Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1915-09-15
Nellie Arthur PlnkertOn, Daughter OF
the White House, Dead.


the White House, Dead.
In the death of Mrs. Pinkerton, the
world loses one of the most attractive
women the White House has ever shell
tired. The small press notices hardly
do justice to one of the daintiest, cley-
crest of the presidential children, for
her father was four years at the head
of the Government, and a more thor
|ough gentleman than Chester A. Ar
thur could hardly be found.
AS Nellie Herndon Arthur, Mrs Pin
kerton, was widely known and univer-
sally beloved-not only in her own par
ticular circle, but among the servants
of her friends, for whom she always
had a cheery word.and among the poor
of the alleys OF Washington, she had
many pensioners. Nellie" as she was
universally called, was not old enough
TO mingle in the full official life of the
Executive Mansion, but she welded a
strong influence over the younger set
of political Washington. Her greatest
power was her forgetfulness and her
readiness to help everyone of all colors
and creeds
The most select private school in
Washington was a memorial to a for
mer Episcopal Bishop, and here Nellie
ATTENDED with the daughters of official
Washington, visiting Congressman, and
of the Army and Navy Among the
girls was Mary Letter and her young
sisters. Nellie Arthur was much
younger than the elder Miss Letter but
she had powerful influence over her.
The rest of the school thought she had
too much beauty to nave much sense
but Nellie had enough for two, and the
very brillinat career of Lady Curzon,
her splendid unselfishness during the
plague in India, which is still remem-
bered in England, though Lady Curzon
has been dead decade,was the outcome
of the influence of the gentle but strong
little daughter of President Arthur.
The mother of the little maid had
been dead but a short time when acci-
cent brought Mr.. Arthur to the Execu-
tive chair. His sister presided over his
home. The little daughter used to tell
me Of her mother, and how beautifully
she sang, and tell of how the Pres
ident had fallen in love with the voice
as he heard It in the old Virginia
church before he ever saw the singer.
went with her to the dedication of the
glass memorial window in st. Johns
Church, Washington, ID. c., which the
President put up in memory of the
singer who had Joined the Angel choir.
fr,1 %
inflated by her social position, in fact,
she would declare her desire to go
from the White House as "'it was full of
most awful rats" 1t seems that she
had fearlessly gone into the cellars to
see if she had the courage to face the
dark. The dark didn't matter, but the
rats did very much, and she didn't hes
itate to describe her wild flight to the
upper part of the historic mansion
This little daughter of Virginia, heI
mother was a Herndon, of the Freder-
icksburg branch of the Gordon Hern-
don connection, was Just the age Long
fellow describes in "Maidenhood," as
standing with reluctant feet where the
brook and river meet" The tide of her
life kept its well ordered bounds, but
it refreshes all along its marge.
She dressed less showily than any of
her classmates -one stylish jacket last
ed a whole winter with little toque of
similar cloth and band of fur com
pleted a pretty picture of an average
American girl who was sanely dressed. |
Her marriage was the outcome of Low
Her marriage was the outcome of a
love match, no ostentation marked it.
Her death was equally serene. But
ong viii she be remembered as a rose j
hat perfumed the garden of life, that |
,aded much too soon for the good of |
he world she sweetened and purified.