USA > Washington DC > Washington DC > Historic homes in Washington : its noted men and women and a century in the White House > Part 17
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Admiral Porter married a daughter of Commodore D. T. Patterson, who distinguished himself with Jackson at New Orleans in 1815. In our early Navy Commander Patterson ranked deservedly high among the gallant officers of his day.
Thomas H. Patterson, Rear-Admiral of the United States Navy, is a model officer and gentleman. He and Carlisle Patterson, the late Superintendent of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, have proved themselves worthy sons of their illustrious sire.
The former married the beautiful Miss Maria Wain- wright, and the latter Miss Pearsons, the heiress of Brent- wood Manor, a beautiful country seat on the Brentwood road and Florida avenue of the city, beautiful amid its tall ancestral trees.
Admiral .Porter had a large family. Two sons are officers in the service. Theoderic Porter is a Lieutenant in the Navy, stationed at the Naval Academy, and Capt. Porter is in the Marine Corps. Lieut. Porter married
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Carrie Capron, daughter of the late Capt. Capron, who was killed in Mexico, whose widow married Charles Vin- cent, long connected with the Treasury Department. Mr. Vincent's daughter Julia, by a previous marriage, be- came the wife of Lieutenant (now Rear-Admiral) George B. Balch, U. S. N., retired. During Admiral Porter's long residence therein, the H street house was the scene of many brilliant entertainments and the center of dis- tinguished hospitalities.
In his ripe old age the Admiral wrote the history of the Navy, in which he and his have borne so conspicuous a part. He had previously written several valuable books.
A volume might be written of the men have who come before the public and passed away, among the newspaper fraternity; beginning with Joseph Gales and William Winston Seaton, followed by Duffy Green, Amos Ken- dall, Francis P. Blair, John C. Rives and Thomas Ritchie. None of these men survive, and even the papers with which they were connected have passed out of exist- ence.
Mr. Ritchie, who for many years was the powerful editor of the Richmond Enquirer, and who strayed for years the Democratic party of Virginia, was called to Washington by James K. Polk in 1814. He superseded the old Jackson firm of Blair & Rives. His home for a time was on G street between Fourteenth and Fifteenth, a small, narrow, two-story brick house, standing back in the yard. A wooden piazza extending along the side, opening from the second story, was his walking space. Upon this balcony the old veteran used to walk at night, formulating those powerful editorials for which this knight of the free lance was renowned.
He changed the name of the paper from the Globe to . the Union; how much the name was a misnomer others must sav.
Mr. Ritchie was amiable, honorable and unsophisti- cated to a marked degree. Ihis education and life had not prepared him with ability to cope with men of na- tional breadth.
He has been called the most genteel old fogy who ever
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wore nankeen pantaloons, white vest, blue coat, high shirt collars and straw hat. These were his vestments, Summer and Winter. His instincts were pure and his relations to men honest. He was a conscientious be- liever in the extreme doctrine of State-rights. The estrangement brought about by this change of editors was broad, and rankled deep. To the student of political issues it gives a great field; it will show to them "How great a matter a little fire kindleth." A change in the editorship of a political organ was the origin of a move- ment that brought about the greatest event in the political or economic history of the country.
Almost upon the ashes of the house on G street, where Mr. Ritchie used to quicken his facile pen, the building of the American Security and Trust Company and an auction house are now located.
At one time Mr. Ritchie lived in the Slidell house on · Lafayette Square, which was afterwards also occupied by a defender of the Union, Gideon Welles, when Secre- tary of the Navy. The student of political economy must come to the conclusion that there is a destiny that shapes our ends.
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CHAPTER XX.
ANCESTRAL MT. VERNON.
A PILGRIMAGE DOWN THE POTOMAC-THE CRYPT AT THE CAPITOL. FORESTRY OF MOUNT VERNON-EPISODES OF WASHINGTON'S LIFE-A NATIONAL HERITAGE-THE ESTATE OF ABINGDON. PURCHASED BY GEORGE WASHINGTON-HOME OF JOHN PARKE CUSTIS-ARLINGTON AND ITS TRADITIONS-WASHINGTON RELICS-THE NATIONAL CEMETERY.
There are few visitors to the Capital who care to leave without making a pilgrimage to Mount Vernon, and it is eminently fitting that the homes "beyond the Potomac" which have become identified with the history of the country should find a place among the historic homes of Washington.
