USA > Washington DC > Washington DC > Historic homes in Washington : its noted men and women and a century in the White House > Part 10
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After Mrs. Taylor retired from the White House, ac- companied by her daughter and her daughter's husband, Maj. Bliss, they found a home in Kentucky for a time. She then removed to Pascagoula, La., where, two years later, August, 1852, she died.
Maj. Bliss died suddenly soon after, and "Betty Bliss," as she will always be known by her countrymen. sought the seclusion of private life,
CHAPTER XI.
FILLMORE'S SUCCESSFUL TERM.
MILLARD FILLMORE SWORN IN AS PRESIDENT-HIS INDEFATIGABLE INDUSTRY-RAPID ASCENDENCY-MASTER OF OFFICIAL ETI- QUET-A WOMAN OF RARE ATTAINMENTS-ABIGAIL FILLMORE. WHEN MARRIED-SHE WAS A TEACHER WHILE HE STUDIED LAW-STRUGGLE WITH POVERTY-NO DREAM OF THE WHITE HOUSE-THEY WORKED HAND IN HAND-MR. FILLMORE'S DEVOTION TO HIS WIFE-SIGNS THE FUGITIVE SLAVE BILL. HIS ONLY UNPOPULAR MEASURE-PIERCE'S NOMINATION A SURPRISE-MRS. PIERCE'S GREAT SORROW-SHADOWY DAYS OF BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION-LOVELY HARRIET LANE.
Millard Fillmore, Vice-President of the United States, was sworn in as President the roth day of July, 1848, after the death of Zachary Taylor, which occurred the day previous.
Notwithstanding the meager opportunities of his youth, by indefatigable industry and close application to study, he had acquired a good education. In the various positions to which he had been exalted, in his rapid rise to the highest place within the gift of the peo- ple, he had become master of official etiquet and its re- quirements, and hence had assumed the duties of Chief Magistrate prepared for its grave responsibilities and perplexities.
Mrs. Taylor's place in the White House was filled by a woman of rare attainments. Abigail Fillmore was one of the representative women of the day, of high in- tellectual culture, backed by a fund of original common sense. She was the daughter of a clergyman who died while she was in her infancy. Her maiden name was Abigail Powers. She was born at Bemis Hights, Sara- toga County, N. Y., March, 1798.
When she was nine years old her mother moved into . Cayuga County. Abigail was studious and industrious. She fully appreciated the needs of her mother's family, left with scanty means. She rose by her ambition,
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making rapid progress in knowledge, and began teach- ing at an early age.
It was here, in this district school, that she met the lad, Millard Fillmore, who was an apprentice to the card- ing and cloth-dressing business, which brought a few months schooling, yearly, as a recompense.
The unfortunate choice of an occupation for the boy, made by the father, galled and fettered him, but Miss Powers rendered him efficient help.
I well remember, when a child, hearing a neighbor of ours relate the interesting story of their lives. He was a pupil also in this district school, and was a witness to the helping hand she held out to the aspiring lad. While they were teacher and pupil the midnight oil often found them delving into the hidden recesses of knowledge.
A HAPPY MARRIAGE.
In due time they were married, moved to Aurora, N. Y., and set up housekeeping in a small house, Mr. Fill- more being its architect and carpenter.
She at once resumed her teaching with her house- keeping, while her husband practiced his profession of law, untrammelled by household needs, for his wife sup- plied all domestic demands.
Two years later he was elected a member of the State Legislature. In these first years of struggle with pov- erty and increasing cares they never faltered, no duty was a burden. Thus, hand in hand, they worked to- gether and rose from obscurity to eminence.
In this little cottage, in a country village; her moral and affectionate nature broadened. But no dream of the White House entered there, and when it came as a part of her life, she would have preferred the seclusion of her own home, which was far dearer to her than all the glitter and adulation that awaited them.
She entered the White House with the same self-pos- session for which she had been conspicuous in her hum- ble home. In stature she was above the medium hight, her form was symmetrical, with complexion delicately
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fair, laughing blue eyes, bright auburn, curling hair, and a fascinating and dignified manner.
The first great want that met Mrs. Fillmore when she entered the White House was that of books, for not one was found therein. This, to one of her tastes and habits, was a great deprivation.
