UNITED STATES AND CANADA 133 



high puffs at the shoulder, and the short waist belted 

 with a loosely tied sash. 



The throng was immense, keeping up until 

 nearly eleven o'clock. There were not half a dozen 

 Senators, and the Supreme Court was represented 

 by the Chief Justice. The resident families turned 

 out in honour of the occasion, and the gathering in 

 the Blue Parlour seemed like one in a private house. 

 Altogether the reception was a great success, both 

 in numbers and the brilliancy of the scene. Out- 

 side the snow fell lightly, and the lights streamed out 

 across the darkness. 



In the corridor upstairs there was a nice little 

 supper for the receiving party, their friends, and 

 those of the Cabinet after the reception ended. 

 Secretary Whitney and Secretary Bayard pro- 

 menaded the corridors. The conservatories were 

 open, and a great part of the company took a few 

 turns there. 



It was somewhere about this period that I made 

 the acquaintance of a Mrs. Amory, and went to tea 

 with her once or twice. She had a fund of amusing 

 anecdotes. I remember one she told me of an 

 erratic dancing-master in a class she had been in, 



