One of the most characteristic stories told of her was that about the two old ladies from a western town, who, after seeing the Capital, had stopped on a corner near the White House, reluctant to leave without first seeing the President's wife, whose fame in some ways exceeded his own. They finally made known their wishes to a passer-by, who, being one who had access to the White House, ushered them in, and laughingly told their wish to Dolly. She arose from the breakfast table and went quickly to them, surprising them by the simplicity of her appearance, being dressed in a plain gray stuff dress and white apron, with a white linen kerchief crossed on her breast. Gaining courage from her warm reception, one of the old ladies murmured, "If I could but go home and tell my daughters I had kissed you!" And the wish was scarcely uttered until it was a reality for them both, and they departed with a story worth telling in their western home.
She was a notable housekeeper, too, after the hospitable ways of old Virginia, and looked well to the ways of her household, usually ere her guests had left their beds.
Any history of Dolly Madison seems incomplete without seeing her through Washington Irving's eyes. He attended a levee in 1811, then held from seven to ten o'clock, and writes:
"I was soon ushered into the blazing splendor of Mrs. Madison's drawing-room. Here I was most graciously received. I found a crowded collection of great and little men, of ugly old women and beautiful young ones, and in ten minutes was hand and glove with half the people in the assemblage. Mrs. Madison is a fine, portly, buxom dame, who has a smile and a pleasant word for everybody. Her sisters, Mrs. Cutts and Mrs. Washington, are like the two merry wives of Windsor, but as to Jemmy Madison—ah! poor Jemmy!—he is but a withered little apple-John."
On March 11, 1812, Lucy Payne Washington was married to Judge Thomas Todd, of the Supreme Court, a widower with five children, and went to live at Lexington, Kentucky. Although Dolly missed her greatly, she wrote, "How wise Lucy is!" She had had many admirers, and these words were in recognition of the wisdom of her choice.
This was the first wedding to take place in the White House, but we have searched in vain to find any record of it in the papers of the day or elsewhere. It was probably a comparatively quiet affair, and unlike our recent weddings there.
Elizabeth Henry, sister of Patrick Henry, married General William Campbell. Her daughter, Sarah Campbell, married Francis Preston, and was the mother of the Hon. William Campbell Preston, of South Carolina, who in his journal describes a visit to the White House, when he was only eighteen.
"I and my conductor proceeded in the hack in utter silence. The appearance of the house and grounds was very grand. There was a multitude of carriages at the door. Many persons were going in and coming out, and especially many in grand regimentals. Upon entering the room there were fifteen or twenty persons. Mr. Madison turned toward us, and the General said, presenting me. 'My young kinsman, Mr. President, who has come to pay his respects to you and Mrs. Madison.' The President was a little man, with a powdered head, having an abstracted air and a pale countenance. Around the room was a blaze of military men and naval officers in brilliant uniforms. The furniture of the room, with the brilliant mirrors, was very magnificent. While we stood Mrs. Madison entered, a tall, portly, elegant lady with a turban on her head and a book in her hand. She advanced straight to me, and extending her left hand said, 'Are you William Campbell Preston, son of my old friend and most beloved kinswoman, Sally Campbell?' I assented. She said, 'Sit down, my son; for you are my son, and I am the first person who ever saw you in this world.'"
Montpellier. The ancestral estate inherited by James Madison, in Orange County, Va. Courtesy of Mrs. du Pont.