the brilliant buchanan administration
the advent of lord and lady napier was practically coincident with the installation of miss harriet lane at the white house, and, in each instance, the entrée of miss lane and lady napier had its share in quickening the pace at which society was so merrily going, and in accentuating its allurements. miss lane’s reign at the white house was one of completest charm. nature, education and experience were combined in the president’s niece in such manner as eminently to qualify her to meet the responsibilities that for four years were to be hers. miss lane possessed great tact, and a perfect knowledge of mr. buchanan’s wishes. her education had been largely directed and her mind formed under his careful guardianship; she had presided for several years over her uncle’s household while mr. buchanan served as minister to england. the charms of young womanhood still lingered about her, but to these was added an aplomb rare in a woman of fifty, so that, during her residence in it, white house functions rose to their highest degree of elegance; to a standard, indeed, that has not since been approached save during the occupancy of the beautiful bride of president cleveland.
miss harriet lane
mistress of the white house, 1857–61
115miss lane’s entrance into life at the american capital, at a trying time, served to keep the surface of society in washington serene and smiling, though the fires of a volcano raged in the under-political world, and the vibrations of congressional strife spread to the furthermost ends of the country the knowledge that the government was tottering. the young lady of the white house came to her new honours with the prestige of queen victoria’s favour. in her conquest of statesmen, and, it was added, even in feature, she was said to resemble the queen in her younger days. miss lane was a little above the medium height, and both in colour and physique was of an english rather than an american type—a characteristic which was also marked in the president. the latter’s complexion was of the rosiest and freshest, and his presence exceedingly fine, notwithstanding a slight infirmity which caused him to hold his head to one side, and gave him a quizzical expression that was, however, pleasing rather than the contrary.
in figure, miss lane was full; her complexion was clear and brilliant. in her cheeks there was always a rich, pretty colour, and her hair, a bright chestnut, had a glow approaching gold upon it. she had a columnar, full neck, upon which her head was set superbly. i thought her not beautiful so much as handsome and healthful and good to look upon. i told her once she was like a poet’s ideal of an english dairymaid, who fed upon blush roses and the milk of her charges; but a lifting of the head and a heightening of the pretty colour in her cheeks told me my bucolic simile had not pleased her.
of the napiers it may be said that no ministerial representatives from a foreign power ever more completely won the hearts of washingtonians than did that delightful scotch couple. in appearance, lady napier was fair and distinctly a patrician. she was perhaps thirty years of age when she began her two-years’ residence in the american capital. her manner was unaffected and simple; her retinue small. during the napiers’ occupancy, the british embassy was conspicuous for its complete absence of ostentation and its generous hospitality. their equipages were of the handsomest, 116but in no instance showy, and this at a period when washington streets thronged with the conspicuous vehicles affected by the foreign legations. indeed, at that time the foreigner was as distinguished for his elaborate carriages as was the southerner for his blooded horses.[12]
lady napier’s avoidance of display extended to her gowning, which was of the quietest, except when some great public function demanded more elaborate preparation. on such occasions her laces—heirlooms for centuries—were called into requisition, and coiffure and corsage blazed with diamonds and emeralds. her cozy at-homes were remarkable for their informality and the ease which seemed to emanate from the hostess and communicate itself to her guests. a quartette of handsome boys comprised the napier family, and often these princely little fellows, clad in velvet costumes, assisted their mother at her afternoons, competing with each other for the privilege of passing refreshments. at such times it was no infrequent thing to hear lady napier compared with “cornelia and her jewels.”
lord napier was especially fond of music, and i recall an evening dinner given at this embassy to miss emily schaumberg, of philadelphia, in which that lady’s singing roused the host to a high pitch of enthusiasm. miss schaumberg was a great beauty, as well as a finished singer, and was most admired in the capital, though she stayed but a very short time there.
