the late hot-bed of secession, differs in many ways from the other
tawny members. He is not only a genuine African, without a drop of
white blood to lessen the darkness, but he is a carpetbagger of the
Massachusetts persuasion. The first gun fired at Sumter opened the
way for this most astonishing spectacle of the nineteenth century.
Oh, the long, bitter, savage struggle between Massachusetts and
South Carolina! The Palmetto State flung down the glove when her
guns opened on Sumter. As fast as steam could travel Massachusetts
had her soldiers in Washington to pick it up. Cotton and rice went
under. Codfish and mackerel prevailed, whilst one man in the inky
covering of Robert B. Elliot represents both Massachusetts and
South Carolina on the floor of Congress. A shadowy halo of romance
surrounds this man, and it is very hard to sift the truth from the
hundred tales that are afloat concerning his origin and history. It
is said that he was educated in England and that he is familiar with
many languages, but none, so far, as we can understand, have heard
him converse in anything but his supposed mother tongue. Mr. Elliot
has been a resident of South Carolina since the war. He has a fine
English education, and is a lawyer by profession. At one time he
was editor of the _South Carolina Leader_, which he conducted with
ability and considerable eclat. It is thought by a great many that
he will lead the colored men in Congress. This may be so, but it
is well to remember that the fiery blood of the South flows in Mr.
Turner’s veins, and the probabilities are that the feuds between
Massachusetts and South Carolina will not be allowed to die for the
want of proper material to feed the flame. Mr. Elliot was a member of
the Republican convention, also a member of the legislature, where
he was chairman of the committee on railroads. At the present time
the subject of railroads is of vast importance to the people of South
Carolina. There is no possible way of making a thing of beauty and
a joy forever out of Mr. Elliot. If he were a British commissioner
or an African prince it would be all the same. Nature has fixed him
up according to her best ideas of a man, and it is evident that she
did not consult him or any other mortal in the matter. The New York
_Tribune_ says he is very fine looking “when his face lights up.” If
this is so, there is nothing to prevent him from procuring a patent
illuminator and becoming the handsomest man in Congress, unless
General Butler steals a march on him and appropriates everything of
the kind to be found for his own use. Mr. Elliot is reputed to be a
man of considerable wealth and much refinement; but you can no more
judge of his age than you could that of a porcelain egg.
OLIVIA.
BY THE GRACE OF THE QUEEN.
HER MAJESTY’S REPRESENTATIVES ON THE JOINT HIGH COMMISSION.
WASHINGTON, _March 17, 1871_.
To the modest suburban building temporarily occupied by the State
Department the eye of the country is directed. A cozy suite of rooms
are set apart in this same pile of brick and mortar, where a body
of men called the joint high commission meet in order to discuss
the little “unpleasantnesses” which have occurred from time to time
between two governments which have both pretended to be united
to each other by the most natural and fraternal ties. It is not
the object of this letter to disclose any of the secrets that are
caressed and embraced within those awful doors, vigilantly guarded
by locks and keys, but some of the ceremonies and forms observed, as
well as the dress and bearings of those in authority, may not come
amiss to the general reader.
As early as 10 in the morning carriages are seen rapidly approaching
the State Department. After depositing the distinguished human
freight the carriages disappear. We have the joint high commission
within the building. It may be thought that these men all enter the
same room, consult and measure red tape together. Far from any such
nonsense. The British commissioners go into a room by themselves; the
American commissioners betake themselves to another; and each country
talks to itself some two hours, more or less. Then the commissioners
of both countries adjourn to a room in the same building, where a
modest lunch of crackers and cheese is spread.
Then the joint high commission throat is deluged with the choicest
wines that have outlived the perils of an ocean voyage. This
performance safely over, the commissioners of both countries adjourn
to the same room, where Earl de Grey discourses for the British lion,
and Secretary Fish speaks in behalf of the American eagle, while the
remainder of the joint high commissioners keep “whist” as hunters in
search of the flying game. It will readily be seen that the English
commissioners have simply their instructions to carry out. There is
no free discussion between the members of both sides. Each side is
heard through its mouthpiece, and it is safe to say that no fault can
be found with the awful dignity of the joint high commission.
