USA > Washington DC > Washington DC > Historic homes in Washington : its noted men and women and a century in the White House > Part 7
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John Quincy Adams, with his polished manners, classical education, and long experience in European schools when a boy, and at foreign coutrs during his father's and his own diplomatic service, was better fitted for this high position than any President who had pre- ceded him. His Administration had been characterized by great refinement in the White House, Mrs. Adams pre- siding over the social part with grace and elegance. Hence it is not surprising that Jackson's ascendency was looked upon with many forebodings by the coterie that surrounded the White House and the denizens of the National Capital.
In his courage and executive ability in the administra: tion of National affairs they had all confidence. They knew that in his eyes "right was might"; that the laws would be executed; that the rights of every American citizen would be respected the world over, and that evil-
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doers and revolutionists would be punished. But whether he would give that consideration which is due in the ob- servance of the smaller proprieties of society obligatory upon the Chief Executive of the Nation; was a question that gave them much apprehension.
Mrs. Jackson having died just before the Inauguration, her wonderful influence over his turbulent spirit was gone -- a spirit that never knew restraint except from the loving hand of her whom he mourned.
No one knew better or felt more keenly these forebod- ings than Jackson himself. Circumstances had given him a reputation unjust to his tender heart and refined nature. But he was of and from the people, and backed by this impregnable support he entered upon his duties.
Like Washington, he was a military hero, and the en- thusiasm attending his Inauguration knew no bounds. Innumerable visitors flocked to the Capital. Every imaginary means of transportation was taxed to its ut- most. After the Inauguration he was escorted to the White House, followed by the populace, who, defying all control, rushed into the house, filling every inch of space.
The elegant banquet spread in the East Room in his honor was soon a scene of the wildest confusion.
In the carnival that ensued china and glass were broken, wine was spilled, and order was turned into chaos. In their mad endeavor to see the new President, men with muddy boots climbed upon the furniture, and much of it was soiled, broken, and utterly ruined.
Jackson knew that he must establish something more in keeping with the dignity of his position; hence he at once installed the accomplished Mrs. Donaldson, a niece of Mrs. Jackson, as hostess of the White House. He appointed Mr. Van Buren Secretary of State; Samuel D. Ingham, of Pennsylvania, Secretary of the Treasury; John HI. Eaton, Secretary of War; John Branch, of North Carolina, Secretary of the Navy; and William F. Barry, of Kentucky, Postmaster-General. With the exception of Mr. Van Buren, the Cabinet was in no sense a strong one.
Socially, Mrs. Donaldson was not reinforced more
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strongly by the ladies of the Cabinet than the President by the Cabinet counselors.
Calhoun, as Vice President, was very near him, but only to criticize and irritate, and in nowise to aid him to a successful Administration.
In establishing the maxim "to the victor belong the spoils" Jackson had much opposition from the friends nearest and dearest to him. Maj. Lewis was of that num- ber, and in urging his opposition he wrote the following letter:
"I embrace this occasion to enter my solemn protest against it, not on account of my office, but because I hold it to be fraught with the greatest mischief to the country. If it ever should be carried out, in extenso, the days of the Republic will, in my opinion, have been numbered; for whenever the impression shall have become general that the Government is only valuable on account of its offices, the great and paramount interests of the country will be lost sight of, and the Government itself will be ultimately destroyed. This, at least, is the honest conviction of my mind with regard to the novel doctrine of rotation in office."
But with characteristic determination Jackson carried out his policy of removal, wherever he desired to serve a friend or punish an enemy.
Many and bitter were the political controversies and battles of his Administration; not unfrequently with the political giants of that day, of whom there was a large percentage in the Senate, led by Calhoun, Clay, Webster, Benton and others, until, finally, the social question be- came so entangled in the political controversy that the Cabinet was disrupted.
Mr. Van Buren more firmly intrenched himself in the regard of Mr. Jackson by espousing his side of the controversy, and the breach between Mr. Calhoun and the President became wider through Calhoun's opposition.
Jackson was as tenacious of his friendships as he was of his principles and his religion.
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THE MRS. EATON IMBROGLIO.