lady napier and her sons
117a ball or formal dinner at the british embassy (and these were not infrequent) was always a memorable event. one met there the talented and distinguished; heard good music; listened to the flow of wholesome wit; and enjoyed delectable repasts. early in 1859 the napiers gave a large ball to the young lords cavendish and ashley, to which all the resident and visiting belles were invited; and, i doubt not, both lords and ladies were mutually delighted. miss corinne acklin, who was under my wing that season (she was a true beauty and thoroughly enjoyed her belleship), was escorted to supper by lord cavendish, and, indeed, had the lion’s share of the attentions of both of the visiting noblemen, until our dear, ubiquitous mrs. crittenden appeared. that good lady was arrayed, as usual, with remarkable splendour and frankly décolleté gown. she approached miss acklin as the latter, glowing with her triumphs, stood chatting vivaciously with her lordly admirers. “lady” crittenden smilingly interrupted the trio by whispering in the young lady’s ear, though by no means sotto voce: “present me to lord ashley, my dear. ashley was my second husband’s name, you know, and maybe they were kin!”
“i thought her so silly,” said the pouting beauty afterward. “she must be almost sixty!” but mrs. crittenden’s kindly inquiry was not an unnatural one, for, as the rich widow ashley, whose husband’s family connections in some branches were known to be foreign, she had been renowned from florida to maine for years before she became mrs. crittenden.
at the home of the napiers one frequently met mr. bayard, between whom and the english ambassador there existed a close intimacy. mr. bayard was the most unobtrusive of men, modesty being his dominant social characteristic. when i visited england in 1885, i had a signal testimony to lord napier’s long-continued regard for the great delaware statesman. during my 118stay in london, the former minister constituted himself cicerone to our party, and, upon one memorable afternoon, he insisted upon drinking a toast with us.
“oh, no!” i demurred. “toasts are obsolete!”
“very well, then,” lord napier declared. “if you won’t, i will. here’s to your president, mr. cleveland! but,” he continued with a suddenly added depth, “were it your chevalier bayard, i would drink it on my knee!”
upon my return to america i had the pleasure of shouting to mr. bayard, then secretary of state, a recital of this great tribute. he had now grown very deaf, but my words reached him at last, and he smiled in a most happy way as he asked, almost shyly, but with a warm glance in the eye, despite his effort to remain composed, “did napier really say that?”
a feeling of universal regret spread over the capital when it became known that the napiers were to return to england; and the admiration of the citizens for the popular diplomat expressed itself in the getting-up of a farewell ball, which, in point of size, was one of the most prodigious entertainments ever given in washington. one group of that great assemblage is vividly before me. in it the young james gordon bennett, whom i had seen in earlier days at a fashionable water-cure (and whose general naughtiness as a little boy defies description by my feeble pen), danced vis-à-vis, a handsome, courtly youth, with his mother and daniel e. sickles.
during the pierce administration the old-fashioned quadrilles and cotillions, with an occasional waltz number, were danced to the exclusion of all other terpsichorean forms; but in the term of his successor, the german was introduced, when miss josephine ward, of new york, afterward mrs. john r. thomson, of new jersey, became prominent as a leader.
when i review those brilliant scenes in which passed and smiled, and danced and chatted, the vast multitude 119of those who called me “friend,” the army of those now numbered with the dead—i am lost in wonder! my memory seems a herculaneum, in which, let but a spade of thought be sunk, and some long-hidden treasure is unearthed. i have referred to the citizens of washington. the term unrolls a scroll in which are listed men and women renowned in those days as hostesses and entertainers. they were a rich and exclusive, and, at the same time, a numerous class, that gave body to the social life of the federal city. conspicuous among these were mrs. a. s. parker and mrs. ogle tayloe. the home of the former was especially the rendezvous of the young. in the late fifties and sixties it was a palatial residence, famous for its fine conservatories, its spacious parlours, and glistening dancing floors. to-day, so greatly has the city changed, that what is left of that once luxurious home has been converted into small tenements which are rented out for a trifle to the very poor. at the marriage of mrs. parker’s daughter, mary e., in 1860, to congressman j. e. bouligny, of louisiana, crowds thronged in these now forgotten parlours. the president himself was present to give the pretty bride away, and half of congress came to wish godspeed to their fellow-member.
