pleasantly called, is, in fact, a collection of all classes of people
who choose to go to the trouble and expense of appearing in dresses
suited to an evening party. I am not sure that even dress is very much
regarded, for I certainly saw a good many there in boots.... Squeezing
through a crowd, we achieved a passage to a part of the room where Mrs.
Monroe was standing, surrounded by a bevy of female friends. After
making our bow here, we sought the President. The latter had posted
himself at the top of the room, where he remained most of the evening
shaking hands with all who approached. Near him stood the Secretaries
and a great number of the most distinguished men of the nation. Beside
these, one meets here a great variety of people in other conditions of
life. I have known a cartman to leave his cart in the street and go into
the reception-room to shake hands with the President. He offended the
good taste of all present, because it was not thought decent that a
laborer should come in a dirty dress on such an occasion; but while he
made a mistake in this particular, he proved how well he understood the
difference between government and society.”
The Monroes came to the White House after it had been restored after the
burning in 1814. It was barely furnished at that time, and contained but
few conveniences for entertaining. Mrs. Monroe brought furniture
directly from Paris, which she used for the East Room. This has been
frequently upholstered, and constitutes part of the handsome furniture
at the present time.
John Quincy Adams, the fifth President of the United States, was one of
the greatest men this country has yet produced. Repellant manners
injured his usefulness and obscured the luster of his great name. It is
said he could grant a request and thereby lose a friend, while Clay
could say “No” so kindly as to win a friend.
The life of Louisa Catherine Adams, wife of John Quincy Adams, is one of
surprising interest. She was the daughter of Joshua Johnson, of
Maryland, was educated and married in London, accompanied her husband to
the many different courts to which he was minister, and brought to the
White House a larger social experience than any of her predecessors.
She reestablished the stately ceremonials of the Washington period,
which greatly resembled the customs of the English Court. Among the
great men who frequented her levees were Webster, Clay, Calhoun, and
Andrew Jackson (the latter always in buff pants and vest with blue
broadcloth coat and gilt buttons).
Then came strenuous Andrew Jackson as President, with only the memory of
his beloved Rachel, who had passed away before he became Chief
Magistrate. She had been buried in the beautiful dress prepared for her
husband’s inauguration. A private letter yet extant gives this picture
of the days when Emily Donelson (wife of the President’s nephew) was the
chief lady of the land:
“The large parlor was scantily furnished; there was light from the
chandelier, and a blazing fire in the grate; four or five ladies sewing
around it; Mrs. Donelson, Mrs. Andrew Jackson, Jr., Mrs. Edward
Livingston, and others. Five or six children were playing about,
regardless of documents or work-baskets. At the farther end of the room
sat the President in an arm-chair, wearing a loose coat, and smoking a
long reed pipe, with bowl of red clay—combining the dignity of the
patriarch, monarch, and Indian chief. Just behind him was Edward
Livingstone, the Secretary of State, reading a despatch from the French
Minister for Foreign Affairs. The ladies glance admiringly now and then
at the President, who listens, waving his pipe toward the children when
they become too boisterous.”
Jefferson, Jackson, Van Buren, Tyler, and Arthur were widowers when they
entered the White House.
Van Buren was the Talleyrand of American politics. Secretary of State
under Jackson, he had won the heart of his chief, whose influence
secured him the Presidency. His son’s wife, Angelica Singleton Van
Buren, gracefully conducted the ceremonies of the White House during the
Van Buren administration.
General William Henry Harrison became President in 1841. His wife never
came to Washington. He died one month after his inauguration. It was
declared that he was worried to death by the fierce office-seekers of
the time. His was the first funeral from the White House.
John Tyler, who succeeded Harrison, was a polished, cultured gentleman
from Virginia. His was the literary period, when Washington Irving,
Edward Everett, and John Howard Payne received foreign appointments.
His first wife, Letitia Christian Tyler, made her first public
appearance at the White House at the marriage of her daughter. She died
in 1842. Eight months before Tyler’s term expired he was married to Miss
Julia Gardner, of New York. The festivities of the time began with her
wedding reception, and lasted till the end of that administration.
James K. Polk, of Tennessee, became President in 1845. He was rather
small physically, and so spare or thin that the tailor had to make his
clothing too large to help out his appearance.
