As I Remember Part 12

Married--at Belleville, Virginia, at the seat of Col. Mayo, General Winfield Scott of the U.S. Army to Miss Maria D.

Mayo.

Mrs. Scott's record as a belle was truly remarkable, and in the latter years of her life when I knew her very intimately she still retained traces of great beauty. Her accomplishments, too, were extraordinary for that period. She was not only a skilled performer upon the piano and harp, but also a linguist of considerable proficiency, while her grace of manner and brilliant powers of repartee added greatly to her social charms. On one occasion during Polk's administration she attended a levee at the White House, and as she pa.s.sed down the line with the other guests she received an enthusiastic welcome and was soon so completely surrounded by an admiring throng that for a while Mrs. Polk was left very much to herself. It was Mrs. Scott who wrote in the alb.u.m of a friend the verse ent.i.tled, "The Two Faults of Men." Two other verses were written under it several years later by the Hon. William C.

Somerville of Maryland, at one time our Minister to Sweden, and the author of "Letters from Paris on the Causes and Consequences of the French Revolution."

Women have many faults, The men have only two; There's nothing right they say, And nothing right they do.

_Reply_

That men are naughty rogues we know, The girls are roguish, too.

They watch each other wondrous well In everything they do.

But if we men do nothing right, And never say what's true, What precious fools you women are To love us as you do.

Many years ago General and Mrs. Scott traveled with their youthful family through Europe, and while at the French Capital Mrs. Scott attended a fancy-dress ball where she represented Pocahontas and was called _La belle sauvage_. I have talked to two elderly officers of our Army, Colonel John M. Fessenden and General John B. Magruder, the latter subsequently of Confederate fame, and both of them told me that at this entertainment she was an object of general admiration. Many years later, long after Mrs. Scott's death, I was visiting her daughter, Mrs. Henry L. Scott, for the last time at the old Elizabeth home, accompanied by my young daughter Maud, when the latter was invited to a fancy-dress ball given to children at the residence of General George Herbert Pegram. At first I was at my wits' end to devise a suitable gown for her to wear, when Mrs. Scott brought out the historic fancy dress worn by her mother so many years before in Paris and gave it to me. It seems almost needless to add that the child wore the dress, and that I have it now carefully put away among my treasured possessions. Many years subsequent to Mrs. Scott's visit to Paris, her sister, Mrs. Robert Henry Cabell of Richmond, published for the benefit of a charity her letters written from abroad to her family in Virginia, containing many interesting recollections of Paris.

At the beginning of the Mexican War the Scotts were living in New York but, for a reason I do not now recall, Mrs. Scott decided to spend a winter during the General's absence in Philadelphia. She secured a portion of a furnished house at 111 South Sixth Street, and in the spring of 1847 I was invited to be her guest. The evening of the day of my arrival I attended a party at the residence of Judge John Meredith Read, a descendant of George Read, a Signer from Delaware. Upon the urgent request of Mrs. Scott I went to this entertainment entirely alone, as she and her daughter Cornelia were indisposed and she wished her household to be represented. Judge Read was a widower and some years later I renewed my acquaintance with him in Washington. During my visit in Philadelphia, Mrs. Scott was suddenly called away and hesitated about leaving us two young girls in the house alone, her younger daughters being absent at school. Finally, she made arrangements for us to spend the days of her absence in Burlington, New Jersey, with Miss Susan Wallace, a friend of hers and a niece of the Hon. William Bradford, Attorney-General during a portion of Washington's last administration.