There is no shrine in the land toward which so many pilgrims turn as to that of George Washington. There is hardly a pleasant morning of the year but many people step on board a steamer for a sail down the beautiful Potomac. Word painting can convey but little idea of the beautiful scenery and give but glimpses of the band- ing hills, the broad amphitheater of space, the delicate tints and depth of color, the gold and orange and purple, where earth and sky meet over the Virginia hills.
As we look back upon Arlington Hights and the beauti- ful curve of the dome of the Capitol against the snowy mass of cloud and through the banks of mist, and the rising, tapering shaft that commemorates the name at whose shrine we do homage, the steamer is hurrying us on over the 17 miles of waterway. The beautiful city gradually fades from sight and Arlington lies hidden from view.
Later the tolling bell tells us that we are passing the tomb of Washington. This mark of reverence was instituted 85 years ago by Commodore Gordon, the com- mander of the English fleet, who, when passing Mount
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Vernon, Aug. 24, 1814, ordered the bell of his flagship, Sea-Horse, to be tolled.
"Slowly sailing, slowly sailing, hushed the music, mute the mirth,
Men and maidens standing reverent on some broad altar's hearth.
"Silently, before Mount Vernon, silently our boat moves on,
Hushed the iron heart's deep panting past the tomb of Washington;
Truest, worthiest act of worship that degenerate earth now knows,
Inmost soul here recognizing all the mighty debt she owes.
Oh, my country! art thou paling-losing all the young day's glow?
Cans't thou lose thy first love's glory, and thy hero's worth still know?
Patriot hearts, no doubt, still haunt you, threatening thoughts come crowding on,
Sail with me down broad Potomac, past the tomb of Washington;
Feel the impress of his greatness stamped upon the Na- tion's heart,
See each manly brow uncovered, lovely lips in awe apart; Fear not while this reverence lingers with its clear, warm, hallowing light;
This must fade from brow and bosom, ere can come our country's night.
-MRS. R. CARY LONG.
At this point of landing the river is two miles wide. Glimpses of the mansion can be seen through the green vistas on the bank a couple of hundred feet above the water. Passing up the easy ascending road that winds over the brow of the hill, you reach the tomb, which through numerous reproductions has become familiar to every child in the land.
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Therein lie the mortal remains of George and Martha Washington. To this vault the body of Washington was removed April 19, 1831, for the reason that vandals had broken into the old tomb and removed what they supposed to be the skull of Washington, but which proved to be that of one of the Blackburn family.
In the Winter of 1832, Congress for the second time made an effort to have the body of Washington removed to the crypt of the Capitol originally designed for its sepulchre. Adams, Clay, Webster and many others were anxious for its removal on the centennial anniversary of his birth, Feb. 22, 1832.
It will be remembered that on the death of Gen. Wash- ington, those in National authority begged his remains for public interment at the seat of the National Capital. They were granted by Mrs. Washington on condition that her own remains should be interred by the side of her husband in the National tomb. This memorable com- pact remains in force, and in one sense binding on the Nation, as no living authority has power to annul it.
On the strength of this contract, President Monroe ordered two crypts to be built in the basement of the center of the Capitol for the reception of the remains of General and Mrs. Washington. There was at this time appointed a watchman, who was called the "keeper of the crypt," whose duty it was to sit by the small opening in the marble floor under the old dome and keep watch lest some evil might befall the sacred remains. Faithfully he did his sitting, and faithfully he drew his $2,500 salary through the years, until Abraham Lincoln's Administration abolished the sinecure office.
The desire to have the remains of this illustrious citizen removed failed, and now that Mount Vernon, through the work of patriotic women, has become the property of the ' Nation, every American should rejoice that they rest beneath the forest trees and on the grassy slopes of their own loved Mount Vernon.
Previous to the Revolutionary War the establishment at Mount Vernon was upon a very limited scale. There were but four rooms on a floor; the outbuildings were
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meager. After Washington resigned his commission at Annapolis on the 23d of December, 1783, he hastened to Mount Vernon, ready to turn his swords into plow-shares and his spears into pruning-hooks, and learn war no more.
