President's The President's Grounds consist of some eighty acres sloping down to the Potomac Flats. The immediate gardens were early attended to, as is shown by the age and size of the noble trees; but only lately has the more distant part of the grounds been set in order. This part, as also the park nearer the house (locally known as the White Lot) is open freely to the public, under the eye of policemen; and here, in warm weather, the Marine Band gives outdoor concerts in the afternoon, and the people come to enjoy them. At such times fashion gathers in its carriages upon the winding roads south of the mansion, and assumes the formal parade of Rotten Row or the Bois de Boulogne. It is here, too, on the sloping terrace just behind the White House, that the children of Egg-rolling. the city gather on Easter Monday to roll their colored eggs - a pretty custom the origin of which has been quite forgotten. Lafayette Square ought also to be included as practically a part of the President's Grounds. Admission to certain parts of the White House is almost as free to everybody as it is to any other of the people's buildings in their capital. Coming from Pennsylvania Avenue by the principal approach, along the semicircular carriage drive that leads up from the open gates, the visitor enters the stately vestibule through the front portico, from whose middle upper window Lincoln made so many impromptu but memorable addresses during the war. Here will be found doorkeepers, who direct callers upon the President up the staircase to the offices, and form visitors, who wish to see the public rooms of the mansion, into little parties, who are conducted under their guidance. The first public apartment visited is that on the left as you enter, occupying the eastern wing of the building and called the East Room. Doorkeepers. This, which was originally designed for a banquet hall, and so used until 1827, is now the state recep tion room. It is 80 feet in length, 40 feet wide, and 22 feet high, and has eight beautiful marble mantels, surmounted by tall mirrors. Its embellishments are renewed every eight or ten years, reflecting the changing fashion in decoration; but the crystal chandeliers, which depend from each of the three great panels of the ceiling (dating, with their supporting pillars from Grant's time) are never changed; and whatever the style, the profusion of gilding and mirrors 66 The "Every visitor is told," remarks Mr. E. V. Smalley, who explained these facts in The Century Magazine, 'that Mrs. Madison cut this painting from out of its frame with a pair of shears, to save it from the enemy, when she fled from the town [in 1814]; but in her own letters describing the hasty flight, she says that Mr. Custis, the nephew of Washington, hastened over from Arlington to save the precious portrait, and that a servant cut the outer frame with an ax, so that the canvas could be removed, stretched on the inner frame." The portrait of Mrs. Martha Washington is a modern composition by E. B. Andrews of Washington. A full-length portrait of Thomas Jefferson, also by Mr. Andrews, and one of Lincoln, by Coggeshall, also occupy panels here. The East Room is open to anyone daily from 10 to 2, but the other official apartments are only visible by special request, or when, at intervals, a custodian leads a party through them. Adjoining the East Room, at its southern end, is the Green Room, so named from the general color of its decorations and furniture, which are traditional. The tone is pale gray green. The ceiling is ornamented with an exquisite design of Green Room. musical instruments entwined in a garland with cherubs and flowers, and there is a grand piano. There are touches of gilt everywhere upon the ivory-like woodwork, and the rococo open-work in the tops of the windows, from which the curtains hang, is noticeable. Here hang several notable portraits. One of these is a full-length, by Huntington, President of the National Academy, of Mrs. Benjamin Harrison, which was presented by the Daughters of the American Revolution, of whose society she was president. Another notable portrait by the same artist is the full-length of Mrs. Rutherford B. Hayes, presented by the Women's Christian Temperance Union, commemorating Mrs. Hayes' courage in maintaining the cold-water regime at the Executive Mansion. Three other portraits are hung here by friends. One is of Mrs. James K. Polk; another, of the second wife of President Tyler, and the third, of the wife of Major Van Buren, son of President Martin Van Buren, known in his time as "Prince Harry." Blue Room. Next to this is the somewhat larger (40 by 30 feet) and oval Blue Room, which bows outward in the center of the colonnade of the south front of the building, and whose decorations are in pale blue and gold. The ornaments are presents from the French. The mantel clock was a present from Napoleon to Lafayette, and was given by the latter to the United States; and the fine vases were presented by the President of the French Republic on the occasion of the opening of the Franco-American cable. It is here that the President stands when holding receptions, the ceremonial of which is described elsewhere, and here President and