The Olivia Letters: Being Some History of Washington City for Forty Years as Told by the Letters of a Newspaper CorrespondentBriggs, Emily Edson
History
The Olivia Letters: Being Some History of Washington City for Forty Years as Told by the Letters of a Newspaper Correspondent
Briggs, Emily Edson
United States -- Politics and government -- 1865-1933; Washington (D.C.) -- History
FERRY AS A HEART-BREAKER--CONKLING AS A NOVEL READER--EATON AND
ANTHONY IN REPARTEE.
WASHINGTON, _March 20, 1869_.
Like the great flaming carbuncle on the mountain’s brow, the dome of
the Capitol dispels the darkness in Washington. It is night. The moon
peeps out between scudding clouds, the elements howl like a spirited
child, but the Senate is in open session. The original resolution
endorsing the President’s course has been torn in shreds by the
politicians, and such bitter partisans as Cameron of Pennsylvania,
and Dawes of Massachusetts, have paired off and ran home, rather than
remain on the battlefield to bury the dead or carry off the mortally
wounded. Within the Senate chamber the faithful are gathered; Morton,
Anthony, and Conkling to lead the rank and file. The Democracy are in
martial line, defending the independent sovereignty of the States,
with Andy Johnson at the head, ready to die for the Constitution. The
magnificent decorations which make the Senate chamber a marvel of
beauty in the day seemed touched with the fairy hand of enchantment
at night. The incomparable rays of the sun are rivalled by the mellow
beams of artificial light, which sift through the stained glass
above. It falls on the golden stars of the tufted carpet. It makes
an areola around the head of Senator Ferry, the young President pro
tempore of the Senate, who sits in one of those graceful attitudes so
becoming to the bachelor of the period. Major Ben: Perley Poore says
he was born in Mackinaw, Mich., June 1, 1827, consequently he will
soon reach his forty-eighth birthday, and not long after will score
off a half a century. The newspapers call him “young,” and it can be
seen that time has dealt very gently with him. His beard is as yellow
as the golden fleece and his chestnut locks have defied the frost.
Content with himself, content with the world, is written all over
his manly person. Has he a heart? This is a question which none are
able to answer, but nevertheless he has been proved to be the most
adept “lady-killer” of his day, and a bill is soon to be introduced
by Senator Spencer, a rival bachelor, to arrest, if possible, this
wholesale destruction. Senator Ferry never fails to gather a harvest
of hearts during their proper season. When each generation of girls
attains that point on life’s journey when the affections are like
the mellow flush of a juicy peach he walks in the garden, when lo!
presto! change! something is gone! The young statesman is not harmed.
His eye has a brighter light, his cheek a warmer flush, and the
renovation lasts until the season approaches for another seed time
and harvest. One-half the mischief lies in the fact of his being a
member of the Young Men’s Christian Association, and the other to the
exquisite bouquets which are furnished free to Congressmen from the
National greenhouse. When the bouquets arrive regardless of time and
number, it is a sign of a funeral where the corpse is invisible and
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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