The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1865-1866, 1866-04-13
The Dreary Life of Ladies
at the Executive Man.
sion.

| SlO1s
Look At the ludies at the White House
They are condemned to four years ofim
prisoumcrt. During all that time they must
not pay visit or attend an evening en-
tertaiumcnt. Miss Lane occasionally
went out to ball or party. but very sell
dmn Mrs. Lincoln never; aud it ha:
gradually come to be considered undig,
n,fied for " the first ladies in the land" to
mirglc freely in the gayeties IF the sea-
| son.
Then, as for visiting at home, twice a
week they must stand up aud receive for
many Lours tue herd who flock to see
them mostly from the merest curiosity.
while at times they are liable to the Wis.
It's Of impur,unate or impertincnt people,
VIII" will ,ntiude ON their pri,icv. The
very house they live in is not their own !:
it is a FURNISHED house" of the usual de-
scriptinb, without comforts, dreary, dirty,
aud just now dilap'datcd. If pcrcl'ancr
any mrnber of the family appears at a
win'Iow, there are eager eyes to watch
every movement, and perhaps a srr'tblcr
to chronicle the operations of tile toilet,
as Mr.. Willis did for MIR. Lincoln.
The grounds around the house itself
are not more sacred The ladies cannot
take step outside without hcin- wat hed,
and every feature noticed by pe"plc who
expect to sec something very cxlra"rdi>
nary in the appearance # those tcmpora
rily "wesring the purple"
"If," one Of the ladies said to me the
other day, 81 could only walk about
little with my children sometimes in the
gruuuds without being stared at, ami
really enjoy the comfort Of an old dress
md little prisicy, it would be very
pl.asan,
And if they 60 ont to drive, or enter
shop, mods and multcred words indicate
th:,t they are the observed Of all oLser,
vers."
Mrs. Patterson has two little uucs, aud
Mrs. Stov,r three hright-cytd, petty
children, who doubtless maze these cheer
les walls ring with ther gay laugh.cr
and merry shouts.
The ladies OF The Cabinet suffer in Il
less degree than rlloscu the White House
They eau visit and go out HI much as
tn please indeed. with III, IN al tnor-
nous amount Of v.siling b comes a p"sl>
tive stliction. Daily they are inundated
with cards. Every week At tll' ir r. cep>
tions strangers arc presented, and all
these p'cple must te caiied upon. l ll'ct
one of the Cabinet ladies the other day
at Willard's Hotel:
Il am here said she, "for The purpose
Of leaving sixty cards"
WAS somewhat appalled, at the nuns
Der, and then went on t" ask if might
enquire how large WAS her visiting list.
"There ure fifteen hundred names in
it,"
Shrank in some horror from tliis spc-
cinen Of the "Lutics Of office.
So much is required Of them, to".-
No' only must all these visits he returns
ed, hut HI enormous ainnunt Of entertain.
ing must he done. There must lie two
rrreptinns week on" day and one full
'Iress evening affair Then there must
l,e innumerabIe dinners, suppers and
small companies. Besides all This, they
must all go at least once To each OF the
receptions and balls given by other men,
hers of the Cabinet and Senate. You
may then farm some i.tu of the onerous
character of this "g"ycty." All day vis-
itiug-all -v' ming goIng from one house
to another No wnpsler ,hn' they !ook
jaded and wvrn.-New York Times.