As I Remember Part 14

Next door to us lived Mrs. Graham and her daughter, Mrs. Henry K.

Davenport, the grandmother and mother respectively of Commodore Richard G. Davenport, U.S.N. Mrs. Graham was the widow of George Graham, who, for a time during Monroe's administration, acted as Secretary of War.

While he was serving in this capacity, his brother, John Graham, was a member of the same cabinet, serving as Secretary of State. Mrs.

Davenport was the mother of a family of sons known familiarly to the neighborhood as Tom, d.i.c.k and Harry. In the same block lived Mr.

Jefferson Davis, who was then in the Senate from Mississippi. I remember hearing Mrs. Davis say that it was worth paying additional rent to live near Mrs. Graham, as she had such an attractive personality and was such a kind and attentive neighbor. A few doors the other side of us resided Captain and Mrs. Henry C. Wayne, the former of whom was in the Army and was the son of James M. Wayne of Georgia, a Justice of the Supreme Court; while across the street was the French Legation. Next door, at the corner of G and Eighteenth Streets, lived Edward Everett. Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Wainwright lived on the next block in a house now occupied by General and Mrs. A. W. Greely. I attended the wedding of Miss Henrietta Wainwright, soon after we arrived in Was.h.i.+ngton, to William F. Syng of the British Legation. She was the aunt of Rear-Admiral Richard Wainwright, U.S.N., who, as Commanding Officer of the _Gloucester_, rendered such conspicuous service at the battle of Santiago. Not far away, on the corner of Twenty-first and G Streets, lived Lieutenant Maxwell Woodhull of the Navy and his wife; and their children still reside in the same house. On F Street, near Twenty-first Street, was the home of Colonel William Turnbull, U.S.A., whose wife was a sister of General George Douglas Ramsay, U.S.A., who was so well known to all old Was.h.i.+ngtonians. General Ramsay was very social in his tastes, and many years before this time he and Columbus Monroe were the groomsmen at the wedding at the White House when John Adams, the son of John Quincy Adams, married his first cousin, Miss Mary h.e.l.len. General and Mrs. Ramsay lived on Twenty-first Street, not far from his sister, Mrs. William Turnbull. Mrs. John Farley (Anna Pearson), a half-sister of Mrs. Carlisle P. Patterson, lived on F Street, near Twenty-first Street, and the latter's sister, Mrs. Peter Augustus Jay (Josephine Pearson), began her matrimonial life on the northwest corner of F and Twenty-first Streets.

William Thomas Carroll's residence on the corner of Eighteenth and F Streets witnessed a continuous scene of hospitality. Mrs. Carroll was never happier than when entertaining. She lived to an advanced age, and until almost the very last, remained standing while receiving her guests. I have heard that she retained two sets of servants, one for the daytime and the other for the night. In her drawing-room hung many portraits of family ancestors arrayed in the antique dress of olden times. She was a daughter of Governor Samuel Sprigg of Maryland and was a handsome and accomplished woman. Her four daughters, who materially a.s.sisted her in dispensing hospitality, were very popular young women.

Violetta Lansdale, the oldest, married Dr. William Swann Mercer of the well-known Virginia family; Sally is the present Countess Esterhazy; Carrie married the late T. Dix Bolles of the Navy; and Alida is the wife of the late John Marshall Brown of Portland, Maine. The Carroll house is still standing and became the residence of the late Chief Justice Melville Fuller of the U.S. Supreme Court. I have always heard that the Carroll house, a substantial structure with large rooms, was built by Tench Ringgold, who was U.S. Marshal of the District of Columbia longer than any of his predecessors. He occupied this position during the whole of President Monroe's administration, and I have heard it related in the Gouverneur family that, when Monroe was retiring from office, he asked his successor, John Quincy Adams, on personal grounds, to retain Mr.

Ringgold. This request was granted and Mr. Monroe made the same appeal to Andrew Jackson shortly after the latter's inauguration, and received the cordial response, "Don't mention it, don't mention it." On the strength of this interview, Ringgold naturally a.s.sumed he was safe for another term, but, to the surprise of many, he was succeeded two years later by Henry Ashton, who retained the office for about three years.

"Old Hickory," as everybody knows, had a mind of his own.

It was often very pleasant in my new surroundings to welcome to Was.h.i.+ngton some of my early New York friends; and among these none were more gladly received than Frances and Julia Kellogg of Troy. My intimacy with these sisters goes back as far as my school days at Madame Chegaray's, where Frances Kellogg was a boarding pupil and in a cla.s.s higher than mine when I was a day-scholar. It was the habit of these sisters to spend their winters in Was.h.i.+ngton and their summers at West Point; and it was during their sojourn at the latter place that Frances became engaged to George H. Thomas of the Army who, although a Virginian by birth, rendered such distinguished services during our Civil War as Commander of the Army of the c.u.mberland. Many years after General Thomas's death, his widow built a house on I Street, where she and Miss Kellogg presided during the remainder of their lives. During one of our many conversations, Mrs. Thomas told me that when her husband was informed that a house was about to be presented to him by admiring friends, in recognition of his conspicuous services during the Civil War, he at once declined the offer, saying that he had been sufficiently remunerated, and requested that the money raised for the purpose should be given in charity. A distinguished Union General, who had already accepted a house, remonstrated with him and said: "Thomas, if you refuse to accept that house it will make it awkward for us." General Thomas's characteristic response was: "You may take as many houses as you please, but I shall accept none."

