“It was a radical thing for the Viceroy to throw open the doors of his house and bring the foreign barbarian to his hearth-stone. This dinner was arranged for our last night in Tientsin, and in honor of Mrs. Grant. The principal European ladies in the colony were invited. Some of these ladies have lived in Tientsin for years and had never seen the wife of the Viceroy—had never seen him except through the blinds of the window of his chair. The announcement that the Viceroy had really invited Mrs. Grant to meet his wife, and European ladies to be in the company, was even a more extraordinary event than the presence of General Grant or the arrival of the band. Society rang with a discussion of the question which, since Mother Eve introduced it to the attention of her husband, has been the absorbing theme of civilization—what shall we wear? I have heard many expositions on this theme, but in Tientsin it was new and important. Should the ladies go in simple Spartan style: in muslin and dimity, severely plain and colorless, trusting alone to their graces and charms, and thus show their Chinese sister the beauty that exists in beauty unadorned; or should they go in all their glory, with gems and silks and satins and the latest development of French genius in the arrangement of their hair? It was really an important question, and not without a bearing, some of us thought, on the future domestic peace of the Viceroy. The arguments on either side were conducted with ability, and I lament my inability to do them justice, and hand them over to the consideration of American ladies at home. The discussion passed beyond me and entered into the sphere of metaphysics, and became a moral, spiritual—almost a theological theme, and was decided finally in favor of the resources of civilization. The ladies went in all the glory of French fashion and taste.
“No gentlemen were invited to the Viceroy’s dinner, and the Viceroy himself did not entertain his guests. It was arranged that the ladies should go in chairs. Of ladies there were in all, Mrs. Grant, Mrs. Detring, Mrs. Denny, Mrs. Dillon, Mrs. Forrest, Mrs. Dorian, and Miss Denny. It was a distance of two miles to the Yamen, and the streets were filled with a curious multitude watching the procession of chairs, and having their own thoughts, we can well fancy, at this spectacle of the vice-regal home invaded by the wives of foreign barbarians. It was quite dark when the ladies reached the Yamen. They alighted in a courtyard illuminated with lanterns, and crowded with officials in their quaint costumes. The band of the ‘Richmond’ had been sent ahead by Captain Johnson, and as our ladies arrived they were welcomed with the familiar notes of home music. The Viceroy also had a band, and the musical effect of the two styles of music—the Chinese running largely to gongs, and the American with trumpet and drum—was unique, and added to the strangeness of the ceremony.
“As Mrs. Grant, who was in the first chair, descended, she was met by the wife of the Viceroy, who took her hand and escorted her into the house. The other ladies were shown in by one of the missionary ladies, who came to act as interpreter. They passed through a sort of hall into a small library. The walls of this library were cut up into pigeon-holes, filled with Chinese books made of soft, tough paper. The Viceroy’s wife took her seat at the head of the table, and as each lady entered she was introduced by the interpreter. The hostess arose and shook hands with each in cordial European fashion, with perfect grace, and as though it had been her custom all her life to use this form of salutation. There were two other ladies of the vice-regal family present, the daughter of the Viceroy, a maiden of sixteen, and his daughter-in-law, a lady of twenty-three. They sat at the opposite end of the table from the hostess, looking on with curious interest at the company of foreign ladies, the first they had ever seen. Still they restrained their curiosity, showing no wonder, no surprise, and received their European friends with as much ease as if they had been accustomed to a London drawing-room. The daughter-in-law of the Viceroy was dressed in subdued colors, much the same as the hostess, but the maiden was brilliantly costumed in a bright pink satin jacket, and green satin trousers, the whole embroidered with gold thread, and silk of a variety of colors. At every movement she tinkled with her abundant ornaments of pearl and jade, which hung in long pendants from her ears, wrists, fingers, and the cord of her fan. She wore two long gold finger-nail shields on the third and fourth fingers of her left hand, a curious ornament made necessary by the custom of high-bred persons in China of allowing the finger-nails to grow. Both of the young ladies wore their hair ornamented in the same manner as the wife of the Viceroy.
