Chapter Eleven
The immigrant tourists and the former soldier returned to the St. Nicholas Hotel that evening. As they entered the hotel, the front desk spied Karolina and waved her over. Karolina went to the front desk with a puzzled look on her face.
The front desk clerk said “A fine lady dropped this off for you,” as he handed a parcel to Karolina. “She said it was for this evening’s reception.”
Karolina took the parcel and went with her husband and children to their room to dress for the reception. She unwrapped the parcel and saw a beautiful gown that her friend Anna had promised her. She carefully unwrapped the gown being careful to smooth the wrinkles. She put on the gown and her husband said she looked beautiful. Her children did not …show more content…
The man was the former president, Van Buren, himself. Anna’s husband spotted them at their table from the bar and trailed by Sigel hurried to introduce himself, his wife and their guests to the former president. Van Buren bowed to the ladies and barely acknowledged the two men. Franz Sigel managed to approach him and inform him of his recent exploits in the Baden revolution. Van Buren only raised an eyebrow and turned to face the other men in a semi-circle around him.
“Mr. President, will you be continuing to support President Pierce and his policies on slavery?” A young man asked the former president. The short round former president guffawed and looked at the questioner with a keen eye while an older man next to Van Buren smirked and said: “President Pierce is not the future of the Democratic Party and my friend here knows nothing!” as he gestured at the young man. They all laughed, including the former president, realizing the pun, a reference to the “Know Nothing Party”, a nativist and an anti-Catholic political party founded in response to the influx of Irish and German immigrants becoming popular in New
The immigrant tourists and the former soldier returned to the St. Nicholas Hotel that evening. As they entered the hotel, the front desk spied Karolina and waved her over. Karolina went to the front desk with a puzzled look on her face.
The front desk clerk said “A fine lady dropped this off for you,” as he handed a parcel to Karolina. “She said it was for this evening’s reception.”
Karolina took the parcel and went with her husband and children to their room to dress for the reception. She unwrapped the parcel and saw a beautiful gown that her friend Anna had promised her. She carefully unwrapped the gown being careful to smooth the wrinkles. She put on the gown and her husband said she looked beautiful. Her children did not …show more content…
The man was the former president, Van Buren, himself. Anna’s husband spotted them at their table from the bar and trailed by Sigel hurried to introduce himself, his wife and their guests to the former president. Van Buren bowed to the ladies and barely acknowledged the two men. Franz Sigel managed to approach him and inform him of his recent exploits in the Baden revolution. Van Buren only raised an eyebrow and turned to face the other men in a semi-circle around him.
“Mr. President, will you be continuing to support President Pierce and his policies on slavery?” A young man asked the former president. The short round former president guffawed and looked at the questioner with a keen eye while an older man next to Van Buren smirked and said: “President Pierce is not the future of the Democratic Party and my friend here knows nothing!” as he gestured at the young man. They all laughed, including the former president, realizing the pun, a reference to the “Know Nothing Party”, a nativist and an anti-Catholic political party founded in response to the influx of Irish and German immigrants becoming popular in New