WASHINGTON IN THE FORTIES
My first visit to Washington was in 1845. I started from New York at
eight o'clock in the morning and reached Philadelphia late the same
afternoon. I broke the journey by spending the night at Jones's Hotel in
the lower part of the city, which was the usual stopping place of
travelers who made this trip. A few years later when the journey from
New York to Washington was made in twelve hours, it was thought that
almost a miracle had been performed.
Mrs. Winfield Scott in 1855 characterized the National Capital as "an
ill-contrived, ill-arranged, rambling, scrambling village"; and it was
certainly all of that when I first saw it. It is not improbable that the
cause of this condition of affairs was a general feeling of uncertainty
as to whether Washington would remain the permanent seat of government,
especially as the West was naturally clamoring for a more centrally
located capital. When I first visited the city the ubiquitous
real-estate agent had not yet materialized, and corner lots, now so much
in demand, could be purchased at a small price. Taxation was moderate
and Congress, then as now, held itself responsible for one-half of the
taxes. As land was cheap there was no necessity for economy in its use,
and spacious fronts were built regardless of back-buildings. In other
cases, when one's funds were limited, the rear of the house was first
built and later a more imposing front was added. The contrast between
the houses of New York, built closely together in blocks, and those in
Washington, with the abundant space around them, was a great surprise
to me. Unlike many other cities, land in Washington, then, as now, was
sold and taxed by the square foot.
My elder sister Fanny had married Charles Eames, Esq., of the Washington
Bar, and my visit was to her. Mr. Eames entered Harvard in 1827 when
less than sixteen years of age, and was a classmate of Wendell Phillips
and of John Lothrop Motley, the historian. The distinguished Professor
of Harvard University, Andrew P. Peabody, LL.D., in referring to him
many years after his death said that he was "the first scholar of his
class, and was regarded as a man of unlimited power of acquisition, and
of marked ability as a public speaker." After leaving Harvard he studied
law, but ill health prevented him from practicing his profession. He
accompanied to Washington George Bancroft, President Polk's Secretary of
the Navy, by whom he was made principal correspondence clerk of the Navy
Department. He remained there but a few months when he became associate
editor of _The Washington Union_ under the well-known Thomas Ritchie,
usually known as "Father Ritchie." He was subsequently appointed by Polk
a commissioner to negotiate a treaty with the Hawaiian Islands, and took
passage upon the U.S. Frigate _Savannah_ and sailed, by way of Cape
Horn, for San Francisco. He unexpectedly found awaiting his arrival in
that city Dr. Gerrit P. Judd, Prime Minister of the King, with two young
Hawaiian princes. After the treaty was made, he returned east and for
six months edited _The Nashville Union_, when he again assumed charge of
_The Washington Union_. President Pierce subsequently appointed him
Minister to Venezuela, where he remained until 1859, and then returned
to Washington, where he practiced his profession for the remainder of
his life. It was while arguing an important case before the Supreme
Court that he was stricken, and he died on the 16th of March, 1867. He
sustained a high reputation as an admiralty lawyer as well as for his
knowledge of international jurisprudence. I have now before me a letter
addressed to his widow by Wendell Phillips only three days after his
death. It is one of the valued possessions of Mr. Eames's daughter, who
is my niece and the wife of that genial Scotchman, Alexander Penrose
Gordon-Cumming. It reads:
QUINCY, Illinois, March 19, 1867.
My dear friend,
I have just crossed from the other side of the Mississippi,
and am saddened by learning from the papers my old and dear
friend's death.
The associations that bind us together go back many, many
years. We were boys together in sunny months full of frolic,
plans and hopes. The merriment and the seriousness, the toil
and the ambition of those days all cluster round him as
memory brings him to me in the flush of his youth. I have
seen little of him of late years, as you know, but the roots
of our friendship needed no constant care; they were too
strong to die or wilt, and when we did meet it was always
with the old warmth and intimacy. I feel more alone in the
world now he has gone. One by one the boy's comrades pass
over the river and life loses with each some of its
interest.
I was hoping in coming years, as life grew less busy, to see
more of my old playmate, and this is a very unexpected blow.
Be sure I sympathize with you most tenderly, and could not
resist the impulse to tell you so. Little as we have met, I
owe to your kind and frank interest in me a sense of very
warm and close relation to you--feel as if I had known you
ever so many years. I hope our paths may lead us more
together so that I may learn to know you better and gather
some more distinct ideas of Eames' later years. All his
youth I have by heart.
With most affectionate regards believe me
Very faithfully yours,
WENDELL PHILLIPS.
Mrs. Eames.
I think women never fully realize the strange tenderness
with which men cling to college mates. No matter how much
opinions or residence separate grown-up men, to have been
classmates is a tie that like blood never loosens. Any man
that has a heart feels it thrill at the sight of one of
_those_ comrades. Later friendships may be close, never so
tender--this makes boys of us again at any moment.
Unfamiliar tears obey its touch, and a singular sense of
loneliness settles down on survivors--Good-bye.
