In testimony of respect to the memory of the deceased, the public offices were closed, both houses of Congress adjourned, and other marks of respect were adopted. Her remains were conveyed to Buffalo, where, on the 2d of April, they were laid to rest.
The accompanying letter, written by a well-known lady of Buffalo, who was much of the time an inmate of the White House during Mrs. Fillmore’s stay there, is replete with interest, and gives us an insight into the home-life of this noble woman, we could in no other way obtain.
“The great interest I feel in your undertaking has outweighed my diffidence and decided me, in accordance with your request, to state briefly some of my recollections of the habits and social traits of my late friend, Mrs. Fillmore, with incidents of life at the White House.
“The retiring modesty of manner so inseparable from the idea of a perfect lady, was eminently characteristic of Mrs. Fillmore. Although well qualified and, when occasion required, ever ready to act her part in the position which Providence assigned her, she much preferred the quiet of domestic life. Her home was pleasant, and while she was a woman of strong common sense, her tastes were highly refined. Especially was she fond of music and of flowers. Her love for the former received great gratification from her daughter’s musical attainments, and her fondness for flowers amounted to a passion, and much of her time in her own home was devoted to their culture and care.
“Mrs. Fillmore read much and carefully, and being possessed of excellent powers of observation, was consequently a well-informed and cultivated woman. With qualities like these, it is superfluous to say that, when she was called to preside at the White House, she did it with dignity and propriety. She was not strong in health, and had suffered much from a sprained ankle, from which she never fully recovered. Fortunately for her, the etiquette of Washington did not require the President and his wife to return visits or to attend parties, though I believe the President did sometimes dine with a cabinet minister. All the claims of society were met and attended to by the daughter, and how well she, a young girl just from school, acquitted herself in this trying position, all will remember who were fortunate enough to come within the circle of her happy influence.
“When Mr. Fillmore entered the White House he found it entirely destitute of books. Mrs. Fillmore was in the habit of spending her leisure hours in reading, I might almost say in studying. She was accustomed to be surrounded with books of reference, maps, and all the other acquirements of a well-furnished library, and she found it difficult to content herself in a house devoid of such attractions. To meet this want, Mr. Fillmore asked of Congress and received an appropriation, and selected a library, devoting to that purpose a large and pleasant room in the second story of the house. Here Mrs. Fillmore surrounded herself with her own little home comforts, here her daughter had her own piano, harp, and guitar, and here Mrs. Fillmore received the informal visits of the friends she loved, and for her the real pleasure and enjoyments of the White House were in this room. With strangers she was dignified, quiet, and rather reserved; but with her friends, she loved to throw aside all restraint and enjoy a good laugh and indulge in a little vein of humor, which lay quietly hidden under the calm exterior.
“Mrs. Fillmore was proud of her husband’s success in life, and desirous that no reasonable expectations of the public should be disappointed. She never absented herself from the public receptions, dinners, or levees when it was possible to be present; but her delicate health frequently rendered them not only irksome, but very painful, and she sometimes kept her bed all day to favor that weak ankle, that she might be able to endure the fatigue of the two hours she would be obliged to stand for the Friday evening levees.
“The President and Mrs. Fillmore received on Tuesday mornings, from twelve to two o’clock. The levees were on Friday evenings, from eight till ten, and at these there was generally a band of music, but no dancing. Every Thursday evening there was a large dinner party, and frequently another on Saturdays. Then there were often smaller dinners in the family dining-room, which were more sociable and agreeable, as the invitations were usually confined to the personal friends of the family.
“But what Mrs. Fillmore most enjoyed was to surround herself with a choice selection of congenial friends in her own favorite room—the library, where she could enjoy the music she so much loved, and the conversation of the cultivated society which Washington at that time certainly afforded. One of these evenings I remember with more than ordinary pleasure. Mr. Webster was there, and Mr. Corwin, and Mrs. A. H. H. Stuart, of Virginia, Judge Hall and his wife, and possibly some other members of the Cabinet; Mr. and Mrs. Brooks, of New York, Miss Derby, of Boston, then a guest at the White House, Mr. and Mrs. Carroll, and several others of the distinguished residents of Washington. Mrs. Brooks’ daughter, then quite too young to appear in general society, was there by special request of Mrs. Fillmore, who so enjoyed her wonderfully sweet singing, that she relied upon her as one of the attractions for this evening. Miss Fillmore played the piano with much skill and exquisite taste. Indeed, few ladies excelled her in this accomplishment; and this evening she was particularly successful in her efforts to please. Mrs. Brooks accompanied her upon the harp, which instrument she played with much grace. Altogether, the music, the conversation, and the company made it an occasion long and pleasantly to be remembered.
“One of the events of Mr. Fillmore’s first winter in the Executive Mansion was a visit from his father. It was the first time any President had ever entertained his father in the White House, and Mrs. Fillmore was very anxious lest some unlooked-for event might prevent this anticipated pleasure. But he arrived in safety one Monday night. Tuesday was reception day. The morning papers announced that the venerable father of the President arrived in town the evening before. There was an unusual attendance at the reception that day, and it was interesting to watch each person, as they cast their eyes about the room, unable to light upon any one who answered to their idea of the ‘venerable father of the President,’ and when they were presented to him, as he stood before them, tall and perfectly erect, and with hair but little whiter than the President’s, there was a general expression of surprise. They had evidently expected to see an infirm old man, bent with years, and leaning upon a cane, and Mr. Nathaniel Fillmore, at the age of eighty, did not answer to that description. Senators and Judges, and Foreign Ministers came that morning, all anxious to pay their respects to the President’s father. One gentleman from New York, desirous of drawing him into conversation, said to him ‘Mr Fillmore, you have been so very successful in bringing up sons, I wish you would tell me how to raise my little boy.’ ‘Cradle him in a sap-trough, sir,’ said the old gentleman, always ready with an answer. That was an interesting reception, to the President and to all, and when it was over, Mr. Fillmore the elder said to me, ‘If I had had the power to mark out the path of life for my son, it would never have led to this place, but I cannot help feeling a kind of pride in it now that he is here.’