Just to the east of the Capitol grounds stands the magnificent Library of Congress. This wonderful storehouse of books is a marvelous palace. It covers almost an entire city block, and its towering gilded dome is visible from almost every part of the city. Once inside, we could easily believe ourselves in fairyland, so beautiful are the halls and the staircases of carved marble, so wonderful the paintings and the decorations. Every available space upon the walls and ceilings is adorned with pictures, with the names of the great men of the world, and with beautiful quotations from the poets and scholars who seem to live again in this magnificent building which is dedicated to the things they loved. [Illustration: BOTANICAL GARDENS] In the center of the building, just beneath the gilded dome, is a rotunda slightly wider than the rotunda of the Capitol, though not so high. Here are desks for the use of those who wish to consult any volume of the immense collection of books. The books are kept in great structures called stacks, 9 stories high and containing bookshelves which would stretch nearly 44 miles if placed in one line. Any one of the great collection of 1,300,000 volumes can be sent by machinery from the stacks to the reading room or to the Capitol. When a member of Congress wants a book which is in the Library, he need not leave the Capitol, for there is a tunnel connecting the two buildings through which runs a little car to carry books. The Librarian of Congress has charge of the enforcement of the copyright law. By means of this law an author may secure the exclusive right to publish a book, paper, or picture for twenty-eight years. One of the requirements of the copyright law is that the author must place in the Library of Congress two copies of whatever he has copyrighted. Hence, on the shelves of this great library may be found almost every book or paper published in the United States. Leaving the Library we once more find ourselves upon the great esplanade east of the Capitol. In the majestic white-marble buildings to the north and south,--known as the Senate and House office buildings,--committees of each House of Congress meet to discuss proposed laws. Having seen the lawmakers at work in the Capitol, let us visit the officials whose duty it is to enforce the laws made by Congress. Chief among these is the president of the United States. His house is officially known as the Executive Mansion, but nearly everybody speaks of it as the White House. The first public building erected in Washington was the White House. It is said that Washington himself chose the site. He lived to see it built but not occupied, for the capital was not moved to the District of Columbia until 1800, a year after Washington's death. [Illustration: THE WHITE HOUSE FROM THE NORTH]