The young Hawaiian princes to whom I have just referred and who, by the
way, were mere boys, accompanied Dr. Judd to New York where my younger
brother, Malcolm, thinking he might make the acquaintance of some genial
playmates, called to see them. Upon his return from his visit his only
criticism was, "those dusky princes certainly give themselves airs."
My sister, Mrs. Eames, lived in a house on G Street near Twenty-first
Street in what was then known as the First Ward. This general section,
together with a part of Indiana Avenue, some portions of Capitol Hill,
Sixth and Seventh Streets, and all of that part of the city bounded on
the north by K Street, on the south by Pennsylvania Avenue, and westward
of Fourteenth Street to Georgetown, was at this time the fashionable
section of the city. Like many other places in its formative period,
Washington then presented the picture of fine dwelling houses and
shanties standing side by side. I remember, for example, that as late as
1870 a fine residence on the corner of I and Fifteenth Streets was
located next to a small frame house occupied by a colored undertaker.
The latter's business was prosperous, but his wealthy neighbor objected
to the constant reminder of death caused by seeing from his fine bay
window the numerous coffins carried in and out. He asked the undertaker
to name his price for his property, but he declined, and all of his
subsequent offers were ignored. Finally, after several years' patient
waiting, during which offer after offer had been politely but positively
rejected, the last one being an almost princely sum, the owner sold his
home and moved away, leaving his humble neighbor in triumphant
possession. This is simply a fair example of the conditions existing in
Washington when I first knew it.
Two rows of houses on Pennsylvania Avenue, known as the "Six and Seven
Buildings," were fashionable dwellings. Admiral David D. Porter, then a
Lieutenant in the Navy, occupied one of them. Miss Catharine L. Brooke
kept a girls' school in another, while still another was the residence
of William Lee of Massachusetts. I have been informed that while serving
in a consular office abroad, under the appointment of President Monroe,
Mr. Lee was commissioned by him to select a dinner set for the White
House.
Architects, if I remember correctly, were almost unknown in Washington
at this time. When a person was sufficiently venturesome to build a
house for himself, he selected a residence suited to his tastes and
directed a builder to erect one like it. Speculative building was
entirely unknown, and if any resident of the District had embarked upon
such a venture he would have been regarded as the victim of a vivid but
disordered fancy.
Mrs. C. R. Latimer kept a fashionable boarding house in a large brick
dwelling facing Lafayette Square where the Belasco Theater now stands.
Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton Fish boarded with her while the former was a
Representative in Congress, and Mr. and Mrs. Sanders Irving, so well and
favorably known to all old Washingtonians, also made this house their
home. Many years later it was the residence of William H. Seward, and he
was living there when the memorable attempt was made in 1865 to
assassinate him. As is well known, it subsequently became the home of
James G. Blaine. When Hamilton Fish was elected to the Senate, he
purchased a house on H Street, between Seventeenth and Eighteenth
Streets, which was afterwards known as the "Porter house." Previously
it had been owned and occupied by General "Phil" Kearny.
The shops of Washington in 1845 were not numerous, and were located
chiefly upon Pennsylvania Avenue, Seventh Street then being a
residential section. The most prominent dry-goods store was kept by
Darius Clagett at the corner of Ninth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
Mr. Clagett, invariably cordial and courteous, always stood behind his
counter, and I have had many pleasant chats with him while making my
purchases. Although he kept an excellent selection of goods, it was
usually the custom for prominent Washington folk to make their larger
purchases in Baltimore. A little later Walter Harper kept a dry-goods
store on Pennsylvania Avenue, near Eighth Street, and some years later
two others appeared, one kept by William M. Shuster on Pennsylvania
Avenue, first between Seventh and Eighth Streets, and later between
Ninth and Tenth; and the other by Augustus and Thomas Perry on the
corner of Ninth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. Charles Demonet, the
confectioner, made his appearance a little later on Pennsylvania Avenue,
between Seventeenth and Eighteenth Streets; but Charles Gautier, on
Pennsylvania Avenue, between Twelfth and Thirteenth Streets, was his
successful rival and was regarded more favorably in aristocratic
circles. Madame Marguerite M. Delarue kept a shop on the north side of
the same avenue, also between Twelfth and Thirteenth Streets, where
small articles of dress dear to the feminine heart could be bought.
There were several large grocery stores on the south side of
Pennsylvania Avenue, between Sixth and Seventh Streets. Benjamin L.
Jackson and Brother were the proprietors of one and James L. Barbour and
John A. Hamilton of another, although the two latter had their business
house at an earlier day on Louisiana Avenue. Louis Vavans was the
accomplished cook and caterer, and sent to their rooms the meals of
many persons temporarily residing in Washington. Joseph Redfern, his
son-in-law, kept a grocery store in the First Ward. Franck Taylor, the
father of the late Rear Admiral Henry C. Taylor, U.S.N., was the
proprietor of a book store on Pennsylvania Avenue, near Four-and-a-Half
Street, where many of the scholarly men of the day congregated to
discuss literary and current topics. His store had a bust of Sir Walter
Scott over its door, and he usually kept his front show-windows closed
to prevent the light from fading the bindings of his books. The Center
Market was located upon the same site as at present, but of course it
has since been greatly enlarged and improved. All the stores on
Louisiana Avenue sold at retail. I remember the grocery store of J.