The wife of his Secretary of War, Mrs. Eaton, having been rather unfortunate in her antecedents and early 'associations, there was the greatest opposition to her presence and position. She was slighted on every hand by leading ladies and gentlemen of the Administration and of the Diplomatic Corps. Friends importuned Presi- dent Jackson to remove Mr. Eaton and thereby eliminate Mrs. Eaton from the Executive circle ; but he would listen to none of them, and, it is claimed, threatened to depose Mrs. Donaldson as hostess of the Executive Mansion should she join the clamoring persecutors of this really unfortunate woman. He knew that she was upright and had in no sense forfeited her right to courteous treatment, and he would not desert her or add to her trials by placing her and her husband at the mercy of her tormentors by removing Mr. Eaton from the War Department.
Mr. Eaton was a lifelong friend of Jackson, and nothing would induce the latter to wound his friend. Mrs. Eaton was a person of fascinating manners and rare personal attractions, bright and vivacious in conversation, and a great favorite with the President. While nothing could be alleged against her personal character, she could not be forgiven her antecedents. Her career was an eventful one. The misfortunes that followed her from the day of . the death of her illustrious benefactor are almost incredible, and were they written without embellishment, would be called a romance. She died in this city a few years ago, alone, in great poverty and desolation, after seeing all her glory and friends depart.
For years persons who attended the Metropolitan Church here, saw each Sunday a little old lady with no trace of beauty left in her pinched and wrinkled face, clad in shabby-genteel garments, slip quietly into a seat on the side aisle, near the altar, listen attentively to the ser- mon, and as quietly withdraw at iis close. Few knew that this was Mrs. Eaton, who was once the most con- spicuous woman in President Jackson's official circle
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Mrs. Donaldson was a woman of remarkable beauty; dark auburn hair, brown eyes, fair complexion, lips and brow exquisitely molded, and a slender, symmetrical figure. Her picture strongly resembles that of Mary, Queen of Scots. Her wardrobe was very elegant. The dress she wore at the Inaugural ball is still preserved, and even in this day of extravagance would be greatly ad- mired. It is an amber-colored satin, brocaded with bouquets of rosebuds and violets, and richly trimmed white lace and pearls. Though Mrs. Grundy was given little space in the newspapers of that day, this dress was graphically described. It was presented to Mrs. Donald- son by the President-elect, who loved his niece as his own child, always calling her "my daughter," as a term of en- dearment. Her vivacity and quick repartee delighted him.
On one occasion a foreign minister, desiring to compli- ment her, said: "Madam, you dance with the grace of a Parisian. I can hardly realize you were educated in Tennessee."
"Count, you forget that grace is a cosmopolite, and, like a flower, is found oftener in the woods than in the streets of a city," was the spirited reply. At dinners, dancing parties, receptions, and on all occasions-and there were many in those days of genuine hospitality-Mrs. Donald- son presided gracefully, greeting all with much cordiality of manner."
At the close of Jackson's first term no complaints were heard of boorishness, or inhospitable 'administration; hence when the fates decreed a second term of the Jackson regime, there were no regrets or unkind prophecies of shortcomings in the courtesies of the White House.
Jackson, however, was determined to relieve himself of much of the irksome detail of entertainments. The long- drawn-out dining of officials, including the members of both Houses of Congress, was trying to his patience. The promiscuous levees were intolerable to him. After entering upon his second term, he invited the ladies of the Cabinet lo a consultation on matters of etiquet, where he explained that he wished to be relieved from the odious ordeal of affairs of ceremony.
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It was resolved that the President should give a grand ball in the Executive Mansion, the night before Christmas, 1835, to which he could invite persons entitled to such consideration, and thereby avoid the promiscuous crowd of a public levee. The guests assembled at 9. The ball was in the East Room. The supper was served in the West Room at II o'clock, and the company dispersed by half-past 12; but those who were not included in the list of guests were much dissatisfied, and the following, from a contemporary paper, shows how impossible it was to adjust social affairs then, when the city was compara- tively in its infancy and the population small:
AN UNINVITED'S COMPLAINT.
"A little set of exclusives is now formed under the immediate patronage of the President, who has set him- self to the grand object of separating the true and ac- knowledged fashion and rank of the community, from contact with those who are not exactly of the right sort. The social institutions of Washington have too long, in his estimation, borne a resemblance to the political in- stitutions of the country, and admitted respectable per- sons from every part of the country, without a very rigid scrutiny into their pretensions as people of fashion.
