Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1888-06-09

and shows visitors about with great dignity.
he Is noted rs having been one of President
.Madisons servants, and his grandfather and
grcat-grandfather belonged to that gentle
man He was born on the Madison estate of
Montpelier in Virginia, and brought up in
the Madison house His mother was Dolly
Madison's maid, and / doubt not he had as a
child his ears often boxed by Dolly herself
President Madison was fond of children, and
during his latter years be did not so much
object TO having a pickaninny or SO about
him This man who now waits on the visi-
tors about the Capitol then waited on Madi-
son, and Madison made a pet of him. /
chatted with him about Madison today, and
he said:
'sOh, remember him very well He liked
TO sit in the garden, and | had to bring a
chair out for him He was little, withered
and wrinkled, and he was always reading
and writing He had three rooms in bis
library, and he kept his papers filed in pigeon
holes | had to put them away for him many
times, but he was very kind TO me, and was
very sorry when he died and was buried at
Montpelier
"what kind of life did he lead during his
last yearsf"
"Indeed, sab, don't remember much
about it. | was, you see, but boy then, but
/ know that many noted men came to see
him. President Jackson came there, and
Van Buren, was there while he was q candi-
date for the presidency of the United States
His mother lived to an old age at Montpelier,
but while Twas a boy she was bedridden, and
only remember that she kept candy for the
servants, and we used 10 go there to get it.n
.sHow about Dolly Madisonf
81 remember Mrs. Madison very well, and
] was with her for a long time / was Is
years of age when / came to Washington to
be with her here She was q fine looking
woman-more beautiful, l think, than Mrs.
Cleveland, though she was older. She was a
great talker, and every one called upon her.
She had a big house at the corner OF H street
and Lafayette square, near the Arlington
hotel, and the great men all came there. She
served wine and cake to each caller, and
spent fortune in entertaining. | tell you,
sab, she was too generous, and it was this en-
te-taining that made her poor. And then
that son of hers, Payne Todd, who was a
good enough fellow, but who ran through
with her money. She couldn't deny him any
thing. remember Payne Todd built a house
down in Vir; mia which cost thousands on
thousands of dollars One of his investments
wss q marble aarry, and it cost a great deal
Of money. he shipped the marble twelve
miles 20 a railway, and by the time it got to
the market it cost more for carrying it than
the price the people would pay for it. Young
Payne Todd was certainly nice looking
fellow. he could talk French like the Eng
hsh, and he was a handsome, big man and
well educated When congress bought the
Madison papers and gave Dolly Madison
SS0, 900 for them, it prohibited her from Civ
ing the money to Todd, and she objected to
this for a long time, but finally consented
''Then you did not know Mrs Madison
while she was IN the White 'Houser
.'No; that was before my time, but 1t was
nv mother that cut Martha Washington,s
picture out of the frame with carving
order that they might not let the British have
it You know the British were at Bladens-
burg, and Mrs Madison and all the servants
were in the White House. President Mad
ison had gone out with the Washington
troops TO keep back the enemy, and the cooks
had the dinner on the tables when the news
came that the British were coming on to at
tack Washington. Mrs Madison bundled
up few papers, some of the silver, and this
picture. The carriage came to the door, and
they jumped in and gaIloped away through
Georgetown and over to Virginia think
Mrs. Madison got a note from the president
to fly. President Madison did not know that
there was going to be battle until my uncle
told him that it was going on, and 1t was
then that be mounted his horse and went off
70 see. He escaped into Virginia also, and
lie had hard time that night, which was a
wet one, skirmishing around to get shelter
from the rain
"Every one came to see Mrs Madison after
Madison died." Uncle Ben went on. Ivan
Buren, when he was president, often ran in
sftei dinner and spent the evening, and re