The morning times., 1897-01-31
A THOUGHT OR TWO AT
MRS. CLEVELAND'S PARTING

Somebody once said that Washington So
ciety cannot be defined; IL is so kaleido-
scopic All one can do is to present some
of its phases In four weeks the wheel of
Fortune Will have completed its whirl and
whirr OF four years. Faces familiar in ex-
ecutive circles will disappear; new ones
will take their places.
There will be genuine sorrow over the
departure of Mrs. Cleveland. This gracious
lady has stood with Mrs. Hayes as pop
ular mistress of the Executive Mansion
with one advantage: she had the prestige
OF coming into it a bride. and for the sec
ond term. II is a good sign when a wunl-
ans popularity never falls below par
with her own sex; and Mrs. Cleveland
is just as popular today as she ever was.
Women like to look at her: they delie mt
TO do her honor.
No one dares TO form any attachments
in WashinGton-unless IL be the marriage
tie; there is sure To be a break sooner OF
later. And next TO that caution is the
other il never does to ignore or slight
anybody for no one need be surprised at
the rise Of the obscure tothe highest places:
or. for that matter, at the fall of he high
est to a second or a third position.
There IS something in the Washington
air that gets into mans blood. and from
the fact that he once came t. Congress and
failed the next time he seems spoiled for
all time: so, Cne sees once prominent Con
gressional or official people at every turn
''practicng before the Supreme Court, :" or
''dabbling in real estate" If they are
not lobbying for their friends" And the
women of their households have many Il
cross to bear il secret over lost prestige
and narrowed incomes.
They know best of al! that success in pol
itics places one in touch with the privi-
legged classes and while they may retain
semblaHce of being lin society,"" they
are shorn Of much of their Importance.
Some find the road thorny enough. and,
from being considered the most conspic-
uously beautiful and attractive women,
they now eat the bread Of dependence; and
c2!unny and cruel scorn are too often
their portion.
There is no station 50 high that it may
hope 10 escape the inevitable catastrophies
that seem to follow in the footsteps of the
great. SO, again, conditions not OF one's
making combine to keep one bumbe and
circumstances have a way of combining
so that the wisest cannot prophesy the out
come. II ones friends may not turn out
10 be Presidents III disguise, they may be
found in the Cabinet some time, taking first
place under a new order Of things as com
placently as if they had beer born to the
purple. Happy are they if they don't for
get old friends or the steps by which they
climbed;
But this is all DEPRESSION. Mrs Cleveland
is so essentiallya woman's woman it seems
as if nothing could happen to her to de.
stroy her place in their estimation And
nothing can Some gossips will never be
convinced, though she herself made affi-
davit to the fact that her marriage, as d
maria &c, has been totally successful and
happy.
They will coRccde that il has brought t
her all that her girlish ambition may have
desired; but marriage, the closest tie in all
the world, the most capable of comforting
happiness or Withholding it, others are
equally sure, could not have satisfied her
woman's heart. The most meddlesome adj
NIT that there is no doubt of her happy
motherhood. She is motherly mother,
and ever very fond Of children. She is con-
stantly interested in the personal welfare
and education of her trio of little girls.
There is the White House Kindergarten,
and others in which she has been interested
here and I'm New York, all of which testify
TO her intelligent and constant interest in
chiIdlife and happiness. In the White House
kindergarten were daily assembled children
from other Cabinet households; for this adj
ceptional number of little people in it's
home circleS-in every house children, or
grandchildren, to keep their elders young
and sweet 1t has been an influence that
has almost made children in the house. q
fashionable fad. The Secretary of War had
three little maids to send TO the Cleveland
kindergarten: the Secretary of the Nav
a little grandson Master AHcou the Secre-
tary of State the handsomest child in the
administration circle, who was also
kindergartner in the Executive Mansion;
Private Secretary Thurber three little boys
big enough to enjoy kindergarten work
in such society, and Gen. Draper little
girl who was invited to join the group
1t is said to have been owing to Mrs
Cleveland's interest in educational affairs
and her pleasure in the society one meets
in a university center, that Princeton was
selected for n future home; and here comes
in an illustration OF one OF Mrs. ClevelaDds
most amiable characteristics, her abiding
interest in women who are seeking to be-
come supporting and independent The
new Cleveland home III Princeton is to be
decorated by Miss Grace Lincoln Temple, of
this city, who has been engaged by Mrs
Cleveland To arrange the furniture and
hangings, ana 20 attend TO putting this old
colonial mansion in order. The house and