At this time the house 14 Lafayette Square, now Jackson Place, still standing but very much altered, was owned and occupied by Purser and Mrs. Francis B. Stockton and the latter's sister, daughters of Captain James McKnight of the Marine Corps and nieces of Commodore Stephen Decatur. Purser Stockton once told me that he had purchased this home for seven thousand dollars. The house prior to his owners.h.i.+p had been the residence of a number of families of distinction, among others the Southards and Monroes.

After giving up our home in New York I made a visit of some weeks to my friends, the family of William Kemble, who was still residing on St.

John's Park in New York. While there we were invited to an old-fas.h.i.+oned supper at the home of Mr. Peter Goelet, a bachelor, on the corner of Nineteenth Street and Broadway, presided over by his sister, Mrs. Hannah Greene Gerry. Upon the lawn of this house Mr. Goelet indulged his ornithological tastes by a remarkable display of various species of turkeys with their broods, together with peac.o.c.ks and silver and golden pheasants. As can be readily understood, this was a remarkable sight in the heart of a great city, and caused much admiration from pa.s.sers-by.

It has been said that at one time William W. Corcoran's father kept a shoe store in Georgetown, and that the son, one of the most conspicuous benefactors of the city of Was.h.i.+ngton, was very proud of the fact. I have also heard it said, although I cannot vouch for the truth of the statement, that the son cherished his father's business sign as one of his valued possessions. Whether or not these allegations agree or conflict with the explicit statement concerning his father made by William W. Corcoran himself, is left for others to judge. The latter wrote concerning his father: "Thomas Corcoran came to Baltimore in 1783, and entered into the service of his uncle, William Wilson, as clerk, beginning with a salary of fifty pounds sterling a year.... He brought his family to Georgetown and commenced the shoe and leather business on Congress Street," etc., etc. Be the facts as they may, a witticism of William Thomas Carroll was a _bon mot_ of the day many years ago in Was.h.i.+ngton. Upon being asked upon one occasion whether he knew the elder Mr. Corcoran, he replied: "I have known him from first to _last_ and from _last_ to first." Mr. Carroll for thirty-six years was Clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States, and Chief Justice Roger B. Taney paid him a well-earned tribute when he stated that he was "an accomplished and faithful officer, prompt and exact in business, and courteous in manner, and during the whole period of his judicial life discharged the duties of his office with justice to the public and the suitors, and to the entire satisfaction of every member of the Court."

At the period of which I am speaking, some of the clerical positions in the various departments of the government were filled by members of families socially prominent. Francis S. Markoe and Robert S. Chew, for example, were clerks in the State Department, and Archibald Campbell and James Madison Cutts held similar positions. For many years women were not employed by the government. It is said that the first one regularly appointed was Miss Jennie Douglas, and that she received her position through the instrumentality of Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury, at the request of General Francis E. Spinner, Treasurer of the United States. She was a.s.signed to the duty of cutting and tr.i.m.m.i.n.g treasury-notes, a task that had hitherto been performed with shears by men. General Spinner subsequently stated that her first day's work "settled the matter in her and in women's favor." James Madison Cutts, at one time Second Comptroller of the Treasury under Buchanan, married Ellen Elisabeth O'Neill, who, with her sister Rose, subsequently Mrs.

Robert Greenhow, resided in the vicinity of Was.h.i.+ngton. Both sisters possessed much physical beauty. Madison Cutts, as he was generally called, was a nephew of "Dolly" Madison, and his father, Richard Cutts, was once a Member of Congress from New Hamps.h.i.+re.

It is to the kindness of Mrs. Madison Cutts that I owe the memory of a pleasant visit to Mrs. Madison. She took me to call upon her one afternoon, and I shall never forget the impression made upon me by her turban and long earrings. Her surroundings were of a most interesting character and her graceful bearing and sprightly presence, even in extreme old age, have left a lasting picture upon my memory. Her niece, "Dolly" Paine, was living with her at her residence on the corner of H Street and Madison Place, now forming a part of the Cosmos Club. Todd Paine, her son, unfortunately did not prove to be a source of much satisfaction to her. He survived his mother some years and eventually the valuable Madison ma.n.u.scripts and relics became his property. At the time of his death in Virginia this interesting collection was brought to Was.h.i.+ngton, where, I am informed, some of it still remains as the cherished possession of the McGuire family. Mr. and Mrs. Madison Cutts were devotees of society and consequently they and Mrs. Madison met upon common ground. The afternoon of my memorable visit to this former mistress of the White House I remember meeting quite a number of visitors in her drawing-room, as temporary sojourners at the National Capital were often eager to meet the gracious woman who had figured so conspicuously in the social history of the country.

