following the death of steven decatur in a duel in 1820, just 14 months after the decaturs moved into the house, his widow, susan decatur, did, indeed, rent the house to a succession of european foreign ministers and american secretaries of secretary of state. in january of 1822, while the property was being rented to the french foreign minister to the united states, a man named thomas herbert presented a bill to susan decatur, and it was for erecting a building joining the house in president's square. now, this is the north side of the slave quarters today. whether the building constructed by thomas herbert in 1822 is this structure joined to the back of decatur house remains an open question, and it's under active investigation. i'll talk about that a little bit. this is the south elevation of that building, which faces an interior courtyard. well, susan and steven decatur did not register as slave owners in washington, d.c. we know there were enslaved men, women, and children living on the property by the late 1820s in the household of secretary of state henry clay, who was renting

madison, steven decatur and several other guests. ornamental palmettes were gilded as were the other greecian-inspired accents. here's the design latrobe came up with with, the palmettes. the walls were papered and, perhaps, brushed over with a light coat of fleck coach paint and the wood work was -- george bridgeport of philadelphia was employed to paint the ceiling and wood work. he was known for his subtlety in application. this box is actually mrs. madison's tea box. it was given by her to mrs. latrobe, so it's one of the only other things besides the bgilbet stewart that survives at the white house. this wallpaper was most likely to wallpaper used in the elliptical salon. when we come back to the painting again, you'll see this is actually used as historical reference. there's an inscription here from mrs. madison to mrs. latrobe. they'd known each other since infancy. mrs. madison was known to have spent most of her time working on her own parlor chamber than any other room in the house. also known as the antechamber where the

madison, steven decatur and several other guests. ornamental palmettes were gilded as were the other grecian-inspired accents. here this is a design that latrobe came up with the palmettes. and here it is coming straight out of an antiquity from one of the -- this is the arapacus augusta e in rome. the walls were papered and, perhaps, brushed over with a light coat of fleck coach paint and the woodwork was white shadowed to suggest masonry. george bridgeport of philadelphia was employed to paint the ceiling and the woodwork. he was known for his subtlety in application. this box is actually mrs. madison's tea box. it was given by her to mrs. latrobe, so it's one of the only other things besides the gilbert stuart that survives at the white house. it's on exhibit right now. what we've come to figure out from this is that this wallpaper was most likely the wallpaper that was used in the elliptical salon. when we come back to the painting again, you'll see this is actually used as historical reference. there's an inscription here from m