USA > Washington DC > Washington DC > Historic homes in Washington : its noted men and women and a century in the White House > Part 9
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26
109
JOHN TYLER IN THE PRESIDENT'S HOUSE.
looking man, with sleek black hair cropped close, and whiskers and beard shaved down to blue dots, who sucked the head of a thick stick, and, from time to time, took it out of his mouth to see how it was getting on. A fourth did nothing but whistle. A fifth did nothing but spit, and, indeed, all these gentlemen were so very persevering and energetic in this latter particular, and bestowed their favors so abundantly on the carpet, that I take it for granted the Presidential housemaids have high wages, or, to speak more genteelly, an ample amount of 'compensa- tion,' which is the American word for salary in the case of all public servants.
"We had not waited many minutes before the black messenger returned and conducted us into another room of smaller dimensions, where at a businesslike table covered with papers sat the President himself. He looked somewhat worn and anxious, and well might he, being at war with everybody; but the expression of his face was mild and pleasant, and his manner was remark- ably unaffected, gentlemanly, and agreeable. I thought that in his whole carriage and demeanor he became his station singularly well.
"Being advised that the sensible etiquet of the Repub- lican court admitted of a traveler, like myself, declining, without any impropriety, an invitation to dinner, which did not reach me until I had concluded my arrangements for leaving Washington, some days before that, to which I referred, I only returned to this house once. It was on the occasion of one of those General Assemblies which are held on certain nights, between the hours of 9 and 12 o'clock, and are called rather oddly Levees.
"I went with my wife about 10. There was a pretty *. dense crowd of carriages and people in the court-yard, and as far as I could make out, there were no very clear regu- lations for the taking up or setting down of company. There were certainly no policemen to soothe startled horses, either sawing upon their bridles, or flourishing truncheons in their eyes; and I am ready to make oath that no inoffensive persons were knocked violently on the head, or poked acutely on their backs, or stomachs, or
110
HISTORIC HOMES IN WASHINGTON.
brought to a standstill by any such gentle means, and then taken into custody for not.moving on. But there was no confusion and no disorder. Our carriage reached the porch in its turn without any blustering, swearing, shouting, backing or other disturbance, and we dis- mounted with as much ease and comfort as though we had been escorted by the whole Metropolitan force from A to Z inclusive.
"The suite of rooms on the ground floor was lighted up, and a military band was playing in the hall. In the smaller drawing-room, the center of a circle of company, were the President, his daughter-in-law, who acted as the · lady of the mansion, and a very interesting, graceful and accomplished lady, too.
"One gentleman who stood among this group appeared to take upon himself the function of a master of the cere- monies. I saw no other officers, or attendants, and none were needed.
"The great drawing-room, which I have already men- tioned, and the other chambers on the ground floor, were crowded to excess. The company was not, in our sense of the term, select, for it comprehended persons of very many grades and classes; nor was there any great display of costly attire; indeed, some of the costumes may have been, for aught I know, grotesque enough.
GATHERING OF THE PEOPLE.
"But the decorum and propriety of behavior which pre- vailed were unbroken by any rude or disagreeable incident, and every man, even among the miscellaneous crowd in the hall, who were admitted without any tickets, or orders to look on, appeared to feel that he was part of the insti- tution and was responsible for preserving a becoming character and appearing to the best advantage.
"That these visitors, too, whatever their station, were not without some refinement of taste and appreciation of intellectual gifts, and gratitude to those men who, by the peaceful exercise of great abilities shed new charms and
111
JOHN TYLER IN THE PRESIDENT'S HOUSE.
associations upon the homes of their countrymen, and elevate their character in other lands, was inost earnestly testified by the reception of Washington Irving, my dear friend, who had recently been appointed Minister at the Court of Spain, and who was among them that night in his new character, for the first and last time, before going abroad.
"I sincerely believe that in all the madness of American politics, few public men would have been so earnestly, devotedly and affectionately caressed as this most charm- ing writer; and I have seldom respected a public assembly more than I did this eager throng, when I saw them turn- ing with one mind from noisy orators and officers of State, and flocking with a generous, honest impulse round the man of quiet pursuits, proud of his promotion as reflecting back upon their country, and grateful to him with their whole hearts for the store of graceful fancies he had poured out among them. Long may he dispense such treasures with unsparing hand, and long may they remember him as worthily."