I knew Madison Cutts's daughter, Rose Adele Cutts, or "Addie" Cutts, as she was invariably called, when she first entered society. Her reputation for beauty is well known. I always a.s.sociate her with j.a.ponicas, which she usually wore in her hair and of which her numerous bouquets were chiefly composed. Her father frequently accompanied her to b.a.l.l.s, and in the wee small hours of the night, as he became weary, I have often been amused at his summons to depart--"Addie, _allons_." As quite a young woman, Addie Cutts married Stephen A. Douglas, the "Little Giant," whom Lincoln defeated in the memorable presidential election of 1860. It is said that her ambition to grace the White House had much to do with the disruption of the Democratic party, as it was she who urged Douglas onward; and everyone knows that the division of the Democratic vote between Stephen A. Douglas and John C. Breckenridge resulted in the election of Lincoln. Some years after Douglas's death, his widow married General Robert Williams, U.S.A., by whom she had a number of children, one of whom is the wife of Lieutenant Commander John B. Patton, U.S.N.

Mrs. Madison Cutts's sister, Mrs. Robert Greenhow, was a woman of attractive appearance and unusual ability. Her husband was a Virginian by birth and a man of decided literary tastes. When I first knew her she was a widow, and but few romances can excel in interest one period of her career. She was a social favorite and her house was the rendezvous of the prominent Southern politicians of the day. This, of course, was before the Civil War, during a portion of which she made herself conspicuous as a Southern spy. At the commencement of the struggle her zeal for the Southern cause became so conspicuous and offensive to the authorities in Was.h.i.+ngton that she was arrested and imprisoned in her own house on Sixteenth Street, near K Street. Later she was confined in the "Old Capitol Prison." General Andrew Porter, U.S.A., whose widow still resides in Was.h.i.+ngton and is one of my cherished friends, was Provost Marshal of the District of Columbia at this time, and as such Mrs. Greenhow was in his charge during her imprisonment. This duty was made so irksome to him that, upon one occasion, he exclaimed in desperation that he preferred to resign his position rather than to continue such an uncongenial task. It has been stated that information conveyed by her to the Confederates precipitated the Battle of Bull Run, which was so disastrous to the Union Army. Her conduct, even in prison, was so aggressive that the government officials decided she was altogether too dangerous a character to remain in Was.h.i.+ngton. They accordingly sent her, accompanied by her young daughter Rose, within the Southern lines, fearing that even behind prison bars her ingenuity might devise some method of communicating with the enemy. From the South she went to London, where she published, in 1863, a volume ent.i.tled, "My Imprisonment and the First Years of Abolition Rule at Was.h.i.+ngton," to which I have already referred. I have heard that this book had quite a circulation in Great Britain, but that an attempt was made to suppress it in the United States. The last year of the war, Mrs. Greenhow was returning to America with considerable money acquired by the sale of her book, which she carried with her in gold. She took pa.s.sage upon a blockade-runner which, after pursuit, succeeded in reaching the port of Wilmington, North Carolina. She was descending from her s.h.i.+p into a small boat to go on sh.o.r.e when she made a false step and fell into the water. Her gold tied around her neck held her down and she was drowned.

Her remains were recovered and brought to the town hall, where they laid in state prior to an imposing funeral service. She was regarded throughout the South as a martyr to its cause.

Old Was.h.i.+ngtonians who recall Mrs. Greenhow's eventful career will a.s.sociate with her, in a way, Mrs. Philip Phillips, who was also active in the Southern cause, and whose husband represented Alabama with much ability for one term in Congress. He subsequently remained in Was.h.i.+ngton, where he was known as a distinguished advocate before the Supreme Court. Mrs. Phillips's enthusiastic friends.h.i.+p for the South made serious trouble for herself and family. The first year of the war, all of them were sent across the Union lines, and went to New Orleans, where General Benjamin F. Butler was in command. A few days after her arrival she Was brought before him charged with "making merry" over the pa.s.sing funeral of Captain George Coleman De Kay of New York, an officer in the Union Army. When General Butler inquired why she laughed, she replied: "Because I was in a good humor." Unable longer to suppress his indignation, Butler exclaimed: "If such women as you and Mrs. Greenhow are let loose, our lives are in jeopardy." Mrs. Phillips's reply was: "We of the South hire butchers to kill our swine." Another day a search was made in Mrs. Phillips's house for information concerning the Confederacy which she was thought to have. When personally searched and compelled to remove her shoes, she suggested that it was impossible for a Northern man to get his hand inside a Southern woman's shoe. General Butler finally ordered Mrs. Phillips to be confined on an island near New Orleans, and placed over her a guard whose duty it was to watch her night and day. I have often heard her give an account of her life under these trying circ.u.mstances. She said she lived in a large "shoe box"--whatever that meant--and that her meals were served to her three times a day upon a tin plate. From what I have already said, it is apparent that she was an exceedingly witty woman. One day, while walking on the streets in Was.h.i.+ngton, she was joined by a distinguished prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, and inquired whether he could lay aside his cloth long enough to listen to a conundrum? Upon receiving a favorable response, she asked: "Why is His Holiness, the Pope, like a goose?" The reply was: "Because he sticks to his Propaganda!"