Somewhere between the hours of 4 and 5 in the afternoon this
distinguished assembly adjourns, and every evening in the week a
dinner party is waiting somewhere for the Englishmen. The writer
heard Sir Stafford Northcote say that the “social duties of the
commission were becoming the hardest part of the work.” Just as
the Hon. Reverdy Johnson was wined and dined in England, the royal
scions of nobility are treated here. One evening they are invited to
General Sherman’s to see the Supreme Judges; another evening we have
some other great and mighty man to show. Washington is determined
to astonish these men, if excellent dinners will do it; besides it
sounds well to point out to a morning visitor the very chair upon
which some of the bluest blood of England has graciously reclined.
Just as Queen Elizabeth used to select the right man for the right
position, her Majesty’s Government has made choice of the right
material for the right place. Like a wise woman, Victoria did not
trouble herself about beauty, but chose her men as the mother advised
her daughter when selecting a husband--for qualities that would
wear. In the first place, she looked around for a great lawyer on
international affairs, and selected her famous subject, Sir Montague
Bernard, the present professor of international law at Oxford. Sir
Montague Bernard has written a great many pamphlets on international
law, besides a lecture on diplomacy, and the history of British
neutrality during the late civil war. If by any sort of alchemy a man
could be evolved from that immaterial something that goes to make
English law, Mr. Bernard is the man. There seems to be just enough
body about him to confine his international matter, with nothing left
to love, hope, or die with. With a firm set mouth and peculiar voice!
How one longs to lift up the lids of his mind and see the click and
play of the awful machinery!
And now we come to the Earl de Gray, the spokesman of the commission.
An editorial in _The Press_ has already given the titles which the
centuries had constructed for this bit of earthy matter when it
should come along. The Earl has inherited four titles, two from
his father and two from his uncle, with large estates attached to
each. The reader is requested to study Dr. Mackenzie’s article for
all useful information, with the exception that the Earl was not
described as Knight of the Garter. It may be owing to Dr. Mackenzie’s
extreme delicacy in the matter, which is certainly most creditable
to his refined and sensitive sex; but when a member of the joint
high commission and a man who is said to belong to one of the first
families of England appears at the White House, at a dinner given in
his honor, with a garter tied around his left leg in plain sight of
the ladies present, without any effort on his part to conceal the
same, in spite of Dr. Mackenzie’s diffidence, this matter should
be carefully unwound. Earl de Gray wore to the President’s dinner
breeches that came to his knees, and these were met by black silk
stockings that, whilst they concealed, did not hide his finely
shaped lower extremities that leave off where his feet begin. The
stocking on his right leg kept its place apparently without exterior
fastenings; but the left was confined by a striped garter in black
and white, held together by a chaste and modest buckle. It is
true one of the lady guests was heard to inquire of another if she
supposed that his lordship had lost its mate, and when she was told
that the noble Earl had received this from the hand of his gracious
sovereign, because an English woman had dropped hers in the dance,
and that he wore it in deference to this sublime act, tears filled
the eyes of the inquirer and she could only talk of the Earl’s great
tenderness the remainder of the evening. The Earl de Grey married
his cousin, who is a late lady of the bed chamber to the Princess of
Wales. His only living child, Lord Goderich, is a young man, 19 years
of age, and he accompanies the commission to this country. There
is nothing in the personal appearance of Earl de Grey to indicate
that the root of the family has pierced the mould below the times of
Henry the First. He is a small man, with a head so large that he is
inclined to look top heavy, with features that would attract little
or no attention if they belonged to a Congressman. If he possesses
ancestral pride, he must have left it in bonnie England, for he is
distinguished above his associates for republican simplicity of
manners. Socially speaking, no words are equal to the situation, and
according to the description of our late countryman, Earl de Grey
must possess the elegant and dignified ways of Washington Irving. The
English nobleman was formerly a member of Parliament, was afterwards
appointed Under Secretary of War, in June, 1859, and Secretary of
State for War, in 1863, and subsequently for India, and retired in
1866, where he has rested until he was resurrected to do duty with
the joint commission.
The Right Hon. Sir Stafford Northcote, Henry of Hayne, County Devon,
Privy Councillor, Knight of the Bath, Doctor of Civil Law, Member
of Parliament from North Devon, Secretary of State for India, late
president of the board of trade, is the eighth baronet of that name,
and succeeded to his title the 17th of March, 1851. The book says,
“the great antiquity and high respectability of this family are
clearly proved, by an ancient and copious pedigree, preserved in
the College of Arms, accompanied by a great number of family deeds,
fines, wills, etc., to several of which are affixed their seals or
arms, which pedigree is continued down to the visitation of 1620,
in the reign of King James the First.” It will readily be seen that
it is a great blessing to any humble mortal to be born an English
nobleman. Earth, sky, and water interest themselves in his favor.
