twenty minutes to three
Well , she cared nothing about that ; he was thirty years older than herself and married ; but she admired him and wished for his good opinion and to hear him talk . Doubtless they soon would meet again , and if they were left in conversation for a decent length of time she would ask him to call . She cast about in her mind for a subterfuge which would justify a note , but she could think of none , and was too worldly-wise to evoke a smile from the depths of a man 's conceit . Her mother refused to bid her good-by when , accompanied by her maid , she started for the Capitol at twenty minutes to three . A few moments later she found herself admiring for the first time the big stately building on the hill at the end of Pennsylvania Avenue . She always had thought Washington a beautiful city , with its wide quiet avenues set thick with trees , its graceful parks , each with a statue of some man gratefully remembered by the Republic , but she had given little heed to its public buildings and their significance . As she approached the great white Capitol , she experienced a sudden thrill of that historical sense which , after its awakening , dominates so actively the large intelligence .