The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-01-07
WHITE HOUSE FULL OF
OLD SOUVENIRS

New YORK Eerdiu.l
Fin de steele surprises have reached
the White House. With the close Of
the year an Inventory of the furniture
and deCOra tons in the presidents man
sion revealed an astonishing number
of ouVenirs-CuriOus. interesting and
valuable-which link our chief magts-
trate with the imperial royal and civil
heads of foreign governments For
these are presents Some were given
to the president as president. some 10
the president as an individual The
individual, in the latter case. has either
left them behind or informally pre-
scented them to the nation All are now
aeirloOms of the White House. AS
such, lawyers, in their quaint and Wit
~ way, would class them as real es-
tate.
They are reminiscent not only of Iiv-
ing great ones. but of dead great ones,
and not only of dead great ones. but
Of dynaSties dead and gone Bona
parties and Bona partisan nave alike
disappeared, but the imperial bees and
eagles are still blazOned on the gifts
made by the first Napoleon to PTeSi-
dent Jefferson, and by the second Ne
poleOn (whO called himself the third
to President Pierce
From France. republican and royal,
as we'll as imperial France. the larger
number of these gifts have come.
The Red room is especially fun 0f
souvenirs. Chief among these are
pair of red vases sent by Napoleon III
to Franklin Pierce The ground Is OF
the soft pink tint (nOw, 1t would seem
almost impossible of reproduction
which is peculiar to old Sevres. on
one of them, painted with dainty art,
is Charlotte COrday receiving the SEN
tence of the tribunal for her murder
Of Marat! on the other, Marie Anton
cite in the presence of RObespierre-
he Ia Mo n.
room are the candelabra presented by
the first Napoleon TO President Jeffer-
son. The pedestal of each is adorned
with shields, helmets and other pieces
OF armor in bas-Telief- 1t supports q
ball, which in turn supports a female
figure, whose hands uplift a circlet of
i've candle holders. Beneath the chin
ney piece, and arranged on each side
OF the chimney, are two large vases of
royal Worcester, a. gift to President
Arthur These are finely cOIOred. and
each is prettiIy decorated with a dram
ed female figure.
Directly over the fireplace is a large
and handsome plaque of old Vienna
ware around whose edge Ga distinguish
ing mark of this ware) runs an ex-
quisite border. wrought in gilt.
The FURNISHED andirons, which date
from the time of Washington. are Of
curious antique design.
Between the windows are a clock and
a pair OF alabaster and gilt vases. .pur-
/ chased by President Van Buren, for
the White House.
A highly ornate basin and cover. in
| black repOuSSe- on a gilt ground which
stand on a small table were strangely
enough. rescued from a garnet BY Mrs.
Grant during her husbands first term.
Another relic of the Grant regime is
a screen which formed part OF the
Austrian exhibits of old gobelin tap
estrles in the Centennial exposition at
Philadelphia, and was subseouentIN-
presented by Austria to Mrs. Grant.
The rich and mellow coIoring set in a
gilt frame gives the whole the air Of
an old painting.
In the next room are a. charmingIy
ugly lacquer cabinet, a gift by the Chi
neSe government to President Grant
and a pair of bronze gilt candelabra.
supposed to have been bought for the
! white house by Van Buren,, which &C
quire a sentimental interest from the
the fact that they were used at the
of this sort which any president ceIe-
! brated with himself as groom, within
the precincts of the executive mansion.
The mantelpieCe of the blue room is
decorated with the clock presented 10
I Washington by Lafayette. and always
| known as the Lafayette clock and the
companion vases which the first French
republic sent TO the first president OF
I the first republic of the nav world
An interesting memorial of the pres
ent administration lies on the library
table. This is the Mckinley family
Bible. more than one hundred years
old, wherein the Scotch-IriSh gene
alOgy of the president is traced 10 its
transatlantic source