received by the wife of the President and by the guests at the various state functions. Life in the White House was very jolly and happy during this entire administration. Mrs. Hayes’s love for young people was one of her great charms. She was the mother of eight children, three of whom died previous to or during the war. The eldest son, Birchard, was practising law; the second one, Webb, performing countless valuable services for his parents in the capacity of confidential secretary. Rutherford, Jr., was at school, and the two little ones livened the house with their pranks. Christmas was always the occasion of a great celebration, the family returning to spend the holidays together when frolic and fun were the order of the hour. While Mrs. Hayes radiated joy and love to her own, she never overlooked the unfortunate, but made it a rule to dispense charity to the limit of her ability. Among other philanthropies, she distributed forty turkeys with the ingredients for complete dinners to needy families. She taught her children to save a share of their pocket money to buy gifts for less favoured children. The first Thanksgiving in the White House, November 26, 1877, she established the custom of inviting to dinner all members of the clerical staff of the White House with their families. This custom prevailed throughout her occupancy. Lucy Webb Hayes was the first college woman to be mistress of the President’s house. Her régime stands out alone, clear and distinct, an epic of womanly courage and loyalty to principle. She had the courage to do what no one else had ever done. She entered official life at a time when the female lobby was at its height, when scandal had the nation in its slimy coils, and when ideals and principles were hibernating. She not only turned a deaf ear to friend and foe when she set her hand to advance the cause of temperance, but she also established anew the regard for Sabbath observance by the example of her own household.