Offices of emolument and power hang ripe on the tree, awaiting the
time when he shall be old enough to shake gently the branches. Sir
Stafford has titles enough to take one’s breath away, but this fact
is gleaned from various sources of information. There is no danger
for some time of the baronetcy becoming extinct, as Sir Stafford has
seven sons. Sir Stafford represents the Tory element of England, and
is devotedly attached to the Crown. He is a fine type of the pure
Saxon, and with the exception of Sir Edward Thornton the handsomest
man of the number, if his size could be increased; but it is
noticeable in this commission that the older the family from which
the man sprung the smaller the size, which proves that even dust will
wear out.
Lord Tenterden, as near as can be ascertained, comes from a new
family, his father being the first nobleman of the line. The name
of Tenterden does not figure much in books of knight errantry,
consequently the reader’s attention is directed elsewhere in order
to study this important subject. My lord secretary to Her Majesty’s
high commission is rather a fine looking man, with large eyes, and a
beard which conceals the entire lower part of his face. He may have
a mouth somewhere concealed in the jungle of his mustache, but there
is no evidence, so far as we have seen, of any such aperture. He is
said to have a thorough understanding of English yachts, and it is
thought in Washington that he is on excellent terms with His Majesty
the Prince of Wales. It is his duty to record the doings of the high
commission, but as he brought along a man to do the work, his place
may be considered quite as ornamental as useful. But when he comes to
dinner parties the right man is found for the right place. With what
open arms his dear American cousins have received him! How they have
crammed him with shad and canvas-back! Alas! alas! he must feel like
a fat turkey at Thanksgiving time.
Sir Edward Thornton is well known in this country as the English
minister resident, and no man connected with the foreign legations is
more respected and beloved by our people. He came here an untitled
man, having served for many years in various diplomatic positions in
different parts of the world. At the time Prince Arthur was in this
country he came more immediately under the eye of his sovereign, and
she was so pleased with the treatment of her son, and remembering at
the same time her great obligations to him as a subject, that she
knighted him, and now we have in the place of plain Mr. Thornton,
“Sir Edward;” and well he becomes the title, not that he is any
different from plain Mr. Thornton, for Nature made him a nobleman
in the beginning, but the Queen, with her poor eyes, could not see
it until a royal sprig was a guest under his hospitable roof. After
all, the Queen only loaned him a title. It is buried when Sir Edward
becomes ashes. His boy will be plain Mr. Thornton, and all the better
for that. Minister Thornton, like the late Sir Frederick Bruce,
has a most distinguished personal presence, owing to his majestic
height and graceful manners. Then he retains that exquisite purity
of complexion for which the English belles are celebrated, and our
American climate, so conducive to parchment and wrinkles, labors upon
his handsome face in vain.
Sir John A. MacDonald is another of Her Majesty’s commissioners
whose title dies with the man. Sir John’s father was a merchant in
Kingston, Canada, who came to America when this son was only 6 years
of age. When only 15 years old the latter left school and began the
study of law. When 21 years old he was admitted to the bar; soon
after he turned his attention to politics, and in 1844 was elected
member for Kingston in the second parliament of United Canada. When
two years and a half in Parliament he was appointed a member of
the cabinet. During the time of our civil war there was agitation
in regard to the dismemberment of Canada. Sir John was one of the
strongest advocates for the union of the provinces. He was also a
leading participant in the secularization of the church property,
which dissolved the connection of church and state in Canada, and
in the adjustment of the troublesome seigniorial rights. In one of
his addresses he said: “The fraternal conflict now unhappily raging
in the United States shows us the superiority of our institutions,
and of the principle on which they are based. Long may that
principle--the monarchical principle--prevail in this land. Let there
be no ‘looking to Washington,’ as was threatened by a leading member
of the opposition last session; but let the cry with the moderate
party be: ‘Canada united as one province and under one sovereign.’”
Sir John has received his title for his devotion to the interests of
the Crown, as exemplified in the various delicate duties assigned to
him. In person he is above the medium height, with a regular cast
of features; and he has that frank, ingenuous manner not usually
conceded to such polished men of the world. Sir John is the only
member of the English part of the commission who brings his wife.
He tarries in the shadow of the aristocratic Arlington, but the
remainder of the commission are quartered at the superb Philip
mansion on K street, opposite Franklin Square, where, with a large
retinue of servants, dogs and horses, the fire of an English home is
kept burning. This house is one of the largest and finest private
residences in Washington. The extensive drawing room has a waxed
floor, relieved in sundry places by exquisitely finished velvet
rugs. Pictures of English landscapes look down from the lofty walls.
