Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-07-31
WHITE HOUSE LILLE.

sion During Ordinary Times.
Washington Correspondence Philadelphia
Press.
1t may rest your heart and mine to for
get these sad details little while in re-
calling the accustomed order of the
household, broken in upon first by Mrs.
Garfields illness, then by this latter blow
but to be resumed, please God, in happy
days to come.
Meal hours at the White house under
the present administration has been as
follows: Breakfast at $50, lunch at
u, dinner at 2, and supper at
IL. Several different schedules were tried
| before settling down on this. When Gen.
Garfield was in Congress a late dinner
was unavoidable; but in the new life they
were glad to be able to fix upon dinner
hour better suited both to the aged moth
er and to the children of the household.
In the cozy family dining-room the
Presidents seat is midway the length OF
the table on its west side, and Mrs Gar
field sits opposite, with Henry, her eldest,
decided mother boy,' as near her as
the presence of almost constant guests
will permit, while jimmie sits CORES
pondingly near his fhther, where also
Grandma Garfield has an honored
place She is always waited on first,
whoever else may be present. Mollie sits
at the north of the table, and
the two younger boys are disposed lit
promiscuously, according to the exigen-
cies of the case. Harry is IS, tall and
graceful, with the regular features of his
mother. The down of his manhood ap-
pears on his cheeks. Jimmie, Is years
old, is nearly or quite as tall as his broth
er, and broader shouldered, with the
Saxon hair and large features of his faith
er, whom he bids fair to resemble strong
ly in person and intellect. Mollie, aged
IA, has the dark brown hair of her moth
er and the lineaments of her father not
.unhandsomely reproduced. When wom-
anhood has softened the charm of her
face she will be very fine looking Since
the trouble came l notice that the news
paper writer's speak Of her caressingly as
"little" Mollie, but she is already
as large as her mother, and of the
"bouncing" type.of girl. She is great pet
with her father. Irwin, aged IL, and
Abraham, aged 9, you already know
through descriptions, especially the for
mer, who is the eccentric one, possibly
the genius of them all. He is named for
Gen. Mcdowell, and insists that his name
must be always written not Irwin M. but
Irwin Med. Meal time is almost the
only time the President has lately had
with his children, and he devotes himself
in great part to them at that time, after
asking questions on some interesting
point of Harry, or James, or Mollie, to
draw them out, and then explaining it at
considerable length, instructing by the
Socratic method, as it were. This is
pleasant record of his schoolmaster days,
of which also CLEAN appeared, you will
remember, on the very evening of
the tragedy, when he asked a messenger
if many kilograms had been received.
ga great many, sir, expressing sympathy
for you,'' was the reply. "Sympathy
acith, not for, you should say" replied the
President, pleasantly. "You must be
careful of your grammar"
The food on the White house table IS
scrupulously we'll prepared and well
served, Mrs. Garfield insisting more
strongly on this than did Mrs. Hayes, who
was tolerably punctilious, but did not
make so much fine art, a conservation,
of the table rights as does Mrs. Garfield.
An Attorney cow from the Mentor home
furnishes delicious milk and cream; the
tea and coffee are triumphantly good;
there is abundant fruit for breakfast and
dinner, and there is delicious soup
always at lunch, followed by choice
cold meats-beef, fowl, and
often game. This is refine
-ment on the ''codfsh and prunes" of the
Hayes lunches, which, however, were
perhaps maligned. Flowers from the
ample Conservatives adorn the table at
every meal. When guests are formally
present there is little need of change in
the menu; there is simply substitution
of larger and finer set of dinner service.
Steward William Crump, who was Gen.
Hayes orderly and came in with him to
the White house, remains in that capac-
ity still, and is now the Presidents spe-
cial nurse, lifting him in his stout arms
as no other can. There was a change of
cooks when Mrs. Garfield came in. The
rosy health and strength of her husband
and family is due, no doubt, in great
measure to this lady's thorough belief
in the gospel of good food. Con-
scientious, loving supervision of those
matters in the past is one Of the ways in
which her strong though quiet nature
has expressed itself to them. In time of
health she sits cheerful, but silent rather
than otherwise, at table, listener to her
husband and her boys. She dresses
neatly, but very plainly, at breakfast and
lunch, but makes more elaborate toilet
for dinner, usually in rich, black silk.
The after dinner hour the President has
adopted for recreation, going downs stairs
to the billiard room, usually for game
with the boys or his friends. It is a ia
yerite game with him. Col. Rockwell or
Gen. Swain, who are more than frequent
guests at his table, often join him at
this diversion. Mrs. Hayes, whose
devotion to flowers was special
ty, converted the billiard room of
the Grant regime, which adjoined the
state dining room, into an additional
conservatory-there were only eleven
previously-making fine, artistic effect
with the foliage disclosed to view from
the dining room through, the long win
dows. When President Garfield came in
he re-established q billiard room, for
which his predecessor had no occasion,
but placed it in the basement, in the
room that Fannie and Scott Hayes and
the two or three little companions who
shared their studies had for a school
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