OFFICIAL AND SOCIAL LIFE.
President Cleveland is emphatically a working man. Possessing a
strong physique, he industriously devotes his time and his energies
to the duties of his office. Gentle in his strength, unobtrusive
in his modesty, and unswerved by partisan clamor, he endeavors to
do what he--from his personal and political standpoint--regards as
right. He is above medium height, quite stout, and rather sluggish
in his movement. He is of the Teutonic type--blonde, with ruddy
color. His head is large, with a broad forehead, deeply set blue
eyes, a large, straight nose, with vigorous nostrils, and a firm
mouth, partly shaded by a drooping light mustache. He generally
wears a frock coat, buttoned up so high that only an inch or so of
his shirt bosom is visible, with a slight black cravat encircling
a standing collar. In conversing with strangers, he generally
stands with his hands clasped behind him, and when he thinks that
he has heard enough from the person addressing him he brings his
hands forward.
The President rises early, shaves himself, dresses without assistance,
and then reads the newspapers until breakfast time. From the
breakfast-table he goes to the library, an oval-shaped room in the
second story of the White House, with large windows at one end
commanding a fine southern view, with Alexandria and Arlington in
the background. The room is partially lined with book-cases, and
the furniture is upholstered with red leather, while in the centre
of the room, near the windows, is the President's desk. It was
presented by Queen Victoria, and was made from the oaken timbers
of the Resolute, which was sent to the Arctic regions by the British
Government in search of Sir John Franklin, abandoned in the ice,
saved by American whalers, and restored to the British Government
by the United States. On this desk the many papers before the
President are methodically arranged, and he never has to waste time
in hunting for mislaid letters.
The morning mail first passes through the hands of Colonel Lamont,
who lays before the President such letters as require instructions
as to the replies to be made. Mr. Cleveland answers many of his
private letters himself, writing with great rapidity and not always
very legibly. At ten o'clock visitors begin to arrive, Senators
and Representatives claiming precedence over all others. A few of
the Congressmen escort constituents who merely desire to pay their
respects, but the greater portion of them--Republicans as well as
Democrats--have some "axe to grind," some favor to ask, or some
appointment to urge.
At one o'clock the President goes down-stairs to lunch, and on his
way to the private dining-room passes through the East Room to see
the sovereign people congregated there. There are queer mosaics
of humanity at these daily impromptu receptions, generally including
a few persistent place-hunters, who are invariably referred to the
heads of Departments; several bridal couples in new clothes; an
old Bourbon in a shiny black dress-coat, who "has voted for every
Democratic President, sir, since the days of Jackson;" half a dozen
commercial drummers--travelers, I mean--with their pockets full of
samples, and three or four fond mothers, whose children invariably
forget to speak the complimentary little piece taught them. The
President wastes no time, but goes along the line like an old-
fashioned beau dancing the grand right and left figure in a cotillion,
and then goes to his luncheon.
Two days in the week, when there is a Cabinet meeting, the reception
in the East Room is held at noon, or omitted. After luncheon, the
President returns to his desk and works there steadily until five
o'clock, unless some one calls who cannot be refused an audience.
None of his predecessors have ever weighed the qualifications and
claims of candidates for Federal appointment with such painstaking
care as has Mr. Cleveland. He has carefully read the recommendations
in every case, and, after such investigation as it has been possible
for him to make into the character and antecedents of the rival
applicants, he has made his appointments.
At five o'clock the President takes a drive, although the carriage
is often sent back to the stable that the examination of the papers
in some case may be finished that day. Dinner is served at seven,
and by half-past eight the President is at work again, often
remaining at his desk until midnight. But then he leaves his cares
behind him. When asked if he ever carried the work to bed with
him, as many men of a nervous organization would do, he replied:
"No! I generally fall asleep without any difficulty. I generally
am asleep as soon as I am fairly in bed, and never wake until
morning."
