death in 1890 as "Sister Angela." Baron von Gerolt was an
intellectual man and, prior to his career in the United States, his name
was much associated with Baron Alexander von Humboldt; but as neither he
nor Madame von Gerolt were proficient English scholars when they first
arrived they naturally depended upon others for instruction. I can vouch
for the truth of the statement that upon one occasion they were advised
by members of his own legation to greet those whom they met with the
words, "I'm damned glad to see you."

Mr. Alfred Bergmans, Secretary of the Belgian Legation, married Lily
Macalister, a Philadelphia heiress, who, in her widowhood, returned to
this country and made Washington her home. Madame Bergmans was a devotee
to society and was particularly fond of dancing. She was a _petite
blonde_, and, even after it ceased to be fashion, she wore her light
hair down her back in many ringlets. When George M. Robeson, President
Grant's Secretary of the Navy, saw her for the first time one evening
while she was dancing, he exclaimed, "That is the tripping of the light
fantastic toe." She married quite late in life J. Scott Laughton, who
was considerably her junior, but did not long survive the alliance.

Many members of the Diplomatic Corps of this period married American
women. Baron Guido von Grabow, one of the secretaries of the Prussian
Legation whom I knew very well, married Mrs. Edward Boyce, whose maiden
name was Nina Wood. She was a granddaughter of President Zachary Taylor
and was well known and beloved by old Washingtonians. Her marriage to
Baron von Grabow offers strong encouragement to persistent suitors. He
was deeply in love with her prior to her first marriage, but she
rejected him for Edward Boyce, who was a member of a prominent
Georgetown family. Mr. Boyce lived only a few years, and her subsequent
married life with Baron von Grabow was long and happy.

Alexandre Gau, _Chancelier_ of the Prussian Legation, married my younger
sister, Margaret, who was regarded as a remarkable beauty as well as an
accomplished linguist and pianist. Her wedding took place in our G
Street home in the same room where five months later her funeral
services were held. Mr. Gau did not long survive her and was interred by
her side in my father's old burial plot in Jamaica, Long Island.

Don Calderon de la Barca, the Spanish Minister to the United States,
together with his wife, who was Miss Fanny Inglis, and her sister, M