Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1881-01-07
A vlSITT0 MRS. FOLK.
The widow OF the IN. President In
Her Home lin near Nashville.


The widow OF the IN. President In
Her Home lin near Nashville.
Philadelphia Times.
There are many elegant residences
on the hills about the capitol, but one
| palatlal home within square of the
public grounds cannot fail To attract the
special attention Of the Soiourncr. A
Wide lawn extends back seme tifty
yaniS from the street where stands m
old-t,me southern mansion, with the
colossal pillar that is the pride OF the
! plantation architect AMI the wide halls
and capaeious rooms so common in
the best residences Of the south. The
walls and doors and shades bear uu-
mistkablc evidence ofaSe, with here and
there the unsightly prints of decay, but
the easy chairs ON the portico, the cord.
Ml welcome extended hy the servant,
and the prohsion of well-worn sofas
and rockers located with the irregular
lty that unconventional comfort die
MtcS, tell how freely the yates opel to
tho visitor. This is tho home Of Mrs.
Folk, widow of the ex-president of the
United States, who has survived her
honored husband more than three de-
cadcs, and has Soon all of his contcm.
porarles pass away. Although the
storms of tour-score wears have fallen
upon her she is yet cheerful as n lass
OF twenty, and her smile is as natural
and FREQ MS il could have been when il
was aviShcd upon the generation
that is now forgotten The brown
eurlS Of her you'll are yet Multlcssly
initiated on her finely east forehead,
and her turhau crown OF black, with
the widows Sihor.hning, gives her the
appearance of genial and wcll-prc.
served dame of sixty summers. Her
step IL firm; her eyes are scarcely dim.
med by the long lapse of more than
rtrlarchal years, and her momory is
undated, She does not tolerate in Il
conventional way the many trcSpasScrs
upon her time, but She grccts all with
quccnly dignity and yet with that gen
crous welcome that makes the visitor
mark his visit as enc Of the mdcless
mcmorlc of life She is glad to have
the stranger, even ~ her guest, and
she talks of both the pnst and present
with u degree OF interest, Intelligence,
and freedom from the common weak
ncsscs Of age, which charm every class
Of listeners. had never met either
her or her husband, and feared that
my visit would be an intrusion upon
the retirement of feeble woman
harassod 10y the calls Of tho curious,
but she met me with the expression
II saw hy the morning papers TINT
You We're IN the city, and hoped you
Il a "a l.sF t,.atl il..f
was intended to hc only the briefcst
Of calls was thus prolonged into hours
and then reluctantly terminated only
because other and imperative engage.
ments could not he further cncroach-
ed upon. She is constant reader of
the leading newspapers, and il Ms we'll
| informed about tho events Of the pres.
cnt MS she was of tho politics and con.
Ilicts of tho days of Clny, when her
husband triumphed over the most
idolized political lender of our history,
and her discussion of Clay and his
galaxy brillinnt contemporaries IL won
dorfully interesting and instructive.
She realizes that times and customs
have greatly changed, ho'#in tho ma
ton and IN It's capital, NnO he y
of il with MI her natural d0yni n
the customs of the past, butt, ~
cacy and libenlity which forbitiA e
to the most positive convictions. She
is so universally beloved by nil parties
and classes in Tennessee that her little
fortune in state bonds--all she possesses
IN tho world has been, by unbrokcn
consent, exempted from the llood-tide Of
Reputation that has dofaultod in tho
interest due to other creditors. Re
publican or democrat white or black
high-tnx and Iow-tax-all agree that
the interest shall be paid promptly on
the debt held 10y her, and in nll the
mutations Of public credit in Tenncs.
see, there has been no default to the
widow of James X. Polk She spoke
freely Of the honors she had enjoyed,
but her EYE frightened with all the
lustre oSyouth when she named the
oyations given TO her husband when
retiring from power, and the Kindness
shown TO her by-her own state and by
strangers from every section, ~ the
most cherished Of all the distinctions Of
her life. "The worship Of the setting
sum-" she said, sis not the common
homage Of the world, and II outweighs
NIL the ilattery Of pomp and power
In the sloping lawn, midway between
the house and street, the dust OF the
ex-prosdent il preserved, and mod
eat granite monument, sheltered by an
open temple marks the resting place.
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