The Portland daily press., 1871-11-29
DAILY PRESS.
PORTLAND.
WEDNESDAY, MORNING, NOV. go, 1871.
The White House as it is.

The White House as il il.
INSIDE NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. AMI
OTHER OBJECTS OF NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
ECONOMY THE ORDER OF THE DAY-RE-
PUBLICAN sIMPLICITY-THE HOME OF OUR
PRESIDENTS, AS SEEN BY A woMAN's
EYES.
Having a rainy day in Washington during
the recent absence of General Grant, we took
advantage of it to renew our acquaintance
with General Dent at the White House.
During our call, we gave him an unmistaka-
Bile hint that nothing. would so much please
us as an "open sesame" to the private apart
ments of the President, which we had under
stood were furnished with royal magnificence.
With his well-known amiability, he at once
understood our meaning, and with great cour-
tesy placed himself at our disposal for the
tour. We went first to the East Room, which
is one hundred and twenty feet in length.
thirty in height, and forty in width; the car
pet was woven in one piece, by order of the
sultan OF Turkey, and is as hdeous speci-
men of an ugly carpet as one would wish to
see, and is woven with such irregularity that,
in walking over its stripes, you feel dizzy and
almost sea-sick; its colors are dingy, and not
in harmony. We felt truly thankful that no
foreign potentate had ever felt obliged to
make us such an elephantine present. When
it was taken from the loom and carried to the
ship, it was found too bulky for transporta-
ton, and there not being time to build ship
for the carpet, the carpet had to be divided in
three parts, and so floated over to this coun-
try. Even one of our 'three-plys" would be
far preferable, in point of design and richness
of coloring, to this foreign stranger. The fur
niture is covered with the old curtains. This
fact quite took us from our lofty heights re-
garding ''regal splendOr," and our nose, al
ready retfOusse, became more elevated at
such plebeian economy. There are four ele-
CANT mantels in the room, each rich in design
and carving, and eight mirrors reaching from
ceiling to floor. On the mantels, Mrs. Grant
has had some pretty though inexpensive
bronzes placed which relieve the utter power
ty of the room; and on the walls are portraits
of Washington, Pierce, Quincy Adams, Fill
more, Lincoln, the younger Adams, Van
Buren, Polk, and John Tyler-each picutre
said to be perfect likeness, and as such very
homely, excepting the one of Fillmore and
Pierce, who were both to us, in our Young
days, the embodiment of manly grace and
beauty.
Leaving this, we went to the Green Room,
which has old, recovered furniture in green
silk damask, mirror on the wall; medallion
bronzes of Washington, Lincoln and Grant;
Scott's portrait, painted just before his death,
and presented by him to General Grant;
portrait of Sheridan, and one or two Orna-
ments, among which is silver pheasant in
silver bronze, and several vases from the
Temple in Japan. The Red Room is very
plain the furniture, though arranged to the
best advantage, looked poor and shabby gen.
teel. The principal objects of interest in this
room are the clock and vases presented by the
Empress Josephine to Benjamin Franklin.
The clock is superb in its gliding and carving;
on the vases, which are of Sevres China, are
two views; one of Passy and the other of
Frankln's house at Passy. There is grand
piano and many pretty knick-knacks, while
on the wall is the family group. The Blue
Room, in which Mrs. Grant receives her
evening callers, it very pretty; on the floor is
Walton carpet; around the room several ell
egant mirrors, Japanese tables, superb
bronzes, white and gold French furniture, ex-
quisite ornaments of silver holding vases of
6iue glass in which are cut, in pure white,
graceful figures; the chandelier is of glass and
blue enamel, and is exceedingly elegant.
