CHAPTER XIX. INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE—SHADOWS OF THE PAST. Haunted Houses—Shadows of the Past—Touching Memories—The Little Angels Born There—A State of Perpetual Dampness—Dingy Aspect of a Monarch’s Palace—Outside the White House—A Peep Inside the Mansion—The Emperor of Japan Supersedes the Punch-Bowl—The Unfinished “Banqueting-Hall”—Glories of a _Levée_—Magnificent Hospitalities—A Comfortable Dining-Room—A Lady of Taste—An American “Baronial Hall”—The Furniture of Another Generation—A Valuable Steward—A Professor of Gastronomy—Paying the Professor and Providing the Dinner—Feeding the Celebrities—Mrs. Lincoln’s Unpopular Innovations—Fifteen Hundred Dollars for a Dinner—How Prince Arthur, of England, was Entertained—Domestic Economy—“Not Enough Silver”—A Tasty Soup—The Recipe for an Aristocratic Stew—Having a “Nice Time”—Hatred of Flummery—An Admirer of Pork and Beans and Slap-jacks—A Presidential Reception—Ready for the Festival—Splendor, Weariness and Indigestion—Paying the Penalty—In the Conservatory—Domestic Arrangements—Reminiscence of Abraham Lincoln, 167 CHAPTER XX. LADIES OF THE WHITE HOUSE. A Morning Dream—Wives and Daughters of the Presidents—An Average Matron of the 18th Century—Educational Disadvantages—A Well-Regulated Lady—Useful Wife—Advantages of Having a Distinguished Husband—A Modern Lucretia—Washington’s Inauguration Suit—An Awkward Position for a Lady—Festivities in Franklin Square!—Transporting the Household Gods—Keeping Early Hours—Primitive Customs—Much-Shaken Hands—Remembrances of a Past Age—Very Questionable Humility—The Room in which Washington Died—Days of Widowhood—A Wife’s Congratulations—A True Woman—Domestic Affairs at the White House—An Unfinished Mansion—Interesting Details—A Woman’s Influence—A Monument Wanted—Devotion of a Husband—The “Single Life”—Disappointed Belles—An Extraordinary Reception—Blacked His Own Boots—A Daughter’s Affection, 177 CHAPTER XXI. WIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS—LIFE AT THE WHITE HOUSE.