Harrison Semmes on Ninth Street and Louisiana Avenue, opposite the
Center Market; and the hardware store kept by Joseph Savage on
Pennsylvania Avenue, between Sixth and Seventh Streets, and at another
time between Third and Fourth Streets.
On Fifteenth Street opposite the Treasury was another well-known
boarding house, conducted by Mrs. Ulrich and much patronized by members
of the Diplomatic Corps. Willard's Hotel was just around the corner on
the site of the New Willard, and its proprietor was Caleb Willard.
Brown's Hotel, farther down town, on Pennsylvania Avenue and Sixth
Street, was a popular rendezvous for Congressional people. It was first
called the Indian Queen, and was kept by that prince of hosts, Jesse
Brown. After his death the name was changed to the Metropolitan.
The National Hotel on the opposite corner was the largest hostelry in
Washington. It boasted of a large Southern _cliéntèle_, and until
President Buchanan's administration enjoyed a very prosperous career.
Subsequent to Buchanan's inauguration, however, a mysterious epidemic
appeared among the guests of the house which the physicians of the
District failed to satisfactorily diagnose. It became commonly known as
the "National Hotel disease," and resulted in numerous deaths. A notice
occasionally appeared in the current newspapers stating that the
deceased had died from this malady. Mrs. Robert Greenhow, in her book
published in London during the Civil War, entitled "My Imprisonment and
the First Years of Abolition Rule at Washington," attributes the
epidemic to the machinations of the Republicans, who were desirous of
disposing of President Buchanan. John Gadsby was its proprietor at one
time, from whom it usually went by the name of "Gadsby's." President
Buchanan was one of its guests on the eve of his inauguration.
When I first knew Washington, slavery was in full sway and, with but few
exceptions, all servants were colored. The wages of a good cook were
only six or seven dollars a month, but their proficiency in the culinary
art was remarkable. I remember once hearing Count Adam Gurowski, who had
traversed the European continent, remark that he had never anywhere
tasted such cooking as in the South. The grace of manner of many of the
elderly male slaves of that day would, indeed, have adorned a court.
When William L. Marcy, who, although a master in statesmanship and
diplomacy, was not especially gifted in external graces, was taking
final leave of the clerks in the War Department, where as Secretary he
had rendered such distinguished services under President Polk, he shook
hands with an elderly colored employee named Datcher, who had formerly
been a body servant to President Monroe, and said: "Good-bye, Datcher;
if I had had your manners I should have left more friends behind me."
Some years later, and after my marriage into the Gouverneur family, I
had the good fortune to have passed down to me a venerable colored man
who had served my husband's family for many years and whose name was
"Uncle James." His manner at times was quite overpowering. On entering
my drawing-room on one occasion to greet George Newell, brother-in-law
and guest of ex-Governor Marcy, I found him seated upon a sofa and
apparently engaged in a "brown study." Referring at once to "Uncle
James," he inquired: "Who is that man?" Upon my replying, "An old family
servant," he remarked: "Well, he is the most polite man I have ever
met."
Some years later my sister, Mrs. Eames, moved into a house on the corner
of H and Fourteenth Streets, which she and her husband had built and
which she occupied until her death in 1890. I naturally shrink from
dwelling in detail upon her charm of manner and social career, and
prefer rather to quote an extract from a sketch which appeared in one of
the newspapers just after her death:
... During the twenty-eight years of her married life in
Washington Mrs. Eames's house was one of the favorite
resorts of the most conspicuous and interesting men of the
nation; it was a species of neutral ground where men of all
parties and shades of political opinion found it agreeable
to foregather. Though at first in moderate circumstances and
living in a house which rented for less than $300 a year,
there was no house in Washington except, perhaps, the
President's, where one was sure of meeting any evening
throughout the year so many people of distinction.
[Illustration: MRS. CHARLES EAMES, NEÉ CAMPBELL, BY GAMBADELLA.
_Owned by Mrs. Gordon-Cumming._]
Mr. and Mrs. Marcy were devoted to Mrs. Eames; her _salon_
was almost the daily resort of Edward Everett, Rufus Choate,
Charles Sumner, Secretary [James] Guthrie, Governor [John
A.] Andrews of Massachusetts, Winter Davis, Caleb Cushing,
Senator Preston King, N.P. Banks, and representative men of
that ilk. Mr. [Samuel J.] Tilden when in Washington was
often their guest. The gentlemen, who were all on the most
familiar terms with the family, were in the habit of
bringing their less conspicuous friends from time to time,
thus making it quite the most attractive _salon_ that has
been seen in Washington since the death of Mrs. Madison, and
made such without any of the attractions of wealth or
luxury.