From this, we passed into the state dining
room which is stingy and wretched. On the
floor is an immense table, and ranged around
the room are the old side-boards and table,
used by the first Presidents. State dinners
are formidable in themselves, but swallowed
in such dolettl room, what wonder if the
entire number of state dinners have the hor-
rors-horrors brought on by the gloomy room
! which even Mrs. Grants suavity of manner
and hospitable reception cannot make her
guests forget. She has flowers and lights fine
glass and silver, brilliant, witty men and ac-
complshed, beautiful women at these din
btf fhay all orn fraary in, fhiS
barn of place. Ii my indignation was great
on seeing the State Room, imagine to what a
point it attained when we were taken into
the family dining-room, which is miserable
beyond description; plain does not express
our meaning, 1t is, as we have said, misera-
bic, yea wretched, and we would not exchange
our own CHEEKY, sunny, pleasant dining
room with its hundred and one home COM
forts, for ten such! There were two engrav-
ings on the wall-one, if we remember Alright,
of the Cruciiixion, the other the Holy Fami-
ly; on the mantel-piece are two vases of Sc
vres ware on one o picture of the escape of
Mary Queen of Scots, and on the other the
cottage to which she fed. We went up the
private stairway which en- enpdssdRt is steep
and narrow; at the head Oh this Is long
white hall, covered with the darned remains
OF the old East Room carpet, and of itself,
while doing credit to the economical ingenui-
ty Of General Babcoek, Is q disgrace TO the
White House. AT the far end OF this is the
Presidents office, the floor of which Is COW
cred with mating, and the room furnished
with cane-seatcd chairs and two office desks.
Here General Dent showed us one or two
Corean trophies-among Others the battle
flag, on which was painted n flying tiger; on
the top of this, arranged like crown were
colored feathers. He also showed us u book
of photographs sent home by Admiral Rodg-
ers; from the picture of the Notifications
made by the Coreans, they must be nation
well versed in engineering.
Next is the Cabinet Room in which the
mantel is of Vermont marble; on IL is clock
made by Brown q Spaulding, New York
which has a barometer, thermometer, and
moonometer, showing the changes of the
moon. All these ometers, singular to relate,
are always in ordcr-of which say,notd bene
| In the centre ofthe room is the Cabinet Ia
| BILE. The President, Mt Cabinet council, oc-
| cupies the head, the Secretary of the Treasu-
nv the left hand, and Secretary of
the State the right; at the foot sits the Secre-
| tary of the Interior, ON the right Is the Sec
retary of War, on his lett the secretary OF
| the NAVY, next him the Attorney General,
| and Opposite the Postmaster General. We
| hope we have seated 'em right; il has been so
many weeks since our visit that we have al
most forgotten how Gen. Dent, in polite ans
! wer to our question, arranged them-very
stupid in as, and most lamentaby true.
Next this room is the Library, which in
shape is oval, the furniture green morocco,
| the ceiling frescoed in gray and gold; very
| good ana exceedingly pretty carpet covers the
| floor: low, handsome bookcases are around
| the room A portrait of Hampden, and one
i of jackson, on the wall. Next this is the
| guest chamber, which is The only one in the
| house. Think of that, ye hospitable house
| wives-one spare room furnished in GRIM
\ son, one dressing-room, wardrobe with mir
rored fronts, lounge, and an old-fashioned
| marble table. Next this is the sittmg-room
it has blue carpets, furniture covered with sat
J ine-(whch, for the benefit of the stupid,
/ who may imagine satine to be satin, we viii
say it is mixture of silk and cotton, very
glossy, and in very pretty designs)-a mirror,
| mantel ornaments, and on pedestal a
+, fnely-executed bust of General Grant, by
| Bailey. In one corner we noticed an old
| split-r,sh rocking-chair, which we felt conf
dent belonged to Mrs. Grants father, OF
! whom on the wall hung q fine likeness, paint
! ed many years ago, by tit comes to us like q
| dream, that we have heard somewhere, and
from Somebody one of his sons!
| Next this is Miss Grants room, furnished
in blue, very small, and as plain as possible.
No superfluous luxures there. On the oppo-
site side of the hall we were shown Jesse
Grants room; on the mantel were several
curious figures, made from figs or potatoes, il
| one corner bookcase, several shelves filled
| with boys books of adventures, Of games
and the others holding his treasures in tn,
shape ofboats, ETC.. in another corner stoo,