This, however, was not altogether a satisfactory arrangement for us young people and we became decidedly restless, but to Burlington we went just the same. Meanwhile, news came from Mexico of a great American victory and the public went wild with enthusiasm. Philadelphia made plans to celebrate the glad event on a certain evening, and Cornelia Scott and I decided to return to Philadelphia for the festivities. We carefully planned the trip and took as our protector a faithful colored man named Lee. Arabella Griffith, an adopted daughter of Miss Wallace, also accompanied us, and as another companion we took Mrs. Scott's pet dog _Gee_ whom, before the evening was over, we found to be very troublesome. We made the trip to Philadelphia by water and landed in an out-of-the-way portion of the city. Owing to the dense crowds a.s.sembled to view the decorations, illuminations and fireworks, we were unable to procure a carriage and consequently were obliged to walk, while, to cap the climax, in pushing through the crowd we lost Miss Griffith. General Scott's name was upon the lips of everyone, and his pictures were seen hanging from many windows; yet the daughter of the hero who was the cause of all the enthusiasm was a simple wayfarer, rubbing elbows with the mult.i.tude, unrecognized and entirely ignored. I may state, by the way, that Arabella Griffith subsequently became the wife of General Francis C. Barlow and that, while her husband was fighting the battles of his country during the Civil War, she did n.o.ble service in the Union hospitals as a member of the United States Sanitary Commission, and died in the summer of 1864 from a fever contracted in the hospitals of the Army of the Potomac.

I remained in Philadelphia much longer than I had originally antic.i.p.ated, and unexpected warm weather found me totally unprepared. I immediately wrote to my sister Margaret and asked her to send me some suitable apparel. Her letter in reply to mine, which I insert, gives something of an idea of New York society of that period. As she was quite a young girl her references to Miss Julia Gerard whom she knew quite well and "Old Leslie Irving," who, by the way, was only a young man, must be regarded merely as the silly utterances of extreme youth:--

Dear Sister,

I received your letter and as it requires an immediate answer, I shall commence writing you one. I believe in my last I mentioned to you that I was going to Virginia Wood's [Mrs. John L. Rogers] the following evening. I went with [William B.] Clerke [a young broker] and had quite a pleasant time. There were two young ladies there from Virginia whose names I do not know, Dr. Augustine Smith's daughter, myself, Mr. Galliher, Mr. Rainsford, Mr. Bannister and Mr. Pendleton [John Pendleton of Fredericksburg, Virginia]. I was introduced to the latter and liked him quite well. I had a long talk with him. His manners are entirely too coquettish to suit me; he does nothing but shrug his shoulders and roll up his eyes--perhaps it is a Virginia custom. He seems to think Miss Gerard [Julia, daughter of James W. Gerard] his _belle_ ideal or _beau_ ideal of everything lovely, etc. I told him that I thought her awful, that she had such an inanimate sickly expression, and I abused her at a great rate! I expect he thinks I am a regular devil!

Tonight I am going to the opera. "Lucretia Borgia" is to be performed. I have learned a song from Lucia. So you can imagine how much the rooster has improved!

On Thursday evening I was at the Moore's [Dr. William Moore]. Frank Bucknor came for me and brought me home. His sister [Cornelia Bucknor, subsequently the wife of Professor John Howard Van Amringe of Columbia College] was there, Beek Fish [Beekman Fish], Bayard Fish, Dr. [Adolphus] Follin, old Leslie Irving and Frank Van Rensselaer. Miss Moore told me that May came for us that evening to go to the Academy. I am dreadfully sorry that you will not be able to go to the Kemble [Mrs. William Kemble] ball; they are going to have it on Monday. I dare say it will be very pleasant and old Chrystie will be there. Emily B. [Emily Bucknor] and Frank [Bucknor] are going.

My hat has come home, and it is very pretty; it is a sherred blue c.r.a.pe, without any ribbon--trimmed very simply with blue c.r.a.pe and illusion mixed and the same inside.

Mrs. William Le Roy has been to see you. Ma thinks that you had better come home when you first expected--on Tuesday or Wednesday. I am very much disappointed that you are not here to go to the Kembles as you have a dress to wear.

You can tell Adeline [Adeline Camilla Scott], if you please, that Mr. Pendleton wants to know the use of sending her to school when her head is filled with beaux and parties. I told him her mother did it to keep her out of mischief.

Bucknor says he thinks it is time for you to come home. If you stay much longer my spring fever will come on and I shall get so many things there will be no money left for you. Besides Mr. Pendleton is going to the Bucknor's some day next week and I am going to get him to stop for me, and if you are home I shall invite you to go along. Beek Fish will be there the same evening with his flute. He told Emily B. that his sister [Mrs. Thomas Pym Remington of Philadelphia] had written them that you had been in Philadelphia and that she was so delighted to see you.

