulu boarding the _Sumner_, followed by Mr. Arthur Fergusson, Spanish secretary to the Commission 166

A Moro datu with his retinue, and the favourite wife of a datu with her maids-in-waiting 170

Picturesque bead-bedecked Bogobos of the Davao country 176

Philippine non-Christians: A Bontoc Igorrote (_top left_); a Moro and two Kalinga chiefs (_with shields_) 182

On the long trail in Northern Luzon. Mrs. Taft second from the left 186

Mr. Taft and Charlie enjoying their favourite exercise 186

An Igorrote Head Dance and a company of _cargodores_ with their dogs which are to be killed for food 190

Views of the extraordinary Igorrote rice terraces. Practically all of the wild men’s country is cultivated in this manner 192

Igorrote chief proudly displaying his house decorations of human skulls and carabao horns 196

Bontoc Igorrotes with _ganzas_ showing handles made of human jaw bones 196

Benguet Road before and after completion. Not the most thrilling curve on this spectacular highway 200

The Zigzag. How the Benguet Road climbs to an altitude of over 5,000 feet in six miles 204

Mr. Taft taking the oath of office as first American Governor of the Philippine Islands 208

Two views of Malacañan Palace. The first picture shows the wide, roofless veranda over the Pásig River 214

Scenes attending Governor Taft’s arrival in Manila after his first absence 250

Arch erected by the _Partido Federal_ representing Filipina offering another star to the American flag 258

Mr. and Mrs. Taft with members of their family and staff including Major Noble, aide (_at left_), and Mr. Fred C. Carpenter, private secretary (_right_), in costumes worn at the Venetian Carnival 270

Mr. Taft and Colonel Goethals, in Panama 290

(_From left to right_) Mrs. Jaime de Veyra, Mrs. Taft, Governor Smith, Mrs. Smith, Mr. Taft, Mr. Sergio Osmeña, Speaker of the Philippine Assembly, and members of the Assembly in the Ayuntamiento, Manila 312

The White House as it looked on the evening of the Fourth of March, 1909 324

Mr. and Mrs. Taft returning to the White House after Mr. Taft’s inauguration 330

The private dining-room of the White House, and the family sitting-room at the end of the long upstairs corridor 334

Two White House bedrooms showing fine old colonial beds 338

Two corners of the White House kitchen 350

The East Room 356

Mrs. Taft on the Potomac Drive 360

The south Portico from the end of the garden 364

The White House garden and Washington’s Monument from the south Portico 368

The Taft cottage at Beverly, Massachusetts 372

The crescent table in the State Dining-Room arranged for the Diplomatic Dinner 376

Mrs. Taft’s own picture of the White House 380

The long eastern corridor through which guests arrive for state functions 388

The main stairway leading to the President’s private apartments 388

RECOLLECTIONS OF FULL YEARS