Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1881-01-12
Mrs. Garfield.

The Washington correspondent of the
Sutlddy Herald writes as follows concern
ing the next mistress of the White House /:
1t is a matter of congratulation that n
woman who has been all her life and in
every sense lady is to preside for the
next four years over the executive man
sion. Quietly, but with the truest kindness.
has Mrs. Garfield presided over her modest
house at the corner of Thirteenth and |
streets in this city during the years since
Gen. Garfield purchased it. In it she has
entertained, often in the simplest style,
but ever with old fashioned, true hearted
hospitality, all of wit, wisdom, beauty, that
Washington has had during the years she
has been here. She is an accomplished
hostess, rs well as an accomplished woman
they are two very different things
Living as the Gartields have had to live
in the most economical way doing without
clothes, fine furniture and sumptuous food
good, new and rare old books, d ,arer than
all else TO them. they have contributed
more to make Washington life pleasant
and profitable than many other families
who have supplemented less taste and cul-
ture with more money. Mrs. Garfied's
receptions have been the largest ever held
hy the wife of mere representative. They
have far surpassed those of more ambitious
senator's wives, and have approximated
those of the supreme court and cabinet
families in size merely. In attractions
they have stood abreast of any of them
rnis simply because Mrs. Garfield is II
sweet Tempered cultured, refined woman,
in whose smile it is Il pleasure to bask
When we consider that, wi hout allowing
her manifold cares to interfere with the
performance of her social duties, she has
managed her establishment alone, and
personally conducted the training of her
boys for college, we can conceive her su-
periority, with all her social success, to II
mere society leader" General Garfield
is president of our literary society and dur
ing the past year it has met ut his house.
1t w;is more pl asantly entertained there
than it ever had been before. Mrs. Gar.
field exerted even her latent social powers
that night, and it was difficult for her
guests to break away from her delightful
parlors. The latter, entire nous, were. and
are, furnished in the style OF Noah. That
makes no difference, of course, although
the contrast between them and those which
some of the guests had left at home was
marked. There was something really
pathetic to me in the information tele.
graphed from Cleveland that Gen. and
Mrs. Garfield We're purchasing furniture
and II sealskin sacque. However, they
can afford to crafty their taste for four
years now, and forget the pinched past.
What we here rejoice in is that when Mrs,
Hayes steps out and Mrs Garfield steps
into the White House on the 4lh of March
next. there will be no abrupt turning in
the course of the presidential, or rather
Mrs. presidential, social customs and de-
crees. 1t is needless to say that Mrs
Hayes will he missed by many of whom
the world knows nothing, wants to know
nothing, the naked, hungry, sick and in
prison, unto whose wants she has minis
tered 'all SO silently" but regret will not
be so poignant as 1t would be were she TO
be succeeded by an inferior woman.