Mr. Fillmore asked for an appropriation by Congress, which was granted. The library at the White House was thus inaugurated. We are told that in this room Mrs. Fillmore surrounded herself with little home com- forts. Here her daughter had her piano, harp, and guitar. They received the informal visits of the friends they loved; and, for them, the real enjoyment and pleas- ure of the White House was within this room.
· She was always present at public receptions and state dinners when her health would permit, and, probably, at no time during the Administration was she so happy as on the 3d of March, 1853, when the official term was ended. A journey had been planned through the South- ern States, but a few days previous to the day set for their departure she was taken suddenly ill, and died at Willard's Hotel in March, 1853.
It is said of Mr. Fillmore's devotion to his wife that he carefully preserved every line she ever wrote to him, and that he could never destroy even the little notes she sent him on business to his office.
AN UNPOPULAR MEASURE.
.Mr. Fillmore lost the support of a very large propor- tion of his party in the Northern States by signing the Fugitive Slave law. That can truthfully be said to be the only unpopular measure of his Administration. His purity as a public man was unquestionable. It is a pity that the ghost of a second term will lure men on to favor measures of policy rather than principle; but it so often proves to be the death-knell of their political careers that the safety of the country is not jeopardized.
During his Administration Congress made an appro- priation for the extension of the Capitol, according to
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a plan offered by the President. This plan was given in I¿51. Two wings were to be added to the previous edifice, connected by corridors.
The cornerstone was laid July 4 by the President's own hands, with imposing ceremonies. The great as- sembly was addressed by Daniel Webster. The Presi- dent was assisted in laying the cornerstone by the Grand Master of the Masonic Lodge of Alexandria, who wore the same regalia and used the gavel which Washington had used 58 years before in laying the cornerstone of the original edifice. There can be seen, also, in the rooms of Washington Lodge, Alexandria, the candle-sticks that were carried in the procession.
It was during President Fillmore's Administration that the great Henry Clay breathed his last, June 29, 1852. He died at the National Hotel, where he had long made his home.
By his death the country lost one of its most eminent citizens and statesmen, and probably its greatest genius.
The history of this country could not be written with- out weaving into it the story of Henry Clay's services as a statesman, for they are inseparably connected with it. The true historian will find ample material to fill pages of American history with the thoughts and actions of this man. The record will pass from generation to generation as a portion of our National inheritance, incapable of being destroyed, as long as genius has an admirer, or liberty a friend.
Mary Clemmer with graceful touch has left this pen- picture of the daughter of the President, Mary Abigail Fillmore:
"She was the rarest and most exquisite President's daughter that ever shed sunshine in the White House. She survived her mother but one year, dying of cholera at the age of 22; yet her memory is a benison to all young American women, especially to those surrounded by the allurements of society and high station.
"She was not only the mistress of many accomplish- ments, but possessed a thoroughly practical education. She was trained at home, at Mrs. Sedgwick's school, in
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Lenox, Mass., and was graduated at the State Normal School, New York, as a teacher, and taught in the public schools in Buffalo. She was a French, German, and Spanish scholar; was proficient in music, and an ama- teur sculptor.
"She was the rarest type of woman, in whom was blend- ed, in perfect proportion, masculine judgment and femi- nine tenderness. In her was combined intellectual force, vivacity of temperament, genuine sensibility, and deep tenderness of heart. Words can not tell what such a nature and such an intelligence would be if called to preside over the social life of the Nation's house. She used her opportunities as the President's daughter to minister to others. She clung to all her old friends, with- out any regard to their position in life. Her time and talents were devoted to their happiness. She was con- stantly thinking of some little surprise, some gift, some journey, some pleasure by which she could contribute to the happiness of others.
"After the death of her mother she went to the desolate home of her father and brother, and, emulating the ex- ample of that mother, relieved her father of all house- hold care. Her domestic and social qualities equalled her intellectual powers. She gathered all her early friends about her; she consecrated herself to the happi- ness of her father and brother; she filled her home with sunshine. With scarcely an hour's warning the final summons came. 'Blessing she was, God made her so'; and in her passed away one of the rarest of young Ameri- can women."
The night of the 3d of March, 1853, found the Capital in an uproar with bands of music, thunder of guns, and the heavens bright with fireworks. The closing hours of Congress brought the same rush, push, and confusion worse confounded that too often distinguished the Capi- tal upon these occasions.