The relations thus established with the public men of the
country at her fireside were strengthened and enriched by a
voluminous correspondence. Her father, who was a very
accomplished man, had one of the largest and choicest
private libraries in New York, of which, from the time she
could read, Mrs. Eames had the freedom; in this library she
spent more time than anyone else, and more than anywhere
else, until her marriage. As a consequence, it is no
disparagement to any one else to say that during her
residence there she was intellectually quite the most
accomplished woman in Washington. Her epistolary talent was
famous in her generation.
Her correspondence if collected and published would prove to
have been not less voluminous than Mme. de Sevigné's and, in
point of literary art, in no particular inferior to that of
the famous French woman.
After three or four months spent in Washington, I returned to my home in
New York; and several years later, in the spring of 1848, suffered one
of the severest ordeals of my life. I refer to my father's death. No
human being ever entered eternity more beloved or esteemed than he, and
as I look back to my life with him I realize that I was possibly more
blessed than I deserved to be permitted to live with such a well-nigh
perfect character and to know him familiarly. From my earliest childhood
I was accustomed to see the sorrowing and oppressed come to him for
advice. He was especially qualified to perform such a function owing to
his long tenure of the office of Surrogate. Widows and orphans who could
not afford litigation always found in him a faithful friend. With a
capacity of feeling for the wrongs of others as keenly as though
inflicted upon himself, his sympathy invariably assumed a practical form
and he accordingly left behind him hosts of sorrowing and grateful
hearts. A short time before his death I visited a dying widow, a devoted
Roman Catholic, whom from time to time my father had assisted. When I
was about to leave, she said: "Say to your father I hope to meet him
among the just made perfect." This remark of a poor woman has been to me
through all these years a greater consolation than any public tribute or
imposing eulogy. Finely chiseled monuments and fulsome epitaphs are not
to be compared with the benediction of grateful hearts.
The funeral services were conducted, according to the custom of sixty
years ago, by the Rev. Dr. William Adams and the Rev. Dr. Philip
Milledoler. Members of the bar and many prominent residents of New York,
including his two physicians, Doctors John W. Francis and Campbell F.
Stewart, walked behind the coffin, which, by the way, was not placed in
a hearse but was carried to the Second Street Cemetery, where his
remains were temporarily placed. There were six clergymen present at his
funeral--the Rev. Doctors Thomas De Witt, Thomas E. Vermilye, Philip
Milledoler, William Adams, John Knox and George H. Fisher, all ministers
of the Reformed Dutch Church except the Rev. Dr. Adams, the
distinguished Presbyterian divine.
I find myself almost instinctively returning to the Scott family as
associated with the most cherished memories of some of the happiest days
of my life. During my childhood I formed a close intimacy with Cornelia
Scott, the second daughter of the distinguished General, which continued
until the close of her life. When I first knew the family it made its
winter home in New York at the American Hotel, then a fashionable
hostelry kept by William B. Cozzens, on the corner of Barclay Street and
Broadway. In the summer the family resided at Hampton, the old Mayo
place near Elizabeth in New Jersey, where they kept open house. Colonel
John Mayo of Richmond, whose daughter Maria was the wife of General
Scott, had purchased this country seat many years before as a favor to
his wife, Miss Abigail De Hart of New Jersey, and Mrs. Scott
subsequently inherited it. Colonel John Mayo, who was a citizen of
large wealth and great prominence, was so public-spirited that not long
subsequent to the Revolutionary War, and entirely at his own expense, he
built from his own plans a bridge across the James River at Richmond. I
have heard Mrs. Scott graphically describe her father's trips from
Richmond to Elizabeth in his coach-of-four with outriders and grooms,
and his enthusiastic reception when he reached his destination.
I have frequently heard it said that Mrs. Scott as a young woman refused
the early offers of marriage from the man who eventually became her
husband because his rank in the army was too low to suit her taste, but
that she finally relented when he became a General. I am able to
contradict this statement as Mrs. Scott told me with her own lips that
she never made his acquaintance until he was a General, in spite of the
fact that they were both natives of the same State. This did not by any
means, however, indicate a marriage late in life, as General Scott
became a Brigadier General on the 9th of March, 1814, when he was
between twenty-seven and twenty-eight years of age. In the _Sentinel_,
published in Newark, New Jersey, on the 25th of March, 1817, the
following marriage notice appears:
Married--at Belleville, Virginia, at the seat of Col. Mayo,
General Winfield Scott of the U.S. Army to Miss Maria D.
Mayo.
Mrs. Scott's record as a belle was truly remarkable, and in the latter
years of her life when I knew her very intimately she still retained
traces of great beauty. Her accomplishments, too, were extraordinary for
that period. She was not only a skilled performer upon the piano and
harp, but also a linguist of considerable proficiency, while her grace
of manner and brilliant powers of repartee added greatly to her social
charms. On one occasion during Polk's administration she attended a
levee at the White House, and as she passed down the line with the other
guests she received an enthusiastic welcome and was soon so completely
surrounded by an admiring throng that for a while Mrs. Polk was left
very much to herself. It was Mrs. Scott who wrote in the album of a
friend the verse entitled, "The Two Faults of Men." Two other verses
were written under it several years later by the Hon. William C.
