Two nights later, Miss Ethel was the guest of honour at a Christmas ball given by Mrs. Levi Leiter in the white and gold ballroom of her million-dollar palace. Here the two hundred and fifty young guests danced beneath scores of gold baskets filled with begonias and hung from pink satin ribbons, while the great mirrors on the wall reflected their forms as they glided across the floor to the music that sifted through a great screen of smilax and pink blossoms. Theodore Roosevelt’s first American ancestor was Claes Martensen van Roosevelt, the sturdy Hollander who arrived on the continent two hundred and seventy-five years before his descendant became President. For seven generations these hard-working, sturdy landholders contributed to the development of the United States, fought in her wars, and served in her council chambers. His grandfather, Cornelius van Schaack Roosevelt, attained some local prominence in business. Of his father, the President had glowing memories, frequently remarking, “He was the best man I ever knew.” His mother was from Georgia, and the men of her family cast their fortunes with the Confederacy in the Civil War. To this mixture in his make-up was due his broad, impersonal, national viewpoint. Theodore was born in New York City, October 27, 1858, and was reared in the atmosphere of a cultured home of moderate affluence. Too delicate and anæmic to stand contact with the healthy average boys of a school, he received his education at home. As early as the age of nine, however, he resolved to be able to play and fight and be like other boys; so he mapped out for himself a schedule of exercise which he followed for many years, and which no doubt helped greatly toward the achievement of the physical perfection that came with manhood. He entered Harvard when eighteen, and there, as in every other period of his life, his personality stood out. He fell in love with Miss Alice Lee, of Boston, and they were married a few months after his graduation in 1880. With the birth of a little daughter, Alice, Mrs. Roosevelt died. The young husband left his baby with her maternal grandparents, temporarily abandoned the study of law and his interest in politics, and went West, following the habit of childhood of seeking the solitude of field or forest when in distress or under great mental strain. North Dakota attracted him, and he invested in a cattle ranch in the Bad Lands during 1884-1886. This was known as Elkhorn Ranch, Medora, N. D.