Leslie Irving told me that he had seen a letter in the Commercial Advertiser from Thomas Turner [subsequently Rear Admiral Turner, U.S.N.] to Hamilton Fish. He thought of sending it to you, but he thought some one else had probably done so. I hear that they [the Fishes] are to have a party.

The Bankheads [General James Bankhead's daughters] are going to spend the summer at West Point. Pa and Jim are better. Pa rode out yesterday and walked out to-day. He has been in a great state of excitement about General Scott. It was reported two days ago that he was killed and he was afraid it was true. Vera Cruz, I believe, is taken. I cannot write any longer, I'm so tired. I will send Cornelia's [Cornelia Scott] purse by H. Forbes [Harriet Forbes, Mrs. Colhoun of Philadelphia].

M. CAMPBELL.

Sat.u.r.day April 10th.

Pa thinks it is time for you to come home. Do you know of any opportunity? I shall not send anything to you. You see you never will take my advice in anything. I told you to bring your pink dress with you but you would not. I suppose I shall not hear from you again. Pa says you can do as you please about staying longer.

Elizabeth, New Jersey, was a quaint old town whose inhabitants seemed almost exclusively made up of Barbers, Ogdens and Chetwoods, with a sprinkling of De Harts. There was a steamboat plying between Elizabethport (now a part of the City of Elizabeth) and New York, and we were its frequent patrons. Ursino, the country seat of the Kean family, then as now was one of the historic places of the neighborhood. As I remember the beautiful old home, it was occupied by John Kean, father of the late senior U.S. Senator from New Jersey. At an earlier period the latter's great-grandfather had married Susan Livingston, a daughter of Peter Van Brough Livingston of New York, and resided at Ursino. After the death of her husband she married Count Julian Niemcewicz, who was called the "Shakespeare of Poland" and who came to America with Kosciusco, upon whose staff he had served. She was also the grandmother of Mrs. Hamilton Fish. Another noted estate in the same general neighborhood, was "Abyssinia," owned and occupied for a long period by the Ricketts family, whose walls were highly decorated by one of its artistic members. I am informed that it still stands but that it is used, alas, for mechanical purposes!

I recall with intense pleasure another of my visits to New Jersey when I was a guest at the home of General and Mrs. Scott in Elizabeth. Isabella Ca.s.s of Detroit, daughter of General Lewis Ca.s.s, was also there at the same time. She attended school in Paris while her father was Minister to France and received other educational advantages quite unusual for women at that time. While residing in Washington at a subsequent period she was regarded as one of the reigning belles. She married a member of the Diplomatic Corps from the Netherlands and lived and died abroad. A constant visitor of the Scott family whom I recall with great pleasure was Thomas Turner, subsequently an Admiral in our Navy. He was a Virginian by birth and a near relative of General Robert E. Lee; but, though possessing the blood of the Carters, he remained during the Civil War loyal to the national flag. His wife was Frances Hailes Palmer of "Abyssinia."

Still another guest of the Scotts in Elizabeth was the erratic but decidedly brilliant Doctor William Starbuck Mayo. Although Mrs. Scott was a Mayo, they were not related. He was from the northern part of the State of New York, while Mrs. Scott, as is well known, was from Virginia. Doctor Mayo, however, was an ardent admirer of Mrs. Scott and made the fact apparent in much that he said and did. He was the author of several works, one of which was a romance ent.i.tled "Kaloolah," which he dedicated to Mrs. Scott. When I met him in Washington he was on his first bridal tour, although pretty well advanced in years. His bride was Mrs. Henry Dudley of New York, whose maiden name was Helen Stuyvesant.

She was the daughter of Nicholas William Stuyvesant and one of the heirs of the large estate of Peter G. Stuyvesant. During Van Buren's administration, Doctor Mayo was a social light in Washington.