“I didn’t know they had such comfortable houses in this country,”
said one of the royal blood. “It must have been made expressly for
our use,” chimed another. It is simply an elegant American home,
planned by an English-born American citizen, who, out of deference to
his late countrymen, resolved that they should carry away from his
adopted country something sweet and savory in the shape of pleasant
recollections.
OLIVIA.
A DISSERTATION ON DRESS.
PROPER PROCEDURE FOR MEMBERS OF THE SELECT CIRCLE OF SOCIETY.
WASHINGTON, _March 18, 1871_.
In a social way the doors of the White House have closed for the
season. The beginning of Lent has heretofore marked the abrupt
decline of the star of Fashion, but this year the days of folly
have been lengthened, in consequence of the necessity of extending
hospitalities to the British part of the joint high commission.
Recent receptions may be compared to autumnal flowers trying to bloom
after the coming of frost. The carpets at the Executive Mansion begin
to show the result of the wear and tear of a winter’s campaign, and
a dingy pall seems to wrap all the other surroundings. Mrs. Grant
looks weary and worn, and, though her manner is kind and engaging as
ever, it is plain to see that she will be glad when this universal
handshaking is over. One becomes thoroughly exhausted in vain attempt
to feel satisfied with the foam and froth of Washington’s fashionable
dissipations. The same envy, heart burnings and petty jealousies
exist here as in monarchical courts. There may be a small quantity
of genuine comfort in a modern dinner party at the capital, and yet
there is room for grave doubts. Suppose you are invited to a dinner
at the White House; you must remember that every rule and regulation
is prescribed. When you receive your invitation you know exactly what
chair you will occupy at the table. Soon after your arrival you will
receive a card which will inform you which “lady” you are ordered to
take to dinner. This woman sits by your side. You are obliged to be
civil whether you are inclined to be or not. You are expected to say
solid, substantial things after the soup. You are expected to avoid
everything weak and watery after the fish. Sly and delicate humor
must be sandwiched between every course. Suppose this woman, though
good enough in her way, is exactly the one you would flee from if the
wind was fair, and the coast clear? There are women in Washington of
rare conversational powers; queenly in manners, and kind of heart;
but they are scarce, and the number can be counted without using any
number beyond the digits.
There is to be a fashionable crush or reception at the Cabinet
minister’s home. In order to keep it within the bounds of mathematics
cards of invitation have been issued. Is it possible that a Cabinet
minister means to pack his house so densely? Every available inch
of standing room is occupied. The stairs resemble seats in an
amphitheatre, with its tier of heads, one rising above another.
The lights in the showy chandeliers burn with that dim blue flame
sometimes noticed in mines down deep in the earth. There is a
faint, deathly odor of undying perfumes. The music sounds as though
it were afar off in the heavy atmosphere. If the mansion were a
prison, and the inmates therein wretches of high and low degree,
could the imagination picture a more horrible situation? But let it
be remembered that this medley is made up of silk, satin, lace and
jewels, snowy shoulders and distinguished men. Everybody is polite
and refined; wit sparkles, women laugh, and if one must be pressed
to atoms, no more charming death could be devised. Did the Cabinet
dame invite all these people to her hospitable mansion? Nay! Never!
She scattered abroad a suitable number of invitations. Some of the
people who received these cards took the liberty to ask a friend,
or perhaps more; and thus it will readily be seen that if many of
the invited guests take such liberties the company is doubled, and
sometimes quadrupled by the license usurped by what is called
“fashionable society in Washington.” The writer has known of an
instance where a member of Congress and his wife received cards for a
Cabinet reception. They attended, accompanied by nine guests by their
own invitation. The time will come when such entertainments must
be done away with. None but men of immense wealth can accept such
positions unless they have the fearlessness to emulate the simple
life of George S. Boutwell. And yet how can an honorable, high-minded
man accept legions of civilities and never have anything to offer in
return?
The social fabric of Washington is reared upon the foundation
prepared for it by George and Martha Washington. It was good and
excellent for those days, when the wise and prudent Martha, and the
wives of the Cabinet ministers, could return the visits of their
friends in a single day. More than three-quarters of a century have
gone, and society after that style is ready for the sickle. Last
winter the wives of the Cabinet ministers met in solemn council and
decided that visits would not be returned for the reason that the
sun and moon could not be made to stand still, and the days were not
long enough for the hundreds of demands made upon them. The most
beautiful, gifted, and accomplished woman in Washington shortened
her days in order to meet the insane, exorbitant demands made upon
her by the tyrant Fashion. Mrs. Belknap once said to the writer: “It
would not matter so much if I omit visiting a Senator’s wife, but it
would pain me exceedingly if any person thought they were neglected
on account of their obscurity. If I get well, this matter must be
explained, and I know the people will understand it.”
