BEHIND THE SCENES
Some of the freedmen and freedwomen had exaggerated ideas of liberty. To
them it was a beautiful vision, a land of sunshine, rest and glorious
promise. They flocked to Washington, and since their extravagant hopes
were not realized, it was but natural that many of them should bitterly
feel their disappointment. The colored people are wedded to
associations, and when you destroy these you destroy half of the
happiness of their lives. They make a home, and are so fond of it that
they prefer it, squalid though it be, to the comparative ease and luxury
of a shifting, roaming life. Well, the emancipated slaves, in coming
North, left old associations behind them, and the love for the past was
so strong that they could not find much beauty in the new life so
suddenly opened to them. Thousands of the disappointed, huddled together
in camps, fretted and pined like children for the "good old times." In
visiting them in the interests of the Relief Society of which I was
president, they would crowd around me with pitiful stories of distress.
Often I heard them declare that they would rather go back to slavery in
the South, and be with their old masters, than to enjoy the freedom of
the North. I believe they were sincere in these declarations, because
dependence had become a part of their second nature, and independence
brought with it the cares and vexations of poverty.
I was very much amused one day at the grave complaints of a good old,
simple-minded woman, fresh from a life of servitude. She had never
ventured beyond a plantation until coming North. The change was too
radical for her, and she could not exactly understand it. She thought,
as many others thought, that Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln were the government,
and that the President and his wife had nothing to do but to supply the
extravagant wants of every one that applied to them. The wants of this
old woman, however, were not very extravagant.
"Why, Missus Keckley," said she to me one day, "I is been here eight
months, and Missus Lingom an't even give me one shife. Bliss God,
childen, if I had ar know dat de Government, and Mister and Missus
Government, was going to do dat ar way, I neber would 'ave comed here in
God's wurld. My old missus us't gib me two shifes eber year."
I could not restrain a laugh at the grave manner in which this good old
woman entered her protest. Her idea of freedom was two or more old
shifts every year. Northern readers may not fully recognize the pith of
the joke. On the Southern plantation, the mistress, according to
established custom, every year made a present of certain under-garments
to her slaves, which articles were always anxiously looked forward to,
and thankfully received. The old woman had been in the habit of
receiving annually two shifts from her mistress, and she thought the
wife of the President of the United States very mean for overlooking
this established custom of the plantation.
While some of the emancipated blacks pined for the old associations of
slavery, and refused to help themselves, others went to work with
commendable energy, and planned with remarkable forethought. They built
themselves cabins, and each family cultivated for itself a small patch
of ground. The colored people are fond of domestic life, and with them
domestication means happy children, a fat pig, a dozen or more chickens,
and a garden. Whoever visits the Freedmen's Village now in the vicinity
of Washington will discover all of these evidences of prosperity and
happiness. The schools are objects of much interest. Good teachers,
white and colored, are employed, and whole brigades of bright-eyed dusky
children are there taught the common branches of education. These
children are studious, and the teachers inform me that their advancement
is rapid. I number among my personal friends twelve colored girls
employed as teachers in the schools at Washington. The Colored Mission
Sabbath School, established through the influence of Gen. Brown at the
Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church, is always an object of great
interest to the residents of the Capital, as well as to the hundreds of
strangers visiting the city.
In 1864 the receptions again commenced at the White House. For the first
two years of Mr. Lincoln's administration, the President selected a lady
to join in the promenade with him, which left Mrs. Lincoln free to
choose an escort from among the distinguished gentlemen that always
surrounded her on such occasions. This custom at last was discontinued
by Mrs. Lincoln.
"Lizabeth!"--I was sewing in her room, and she was seated in a
comfortable arm-chair--"Lizabeth, I have been thinking over a little
matter. As you are well aware, the President, at every reception,
selects a lady to lead the promenade with him. Now it occurs to me that
this custom is an absurd one. On such occasions our guests recognize the
position of the President as first of all; consequently, he takes the
lead in everything; well, now, if they recognize his position they
should also recognize mine. I am his wife, and should lead with him. And
yet he offers his arm to any other lady in the room, making her first
with him and placing me second. The custom is an absurd one, and I mean
to abolish it. The dignity that I owe to my position, as Mrs. President,
demands that I should not hesitate any longer to act."
Mrs. Lincoln kept her word. Ever after this, she either led the
promenade with the President, or the President walked alone or with a
gentleman. The change was much remarked, but the reason why it was made,
I believe, was never generally known.
In 1864 much doubt existed in regard to the re-election of Mr. Lincoln,
and the White House was besieged by all grades of politicians. Mrs.
Lincoln was often blamed for having a certain class of men around her.
