remembered for the amusing error of her habitual greeting, "I am charming to see you"; John Gadsby, host of the National Hotel; Joseph Gales, who with Seaton owned the National Intelligencer; Howell Cobb, Secretary of the Treasury (1857-80); the two brothers, John A. and James C. King of New York, father and uncle respectively of Mrs. Bancroft-Davis; and Judah P. Benjamin, Senator from Louisiana, and subsequently Secretary of State under the Confederacy. During the Civil War this house was rented by the Government and used as offices. Subsequently it was acquired by General Edward Fitzgerald Beale, grandson of Commodore Truxton, under whom Decatur, first owner of the house, once served as midshipman. Here General Grant, after his retirement from the Presidency, stayed many weeks as guest of General Beale.

No. 22 Jackson Place, home of William L. Marcy while Secretary of War under Polk; later of Representative Newberry (Mich.); James G. Blaine, Sr., and Representative William L. Scott. It was occupied by President Roosevelt in 1902 during the remodeling of the White House, and hence was popularly known as the "Temporary White House." It is now the home of the Women's City Club (1600 members).

No. 20, former home of Charles C. Glover, a banker. No. 18, former home of William J. Murtagh who, in 1860, founded the National Republican, which staunchly supported the candidacy of Lincoln; later home of General Frank Steele. No. 16 (on N. side of Alley), former home of Major-General J. G. Parke.

No. 14, the Stockton-Sickles House, was the second dwelling erected on the Square. It was originally built prior to 1820, by Dr. Ewell, a Naval Surgeon, and was probably the birth place of the rebel General Ewell; subsequently it was occupied by three Secretaries of the Navy: 1. Smith Thompson (until 1823); 2. Samuel L. Southard (1823-31); 3. Levi Woodbury (1831-34). Other tenants were: I. Senator William C. Rives of Virginia, grandfather of Amélie Rives Chanler, the novelist; 2. Dr. Harris of the Navy. It was purchased by Stockton, a Purser in the Navy, and on his death by Daniel E. Sickles.

From the upper windows of this house Mr. Sickles' misguided young wife used to exchange signals with her lover, Philip Barton Key, at his club-house across the Park (p. 187). The gossip in this club presently reached the husband's ears; the wife's confession and the murder of Key promptly followed.

Subsequently Vice-President Schuyler Colfax resided here for many years, from the time he was chosen Speaker of the House in 1863.

No. 12, former home of Mrs. James Blair, daughter of General Jessup. No. 10, former home of Senator Arthur P. Gorman. No. 8, residence of Admiral Alden; then for many years the home of Major Henry R. Rathbone and his young wife (daughter of Senator Ira Harris), both of whom were in the box with the Presidential party on the night of Lincoln's assassination. It was Rathbone who grappled with

Booth, and received a thrust from the latter's dagger. Other tenants have been General N. L. Anderson and Senator Dolph.

No. 6, residence of: I. Mrs. Green, daughter of Admiral Dahlgren; 2. Col. William H. Philip. No. 4, former residence of John McLean, editor of the Cincinnati Enquirer. No. 2, former residence of Peter Parker, onetime Minister to China. From 1906 until 1910 it was the temporary home of the Bureau of American Republics.

Directly W. of the above mentioned house, on Pennsylvania Ave., are two fine old mansions: the first, No. 1651, a four-story, yellow sandstone building, is the Blair House, built in 1810 by Surgeon-General Joseph Lovell. From its windows were witnessed the burning of the White House by the British, and the flight of Dolly Madison. After Dr. Lovell's death the house was bought by Francis P. Blair, editor of the Globe, the official organ of the Jackson administration, and became a favorite rendezvous of Senator Benton, Van Buren, Levi Woodbury, Silas Wright, etc.

The Blair House was leased to George Bancroft, while Acting Secretary of War, and it was while living here that Bancroft gave orders for General Zachary Taylor to cross the Rio Grande and invade Mexico. Subsequent tenants were: John Y. Mason of Virginia, Secretary of the Navy under Tyler; and next Senator Thomas Ewing of Ohio.