I shall always recall with pleasure a dinner party I attended at the residence of Edward Everett. As Mrs. Everett was in very delicate health and seldom appeared in public, Mr. Everett presided alone. The invitations were for six o'clock, and dinner was served promptly at that hour. I was taken into the dining-room by Mr. Philip Griffith, one of the Secretaries of the British Legation. We had just finished our second course when, to the surprise of everyone, a tall and gaunt gentleman was ushered into the dining-room. It was Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia, then a member of Congress and subsequently Vice-President of the Southern Confederacy. Mr. Everett at once arose and shook hands with Mr.

Stephens and with an imperturbable expression of countenance motioned the butler to provide another seat at the table. For a moment there was a slight confusion, as the other guests were obliged to move in order to make room for the new comer; but everything was speedily arranged and Mr. Stephens began his dinner with the third course. No explanation was offered at the moment, but later, while we were drinking our coffee in the drawing-room, I noticed Mr. Everett and Mr. Stephens engaged in conversation.

A few days later, through Mr. Colin M. Ingersoll, a Representative in Congress from Connecticut, the cause of Mr. Stephens' late appearance at the dinner was made clear to me. It seems that Mr. Everett and the French Minister, the Count Eugene de Sartiges, his next door neighbor, were giving dinner parties the same evening. The dinner hour at the French Legation was half-past six o'clock, while Mr. Everett's was half an hour earlier. Through the mistake of a stupid coachman, Mr. Stephens was landed at the door of Count de Sartiges's home and entered it under the impression that it was Mr. Everett's residence. He walked into the drawing-room and suspected nothing, as nearly all the guests were familiar to him. Count de Sartiges, however, surprised at the presence of an unbidden guest, anxiously inquired of Mr. Ingersoll the name of the stranger, and upon being informed remarked: "I'll be very polite to him." Seating himself by Mr. Stephens' side, an animated conversation followed. Meanwhile other guests arrived and the Count de Sartiges became diverted, while Mr. Stephens, still unconscious of his mistake, turned to Mr. Ingersoll, who stood near, and in an irritated tone of voice said: "Who is this Frenchman who is tormenting me, and where is Mr. Everett?" Mr. Ingersoll explained that the Frenchman was the Count de Sartiges, and that Mr. Everett was probably presiding over his own dinner in the adjoining house.

My _vis a vis_ at Mr. Everett's table was Miss Ann G. Wight, a woman with an unusual history. She was born in Montgomery County, Maryland, and as a child was placed in a convent. She eventually became a nun and an inmate of the Convent of the Visitation in Georgetown, where she a.s.sumed the name of "Sister Gertrude." She was an intellectual woman and was deeply beloved by her a.s.sociates. Without any apparent cause, however, she planned an escape from the convent and sought the residence of her relative, General John P. Van Ness, dropping her keys, as I have understood, in Rock Creek as she pa.s.sed over the Georgetown bridge. Mrs.

Charles Worthington, a Catholic friend of mine who was educated at this same convent, gave me the following explanation of her conduct: There was an election for Mother Superior, and Miss Wight, deeply disappointed that she was not chosen to fill the position, was dissatisfied and when it became her turn to answer the front-door bell, suddenly determined to leave. She was, however, recognized by one of the priests, who followed her to General Van Ness's residence, where he insisted upon seeing her.

At first she refused to meet him, but, upon informing the General that he must learn from her own lips whether her departure was voluntary, she consented to see him in the presence of her relative. She admitted that she had in no way been influenced. When I first met Miss Wight she was more devoted to "the pride, pomp and circ.u.mstance" of the world than many who had not led such deeply religious lives. She was still living at the residence of General Van Ness, and I have heard that she always remained a Roman Catholic. During the Everett dinner my escort, Mr.

Philip Griffith, remarked to me in an undertone: "We have an escaped nun here; are we going to have an _auto da fe_?" I responded that I believed it to be a matter of record that _autos da fe_ were solely a courtly amus.e.m.e.nt.

Mrs. Sidney Brooks, formerly Miss f.a.n.n.y Dehon of Boston, was another of Mr. Everett's guests. She was a relative of our host, and it was her custom to make prolonged visits to the Everett home. Her presence in Was.h.i.+ngton was always hailed with delight. She was a p.r.o.nounced blonde, and her reputation as a brilliant conversationalist was widely extended.

