The Progress., 1893-03-11

this day to q clare yourself head Of ma /
ton. Ny thoughts and medita- /
tions are with you, though personally alb /
sent, and my petitions to heaven are that 7
the things which make for your peace may
not be hidden from your eyes. My feelings
are not those of pride or of Ostentation upon
the occasion. They are solemnized by n
sense of the obligations, the important
trusts and numerous duties connected with
it. That you may be able to discharge
them with honor to yourself, with justice
and impartiality to your country and with
satisfaction to this great people is the daily
prayer of yours
That was an exalted spirit of inaUgura-
ton day, truly, and it may well be doubted
if any president has ever taken the oath OF
office with a keener sense of the response
bilities involved than that which Abigail
Adams felt that day.
There was Martha Jefferson, whom Johr
Randolph, her fathers political foe, char
acterized as the sweetest creature IN Nir'
ginia."
The historian of the White House will
find plenty of inspiration for his pen in the
tributes to this sweet Virginia girl and
mother which are scattered through tne
writings and letters of her time.
In fact, the womanly side of White House
life, though often touched upon i'll certain
books, has never been treated in an ade-
quate manner. Dolly Madison alone IS
worth a small volume Her portrait, a
magnificent specimen of the painters art,
| which has just been placed i'll the east
room, is but tardy tribute to the only wom-
an of positive social genius the White
| House has ever known. This classification
Of Dolly Madison is not original with me-
! but was first used by Mary Clemmer Ames,
a clever student of the womanly side of life
! in the presid"nt's house.
1t is instructive to make comparison be
! tween Dolly Madison and drs. Cleveland,
I probably the two most popular women Of
/ the White House During the administra
ton of her husband Mrs Madison was de-
clared to be ''the most popular person in
the United States" just as Mrs. Cleveland
! was so declared during the first admins
tration of her husband. 1t is a rare COM
bination of gifts and graces which produces
the pre-eminent social queen, and Mrs.
Madison had them all. She was like the
late and much lamented Mrs. Whitney, the
latest example of what simple, sympa-
thetic American girl may do in the way OF
social conquests.
Dolly Madison was nothing if not Amer
lean to the core. She banished from her
drawing room the stately forms and cere-
monials which had made the receptions of
Mrs. Washington and Mrs. Adams rather
dreadful affairs, exceedingly trying to the
nerves. She avoided the other extreme of
simplicity and loutishness encouraged by
jefferson The foreign ministers used to
ridicule the size and richness of the dishes
put on her table, saying that her repasts
were more like harvest home supper than
ANYTHING else, but Mrs. Madison knew the
capabilities of the hearty American appetite.
The historian oY the White House will
linger lovingly over the o;reer of Dolly
Madison. He will dig up 10 end of stories
illustrating her grace and tact. He will
tell over again the tale of how she put a:
his ease the rustic youth who lost his head
at one of her receptions and spilled his
coffee on the floor and put the empty cur
in his pocket. THE crowd is so great nc
one can help being jostled, said Mrs. Madi
son to him, with a sweet smile. THE serv
ant will bring you another cup of coffee
Pray, how did you leave your excellent
mother" Thus the story runs, and in &
twinkling the mistress of the White Hous'
had the young chap talking to her as if h'
were a graduate of Paris salon. Our so
ciety thinks it has improved great dea
since the days of Dolly Madison. In he
day people came to Washington in stage
coaches, and some of them rode 500 mile
horseback over the mountains Steamboat
were the wonder of the age, and railway
! were unknown. But they grew some prett!
fine men and women just the same.
Dolly Madison took snuff, but she in
dulged in the most delicate manner, ant
they do say it was worth going miles to Sc
her and Henry Clay with one snuffbox be
tween them. You have seen good deal il
the papers Of late about the Madison pa
pers, which some authors have had acces
to in a way that made other authors angry
These papers were purchased Of Mrs. Madi
son after her husbands death for $50, ,00o
, and the senate paid her compliment tha
was never paid another woman. 1t passe'
a resolution inviting her to a seat upon tn
floor of the chamber whenever she saw Fl
to honor the body with her presence. Wha
a howl would be raised If the new senat
were to honor Mrs. Cleveland in this way
And yet do not believe Mrs. Madison wa
a whit more popular than Mrs. Clevelan'
is at this day.
; Yrs. Cleveland was never considered
great social genius, but during the thre
years she was in the White House befor
she contrived to win the hearts of tn
, people. Since her return Washington ha
|. discovered, or thinks it has discovered,
difference in her manner Ii is not surpris
, ing. Mrs. Cleveland is no longer girl. Sh