There was another Dr. Mayo--Robert Mayo of Richmond--who, in some respects, created a temporary commotion in public life in Washington and elsewhere. He was a Virginian by birth, and at one time figured prominently as a politician. He engaged in the presidential campaign of 1828 as an ardent partisan of General Jackson and during that period edited in Richmond the _Jackson Democrat_. He subsequently, however, parted company with his presidential idol, and in 1839 published a volume ent.i.tled, "Political Sketches of Eight Years in Washington,"

which is almost exclusively devoted to an arraignment of General Jackson's administration. In an original letter now before me, written by Martin Van Buren to Governor William C. Bouck, of New York, which has never before appeared in print, he speaks in an amusing manner of Dr.

Mayo. I insert the whole letter, as his allusions to General Jackson are of exceptional interest. No one can well deny that the parting admonition of Polonius to his son Laertes is a masterpiece of human wisdom, but this letter of the "Sage of Lindenwald" to Governor Bouck reveals ability by no means inferior to that of this wise councilor of Denmark.

[EX-PRESIDENT VAN BUREN TO GOV. WILLIAM C. BOUCK OF N.Y.]

Confidential.

Lindenwald, Jan^y. 17th 1843.

My dear Sir,

I embrace the occasion of a short visit of my son Major Van Buren to Albany before he goes South to drop you a few lines. Although I have not admitted it in my conversations with those who are given to croaking, and thus alarm our friends, I have nevertheless witnessed with the keenest regret the distractions among our friends at Albany; & more particularly in relation to the state printing. It is certainly a lamentable winding up of a great contest admirably conducted &, as we supposed, gloriously terminated. Without undertaking to decide who is right or who is wrong, and much less to take any part in the unfortunate controversy, I cannot but experience great pain from the eying of so bitter a controversy in the face of the enemy among those who once acted together so honorably & so usefully, and for all of whom I have so much reason to cherish feelings of respect & regard. Permit me to make one suggestion, & that relates to the importance of a speedy decision, one way or the other. Nothing is so injurious in such cases as delay. It is almost better to decide wrong than to protract the contest. Every day makes new enemies & increases the animosities of those who have already become so, & extends them to other subjects; and yet nothing is so natural as to desire to put off the decision of controversies among friends. Most happy would I be to find that you had been able to mitigate, if not altogether to obviate, existing difficulties by providing places for one or more of the compet.i.tors in other branches of the public service to which they are adapted & with which they would be as well satisfied.

It has afforded me unfeigned satisfaction to learn, as I do from all quarters, that you keep your own secrets in regard to appointments, & don't feed every body with promises or what they construe into promises--a practice which so many public men are apt to fall into, & by which they make themselves more trouble & subject themselves to more discredit than they dream of. Persevere in that course, consider carefully every case & make the selection which your own unbia.s.sed judgment designates as the best, & above all let the people see as clear as day that you do not yield yourself to, or make battle against, any cliques or sections of the party, but act in good faith and to the best of your ability for the good of the whole, and you may be a.s.sured that the personal discontents which you would to some extent occasion, if you had the wisdom of Solomon & were pure as an angel, will do you no harm & be exceedingly evanescent in their duration. The Democratic is a reasonable & a just party & more than half of the business is done when they are satisfied that the man they have elected means to do right.

The difficulty with a new administration is in the beginning. At the start little matters may create a distrust which it will take a series of good acts to remove. But once a favourable impression is made & the people become satisfied that the right thing is intended, it takes great errors, often repeated, to create a counter current. Will you excuse me if, from a sincere desire for your success, I go farther & touch upon matters not political, or at least not wholly so? Your situation of course excites envy & jealousy on the part of some. It is impossible from the character of man that it should be otherwise, bear yourself ever so meekly & you cannot avoid it. There will therefore in Albany, as well as elsewhere, be people who will make ill natured remarks & there will be still more who will make it their business, in the hope of benefitting themselves, to bring you exaggerated accounts of what is said, and if they lack materials they will tell you, if they find that you like to listen to small things, a great deal that never has been said. It is my deliberate opinion that these mischievous gossips cause public men more vexation, yes, ten fold, than all the cares & anxieties of office taken together. I have seen perhaps as much of this as any man of my age, & claim to be a competent judge of the evil & its remedies. The greatest fault I ever saw in our excellent friend Gen^l. Jackson, was the facility with which (in carrying out his general principle that it was the duty of the President to hear all) he leant his ear, though not his confidence, to such people. Though very sagacious & very apt to put the right construction upon all such revelations, it was still evident that he was every day more or less annoyed by them. I endeavored to satisfy him of the expediency of shutting their mouths, but did not succeed, & I am as sure as I can be of any such thing that if the truth could be known it would appear that he had experienced more annoyance from such sources than from all the severe trials through which he had to pa.s.s & did pa.s.s with such unfading glory.

