h would beam with joy whenever a
friend brought him a rare autograph or pamphlet.

Assemblies were held once a week between Christmas Day and Ash
Wednesday, to which all of the respectable ladies of the city who
danced were invited. It was also customary for those of the Cabinet
officers and other high officials who kept house to give at least
one evening party during each session of Congress, invitations for
which were issued. The guests at these parties used to assemble
at about eight o'clock, and after taking off their wraps in an
upper room they descended to the parlor, where the host and hostess
received them. The older men then went to the punch-bowl to
criticise the "brew" which it contained, while the young people
found their way to the dining-room, almost invariably devoted to
dancing. The music was a piano and two violins, and one of the
musicians called the figures for the cotillions and contra-dances.
Those who did not dance elbowed their way through the crowd,
conversing with acquaintances, the men frequently taking another
glass of punch. At ten the guests were invited to the supper-table,
which was often on the wide back porch which every Washington house
had in those days. The table was always loaded with evidences of
the culinary skill of the lady of the house. There was a roast
ham at one end, a saddle of venison or mutton at the other end,
and some roasted poultry or wild ducks midway; a great variety of
home-baked cake was a source of pride, and there was never any lack
of punch, with decanters of Madeira. The diplomats gave champagne,
but it was seldom seen except at the legations. At eleven there
was a general exodus, and after the usual scramble for hats, cloaks,
and over-shoes the guests entered their carriages. Sometimes a
few intimate friends of the hostess lingered to enjoy a contra-
dance or to take a parting drink of punch, but by midnight the last
guest departed, and the servants began to blow out the candles with
which the house had been illuminated.

In Jackson's first Administration the country was shocked by the
appearance of a book entitled, _The Domestic Manners of Americans_,
by Mrs. Frances Trollope. She was a bright little Englishwoman,
who had come to this country and established a bazaar at Cincinnati,
which proved a failure. So she sought revenge and wealth by a
caricature sketch of our pioneer life, founded on fact, but very
unpalatable. Expectoration was her pe