He was his own architect and builder, and in the ar- rangement and embellishment of the grounds he attended to the minutest details. One of the ideas which possessed the mind of Gen. Washington has lately come to light through the careful study of the present Superintendent, Harrison H. Dodge. He intended that an instructive lesson should be read in the variety of trees grown upon . the grounds. Toward this result North, East, West and South contributed their quota. The Massachusetts elm spread its sheltering branches over the Southern mag- nolia; the cypress, cedar, black walnut, mountain ash, beech, buckeye, coffee bean, with so many others, were traced, that the design is unmistakable.
During the late war the negroes cut down these in-' valuable relics for firewood. In some few cases there is a vestige left to identify the variety of tree, and mark the general plan, as may be seen by the plat of the west lawn, laid out in the form of a shield; and, carried a little beyond the lines, the outline of the "Old Liberty Bell" reproduced.
The forestry of Mount Vernon is one of the most in- teresting features of study associated with this historic spot. Ascending the hill to the right, and very near the approach to the tomb, stands a remarkable tree. It is a lofty cypress, an evergreen from the North, which seems to have found congenial soil, for its hight indicates per- fection; its trunk seems to be made up of cords or muscles like the arm of the Roman gladiator. It is a wonderful exponent of Gustave Dore's idea of trees, which he en- dowed with souls; the mute language of this specimen is just as appealing as an expression on the human face.
A few feet removed from this may be seen a black walnut, ill almost unto death. Its slender, feeble-looking body can be accounted for when glancing at one of the upper limbs. Upon this branch is an excrescence of immense size in proportion to the tree on which it grows;
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there can be no mistake that this is a most seriously afflicted tree, and it goes far to prove.the brotherhood of universal matter. These both stand near the tomb, emblems of strength and weakness.
When they were planted no man knoweth. Could the great man, having discovered their peculiarities, have placed them side by side? Such trees must have a his- tory, but where is it written ? Who holds the key of the hieroglyphs ?
. As we pass from room to room in the ancestral home, the genial and kindly hospitality of the olden time like a peaceful benediction falls upon us. The entire house is an architectural commentary on the rise and progress of the Nation. It was a princely mansion in its day, no doubt, but the state dining-hall is the only room that can lay claim to any pretension toward elegance, and to-day it seems meager in its proportions.
In this room there is an elaborately carved mantelpiece from Carrara, with Sienna marble columns. The ex- quisite workmanship is attributed to Canova. This alone is all that remains of the appointments of this banquet- hall, where so many illustrious men and famous women broke bread.
Through the curved colonnade that leads to the old gate kitchen, with its immense fireplace and hanging crane, we can again see some glorified "Fraunces" gliding back and forth to the immaculate chef, "Uncle Harkness," busy with culinary art for some great feast. Under his iron discipline, without spot or blemish, each cover was handed over in its perfection to the exacting steward, who, in snow-white apron, silk shorts and stockings, knee- buckles and powdered hair, placed the dishes in turn upon the table.
In retrospection we again materialize Hamilton, Madi- son, Jefferson, Marshall, Lafayette, Rochambeau, L'Enfant, Monroe, Morris, and, hosts of Generals and civilians who have made this place historic by their pres- ence.
We step out upon the open veranda, and a vision of loveliness greets the eye; terraced lawns, forest trees,
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gentle slopes and the Potomac's broad expanse, flecked with dancing, drifting sails that bring back the fairest, tenderest picture, just such as greeted the young, fair bride of Mount Vernon in that long ago.
Could the old clock in the hall, which once struck the hours in Washington's home, speak, how many tales it would tell of ancient grandeur; of courtly dames and gal- lant cavaliers; of Old Dominion hospitalities; of stirring Virginia reels and stately minuets!
Washington's "birthnight" was first celebrated by a ball given at Alexandria at the close of the Revolution. Such functions soon became general in all the towns and cities.
At a ball given in Fredericksburg in honor of the French and American officers, after the surrender of Yorktown in 1781, Washington danced the minuet for the last time, in the graceful and elegant manner for which he was noted.
The following letter from Washington was written about a month before his death in reply to an invitation from a committee of gentlemen in Alexandria to attend the dancing assemblies there, and may be seen in the Alex- andria Museum:
"MOUNT VERNON, 12th of November, 1799.
