Calvin Coolidge, thirtieth President of the United States, born on Independence Day, 1872, on a farm near Plymouth, Vt., a sparsely settled mountain village twelve miles from a railroad, less than a month after his fifty-first birthday was filling the office of Chief Magistrate. Upon reaching Washington, the President turned to the tasks already piling up, giving first thought to the funeral arrangements and honours for President Harding, and to the comfort and aid he might render to the bereft widow. The message from the new President and his wife, impressing upon her their desire that she should not tax herself with haste in leaving the White House, “It is yours as long as it is ours,” must have sent a warm glow of comfort to Mrs. Harding in her sorrowful vigil. Four or five days after Mrs. Harding had left the mansion to visit with friends before starting for Marion with her belongings, President and Mrs. Coolidge took possession. Then President Coolidge’s great task began in earnest to jog itself down into the regular routine. His days were so strenuous that he was early forced to see the necessity of regular amusement and exercise. His relaxations, though encompassed with every possible facility, were just as modest and simple as in Northampton. They consisted chiefly of an early morning walk. When his fondness for that was discovered, several prominent officials also decided such exercise was good for them, and a small walking club came into existence, which bid fair to take the place of the tennis and golf Cabinets of past administrations. In this way, he freshened up for breakfast and the day. An afternoon horseback ride offered the freshening process for dinner. This sport, too, became quite popular after the President decided to make use of The General--the horse that Mr. Harding had used occasionally. Week-end trips on the presidential yacht _Mayflower_ were frequently taken. Between these oases of rest, the government machine ground on its heavy treadmill. President Coolidge made no snap decisions. He was the best-equipped man who ever stepped into the position, for he had not only taken his vice presidential duties seriously and informed himself extensively on matters pertaining to the Senate, but he had had the unusual advantage of attending the Cabinet meetings during President Harding’s régime. While still at Marion, Senator Harding asked Governor Coolidge, as Vice President, to sit with the Cabinet. They discussed this signal departure from all precedent and agreed upon it. In referring to it, President Harding said: