FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35  
36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   >>   >|  
rpowering. In coming out, after the President had left the tribune, the crowd filled in after him, and we had to fight our way out as best we could. [Illustration: DOM PEDRO Emperor of Brazil.] The heat, which no thermometer could register--and there was no shade for the thermometer to register in--and the crowd were something fearful. People were almost crushed to death, and those who did the most crushing were the fat policemen, who stood in every one's way and on every one's toes and barred the whole procession. Johan looked like an enormous poppy in his red uniform; the sun blazing through the glass roof almost set him on fire (the diplomats were begged to come in uniform, and that meant coats padded and buttoned up to the chin). Johan tells fabulous stories of the number of stout old ladies he saved, who all threatened to faint away on his decorations. He says he carried them bodily through the crowd and deposited them on the grass outside and went back for more. I was miraculously saved. I clasped my arms around the fat body of a policeman and whispered endearing words with a foreign accent to the effect that a foreigner who had come there at the invitation of the country ought to be saved at any cost. He thought so too, and was very kind and sympathetic, but as I clung to his padded coat and felt his scorching buttons I wondered whether it were better to die crushed than to suffer suffocation. However, we were all saved; even Johan's chamberlain key clung to his back, and his decorations actually stayed in their places, which I think was wonderful, considering the stout ladies. My dress left a good deal of itself behind--only the front breadth held it onto my person; the back breadths were trampled on as far up as people could trample and were dirty beyond words. A large dinner was prepared for us, where patriotic toasts were drunk galore. We went out to the grounds the next day and rolled about in what they call "rolling-chairs," and had things explained to us by some nice gentlemen with gold-braided caps. We will go once more to see what we left unseen, and then I turn my head toward Cambridge. WASHINGTON, _March, 1877_. The question of the annual _diner diplomatique_ was cleverly managed by Mr. Evarts. Mr. Hayes wanted to suppress wine and give tea and mineral water, but Mr. Evarts put his foot down. He said that the diplomats would not understand an official dinner without wine, and propos
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35  
36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

uniform

 

padded

 

ladies

 

decorations

 

diplomats

 

dinner

 
thermometer
 

register

 

Evarts

 

crushed


breadth

 

wonderful

 
places
 

grounds

 

stayed

 

galore

 

toasts

 
trample
 
prepared
 

person


trampled

 
breadths
 

patriotic

 
people
 
braided
 

managed

 

wanted

 

suppress

 
cleverly
 

diplomatique


question

 

annual

 

mineral

 

understand

 

official

 

propos

 

WASHINGTON

 

explained

 

things

 
gentlemen

chairs

 
rolling
 

rolled

 

chamberlain

 
Cambridge
 

unseen

 

foreign

 

looked

 
enormous
 

procession