"GENTLEMEN: Mrs. Washington and myself have been honored with your polite invitation to the assemblies of Alexandria this Winter, and thank you for this mark of attention. But alas! our dancing days are no more. We wish, however, all those who have a relish for so agreeable and innocent an amusement, all the pleasure the season will afford them; and so I am, gentlemen,
"Your most obedient and obliged humble servant, "GEO. WASHINGTON."
Could the old halls of Mount Vernon tell the story of the century since Washington crossed the threshold in 1753, to enter upon a life work, in which no man has been so honored, what a history it would tell.
His achievements in penetrating the wilderness amid difficulties and dangers, brought him into the favorable notice of the Colonial authorities, who intrusted him in 1754 with the defense of the frontier of his native Colony.
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ANCESTRAL. MOUNT VERNON.
When he again enjoyed the peaceful shades of Mount Vernon, his stay was of short duration. The fame of the young provincial soldier had reached Gen. Braddock's ears, and he requested him to accompany him on his (unfortunate) expedition to Fort Duquesne.
Here Washington reaped his first laurels. At the close of this war, which lasted seven years, the young provincial again returned to Mount Vernon to await events.
It is well known where and how he met his wife. In 1759 he brought her, a fair bride, to Mount Vernon. The years glided by and peace pervaded the fair domain. Amid the felicities of home life, the better counsel of family and friends, the peaceful pursuit of agriculture, the small cloud of Colonial troubles appeared upon the horizon, and Patrick Henry and Edmund Pendleton stepped upon the scene.
Washington had been chosen to represent Virginia in the First Continental Congress, which assembled in Philadelphia on the 5th of September, 1774, and these gentlemen were to accompany him. He was called again to leave fertile fields and fairy meads to enter the arena of public life.
While serving in the First Congress, in the year 1775, his name was brought forward as Commander-in-Chief of the Army by John Adams, and he was duly appointed. He obeyed the call of his country, and for six more long years of privation and anxiety his days were spent on the tented field.
In 1781 the old halls of Mount Vernon re-echoed for a day the master's foofalls. He was accompanied by Count de Rochambeau and a brilliant suite en route for Yorktown.
A happier scene was spread upon the canvas in 1783. The war was over; the Nation was free, the people inde- pendent. Washington had resigned his commission, and the glorified and almost deified General had become lieu- tenant over the peaceful forces of agriculture at Mount Vernon.
For four years there congregated in this hospitable
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home the great, the good, the worthy of the land. Among these chosen spirits was the gallant Lafayette, who hastened to Mount Vernon on his return to this country in 1784, to pay his respects to the man whom he honored and loved above all men.
In 1787 the old Confederation is ended and a new Gov- ernment is formed. Washington leaves Mount Vernon again, and his signature is the first on the immortal con- stitutional charter, conceived in the purity of republican freedom, planted on the basis of equal rights and equal laws. All honor to the men who formed this masterpiece of virtue!
Two years later, a special Envoy in the person of Secre- tary Thomson, a signer of the Declaration of Independ- ence, arrived at Mount Vernon, to officially announce to Washington that he had been, chosen by the electors President of the United States.
For eight long years silence reigned in the old home. In 1797, with blithesome step and joyous heart, the master of Mount Vernon stepped over its portals. Time had blanched his locks and furrowed his brow. He had given his youth and his manhood to his country. He returned to his home stricken in years, but crowned with honor above all men.
When again called to leave Mount Vernon it was to pass into an unchanging inheritance, for which no man was better fitted.
The entire area from Mount Vernon to Arlington might well be considered classic ground. Various reminis- cences of Washington are connected with this locality. ' Old Alexandria and George Washington came into active life together, but the spot to which every Alexandrian will point with most pride is old Christ Church. This church is not famous for its size and grandeur, but because it contains the pew where George Washington sat, Sunday after Sunday, a participant in the services.
Could we picture to ourselves this venerable church as it appeared in 1776, we should find it almost hidden by primeval forest trees. The spacious galleries would be
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wanting; the pews would bestiff, square and high enough to prevent unprofitable gazing at each other.
We should see Susanna Edwards, the sexton, ushering up the tile-paved aisles the congregation to the seats allotted to each "according to dignity." There would be Mrs. William Payne in her special seat upon the upper platform, by special consent, on account of deafness, and Col. Washington, and the Alexanders, and the Custises, and many others in the antique dress of their day.
