New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-10-28
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
REMrNJsCFNcEs OF MRS. POLK.

"REMINISCENCES OF MRS. POLK.
MEMORIALS OF SARAH CIIILDREsS POLK, Wife
Of the Eleventh President OF the United states
BY Arson and Fanny Nelson. ovo, PIP. Isl. An
son d. F. Randolph d Co.
This biography Of u good and clever woman
takes the reader in more than one sense, back TO
the South "beiOIe tn war Its grave and
somewhat stiff manner is that of the Southern
writer of fifty years aeo-from its pages seems to
breathe the delicate scent Of long-faded rose
mary 1t tells us little that is new of Mrs.
Folks life; but it so quiet life and so
reserved that there is little that is picturesque
to tell. 1t does not appear in this volume that
she INDUCED in copIous "reminiscences of her ex-
periebces in Washington the wife of the Presi-
dent; and her existence a widow in Nashville
was com. aratvely uneventful
When SARAH Chidress was very young girl 1T
was not the fashion in Tennessee to give young
women much eauCa iDn-intellectual effort was
thought to interfere with their usefulness in the
hou enold Mss Childress's well-to-do parents,
however, We're more enlightened than their neigh
bors; and when the pretty, vivacious girl mar
ried the promising young lawyer, James Polk,
She was duly equipped to ornament and dignity
Official station. She had even taken music les
sons, which was sonnet hing unusual in Tennessee
At that time. She had graceful manners, tact,
unselhshness, and winsome mirthfuness-and
all these Pleasant possessions founded a
nature 50 upright and sincerely religious that 1t
strongly impressed AN who approached her. AS
the wife of the man who successfully Con-
gresham, Governor and President, she was equal
to every demand. whether of home or society. and
charming in every phase
Mrs. Polk always observed Sunday with the
eld-time strictness, and with perfect ease and
sweetness made her Washington friends observe
1t, too. There is touch of humor in the de-
scnption of the way in which she was accus-
toned to disperse the group of men WHO often in
vaded her husbands rooms TO talk politics on
Sunday morning. Shawed and bonneted, the
pretty woman would smlingy enter. remind her
husband that it was church time, and with the
sweetest courtesy, invite the visitors to accom-
pany them Under these circumstances Sunday
calling did not long survive. Her husbands
friends delighted in talking to her, for she was
sympathetic, responsive, and good listener and
there remains an old-fashioned, prim little poem
in which Judge Story celebrates these amable
qualities:
For / have listened to thy voice,
And watched thy playful mind:
Truth, In its noblest sense, thy choice,
Yet gentle, graceful, kind.
At a White-Iiouse reception ore evening" when
the rooms were filed with guests there fell a
arose solemn voice. Madam it said, Il
have long wished to see the lady upon whom the
Bible pronounces -" The silence was deeper
than ever, for this startling speech. Much
puzzled, Mrs. Polk looked at the stranger, and
again the solemn voice arose II the silence
Does not the Bible say, Woe unto you when
all men shall speak well of you? p" Such was
compliment in the days of our fathers. The
biographer gravely notes that the company was
considerably relieved at this happy tam: and the
lady bowed her thanks
Throughout their married life the companion
ship of Polk and his wife was unbroken. She
helped him in his study and went everywhere
with him. why should you stay at home?"
WHY. if the house burns down live
without it,
There could not he a stronger testimony 10
the admiration and respect felt for the WIDOW
of the ex-President than the way in which Fed
eral and Confederate alike cared for her safety
and comfort during war times in Nashville. When
the Southerners retreated from the city they be-
sought Mrs. Polk to 60, too; fearing all manner
OF dangers from the invading army. She gently
told them that she was at home, and intended to
stay at home and that if her house should be
blown I'D or burned up, she would pitch tent
nm the lawn beside Mr.. Folks tomb and stay
,bere Her confidence in her countrymen was, OF
c,mrses iusifed. She found nothing but defer
.nce. kindness, and painstaking courtesy at the
hands of the invaders. 1t is probable that her
own tact and kindness had much 10 90 WIN
this: she was never partisan