The Ladies of the White House; Or, in the Home of the Presidents / Being a Complete History of the Social and Domestic Lives of the Presidents from Washington to the Present Time—1789–1881

by Laura C. Holloway

The White House was a family mansion in the fulness of the term while Mrs. Hayes was in it. She kept it filled with relatives and friends, and gave receptions and entertainments suited to the tastes of those she designed to honor. The President’s niece, Miss Platt, who made her home with her uncle, was married in the mansion, and bridal parties were entertained there from all parts of the country. Mrs. Hayes, on one of her tours with her husband, was asked if she did not get tired of seeing so many people and going so much, and she replied: “Oh, no; I never get tired of having a good time.” She really liked to meet the people who wished to see her, and to shake hands with all who chose to offer her congratulations and respect. She was the most idolized woman in America during her husband’s administration, and not because she held the rank she did, for many have held it before her, who were not known outside a small circle, but for the reason that she is a loving, sunny-hearted, unselfish woman, liking popularity and seeking it according to the Bible injunction: “A man that hath friends must show himself friendly.” She uses the world without abusing it, and carries herself through its pomps and vanities unspotted and pure.

The closing months of President Hayes’ administration were marked by national good feeling and cordiality, and the social life of the White House was most brilliant. Dinner parties and invitation receptions followed each other in rapid succession, and the guests that were entertained there were great in numbers. The extent of her hospitality was estimated by ladies whose husbands had official relations with the President, and who by right of their positions were often at the White House entertainments, as being greater than any other hostess who had preceded her in her high position. She never gave a dinner or an evening party that was not on a scale of elegance compatible with her position, and hence only praise can be said of her administration.

One of the most charming of the entertainments she gave was a lunch party to fifty young ladies in honor of eight guests. There was no married lady present except Mrs. Hayes. The young ladies invited to meet her youthful visitors were the daughters of the members of the Cabinet, of the Chief-Justices, members of Congress, of the foreign Ministers, and army and navy officers in the city, and they included many beautiful and not a few distinguished ladies. The lunch was given in the state dining-room, and as only forty persons can be seated at the table, it was extended by long tables reaching nearly across the room, placed at right angles with it at each end. Mrs. Hayes sat at the head of the room, and the young ladies staying in the house were dispersed among the guests. No gentlemen were present. The table was exquisitely adorned with flowers and dishes of fresh and candied fruits, candelabra, etc. Potted plants were also grouped about the room. The plants and ferns in the conservatory were seen to great advantage through the long windows. A photograph was taken of the table and the vista through the conservatories before the guests assembled. The bon-bons served were of many choice and novel varieties, and the menu included every delicacy. The dinner cards were perfectly plain, square, white cards, with a silver edge, and the coat-of-arms of the United States upon them.

In addition to the many incidental receptions and entertainments, and apart from the usual Presidential receptions, Mrs. Hayes was invariably at home to welcome whoever chose to call upon her from eight to ten o’clock each evening. And there was scarcely an evening in the week when the green parlor was not full of people. Whether these were strangers from out of the city or personal acquaintance, they were received informally, and as they took their departure it was most usually the case that they carried away with them flowers, which were always to be seen in all the rooms during her life there.

Mrs. Hayes left the White House signally honored by her own sex. She received during the closing days of her stay in Washington every recognition that the women of this country could give her, and she returned to her home in Ohio assured of the esteem of those whose good opinions she would naturally value. She did not win the regard of her sex by seeking for their favorable opinions, but by being true to herself.

The presentation of her portrait, a life-size painting by Huntington, was made to the nation by the temperance people, who felt that her course deserved some more marked tribute than could be paid her in words. The picture represents her standing, holding in her hands a cluster of roses. She is arrayed in a ruby velvet, the rich color being toned by white laces about her neck and sleeves. The canvas is seven feet four inches high by six feet wide, and the frame (of oak) stands nearly ten feet in height. The sides of the frame are in the form of pilasters with a capital at the top and a plinth at the base, the sides supporting a rich projecting cornice. This cornice presents a hollow moulding a foot deep, on which are carved branches of oak in high relief, above which is displayed in unique designs the American flag. The capitals on the pilasters are in a pattern of lilies (purity), the bases of these in laurel (victory), the bottom in the English hawthorn and the water lily, the top in oak leaves and acorns (power and strength), together with several other less noticeable designs. The frame was made by the Cincinnati School of Design, under Mr. Benn Pitman, and is the finest ever carved. The presentation was made in the East Room on the morning of the 8th of March, General Garfield replying to Miss Frances Willard, who, as President of the National Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, tendered it. The event awakened interest throughout the nation. Everybody felt renewed interest in the woman who had done such worthy things as to secure to herself a following such as no other member of her sex ever had in this country. She came to her fame step by step, proving with each day’s life that she was building character and not seeking applause. She had no more power in the White House than she had in Ohio, for though her husband’s ear was ever conveniently near by, she did not impose taxes upon him or make him pay tribute to her rank as his wife. With him she shared his high place, but it was not used selfishly to advance her popularity or to win for her aught of selfish fame. In the midst of her surroundings, which were outwardly captivating enough to turn a strong head, she lived a self-respecting life, individualizing it without antagonizing her husband’s public interests. In the stand she took in refusing to use wine on her table, she exhibited rare courage, because it was not only an unpopular step, but it was one that placed her in contrast with her predecessors in the position she was holding—a circumstance which was her chief regret. As to the right of a woman to take the authoritative stand she did, she did not stop to consider, for she was in her own home even if in the Executive Mansion, and the public had no more right to dictate what she should drink than what she should eat or wear. Mr. Hayes, had he set aside her wishes and trampled her authority, would have committed in so doing no act that would have condemned him in the eyes of the majority of people. But she reaped as she had sown, and was respected in the measure of her self-respect, and it was this evidence of her moral power, more than the mere fact of her being a temperance advocate, that drew the women of this country about her. And taken all in all, she is one of the finest representatives of her sex who has held the place she has filled. This is the verdict of the women of this country, who by thousands signed the testimonials sent her, and united in presenting to the nation her portrait, as a manifestation of their gratitude for worthy representation. It is the first instance of the kind in the history of any nation, and it marked the prestige of a people who are every year becoming more renowned throughout the world, and more and more an example of the advancing power of civilization.

Ex-President and Mrs. Hayes, accompanied by their children and a party of friends, left Washington on Saturday morning, the 5th of March, and hardly had they begun their journey when an accident occurred which came nigh proving disastrous. Fortunately none of the persons with the ex-President were hurt, though two persons on the train were killed and a number were seriously injured. The accident occurred near Baltimore in the afternoon of the day they left Washington. Arriving at Fremont the people received the long absent family with every manifestation of delight and regard, and welcomed them with music, banners and speeches. At night the town was illuminated, and the house of the ex-President was crowded with neighbors and friends, who made the home-coming as pleasant as the God-speed had been hearty and earnest.

XXVII.
LUCRETIA RUDOLPH GARFIELD.

A woman who had known Mrs. Garfield for a number of years previous to the election of her husband to the Presidency said of her, in reply to a question regarding her fitness for the place she was to fill: