BETHESDA - Rep. Constance A. Morella had managed to stay composed in public, even as election results served notice that her eight-term congressional career would soon come to an end.

The maverick Republican, 71, whose campaign signs in the suburban Washington district read simply "Connie," had calmly stood up on election night and expressed her gratitude to supporters by quoting from Shakespeare: "For your great graces heaped upon me ... I can nothing render but allegiant thanks."

Yesterday, reflecting on her career at her campaign headquarters here, Morella said the quote may have been from the play All's Well That Ends Well.

But it actually comes from Henry VIII - which is fitting because, as Morella said, smiling through tears, "I guess it didn't all end well, did it?"

Morella was Maryland's only incumbent member of Congress who lost Tuesday, ending a 16-year run marked by a fervent dedication to serving constituents.

In her district, most of which is in Montgomery County, she may be known less for her positions than for helping people sort out problems with Medicare, with veterans' benefits, even with zoning. She says her office has handled more than 47,000 constituent cases over the years.

House veterans don't often lose. Morella learned yesterday that, for all the sting of an election defeat, there is one perk: You get to take a symbolic bow before your admirers as you leave the stage.

So as she fought disappointment, tears and a cold, Morella took time to receive thanks. In mid-afternoon, an aide plopped a manila envelope on a table with scores of e-mails from well-wishers.

"I will never forget how you called me yourself when I had a serious eviction problem," one e-mail said.

"I still remember going to the Rockville fireworks as a teen when you were first campaigning," said another.

"You and I have known each other for a long time," said a third. "You have helped my mother with several Medicare issues in the past three years and I truly thank you for that."

Later, Morella received telephone calls of condolences from former President Bush. His son, the current president, had called Tuesday night to express regrets - an effort that impressed Morella because, as she said, "I hardly vote with those guys [Republicans]."

At a news conference in Washington, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Thomas M. Davis III of Virginia said, "Connie Morella was beloved, whether you voted for her or not."

Morella, who said she won't run for the seat again, lost partly because state Democrats redrew her district's boundary lines after the 2000 census to add areas with concentrations of Democratic voters - particularly a portion of Prince George's County.

"I think redistricting did it," Morella said yesterday. "The die was cast."

Until two years ago, an aura of invincibility surrounded her. "Is She Unbeatable?" screamed the headline of a 1996 newspaper article previewing a race, which is framed in her office.

But in 2000, with redistricting looming, Morella received a scare when she only narrowly defeated Democrat Terry Lierman.

With a voting record more liberal than many Democrats, Morella had always managed to attract large numbers of crossover votes. But Lierman kept many Democrats on his side by emphasizing that control of the House of Representatives could be at stake in the election.

Leadership of the House was also a potent campaign theme for this year's victorious challenger, state Sen. Christopher Van Hollen Jr.

"I don't think the vote yesterday was about Connie Morella. It was about change," Van Hollen said yesterday. "Voters were looking for someone who was not going to quietly disagree with the Republican agenda, but fight it."

Republicans retained their hold on the House, and Morella was left frustrated that many in her district seemed to vote for a party instead of a person.

"How can someone say, 'You've helped me with my child and my wife and I like your issues, but I'm not going to vote for you?' There's some schizophrenia there," she said. "It's kind of spooky."

Sun staff writer Julie Hirschfeld Davis contributed to this article.