Rufus Choate was an occasional visitor in Was.h.i.+ngton subsequent to his brilliant senatorial career which ended in 1845. That I had the pleasure of intimately knowing this man of wit and erudition is one of the brightest memories of my life. His quaint humor was inexhaustible and some of his bright utterances will never perish. When a younger sister of mine was lying desperately ill in Was.h.i.+ngton in 1856 he called to inquire about her condition, and the tones of his sympathetic voice still linger in my ear. It has been fittingly said of Mr. Choate that even one's name uttered by him was in itself a delicate compliment. It is to him we owe the inspiring quotation, "Keep step to the music of the Union," which he uttered in his speech before the Whig convention of 1855. I have heard some of Mr. Choate's clients dwell upon his mighty power as an advocate, and it seems to me that words of law flowing from such lips might have been suggestive of the harmony of the universe. The chirography of Mr. Choate was equal to any Chinese puzzle; it was even more difficult to decipher than that of Horace Greeley. I once received a note from him and was obliged to call upon my family to aid me in reading it. He had a fund of humor which was universally applauded by an admiring public. Once, in replying to a toast on Yale College at the "Hasty-Pudding" dinner, he said that "everything is to be irregular this evening." He followed this remark by poking a little fun at the expense of the College by reading a portion of the will of Lewis Morris, one of the Signers and the father of Gouverneur Morris. This doc.u.ment was executed in 1760 in New York, and in it he expresses his "desire that my son, Gouverneur Morris, may have the best education that is to be had in Europe or America, but my express will and directions are that he be never sent for that purpose to the Colony of Connecticutt, lest he should imbibe in his youth that low craft and cunning so incident to the People of that Colony, which is so interwoven in their Const.i.tutions that all their art cannot disguise it from the World; though many of them, under the sanctifyed garb of Religion, have endeavored to impose themselves on the World for honest men." The laughter which followed the reading of this extract was as _regular_ as the remarks were _irregular_. It may be added that Lewis Morris died two years after making this will, when his son Gouverneur was between ten and eleven years of age, and that his desires were respected, as his son was graduated from King's (now Columbia) College in New York in 1768, when only sixteen years old. His father, cold in the grave, had his revenge on the "Colony of Connecticutt" and the hatchet, for aught we know to the contrary, was forever buried, while old Elihu's college still survives in New Haven.

An anecdote relating to Gouverneur Morris still lingers in my memory.

Before his marriage, quite late in life, to Miss Anne Cary Randolph, his nephew, Gouverneur Wilkins, was generally regarded as heir to his large estate. When a direct heir was born, Mr. Wilkins was summoned to the babe's christening. One of the guests began to speculate upon the name of the youngster, when Mr. Wilkins quickly said, "Why, _Cut-us-off-sky_, of course," in imitation of the usual termination of such a large number of Russian names.

In 1852 John F. T. Crampton was British Minister to the United States and I had the pleasure of knowing him quite well. He was a bachelor of commanding presence, and it was rather a surprise to Was.h.i.+ngtonians that he evaded matrimonial capture! He lived in Georgetown in an old-time and s.p.a.cious mansion, surrounded by ample grounds. The proverbial tea-drinking period had not arrived, but Mr. Crampton, notwithstanding this fact, gave afternoon receptions for which his house, by the way, was especially adapted. In 1856, during the Crimean War, an unpleasantness arose between Great Britain and this country in connection with the charge that Crampton had been instrumental in recruiting soldiers in the United States for service in the British Army. Accordingly, in May of the same year, President Pierce broke off diplomatic relations with him and he was recalled. There was never, however, any severe reflection made upon him by his home Ministry, and after his return to England he was made a Knight of the Bath by Lord Palmerston, and a little later became the British Minister at St.

Petersburg. In the autumn of 1856, while in Russia, he married Victoire Balfe, second daughter of Michael William Balfe, the distinguished musical composer, from whom he was divorced in 1863.

I frequently attended receptions at the British Legation, and I particularly recall those in the spring of the year when they took the form of _fetes champetres_ upon the well-kept lawn. On these occasions the Diplomatic Corps was well represented, as well as the resident society. I have heard a curious story about Henry Stephen Fox, the English Minister in Was.h.i.+ngton from 1836 to 1844. He evidently represented the sporting element of his day, as it was said he was _en evidence_ all night and seldom visible by daylight. He was, moreover, exceedingly careless about some of the reasonable responsibilities of life which rendered it difficult for his creditors to secure an audience. They, however, surrounded his house in the First Ward one evening and demanded in clamorous tones that he should name a definite time when he would satisfy their claims. Fox appeared at a front window and pleasantly announced that, as they were so urgent in their demands, he would state a time which he hoped would meet with their satisfaction, and accordingly named in stentorian voice the "Day of Judgment."

One of the constant visitors at our home on G Street was John Savile-Lumley, who was appointed in 1854 as the Secretary of the British Legation under Crampton, and in the following year became the English _Charge d'affaires_ in Was.h.i.+ngton. I remember him as a fine looking gentleman and an especially pleasing specimen of the English race. He was the natural son of John Lumley-Savile, the eighth Earl of Scarborough, by a mother of French origin. After leaving Was.h.i.+ngton, he represented his country in Rome and other prominent courts of Europe, and, upon his retirement from the diplomatic service in 1888, was raised to the peerage as Baron Savile of Rufford in Nottinghams.h.i.+re. The last I heard of him was through one of Lord Ronald Gower's charming books of travel, where it states that he was representing Great Britain at the court of Leopold I. in Belgium. He died in the fall of 1896. His younger brother lived in London where, for a period, he acted as a sort of major-domo in society, and but few entertainments were considered complete without him.