"The system is now to be changed. The scale estab- lished by the President is peculiarly arbitrary. For instance, clerks with $3,000 salary are invited, those of $2,000 are excluded.
"On Friday the public New Year levee is to be held, and to that the Irish laborers, etc., are to be admitted in their shirt sleeves, as heretofore. Andrew the First will give an exclusive ball and supper once a fortnight, hereafter, till the weather is too hot for dancing."
Again: "The President has determined to give no more exclusives. The last one was a shocking exhibition. The members of Congress brought ladies, and numbers came from every part of the city and vicinity without invitation and pushed their way in. Sixteen hundred
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persons were computed to be present, and, of course, the rooms were crowded to suffocation."
The President handed Mrs. Forsyth to the supper- room, but the mob rushed past him and excluded him from the table.
"Well," said he, very properly offended, "this is the first time that I was ever shut out from my own table, and it shall be the last."
It is acknowledged that the social brilliancy of Gen. Jackson's Administration equalled, if it did not surpass, any that had preceded him. There was as polished and refined society to be found in Washington then as to-day, and it was accessible to all who wished to enter it. Un- doubtedly there is not a city in the United States where true worth is recognized as quickly as in Washington, or where more consideration is given to innate refinement and talent. Many families depend upon the Govern- ment for support, giving an equivalent in services ren- dered. The only difference is one of income, which governs the manner of style of living. Society is made up of those in official life, foreigners of rank, citizens of wealth, men of letters, and women of culture and refine- ment, who give tone and polish to the body social.
Gen. Jackson, following the example of his predecessors, except Jefferson, held his levees periodically, and all who wished to pay their respects to the President could do so on these occasions.
The members of the Cabinet, heads of Departments, foreign Ministers and other dignitaries gave dinners and evening parties, during the session, to strangers of note, and as these were multiplied or lessened the mercury marked the brilliancy of the season on the social baroni- eter. Hotel registers were carefully watched. No stran- gers of note missed an invitation. All lions of the day were in demand. Members of Congress were eagerly sought. All these were concomitant parts of a fashion- able party. Some of them, we must admit, were dia- monds in the rough, coming from the rural districts, in all their simplicity and rusticity, with undisguised as- tonishment that an entry into a house must be preceded
HISTORIC HOMES IN WASHINGTON.
by a "ticket with your name onto it"; but Aladdin and his magician's lamp works no greater transformation than this entry into fashionable society, where the elite of the land preside; and the newcomer gradually throws aside the order of the novice, and in time becomes a full-fledged aristocrat.
The Secretaries gave the usual round of soirees, which commenced at 9 or 10 o'clock, the host and hostess stand- ing in the drawing-room to receive the company. Danc- ing, cards, and conversation were the amusements of the evening. Light refreshments were served through the apartments, and at II o'clock a supper was partaken of by the guests; at 3 they began to disperse, and at 4 the banquet hall was deserted.
DEATH OF MRS. DONALDSON.
In the Spring of 1836 Mrs. Donaldson's health was so impaired that she left Washington and returned to Tennes- see, little thinking as she passed out of the White House that she was parting with all its honors and pleasures for the last time. She rapidly failed in strength, and in December, 1836, the spirit of "the lovely Emily" passed from earth. During the following session the Presi- dent's House was closed in respect to her memory.
Her four children were born in the White House, Presi- dent Jackson acting as godfather to two of them, Mr. Van Buren to another, and Gen. Polk to the youngest. One of these children is now Mrs. Eliza Wilcox, a clerk in the Treasury Department, having been a widow for many years, dependent upon her own exertions for the support of herself and family. From her baby head Jackson cut a lock of hair, which he sent to the Committee to be placed in the cornerstone of the Treasury Building, as the most valued treasure he had to deposit; little thinking that in the changes that time brings this "precious baby" would ever join the throng that goes in and out of the great building in the weary round of the treadmill-life of a Gov- ernment. clerk.
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Jackson's devotion to the memory of his wife was most pathetic, and betrays a tenderness as beautiful as the courage that made him immortal .- She had been his joy for 40 eventful years, passing through vituperation, poverty, and the trials that ever attend men of mark.