We might have seen George Washington on Christ Church green, when he made the famous declaration of resistance to the odious Stamp Act, when it may be said a Nation was conceived.
Alexandria is a city that has fallen asleep wrapped in a century of legend and tradition.
The legend most often on the lips of an Alexandrian is that of "The Beautiful Female Stranger." It is a fasci- nating and mysterious story. It is said that between the long sermon and the short sermon, for over 70 years, the women folks of old Christ Church have talked about the "female stranger."
Under the cedars and the oaks, in the old St. Paul cemetery, is her grave. The tombstone is a marble slab, · laid horizontally upon six elaborately-carved white marble pillars. Upon the tablet is the inscription:
"To the memory of a female stranger whose mortal sufferings terminated on the 4th day of October, 1816, aged 23 years and eight months.
"This stone is erected by her disconsolate husband, in whose arms she breathed out her last sigh, and who, under God, did his utmost to soothe the cold, dull ear of death.
"How loved, how honored once, avails thee not,
To whom related or by whom begot;
A heap of dust alone remains of thee, -- 'Tis all thou art, and all the proud shall be."
One thing is certain; the woman who was buried there was unknown in Alexandria, as was the man who claimed to be her husband. They came to Alexandria upon a
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foreign vessel, and took apartments at the leading hotel. She was a beautiful young girl, and he a handsome, distinguished-looking man. They brought with them one servant, and to all appearance were people of high rank and great wealth.
The legends of Alexandria are filled with stories of her beauty, her jewels, her magnificent wardrobe. They denied themselves none of the luxuries of life, but abso- lutely refused to let their identity be known, or to make any friends or acquaintances in the city. Even the valet was under instructions to reveal nothing. The ship they · came in sailed away, and those on board knew no more about the enigmatical passengers than the native Alex- andrians.
The lady was above medium hight, with a well-de- veloped figure. Masses of blonde hair covered her head, her eyes were large and expressive, her mouth small and sweet, and her manner pleasant, yet dignified. It is said that, as she drove about Alexandria, no one appealed to her in vain for charity. To all organizations she gave liberally, but attended no meetings and received no visit- ors. All the intercourse between the strangers and the citizens was such as came by chance.
Five months after they arrived in the city, the young wife became ill with a low fever, and died. This is the generally accepted opinion. She was never left alone with the physician, the husband or valet being always present; and when she died, she lay in the arms of her husband with his lips pressed to hers.
He alone, with his valet, was present at the burial. He selected the spot where she now lies, and stayed long enough to order and see completed and placed the tablet as it now stands, and left a sum of money to keep it in order for a term of years. He was to return, or send more money at the end of the time. He took ship and sailed away as mysteriously as he had come, and has never been heard of since. It has been rumored that he did, years afterwards, visit the grave of his wife.
Another story that has been given credence is that one evening in the long ago, a vessel, evidently a foreign man-
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of-war, anchored just below Alexandria. During the night the commander and two boats, with their crews, came off and went to the grave of the Female Stranger, exhumed the remains, took them to the ship, and at day- break dropped down the river and disappeared. A great many believe that if the grave were opened an empty vault would be found. The casket, according to the legend, was put into a solidly constructed vault. Many novels have been woven out of this legend, and some of them add to the interest clinging to this story and its fascination.
We can not longer dwell in old Alexandria, with its legends and treasured memories, The trend of our thought leads us on to the old home of the Alexanders, the Custises and the Hunters-Abingdon.
Between Washington and Alexandria, on the banks of the Potomac, there is one of the oldest and finest estates in Virginia. It was the family seat of the Alexanders and Hunters, and has been in the family for nearly three cen- turies.
This family is descended from the powerful clan of McDonald of Scotland; from Alexander, son of John, Lord of the Isles, by Lady Margaret, his wife, who was the daughter of Robert II., King of Scotland. John IV., son of the Earl of Sterling, emigrated to Virginia in 1659, and settled in Stafford County, and purchased the How- son patent, which extended from Georgetown to Hunting Creek. .
When he died, in 1677, his will bequeathed to his son John all the land from Four Mile Run, in Alexandria County, to the Potomac River, and to his second son, Philip, Four Mile Run to Hunting Creek; so that Abing- don, the historic home referred to, became the home of John Alexander.
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