Senator Ewing had, in 1829, adopted William T. Sherman, and secured him a cadetship at West Point. The Blair House, during Ewing's tenacy, was the scene (1850) of the marriage of Sherman and Miss Ellen Ewing. The ceremony was attended by President Fillmore and his Cabinet, Clay, Webster and other notables. Blair's son, Montgomery Blair, Postmaster General under Lincoln, inherited the house and occupied it many years.

The second historic house is No. 1653, the Lee Mansion, a three-story brick dwelling with mansard roof, residence of the late Rear Admiral Lee. Before the Civil War, General Robert E. Lee was a frequent visitor at both the Blair and Lee houses, and it is said that in one of them he received the offer of the command of the United States Army. Andrew Johnson resided here while Vice-President. The building is at present a Department of State Annex, occupied by the Office of the Foreign Trade Advisers.

Beyond the Lee Mansion, at the N. E. cor. of Pennsylvania Ave. and 17th St., stands the original CORCORAN ART GALLERY, a red brick structure on the French Renaissance order, with brownstone trim (James Renwick, arch.). The eleven exterior niches encircling the building at the second story level, were formerly occupied by statues of sculptors

and artists executed by M. Ezekiel. The building was completed in 1859, but not opened to the public as an Art Gallery until 1873, having been taken over during the Civil War for the Quartermaster General's Department. Note the initials "W. W. C." three times repeated, on the main facade and in the pediment a medallion portrait in bronze of William W. Corcoran. The building is now occupied by the

Court of Claims of the United States. This Court was established by Act of Congress Feb. 24, 1855, and has genera' jurisdiction of all claims founded upon the Constitution of the United States or any law of Congress (except for pensions), or upon any contract expressed or implied with the United States Government, or for damages where the plaintiff would be entitled to redress in a Court of law if the United States were suable. By recent enactments the Court of Claims has jurisdiction over certain specified claims arising from the late World War, and it is estimated that such claims will ultimately approximate $2,500,000,000. Famous claims adjudicated in this Court include such important litigation as that of the French Spoilations Claims and the claims arising out of the Civil War and the War with Spain.

Open to the public from 9 A. M. to 4 P. M. The Court room contains many portraits of famous American jurists. The benches still used are the same that were formerly in the original Hall of Representatives, and were once occupied by such statesmen as Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, John Randolph and John C. Calhoun.

IV. Sixteenth Street to Piney Branch Bridge

*Sixteenth Street, formerly called "The Avenue of the Presidents," runs northward from Lafayette Square and including its recent extension over Meridian Hill continues in a straight line to the District boundary about 64 miles. It is still one of the principal residential streets and contains many foreign legations, leading churches and other semi-public buildings.

At the N. E. cor. of H and 16th Sts. stands the quaint, stucco-walled structure of *St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church (Pl. II-C4), the second oldest church of that denomination within the former city limits of Washington. It dates from 1818, and has many historical associations, its attendants including not only the early Presidents, but a long line of cabinet ministers, members of Congress, army and navy officers and foreign diplomats. A special pew (one of the original large box pews, removed in 1842) was set apart "for the use of the family of the President for the time being, and not

chargeable with any rent." The Presidents who, during their term of office, worshipped here more or less regularly were: Madison, Monroe, John Quincy Adams (usually the afternoon service, attending in the morning the Unitarian Church, which he had helped to found), Jackson, Van Buren, Harrison, Tyler, Taylor and Fillmore. After this no other President became connected with St. John's until President Arthur, who presented the church with a memorial window to his wife, whom he had lost the previous year (see below). Among other distinguished attendants may be mentioned: Vice-Presidents Calhoun, Dallas and Morton; Chief-Justices Chase and Fuller; Secretaries of State Lewis Cass, William H. Seward, and Hamilton Fish, and several foreign ministers, including Lord Ashburton, Sir Henry Lytton-Bulwer, and Lord Pauncefote.

History: The cornerstone of St. John's was laid Sept. 14, 1815, by the Grand Lodge of Masons of the District. The edifice, designed by Benjamin H. Latrobe, one of the architects of the Capitol (p. 52), was completed early in 1816, the trustees were appointed on April 14 of that year, and the first vestrymen chosen on July 16, nearly all of them prominent figures in the local history of the city. They included: Thomas H. Gilliss, John Tayloe, James Thompson, John Graham, Roger C. Weightman, Peter Hagner, John H. Van Ness, and James Blake.