It seemed a cruel fate that removed her just as he was entering upon his triumphs. It is said that he wore her miniature always, and at night it was placed upon a little table at his bedside, leaning against her Bible, that the smile preserved by the artist in the loved face might greet him on awaking. And as we look upon the picture of this saintly woman, we are not surprised that it was the inspiration of that grand old hero.
The face is oval, the features delicate, the eyes are large and beautiful in their clear and spirited gaze; the dark curls which cluster round the finely-formed head are half revealed and half concealed by a cap of soft lace falling vail-like over her shoulders; a double ruff of lace encircles a delicate throat; the brow is broad, and the mouth is wreathed in a smile that gives the face a lovely expression. We can imagine that to steal away from the throng that beset him, this old man often had his solace in gazing upon this inanimate portrait of her whom he idolized in life and revered in death.
During Jackson's regime the White House had but few additions in the way of elegant furnishings or expensive luxuries, That was left'for the more elaborate taste of his successor, Martin Van Buren
CHAPTER VIII.
ADMINISTRATIONS OF MARTIN VAN BUREN AND WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.
INAUGURATION OF MARTIN VAN BUREN-THE COUNTRY SUFFERS FROM A FINANCIAL CRISIS-DULL TIMES IN WASHINGTON. ATTACK UPON THE PRESIDENT'S EXTRAVAGANCE IN RE- FURNISHING THE WHITE HOUSE-RETURN OF MRS. JIADISON AFTER 23 YEARS' ABSENCE-VISIT OF FANNY ELLSLER-END . OF A HALF CENTURY OF CONGRESS-"LOG CABINS" AROUSED BY REPUBLICAN RIDICULE-"TIPPECANOE AND TYLER, TOO." CAMPAIGN OF INTENSE EXCITEMENT-NATION SHOCKED BY DEATH OF THE PRESIDENT-MRS. HARRISON'S LOVABLE CHARACTER.
The Inauguration of Martin Van Buren, the successor of Gen. Jackson, March 4, 1837, has been so graphically described by N. P. Willis that we may be pardoned for giving it in extenso:
"The Republican procession, consisting of the Presi- dents and their families, escorted by a small volunteer corps, arrived soon after 12. The General and Mr. Van Buren were in the 'Constitution phaeton,' drawn by four grays, and as it entered the gate they both rode uncovered. Descending from the carriage to the foot of the steps, a passage was made for them through the dense crowd, and the tall white head of the old chieftain, still uncovered, went steadily up through the agitated mass, marked by its peculiarity from all around it. The crowd of diplo- matists and Senators in the rear of the columns made way, and the ex-President and Mr. Van Buren advanced with uncovered heads.
"A murmur of feeling came up from the moving mass below as the infirm old man, just emerged from a sick- chamber, which his physicians had thought he would never leave, bowed to the people. Mr. Van Buren then 'advanced and, with a voice remarkably distinct, and with great dignity, read his address to the people.
"The air was elastic and the day still, and it is supposed that nearly 20,000 people heard him from his elevated position distinctly. I stood, myself, on the outer limit of the crowd, and, though I lost occasionally a sentence from
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ADMINISTRATIONS OF VAN BUREN AND HARRISON. 93
the interruption nearby, his words came clearly articu- lated to my ear."
Mr. Van Buren was a disciple of Jefferson, imbibing his doctrines and political principles, entering into politics when only IS years of age, being a State Senator in ISI2, subsequently Attorney-General, Governor of the State of New York, and United States Senator. He was Secre- tary of State under Jackson, who also appointed him Minister to St. James, but Mr. Calhoun defeated his con- firmation. He was, however, made Vice-President when Jackson was elected for the second term, and to Mr. Van Buren's influence were many of Jackson's mistakes attributed.
THE PANIC OF 1837.
The country was verging on a financial crash, from various causes, and in a brief time after the brilliant In- auguration it came near destroying the credit and busi- ness interests of the whole Nation. Suspensions were the rule, and solvency the exception.