Miss Rose Elizabeth Cleveland, one of the President's sisters,
presided over the domestic arrangements of the White House after
the inauguration of Mr. Cleveland. She is a lady of literary
tastes, and under her direction the routine of receptions and
dinners was carefully continued. On these occasions the floral
decorations were remarkably elegant, and there was a profusion of
palms, India rubber plants, roses, azalias, tulips, hyacinths, and
growing orchids.
The first state dinner was given in honor of the Cabinet. At each
end of the long table were ornaments of white wax. At the eastern
end the figures upholding three fancy molds of jellied _pate de
foie gras_ were white swans, with outspread wings, under the shelter
of which rested a brood of snowy young ones. At the opposite end
of the table the figures were those of eagles, while the _pates de
foie gras_ arranged above on horseshoes were little square blocks,
attached to the horseshoes by means of silver skewers, with ornamental
hilts. Interspersed the length of the board were glass and silver
stands of conserves, bonbons, and salted almonds. The service used
at the first course was that especially decorated for the White
House during the Hayes Administration. At each plate were set six
Bohemian wine-glasses, a cut-glass carafe, tumbler, and champagne
glass. Salt-sellers of cut-glass, with golden shovels, and silver
pepper-stands were beside these. On each plate was folded a large
damask napkin, on the top of which rested a bouquet of roses and
ferns, tied with a broad white satin ribbon, on one end of which,
running bias, were painted the colors of the Union. On the other
end was an etching in black and white of the White House and
surrounding shrubbery, while underneath, in gilt lettering, was
"Jan. 14, 1886." Gilt bullet-headed pins, to attach the bouquet
to the corsage, lay beside these, while above lay a large white
card bearing the name of the guest assigned to the seat. Above
the name of the guests, blazoned in gold, was the American eagle,
above whose head, through a cluster of stars, was the motto, "E
Pluribus Unum." At the plates laid for the gentlemen were
_boutonnieres_ of green, with a single Bon Silene rosebud. Miss
Cleveland had a corsage bouquet of pink roses; Miss Bayard, who
occupied the seat to the right of the President, Perie du Jardin
roses, and Mrs. Manning, who sat to the left, lilies of the valley
and ferns.
The guests assembled in the East Room, and when dinner was announced
as served, passed down the corridor, the Marine Band performing
selections from the "Mikado," and entered the state dining-room in
the following order: President Cleveland and Miss Bayard, who wore
a trained dress of pink silk, the front of which was white lace;
Secretary Whitney and Mrs. Vilas, who wore a blue silk dress;
Senator Edmunds and Mrs. McCullough, who wore cream satin and lace;
Senator Harris and Mrs. Edward Cooper, who wore white satin, with
side panels embroidered in gold and silver; General Sheridan and
Mrs. Endicott, who wore a court train of black velvet over a pink
satin petticoat, with point lace flounces; Secretary Bayard and
Mrs. Whitney, who wore white cut velvet, trimmed with clusters of
ostrich tips. Postmaster-General Vilas and Mrs. Sheridan, who wore
sky-blue silk, with front brocaded in roses; Mr. Speaker Carlisle
and Mrs. Edmunds, who wore black velvet; Mr. McCullough and Miss
Weddell, who wore white brocaded satin; Secretary Lamar and Mrs.
Carlisle, who wore gold-flowered brocade, with front of network of
iridescent beading; Admiral Rogers and Mrs. D. Willis James, who
wore cardinal velvet with court train, over a white satin and lace
petticoat; Hon. Edward Cooper, of New York, and Miss Love, who wore
white satin, with black velvet train; Mrs. D. Willis James, of New
York, and Mrs. Utley, who wore white satin brocade; Secretary
Manning and Miss Cleveland, who wore a gown of white satin, with
court train of white plush.
Miss Cleveland had her afternoon receptions, and she also gave
several luncheon parties to ladies, at which her temperance principles
were exemplified. At the first of these luncheon parties Miss
Cleveland graciously received her guests in a morning dress of pink
surah silk, with a high-necked bodice and panels of ruby velvet,
trimmed with white lace, and Miss Van Vechten, an inmate of the
White House, wore a walking-dress of dark blue velvet, with a vest
of light blue silk, trimmed with blue steel beads. Nearly all of
the ladies wore walking-dresses and bonnets, although a few were
in the evening attire that they would have worn to a dinner-party.