A New York paper says of this occasion:
"When it was known that there would be a levee, and that Irving and Dickens would both be there, the rush was tremendous. It was as much as the police officers could do to keep the passage open. Even the circle usually left open around the Chief Magistrate was narrowed to almost nothing by the pressure. " It was computed that the East Room alone contained upwards of 3,000 persons.
"All eyes were turned toward that part of the room occupied by Washington Irving and the lady who presided on this occasion with surpassing courteousness and grace -Mrs. Robert Tyler.
"Irving, now 'grown more fat than bard beseems,' is still distinguished by that glow of genius and humor in his eye, and smile and utterance which made him the adored of the New York world of fashion.
"Washington Irving is at the Executive Mansion now, not as Washington Irving, but as the Embassador to Spain.
"Who is that lady receiving such homage from the new
112
HISTORIC HOMES IN WASHINGTON.
Embassador? She is a player's daughter, but a Presi- dent's daughter also, and is welcoming from her elevation her mother's friend of bygone years-the Embassador now created by her father."
And so it came through the silver cord of friendship that the genius of the "Alhambra," the "Sketch Book," and "Rip Van Winkle," visited again the sunny land of the troubadour; the land of poetry and song, where he had gathered many pearls of thought; the land of the past, living on her faded glories and imagining that she is one of the grand old knights of other days.
DEATH OF MRS. LETITIA TYLER.
Mrs. Robert Tyler continued in the role of honor until after Mrs. Letitia Tyler's death, which occurred Sept. 10, 1842. This was the second time death winged a fatal shaft at the palace of the President.
Mr. Robert Tyler, at this time, made business arrange- ments in Philadelphia, and Mrs. Letitia Semple, the second daughter of the President, assumed the duties of Lady of the White House, which she filled until May, 1844. On the 26th of June, 1844, President Tyler was married to Miss Julia Gardiner.
. Miss Gardiner was the daughter of a wealthy gentle- man of Gardiner's Island, New York. Mr. Gardiner and daughter were on board the ill-fated Princeton, and Mr. Gardiner was one of the five killed.
Miss Gardiner entered society when very young, and it seems that Governors, Senators and Judges were suitors for her hand; vet she remained heart-whole and fancy- free until she met President Tyler. She was charming in conversation, entrancing old and young by her win- some manner.
The President's suit was successful. It was his propo- sition to have the nuptials celebrated in the White House, but it was not considered for a moment by Miss Gardiner. She felt that the pantomimes of royalty had no place in a Democratic Government.
When the President arrived in New York on June 25,
-
.
113
. JOHN TYLER IN THE PRESIDENT'S HOUSE.
numerous and varied were the current rumors. The next day the mystery was over. Miss Gardiner and President Tyler were married in the Church of the Ascension, in Fifth Avenue, New York, in the presence of a limited number of friends.
From this time until the expiration of President Tyler's Administration, Mrs. Tyler presided at the White House. Visitors to the Executive Mansion to-day will see, hanging in the Green Roomn, a beautiful portrait of Mrs. Tyler. During Gen. Grant's Administration she returned to Washington, and has since spent more or less time at the Capital; and while the years that have passed over her head have borne away her youth, still the same dignified bearing makes her the observed of all observers wherever she appears.
President Tyler retired from public life at the close of his Administration, and returned to his home in Virginia. For 17 years he lived in retirement, until the war of the rebellion, when he enlisted in the cause of the Confed- eracy against the Government. But death saved him from active service; he died in 1852.
.
CHAPTER X. WHITE HOUSE DURING THE ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES K. POLK.
FOURTEEN YEARS IN CONGRESS-ANXIOUS DAYS AND WEARISOME NIGHTS-MEXICAN WAR-OREGON SHIBBOLETH-MRS. POLK A WOMAN OF RARE EXCELLENCE-ANECDOTE OF HENRY CLAY. POLK SURROUNDED BY GREAT MEN-IMPRESSIVE SCENE ON THE FLOOR OF THE HOUSE-DEATH OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. LAST LEVEE OF PRESIDENT POLK-RETIRES INTO OBSCURITY. THE NEW ENGLAND WING-"OLD ROUGH AND READY"-AD- MISSION OF CALIFORNIA-MR. CLAY'S "COMPROMISE BILL." THE PRESIDENT'S FATAL ILLNESS-"BETTY BLISS" -- BEAU- TIFUL WOMEN AND BRILLIANT MEN-DEATH OF THE PRESI- DENT-MRS. TAYLOR RETURNS TO KENTUCKY.
