Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1874-06-19

a IN the grand drawing-room in the midst
II the crowd, was the President of the Unite
I States whispering in the ear of gay your
a girl. Bright with all the brightness whic
,f beauty, intellect, and the buoyancy of YOU,
) can give, conscious of the general admiratio
,r she evoked, and flushed with the memory
/ many previous conquests, she tossed he
. proud young head and smiled to herself q
a the gold tassels of the Greek cloak she wor
. brushed the cheek of her wOoer of the loft
station. She had no thought OF marriag
I then. Life was too sweet and delightful
: dream to risk an awakening by changing it
current. So she turned deaf ear to til
= offer of sharing the honors of the natol
2 with its Chief Magistrate, and soon Olsen
), gaging her arm from his with a crustv smil
, in which was a large mixture of girlish co
, quetry, she took her fathers arm and walk
, ed away. Young girls are apt to be some
what diSdainful of their suitors when thei
hearts are not touched, and especially when
the lover, as in this case, is their senior b,
,, many years. Yet the lady had a slight con.
sciousness that she had better keep the secret
of her evenings history from her father
who might think proper respect had moi
been shown to the position of the man whc
had sought her love. in receiving his atten-
tons, until such result was brought about.
So she was silent in regard to her last tri-
umph. But the President did not tarry
long in his wO0ing, and next morning sent a
note by his special messenger, a young boy,
to Miss Gardner, at the National Hotel. in
quiring about her health and hoping that
she would not fail to attend the tete to he
given few days later on the Princeton.
OF the tragedy that tete on the Princeton
proved | do not propose to tell you much. at
least not now. The story is thirty years
old, yet wounds time has apparently healed
throb anew, and the tears long wiped away
spring alresh when the terror and anguish
that followed the bursting of the Stockton
gun as the tcte neared it, conclusion that
day Is remembered. Six persons were in
stantly killed, and all had near relatives on
board. The page who had brought the note
from the President in regard to the fae to
the joyous young girl, the father who had
anxiously inquired as to its contents. two
Cabinet ministerS-Upsher. of the State
Department, and Gilmore. of the Navy De-
Commodore Kennon, eomman-
dant of the Navy Yard, and Virgil Marcy
were the victims. The pleasure party be-
came funeral aSsemblage, and the great
scene in the East Room was the heartrending
spectacle of the six cOffus in row contain
ing the remains Of those so suddenly and
horribly called upon to give up life and its
pleasures, loves. and hopes.
1t belongs to my story to allude to this
calamity, which made universal mourning
| in Washington. for it had direct effect in
bringing about the sequel. The attentions
| of the President 10 the two bereaved daught-
ers of Mr.. Gardner at the time of their great
trial were as delicate as they were assidu-
Gus, and when two months afterwards he
renewed his offer of marriage he had fairly
won the heart to which he appealed.
There has been great exultation in certain
quarters of late over journalistic enterprise
in obtaining full reports at first hand of the
recent White House wedding. What say
you. then, to the scribes of lSi4 who suffered
President TO escape from Washington
with matrimony in his heart, and delin-
quent New England postmaster bis alleged
motive, without divining the real tenor of
his journey? Yet it was 50. Bride and
bridegroom agreed to have no cOnfdant ex-
cept those absolutely indispensable. and
those were sworn to secrecy. But one men,
her of the Presidents family knew of the
day fixed for his marriage The lady's i'm
mediate family, Bishop Onderdonk. who
performed the ceremony, and the livery
keeper who furnished the carriage to convey
the party to the church, were the only per-
sons in New York who knew Of the impend |
ing event, and they faithfully kept their |
trust, and never by word or hint gave init
nation that they were even 50 much as
keeping secret.
The President journeyed alone, without 50
much as one private secretary, and reached
New York only the evening before his mar
riage. too late to see his lovely bride before
the wedding morning. There was romance
in those days where there Is realism now,
and it appears both bride and groom had
sought for auguries of happy future. The
bridegroom rose ere the early twilight of the
June morning had dawned, and opening his
window eagerly scanned the sky to see if
there he could see a star which had always
appeared to him before the occurrence Of
every important event Of his life. lie soon
detected it merrily twinkling at him, as if
mOcking his want Of faith, and he was salts
fed Two months before. when the loved
remains Of her father were removed from
and were placed for few hours, on their
way to the final resting place, at the resi-
dence of the family in New York, the young
girl, still doubling if her answer was rightly
made, had crept from her bed at the dead of
night and stolen down stairs alone, and
knelt beside the coffin in the darkness and
prayed that council might be given her.
The answer came as peace pervaded her
heart. and she never again hesitated. Re-
membering how she had concealed from her
father the proposal of her suitor when first
made, this midnight vigil soothed her SEN
sitive conscience and gave the calm she
craved.
Not the most intimate friends. not the
next-door neighbors (the family had an
ar;stocratic mansion in Lafayette Place) sus-
pected wedding until the carriages drove to
Mrs Gardner's door. the horses decked with
bridal favors, and Mrs. Julia Gardner was
led by the groom to the carriage and was
seen by watchful eyes to be attired in we'd
ding garments. Then the news flew like
wildfre that the President was being mar
ried to Miss Gardner. Imagine, oh . you
journalists of New York, the
President of the United States being mar
ried in your midst and not one of you on the
alert. Amends, however, were made for
time lost, for by the time the party reached
Ascension church, near at hand, small
crowd had collected, and when the ceremony
was concluded the guns were firing salutes
in the harbor. +
a collation. was served ut Mrs. Gardner's
house, and in the afternoon Git was morn
ing wedding, like the one of May 2D Presi-
dent Tyler and his beautiful young wife
drove through the streets of New York to
take the boat for Perth Amboy, thence to ,
proceede to Washington by rail. When they
reached the landing flags were flying from
every vessel in the bay, and those who
Know the beauties Of New York harbor can j
picture how fair it looked on that bright j
June day. As tine boat on which were the =,
President and his bride pushed away from :
he dock the two stood together on the deck, !.
md Just then frigte fired a salute, and
he smoke formed into two rings, intertwin-
d, and foated upward. Thus there was
mother happy augury Of the happy life that o
ollowed.
A few DAYS later President and Mrs. :,
ryler stood in the brilliantly lighted East :,
Room and received the congratulations Of all y y
heir friends in Washington. Mrs. Tyler =
vas taken to the dining-room to partake of : :
he supper by Mr.. Calhoun, who cut her - -
ride 5 cake for her. Several happy months u =.
rere spent in the White House, and then, - =
n the expiration Of his term of Office, Persi- ID
ent Tyler took his wife to his family estate
d Virginia, where they spent together il
lany peaceful years. v
l doubt not il was in memory of the sweet v
ssociations the White House has for her N
nat on the recent wedding day she who was Il
A.-cl w~ootscu 20, | a,