CHAPTER X

DIPLOMATIC CORPS AND OTHER CELEBRITIES

I have already spoken of the Count de Sartiges, who so ably represented the French Government in the United States. He had not been very long in this country when he married Miss Anna Thorndike of Boston, and while residing in Was.h.i.+ngton they dispensed a lavish hospitality. Just before he came to this country, the Count spent several years in Persia, which was then regarded as an out-of-the-way post of duty. I recall quite an amusing incident which occurred at an entertainment given by the Countess de Sartiges to which I was accompanied by George Newell, brother-in-law of William L. Marcy. Mr. Newell had not been in Was.h.i.+ngton long enough to, become acquainted with all the members of the Diplomatic Corps, and, crossing the room to where I stood, he inquired: "Who is the Aborigine who has been sitting next to me?" I looked in the direction indicated and recognized the well-known person of General Juan Nepomuceno Almonte, the Mexican Minister, whose features strongly portrayed the Indian type. Some matrimonial alliances in Mexico at this time, by the way, were more or less complicated; for example, General Almonte's wife was his own niece.

The first Secretary of the French Legation was Baron Geoffrey Boilleau, who remained in this country for several years. While stationed in Was.h.i.+ngton, he married Susan Benton, a daughter of Thomas H. Benton, U.S. Senator from Missouri and a political autocrat in his own State, another of whose daughters, Jessie Ann, was the wife of General John C.

Fremont. At a later day, both Boilleau and Fremont became involved in difficulties of a serious character in consequence of which the former, while Minister to Ecuador, was recalled to France, where, as I am informed, he was convicted and confined for a period in the _Conciergerie_. I am not fully acquainted with the exact details of the charges upon which he was tried, but they had their origin in the negotiation of certain bonds of the proposed Memphis and El Paso Railroad. In my opinion, however, no one who knew Baron Boilleau well ever doubted his integrity. He was a man of decidedly literary tastes and, like many persons of that character, possessed but meager knowledge of business. It seems that General Fremont had obtained from the Legislature of Texas a grant of state lands in the interests of the railroad just referred to, which was to be a portion of a projected transcontinental line from Norfolk, Virginia, to San Diego and San Francisco. It has been stated that "the French agents employed to place the land-grant bonds of this road on the market made the false declaration that they were guaranteed by the United States. In 1869 the Senate pa.s.sed a bill giving Fremont's road the right of way through the territories, an attempt to defeat it by fixing on him the onus of the misstatement in Paris having been unsuccessful. In 1873 he was prosecuted by the French government for fraud in connection with this misstatement. He did not appear in person, and was sentenced by default to fine and imprisonment, no judgment being given on the merits of the case."

Prince Louis de Bearn, Secretary of the French Legation, was a gentleman of most pleasing personality. He was a strikingly handsome bachelor at the time I knew him and was much seen in the gay world. He was never called "Prince" in those days, but "Count"; but in a letter now before me, written in 1904 by his son, who was recently an attache of the French Emba.s.sy in Was.h.i.+ngton, he claims that both his father and grandfather were Princes by right of birth. He also states that the t.i.tle was borne by his family before the Revolution of 1789. During his official life in Was.h.i.+ngton, Prince de Bearn married Miss Beatrice Winans, daughter of Ross Winans of Baltimore. Chevalier John George Hulsemann, the Austrian Minister, was a convivial old bachelor and was much esteemed at the Capital for his genial qualities. He lived on F Street, below Pennsylvania Avenue, and was stationed in Was.h.i.+ngton for many years.

Chevalier Giuseppe Bertinatti, the Italian Minister, commenced his diplomatic career in Was.h.i.+ngton as a bachelor. He did not occupy a house of his own, but lodged at the establishment of Mrs. Ulrich, which was the headquarters of many foreigners. Fifty years ago and more, the members of the Diplomatic Corps, with few exceptions, lived either in modest residences or in boarding houses, in striking contrast with many of the imposing mansions now occupied by the official representatives of foreign lands. His mission was a diplomatic success and while at the capital he married Mrs. Eugenie Ba.s.s, a handsome widow from Mississippi, and soon departed upon another mission, taking his American bride with him. Soon after the announcement of his prospective marriage, Count Bertinatti issued invitations to a large dinner given in honor of his _fiancee_. When the gala day arrived, Mrs. Ba.s.s, though quite indisposed, was persuaded to be present at the dinner, but, feeling decidedly ill, she retired from the table and in a short time became much nauseated. When this state of affairs was explained to General George Douglas Ramsay, one of the guests of the evening, his quick sally was, "a Ba.s.s relief!"

Baron Frederick Charles Joseph von Gerolt, whom I knew very well and who represented King William of Prussia, is still affectionately recalled by his few survivors who cling to early a.s.sociations. His departure from Was.h.i.+ngton with his family was more deeply regretted than that of some other foreign residents whom I remember, as they had made many friends and had lived in Was.h.i.+ngton so long that they were regarded almost as permanent residents. The Misses Bertha and Dorothea von Gerolt were graceful dancers and were very popular. Dorothea married into the Diplomatic Corps and accompanied her husband to Greece. I have heard that Bertha became deeply attached to the Chevalier A. P. C. Van Karnabeek, secretary of the Netherlands Legation, but that, owing to religious considerations, her parents frowned upon the alliance. She accordingly determined to enter upon a cloistered life and went to the Georgetown convent where she became a nun, and was known until the day of her death in 1890 as "Sister Angela." Baron von Gerolt was an intellectual man and, prior to his career in the United States, his name was much a.s.sociated with Baron Alexander von Humboldt; but as neither he nor Madame von Gerolt were proficient English scholars when they first arrived they naturally depended upon others for instruction. I can vouch for the truth of the statement that upon one occasion they were advised by members of his own legation to greet those whom they met with the words, "I'm d.a.m.ned glad to see you."