James K. Polk was elected the IIth President of the United States. He had represented his people 14 years in Congress; in 1836 he was Speaker of the House of Repre- sentatives. His studious habits and his manly bearing had peculiarly fitted him for the positions he had filled, but the office of President brought him little happiness.
Undoubtedly Mr. Polk had the great interest of the country at heart, but many of the foremost statesmen of the land differed with the President in his views, and the policy he wished carried out and the vital questions of the day were not settled in accordance with his wishes. Anx- ious days and wearisome nights were his inheritance.
The slavery question entered into this election as a leading issue. The Republic of Texas asked admission into the Union. Many of the people objected, as it was certain to be a slave State; while others favored it. Strict party lines were drawn-the Democrats favoring, the Whigs opposing.
Texas was annexed by sending a small force down to the Rio Grande, and this policy involved the Nation in a war which was never designed. It was expected that the Mexicans would hurriedly sue for peace. But, instead, a
( 114 )
-
115
ADMINISTRATIONS OF POLK AND TAYLOR.
war ensued that made military reputations for the Whig Generals.
The President's Oregon shibboleth of "Fifty-four Forty, or Fight," had to be retracted; while his desire for centralization of power for internal improvements must needs give place to State rights, or slavery would be dis- turbed; and to this end he gave his influence. But his days were full of care and he wore an anxious look.
Happily for him, his wife was a woman of rare excel- lence; a wise and affectionate counsellor, cheerful and agreeable, possessed of the happy art of infusing cheer- fulness into those around her.
Among the many public men who held Mrs. Polk in high esteem was Henry Clay. On one occasion, when in her presence, Mr. Clay turned to her and said, in those winning tones so peculiar to him: "Madam, I must say. that in my travels, wherever I have been, and in all com- panies and among all parties, I have heard but one opinon of you. All agree in commending in highest terms your excellent administration of the affairs of the White House. But," continued he, lookind toward her husband, "as for that young man there, I cannot say as much. There is some little difference of opinion in regard to the policy of his course."
."Indeed," said Mrs. Polk; "I am glad to hear that my administration is so popular, and in return for your com- pliment I will say that if the country should elect you next Fall, I know of no one whose election would please me more than that of Henry Clay. I will assure you of one thing, if you do have occasion to occupy the White House on the 4th of March next, it will be surrendered to you in perfect order from garret to cellar."
"Thank you, thank you," exclaimed Mr. Clay.
MASTER SPIRITS.
Mr. Polk was surrounded by men who originated great and salutary public measures, that not only commanded the respect and gratitude of the Nation, but cast- around him a high-toned, healthy, moral influence. Among
1
116
HISTORIC HOMES IN WASHINGTON.
these were Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Daniel S. Dick- inson, Lewis Cass, John C. Calhoun, John Quincy Adams and William H. Seward.
One writer says: "I saw Calhoun in Washington in the Spring at 1846, calm amidst the strife and hurry of polit- ical warfare. I saw Henry Clay in May following, in Kentucky, serene in the mild majesty of private life; Clay and Calhoun, the master spirits of America! Clay's very name is a spell. No sooner is it heard than all mankind rise up to praise it."
During this Administration the tall and stately form of Daniel S. Dickinson was first seen upon the floor of the Senate. From this time he occupied a front rank among the greatest of those who have labored for the unsullied preservation of the Constitution in the halls of Congress; and even of his brilliant compeers in the forum, nearly all of whom have passed to a sacred inheritance, few ever attained such unqualified power over popular assemblies and individuals.
His unwearied devotion to the highest interests of the Nation, and the earnest inspiration of his brain had very much to do with breaking and quelling certain insurrec- tions at the North, and placing before the people the true condition of the country during the rebellion.
He was one to whom our country might safely turn for the protection of her flag, her Constitution and her honor in any hour of peril which might await her
TWO NOTABLE LETTERS.
It will be remembered by many that Mr. Webster, . though opposed to Mr. Dickinson upon most of the great issues of the country from 1830 to 1850 (these gentlemen being leaders of opposite parties) tendered to his Demo- cratic colleague, upon his retiring from the Senate, the following complimentary letter:
"WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 1850.