the home of mr. and mrs. ogle tayloe was a museum of things rare and beautiful, vying in this respect with the corcoran mansion and the homes of the several members of the riggs family. one of its treasured mementos was a cane that had been used by napoleon bonaparte. mrs. tayloe belonged to a new york family; the tayloes to virginia. she was a woman of fine taste and broad views, a very gracious hostess, who shrank from the coarse or vulgar wherever she detected it. when washington became metamorphosed by the strangers who poured into its precincts following the inauguration of mr. lincoln in 1861, the tayloe mansion was shrouded, 120its pictures were covered, and its chandeliers wound with protective wrappings. entertaining there ceased for years. “nor have i,” said mrs. tayloe to me in 1866, “crossed the threshold of the white house since harriet lane went out.”
at the tayloe home i often exchanged a smile and a greeting with lilly price, my hostess’s niece, who, when she reached womanhood, was distinguished first as mrs. hamersley, and afterward as lillian, duchess of marlborough. at that time she was a fairy-like little slip of a schoolgirl, who, in the intervals between fridays and mondays, was permitted to have a peep at the gay gatherings in her aunt’s home. many years afterward, being a passenger on an outgoing steamer, i learned that mrs. hamersley, too, was on board; but before i could make my presence known to her, as had been my intention, she had discovered me and came seeking her “old friend, mrs. clay,” and i found that there lingered in the manner of the brilliant society leader, mrs. hamersley, much of the same bright charm that had distinguished the little lilly price as she smiled down at me from her coign of vantage at the top of the stairway of the tayloe residence.
but the prince of entertainers, whether citizen or official, who was also a prince among men, the father of unnumbered benefactions and patron of the arts, was dear mr. corcoran. when my thoughts turn back to him they invariably resolve themselves into
“and, lo! ben adhem’s name led all the rest”
throughout our long acquaintance mr. corcoran proved himself to be what he wrote himself down, “one of the dearest friends of my dear husband.” he was already a widower when, shortly after our arrival in washington, i met him; and, though many a well-known beauty would have been willing to assume his distinguished name, my own conviction is that mr. corcoran never 121thought of marriage with any woman after he committed to the grave the body of his well-beloved wife, louise morris, daughter of the brave commodore.
mr. corcoran was a tall and handsome man, even in his old age. in his younger days his expression was the most benignant i have ever seen, though in repose it was tinged with a peculiar mournfulness. the banker’s weekly dinners were an institution in washington life. during each session he dined half of congress, to say nothing of the foreign representatives and the families of his fellow-citizens.
evening dances were also of frequent occurrence at the corcoran mansion, the giving of which always seemed to me proof of the host’s large and great nature; for louise corcoran, his daughter, afterward mrs. eustis, was a delicate girl, who, owing to some weakness of the heart, was debarred from taking part in the pleasures of the dance. nevertheless, mr. corcoran opened his home to the young daughters of other men, and took pleasure in the happiness he thus gave them. the “greek slave,” now a principal object of interest in the corcoran art gallery, was then an ornament to the banker’s home, and stood in an alcove allotted to it, protected by a gilded chain.
the hospitality of mr. corcoran’s home, which senator clay and i often enjoyed, was a synonym for “good cheer” of the most generous and epicurean sort. i remember an amusing meeting which my husband and i had one evening with secretary cobb. it took place on the treasury pavement. recognising us as we approached, the bland good humour which was habitual to the secretary deepened into a broad smile.
“ah, clay!” he said to my husband, pulling down his vest with a look of completest satisfaction, “been to corcoran’s. johannisberg and tarrepin, sir! i wish,” and he gave his waistcoat another pull, glancing up 122significantly at the tall stone pile before us, “i wish the treasury were as full as i!”
mr. corcoran was famous for his johannisberg, and i recall a dinner at his home when, being escorted to the table by the danish minister, who had somewhat the reputation of a connoisseur, our host and my companion immediately began a discussion on the merits of this favourite wine, which the minister declared was of prime quality, and which, if i remember rightly, mr. corcoran said was all made on the estate of the prince de metternich. when the minister announced his approval, our host turned quietly to me and said, sotto voce, “i hoped it was pure. i paid fifteen dollars for it!”
