Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-03-28
judgment u Scul
Your friend.
Gossip Of the Senate.

IOuT LElC0d.
y c. cALHous~
Gossip Of the Senate.
Even those disnified old vetsr.n
fond OF little gossip. On the I'd OF -
1870 Gen. John H. Eaton. who had -
Mr. Grundys colleague In the unsss
states Senate from Tennessee for sev,r.,
years. wrote him the following enterts,.A
and stories about the White Hou.e.
Lazy people, II is said, have ~.
time to do anything. Those not N Va
often. from press Of various matter, s
cluded from giving even na.t pS-
thought to friend. But that mos, a
moving question-on which many an
various grave and long set speeches oss
lions. have been made-beins over ',s.
are left to breathe a little more leisn,s,'.
than before.
I'm the Senate now we have lin. a..
to do than sit quietly and listen 70 pas
dolph abuse everybody else. which bsn.
pens to be the case q part OF nearly svss.
day. Your old friend Clay and his frisnss
Adams he fails not to drag in upon ersr.
question, and to torture them-to use a.
expression of his own-as composedly a.
philosopher would torture mice in an A,
pump.
with his otter cap and long white ~,
ped boots he stalks through the stre.,,
or rides satisfied with himself altoeethsr
and IL Ha1ed at and jeered at by the "a
and young. the boys and girls. He i
truly an odd one, cast by nature IN =
mold thrown away, I think. never TO b.
used again.
The last day of the Panama discu..
sion, when we were UP till past O'CLOCK
at night. he spoke nine or ten hours
and many doing and asleep occasionally
He nevertheless reserved himself to the
last, and was interesting to the last. But
then he swept through the whole ranre
Of creation and talked Of everything
mon and beasts of the field. fowls Of
the air, and of every living creature
spoken, thought of or dreamed Of.
He ID now fond Of the general and
declares the Hickory Of Tennessee Is the
only rod that can be successfully used
to drive the money changers from the
temple-those ultra-federai usurpers
To-day there Is story about Adams
that makes even his friends look down.
Congress at the last session voted $l4,0nl
for furniture for the Presidents house
The disbursement has just come in. and
It seems that he has purchased for him
self billiard table, maces. balls and
cues.
You know the story how that the
old man purchased his carriage and four
funds-which Randolph sometimes i'd
verts to i'm his speeches, declaring. In
his malignant style, that these were the
only things left behind as pledge, a
memento. ] hope he will leave the bill
lard table for the benefit OF his sue.
cessors.
.'Thine very respectfully. EATON"
Story of Peggy o'Neill.
John H. Eaton. the senator from Ten
nessee. was afterH ard Secretary Of War
,l Yba
biography of Jackson. He was the
husband of Peggy O'Neill, the heroine
of the most exciting and eventful scan
dial that ever occurred in American pol
Rics or public life.
She was the daughter of William
ONeill rollicking Irishman. who kept
the most popular public house at the
capital. When Jackson was a senator
from Tennessee he was I'm the habit Of
going to O'Neill's for his toddy every
afternoon with Gen. Eaton and other
public men. where Margaret. the hand
some daughter of the landlord. served
them gracefully.
Before she was sixteen years of age she
eloped with a naval officer named Tim
berlake. who committed suicide som4
years after leaving her a dashing widow.
Shortly afterward Gen. Eaton, still
member of the United States Senate,
made her his wife. =
She had no trouble until Jackson
came to the White House and made
Eaton his Secretary of War. Then be-
gan the most bitter and relentless social
hostilities that were ever known I'm Wash
ington. Mrs. Calhoun, wife of the Vice
President. and the wives of the men,
bers of the cabinet refused TO recognize
her in any way.
When President Jackson gave dinner
or a reception he insisted upon making
Mrs Eaton the most conspicuous SID
honored guest. He compelled the foreign.
ministers to treat her with respect and
attempted to force her into private circlss
as well as into oflicial society.
Cabinet Ladies obdurate. !.
As long as she was In the Whit
House under the protection of his auto
cratic authority she Was safe. Outside
those sacred precincts she was snubbed
and insulted. Even the children in the
streets cried after her in the most brutal
fashion.
When jackson insisted that the MEM
bers of his cabinet should require their
wives to call upon Mrs. Eaton those
valiant ladies allowed their husbands to
resign rather than do SO. Eaton resigned
with the rest. and Jackson covered his
retreat by making him governor OF the
territory of FloridaS
He was aftorWard minister "
SPAIN. being appointed by Martin Van
Buren,, who was Secretary of State al
the time Of the scandal Being bach.
elor, he was able to give both the Pres
ident and Eaton his cordial support.
The story Of Peggy O'Neii has been
told many times. 1t has furnished tue
plots for several novels and for several
plays, and has no precedent in history.
Half a century later. during the admin.
istration of Gen. Grant, there was
similar affair, although 1t was by no
means so serious. The wives of two mem.
bers of his cabinet attempted TO drivs
out Of Washington an estimable woman
whose husband held the portfolio OF one
of the executive departments, but thes
did not succeed. :,
The objection to this lady grew OUT o.
the fact that she had formerly been tm
wife of a stage driver, and LIVED ~
the same town in Kentucky as the VIZ
Of the Secretary of War. who belong.
to the blue grass anstocracy Ms
Hamilton Fish, wife of the Secretary
State, and an aristocrat of the aristocra
and two other Of the Cabinet ladies GALE ta
to the defense of the stage-drivers wiz.
Gen. Grant stood by her as ioyamy
Gen. jackson stood by Peggy Men,
aaAnnlANE nM nEATuRe0