t. Over that was another
banner, with a full moon and a baby moon blazing away on it, and all
around them was a whole hail-storm of stars that seemed to catch fire
from the gas, and burn of themselves.

The whole room was light as morning, and gorgeous as a sunset. Sisters,
believe me, the way those men were enjoying themselves was enough to
make a genuine woman grind her teeth. The popping of corks as they flew
from the bottles was loud and swift as the guns fired on a Down East
training day, and the gurgle of wine as it foamed into the glasses was
mellow and constant as the flow of that brook through the hemlock back
of our old school-house.

Then the talking, the laughing, the hail-good-fellow way in which
everything was done, just aggravated me out of a year's growth.

By and by Mr. Brooks got up and made a speech, welcoming the Japanee
guests and praising Japan beautifully. Then he asked General Farnsworth
to do the same thing over again, which he did in the most splendid way.

Then Mr. Iwakura got up and poured out a soft, slow flood of words, that
seemed sweet as new cider, with which the whole company was charmed
almost to death, though there wasn't a soul that knew what it was all
about, any more than I did.

Then Mr. Iwakura sat down and gathered his purple frock over his knees,
satisfied that he had done his duty, whether the rest understood it or
not.

Then they all drank wine till there was no let up to that sound of
militia firing and of running brooks, except when somebody was melting
soft-solder over somebody else, which they tell me, here in Washington,
is the high privilege of a stag party.

My opinion is that they are ashamed to compliment each other so broadly
when ladies are by, knowing that no crowd of females could be brought to
the pitch of glorifying each other after that fashion, or would stand it
to hear so much flattery wasted on a lot of men when they were by.

XLII.

IN THE BASEMENT OF THE CAPITOL.

Well, sisters, that chunky woman on the top of the great iron wash-bowl,
that some giant seems to have turned upside down on the roof of the
Capitol, has more to do than any other female I'm acquainted with, if
she can keep the flock of men they call Congress in any kind of order.
No wonder she has the look of the kitchen about her, and seem to be
carrying a bundle of soiled clothes on her head for a wash in the
clouds! for, of all the sloppy places I ever heard of, this grea