Prologue: A woman in the arena -- Miss Chase. "Qualified to ornament any society" ; "I shall strive to be first wherever I may be" ; "How short then is this life!" ; Belle of Columbus ; Belle of Washington ; Boy governor ; Mrs. Lincoln's rival ; Wedding of the decade -- Mrs. Sprague. "Imagine my disappointment" ; "Our accomplished countrywoman" ; "More unfitness day by day" ; "I am told that she actually controls the entire affair" ; "You have been most cruelly deceived" ; "I almost hate this man" ; "She's capable of hitting him" ; Some dared call it treason ; End of an era ; End of an empire ; "Intended by their creator for each other" ; "Mrs. Conkling is not here this winter" ; "The Now notorious outbreak" ; "The bird has flown" -- Kate Chase again. "A dinner with the queen" ; "As much alone as Cleopatra" ; Gilded Age woman ; Stalwart woman ; An unmarried woman ; An independent woman ; "What we have is good" ; "None outshone her".