1855 he was in Congress, and I had
the pleasure of listening to one of his scathing speeches on the floor
of the House of Representatives in denunciation of slavery. I recall his
unusual felicity in the use of Scriptural quotations, one of which still
lingers in my ears: "Where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty."
His daughter Elizabeth married Charles Dudley Miller, a prominent
citizen of Utica. She was a woman of very pronounced views, as may be
judged, in part, by the fact that some years after my marriage, and
while living in Washington, I met her by accident one day at the Capitol
and to my surprise discovered that she was wearing bloomers!

In September, 1849, I was returning to my home in New York from another
visit to the Johnsons in Utica, when, upon the invitation of Mrs.
Hamilton Fish, whose husband was then Governor of the Empire State, I
stopped in Albany and visited them. They were of course occupying the
gubernatorial mansion, but its exact location I cannot exactly recall.
Life was exceedingly simple in the middle of the last century, even in
the wealthiest families, and through all these years I seem to remember
but a single incident connected with the family life of these early
friends--the trivial fact that the breakfast hour was seven o'clock.
Mrs. Fish was a model mother and was surrounded by a large and
interesting family of children, some of whom are among the highly
prominent people of the present time.

_Apropos_ of the Fish children, an amusing story is told of the keen
sense of humor of the late William M. Evarts, who presented in every-day
life such a stern exterior. When, on one occasion, he was a guest of the
Fish family at their summer home on the Hudson, his attention was called
to a large and beautifully executed painting of a group of children
which, as was quite apparent, was greatly treasured by the ex-Governor.
Mr. Evarts gazed upon the portrait for some minutes in silence and then
exclaimed in a low tone, "little Fishes." Mr. Fish stood near his guest
but, not catching the exact drift of his remark, replied: "Sir, I do not
understand." The bright response was: "Yes, I said little fishes,
_sardines_,"--reminding one of Artemus Ward's definition of sardines,
"little fishes biled in ile."

Another witticism of Mr. Evarts's which seems to me deserving of
preservation is said to have been uttered during his residence in
Washington, when he was Secretary of State under Presiden