Nothing daunted, Mr. Van Buren still insisted upon the payment of all public moneys in gold and silver, and in- dulged his refined and extravagant taste in the repairs and additions to the White House. This exasperated public opinion and Congress to such an extent that we find a Mr. Tyler, of Pennsylvania, in July, 1840, making a speech of several days before Congress portraying the evil times that had fallen upon the Nation. All the extravagancies of the Administration were held up to view. It was called the gold and silver Administration, because of the gold spoons, silver knives and forks, and cut glass used at the White House. Said Mr. Tyler:
"What will the plain Republican farmer say when he discovers that our economical reformers have expended SI3,000 of the people's cash for looking-glasses, lamps, and candlesticks? What would the frugal Hoosier think were he to behold a Democratic peacock, in full Court costume, strutting by the hour before golden-framed mirrors nine feet high and four and a half feet wide?
HISTORIC HOMES IN WASHINGTON.
Why, sir, were Mr. Van Buren to dash into the palace on the back of his Roanoke racehorse, he could gaze at and admire the hoofs of his charger and his crown at the same instant of time in one of those splendid mirrors!
"Mr. Chairman, there is much truth and sound philos- ophy to poor Richard's advice, 'Early to bed and early to rise makes you healthy, wealthy, and wise,' but it is clear that our new economists have little faith in early rising, else they would not have laid out $7,000 of the people's money in lamps and candlesticks.
"The Court fashion of sleeping out the day and waking out the night results in keeping the palace door closed, save to persons entitled to the entree, until 10 o'clock a. m.
"It was but a few days ago that an honest countryman, on his way to the fishing landing after breakfast, having some curiosity to behold the magnificent East Room with its gorgeous drapery and brilliant mirrors, rang the bell at the great entrance door of the palace. Forthwith the spruce English porter in attendance came to the door, and, seeing only a plain person on foot there, slammed the door in his face, saying: 'You had better come at 7 o'clock. The President's rooms are not open until 10 o'clock in the morning.' Whereupon the plain farmer turned on his heel, with this cutting remark: 'I am thinking the Presi- dent's House will be open before day the 4th of March to everybody, for old Tip is a mighty early riser, and was never caught napping. He will not allow supes to be
insolent to free men.
But, with all this attack upon Mr. Van Buren's ex- travagance, the Executive Mansion was not the scene of much gayety. Mrs. Van Buren had died many years before he attained to political honors, and had it not been for some of the distinguished ladies of society his Ad- ministration would have been a social failure.
RETURN OF MRS. MADISON.
In October, 1837, Mrs. Madison returned to live in this city, after an absence of 23 years. A visitor has left this pen picture of her:
ADMINISTRATIONS OF VAN BUREN AND HARRISON. 95
"I took her to be 60 or 70 years old. The same smile played upon her features, and the same look of benevo- lence and good nature beamed in her countenance. She had lost that stately and Minerva-like motion which once distinguished her in the house of the President, where she moved with the grace and dignity of a queen; but her manner of receiving was gracious and kind, and her deportment was quiet and collected. She received all visitors with the same attention and kindly greeting. .
"She remarked that a new generation seemed to have sprung up. 'What a difference,' she said, 'it makes in society. Here are young men and women who were not born when I was here last, whose names are familiar to me, but whose faces are unknown. I seem suddenly to have awakened after a dream of 20 years to find myself surrounded by strangers.'
"'Ah, Madam,' remarked one of the ladies, 'the city is no longer what it was when you were the mistress of the White House. Your successors have been sickly, tame, spiritless, and indifferent. The mansion you made so charming and attractive is now almost inaccessible. The present incumbent has no female relative to preside over it, and seems so much absorbed in party politics that he will scarcely open the house to those who wish to see it. The very tone of society has been affected by these changes. At one time such was the bitterness of party feeling that no visits were exchanged between those belonging to the Administration and those in opposition. Almost all the old citizens are now excluded from office, and brawlers, broken merchants, disbanded officers, and idle young men have been put in their places. But society is beginning to improve, and the fashionable of all parties mingle more harmoniously. Foreigners now, as in your day, are all the go. A poor attache, a gambling Embassador, a beggarly German Baron, or a nominal French Count is preferred to the most substantial and accomplished citizen among the young women at this Court.'"
Mrs. Madison smiled at this picture, and spoke with much feeling of the former condition and appearance of
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the city. The following Spring the days dragged by. The curtain of dullness had fallen upon the gay world.
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