“The company sat in the library about ten minutes. During this time they were served with strong pale tea, without sugar or milk, in tiny porcelain cups. Then, at a gesture from the hostess, the ladies arose and walked into another room, a larger one, the hostess conducting Mrs. Grant. Crowds of servants swarmed about, and other crowds of curious persons looked in at the windows and doors at the unusual spectacle. The dining-room was furnished in European fashion, with divans and chairs. A chandelier of four gas jets hung over the centre of the table, and was an object of curiosity to all, as Tientsin has not yet attained to the blessing of gas. The dinner table was set in European style, with silver and French china, and decorated with a profusion of flowers. The ladies took seats according to the rank of their husbands, Mrs. Grant sitting on the right and Mrs. Denny on the left of the hostess. Each of the ladies had her own servant who waited on her. The dinner was a blending of Chinese and European cookery. First came a European course. Then came a Chinese course, served in silver cups with small silver ladles and ivory chopsticks. Smaller silver cups in saucers sat at each plate, filled with the warm Chinese wine which you find at every dinner. The ladies tasted their Chinese food with fortitude, and made heroic efforts to utilize the chopsticks. The Chinese ladies partook only of their own food. The hostess kept up a conversation with all the ladies. First she asked each one her age, which in China is the polite thing to do. I have no information as to the responses elicited by this inquiry, the sources of my knowledge failing at this point. Then questions were asked as to the number of children in the families of the married ladies, and the age of each child. The younger Chinese ladies of the party sat at the other end of the table, and having no interpreter made themselves understood by signs—by graceful little gestures of the hand, nods, questioning eyes. It is wonderful how much talk can be done by pantomime, and the Chinese ladies with their quick intelligence soon found themselves in earnest conversation with their European friends. During the dinner there was a Chinese Punch and Judy show, and the noise of this entertainment, with the chatter of the servants, and the curious gazing crowd who never left the doors and windows, made an unceasing din. China has democratic customs and privileges which are never invaded. Whenever General Grant and party dined as the guest of a Chinaman, in Canton, or Shanghai, or Tientsin, it was always in presence of a multitude. If the people were to have the doors closed upon them, even the doors of the Viceroy, it would make trouble. And now, of all days in the calendar of China, this day when female barbarians are welcomed to a nobleman’s house, it is important that all the world should stand by and see the wonder.
“The hostess, with a gesture and smile of welcome, drank from her cup of warm wine a toast to her friends. The ladies sipped their wine in response. This astonished the hostess, who had been told that it was the custom of barbarian ladies to drink their glasses dry. But it was explained that while some ambitious gentlemen in foreign society ventured upon such experiments, the ladies never did. The hostess wondered at this, and seemed to think that somehow it would be more like what she had heard if the ladies drank more champagne, if they drained their glasses and turned them upside down. Then the jewels were passed from hand to hand to be examined by the Chinese ladies. This study of jewelry, of diamond and emerald, of ruby and turquoise, occupied most of the time that remained to the dinner. Once or twice the tall form of the Viceroy could be observed looking over the heads of the crowd to see how his wife and foreign friends were enjoying themselves. When observed his Excellency withdrew. Although not appearing during the dinner, nor at the reception before, the Viceroy was now and then seen moving about among the curious gazers, evidently anxious about his feast, anxious that nothing should be wanting in honor of his guests.
“After the dinner the party went into another room. Here was a piano which had been brought from the foreign settlement. This was a new delight to the hostess, who had never seen a piano, and she expressed her pleasure and surprise. One of the pieces was a waltz, a merry German waltz, and two of the ladies went through the measures, giving variety to the dance by balancing separately with one arm akimbo, the other holding up the skirt, then twirling away to different parts of the room and coming together again. This revelation of barbarian customs created great astonishment, and when the dance stopped there was a chorus of approbation from the Chinese, as if they had discovered a new pleasure in the world, the hostess nodding and smiling with more energy of manner than she had shown during the evening. This performance was witnessed by the Viceroy, who perhaps had his own thoughts as a far-seeing statesman as to what China would become if German music ever found its way into Chinese households, and mothers and maidens gave way to the temptations of the waltz. There were snatches of singing, one of the ladies who had an expressive voice warbling some roundelay from the Tyrol. This created another sensation, and was so new, and strange, and overwhelming that the Chinese maiden in the dazzling pink jacket lost her Oriental composure, and gave a faint start and laughed, and fearing she had committed some breach of propriety, suddenly recovered herself and coyly looked about to see if she had in any way given offence to her barbarian guests. The hostess, however, sat by the side of Mrs. Grant during the whole performance, and looked on as calmly at these strange phenomena of an unknown civilization as if she had known the waltz and heard Tyrolean ditties all her days. The hostess, with high-bred courtesy, always arose when her guests did, and never sat down until they were seated. The feet of the Chinese ladies were extremely small—scarcely more than two or three inches long—and when they walked it was with difficulty, and only by the aid of the waiting-women who walked behind. A Chinese lady of rank does nothing without the aid of servants. If she wishes to take a handkerchief out of her pocket a servant performs the office. But during the whole evening, at every phase of the reception and the entertainment, the hostess showed a self-possession and courtesy that might have been learned in the drawing-rooms of Saint Germain. She took pains to show attention to every one. When the time came to leave she went with Mrs. Grant to her chair. When the others left she took her leave of them at the door, and they parted with good wishes and polite little speeches of thanks and welcome.”