Mr. Alfred Bergmans, Secretary of the Belgian Legation, married Lily Macalister, a Philadelphia heiress, who, in her widowhood, returned to this country and made Was.h.i.+ngton her home. Madame Bergmans was a devotee to society and was particularly fond of dancing. She was a _pet.i.te blonde_, and, even after it ceased to be fas.h.i.+on, she wore her light hair down her back in many ringlets. When George M. Robeson, President Grant's Secretary of the Navy, saw her for the first time one evening while she was dancing, he exclaimed, "That is the tripping of the light fantastic toe." She married quite late in life J. Scott Laughton, who was considerably her junior, but did not long survive the alliance.

Many members of the Diplomatic Corps of this period married American women. Baron Guido von Grabow, one of the secretaries of the Prussian Legation whom I knew very well, married Mrs. Edward Boyce, whose maiden name was Nina Wood. She was a granddaughter of President Zachary Taylor and was well known and beloved by old Was.h.i.+ngtonians. Her marriage to Baron von Grabow offers strong encouragement to persistent suitors. He was deeply in love with her prior to her first marriage, but she rejected him for Edward Boyce, who was a member of a prominent Georgetown family. Mr. Boyce lived only a few years, and her subsequent married life with Baron von Grabow was long and happy.

Alexandre Gau, _Chancelier_ of the Prussian Legation, married my younger sister, Margaret, who was regarded as a remarkable beauty as well as an accomplished linguist and pianist. Her wedding took place in our G Street home in the same room where five months later her funeral services were held. Mr. Gau did not long survive her and was interred by her side in my father's old burial plot in Jamaica, Long Island.

Don Calderon de la Barca, the Spanish Minister to the United States, together with his wife, who was Miss f.a.n.n.y Inglis, and her sister, Miss Lydia Inglis, were presiding social spirits in Was.h.i.+ngton for many years. The latter married a Mr. McLeod, and, becoming financially embarra.s.sed, established on Staten Island a school for girls which was ably conducted. These sisters were members of a Scotch family of distinguished lineage. One of Mrs. McLeod's pupils was Mary E. Croghan, a prominent heiress from Pittsburgh. She was still attending school on Staten Island when Captain Edward W. H. Schenley of the Royal Navy, a Scotch relative of Mrs. McLeod, came to America to visit her. In inviting him to be her guest she felt that, as he was an elderly man, he would prove to be quite immune to the attractions of mere school girls. I met Captain Schenley about this same time in New York, and his "make up" was of such a remarkable character that it was a favorite _on dit_ that, when he was dressed for standing, a sitting posture was quite an impossibility. Young Miss Croghan must have discovered fascinations in this Scotchman as she eloped with him from Mrs. McLeod's school and after a brief period accompanied him to England, where she spent the remainder of her life. Mrs. McLeod was severely criticised by her patrons for carelessness, and her school was somewhat injured by Miss Croghan's matrimonial adventure.

Don Leopoldo Augusto De Cueto was another Spanish Minister, whom I regarded as an agreeable acquaintance. During his _regime_ filibustering against Spanish possessions, and especially Cuba, was a favorite pastime of American citizens and rendered the position of the Spanish Minister in Was.h.i.+ngton one of delicacy and difficulty. Residing in Was.h.i.+ngton during De Cueto's tenure of office was a Cuban named Ambrosio Jose Gonzales, who, in the Civil War, became Inspector General of Artillery in the Confederate Army, under General Beauregard. As he was well versed in music and had a remarkable voice, he frequently, upon request, sang selections from the popular operas then in vogue. Among the songs frequently heard in drawing-rooms was "Suoni la Tromba," from Bellini's opera "I Puritani di Scozia," which had been interdicted by the Spanish Government. One evening when De Cueto was spending an informal evening with my sisters and myself at our G Street home, Mr. Gonzales happened to call and was asked to sing. He seated himself at the piano and for sometime sang various airs for us. Finally, not knowing that "Suoni la Tromba" was under the Spanish ban, I asked him to sing it. During the song De Cueto was politely attentive, and at its conclusion had the politeness to applaud it. Imagine, however, my surprise when I heard a few days later, through a mutual friend, that Gonzales had boasted that he sang the song in De Cueto's presence, proudly adding that he had looked the Spaniard full in the eye when he uttered the word _libert[)a]_.

Mr. Jose de Marcoleta, the Nicaraguan Minister to the United States, was an elderly and punctilious Spaniard. He was indefatigable in the observance of all social duties, and I met him wherever I went. He was a bachelor but, soon after his arrival in Was.h.i.+ngton, announced his engagement to Miss Mary West of Boston, who unfortunately died before her wedding day. I am under the impression that he eventually married another American. I remember once when he called to see us I asked him to tell me something about Nicaragua, which was then an almost unknown country. My surprise can hardly be described when he told me he had never seen the country which he represented, but was a native of Spain.