Somerville of Maryland, at one time our Minister to Sweden, and the
author of "Letters from Paris on the Causes and Consequences of the
French Revolution."
Women have many faults,
The men have only two;
There's nothing right they say,
And nothing right they do.
_Reply_
That men are naughty rogues we know,
The girls are roguish, too.
They watch each other wondrous well
In everything they do.
But if we men do nothing right,
And never say what's true,
What precious fools you women are
To love us as you do.
Many years ago General and Mrs. Scott traveled with their youthful
family through Europe, and while at the French Capital Mrs. Scott
attended a fancy-dress ball where she represented Pocahontas and was
called _La belle sauvage_. I have talked to two elderly officers of our
Army, Colonel John M. Fessenden and General John B. Magruder, the latter
subsequently of Confederate fame, and both of them told me that at this
entertainment she was an object of general admiration. Many years later,
long after Mrs. Scott's death, I was visiting her daughter, Mrs. Henry
L. Scott, for the last time at the old Elizabeth home, accompanied by my
young daughter Maud, when the latter was invited to a fancy-dress ball
given to children at the residence of General George Herbert Pegram. At
first I was at my wits' end to devise a suitable gown for her to wear,
when Mrs. Scott brought out the historic fancy dress worn by her mother
so many years before in Paris and gave it to me. It seems almost
needless to add that the child wore the dress, and that I have it now
carefully put away among my treasured possessions. Many years subsequent
to Mrs. Scott's visit to Paris, her sister, Mrs. Robert Henry Cabell of
Richmond, published for the benefit of a charity her letters written
from abroad to her family in Virginia, containing many interesting
recollections of Paris.
At the beginning of the Mexican War the Scotts were living in New York
but, for a reason I do not now recall, Mrs. Scott decided to spend a
winter during the General's absence in Philadelphia. She secured a
portion of a furnished house at 111 South Sixth Street, and in the
spring of 1847 I was invited to be her guest. The evening of the day of
my arrival I attended a party at the residence of Judge John Meredith
Read, a descendant of George Read, a Signer from Delaware. Upon the
urgent request of Mrs. Scott I went to this entertainment entirely
alone, as she and her daughter Cornelia were indisposed and she wished
her household to be represented. Judge Read was a widower and some years
later I renewed my acquaintance with him in Washington. During my visit
in Philadelphia, Mrs. Scott was suddenly called away and hesitated about
leaving us two young girls in the house alone, her younger daughters
being absent at school. Finally, she made arrangements for us to spend
the days of her absence in Burlington, New Jersey, with Miss Susan
Wallace, a friend of hers and a niece of the Hon. William Bradford,
Attorney-General during a portion of Washington's last administration.
This, however, was not altogether a satisfactory arrangement for us
young people and we became decidedly restless, but to Burlington we went
just the same. Meanwhile, news came from Mexico of a great American
victory and the public went wild with enthusiasm. Philadelphia made
plans to celebrate the glad event on a certain evening, and Cornelia
Scott and I decided to return to Philadelphia for the festivities. We
carefully planned the trip and took as our protector a faithful colored
man named Lee. Arabella Griffith, an adopted daughter of Miss Wallace,
also accompanied us, and as another companion we took Mrs. Scott's pet
dog _Gee_ whom, before the evening was over, we found to be very
troublesome. We made the trip to Philadelphia by water and landed in an
out-of-the-way portion of the city. Owing to the dense crowds assembled
to view the decorations, illuminations and fireworks, we were unable to
procure a carriage and consequently were obliged to walk, while, to cap
the climax, in pushing through the crowd we lost Miss Griffith. General
Scott's name was upon the lips of everyone, and his pictures were seen
hanging from many windows; yet the daughter of the hero who was the
cause of all the enthusiasm was a simple wayfarer, rubbing elbows with
the multitude, unrecognized and entirely ignored. I may state, by the
way, that Arabella Griffith subsequently became the wife of General
Francis C. Barlow and that, while her husband was fighting the battles
of his country during the Civil War, she did noble service in the Union
hospitals as a member of the United States Sanitary Commission, and died
in the summer of 1864 from a fever contracted in the hospitals of the
Army of the Potomac.