"I have an object in view, Lizabeth," she said to me in reference to
this matter. "In a political canvass it is policy to cultivate every
element of strength. These men have influence, and we require influence
to re-elect Mr. Lincoln. I will be clever to them until after the
election, and then, if we remain at the White House, I will drop every
one of them, and let them know very plainly that I only made tools of
them. They are an unprincipled set, and I don't mind a little
double-dealing with them."
"Does Mr. Lincoln know what your purpose is?" I asked.
"God! no; he would never sanction such a proceeding, so I keep him in
the dark, and will tell him of it when all is over. He is too honest to
take the proper care of his own interests, so I feel it to be my duty to
electioneer for him."
Mr. Lincoln, as every one knows, was far from handsome. He was not
admired for his graceful figure and finely moulded face, but for the
nobility of his soul and the greatness of his heart. His wife was
different. He was wholly unselfish in every respect, and I believe that
he loved the mother of his children very tenderly. He asked nothing but
affection from her, but did not always receive it. When in one of her
wayward impulsive moods, she was apt to say and do things that wounded
him deeply. If he had not loved her, she would have been powerless to
cloud his thoughtful face, or gild it with a ray of sunshine as she
pleased. We are indifferent to those we do not love, and certainly the
President was not indifferent to his wife. She often wounded him in
unguarded moments, but calm reflection never failed to bring regret.
Mrs. Lincoln was extremely anxious that her husband should be re-elected
President of the United States. In endeavoring to make a display
becoming her exalted position, she had to incur many expenses. Mr.
Lincoln's salary was inadequate to meet them, and she was forced to run
in debt, hoping that good fortune would favor her, and enable her to
extricate herself from an embarrassing situation. She bought the most
expensive goods on credit, and in the summer of 1864 enormous unpaid
bills stared her in the face.
"What do you think about the election, Lizabeth?" she said to me one
morning.
"I think that Mr. Lincoln will remain in the White House four years
longer," I replied, looking up from my work.
"What makes you think so? Somehow I have learned to fear that he will be
defeated."
"Because he has been tried, and has proved faithful to the best
interests of the country. The people of the North recognize in him an
honest man, and they are willing to confide in him, at least until the
war has been brought to a close. The Southern people made his election a
pretext for rebellion, and now to replace him by some one else, after
years of sanguinary war, would look too much like a surrender of the
North. So, Mr. Lincoln is certain to be re-elected. He represents a
principle, and to maintain this principle the loyal people of the loyal
States will vote for him, even if he had no merits to commend him."
"Your view is a plausible one, Lizabeth, and your confidence gives me
new hope. If he should be defeated, I do not know what would become of
us all. To me, to him, there is more at stake in this election than he
dreams of."
"What can you mean, Mrs. Lincoln? I do not comprehend."
"Simply this. I have contracted large debts, of which he knows nothing,
and which he will be unable to pay if he is defeated."
"What are your debts, Mrs. Lincoln?"
"They consist chiefly of store bills. I owe altogether about
twenty-seven thousand dollars; the principal portion at Stewart's, in
New York. You understand, Lizabeth, that Mr. Lincoln has but little idea
of the expense of a woman's wardrobe. He glances at my rich dresses, and
is happy in the belief that the few hundred dollars that I obtain from
him supply all my wants. I must dress in costly materials. The people
scrutinize every article that I wear with critical curiosity. The very
fact of having grown up in the West, subjects me to more searching
observation. To keep up appearances, I must have money--more than Mr.
Lincoln can spare for me. He is too honest to make a penny outside of
his salary; consequently I had, and still have, no alternative but to
run in debt."
"And Mr. Lincoln does not even suspect how much you owe?"
"God, no!"--this was a favorite expression of hers--"and I would not
have him suspect. If he knew that his wife was involved to the extent
that she is, the knowledge would drive him mad. He is so sincere and
straightforward himself, that he is shocked by the duplicity of others.
He does not know a thing about any debts and I value his happiness, not
to speak of my own, too much to allow him to know anything. This is
what troubles me so much. If he is re-elected, I can keep him in
ignorance of my affairs; but if he is defeated, then the bills will be
sent in, and he will know all;" and something like a hysterical sob
escaped her.
Mrs. Lincoln sometimes feared that the politicians would get hold of the
particulars of her debts, and use them in the Presidential campaign
against her husband; and when this thought occurred to her, she was
almost crazy with anxiety and fear.
When in one of these excited moods, she would fiercely exclaim--
"The Republican politicians must pay my debts. Hundreds of them are
getting immensely rich off the patronage of my husband, and it is but
fair that they should help me out of my embarrassment. I will make a
demand of them, and when I tell them the facts they cannot refuse to
advance whatever money I require."