This habit of personally assuming responsibility has ever characterized Mr. Cleveland. When Mayor of Buffalo and when Governor of New York, he was open to suggestions from those whose judgment he valued, but he was always ready to carry his own full share of responsibility, as he now does in his relations with his chosen advisers of the Cabinet.
[Fascimile] Grover Cleveland GROVER CLEVELAND was born at Caldwell, Essex County, New Jersey, March 18th, 1837; studied law at Buffalo and commenced practice there; was Mayor of Buffalo, 1882, 1883; was Governor of the State of New York, 1883-1885; was elected President of the United States on the Democratic ticket, November 4th, 1884, and was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1885.
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.