Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-09-29

play the deSpot. BY first, the
the last the whole people"
But, as Robert Seager II OBJ
serves in his new biography
Of Tyler and his second wife,
this would no longer do after
Andrew Jackson had revolu-
tionized and democratized
the American image of the
Chief Executive in 1828-1836.
"lTyler1 was no more or less
vain than any other of the
ambitious men of his time.
What appeared to be vanity
was an ingrained shynesS and
discomfort in the presence of
people with dirty fingernailS.
He had difficulty in commu-
nicating with citizens who
moved their lips when they
read, if indeed they could read
at all. He had never had
any experience with these
people, and he was too diff
fident to gain any,"
1t was Tyler's intransi-
gence, his unawareness of the
Heretofore hidden power of
the common man, that helped
make his ascension to the
Presidency politically disas-
trouS. He quickly lost his en-
tire cabinet, with the excep-
ton Of Daniel Webster, by
resignation, and he remains
the only President in the his
tory Of the country to be for
mally and officially read out
of his own party while in Of
flee. Tyler was at the time
building a mansion on his
Virginia estate, and he took
the opportunity sardonically
to name it Sherwood Forest"
the dwelling place of outlaws.
If Tyler was not a famous
President, or even one Of the
greatest Americans, his life
and times furnish subject
matter for fascinating history,
which for later-day readers
does not have to be momen-
touS If it is full of interesting
people to make it entertain
ing. and if it finds a chroni-
cler like Mr.. Seager who
organizes his material and
writes often brilliantly.
The scenes Of Washington
society and the picture of the
White House come off par
ticularly well. Tyler became
President only because he
established a tradition. The
Constitution is ambiguous on
the point Of presidential sue
cession, saying only "in case
Of the removal Of the Presi-
dent from office, or Of his
death, resignation or inability
to discharge the powers and
duties Of said office, the same
shall devolve on the Vice
President. :" Whether the
Vice President is Acting
President or one in his own
right is not clear, but Tyler
settled the matter for him
self and six men who came
after him.
-
Although his wife was
critically i'll when Tyler came
to a White House that was
filthy and badly rundown
Congress, hostile to Tyler,
would appropriate nothing
for its restoration or upkeep
White House social life has
probably seldom been more
glamorous than it was in the
hands Of Tyler's first lady,
his daughter-in-law, Priscilla
Tyler, a beautiful and witty
girl who had been an &C
tress before her marriage.
Shortly after Tyler's first
wife died he married, in 1874,
Julia Gardiner. thirty years
his junior, one of the bellies
of Washington and New York
society, an heiress. and the
second and equally engaging
subject of Mr.. Seager's biog-
raphy.
Julia Gardiner came from
GARDENERS Island near New
York, a great plantation that
had been founded in the early
18th century by a Gardiner,
which had always since be-
longed to GARDENERS, and
which continued well into the
goth century as the home Of
GARDENERS. bought from the