Having his case before me, I determined to profit by the experience I had acquired in so good a school. I had no sooner taken possession of the White House than I was beset by these harpies. The way in which I treated the whole crew, with variations of course according to circ.u.mstances, will appear from the following dialogue in a single case. The celebrated Dr. Mayo called upon me & in his stuttering & mysterious way commenced by asking when he could have a few minutes very private conversation with me. Knowing the man, I antic.i.p.ated his business & told him now, I will hear you now. He then told me he had discovered a conspiracy to destroy me politically the particulars of which he felt it to be his duty to lay before [me]. I replied instantly, & somewhat sternly, Dr., I do not wish to hear them. I have irrefragable proof, he replied. I don't care, was the response. It is in writing, Sir, said he. I won't look at it, Sir. What, said he, don't you want to see it if it is in writing & genuine? An emphatic No, Sir, closed the conversation. The Dr. raised his eyes and hands as if he thought me demented, & making a low bow & e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.n.g. a long Hah-hah retreated for the door. The story about the Dr. got out and, partly by mine & I believe in part also by his means, & alarmed all the story tellers who heard of it. A few repet.i.tions of the same dose to others impressed the whole crew with a conviction that nothing was to be gained by bringing such reports to me. The consequence was that although Washington is perhaps the most gossiping place in the world, I escaped its contamination altogether, and had no trouble except such as unavoidably grew out of my public duties; and although I had perhaps a more vexatious time than any of my predecessors in that respect I was the only man, they all say, who grew fat in that office.

I was happy to learn from my son John by a letter received yesterday the high opinion he entertains of your discreet & honorable bearing in the midst of the difficulties by which you are beset. I hope he & Smith, [another son of Martin Van Buren], exercise the discretion by which their course has heretofore been governed, in meddling as little with things political that do not belong to them as possible. They know that such is my wish, as any contest there must necessarily be more or less between my friends; and I shall be obliged to you to give them from time to time such advice upon the subject as you may think proper. Be a.s.sured that they will take it in good part. You may, if you please, at your convenience, return me the suggestions I sent you, as I may have occasion to weave some parts of them into letters that I am frequently obliged to write; the rough draft was made with a pencil & is now illegible. Be a.s.sured that your not using them occasioned me no mortification, as I before told you it would not. You had a nearer & could take a safer view of things than myself. Don't trouble yourself to answer this letter as it requires none; only excuse me for writing you one so unmercifully long.

Remember me kindly to Mrs. Bouck, & believe me to be

Very sincerely your friend,

M. VAN BUREN.

His Excellency, Wm. C. Bouck.

In 1850 General and Mrs. Scott moved to Washington and Hampton was closed for many years. They lived in one of the houses built by Count De Menou, French Minister to this country from 1822 to 1824, on H Street, between Thirteenth and Fourteenth Streets, on the present site of the Epiphany Parish House. These residences were commonly called the "chain buildings," owing to the fact that their fences were made almost entirely of iron chains. Two of them, thrown into one, were occupied by the Scotts and were owned by my father-in-law, Samuel L. Gouverneur, senior. In the third, the property of Mrs. Beverly Kennon, lived the venerable Mrs. Alexander Hamilton and her only daughter, Mrs. Hamilton Holly.

