the washington that i knew in the fifties was not the washington of dickens, mrs. trollope, and laurence oliphant. when i knew the capital of our country, it was not "a howling wilderness of deserted streets running out into the country and ending nowhere, its population consisting chiefly of politicians and negroes";[1] nor were the streets overrun with pigs and infested with goats. i never saw these animals in the streets of washington; but a story, told to illustrate the best way of disposing of the horns of a dilemma proves one goat at least to have had the freedom of the city. it seems that henry clay, overdue at the senate chamber, was once hurrying along pennsylvania avenue when he was attacked by a large goat. mr. clay seized his adversary by the horns. so far so good, but how about the next step? a crowd of sympathetic bootblacks and newsboys gathered 4 around offering advice. "let go, mr. clay, and run like blazes," shouted one; and mr. clay did let go and did run, his senatorial coat-tails flying like pennons behind him.
but this was before my day. i remember washington only as a garden of delights, over which the spring trailed an early robe of green, thickly embroidered with gems of amethyst and ruby, pearl and sapphire. the crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, and snowdrops made haste to bloom before the snows had fairly melted. the trees donned their diaphanous veils of green earlier in the white house grounds, the lawn of the smithsonian institution, and the gentle slopes around the capitol, than anywhere in less distinguished localities. to walk through these incense-laden grounds, to traverse the avenue of blossoming crab-apples, was pure pleasure. the shaded avenues were delightful long lanes, where one was sure to meet friends, and where no law of etiquette forbade a pause in the public street for a few words of kindly inquiry, or a bit of gossip, or the development of some plan for future meetings. if one's steps tended to the neighborhood of 7th and d streets, nothing was more probable than a meeting with one of washington's most noted citizens,—the superb mastiff of mr. gales, the veteran editor of the national intelligencer, as the dog gravely bore in a large basket the mail for the office. no attendant was needed by this fine animal. he was fully competent to protect his master's private and official correspondence.
he had been taught to express stern disapprobation 5 of democrats; so if a pleasant walk with him was desired, it was expedient for members of that party to perjure themselves and at once announce: "i am an 'old-line whig,' old man," and the dog's tail would wag a cordial welcome.
omnibuses ran along pennsylvania avenue, for the convenience of senators, congressmen, and others on their way to the capitol,—but the saunter along the avenue was so charming that i always preferred it to the people's line. there were few shops. but such shops! there was galt's, where the silver, gems, and marbles were less attractive than the cultivated gentleman who sold them; gautier's, the palace of sweets, with mrs. gautier in an arm-chair before her counter to tell you the precise social status of every one of her customers, and what is more, to put you in your own; harper's, where the dainty, leisurely salesman treated his laces with respect, drawing up his cuffs lest they touch the ethereal beauties; and the little corner shop of stern madame delarue, who imported as many (and no more) hats and gloves as she was willing to sell as a favor to the ladies of the diplomatic and official circles, and whose dark-eyed daughter léonide (named for her godmother, a greek lady of rank) was susceptible of unreasoning friendships and could be coaxed to preserve certain treasures for humbler folk.
léonide once awoke me in the middle of the night with a note bidding me "come tout de suite," for "maman" was asleep, the boxes had arrived; and she and i could peep at the bonnets and choose 6 the best one for myself. thus it was that i once bore away a "divine creation" of point lace, crêpe, and shaded asters before madame had seen it. otherwise it would have been reserved for miss harriet lane or mrs. douglas. madame had to know later; and léonide was not much in evidence the rest of that season. at madame delarue's, if one was very gentil, very convenable, one might have the services of fran?ois, the one and only hair-dresser of note, who had adjusted coronets on noble heads, and who could (if he so minded) talk of them agreeably in parisian french.
all these were little things; but do not pleasant trifles make the sum of pleasant hours? washington was like a great village in those days of president pierce and president buchanan. to obtain the best of the few articles to be purchased was an achievement.
my own pride in the federal city was such that my heart would swell within me at every glimpse of the capitol: from the moment it rose like a white cloud above the smoke and mists, as i stood on the deck of the steamboat (having run up from my dinner to salute mount vernon), to the time when i was wont to watch from my window for the sunset, that i might catch the moment when a point on the unfinished dome glowed like a great blazing star after the sun had really gone down. no matter whether suns rose or set, there was the star of our country,—the star of our hearts and hopes.