Mrs. Grant has the distinction of having travelled more than any other lady who has graced the White House, and of having received at the hands of foreigners more attention than has fallen to the lot of any other American lady. In her tour she was the guest of the heads of the government in all countries, and participated in hospitalities of crown heads and the representative nobility. Her life from the period when her husband became the victorious general of the army, has been one of high social rank, and the years as they have passed have brought her many blessings. She has known public honors and domestic happiness, and is a most fortunate woman. She has sought her chief pleasure in life in the family circle, and her reward has been found in their happiness. The White House under Mrs. Grant’s social administration was a delightful home, and was ever the abode of many relatives and friends who shared in the many pleasures it afforded. An atmosphere of pleasant social life was felt by all visitors at the Executive Mansion, and though Mrs. Grant was not particularly fond of society, her stay in the White House is remembered as a period of great gayety in Washington. She was identified with the events of the administration in all semi-official ways, and was as popular in society as any of the women who had preceded her. A wife and mother, she was occupied with the duties pertaining to domestic relations, and divided her time between her public and private obligations. In this respect of having twofold duties to perform she was like all the wives of the Presidents, and with one exception the White House has known no lady differently situated. Harriet Lane was untrammelled with domestic cares when she presided there, and was moreover a great belle. Society claimed more from her than it ever did of any other lady, and the circumstances attending her life there made it the most marked in many respects that has yet been chronicled. Mrs. Grant’s deep interest in the success of her husband, and her commendable desire to have her countrywomen satisfied with her administration as hostess, were motives sufficiently impelling to incite her to every exertion necessary to the accomplishment of her purpose, and she has the satisfaction of knowing that her career was approved. In her domesticity, which is her leading characteristic, and with her strong sense and practical ideas, she had ample armor of protection against mistakes, and she lived eight years in the White House as serenely as she would have done in Galena. It is to her credit that her sons, grown to manhood, pay her marked attentions, and that she is to them the ideal mother. To be approved by one’s friends is comfort, but to be adored by one’s children is to be crowned with the most imperishable of earthly diadems. When Mrs. Grant appeared in sight of the people of San Francisco, she was leaning on the arm of one of her boys, who had gone out to meet her, and it was a pleasing sight to those who saw the tender devotion of the son to his long absent mother. General Grant was in the hands of the committees who were to show him honor, but his wife was accepting homage far more satisfying. Her mother’s heart was far more touched by the welcome she received than any other that could be given her. It is this womanly quality which has influenced her to be a less conspicuous figure than her position lent her opportunity for being. She has not cared to be recognized apart from her husband, but to be identified with him, and while this trait is an admirable one, it has none the less conspired to limit rather than enlarge the acquaintance of the public with her. But she is a woman approved by her sex, and her record is one that her sister-women will always admire. She has enjoyed great honors, and abused none of her gifts, and her name will ever be associated in terms of praise with that of the country’s second military President, and the most successful general of his day. Her life is yet in its summer, and the laurels bestowed upon her are bright and undimmed, and for a long time yet she will be in the enjoyment of them. Whatever future awaits her she will meet it with dignity and appreciative consideration of the exceptionally brilliant position she has filled.
XXVI.
LUCY WEBB HAYES.
Mrs. Hayes was the most widely known and universally popular President’s wife the country has known. She was an element in the administration that was gladly recognized, and her influence was most potent and admirable. In her successful career as the first lady of the land was outlined the future possibilities of her sex in all other positions and conditions. She represented the new woman era, and was the first of the women of the White House of the third period. The women of the Revolutionary period of American history exhibited stronger traits of character than those who succeeded them. There was necessity for higher qualities—the display of courage, heroism and fortitude, and they were discovered in every emergency. The country was young and the people were experimenting with liberty; there were common dangers to be shared, and fewer honors than have fallen to those who came into the inheritance secured for them. With the end of the administration of John Quincy Adams a new generation of men and women claimed public notice, and the women who came to hold the highest place of honor in the land were the representatives of this second era of the country’s history. They were social queens, but nothing more. They aspired to supremacy in the drawing room, and were content to acquire it. Some were too little used to the world to care for even this, and led retired domestic lives, wholly apart from the public careers of their husbands.
