e heaped up with cake.

The costume of the ladies was classic in its scantiness, especially
at balls and parties. The fashionable ball dress was of white
India crape, and five breadths, each a quarter of a yard wide, were
all that was asked for to make a skirt, which only came down to
the ankles, and was elaborately trimmed with a dozen or more rows
of narrow flounces. Silk or cotton stockings were adorned with
embroidered "clocks," and thin slippers were ornamented with silk
rosettes and tiny buckles.

Those gentlemen who dressed fashionably wore "Bolivar" frock-coats
of some gay-colored cloth, blue or green or claret, with large
lapels and gilded buttons. Their linen was ruffled; their "Cossack"
trousers were voluminous in size, and were tucked into high "Hessian"
boots with gold tassels. They wore two and sometimes three
waistcoats, each of different colors, and from their watch-pockets
dangled a ribbon, with a bunch of large seals. When in full dress,
gentlemen wore dress-coats with enormous collars and short waists,
well-stuffed white cambric cravats, small-clothes, or tight-fitting
pantaloons, silk stockings, and pumps.

Duels were very common, and a case of dueling pistols was a part
of the outfit of the Southern and Western Congressmen, who used to
spend more or less time in practicing. Imported pistols were highly
prized, but the best weapons were made by a noted Philadelphia
gunsmith named Derringer, who gave his name to a short pistol of
his invention to be carried in the trouser's pocket for use in
street fights. Some of the dueling pistols were inlaid with gold,
and they all had flint-locks, as percussion caps had not been
invented, nor hair triggers.

[Facsimile]
Edward Everett.
EDWARD EVERETT. Born in Massachusetts April 11th, 1794; was a
Unitarian clergyman, and a professor at Harvard College, until
elected a Representative from Massachusetts, 1825-1835; Governor
of Massachusetts, 1836-1840; Minister to Great Britain, 1841-1843;
President of Harvard College, 1846-1849; Secretary of State under
President Fillmore, 1852-1853; United States Senator from Massachusetts,
1853-1854; died at Boston, January 15th, 1865.

CHAPTER V.
PROMINENT REPRESENTATIVES OF 1827.

The Hall of the House of Representatives (now used as a National
Gallery of Statuary) was a reproduction of the ancient theatre,
magnificent in its effect, but so deficient in acoustic properties
that it was unfit for legislati