An old visiting list helps me to recall this Washington visit. Until I unearthed the little morocco book with my name written on the flyleaf in Uncle Sam’s hand, I had quite forgotten I had ever known some of the people who called upon and entertained us, though some stand out strong and clear. “Major General Fremont” rouses no flash of memory, whereas “Mr. Thomas F. Bayard” evokes the shade of one of the most exquisite of gentlemen, of such winning personality that he was beloved even by those politically opposed to him. “Mr. and Mrs. Carl Schurz.” I can remember nothing of the lady, but the strongly marked features of Schurz, harsh but intelligent, his keen hard eyes behind the gleaming glasses, his foreign accent, are as fresh as if I had met him yesterday. He was then Senator from Missouri, a marked man. His most important work for civil service reform came later, when he was Secretary of the Interior under President Hayes. James G. Blaine, the “Plumed Knight”, then speaker of the House, was much in evidence. I never missed a chance to hear him speak. He was a natural orator, swaying his audience exactly as a good actor does. Mr. Blaine was then trying for the Republican nomination for President in the coming campaign of 1876, another bitter contest like the election of 1872. This was before Blaine, as Secretary of State under Garfield, had begun the great constructive policy of Pan-Americanism with which his name will always be linked. Though I remember the Blaines in Washington I saw them later more familiarly at their pleasant old house at Augusta, Maine, overlooking the Kennebec. Here I came under the magnetic influence for which Blaine was famous, and can testify to its control over his political friends and followers, whose devotion to their leader I have only once known surpassed. Walker Blaine, the oldest son, was a brilliant man, with his father’s fluency and grasp. The second son, Emmons, I knew better, and he once made a visit at Oak Glen; he was a genial, delightful young fellow, with certain quaint turns of speech I have never forgotten. At the time I was far more interested in the young diplomats and officers with whom I danced than with the men who were making history in Washington. To-day, I can hardly recall the name or face of one of my dancing partners, while President Grant, Vice President Wilson, Mr. Fish, Senator Boutwell (Charles Sumner’s successor) and the other prominent figures of the time are perfectly clear to me. It may be because I have frequently seen portraits of them, but I am inclined to believe it is a case of subconscious self taking notice and registering impressions, while conscious self danced the german!