CHAPTER XLIV. OFFICIAL AND SOCIAL LIFE.
President Cleveland is emphatically a working man. Possessing a strong physique, he industriously devotes his time and his energies to the duties of his office. Gentle in his strength, unobtrusive in his modesty, and unswerved by partisan clamor, he endeavors to do what he—from his personal and political standpoint—regards as right. He is above medium height, quite stout, and rather sluggish in his movement. He is of the Teutonic type—blonde, with ruddy color. His head is large, with a broad forehead, deeply set blue eyes, a large, straight nose, with vigorous nostrils, and a firm mouth, partly shaded by a drooping light mustache. He generally wears a frock coat, buttoned up so high that only an inch or so of his shirt bosom is visible, with a slight black cravat encircling a standing collar. In conversing with strangers, he generally stands with his hands clasped behind him, and when he thinks that he has heard enough from the person addressing him he brings his hands forward.
The President rises early, shaves himself, dresses without assistance, and then reads the newspapers until breakfast time. From the breakfast-table he goes to the library, an oval-shaped room in the second story of the White House, with large windows at one end commanding a fine southern view, with Alexandria and Arlington in the background. The room is partially lined with book-cases, and the furniture is upholstered with red leather, while in the centre of the room, near the windows, is the President's desk. It was presented by Queen Victoria, and was made from the oaken timbers of the Resolute, which was sent to the Arctic regions by the British Government in search of Sir John Franklin, abandoned in the ice, saved by American whalers, and restored to the British Government by the United States. On this desk the many papers before the President are methodically arranged, and he never has to waste time in hunting for mislaid letters.
The morning mail first passes through the hands of Colonel Lamont, who lays before the President such letters as require instructions as to the replies to be made. Mr. Cleveland answers many of his private letters himself, writing with great rapidity and not always very legibly. At ten o'clock visitors begin to arrive, Senators and Representatives claiming precedence over all others. A few of the Congressmen escort constituents who merely desire to pay their respects, but the greater portion of them—Republicans as well as Democrats—have some "axe to grind," some favor to ask, or some appointment to urge.
At one o'clock the President goes down-stairs to lunch, and on his way to the private dining-room passes through the East Room to see the sovereign people congregated there. There are queer mosaics of humanity at these daily impromptu receptions, generally including a few persistent place-hunters, who are invariably referred to the heads of Departments; several bridal couples in new clothes; an old Bourbon in a shiny black dress-coat, who "has voted for every Democratic President, sir, since the days of Jackson;" half a dozen commercial drummers—travelers, I mean—with their pockets full of samples, and three or four fond mothers, whose children invariably forget to speak the complimentary little piece taught them. The President wastes no time, but goes along the line like an old- fashioned beau dancing the grand right and left figure in a cotillion, and then goes to his luncheon.
Two days in the week, when there is a Cabinet meeting, the reception in the East Room is held at noon, or omitted. After luncheon, the President returns to his desk and works there steadily until five o'clock, unless some one calls who cannot be refused an audience. None of his predecessors have ever weighed the qualifications and claims of candidates for Federal appointment with such painstaking care as has Mr. Cleveland. He has carefully read the recommendations in every case, and, after such investigation as it has been possible for him to make into the character and antecedents of the rival applicants, he has made his appointments.
At five o'clock the President takes a drive, although the carriage is often sent back to the stable that the examination of the papers in some case may be finished that day. Dinner is served at seven, and by half-past eight the President is at work again, often remaining at his desk until midnight. But then he leaves his cares behind him. When asked if he ever carried the work to bed with him, as many men of a nervous organization would do, he replied: "No! I generally fall asleep without any difficulty. I generally am asleep as soon as I am fairly in bed, and never wake until morning."
Miss Rose Elizabeth Cleveland, one of the President's sisters, presided over the domestic arrangements of the White House after the inauguration of Mr. Cleveland. She is a lady of literary tastes, and under her direction the routine of receptions and dinners was carefully continued. On these occasions the floral decorations were remarkably elegant, and there was a profusion of palms, India rubber plants, roses, azalias, tulips, hyacinths, and growing orchids.
The first state dinner was given in honor of the Cabinet. At each end of the long table were ornaments of white wax. At the eastern end the figures upholding three fancy molds of jellied pate de foie gras were white swans, with outspread wings, under the shelter of which rested a brood of snowy young ones. At the opposite end of the table the figures were those of eagles, while the pates de foie gras arranged above on horseshoes were little square blocks, attached to the horseshoes by means of silver skewers, with ornamental hilts. Interspersed the length of the board were glass and silver stands of conserves, bonbons, and salted almonds. The service used at the first course was that especially decorated for the White House during the Hayes Administration. At each plate were set six Bohemian wine-glasses, a cut-glass carafe, tumbler, and champagne glass. Salt-sellers of cut-glass, with golden shovels, and silver pepper-stands were beside these. On each plate was folded a large damask napkin, on the top of which rested a bouquet of roses and ferns, tied with a broad white satin ribbon, on one end of which, running bias, were painted the colors of the Union. On the other end was an etching in black and white of the White House and surrounding shrubbery, while underneath, in gilt lettering, was "Jan. 14, 1886." Gilt bullet-headed pins, to attach the bouquet to the corsage, lay beside these, while above lay a large white card bearing the name of the guest assigned to the seat. Above the name of the guests, blazoned in gold, was the American eagle, above whose head, through a cluster of stars, was the motto, "E Pluribus Unum." At the plates laid for the gentlemen were boutonnieres of green, with a single Bon Silene rosebud. Miss Cleveland had a corsage bouquet of pink roses; Miss Bayard, who occupied the seat to the right of the President, Perie du Jardin roses, and Mrs. Manning, who sat to the left, lilies of the valley and ferns.