Heretofore the ladies who move in what is called Washington society,
with the exception of Mrs. Grant, have been expected to return their
calls. For the first time in social history, the Cabinet dames,
who are a law unto themselves, have decided otherwise. In a little
time the wives of the Senators will enact the same law, for they
are already beginning to feel their chains, and some of the boldest
assert that life is too solemn and earnest to be wasted in a giddy
whirlpool of dissipation.
Among the accomplished women no longer seen upon the topmost wave of
society may be mentioned Mrs. General Williams, better known as Mrs.
Stephen A. Douglas, and the elegant wife of Senator Sprague. Both
have known what it is to reign as “Queen of Beauty and Fashion,” and
both have retired before the noon of life to the substantial comforts
and enduring peace to be found only in the smooth waters of domestic
life.
The most perfect entertainments of the winter have been given at
the handsome mansion of Senator Chandler. A card reception at a
Senator’s residence partakes more of the nature of a private party,
consequently painfully crowded rooms are avoided. For this reason the
finest toilettes of the winter are brought out, because they can be
worn without danger of serious damage. The costliest dresses of the
winter have been sported by Mrs. John Morrissey and Mrs. Fernando
Wood. Mrs. Morrissey wore a black thread-lace dress, over heavy white
moire, with solitaire diamonds only for ornament, at the Corcoran
ball. Mrs. Morrissey has never been seen in general society in
Washington. A party given by the Chinese embassy, and Mr. Corcoran’s
entertainment planned to complete the Washington monument, as well
as to make the beau-monde merry and glad, are the only social places
known to the writer where the Hon. John Morrissey and his pretty,
unobtrusive wife have been seen.
The rarest dress noticed this winter has been worn by Mrs. Fernando
Wood. Take up your finest collar, my lady reader--“old point,” by
the way. Now imagine a whole dress, with any quantity of ferns and
palms running over it--waist, sleeves, skirt, all complete--with
pink silk underneath. Could anything more exquisite in the shape of
a dress be conceived? Stop a moment. Let us see! It certainly bears
inspection. Let us move away and examine it as one would a picture.
We are writing for a newspaper, and the truth must be told. It looks
at this distance as if Mrs. Wood had rolled herself up regardless of
expense in one of her own parlor window-curtains.
It is true that silk is worth its weight in silver the world over.
We might as well talk of cheap silver as cheap silk. When we buy a
heavy dress for a small sum of money we are paying for dye-stuff, and
the dye-stuff we buy very soon destroys the silk. But costly as the
article is with which we love to decorate ourselves, it is within the
reach of every industrious single woman in the country. It is worn
as every-day apparel by the fashionable women of Washington. When a
dress becomes too well known, or has lost its freshness, it is taken
for every-day wear. This is a great mistake for more than one reason.
By making silk so common it detracts from its elegance and beauty.
The only difference between a woman in full dress and when she is
not--in the first instance she wears a clean garment, and in the
latter, one that has seen the vicissitudes of life. Oh! blessed are
the charms of the laundry. Better all cotton than all silk.
Because silk is so common, fashion has decided that the superior
excellence or elegance of a woman’s wardrobe must consist in her rare
and costly laces. But against this extravagant innovation good taste
has set her face. A moderate amount of lace adds additional charms
to a handsome dress, but when we come to make the entire garment
of the material the effect is lost. Queen Augusta, of Germany, who
ranks next to Eugenie in matters pertaining to the toilet, prefers
tulle dresses to wear over her silks and satins. Sometimes these
are ornamented with field grasses, at least this was the case in
her younger years. In latter days her tulle garments are trimmed
with pearls. The most exquisite taste delights in simplicity. The
more barbarous a nation the more it revels in gorgeous and costly
ornament; but when every American woman lays her earrings aside
forever the tranquillity and peace of the Republic is assured.
OLIVIA.
MEETING OF OCCIDENT AND ORIENT.
RECEPTION OF THE IMPERIAL EMBASSY OF JAPAN BY PRESIDENT GRANT.
WASHINGTON, _March 4, 1872_.