Ten Years in Washington or, Inside Life and Scenes in Our National Capital as a Woman Sees Them ... to Which Is Added a Full Account of the Life and Death of President James A. Garfield

CHAPTER XXIV.

Chapter 24176 wordsPublic domain

THE WHITE HOUSE DURING THE WAR.

Under a Cloud—“A Woman Among a Thousand”—Revival of By-gone Days—Another Lady of the White House—A “Golden Blonde”—Instinct Alike with Power and Grace—A Fun-Loving Romp—Harriet with her Wheelbarrow of Wood—A Deed of Kindness—The Wheel Turns Round—Gay Doings at the Capital—Rival Claims for a Lady’s Hand—Reigning at the White House—Doing Double Duty—Marriage of Harriet Lane—As Wife and Mother—Mrs. Abraham Lincoln—Standing Alone—A Time of Trouble and Perplexity—Rumors of War—Whispers of Treason—Awaiting the Event—A Life-long Ambition Fulfilled—The Nation Called to Arms—What the President’s Wife Did—The Dying and the Dead—Arrival of Troops—The Lonely Man at the White House—An Example of Selfishness—Petty Economies—The Back Door of the White House—An Injured Individual—Death of Willie Lincoln—Injustice which Mrs. Lincoln Suffered—The Rabble in the White House—Valuables Carried Away—Big Boxes and Much Goods—Mrs. Lincoln Disconsolate—Missing Treasures—Faults of a President’s Wife, 231