CHAPTER IX

SOCIAL LEADERS IN WASHINGTON LIFE

I pa.s.sed many delightful hours in the Washington home of General Scott and had a standing invitation to come and go as I pleased. Upon his return from the war with Mexico, crowned with the laurels of victory, he immediately became one of the most prominent lions of the day. He had successfully invaded a practically unknown country reeking with the terrible _vomito_, a disease upon which the Mexicans relied to kill their foes more expeditiously than ammunition, and had well earned for himself the plaudits of a grateful country. I distinctly remember that he received flattering letters from the Duke of Wellington and other distinguished foreigners congratulating him upon his military success.

His headquarters were now established in Washington, and his house became one of the most prominent social centers of the National Capital.

About this time Mrs. Scott was much in New York, where her third daughter, Marcella, subsequently Mrs. Charles Carroll McTavish, was attending school, and consequently her daughter Cornelia, who not long before had married her father's aide, Henry Lee Scott of North Carolina, was virtually mistress of the establishment. Mrs. Henry Lee Scott's social sway in Washington was almost unprecedented. She was as grand in appearance as she was in character, and during one of her visits to Rome she sat for a distinguished artist as a model for his pictures of the Madonna. General Scott seemed to derive much pleasure and satisfaction from the society of his former companions in arms, who were always welcomed to his hospitable board. Among those I especially recall were Colonels John Abert, Roger Jones, William Turnbull and Ichabod B. Crane, whose son, Dr. Charles H. Crane, later became Surgeon General of the Army. These occasions were especially delightful to me as a young woman, and I always regarded it as an exceptional privilege to be present.

The Whig party meanwhile nominated General Scott for the presidency. The opposing candidate was Franklin Pierce. One day during the campaign Scott, in replying to a note addressed to him by William L. Marcy, Secretary of War in Polk's cabinet, began his note: "After a hasty plate of soup"--supposing that his note would be regarded as personal. Marcy, who was a keen political foe, was too astute a politician, however, not to take advantage of the chance to make Scott appear ridiculous. He cla.s.sified the note as official, and the whole country soon resounded with it. I saw General Scott when he returned from his Mexican campaign, covered with glory, to confront his political enemies at home, and I was also with him in 1852 when the announcement arrived that he had been defeated as a presidential candidate. Were I called upon to decide in which character he appeared to the greater advantage, that of the victor or the vanquished, I should unhesitatingly give my verdict to the latter. There was a grandeur in his bearing under the adverse circ.u.mstances with which the success and glamour of arms could not compare.

The Rev. Dr. Smith Pyne, the beloved rector of St. John's Episcopal Church, often mingled with the distinguished guests gathered at the residence of General Scott. He was full of life and fun and good cheer and would even dare, when occasion offered, to aim his jokes and puns at General Scott himself. At one of the General's dinners, for example, while the soup was being served, he addressed him as "Marshal _Turenne_." It is said that upon one occasion, when the good rector failed by polite efforts to dismiss a book-agent, he was regretfully compelled to order him from his house. "Your cloth protects you," said the offended agent. "The cloth protects _you_," replied Dr. Pyne, "and it will not protect you long if you do not leave this instant." In spite of this incident, it was well known that the Doctor had a tender and sympathetic nature. After he had officiated at the funerals of his parishioners it is said that his wife was frequently compelled to exert all her efforts to arouse him from his depression. About this same period, Ole Bull, the great Norwegian violinist who was second only to Paganini, was receiving an enthusiastic reception from audiences "panting for the music which is divine." Upon this particular evening Dr. Pyne sat next to me, when he suddenly exclaimed: "If honorary degrees were conferred upon musicians, Ole Bull would be Fiddle D.D." At another time, when Dr. Edward Maynard, a well-known Washington dentist, was remodeling his residence on Pennsylvania Avenue, now a portion of the Columbia Hospital, Dr. Pyne was asked to what order of architecture it belonged and replied: "_Tusk-can_, I suppose,"--a pretty poor pun, but no worse, perhaps, than most of those one hears nowadays. The Rev.

Dr. Pyne performed the marriage ceremony, at the "chain buildings," of General Scott's second daughter, Adeline Camilla, and Goold Hoyt of New York. It was a quiet wedding and only the members of the family were present. I remember the bride as one of the most beautiful women I have ever known; her face reminded me of a Roman cameo.