"MY DEAR SIR:
"Our companionship in the Senate is dissolved. After this long and important session you are about to return to
117
ADMINISTRATIONS OF POLK AND TAYLOR.
your home and I shall try to find leisure to visit mine. I hope we may meet each other again two months hence, for the discharge of our duties in our respective stations in the Government. But life is uncertain and I have not felt willing to take leave of you without placing in your hands a note containing a few words which I wish to say to you.
"In the earlier part of our acquaintance, my dear sir, occurrences took place which I remember with constantly increasing regret and pain; because the more I have known you, the greater has been my esteem for your character, and my respect for your talents. But it is your noble, able, manly and patriotic conduct in support of the great measures of this session which has entirely won my heart and receives my highest regard. I hope you may live long to serve your country, but I do not think you are ever likely to see a crisis in which you may be able to do so much either for your distinction or for the people's good.
"You have stood where others have fallen; you have advanced with firm and manly step where others have wavered, faltered and fallen back; and for one, I desire to thank you and to commend your conduct out of the full- ness of my honest heart.
"This letter needs no reply. It is, I am aware, of very little value, but I have thought you might be willing to receive it, and, perhaps, to leave it where it would be seen by those who come after you.
"I pray you, when you reach your own threshold, to remember me most kindly to your wife and daughter, and I remain, my dear sir,
"Your friend and obedient servant,
"DANIEL WEBSTER."
To this kind, friendly, commendatory letter, Mr. Dick- inson made the following equally kind and friendly re- sponse:
"BINGHAMTON, Oct. 5, 1850.
"MY DEAR SIR:
"I perused and're-perused the beautiful note you placed in my hand as I was about leaving Washington with
118
HISTORIC HOMES IN WASHINGTON.
deeper emotion than I have ever experienced, except unde. some domestic vicissitudes.
"Since I learned the noble and generous qualities of your nature, the unfortunate occurrence in our earlier acquaintance, to which you refer, has caused me many moments of painful regret, and your confiding communi- cation has furnished a powerful illustration of the truth that 'to err is human, to forgive divine.'
"Numerous and valuable are the testimonials of con- fidence and regard which a somewhat extended acquaint- ance and lengthened public service have gathered around me; but among them all there is none to which my heart clings so fondly as this. I have presented it to my family and friends as the proudest passage in the history of an eventful life, and shall transmit it to my posterity as a sacred and cherished memento of friendship.
"I thank Heaven that it has fallen to my lot to be associ- ated with yourself and others, to resist the mad current which threatened to overwhelm us, and the recollection that my course upon a question so momentous has re- ceived the approbation of the most distinguished of Ameri- can statesmen, has more than satisfied my ambition.
"Believe me, my dear sir, that of all the patriots who came forward, in an evil day, for their country, there was no voice so potential as your own. Others could buffet the dark and angry waves, but it was your strong arm that could will them back from the holy citadel.
"May the beneficent Being who holds the destiny of men and nations long spare you to the public service, and may your vision never rest upon the disjointed fragments of a convulsed and ruined Confederacy. I pray you to extend to Mrs. Webster the kind remembrances of myself and family, and believe me
"Sincerely yours.
D. S. DICKINSON."
DEATH OF JOHN Q. ADAMS.
The venerable John Q. Adams had been stricken down at his home in Quincy by paralysis, on account of which he was unbale to take his seat when Congress convened.
119
ADMINISTRATIONS OF POLK AND TAYLOR.
On the 13th day of February, 1846, Mr. Hunt, of New York, was making a speech in support of the Wilmot Proviso bill, when the venerable form of ex-President Adams appeared in the door of the House, and at once attracted all eyes.
Mr. Hunt suspended his speech. Mr. Mosely, of New York, and Mr. Holmes, of South Carolina, advanced to meet Mr. Adams, and, each taking him by the arm, led him to the seat he had for many years occupied. Members gathered around the venerable man with congratulations on his return.
After a short pause, much affected by the cordiality of his reception by the House, he rose and in his feeble voice briefly tendered his heartfelt thanks.
Washington in the Winter of 1846 was gay with parties and balls, until the death and funeral of this great and good ex-President, which occurred in February. Public business was suspended, flags were at half-mast, and a general gloom pervaded the city. He was stricken down in his seat in the House and was removed to the Speaker's rooni. He lingered two days. His wife, who for 50 years had shared with him his hopes, his fears, his joys, hung over him during these last painful hours.
