Evening star., 1897-06-11
Little is Known of the Bric-a-Brao in
the White House.
IT Is A MEAGER DISPLAY At BEST
Few Articles Ante-Date the Lincoln
Administration.
A CITY OF SILVER


iEg as fad. and do not treasure up old
things, running rather to the other extreme
of keeping themselves and their home be-
longings up to date, but the iconoclasiic
spirit that set about melting up the his
toric silver of the White House has sur
prised many people.
There are very few really old things in
the White House, but upon the entrance
there of Mrs. Harrison, who was greatly
interested in antiquarian research, those
few old things that could be given a date,
even approximately, were so dated and
the articles treasured up. There should be
somewhere in the files of the departments
bills of the purchases that have been made
at different times for the furnishing of the
White House, but, though those bills are
known to exist, and would establish be-
yond the shadow of a doubt the antiquity
OF many of the objects and articles of
virtu nobody has been able to locate them,
and they arc so buried away now under
the dust of age, that it is scarcely probable
that the real facts about the bric-a-brac
that is scantily spread about the White
House will ever be known.
There is very little in the White House
that dates back of or to Mr.. Lincoln. The
days of his occupancy of the White House
were all such troubled ones that neither
he nor Mrs. Lincoln paid much attention
to replenishing the furnishings, and the
Dig white mansion was so overrun with
soldiers. who swarmed about from attic
10 basement. wearing out the carpets,
breaking the furniture and carrying off
bits of bric-a-brac for mementoes, that
when Mr.. johnson came to take the reins
of power the Executive Mansion came in
for nearly as much reconstruction as the
south. and most of the old stuff was carted
away.
Almost the only way to get any history
of any article in the White House is by
mouth n he n
ployes of whom there are some half dozen
who have served the Presidents of this re-
public for more than a quarter of CEN
tury. The oldest in point of service is Capt
Thomas Pendel, who is entering upon his
thirty-third year as doorkeeper there
capt Pendel relates with much pleasure
the story of the picture of Mrs Tyler. who
was the beautiful Miss Gardner of New
York city. In the green room hangs very
fine OIL painting of her, in all the strength
OF her rich young beauty. One day in
PRESIDENT Harrisons time an old lady
asked to be shown into the different par
lors, and to Capt. Pendel the pleasant duty
was delegated. He knows all the little in
cidents that have happened since he has
been in the White House, and he never
leaves out the slightest detail. He stopped
in the green room and began to expatiate
on the merits of the various canvases on
the walls. and spoke in glowing terms of
the young and beautiful woman who smiled
down upon them from a gorgeous frame
of gilt. When he had finished the white
haired old lady looked at it long and
old frame?"
Very much surprised, Captain Pendel told
her that it was up in the attic and that
President Arthur had ordered it taken off
and the handsome new one put on.
Il wonder if l could have the old frame?"
asked the pretty old lady, still gazing at
the beautiful face. that seemed to smile a
little sadly, just then.
Captain Pendel told her that he could
not give it to her, and that it was rather
an unusual request, but he could see for
her. She smiled a little, and said, Il am
the original of the picture!'' She got the
frame.
No Gold Plate.
Many stories have been printed of the
fabulous amount of gold and silver plate
in the White House. AS matter of fact
there IS not an ounce of gold plate in the
Executive Mansion that belongs to the
United States government, and the silver
is small in quantity, and some of it is act
ually worn in holes. it has been so long in
use. This silver probably dates back as
far as lS')-lO, though there are few figures
to help decide the matter. Perhaps some
of 1t, the cream jugs. for instance that
have to be set ON saucers to keep the cream
that seeps through the worn Places from
soIilng the presidential linen. belonged to
the historic lot bought from General Baron
de Tuyll, Russian nobleman, in 1893. 1t
was his baronial ancestral silver and was
pToDaDiy CEeap at S4,'5OS.SI, though there
is something repugnaEt in the idea of fur
nishing the home of the President of the
United States with secondhand goods
This silver service, which for the time was
truly regal, consisted of three hundred and
thirty-eight pieces. One hundred and
forty pieces of this is divided into a gold
plated set of dessert spoons, knives and
forks. and a few pieces of this dessert set
are still in use, the rest having long ago
disappeared. The gold plate'' has also
disappeared, and the set that is left looks
like plain silver.
The larger pieces of silver in the White
House are kept on the sideboardS in the
little private dining room. 1t consists of
cream jugs, water pitchers. butter Dishes
gravy boat and four large tureens Several
gravy bolt and four large tureens. Several
pieces of the silver evidently belong to the
same set. and is of a pattern-grapes and
leaves-of at least fifty years ago 1t is of
graceful shape. and that it has received
hard usage is shown by the cracks and
breaks in the creased and rounded portions
of the bowls, where it has actually fallen
into holes. which have been patched like
tin pan! The big tureens were found by
Mrs. Harrison when she came in. They
had been stored away in the garret during
the regime of Mrs. Cleveland in the former
administration, and china substituted. Mrs.
Harrison had them cleaned and renovated,
and they were among the show pieces of
silver after that. Mrs. Cleveland evidently
found new beauty in them after coming
back. for they were used all the time.
One of the handsomest. well as larg-
est, pieces of silver in the White House
was purchased by Mrs Grant at the CEN
tennial exposition in 1876. 1t is beautiful
silver ship, or, more properly speaking,
canoe, for it is supposed to be a represen-
tation of the birch bark canoe of Hia-
watha.
1t is used as a decorative piece at state
dinners, filled with flowers, when the old
gilt plateau that once belonged to WASH
ington Is not brought into requisition. II
is some two feet long and exquisitely de-
signed.
The cost of the beautiful silver canoe was
$1,IW, but Mrs. Grant only paid 81 600
for it.
The gilt plateau, which has celebrated its
first century, and is now seven years upon
its second. is one of the very few things
now in existence that was a part of the
presidential property when Washington yet
wore the mantle. Governeur Morris was
commissioned by Washington to purchase
1t in France.
In the Dining Room.
On the state dining table. beside this
plateau" are two tall gilt candle stands. or
candelabra, each holding ten candles They
seem fitted to keep the lake company, but
ttev came into the White House at a much