i acknowledge that wisdom is much to be desired of her children, but nowhere is it promised 7 that they will be the happier for gaining her. when my lot was cast in washington, wisdom had not taught me that the white house was less beautiful than a classic temple. to be sure, dickens had called it "like an english club-house,"—that was bad enough,—but mark twain had not yet dubbed it "a fine, large, white barn with wide handsome grounds around it." "the president lives there," says washington hawkins. "it is ugly enough outside, but that is nothing to what it is inside." to my uneducated eye the east room with its ornate chandeliers, fluted pillars, and floriated carpet was an audience chamber fit for a king. a triumph of artistic perfection was the equestrian statue of the hero of new orleans, now known to be out of all proportion, and condemned as "bad" and "very bad" by wisdom's instructed children. raising his hat, indeed! why, any man in that position would be holding on to the mane with both hands to keep from sliding off. and as for the capitol—the sacred capitol! from foundation to turret it was to my eye all that genius and patriotism could achieve. the splendid marbles at the entrance, the paintings, the bas-reliefs within the rotunda,—these were things to boast of, to dream of. not yet had arisen our irreverent humorist to warn us never to enter the dome of the capitol, "because to get there you must pass through the great rotunda, and to do that you would have to see the marvellous historical paintings that hang there and the bas-reliefs,—and what have you done that you should suffer this?" 8
when our friends came up from virginia to make us visits, it was delightful to take a carriage and give up days to sight-seeing; to visit the white house and capitol, the patent office with its miscellaneous treasures; to point with pride to the rich gifts from crowned heads which our adored first president was too conscientious to accept; to walk among the stones lying around the base of the unfinished monument and read the inscriptions from the states presenting them; to spend a day at the smithsonian institution, and to introduce our friends to its president, mr. henry; and to mr. spencer baird and mr. gerard, eminent naturalists, who were giving their lives to the study of birds, beasts, and fishes,—finding them, mr. gerard said, "so much more interesting than men," adding hastily, "we do not say ladies," and blushing after the manner of cloistered scholars; to tell them interesting things about mr. gerard who was a melancholy young man, and who had confided to me that he had sustained a great sorrow. had he lost his fortune, or been crossed in love, was he homesick for his native switzerland? worse than any one or all of these! he had been sent once to nantucket in the interests of his profession. there he had found a strange fish, hitherto unknown to science. he had classified its bones and laid them out on his table to count them. in a moment's absence the housemaid had entered and dusted his table.
then the visits to the galleries of the house and senate chamber, and the honor of pointing out the great men to our friends from rural districts; the 9 long listening to interminable speeches, not clearly understood, but heard with a reverent conviction that all was coming out right in the end, that everybody was really working for the good of his country, and that we belonged to it all and were parts of it all.
this was the thought behind all other thoughts which glorified everything around us, enhanced every fortunate circumstance, and caused us to ignore the real discomforts of life in washington: the cold, the ice-laden streets in winter; the whirlwinds of dust and driving rains of spring; the swift-coming fierceness of summer heat; the rapid atmospheric changes which would give us all these extremes in one week, or even one day, until it became the part of prudence never to sally forth on any expedition without "a fan, an overcoat, and an umbrella."
the social life in washington was almost as variable as the climate. at the end of every four years the kaleidoscope turned, and lo!—a new central jewel and new colors and combinations in the setting.
but behind this "floating population," as the political circles were termed, there was a fine society in the fifties of "old residents" who never bent the knee to baal. this society was sufficient to itself, never seeking the new, while accepting it occasionally with discretion, reservations, and much discriminating care. the sisters, mrs. gales and mrs. seaton, wives of the editors of the national intelligencer, led this society. mrs. gales's home was outside the city, 10 and thence every day mr. gales was driven in his barouche to his office. his paper was the exponent of the old-line whigs (the republican party was formed later) and in stern opposition to the democrats. it was, therefore, a special and unexpected honor for a democrat to be permitted to drive out to "the cottage" for a glass of wine and a bit of fruit-cake with mrs. gales and mrs. seaton. never have i seen these gentlewomen excelled in genial hospitality. mrs. gales was a superb old lady and a fine conversationalist. she had the courteous repose born of dignity and intelligence. she was literally her husband's right hand,—he had lost his own,—and was the only person who could decipher his left-hand writing. so that when anything appeared from his pen it had been copied by his wife before it reached the type-setter. a fine education this for an intelligent woman; the very best schooling for a social life including diplomats from foreign countries, politicians of diverse opinions, artists, authors, musicians, women of fashion, to entertain whom required infinite tact, cleverness, and an intimate acquaintance with the absorbing questions of the day.