I remained in Philadelphia much longer than I had originally
anticipated, and unexpected warm weather found me totally unprepared. I
immediately wrote to my sister Margaret and asked her to send me some
suitable apparel. Her letter in reply to mine, which I insert, gives
something of an idea of New York society of that period. As she was
quite a young girl her references to Miss Julia Gerard whom she knew
quite well and "Old Leslie Irving," who, by the way, was only a young
man, must be regarded merely as the silly utterances of extreme youth:--
Dear Sister,
I received your letter and as it requires an immediate
answer, I shall commence writing you one. I believe in my
last I mentioned to you that I was going to Virginia Wood's
[Mrs. John L. Rogers] the following evening. I went with
[William B.] Clerke [a young broker] and had quite a
pleasant time. There were two young ladies there from
Virginia whose names I do not know, Dr. Augustine Smith's
daughter, myself, Mr. Galliher, Mr. Rainsford, Mr. Bannister
and Mr. Pendleton [John Pendleton of Fredericksburg,
Virginia]. I was introduced to the latter and liked him
quite well. I had a long talk with him. His manners are
entirely too coquettish to suit me; he does nothing but
shrug his shoulders and roll up his eyes--perhaps it is a
Virginia custom. He seems to think Miss Gerard [Julia,
daughter of James W. Gerard] his _belle_ ideal or _beau_
ideal of everything lovely, etc. I told him that I thought
her awful, that she had such an inanimate sickly expression,
and I abused her at a great rate! I expect he thinks I am a
regular devil!
Tonight I am going to the opera. "Lucretia Borgia" is to be
performed. I have learned a song from Lucia. So you can
imagine how much the rooster has improved!
On Thursday evening I was at the Moore's [Dr. William
Moore]. Frank Bucknor came for me and brought me home. His
sister [Cornelia Bucknor, subsequently the wife of Professor
John Howard Van Amringe of Columbia College] was there, Beek
Fish [Beekman Fish], Bayard Fish, Dr. [Adolphus] Follin, old
Leslie Irving and Frank Van Rensselaer. Miss Moore told me
that May came for us that evening to go to the Academy. I am
dreadfully sorry that you will not be able to go to the
Kemble [Mrs. William Kemble] ball; they are going to have
it on Monday. I dare say it will be very pleasant and old
Chrystie will be there. Emily B. [Emily Bucknor] and Frank
[Bucknor] are going.
My hat has come home, and it is very pretty; it is a sherred
blue crape, without any ribbon--trimmed very simply with
blue crape and illusion mixed and the same inside.
Mrs. William Le Roy has been to see you. Ma thinks that you
had better come home when you first expected--on Tuesday or
Wednesday. I am very much disappointed that you are not here
to go to the Kembles as you have a dress to wear.
You can tell Adeline [Adeline Camilla Scott], if you please,
that Mr. Pendleton wants to know the use of sending her to
school when her head is filled with beaux and parties. I
told him her mother did it to keep her out of mischief.
Bucknor says he thinks it is time for you to come home. If
you stay much longer my spring fever will come on and I
shall get so many things there will be no money left for
you. Besides Mr. Pendleton is going to the Bucknor's some
day next week and I am going to get him to stop for me, and
if you are home I shall invite you to go along. Beek Fish
will be there the same evening with his flute. He told Emily
B. that his sister [Mrs. Thomas Pym Remington of
Philadelphia] had written them that you had been in
Philadelphia and that she was so delighted to see you.
Leslie Irving told me that he had seen a letter in the
Commercial Advertiser from Thomas Turner [subsequently Rear
Admiral Turner, U.S.N.] to Hamilton Fish. He thought of
sending it to you, but he thought some one else had probably
done so. I hear that they [the Fishes] are to have a party.
The Bankheads [General James Bankhead's daughters] are going
to spend the summer at West Point. Pa and Jim are better. Pa
rode out yesterday and walked out to-day. He has been in a
great state of excitement about General Scott. It was
reported two days ago that he was killed and he was afraid
it was true. Vera Cruz, I believe, is taken. I cannot write
any longer, I'm so tired. I will send Cornelia's [Cornelia
Scott] purse by H. Forbes [Harriet Forbes, Mrs. Colhoun of
Philadelphia].
M. CAMPBELL.
Saturday April 10th.
Pa thinks it is time for you to come home. Do you know of
any opportunity? I shall not send anything to you. You see
you never will take my advice in anything. I told you to
bring your pink dress with you but you would not. I suppose
I shall not hear from you again. Pa says you can do as you
please about staying longer.
Elizabeth, New Jersey, was a quaint old town whose inhabitants seemed
almost exclusively made up of Barbers, Ogdens and Chetwoods, with a
sprinkling of De Harts. There was a steamboat plying between
Elizabethport (now a part of the City of Elizabeth) and New York, and we
were its frequent patrons. Ursino, the country seat of the Kean family,
then as now was one of the historic places of the neighborhood. As I
remember the beautiful old home, it was occupied by John Kean, father of
the late senior U.S. Senator from New Jersey. At an earlier period the
latter's great-grandfather had married Susan Livingston, a daughter of
Peter Van Brough Livingston of New York, and resided at Ursino. After
the death of her husband she married Count Julian Niemcewicz, who was
called the "Shakespeare of Poland" and who came to America with
Kosciusco, upon whose staff he had served. She was also the grandmother
of Mrs. Hamilton Fish. Another noted estate in the same general
neighborhood, was "Abyssinia," owned and occupied for a long period by
the Ricketts family, whose walls were highly decorated by one of its
artistic members. I am informed that it still stands but that it is
used, alas, for mechanical purposes!