Mrs. Warner Miller wore a bronze-green Ottoman silk with panels of
cardinal plush; Mrs. Potter (the amateur actress) wore a bright
green Ottoman silk short dress, with a tight-fitting jacket of
scarlet cloth, richly embroidered; Mrs. John A. Logan wore a dress
of peacock-blue satin, trimmed with blue brocade; Mrs. Marshal
Roberts wore a brown velvet dress, and Mrs. Van Rensselaer a black
satin dress trimmed with jet. The repast was an abbreviated dinner,
daintily served, but in the place of seven kinds of wine there were
served iced Potomac water, Apollinaris water and lemonade.
Miss Cleveland talks very much as she writes, and those who have
enjoyed her _Summer Hours_ can imagine the bright staccato strain
of her conversation. She seemed when in the White House to be
always longing for what she used to call her "little old house on
the Holland Patent, with the village on the one side and the hills
on the other." She remarked one day to a lady visitor: "I wish
that I could observe Washington life in its political phase; but
I suppose I am too near the centre to get an accurate perspective
on that. Those who live on Mount Athos do not see Mount Athos."
Society was saddened early in the fashionable season of 1886 by
the sudden death of Secretary Bayard's eldest daughter, a young
lady whose personal attractions, gifted intellect, and quick wit
endeared her to a large circle of devoted friends. A fortnight
later, the bereaved father was deprived by death of his wife, a
lady of gracious presence and refined disposition, who was the
mother of twelve children, eight of whom survived her. These sad
events closed the pleasant home of the _Premier_ on Highland Terrace,
greatly to the regret of the diplomats and others, who loved to
congregate there.
Prominent among the wives of the members of the Cabinet was Mrs.
Whitney, the only daughter of Senator Harry B. Payne, of Ohio,
whose unstinted expenditures have made her house in Washington,
like her other residences, noted for their hospitality. The
residence of Secretary Manning, with its drawing-room fitted up in
the Louis XVI. style, is palatial, while those who visit the home
of the Secretary of War admire the quiet style of its furniture
and the rare old family silver on its table.
The death of Vice-President Hendricks removed an official around
whom the disaffected Democrats could have crystallized into a
formidable opposition. Believing as he did, that he had been
defrauded of the office of Vice-President by the Electoral Commission
in 1876, he regarded his election in 1884 as a triumphant vindication
of his rights, and he was not disposed to have the position longer
regarded as "like the fifth wheel of a coach." He made no secret
of his opposition to civil service reform and to his Indiana rival,
ex-Senator McDonald, against whose appointment to a place in the
Cabinet he formally protested. Perhaps a social antagonism between
Mrs. McDonald and Mrs. Hendricks had something to do with this.
Vice-President Hendricks was slightly lame, from a singular cause.
He spoke in public a great deal in the Presidential campaign of
1882, and while speaking he was in the habit of bending forward on
the tip of his right foot, resting his entire weight upon it. From
the pressure of his right shoe a swelling arose on one of his toes,
shortly after he reached home after making a speech at Newcastle,
Indiana. In twenty-four hours erysipelas developed, and it was
only after an illness of six months that he recovered. But he
always afterward was somewhat lame, especially when he was fatigued.
[Facsimile]
T. A. Hendricks
THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS was born in Muskingum County, Ohio,
September 7th, 1849; was taken when three years of age to Indiana,
where he studied law and practiced; was a Representative in Congress
from Indiana, 1851-1855; was Commissioner of the General Land
Office, 1855-1859; was United States Senator from Indiana, 1863-
1869; was Governor of Indiana, 1872-1877; was nominated for Vice-
President on the Democratic ticket at St. Louis in 1876, and was
defeated; was again nominated for Vice-President on the Democratic
ticket at Chicago in 1884, and was elected; was inaugurated March
4th, 1885, and died at Indianapolis, November 25th, 1885.