Mrs. Polk much resembled in manners Martha Washington. She dressed well
and gave frequent levees, as receptions were then called. She received
her guests sitting, with the President standing by her chair. A
gentleman once said to her, “Madam, there is a wo pronounced against you
in the Scriptures: ‘Wo unto you when all men shall speak well of you.’”
In 1849 Gen. Zachariah Taylor was inaugurated as the twelfth President
of the United States. He lived sixteen months and five days after he
became President. His wife, Margaret Taylor, was an invalid, but his
daughter, “Miss Betty” as she was familiarly called, made the White
House attractive.
Millard Fillmore, of New York, elected Vice-President, became President
July 10, 1852. He was an eminent lawyer from Buffalo. His manners were
marked with great simplicity and affability. Mrs. Abigail Fillmore was
one of the few literary women who have presided in the White House. She
drew to her side the literary men and women of the nation, and her
receptions resembled the French _salons_ in their literary tone.
Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire, became President in 1853. He was a
shy, modest man, who could not cope with the strong men of the South,
who were even then preparing for secession. He was six feet high. His
coal-black hair and eyes gave him a most striking appearance. His wife,
Mrs. Jane Appleton Pierce, was not a strong woman physically, but
managed to discharge the duties of the White House with great dignity.
James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, became the fifteenth President of the
United States in 1857. The throes of the Civil War began in his
administration. He was a politician, not a statesman, and tried to suit
both sides, but ended by suiting neither. But the duties of the White
House were never more elegantly administered than while Miss Harriet
Lane, the niece of President Buchanan, presided. There are white-haired
diplomats living to-day who compare everything now done in the White
House with Miss Lane’s graceful administration. She had been much with
her uncle when he was minister at foreign courts, and they both had many
friends among the scholarly men of the legations, so that the White
House became the rendezvous of that class more than at any other period.
She received the Prince of Wales and his suite most gracefully, omitting
nothing which would add to the dignity of the occasion.
Jefferson Davis said: “The White House under the administration of
Buchanan approached more nearer to my idea of a Republican Court than
the President’s house had ever done since the days of Washington.”
Abraham Lincoln, “the noblest Roman of them all,” became President March
8, 1861. He is the greatest American that has yet lived. Washington was
the result of English influences, but Lincoln is the highest
representative of republican influences that has yet governed this
nation. A giant in stature, being six feet and four inches in height,
his grand physique was but a type of the great heart and strong
intellect of a great man. He was called to preside over this nation at
the most critical time in its history.
Mrs. Mary Todd Lincoln found it difficult to keep up the ceremonious
customs of the White House with a husband who followed no
conventionalities, but believed the Executive Mansion should be opened
at all times to every citizen. Mrs. Lincoln devoted much time to the
soldiers in the hospitals, and the White House conservatory was kept
stripped of flowers for the benefit of the wounded and sick.
Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, came to the Presidency on the death of Mr.
Lincoln in 1865. He was not wise in his judgments, and had he been more
amenable to men of experience in governmental affairs his life in
Washington would have been much easier. Time is revealing more and more
that his troubles were in a great degree the result of the jealousies
and disappointments of politicians. The sufferings of the people of the
White House during the days of President Johnson’s trials can never be
estimated.
Martha Patterson, widow of Senator Patterson, of Tennessee, and daughter
of the President, administered the social duties of the Executive
Mansion during Johnson’s administration, Mrs. Johnson being an invalid.
Mrs. Patterson said: “We are plain people from the mountains of
Tennessee, called here for a short time by a national calamity. I trust
too much will not be expected of us.” But sad as her heart must have
been in those days, she filled the duties of her high place to the
satisfaction of even the exacting great dames of the period. Andrew
Johnson’s lovely family are yet fondly remembered and deeply loved by
many who enjoyed the friendship of “the plain people from Tennessee.”
General U. S. Grant, of Illinois, became President in 1869, and his
administration was one long carnival of social duties and enjoyments.
Mrs. Julia Dent Grant and her accomplished daughter, Nellie, led the
society of the Capitol through eight brilliant years. The White House
was entirely refurnished, and the festivities were on a scale of
magnificence never equaled there before or since.
