ed,
instead, a _soiree musicale_--in other words, a rout. The diplomats had
a separate entrance (a novelty) from the garden side. There was an
orchestra at the end of the Blue Room which drowned conversation when
you were near it. I noticed that most of the young ladies found it too
near, and sought other corners.

The supper _ne laissait rien a desirer_, and there was a sumptuous
buffet open the whole evening; punch-bowls filled with lemonade were
placed in the different _salons_. On the whole, it was a great success.

I think that the teetotality of the White House displeases as much our
country-people as it does the foreigners. At one of our musical parties
Mr. Blaine came rather late, and, clapping his hands on Johan's
shoulder, said, "My kingdom for a glass of whisky; I have just dined at
the White House." Others call the White House dinners "the life-saving
station."

Mrs. Hayes was very nice to me. She sent me a magnificent basket of
what she called "specimen flowers," which were superb orchids and
begonias. On her card was written, "Thanking you again for the pleasure
you gave me by your singing."

WASHINGTON, _March, 1877_.

My dear Mother,--We are now having a visit of the Queen of the Sandwich
Islands. I suppose in Europe she would show to great advantage, but
here her blackness is at a low premium. There was a large reception for
her Royal Blackness at the White House, where all the diplomats were
present. The queen talked with people with the aid of an interpreter.
Her remarks necessarily being restricted, she said about the same thing
to every one. She was bristling with jewelry, and the large white
pearls on her broad, black bosom took on extra splendor. Robert (our
colored valet), who was waiting in the corridor, caught sight of her as
she walked by, and remarked, when he reached home, to my maid that he
was "surprised that they should make such a fuss over a colored
person"; and he attempted to turn his flat nose in the air; but, as it
is not the kind that turns, it refused.

Robert wears a conspicuous decoration in his buttonhole whenever we
have a dinner. The first time Johan noticed it he almost fainted away,
as he knows every decoration under the sun, and, thinking it looked
like the _Legion d'Honneur_, he proposed to question Robert about it;
but Robert eluded the master's clutch as the door-bell was ringing.
Johan was considerably disturbed until he learned the truth, which was
that Robe