The Washington critic., 1890-04-19
MRS. HARRISON TALKS.
WHY THE WHITE HOUSE is NOT A
BED OF ROSES.

Llte IN the EXECUTIVE ManstOn by
Favored Habitus.
CoDgri0at, 1890, 5g ne Bok Syndicate Prcss,
Ne2D York.
The White House is the goal of every
politicians ambitions, and his wife has
dreams of an existence behind its pillard
portioo, for which Arcadian is too small
and poor word. Every one of them
has views upon how they would order
and enjoy life in the mansion, hut It is
question whether the reality could elual
any of these anticipations; whether the
White House is bed of roses for its
occupants.
Mrs. Grant owns that the eight hap
piest years of her life were those passed
within the White House. Not ali her
predecessors and SUCCESSORS own to so
much; for while there is the qualification
OF all pride and ambition for their
lieges, there are many things that Offset
and make the cost Of such station.
While every one approaches the White
House family with Difference, smiles,
and apparent friendliness, and say only
kind and flattering things, all the under
current of unfriendly comment and
criticism comes to them, too, in different
ways.
Anybody can do all the Presidents
wife has to do and succeed" said
Cabinet officers wife. Every one
goes to the White House primed full
of remarks, too, and there is always
such lot of people there that the
Presidents wife only needs to say,
so happy to have met you, and Good
morning or Good evening to them.
Now, If she had to sit down and make
conversation with these people and re-
turn their calls and talk, then, too, she
would have chance to make blunders
and do real work"
The mistress of the White House
says: 81 wish people would not be
afraid of me. There is nothing in my
appearance to frighten or tongue-tie
people, or never used to be; but half of
the people who come are so embar-
rassed and excited that they do not
seem to know what they are about. and
one has not time enough in the crush
to quiet them or put them at their
ease.
The daughter of a foreign minister
once said: Whenever go to the White
House have such fright. My heart
jumps out of my body when / get near
the Blue Room, my voice fails, and l
am almost unconscious of what | am
doing until the greetings are past. Each
time | see the President / am as ner-
vous and frightened as the very first
time was presented to her Majesty. 4"
She told this to Senator's daughter,
who looked at her curiously and could
not understand the English girls Unborn
reverence and awe of ruler; but scores
of people experience the same terrors.
There are stories of office-seekers being
admitted to the Presidents 8 oral library,
and while they waited such an awful
stage fright came upon them that they
could only stutter and humble few
words of their long arguments and take
precipitate leave of the kindly and
quiet man who was ready to listen to
them.
The want Of privacy is what Presi-
pants have complained most of. The
White House itself is as freely open
and public as any public building in the
city, according to the unwritten and
inviolable law of custom. The pub
hNltJ VI tuC lCSlttCul lllC luCTGdSCS
with the growth of the American press.
With each campaign and Administra-
ton more space in the papers is given
up to the most intimate personal life
and the daily doings of such victims.
Their portraits are met everywhere, and
every time the President turns round,
or his wife changes her dress, it is re-
corded across the whole country. A
file of old newspapers will show how
recently and rapidly this personal
chronicling has grown up, and past
Presidents had family and personal
life of comparative privacy.
''The papers tell you all more of our.
selves than we know" wrote Mrs.
Harrison to friend shortly after the
election; "but it saves us much letter.
writing. I grew quite tired Of reading
of the Harrisons during the campaign
and hardly know how the country
could have stood much more of it.
never before knew how great and good
and accomplished I was, and, il
another one had taken up a pen,
should have claimed the wings and
mounted. I know all that my obituary
could say"
"The press has been uniformly kind,
almost too kind TO u.s. said Mrs. Har
rison few days since. 81 sometime.
think though that the press has gone
mad by the questions reporters put tc
me. In the midst Of the campaign some
one came TO know if marriage was {
failure For myself, decidedly not
Then a woman came QUITO indianapolis
10 ask if the hustle should go.
Another one wanted to know If
thought that women should propose.
A dozen have come and have writer
TO ask which blossom l preferred TO
the national flower Others hav,
sought me out to know If women ar,
happy and what should be the age o
the modern BRIDE and who shoulC
wear the dec0llete dress The paten
underwear and the dress.reform peopl,
come often. The last of all the conun
drums was from some one mystified b,
the funny mans illusions in the news
papers, who wanted to know . if tn
President ate pie.
Yes" said the President, and
will appeal to the country on that issu
and be supported
Then the people who want cooking
receipts to print or TO sell at thei
church fairsl They print them, and
read critical comments from all parts o
the country"
And the crazy quilt people?"
You might as we'll shake a red fla!
at bull as say crazy quilt to me.
thought the crazy quilt rage was owe
years ago, but il seems to be at it
height just now They write to me TO
scraps of my dresses by hundreds, an
the census must be in the thousand
now. Happy Martha Washington an
Dolly Madison, with no one maxim