His last words are said to have been: "If this is the last of earth, I am content."
During the closing weeks of President Polk's Admin- istration he gave a dinner party to the President-elect, Gen. Zachary Taylor, followed by a brilliant levee in the evening. At this friends, acquaintances and dignitaries assembled to pay their last respects to the President and his wife.
Mr. Polk's Administration was characterized by no signal brilliancy, politically or socially; and he returned to Tennessee to relapse, like all ex-officials, even ex-Chief Magistrates, into the humdrum routine of private life.
Mrs. Polk had been the recipient of much distinguished consideration. Her portrait hangs in the Green Room at the White House, and represents her as the modest, handsome woman she was.
120
HISTORIC HOMES IN WASHINGTON.
During the late rebellion she received the protection of both armies; and from the bounty of $5,000 per annum, given to the widows of ex-Presidents, she lived comfort- . ably and well.,
{ TAYLOR'S BRIEF OCCUPANCY.
It is the unexpected that we often find happening in politics. In a Government like ours, where the popular will selects its candidates for the highest office within its gift, as often from those who suddenly come into popu- larity as from those who have by honest integrity worked their way to fame, step by step, Presidential honors do not always fall to those born to the wearing of them.
For brilliant military achievements in the Indian and Mexican wars, Gen. Taylor had become so popular that his election to the Presidency in 1848 was a foregone con- clusion, notwithstanding the divisions in the Whig party and the prejudice existing against him as a slaveholder.
The New England wing of his party, headed by Mr. Webster, strenuously opposed him on that ground; and because of his want of refinement and experience in Na- tional affairs called him "an ignorant frontier Colonel." His cognomen, "Old Rough and Ready," told the story of his popularity.
He had no desire for the position, and his characteristic reply, when he received the official announcement, was: "For more than a quarter of a century my house has been the tent and my home the battlefield."
The platforin he announced as the only one he was willing to stand upon was: "I have no private purposes to accomplish, no party projects to build up, no enemies to punish, nothing to serve but my country.
.He had done so well in the field that the majority of the people felt sure of his administrative ability, notwith- standing his pro-slavery principles. In the bitter con- troversy over the admission of California as an additional free State, which would give a majority of one to the anti- slaveholding States, President Taylor stood squarely by the people in their right to form State Constitutions to :
121 .
ADMINISTRATIONS OF POLK AND TAYLOR.
1
suit themselves, and believed that they should be ad- mitted into the Union, with or without slavery, as their Constitutions might prescribe.
Upon a threat of revolt, he declared that if that standard ·were raised he would himself take the field to suppress it at the head of an army of volunteers, and should not for that purpose deem it necessary to call upon a single soldier from the North. This patriotic position had a very quieting effect upon the turbulent spirits behind these revolutionary movements.
CLAY'S COMPROMISE MEASURES.
Mr. Clay came forward with a compromise measure for the settlement of all differences growing out of the slavery question. This served as oil on the troubled waters, as did his Missouri Compromise bill of 1821. From this memorable discussion came the Fugitive Slave Law, and * bills admitting California to the Union, organizing the Territories of New Mexico and Utah without restriction as to slavery, and prohibiting the slave trade in the Dis- trict of Columbia.
While the excitement was running high and the dis- cussions on Mr. Clay's proposition were at the highest pitch, both in Congress and among the people, the Presi- dent was stricken with a fever that terminated fatally after an illness of five days.
So brief was his life in the White House t' at, like Gen. Harrison, he made little impression on the social world and little change in the appointments of the Executive Mansion, leaving the glory won in the field as his legacy to his family and country.
It was during this Administration that the Secession party in the South first manifested itself outside South Carolina.
Few receptions were given at the Executive Mansion; but "Betty Bliss," daughter of the President, reigned as lady of the White House, where she entertained her friends with affable grace. Mrs. Taylor received her friends in private apartments, for which she was criticised by the opposition.
122
HISTORIC HOMES IN WASHINGTON.
The beautiful, cultured women who were then dwelling in Washington, with the brilliant men in Congress, added splendor to society, and the second Winter of President Taylor's Administration augured a year of remarkable brilliancy; but the death of the President, which occurred' July 9, threw a pall over the city, and the White House was again in mourning.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.