Sleepers and loungers upon the couches and in the ante-rooms were hauled in in time to vote when a bill was up. Through the blue tobacco atmosphere Congress- men could be discerned, here and there, who had held
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their positions for hours in hopes of recognition. The hands of the clock pointed to 12, the gavel fell, and with it the hopes of many. The 40th Congress was a thing of the past. The President was busy signing bills until the small hours. On the morning of the 4th the city was alive with preparations for the inauguration of President Pierce.
GLIMPSES OF SEVERAL PRESIDENTS.
The nomination of Franklin Pierce for the Presidency was as much a surprise to him as to the leaders of his party. In the rivalry between such political aspirants as James Buchanan, Lewis Cass, William L. Marcy, and Stephen A. Douglas, the nomination of so unag- gressive a politician as Franklin Pierce had not been anticipated or thought of by either of them.
At the Convention held in Baltimore June 12, 1852, on the 49th ballot Franklin Pierce was made the nomi- nee.
Party discipline was at its hight in those days, and at the election in November he received the vote of every State but four.
His life had been a busy one. Entering into politics, he was elected to the Legislature when 25 years old, and elected .Speaker two years afterwards. He was sent to Congress in 1833, and to the United States Senate in 1837, barely eligible to that position. The same lucky star attended him through the Mexican War, and now crowned him with the Presidency. In all these positions he had discharged his duty with much credit to himself and his country; but he was not a great man, notwith- standing his phenomenal success.
His Inauguration was attended with much pomp and ceremony, on account of the military glory won in the Mexican War.
With marshals and music, cheers and handkerchiefs, Ministers in court glitter, Congressmen and civilians, the new President was inaugurated. The night was brilliant with balls and merry-making.
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A MOULDING OF THE STAIRCASE.
AN OLD-FASHIONED STAIRWAY.
AN ANCIENT WARDROBE.
OCTAGON BARN,
FIRE-PLACE IN CLAYS ROOM
MOS
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FILLMORE, PIERCE, AND BUCHANAN,
AIrs. Fferce entered the White House bearing the bur- den of a great sorrow. Just previous to her husband's election she had witnessed her only child, a bright boy ·of 12, crushed to death in a railroad accident.
Under this bereavement and in delicate health she entered the White House; but during her residence there her grief did not interfere with her duties, socially or officially. She met the demands of the White House with grace and dignity. There was innate repose and gentleness in her manner. When she left she was re- vered and loved by all who had ever come under the influence of her gentle and exquisite nature.
So passive and timid was President Pierce politically, that he left the Presidential chair without having ad- rocated a single measure or done aught to solve the vexed problems that were rapidly approaching solution, leaving to his unfortunate successor, James Buchanan, a legacy of inextricable troubles.
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In going back to the shadowy days that hung over this Republic during the Administration of President Buchanan, we cannot touch upon a page of its history without bringing a pang to the heart of every true patriot. But there was a rift in the clouds even then, for Harriet Lane was the presiding genius of the White House, and never since the days of Mrs. John Quincy Adams had the Executive Mansion been presided over with such elegance and grace.
It was a position which Miss Lane sustained with credit to herself and honor to her country. She became an orphan at an early age, and was adopted by her uncle, James Buchanan." From the time she grew to woman- hood their fortunes were united; all the honors bestowed upon James Buchanan were reflected upon the niece, and additional luster was given to both by the grace and virtue for which Miss Lane was pre-eminently distin- guished.
When Mr. Buchanan was made Minister to the Court of St. James by President Pierce, Miss Lane accon- panied him and dispensed the hospitalities of the
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ministerial mansion. She was greatly admired in European Court circles, and by her dignity of demeanor and surpassing loveliness won the admiration and respect of Queen Victoria and the heart of many an Englishman.
When Harriet Lane was a simple country girl in the quiet town of Lancaster, little did she dream of the future in store for her. When, as a child, she wandered at will over the hills and meadow-lands of her childhood's home, she little thought and much less anticipated a day when she would be the companion of monarchs, or the pre- siding genius over the household of the man chosen to be the head of this great Nation. Yet all this came to pass in the course of events, and the Republican Government was not compromised when the Lancaster maiden became the cynosure for every eye as mistres of the White House.