Baron Waldemar Rudolph Raasloff represented Denmark in a manner creditable both to his country and our own. He told me that some years previous to his mission to America he came to New York in the capacity of an engineer and was engaged on work in New York harbor, "blowing up rocks." Possibly he was thus employed at "h.e.l.l Gate," at that time one of the most dangerous obstacles to navigation in that vicinity.

The well-known "Octagon," as the old Tayloe home on the corner of New York Avenue and Eighteenth Street is still called, during my early residence in Was.h.i.+ngton was closed. Many superst.i.tious persons regarded it with fear, as its reputation as a haunted house was then, in their opinion, well established. I have been told by the daughters of General George D. Ramsay that upon one occasion their father was requested by Colonel John Tayloe, the father of Benjamin Ogle Tayloe, to remain at the Octagon over night, when he was obliged to be absent, as a protection to his daughters, Anne and Virginia. While the members of the family were at the evening meal, the bells in the house began to ring violently. General Ramsay immediately arose from the table to investigate, but failed to unravel the mystery. The butler, in a state of great alarm, rushed into the dining-room and declared that it was the work of an unseen hand. As they continued to ring, General Ramsay held the rope which controlled the bells, but, it is said, they were not silenced. The architect of the Octagon was Dr. William Thornton, of the West Indies, who designed the plans of the first capitol in Was.h.i.+ngton and who was the controlling spirit of the three Commissioners appointed by Congress to acquire a "territory not exceeding ten miles square" for the establishment of a permanent seat of government. These men were Daniel Carroll, Thomas Johnson, first Governor of the State of Maryland, and David Stuart. Most of this land, which included Georgetown and Alexandria, was primeval forest and was owned chiefly by Daniel Carroll, Notley Young, Samuel Davidson and David Burns.

The Commissioners had great difficulty in dealing with Burns, who owned nearly all of what is now the northwestern section of the city, as he was a closefisted and hardheaded Scotchman, who was unwilling to part with his lands without being roundly paid for them. When argument with him proved fruitless, it is said that General Was.h.i.+ngton, realizing the gravity of the situation, rode up several times from Mount Vernon to discuss the situation with "stubborn Mr. Burns." At length, in despair, he remarked: "Had not the Federal City been laid out here, you would have died a poor planter." "Ay, mon," was Burns's ready response, "and had you no married the widder Custis wi' a' her nagres ye'd ha'e been a land surveyor the noo', an' a mighty poor ane at that!" It is further related that Was.h.i.+ngton finally succeeded in winning Burns over to his way of thinking, and that the canny Scotchman, realizing how largely he was to profit by the transaction, actually became generous and gave to the Commissioners, in fee simple, his apple orchard which is now the beautiful Lafayette Square.

In pa.s.sing through Lafayette Square, I have often sat down upon a bench to rest near the "wis.h.i.+ng tree," a dwarf chestnut so well known to residents of the District, and I have been impressed by the many superst.i.tious persons, both men and women, who have stopped for a moment and silently stood under its branches. Many are the credulous believers in its power to satisfy human desires, and the season when its branches are full of nuts is regarded by these as a specially propitious time for their realization. With many persons this tree is the basis of their only superst.i.tion.

I remember the case of a young girl who had been working very hard to obtain a position in one of the departments but without success and who, thoroughly discouraged, came to the tree early one morning and made the wish that to her and her family meant the actual necessities of life.

She then sat down to rest upon a near-by bench before going home, and while there became engaged in conversation with a pleasing looking woman, to whom she poured forth her heart as she related her hopes and disappointments about obtaining a government position. As her listener was a sympathetic person, she asked the young woman her name and address, and in a few days the poor girl received a notice to go to a certain department for examination. It seems that her companion under the tree was the wife of an influential Senator, who was so touched by the young woman's efforts, as well as by her childish faith in the "wis.h.i.+ng tree," that she took pleasure in seeing that her great desire was gratified.

At this time Was.h.i.+ngton was not far behind other large cities in games of chance, and gambling was frequently indulged in quite openly. Edward Pendleton's resort, a luxurious establishment down town, was regarded as quite _a la mode_, and I have heard it said that he had able a.s.sistance from social ranks. I have often wondered why a man who indulged in this sport was called a gambler, as the term "gamester," used many years ago, seems decidedly more appropriate. I own two volumes of a very old book, published in the eighteenth century, ent.i.tled "The Gamesters," in which the heroes are professional gamblers. I have seen Mrs. Pendleton's costly equipage, drawn by horses with brilliant trappings and followed by blooded hounds, coursing the length of Pennsylvania Avenue, while its owner seemed entirely unconscious of the aching hearts which had contributed to all her grandeur. Cards were universally played in private homes and whist was the fas.h.i.+onable game, General Scott being one of its chief devotees. I have often thought how much the old General would have enjoyed "bridge," as there was nothing that gave him more pleasure than playing the "dummy hand."