In 1877 Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio, became President. He came in at a
difficult and dangerous time, but his administration brought peace and
tranquility to the nation.
Mrs. Lucy Webb Hayes was noted for her plain dressing and strict
temperance principles, which she enforced even in the White House, much
to the disgust of the legations and to the delight of the Christian
people of the country.
[Illustration:
Cortelyou Payne Moody Hay Roosevelt Hitchcock Root Shaw Wilson
Knox
THE PRESIDENT AND CABINET
]
[Illustration:
Photo by Clinedinst
NEW ENTRANCE TO THE WHITE HOUSE
]
[Illustration:
Photo by Clinedinst
NEW WING OF THE WHITE HOUSE
]
[Illustration:
Photo by Clinedinst
SOUTH FRONT OF THE WHITE HOUSE
]
[Illustration:
Photo by Clinedinst
NORTH FRONT OF THE WHITE HOUSE
]
[Illustration:
Copyright by Clinedinst, 1903
NEW GRAND CORRIDOR—WHITE HOUSE
]
[Illustration:
Copyright by Clinedinst, 1903
NEW STATE DINING-ROOM—WHITE HOUSE
]
[Illustration:
Photo by Clinedinst
MOUNT VERNON—FROM SOUTH LAWN
]
[Illustration:
Photo by Clinedinst
TOMB OF WASHINGTON—MOUNT VERNON
]
[Illustration:
Photo by Clinedinst
HOME OF GENERAL LEE
]
[Illustration:
Photo by Clinedinst
MONUMENT TO THE UNKNOWN DEAD, ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
]
[Illustration:
Photo by Clinedinst
THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT
]
James A. Garfield, of Ohio, became President in 1881. His life in the
White House from March to September, 1881, scarcely gave time to show
what the social life in Washington would have been had he lived to
complete his term. His assassination cast a gloom over the social life
for a full year after Chester A. Arthur became the Executive. He served
to the end of the term, in 1885. President Arthur being a widower, the
hostess of the White House during his term was his accomplished sister,
Mrs. Mary Arthur McElroy.
Grover Cleveland, of New York, became President in 1885. The Republican
party had been in power for twenty-five years, and when Mr. Cleveland
was elected the change of officers was as great as in the days of Andrew
Jackson. Cleveland was a man of the highest integrity and the most
unfaltering courage, so that the change proved beneficial to the entire
land.
Miss Rose Elizabeth Cleveland, sister of the President, presided at the
White House until his marriage, June 2, 1886, to Miss Frances Folsom,
who became, next to Dolly Madison, the most popular woman who ever
entertained in the historic old house.
In March, 1889, Benjamin Harrison became Chief Magistrate. The first
Mrs. Harrison was a woman experienced in Washington society, and was
much loved by a very large circle.
In 1893 Grover Cleveland again became President, and in 1897 William
McKinley, probably the best-loved man by the people of any President
since the days of Mr. Lincoln.
Mrs. McKinley, altho an invalid, with the assistance of her nieces, kept
up the reputation and social festivities of the White House.
Theodore Roosevelt became President of the United States in September,
1901.
What a goodly company they are, our Presidents and their families! No
scenes of unseemly revelry or base debauchery such as so often disgrace
the courts of Europe mar the reputation of this stately company.
“Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”
XXIX
INTERESTS IN WASHINGTON WHICH CAN NOT HERE BE FULLY DESCRIBED
In the third story of the Congressional Library strangers can find two
papier-maché models which are of great interest. One represents the City
of Washington in 1902, the other represents the Washington of the
future.
Congress has called the great engineers of the War Department and four
of the leading artists of the United States as a committee on civic
improvement for the capital city. The artists are: Mr. Daniel H.
Burnham, of Chicago; Mr. John C. Olmstead, the noted landscape artist;
Mr. Charles F. McKim, and Mr. Augustus St. Gaudens.
By the plans the public buildings of the future will be arranged around
Capitol Square (which has now two sides occupied by private residences),
and will then extend on both sides the mall, or flat, low-lying district
1,600 feet in width, extending from the Capitol building to the Potomac,
a distance of one and a half miles, and inclosing the Washington
monument. The buildings are all to be of white marble, harmonious in
design, and with a standard sky-line. The latter feature is not pleasing
in effect in the model. The Pennsylvania Railroad will give up the
location of the present depot, and join with the B. & O. in a union
depot near the site occupied by the latter.