I recall with intense pleasure another of my visits to New Jersey when I
was a guest at the home of General and Mrs. Scott in Elizabeth. Isabella
Cass of Detroit, daughter of General Lewis Cass, was also there at the
same time. She attended school in Paris while her father was Minister to
France and received other educational advantages quite unusual for women
at that time. While residing in Washington at a subsequent period she
was regarded as one of the reigning belles. She married a member of the
Diplomatic Corps from the Netherlands and lived and died abroad. A
constant visitor of the Scott family whom I recall with great pleasure
was Thomas Turner, subsequently an Admiral in our Navy. He was a
Virginian by birth and a near relative of General Robert E. Lee; but,
though possessing the blood of the Carters, he remained during the Civil
War loyal to the national flag. His wife was Frances Hailes Palmer of
"Abyssinia."
Still another guest of the Scotts in Elizabeth was the erratic but
decidedly brilliant Doctor William Starbuck Mayo. Although Mrs. Scott
was a Mayo, they were not related. He was from the northern part of the
State of New York, while Mrs. Scott, as is well known, was from
Virginia. Doctor Mayo, however, was an ardent admirer of Mrs. Scott and
made the fact apparent in much that he said and did. He was the author
of several works, one of which was a romance entitled "Kaloolah," which
he dedicated to Mrs. Scott. When I met him in Washington he was on his
first bridal tour, although pretty well advanced in years. His bride was
Mrs. Henry Dudley of New York, whose maiden name was Helen Stuyvesant.
She was the daughter of Nicholas William Stuyvesant and one of the heirs
of the large estate of Peter G. Stuyvesant. During Van Buren's
administration, Doctor Mayo was a social light in Washington.
There was another Dr. Mayo--Robert Mayo of Richmond--who, in some
respects, created a temporary commotion in public life in Washington and
elsewhere. He was a Virginian by birth, and at one time figured
prominently as a politician. He engaged in the presidential campaign of
1828 as an ardent partisan of General Jackson and during that period
edited in Richmond the _Jackson Democrat_. He subsequently, however,
parted company with his presidential idol, and in 1839 published a
volume entitled, "Political Sketches of Eight Years in Washington,"
which is almost exclusively devoted to an arraignment of General
Jackson's administration. In an original letter now before me, written
by Martin Van Buren to Governor William C. Bouck, of New York, which has
never before appeared in print, he speaks in an amusing manner of Dr.
Mayo. I insert the whole letter, as his allusions to General Jackson are
of exceptional interest. No one can well deny that the parting
admonition of Polonius to his son Laertes is a masterpiece of human
wisdom, but this letter of the "Sage of Lindenwald" to Governor Bouck
reveals ability by no means inferior to that of this wise councilor of
Denmark.
[EX-PRESIDENT VAN BUREN TO GOV. WILLIAM C. BOUCK OF N.Y.]
Confidential.
Lindenwald,
Jan^y. 17th 1843.
My dear Sir,
I embrace the occasion of a short visit of my son Major Van
Buren to Albany before he goes South to drop you a few
lines. Although I have not admitted it in my conversations
with those who are given to croaking, and thus alarm our
friends, I have nevertheless witnessed with the keenest
regret the distractions among our friends at Albany; & more
particularly in relation to the state printing. It is
certainly a lamentable winding up of a great contest
admirably conducted &, as we supposed, gloriously
terminated. Without undertaking to decide who is right or
who is wrong, and much less to take any part in the
unfortunate controversy, I cannot but experience great pain
from the eying of so bitter a controversy in the face of the
enemy among those who once acted together so honorably & so
usefully, and for all of whom I have so much reason to
cherish feelings of respect & regard. Permit me to make one
suggestion, & that relates to the importance of a speedy
decision, one way or the other. Nothing is so injurious in
such cases as delay. It is almost better to decide wrong
than to protract the contest. Every day makes new enemies &
increases the animosities of those who have already become
so, & extends them to other subjects; and yet nothing is so
natural as to desire to put off the decision of
controversies among friends. Most happy would I be to find
that you had been able to mitigate, if not altogether to
obviate, existing difficulties by providing places for one
or more of the competitors in other branches of the public
service to which they are adapted & with which they would be
as well satisfied.
It has afforded me unfeigned satisfaction to learn, as I do
from all quarters, that you keep your own secrets in regard
to appointments, & don't feed every body with promises or
what they construe into promises--a practice which so many
public men are apt to fall into, & by which they make
themselves more trouble & subject themselves to more
discredit than they dream of. Persevere in that course,
consider carefully every case & make the selection which
your own unbiassed judgment designates as the best, & above
all let the people see as clear as day that you do not yield
yourself to, or make battle against, any cliques or sections
of the party, but act in good faith and to the best of your
ability for the good of the whole, and you may be assured
that the personal discontents which you would to some extent
occasion, if you had the wisdom of Solomon & were pure as an
angel, will do you no harm & be exceedingly evanescent in
their duration. The Democratic is a reasonable & a just
party & more than half of the business is done when they are
satisfied that the man they have elected means to do right.