Mrs. Cleveland were married in 1886. The Red Room, west of the Blue Room, a square room of the same size as the Green Parlor, has a more home-like look than the others, by reason of its piano, mantel ornaments, abundant furniture, and pictures, and the fact that Red Room. it is used as a reception-room and private parlor by the ladies of the mansion. The prevailing tone is Pompeiian red, and the walls are covered with portraits, as follows. A full-length of President Arthur, by Daniel Huntington, N. A. A full-length of Cleveland, by Eastman Johnson. A full-length of Benjamin Harrison, by Eastman Johnson, 1895. A half-length of James A. Buchanan. A half-length of Martin Van Buren, by Healy.. A half-length of Zachary Taylor, by Healy. A half-length of John Adams, by Healy. All these rooms open upon the corridor running lengthwise the building and separated from the vestibule by a partition of glass, which President Arthur prevailed upon Congress to order, to replace an old wooden one. "The light coming through the partition of wrinkled stained-glass mosaic makes a marvelously rich and gorgeous effect, falling upon the gilded niches where stand dwarf palmetto trees, the silvery network of the ceiling, and the sumptuous furniture." In this corridor hang several portraits of Presidents, including a full-length of Washington, by an Ecuadorian artist, Cadena of Quito, and presented by him; and of Polk, Garfield (by Andrews), Hayes, Fillmore, Tyler, Grant (by Le Clair), and Jackson--one of Andrews' early efforts. Many of the older ones are by Healy, who painted portraits of Presidents J. Q. Adams, Tyler, Jackson, Van Buren, Taylor, Fillmore, Polk, Pierce, Buchanan, Lincoln, and Grant. Each President is supposed to leave his portrait here. The State Dining-room is at the south end of this corridor, on the left, in the corner of the house. It measures 40 by 30 feet, and is in the Colonial style, the prevailing colors being a dull yellow, meant to light up warmly under gaslight. State Dining room. "The ceiling is surrounded with a frieze of garlands, about 31⁄2 feet wide, with medallions at intervals. From these wreaths and vines run to the chandeliers. Beneath the cornice is a heavy frieze about four feet in width, which blends into the wall, with garlands of native vines, leaves, and fruits. The general character of the work is known as 'appliqué relief,' which is produced by blending transparent colors on a light ground, the effect being greatly increased by the fact that the various colors and figures are 'edged up' in relief to imitate the corded or raised work in appliqué. State dinners are usually given once or twice a week during the winter, and are brilliant affairs. Lavish use is made of plants and flowers from the conservatories, and the table, laden with a rare display of plate, porcelain, and cut-glass, presents a beautiful appearance, forming an effective setting for the gay toilets of the ladies and their glittering jewels. The table service is exceedingly beautiful, and is adorned with various representations of the flora and fauna of America. The new set of cut-glass was made at White Mills, Pa., and is regarded as the finest ever produced in this country. It consists of 520 separate pieces, and was especially ordered by the Government for the White House. On each piece of the set, from the mammoth centerpiece and punch bowl to the tiny saltcellars, is engraved the coat of arms of the United States. The execution of the order occupied several months, and cost $6,000. The table can be made to accommodate as many as fifty-four persons, but the usual number of guests is from thirty to forty." The western door of the corridor leads into the conservatory, which is always in flourishing beauty; and opposite the state dining-room is the private or family diningroom, a cozy apartment looking out upon the avenue. The private stairway is near its door. A butler's pantry, a small waiting-room at the right of the vestibule, and an elevator complete the list of rooms on this main floor The basement is given up entirely to the kitchen, storerooms, and servants' quarters. The business offices of the President and his secretaries are on the second floor, at the eastern end, and are reached by a stairway at the left of the vestibule. At the head of the stairway sits a messenger who directs persons into the large anteroom, which is in reality a hallway of the house, and to the door of the office of the Secretary to the President, who occupies the corner room southeast. President's The President's office is next to that of his private secretary a large, plain, comfortably furnished room, lined with cases of books of law and reference. His great desk is at the southern end of the room, and the President sits with his back to the window, which commands a wide view down the Potomac. The massive oak table here is made from timbers of the Resolute, a British ship abandoned in the Arctic ice while searching for Sir John Franklin, in 1854, but recovered by American whalers; it is a gift from Queen Victoria. The Cabinet Room is next beyond, immediately over the Green Room — another plain, handsome, rather dark apartment, with a long table down the center surrounded |