i wish it might be said that all the lavish hospitality of that incomparable gentleman had been appreciated with never a record to the contrary to mar the pleasure he gave; but it must be confessed that the host at the capital whose reputation for liberality extends so widely as did mr. corcoran’s runs the risk of entertaining some others than angels unaware. the receptions at the corcoran residence, as at the white house and other famous homes, were occasionally, necessarily, somewhat promiscuous. during the sessions of congress the city thronged with visitors, many of them constituents of senators and congressmen, who came to washington expecting to receive, as they usually did receive, social courtesies at the hands of their representatives. many kindly hosts, aware of these continually arising emergencies, gave latitude to congressional folk in their invitations sufficient to meet them.
at the corcoran receptions, a feature of the decorations was the elaborate festooning and grouping of growing plants, which were distributed in profusion about the banker’s great parlours. upon one occasion, in addition to these natural flowers, there was displayed a handsome epergne, in which was placed a most realistic bunch of 123artificial blooms. these proved irresistibly tempting to an unidentified woman visitor; for, in the course of the afternoon, mr. corcoran, moving quietly among his guests, saw the stranger take hold of a bunch of these curious ornaments and twist it violently in an effort to detach it from the rest. at this surprising sight mr. corcoran stepped to the lady’s side, and said with a gentle dignity: “i would not do that, madam. please desist. the blossoms are not real. they are rare, however, and have been brought from europe only by the exercise of the greatest care!”
“well! if they have? what’s that to you?” snapped the lady defiantly.
“nothing, madam!” he responded, quietly. “except that i am mr. corcoran!”
fortunately, not all strangers who were so entertained were of this unpleasant sort. sometimes the amusement the more provincial afforded quite out-balanced the trouble their entertainment cost our resident representatives. i remember an occasion on which i, acting for my husband, was called upon to show a young woman the sights of the capital. she was the daughter of an important constituent. one morning, as i was about to step into the calash of a friend who had called to take me for a drive, a note was handed to me. it read: “my dear mrs. clay: i hope you will recall my name and, in your generosity of heart, will do me a favour. my daughter is passing through washington and will be at the —— hotel for one day,” naming that very day! “she is very unsophisticated and will be most grateful for anything you can do toward showing her the sights of the capital,” etc., etc.
as i knew i might command the services of my escort for the morning (he was a mr. parrish, recently from the mines of africa, and in washington for the purpose of securing our government’s aid in pressing certain of his 124claims against a foreign power), i proposed that we proceed at once to the —— hotel and take the young woman with us on our drive. to this a kind consent was given, and in a short time i had sent my card to the young stranger. i found her a typical, somewhat callow schoolgirl, overdressed and self-conscious, who answered every question in the most agitated manner, and who volunteered nothing in the way of a remark upon any subject whatsoever, though she assented gaspingly to all my questions, and went with a nervous alacrity to put on her hat when i invited her to accompany us upon our drive.
we began our tour by taking her directly to the capitol. we mounted to the dome to view the wonderful plan of the government city; thence to the house and the senate chamber, and into such rooms of state as we might enter; and on to the government greenhouses, with their horticultural wonders. we paused from time to time in our walk to give the young lady an opportunity to admire and to consider the rare things before her—to remark upon them, if she would; but all our inviting enthusiasm was received in dull silence.
failing to arouse her interest in the gardens, we next directed our steps to the smithsonian institution, where corridor after corridor was explored, in which were specimens from the obscurest comers of the earth, monsters of the deep, and tiny denizens of the air, purchased at fabulous sums of money, but now spread freely before the gaze of whomsoever might desire to look upon them. the smithsonian institution, at that time still a novelty even to washingtonians, has ever been to me a marvellous example of man’s humanity to man. i hoped it would so reveal itself to my whilom protégée.
alas for my hopes! her apathy seemed to increase. we arrived presently at the ornithological department. a multitude of specimens of the feathered tribes were 125here, together with their nests and eggs; still nothing appeared to interest my guest or lessen what i was rapidly beginning to regard as a case of hebetude, pure and simple. i was perplexed; mr. parrish, it was plain, was bored when, arriving almost at the end of the cases, to my relief the girl’s attention seemed arrested. more, she stood literally transfixed before the nest of the great auk, and uttered her first comment of the day:
“lor’!” she said, in a tone of awestruck amazement, “what a big egg!”