of course the levees and state receptions, which were accessible to all, required none of these things. the role of hostess on state occasions could be filled creditably by any woman of ordinary physical strength, patience, and self-control, who knew when to be silent.
washington society, at the time of which i write, was comparatively free from non-official men of 11 wealth from other cities who, weary with the monotonous round of travel,—to the riviera, to egypt, to monte carlo,—are attracted by the unique atmosphere of a city holding many foreigners, and devoted not to commercial but to social and political interests. the doors of the white house and cabinet offices being open on occasions to all, they have opportunities denied them in their own homes. society in washington in the fifties was peculiarly interesting in that it was composed exclusively of men whose presence argued them to have been of importance at home. they had been elected by the people, or chosen by the president, or selected among the very best in foreign countries; or they belonged to the united states army or navy service, or to the descendants of the select society which had gathered in the city early in its history.
during the fillmore administration there were peculiar elements in washington society. the president was born of poor english parents. at the age of fifteen he was apprentice to a wool-carder in livingston county, new york, representing in his father's mind no higher hope than gradual advancement until he should attain the proud place of woollen-draper. but at nineteen he had entered a lawyer's office, working all day, teaching and studying at night. when he became president his tastes had been sufficiently ripened to enable him to gather around him men of literary taste and attainment. john p. kennedy, an author and a man of elegant accomplishments, was secretary of the navy. washington irving was kennedy's friend, and often 12 his guest. lesser lights in the world of letters found washington an agreeable residence. we knew many of these men, and among them none was brighter, wittier, or more genial than g. p. r. james, the english novelist whose star rose and set before 1860. he was the most prolific of writers, "like an endless chain of buckets in a well," said one; "as fast as one is emptied up comes another."
we were very fond of mr. james. one day he dashed in, much excited:—
"have you seen the intelligencer? by george, it's all true! six times has my hero, a 'solitary horseman,' emerged from a wood! my word! i was totally unconscious of it! fancy it! six times! well, it's all up with that fellow. he has got to dismount and enter on foot: a beggar, or burglar, or pedler, or at best a mendicant friar."
"but," suggested one, "he might drive, mightn't he?"
"impossible!" said mr. james. "imagine a hero in a gig or a curricle!"
"perhaps," said one, "the word 'solitary' has given offence. americans dislike exclusiveness. they are sensitive, you see, and look out for snobs."
he made himself very merry over it; but the solitary horseman appeared no more in the few novels he was yet to write.
one day, after a pleasant visit from mr. james and his wife, i accompanied them at parting to the front door, and found some difficulty in turning the bolt. he offered to assist, but i said no—he was 13 not supposed to understand the mystery of an american front door.
having occasion a few minutes afterward to open the door for another departing guest, there on his knees outside was mr. james, who laughingly explained that he had left his wife at the corner, and had come back to investigate that mystery. "perhaps you will tell me," he added, and was much amused to learn that the american door opened of itself to an incoming guest, but positively refused without coaxing to let him out. "by george, that's fine!" he said, "that'll please the critics in my next." i never knew whether it was admitted, for i must confess that, even with the stimulus of his presence, his books were dreary reading to my uninstructed taste.
a very lovely and charming actress was prominent in washington society at this time,—the daughter of an old new york family, anna cora (ogden) mowatt. she was especially interesting to virginians, for she had captivated foushee ritchie, soon afterward my husband's partner on the editorship of the richmond enquirer. mr. ritchie, a confirmed old bachelor, had been fascinated by mrs. mowatt's parthenia (in "ingomar") and was now engaged to her. he proudly brought to me a pair of velvet slippers she had embroidered for him, working around them as a border a quotation from "ingomar":—
"two souls with but a single thought,
two hearts that beat as one."
14
and oh, how angry he was when an irreverent voice whispered one word, "soles!"
"cora must never hear of this," he declared indignantly; "she is, beyond all women, incapable of double entendre, of coarse allusion."
alas! i cannot conclude my little story, "and they were married and lived happily ever after." they were married—and lived miserably—and were separated ever after. the single thought was how they could best escape each other—and the two hearts beat as one in the desire for freedom.
"the shadow of the coming war was even then beginning to darken the land and confuse legislation with bitter partisanship and continuous attempts at an impossible compromise," but, alas! our eyes were holden so we could not see.