The guests assembled in the East Room, and when dinner was announced as served, passed down the corridor, the Marine Band performing selections from the "Mikado," and entered the state dining-room in the following order: President Cleveland and Miss Bayard, who wore a trained dress of pink silk, the front of which was white lace; Secretary Whitney and Mrs. Vilas, who wore a blue silk dress; Senator Edmunds and Mrs. McCullough, who wore cream satin and lace; Senator Harris and Mrs. Edward Cooper, who wore white satin, with side panels embroidered in gold and silver; General Sheridan and Mrs. Endicott, who wore a court train of black velvet over a pink satin petticoat, with point lace flounces; Secretary Bayard and Mrs. Whitney, who wore white cut velvet, trimmed with clusters of ostrich tips. Postmaster-General Vilas and Mrs. Sheridan, who wore sky-blue silk, with front brocaded in roses; Mr. Speaker Carlisle and Mrs. Edmunds, who wore black velvet; Mr. McCullough and Miss Weddell, who wore white brocaded satin; Secretary Lamar and Mrs. Carlisle, who wore gold-flowered brocade, with front of network of iridescent beading; Admiral Rogers and Mrs. D. Willis James, who wore cardinal velvet with court train, over a white satin and lace petticoat; Hon. Edward Cooper, of New York, and Miss Love, who wore white satin, with black velvet train; Mrs. D. Willis James, of New York, and Mrs. Utley, who wore white satin brocade; Secretary Manning and Miss Cleveland, who wore a gown of white satin, with court train of white plush.
Miss Cleveland had her afternoon receptions, and she also gave several luncheon parties to ladies, at which her temperance principles were exemplified. At the first of these luncheon parties Miss Cleveland graciously received her guests in a morning dress of pink surah silk, with a high-necked bodice and panels of ruby velvet, trimmed with white lace, and Miss Van Vechten, an inmate of the White House, wore a walking-dress of dark blue velvet, with a vest of light blue silk, trimmed with blue steel beads. Nearly all of the ladies wore walking-dresses and bonnets, although a few were in the evening attire that they would have worn to a dinner-party. Mrs. Warner Miller wore a bronze-green Ottoman silk with panels of cardinal plush; Mrs. Potter (the amateur actress) wore a bright green Ottoman silk short dress, with a tight-fitting jacket of scarlet cloth, richly embroidered; Mrs. John A. Logan wore a dress of peacock-blue satin, trimmed with blue brocade; Mrs. Marshal Roberts wore a brown velvet dress, and Mrs. Van Rensselaer a black satin dress trimmed with jet. The repast was an abbreviated dinner, daintily served, but in the place of seven kinds of wine there were served iced Potomac water, Apollinaris water and lemonade.
Miss Cleveland talks very much as she writes, and those who have enjoyed her Summer Hours can imagine the bright staccato strain of her conversation. She seemed when in the White House to be always longing for what she used to call her "little old house on the Holland Patent, with the village on the one side and the hills on the other." She remarked one day to a lady visitor: "I wish that I could observe Washington life in its political phase; but I suppose I am too near the centre to get an accurate perspective on that. Those who live on Mount Athos do not see Mount Athos."
Society was saddened early in the fashionable season of 1886 by the sudden death of Secretary Bayard's eldest daughter, a young lady whose personal attractions, gifted intellect, and quick wit endeared her to a large circle of devoted friends. A fortnight later, the bereaved father was deprived by death of his wife, a lady of gracious presence and refined disposition, who was the mother of twelve children, eight of whom survived her. These sad events closed the pleasant home of the Premier on Highland Terrace, greatly to the regret of the diplomats and others, who loved to congregate there.
Prominent among the wives of the members of the Cabinet was Mrs. Whitney, the only daughter of Senator Harry B. Payne, of Ohio, whose unstinted expenditures have made her house in Washington, like her other residences, noted for their hospitality. The residence of Secretary Manning, with its drawing-room fitted up in the Louis XVI. style, is palatial, while those who visit the home of the Secretary of War admire the quiet style of its furniture and the rare old family silver on its table.
The death of Vice-President Hendricks removed an official around whom the disaffected Democrats could have crystallized into a formidable opposition. Believing as he did, that he had been defrauded of the office of Vice-President by the Electoral Commission in 1876, he regarded his election in 1884 as a triumphant vindication of his rights, and he was not disposed to have the position longer regarded as "like the fifth wheel of a coach." He made no secret of his opposition to civil service reform and to his Indiana rival, ex-Senator McDonald, against whose appointment to a place in the Cabinet he formally protested. Perhaps a social antagonism between Mrs. McDonald and Mrs. Hendricks had something to do with this.
Vice-President Hendricks was slightly lame, from a singular cause. He spoke in public a great deal in the Presidential campaign of 1882, and while speaking he was in the habit of bending forward on the tip of his right foot, resting his entire weight upon it. From the pressure of his right shoe a swelling arose on one of his toes, shortly after he reached home after making a speech at Newcastle, Indiana. In twenty-four hours erysipelas developed, and it was only after an illness of six months that he recovered. But he always afterward was somewhat lame, especially when he was fatigued.
[Facsimile] T. A. Hendricks THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS was born in Muskingum County, Ohio, September 7th, 1849; was taken when three years of age to Indiana, where he studied law and practiced; was a Representative in Congress from Indiana, 1851-1855; was Commissioner of the General Land Office, 1855-1859; was United States Senator from Indiana, 1863- 1869; was Governor of Indiana, 1872-1877; was nominated for Vice- President on the Democratic ticket at St. Louis in 1876, and was defeated; was again nominated for Vice-President on the Democratic ticket at Chicago in 1884, and was elected; was inaugurated March 4th, 1885, and died at Indianapolis, November 25th, 1885.