The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1904-02-14
TEN FOR THE SUNDAY REPUBLIC.

WRITTEN FOR THE SUNDAY REPUBLIC.
! When Mrs. Abraham Lincoln went to
Washington as mistress Of the White
House she was no stranger to tho capital
city.
Perhaps had she been she would have
shrunk more han she did from occupying
that lofty place at a time when the wal
cloud hung black over the nation ana
only a few discerning eyes-her own hus-
bands the clearest and most farseeinS-
could foretell when 1t would be scattered
! by the shaft OF peace. But during Nj.
Lncoln's single term Of service in Con-
gress Mrs. Lincoln had largely increased
the horizon of her social observation and
nc doubt extended the bounds OF her am
bition.
From that taste of the delights. the ex-
element. the intrigue. even the extrava-
gances and dangers OF Washington ex-
istence her appetite had grown.
| Springfield was already too narrow for
| her ana her dream was of O return to the
capital clothed with power to repay
magnanimously the avors OF the few who
hao noticed with social recognition tho
wife OF an obscure Representative.
1t Is not certain that Mrs. Lincoln took
the occasion afforded by these ten years
Of absence from Washington to reflect up
on her own experiences. OF which sne
had been painfully conscious. but the
testimony OF her Illinois neighbors goes
to show that she urged her husband to
assume q graver dignity n that she
grew less and less pleased when he
stepped down from the pedestal OF a
statesman on occasion and took UP the
| puffball of repartee and anecdote.
but to u mind gifted with less percep-
tive owe than Mrs. Lincoln's the social
situation i'll Washington at the time of
the campaign made by the Republican
party with Honest Old Abe for stand
ard bearer could hardly have proved at
tractive.
Putting aside the more serious aspect.
u brilliant. even a great character, was
required in the woman who should go in
and attempt to rule over elements which
were rapidly disintegrating.
Among the ladies' Of the Cabinet the
Presidents wife found no one to assist
her.
STRANGERS IN WASHINGTON:
They were mostly strangers to Wash
ington. with spirits bowed down by the i'm
pending woe Of ;he nation. Their duties
Of reception giving and attending were
performed timidly ard ~nervously.
Nc one of them appealed to her and to
no one did Mrs. Lincoln reveal her per-
plexities. Later in Mrs. Fessenden the
Presidents wife found a strong spirit on
whom she could lean. but this was shortly
before the terrible event which marked
her life and too late for Mrs. Lincoln to
take advantage of her friendship.
AT the beginning. then. the Presidents
wife surrounded herself with women whom
she had heard praised for their briIliancy
and seen coErted for their beauty.
Several Of thes were not even politically
attached to the administration, and nearly
all Of them. II not Southerners. had strong
Southern affiliations. Mrs. John J. Crit
tenden, a beautiful Kentucky girl, mar
ried to q man who had been Senator in
1917 and Attorney General in "Tippecanoe"
Harrison's Cabinet: Miss Myra Clark, the
wealthy stakeholder. the Lexington belle
who afterwards became the wife Of Cen
eral John Morgan: Mrs. George B. McClel-
Ian. Mrs. Maunsel B. Field OF New York;
Mrs. John E. Allen. who had a face made
for any part she was expected to play
and who afterwards became an actress
these were a few of the women who IRE
ceived" with the Presidents wife at her
eQuest and their names. coupled with the
above brief biographies. show that her
choice was made from friendship or IA
vor. and not policy.
Indeed. It was impolitic Of her to ignore
the women of the Cabinet and the Sena-
tors wives thus boldly. and she wal soon
to be told 80 by q chit of q girl who,
though still almost a child. had the diplo-
matte instinct fully developed.
She was Kate Chase. daughter of Sal
mon P. Chase. Lincoln's Secretary of the
Treasury. whom he afterwards appointed
to be Chief Justice.
To Mrs. Lincoln. shiverinS from the drst