The church, as first erected, was a simple Greek cross; at the intersection of the nave and transepts stood massive pillars, from which sprang the cupola and lantern, while a graceful circular gallery subtended the north, west and south transepts. Four years later, the need of more space compelled an enlargement to Latin Cross, and the west transept extended almost to the building line on 16th St. Further alterations were made in 1842; and in the early eighties extensive improvements were undertaken, according to designs by James Renwick, including the enlargement of the chapel, the addition of a chantry and the instalment of 27 stained-glass windows. The seating capacity was increased to 780. In 1919 the church underwent a careful restoration through the generosity of the late Mrs. John Barton Payne (1857-1919), as a memorial to her parents (see tablet at W. end, S. of entrance door).

The above-mentioned series of *Memorial Windows constitute the church's chief ornamental feature, and were made at Chartres, France, at the famous studios of Mme. Lorin, Veuve. The subjects of these windows are as follows, beginning at the S. W. cor. of the nave:

Lower Series (S. wall of Nave): 1. Leonard Gift Window; Upper Medallion: The Entry into Jerusalem, St. John xii, 12-15; Lower Medallion: Christ Walking on the Sea, St. John, vi, 16-21; 2. Randall Memorial Window; Upper Medallion: The Baptism of Christ, St. Matthew iii, 13-17; Lower Medallion: Christ with Mary and Martha, St. Luke x, 38-42; (S. Transept): 3. Carroll Memorial Window; Upper Medallion: The Ascension, St. Luke xxiv, 50-51; Lower Medallion. The Adoration of the Shepherds, St. Luke ii, 15-20; 4. Memorial to Ellen Lewis Herndon Arthur (1837-80), Wife of Chester A. Arthur (gift of the President); Upper Medallion The Women at the Tomb, St. Mark xvi, 1-6; Lower Medallion: The Angels of the Resurrection, St. John xv, II-12; (Chantry): 5. Memorial to Rear-Admiral Joseph Smith, U. S. N. (1790-1877); Upper Medallion: St. Peter Attempting to Walk on the Water, St. Matthew xiv, 25-32; Lower Medallion: The Multitude before the Throne, Revelations vii, 9, 10; 6. Memorial to Charles Henry Crane, U. S. A. (1825-83); Upper Medallion: The Good Samaritan, St. Luke, x, 30-36; Lower Medallion: The Harpists, Revelations xiv, 1-2; 7. Memorial to Col. John J. Abert, U. S. A. (1788-1863); Upper Medallion: The Feast of the Passover, Jesus and His Disciples, St. Luke xxii, 7-14; Lower Medallion: The Annunciation to the Shepherds, St. Luke xi, 8-14; (Above Altar): 8. Three-paneled Window, the central panel being the Steele Memorial; The Last Supper; R. and L. panels are, respectively, the Lockwood and Wilkes Memorials (Rear-Admiral Wilkes, U. S. N.), consisting of ornamental glass with half figures of angels; (N. Transept): 9. The Blair Memorial: St. John's Window, the Titular window of the church; Upper Medallion: The Calling of St. John, St. Matthew iv, 21-22; Lower Medallion: St. John's Mission, St. John xxi, 20-23; 10. Memorial to Col. Joseph C. Audenried, U. S. A. (183780); Upper Medallion: The Marriage of Cana, St. John ii, 1-11; Lower Medallion: The Good Centurian, St. Matthew viii, 5-13; (Nave, N. side): II. Memorial to Peter Hagner (1772-1850), one of the founders of the church; Upper Medallion: St. John with his Emblems; Lower Medallion: The Angels before the Throne, Revelations v, 11-12; 12. King Gift Window; Upper Medallion: St. John at Island of Patmos, Revelations v, 6; Lower Medallion: The Crucifixion, St. John xix, 25-27.

Gallery Series: (Nave, S. side): 13. Memorial to Lieut.Gen. Winfield Scott (gift of Hamilton Fish); Upper Medallion: Pool of Bethesda, St. John v, 2-9; Lower Medallion: The young Christ among the Doctors, St. Luke, ii, 41-51; 14.