Omaha daily bee., 1882-10-10
The WHITE House Being Put in Order
for the Session and Possibly for
n Bride-Dr. Toner'S Fine
Collection OF Rare
Books.
WssfInEten COR. OF pionoer piess,

Preparations are alrsbuy DelnE made
for the winter season, which promises
to be an unusually brilliant one, judg.
ing by the great demand even at thil
early date for rooms, both at the
hotels and private boarding houses,
The prospect of Il great influx oI
strangers naturally enough delights
the merchants, landlords and all bust,
ness people who have lauguished il
inactivity during the summer month";,
and it is also a profitable time for up
hoisterers, paper-haugors and house,
decorators generally, who are fairy
overwhelmed with orders for work.
Washington il in fact in a hutter OF
house cleaning which promises to
leave everything in apple.pie order
both in private houses and public
buildings. Chaos reigns at the white
house where the floors are still uu.
carpeted and the furniture is pro.
tected by Holland covers during the
many improvements and general reno
walton IN progress there. With
freshly frescoed walls and ceilings the
white mouse when ready for occu.
p&ncy will be greatly improved in ap,
pearance and also more comfortable in
many respects than it has aver been
before. The east room has been re.
painted and regilded and will be very
attractive when the window draperieE
are replaced, the furniture arranged
and the floor carpeted, although it is
to be regretted that tho old carpet
which hae, however, been thoroughly
repaired and cleaned
MUST SERVE ANOTHER SEASON
before being replaced by a g one.
This carpet has never harmonizsd
with the curtains and has bseu a dis.
cordant clement in the room ever
since it was placed there. It will be
remembered that the shah of Persia
during Gen. Grants administration
presented to our government a fine
oriental rug woven expressly to fit the
east room; a gift that was certainly
not appreciated Notwithstanding the
fact thar it was one of the fines; pro.
ducts of an eastern loom, rich in
color and luxurious to tread upon, for
it wac instantly voted hideous by the
white house tenants who scarcely per-
mitted it to remain on the east room
floor long enough to satisfy the claims
of courtesy to the giver. 1t was
ignominiously hustled up stairs and
cut into four pieces for bed rooms,
where it has been III constant use ever
since. The east room has never had
80 good a carpet as the II which wau
removed from it's floors with such I'M
seemly haste. Although the white
house is of necessity subjected to q
certain amount of repairing and
cleaning annually, 1t is doubtful If the
old mansion ever before had SO
thorough an overhauling as 1t is re-
ceiving now. New drainage and
sewer pipes have been laid beneath
the building, new tubs placed in the
bath rooms, aud much has been done
to remedy the bad plumbing which
has heretofore filled tho house
with poisonous sewer gas and
malaria. The houSe will be
painted inside and out, but
the furniture will remain about the
same, very Jew new pieces having beer
added to those which were placed
there last year, No change, whatever,
has get been made in the room occu-
pied by the late president. The ele.
yator which was built, to save poor old
Grandma Garfield many tottering,
weary stops, stands as a pathetic 70,
minder of her sons thoughtful consid,
Grafton, but seems now but a useless
thing at best since one must be very
feeble indeed, who cannot ascend with.
out fatigue the broad easy steps of the
executive mansion. While none OF
the chambers are fitted up with such
luxurious daintiuess as the famout
blue bed room occupied by Presiden'
Arthur, here and there in the guest
chambers are some fine pieces of fur
niture, the beauty of which ia not les
sened, but rather increased by the fac
that they are extremely old. fashioned
In one chamber is a richly carved
dressing cgse and canopied bed upon
which tho Prince of Wales slept when
he visited this country In the time OF
Buchanan. The apartment WAS fur,
nished for his accommodation. and has
been called ever since "The Prince O
Wales' room"
The many alterations which have
been made in the white house and the
great interest which the president has
shown concerning them have revived
rumors of his engagement, and we are
once more entertained with the an,
|nouncement that he is really and truly
GOING TO BE MARRIED,
and that the nuptials will take place in
October. But / fear that the gossipi
are still following a will o.the- wisp
and that Mr.. Arthur will not be be
guiled into matriInony. Though