They rose early in the morning, breakfasted and drove down to Cortlandt Street ferry to take the boat for Jersey City.
They caught the eight-thirty train in good time and without hurry.
Stuart found their baggage all right, waiting for them, checked it to Washington, and then entered with his companions into the ladies’ car, and the express train started on its Southern flight. Their journey was quick, pleasant and uneventful.
Early in the evening of that day they reached Washington.
Leaving their trunks in the baggage room at the depot, and taking only their hand-bags, they went to one of the best hotels, where they dined and engaged rooms for the night and the next day.
This was Palma’s first sight of the capital of her country, and Cleve determined to linger a few hours to show her the public buildings.
The next morning Stuart engaged a hack and took his two companions for a long, circuitous drive, which should include visits to the White House, the State, War, Navy and Treasury Departments and the Capitol. But these visits were necessarily short. There was no time to pay their respects to the President in the Executive Mansion, or to listen to the debates in the Senate Chamber or in the House of Representatives, or to the cases in the Supreme Court. They had to get back to lunch and then to take the train for West Virginia.
Two o’clock in the afternoon found them again seated in the cars and flying westward.
Up to this hour the day had been clear and mild, but now the sky began to cloud over, and when they reached Alexandria the snow began to fall, and as they left the old town behind them and the short winter afternoon drew to a close, the storm thickened, if that could be called a storm in which there was no wind, but a cataclysm of snow falling directly, silently and continuously upon the earth.
Strange scenes were traced on the window panes without, weird, beautiful, fantastic scenes—cities, palaces, gardens, trees—all drawn in frosted silver. They fascinated the imagination of Palma, who was never tired of gazing and dreaming. Little or nothing could be seen through the storm of the country over which they were flying.