A story is told of her generous nature, that when quite a lass she one day shocked the staid propriety of her uncle, who discovered her trudging through the streets of Lancaster with a wheelbarrow loaded with wood and coal, which she was taking to an old woman at the edge of the village, who, she had learned, was in want; and notwithstanding her uncle's "Alas! alas! what shall I do with that child?" he was more proud than angry that it was in her heart to do it.
She was a blonde, her eyes deep violet, her hair golden, her features classic and beautiful in expres- sion; she had a commanding form, and every movement was grace.
The White House in all its appointments and decora- tions was individualized to a degree never surpassed.
To descant upon the motives of men and weigh their characters, as developed in those days, is foreign to our purpose. It is not for us to compare the course pursued by one party with that of the other. Posterity will draw the line between them.
The virtues which have ennobled our country, and the errors which have disgraced it, will stand out in bold relief upon that scroll, when the pen of history traces the images of the past, in their glory and in their infamy.
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PRINCE OF WALES A VISITOR .;
In all the troublesome days that came into President Buchanan's Administration, when he was harassed on all sides, when his official life was beset by foes without and foes within, Miss Lane held herself aloof from all animosities, and with true womanly dignity maintained her position.
When the land was filled with passion and discord, she was faithful to the Nation; and when the hour came to lay aside the honors of the White House, she left it carrying with her her country's respect and love.
The closing months of President Buchanan's Admin- istration were made conspicuous in sundry ways. The Prince of Wales was entertained at the White House as a private gentleman, but in a manner grateful to Queen Victoria, as the following extract from her letter to the President will show:
"WINDSOR CASTLE, Nov. 19, 1860.
"MY GOOD FRIEND: Your letter of the 6th instant has afforded me the greatest pleasure, containing, as it does, such kind expressions with regard to my son, and assuring me that the character and object of his visit to you and the United States has been fully appreciated. He can not sufficiently praise the great cordiality with which he has been everywhere greeted in your country, and the friendly manner with which you have received him. And whilst, as a mother, I am most grateful for the kindness shown him, I feel impelled, at the same time, to express how deeply I have been touched by. the many demonstrations of affection personally toward myself, which his presence has called forth.
"I fully reciprocate toward your Nation the feelings thus made uppermost, and look upon them as forming an important link to connect two Nations of kindred origin and character, whose mutual esteem and friend- ship must always have so material an influence upon their respective development and prosperity."
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A Peace Convention assembled in Washington, Feb. 4, 1861, at which ex-President John Tyler was chosen Chairman.
After a session of three weeks they laid before Congress a series of proposed amendments to the Constitution, all of which Congress rejected, and another amendment was recommended by the House.
During all this controversy the Cabinet of Mr. Buc- · hanan was perplexed and disturbed on the subject of reinforcing the forts in Charleston Harbor, which ended in a dismembered Cabinet, and in this confusion the Administration of James Buchanan ended.
CHAPTER XII.
THE PEOPLE'S REPRESENTATIVE.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN A MAN TRIED AS BY FIRE-MRS. LINCOLN'S AMBITION-CROWNING GRIEF OF ALL-ANDREW JOHNSON INAUGURATED PRESIDENT-MRS. PATTERSON AND MRS. STOVER PRESIDE OVER THE WHITE HOUSE-CITY THRONGED WITH NOTABLE PEOPLE-GEN. ULYSSES S. GRANT INAUGU- RATED-BRILLIANT PROCESSION-SPECTACLE IN THE SENATE. EXTRAORDINARY SCENES AT INAUGURAL BALL-NELLIE GRANT'S WEDDING.
Step by step Abraham Lincoln walked before the peo- ple, their true representative. If he was ever slow in movement it was because the pulse of the people beat slow. He quickened his step to theirs. He was un- equivocally a public man, and in his daily routine the pulse of his heart was the indicator of the heart throbs of twenty millions, and when he talked it was the articu- lation of the thought of all these.
If ever a man was tried as by fire it was Abraham Lincoln. Slander, ridicule, and resistance did their best, but an extraordinary fortune attended him. Lord Bacon says "Manifest virtues procure reputation; occult ones fortune"; but he was carried on into the whirlwind of war, and when he had taken the helm of the old Ship of State the pilot found himself in the midst of a tornado.
