ve occupation. It was there that
Henry Clay, then Speaker of the House, had welcomed General Lafayette
as "the Nation's Guest." The contrast between the tall and graceful
Kentuckian, with his sunny smile and his silver-toned voice, and
the good old Marquis, with his auburn wig awry, must have been
great. His reply appeared to come from a grateful heart, but it
was asserted that the Speaker had written both his own words of
welcome and also Lafayette's acknowledgment of them, and it became
a subject of newspaper controversy, which was ended by the publication
of a card signed "H. Clay," in which he positively denied the
authorship, although he admitted that he had suggested the most
effective sentences.

Ladies had been excluded from the galleries of the House originally,
in accordance with British precedent. But one night at a party a
lady expressed her regret to Hon. Fisher Ames, of Massachusetts,
that she could not hear the arguments, especially his speeches.
Mr. Ames gallantly replied that he knew of no reason why ladies
should not hear the debates. "Then," said Mrs. Langdon, "if you
will let me know when next you intend to speak, I will make up a
party of ladies and we will go and hear you." The notice was given,
the ladies went, and since then Congressional orators have always
had fair hearers--with others perhaps not very fair.

The House was really occupied, during the administration of John
Quincy Adams, in the selection of his successor. At first the
political outlook was rather muddled, although keen eyes averred
that they could perceive, moving restlessly to and fro, the indefinite
forms of those shadows which coming events project. Different
seers interpreted the phantasmal appearances in different fashions,
and either endeavored to form novel combinations, or joined in
raking common sewers for filth wherewith to bespatter those who
were the rivals of their favorite candidates. It was then that
Congressional investigating committees became a part of the political
machinery of the day. The accounts of President Adams when, in
former years, he was serving the country in Europe as a diplomatist;
the summary execution of deserters by order of General Jackson,
when he commanded the army in Florida; the bills for refurnishing
the White House; the affidavits concerning the alleged bargain
between the President and his Secretary of State, and the marriage
of General Jackson to Mrs. Robards before she ha