Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-01-16
GENERAL JACKsoN,s VALET.
Touching "reminiscences Of His Kind
Master by the Faithful Old Servant.


correspondent of southern paper thus
describes a visit to ''The Hermitage" once the
home of Gen. Andrew Jackson, near Nashville:
was shown around, he says, by an old negro
servant, Alfred by name, who ia eighty-six
years Of age, the sole survivor of the old Jack
son household. He is white-headed, very lame,
and feeble, but possesses a remarkable memory
and talks in the most affectionate manner of his
old master. ''Me and Maus Andrew was born
in them two cabins you see right over yondo."
he said to me. pointing to couple of old
rickety log cabins a few yards back Of the
hermitage, "and when dies de las member
of de Jackson family is gone" The cabins
were used by Gen. Jackson and his slaves be-
| fore the hermitage was built. Alfred was Gen.
Jackson's last body servant, and accompanied
him to Washington at the time of his Inaugural
ton. He says it required three weeks to make
the trip in the old family coach. The old SER
| want tells of many interesting events that took
place at the hermitage. He has the iveliest
recolections of Gen. Lafayette's visit, and says
| that great barbecue, in celebration of the
| event, was spread in the front yard, the tables
| extending from the house to the front gate
| In the center of the table was a cheese weigh
| ing 400 pounds, and whole oxen, sheep and
| pigs were roasted by the score. All of the
| great people in the south were present Al
| fred said that his father, George, was Gen.
|
His account of his old masters death is very
pathetic.
THE general was mighty sick" he says,
| land early one morning the doctor sent me to
Nashville to get six bottles Of gin. When I got
home they said old marster was dying, and all
| the negroes crowded into the house to see him
and tell him goodbye. The doctor told them
| that they must all git out, but the general he
riz up and says, Let 'em stay; wants to see
EN- My father was sitting on the bed holding
/ do aIc hna q M No.,
says, George, let my head down-Tu rest
| easier and these were the last words he ever
said. When de pillar was taken out and his
head Strengthened out he closed his eyes and
died without a struggle"
| 1t will be remembered that General Jackson
| fought duel with a man for making some
| scandalous use of his wife's name. The old
| servant says he fairly adored his wife, and in
| substantiation he led me to the tomb where
the remains of the general and his wife rest.
The graves were cut in a bed of solid masonry,
under stone canopy, supported by stone
pillars. There said Alfred. pointing to a
| slab over Mrs. Jackson's grave, "read what's
| on that stone-it was writ by de general his
self" The inscription, cut in old-fashioned
letters, with some few words misspelled, and
| many letters omitted and recut above the
words where wanting, is as follows:
| Here lie the remains Of Mrs. Rachel jack
| son, wife OF President Jackson, who died De-
cember %, 1928, aged sixty-one years. Her
/
amiable and her heart kind; she delighted in
relieving the wants of her fellow creatures,
| and cultivated that divine pleasure by the most
liberal and unpretending methods To the
poor she was a benefactor, to the rich an ex-
| ample and to the wretched a comforter, Her
| piety went hand in hand with her benevolence,
| and she thanked her Creator for being permit
| ted to do good being SO gentle and yet 80
| virtuous, SANDER might wound, but could not
| dishonor. Even death, when he tore her from
| the arms of her husband, could but transport
her to the bosom of her God"
Eyes, 1 well remember when she died."
| Uncle Alfred continued. after / had read the
| imperishable epitaph. "The big carriage was
all hitched up, the trunks strapped on behind,
the driver in his place, and everything was
ready to start for Washington. All at once the
mistress was taken sick. The general was in a
big hurry. and the horses were kept hitched
| all night and the next day. That day she died
| and late in the afternoon was buried The
general was most heart-broken. After the
| grave was filled he walked to a willow tree and
| cut off four switches and stuck one at each
corner around the grave. Then he said all was
over, got in the carriage and says George,
| drive me to Washington fas as de HOSES can
| 60. The four switches to which Alfred re-
| ferred are now four immense willow trees
sixty years old. The tomb is under the shade
of these trees. 1t is like many of the big south
ern tombs. The stone covering ''Old Hickory's''
| remains was originally balanced to pivot, and
could be swung open to allow visitors a look at
| the coffin. Some medical students made an I'm
| successful attempt once to steal the body and
| after that the grave filed with sand and
covered over with solid masonry. Around the
tomb are number of graves of the relatives
and friends Of the ex-President. The little
graveyard is in one corner of the family
garden, and l was shown flower beds laid out
and rose and fruit trees planted by the generals
| own hands.
/ asked Alfred what kind of a slave-owner
Gen. Jackson was. He said he was the kindest
| in the world and was greatly loved by all his
| negroes. So much has been told of Old
Hickory's iron will and wild profanity, that
| asked the old man if Gen. Jackson ever swore
| any. Not word" he promptly replied
when he was mad or vexed he would run his
hands through his long, thin hair and say: BY
the Eternal Godr and when he did that you
must just know that everybody had to git
about"
In the whole south there is probably not a
more interesting place or point of equal
historic interest, and it is to be regretted that
''The Hermitage" is SO rapidly going to decay
and ruin