laine. "You are right," he said, "to fight their
battles. Did you ever hear the story about the Western man who was not
accustomed to such artistic objects, and said in one of his spitting
moods, 'If you don't take that darned thing away I'll spit in it'?"

I forgot to tell you that the Emperor and Empress of Brazil are here
"doing" Washington--doing it so thoroughly that they have almost
overdone it. The Brazilian Minister is worn out. Every day he has a
dinner and an entertainment of some kind. The Emperor wants to see
everything and to know everybody. No institution is neglected, and all
the industries are looked into thoroughly. He goes to the Senate very
often and sits through the whole _seance_, wishing to understand
everything. He always tries to get hold of the people who can give him
the most information on any subject. Dom Pedro is most popular; one
sees him everywhere. At the ball at the English Minister's for their
Majesties, a gentleman presented to the Empress said, "_Je suis le
Senateur qui parle frangais_." The Empress said to Johan, "I beg of you
to keep near me and talk to me so that the '_Senateur qui parle
francais_' may be discouraged in his pursuit."

PHILADELPHIA, 1876.

My dear Aunt,--Is your heart melted with pity, or does it burst with
national pride, and do you disregard such trifles as heat and
exhaustion? I told you in my last letter that the diplomats were
invited _en bloc_ (at the country's expense) to be present at the
opening of the Centennial Exposition. The country provided good rooms
for us at this hotel, where we are invited to spend two days: one of
those days was the day before yesterday, and I think that the other
will be enough for me, for anything more awful than the heat at the
present moment cannot well be conceived. It is as if Philadelphia had
said to its friends, "You provide the exposition, and we'll provide the
heat." There were carriages placed at our disposal for the opening, and
we drove out to the grounds in great style. We were welcomed at the
entrance by some officials and ushered to our seats on the red-hot
platform draped with flags. President Grant then entered, accompanied
by all his Ministers. After the opening speech by the President all the
church-bells in the city began ringing, cannons were fired, the
orchestra burst forth with national hymns--"Star-spangled Banner" and
"Hail, Columbia." People waved handkerchiefs, and the display of
patriotism was ove