At the front of Capitol Hill will be Union Square, where the statues of
war heroes will be grouped. The streets from that point to the
Washington monument will have four rows of trees on each side. A great
theater, gymnasium, lakes, fountains, and baths will remind one of
ancient Rome. A magnificent memorial to Abraham Lincoln will be placed
south of the Washington monument. Obelisks and arches which have been
used as memorials from the earliest ages will form part of the
ornamentation. People smile over this wonderful design, but if from now
on all public work is done under this intelligent supervision even one
hundred years may make the dream of these artists a glorious reality.
Not a lamp-post will go up in this new day, not a business sign will be
displayed without the approval of this art commission.
Designs for private houses as well as business houses must be made to
harmonize with the landscape and other buildings which already exist.
“May we all be here to see.”
Among the buildings and objects of interest which can not here be fully
described, nor their histories elaborated, is the Ben Butler building on
Capitol Square, where President Arthur made his home while the White
House was being repaired.
There is also the old Capitol or Capitol Square (now numbered 21, 23,
25), which was used by Congress after the British had destroyed the
Capitol in 1814. These buildings were used as a military prison during
the Civil War, and here Wirtz, of Andersonville prison memory, was
executed. In one of them died John C. Calhoun.
[Illustration:
CHARLOTTE CORDAY
(_One of the paintings in the Corcoran Art Gallery_)
]
The Washington monument, nearly six hundred feet high, is said to be the
highest monument in the world. It was erected in memory of George
Washington. This grand structure is of pure white marble. From the top
there is a magnificent view of the surrounding country. The monument,
however, has suffered from the disintegrating effects of the weather,
and from the ruthless hands of the relic-hunters. The majestic
appearance of the monument grows upon the beholder, and its pearly
whiteness reminds him of the character of Washington, which grows fairer
in the mellowing light of history.
Arlington Cemetery should be visited by the pilgrim to Washington. There
sleep many of the sacred dead of the nation, and there is the home of
Robert E. Lee, where he was called to decide between his country as a
whole or his native state.
Around Lafayette Square, which faces the White House, history, poetry,
romance, and chivalry have twined an immortal wreath. Every monument
commemorates a hero. Here, too, is the old private residence of Dolly
Madison, the old home of the British Embassy, where Owen Meredith wrote
“Lucile”; also the Webster home, where once lived the French Embassy;
and St. John’s Episcopal Church, where many Presidents have worshiped.
Here Webster, Sumner, and Slidell lived at different periods. The old
Decatur house stands on this square. The Admiral had a window cut
through, so that he could signal the President in the White House. They
missed the telephone. On this square lived Diaz, of Mexico; here Don
Cameron and Blaine each lived in the same house, now occupied by Senator
Hanna. On the north side is the handsome residence of Secretary of State
John Hay.
Georgetown, named after George III. of England, is much older than
Washington City. The stories of its former grandeur and its
distinctively Southern tone make it a quaint object of interest. Its
most interesting literary shrine is the home of Mrs. E. D. E. N.
Southworth, the novelist, who wrote one novel for each year of her long
life.
The Corcoran Art Gallery, on Seventeenth Street, extending from New York
Avenue to E Street, just southwest of the White House, has many objects
of interest both in painting and sculpture.
No traveler should fail to visit Mount Vernon, the home of George and
Martha Washington. The house was built in 1783 by Lawrence, half-brother
of General Washington. The rooms seem small and cramped, according to
our modern ideas, but they were the stage upon which lived and loved two
names of sacred memory. The buildings are in the custody of the ladies
of the Mount Vernon Association, and the care of each room is in charge
of some one State.
The United States Naval Observatory, north of Georgetown, will interest
lovers of astronomy, while every square, circle, and triangle of
Washington City has some reminder of those whose heroic deeds, spiritual
devotion, or literary and scientific achievement have beautified,
ennobled, and glorified the world, and made it more beautiful because of
their lives.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
1. Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in
spelling.
2. Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed.
3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.