During the four years of battle and strife his endurance was unbounded, his courage undaunted. By his hu- . manity and largeness of soul, by his benevolence and justice, he meted out to others as he would have them give to him. He was the grand, heroic figure, the center of all hope, and towards him were turned the eyes and hearts of all those who loved their country.
His great, tolerant nature made him accessible to all, and many a broken-hearted mother and sister can attest his good nature; and that down-trodden race that was thrown on his compassion is a living testimony to the touching tenderness with which he treated its people
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No man is the author of a greater number of clever and witty savings. His speeches and messages are filled with common sense and deep foresight. They are humane in every tone and lofty in expression. When he said, "Every man has a right to be equal with every other man," he translated the Declaration of Independence anew:
His speech at Gettysburg has no equal in modern language. His second Inaugural will go down into the ages as a masterpiece of thought. No statesman ever uttered words stamped with the seal of so deep a wisdom and so true a simplicity ..
LINCOLN'S SECOND INAUGURAL.
We shall never forget the impressions of that scene. The rain had poured incessantly, the sun had been hidden all the morning behind a heavy sky, and just as the tall, slim form of Mr. Lincoln appeared in the east door of the Capitol, leaning on the arm of Chief Justice Chase, the sun broke through the clouds, lighting up the pale, sad face of the President. "Blessed omen!" cried a hundred voices. The multitude caught the enthusiasm, and cheer after cheer rang through the air, while the band played "Hail to the Chief."
After AIr. Chase had repeated the oath, Mr. Lincoln stepped foward, and, in a clear, stentorian voice, deliv- ered his address; and when this passage was uttered, "With malice towards none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive to finish the work we are in, to bind up the Nation's wounds, to care for those who shall have borne the battle, and for their widows and orphans; and with all this, let us strive after a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all Nations," every voice was hushed, and from every patriotic heart the prayer went forth, "God bless our President."
It is well known that a plot was rife for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln that day, but for reasons known to those in the secret, the plan miscarried. Mr. Henry
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Elliott Johnston, of Baltimore, (who afterward married Harriet Lane,) gave friendly advice to a party in which we were numbered, not to venture upon the grand stand during the Inaugural ceremonies; that he had written Miss Lane, who was in Washington, that he knew the plan was ripe for Mr. Lincoln's assassination, and unless some unforeseen force interrupted, there would be bloody work that day. A small matter changed that plan; but the demon only lay dormant, biding the time when the nefarious scheme could be carried out.
The Inaugural ceremonies over, the next grand feature of the day was the President's levee. The crowd entered the White House grounds at the west gate, on Pennsyl- vania Avenue. It took two hours to reach the portico of the house. It looked as though all the world was going to see the President. Once having passed the portals, we were ushered into the Blue Room, where the reception was in progress, and as we took the hand of the President, and for the last time looked into that sad face, the ex- pression from those deep, dark-blue eyes, with their far- away look, will never be blotted from memory.
We passed on to Mrs. Lincoln and the others receiving, through the Green Room and the Red Room into the famous East Room, making way for the surging masses that followed. Hours passed and still they came; diplomats, officers of the army and navy, soldiers and civilians, each one eager to pay homage to the great man who was carrying the burdens of twenty millions of people.
At last the doors were closed, the multitude had melted away, quiet reigned in Washington; strife; grief, fears and red battlefields were for the time forgotten. Abra- ham Lincoln was President of this glorious Republic for the second time, and the people still had hope.
The world knows what followed. He lived to see Lee's army surrender, to conquer public opinion in England, France, and his own loved country. He lived long enough to enact the greatest beneficence that man ever made to fellow-man, the abolition of slavery.
Perhaps the country needed an imperishable grief to
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touch its inmost feelings. Abraham Lincoln fell a mar- tyr to the cause for which he fought.
As the fearful tidings traveled over mountain and sea, into every palace and hamlet of the land, a deep darkness settled upon the minds of all good men. Old as history is, and manifold as are its tragedies, never has a death . caused more pain, more anxiety, or greater regret. But from the shadow of this uncalculated eclipse came accla- mations of praise for the life he had lived and the good he had accomplished.
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