The difficulty with a new administration is in the
beginning. At the start little matters may create a distrust
which it will take a series of good acts to remove. But once
a favourable impression is made & the people become
satisfied that the right thing is intended, it takes great
errors, often repeated, to create a counter current. Will
you excuse me if, from a sincere desire for your success, I
go farther & touch upon matters not political, or at least
not wholly so? Your situation of course excites envy &
jealousy on the part of some. It is impossible from the
character of man that it should be otherwise, bear yourself
ever so meekly & you cannot avoid it. There will therefore
in Albany, as well as elsewhere, be people who will make ill
natured remarks & there will be still more who will make it
their business, in the hope of benefitting themselves, to
bring you exaggerated accounts of what is said, and if they
lack materials they will tell you, if they find that you
like to listen to small things, a great deal that never has
been said. It is my deliberate opinion that these
mischievous gossips cause public men more vexation, yes, ten
fold, than all the cares & anxieties of office taken
together. I have seen perhaps as much of this as any man of
my age, & claim to be a competent judge of the evil & its
remedies. The greatest fault I ever saw in our excellent
friend Gen^l. Jackson, was the facility with which (in
carrying out his general principle that it was the duty of
the President to hear all) he leant his ear, though not his
confidence, to such people. Though very sagacious & very apt
to put the right construction upon all such revelations, it
was still evident that he was every day more or less annoyed
by them. I endeavored to satisfy him of the expediency of
shutting their mouths, but did not succeed, & I am as sure
as I can be of any such thing that if the truth could be
known it would appear that he had experienced more annoyance
from such sources than from all the severe trials through
which he had to pass & did pass with such unfading glory.
Having his case before me, I determined to profit by the
experience I had acquired in so good a school. I had no
sooner taken possession of the White House than I was beset
by these harpies. The way in which I treated the whole crew,
with variations of course according to circumstances, will
appear from the following dialogue in a single case. The
celebrated Dr. Mayo called upon me & in his stuttering &
mysterious way commenced by asking when he could have a few
minutes very private conversation with me. Knowing the man,
I anticipated his business & told him now, I will hear you
now. He then told me he had discovered a conspiracy to
destroy me politically the particulars of which he felt it
to be his duty to lay before [me]. I replied instantly, &
somewhat sternly, Dr., I do not wish to hear them. I have
irrefragable proof, he replied. I don't care, was the
response. It is in writing, Sir, said he. I won't look at
it, Sir. What, said he, don't you want to see it if it is in
writing & genuine? An emphatic No, Sir, closed the
conversation. The Dr. raised his eyes and hands as if he
thought me demented, & making a low bow & ejaculating a long
Hah-hah retreated for the door. The story about the Dr. got
out and, partly by mine & I believe in part also by his
means, & alarmed all the story tellers who heard of it. A
few repetitions of the same dose to others impressed the
whole crew with a conviction that nothing was to be gained
by bringing such reports to me. The consequence was that
although Washington is perhaps the most gossiping place in
the world, I escaped its contamination altogether, and had
no trouble except such as unavoidably grew out of my public
duties; and although I had perhaps a more vexatious time
than any of my predecessors in that respect I was the only
man, they all say, who grew fat in that office.
I was happy to learn from my son John by a letter received
yesterday the high opinion he entertains of your discreet &
honorable bearing in the midst of the difficulties by which
you are beset. I hope he & Smith, [another son of Martin Van
Buren], exercise the discretion by which their course has
heretofore been governed, in meddling as little with things
political that do not belong to them as possible. They know
that such is my wish, as any contest there must necessarily
be more or less between my friends; and I shall be obliged
to you to give them from time to time such advice upon the
subject as you may think proper. Be assured that they will
take it in good part. You may, if you please, at your
convenience, return me the suggestions I sent you, as I may
have occasion to weave some parts of them into letters that
I am frequently obliged to write; the rough draft was made
with a pencil & is now illegible. Be assured that your not
using them occasioned me no mortification, as I before told
you it would not. You had a nearer & could take a safer view
of things than myself. Don't trouble yourself to answer this
letter as it requires none; only excuse me for writing you
one so unmercifully long.
Remember me kindly to Mrs. Bouck, & believe me to be
Very sincerely your friend,
M. VAN BUREN.
His Excellency,
Wm. C. Bouck.
In 1850 General and Mrs. Scott moved to Washington and Hampton was
closed for many years. They lived in one of the houses built by Count De
Menou, French Minister to this country from 1822 to 1824, on H Street,
between Thirteenth and Fourteenth Streets, on the present site of the
Epiphany Parish House. These residences were commonly called the "chain
buildings," owing to the fact that their fences were made almost
entirely of iron chains. Two of them, thrown into one, were occupied by
the Scotts and were owned by my father-in-law, Samuel L. Gouverneur,
senior. In the third, the property of Mrs. Beverly Kennon, lived the
venerable Mrs. Alexander Hamilton and her only daughter, Mrs. Hamilton
Holly.