r that came across his track. His wife joined in a
little now and then, as only a right down sensible and handsome woman
could. It does one's heart good to see a great man and most lovely woman
mated so for once.

That was just what I did in Mr. King's parlors, and, when we stopped
talking, it struck me that the gentleman knew a great deal more of
literature than your missionary has yet learned of statesmanship or law.
In fact, an evening in Mr. King's parlors does teach one humility, and I
begin to discover that a person may be capable of writing poetry, and
making a fair report, without being able to teach science to a
professor, jurisprudence--I hope I have got the word right--to a judge,
or high statesmanship to a senator. In fact, in the present state of
society, it seems to me that the best of us have got to live and
learn--live and learn.

LIV.

DRESSING FOR A PARTY.

My dear sisters:--You have no idea how many kinds of parties there are
in Washington. Some are called receptions, because they take place in
the daytime, in houses where every mite of sunshine is shut out, and the
gas set to blazing as if it were midnight. That is, night isn't turned
into day here one bit oftener than day is turned into night.

Then there are ladies' lunch parties, where the daylight is allowed to
shine in; and picnics, where one gets a little too much of it, besides
being tired to death, and nothing to show for it.

Besides these, there are political parties, where men get up
entertainments that are called caucuses, which no lady is allowed to
join in. Besides dinners and breakfasts, and so on, without end, which
makes life in this city just one rush and tumult--to say nothing of
Congress, which is just that, and a good deal more so.

Last week, Cousin E. E. and I had so many invitations that we didn't
know what to do with them. We should have had to go out to three
breakfasts, two dinners, and six parties a night, if we had attempted to
do more than read them all. For since Mr. King's literary reunion, the
popularity of your missionary has increased like a rolling snowball, and
her invitations came by the peck and half bushel.

Well, out of this heap, there was one or two places that I felt like
honoring with my presence. So E. E. and I sat down and wrote a little
note--all ladies write _little_ notes nowadays--and relieved the intense
anxiety of the people who had invited us, by saying, in the most polite
way, t