the last time at the old Elizabeth home, accompanied by my
young daughter Maud, when the latter was invited to a fancy-dress ball
given to children at the residence of General George Herbert Pegram. At
first I was at my wits' end to devise a suitable gown for her to wear,
when Mrs. Scott brought out the historic fancy dress worn by her mother
so many years before in Paris and gave it to me. It seems almost
needless to add that the child wore the dress, and that I have it now
carefully put away among my treasured possessions. Many years subsequent
to Mrs. Scott's visit to Paris, her sister, Mrs. Robert Henry Cabell of
Richmond, published for the benefit of a charity her letters written
from abroad to her family in Virginia, containing many interesting
recollections of Paris.

At the beginning of the Mexican War the Scotts were living in New York
but, for a reason I do not now recall, Mrs. Scott decided to spend a
winter during the General's absence in Philadelphia. She secured a
portion of a furnished house at 111 South Sixth Street, and in the
spring of 1847 I was invited to be her guest. The evening of the day of
my arrival I attended a party at the residence of Judge John Meredith
Read, a descendant of George Read, a Signer from Delaware. Upon the
urgent request of Mrs. Scott I went to this entertainment entirely
alone, as she and her daughter Cornelia were indisposed and she wished
her household to be represented. Judge Read was a widower and some years
later I renewed my acquaintance with him in Washington. During my visit
in Philadelphia, Mrs. Scott was suddenly called away and hesitated about
leaving us two young girls in the house alone, her younger daughters
being absent at school. Finally, she made arrangements for us to spend
the days of her absence in Burlington, New Jersey, with Miss Susan
Wallace, a friend of hers and a niece of the Hon. William Bradford,
Attorney-General during a portion of Washington's last administration.
This, however, was not altogether a satisfactory arrangement for us
young people and we became decidedly restless, but to Burlington we went
just the same. Meanwhile, news came from Mexico of a great American
victory and the public went wild with enthusiasm. Philadelphia made
plans to celebrate the glad event on a certain evening, and Cornelia
Scott and I decided to return to Philadelphia for the festivities. We
carefully planned the trip and took as our protector a faithful colored
ma