THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 THE COLLECTION OF 
 NORTH CAROLINIANA 
 
 CB 
 Ml82m 
 
UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
 00032695799 
 
 -m 
 
 This book must not 
 be taken from the 
 Library building. 
 
MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 OF 
 
 DOLLY MADISON 
 
 WIFE OF JAMES MADISON, PRESIDENT 
 OF THE UNITED STATES 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 HER GRAND-NIECE 
 
 MhtMn^tMcm 
 
 BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
 HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 
 
 (C]^ Kitjerjsitie pre??, (STambritJije 
 
 1886 
 
Cop^Tight, 1 886, 
 By HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO. 
 
 All rights reserved. 
 
 The Riverside Press, Cambridge : 
 Electrot}T)ed and Printed by H. O. Houghton & Co. 
 
MEMOIRS AND LETTERS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 In undertaking a little sketch of this na- 
 ture, I am quite conscious that a relative 
 has peculiar temptations to be partial, — a 
 temper of mind which Mrs. Madison, in 
 the great simplicity of her character, would 
 most cordially have disliked ; and there- 
 fore, though the skill may be wanting, the 
 endeavor will be to give facts, anecdotes, 
 and letters, as they were handed down by 
 near relatives, privileged to live in her 
 household and enjoy her confidence, 
 suppressing nothing that could interest 
 the many who admire and respect her 
 memory. As those who have seen Mrs. 
 Madison's features and heard her voice 
 are becoming yearly fewer, the number 
 who take an interest in bygone days, and 
 the prominent men and women who fig- 
 
2 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 ured in history and society, when our 
 country was yet in its infancy, is rapidly 
 increasing ; indeed, our great-grandmoth- 
 ers and grandfathers shape themselves be- 
 fore our eyes, and assume new interest, as 
 pictures of the life and influences of those 
 early days are brought before us. 
 
 I propose to lay before the public a se- 
 ries of private letters, written, without the 
 most remote idea of publication, by a wo- 
 man to her nearest and dearest relations ; 
 and their value consists in the fact, capa- 
 ble of no misconception, that they furnish 
 an exact transcript of the feelings of the 
 writer, in times of no ordinary trial. 
 
 If it were possible to get at the expres- 
 sion of feelings by women in the heart of 
 a community more frequently, recorded 
 in a shape designed to be confidential, it 
 would serve to present the surest and 
 most unfailing idea of its general char- 
 acter. 
 
 Whether deliberating in the Senate, or 
 fighting in the field, our strength against 
 Great Britain was never that of numbers, 
 nor of wealth, nor of genius ; it drew its 
 nourishment from a more potent source : 
 from the sentiment that pervaded the 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 3 
 
 dwellings of the entire population. How 
 much this sentiment did then, and does 
 now, depend upon the character of our 
 women will be too readily understood to 
 require explanation. 
 
 The domestic hearth is the scene of the 
 almost exclusive sway of women, and great 
 as the influence thus exercised undoubt- 
 edly is, it escapes observation in such 
 manner that history rarely takes much 
 account of it. The maxims of religion, 
 faith, hope, and charity, are instilled by 
 them into the teachings of infancy, thus 
 supplying the only high and pure motives 
 of which mature manhood can, in its sub- 
 sequent action, ever boast. 
 
 John Payne, the grandfather of Mrs. 
 Madison, was an English gentleman of 
 wealth and education, who emigrated to 
 this country and settled on the James 
 River, in the county of Goochland, Vir- 
 ginia. He married Anna Fleming, grand- 
 daughter of Sir Thomas Fleming, second 
 son of the Earl of Wigton, of Scotland, 
 and also an emigrant to the Colony, who 
 landed at Jamestown and established him- 
 self in Kent County, where he lived until 
 his death. 
 
4 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 John Payne the second, the father of 
 Mrs. Madison, left home at an early age to 
 take charge of a plantation in North Caro- 
 lina given him by his father. He there 
 married Mary Coles, daughter of William 
 Coles, a native of Enniscorthy, Ireland. 
 Her mother, whose maiden name was 
 Philpot, was an aunt of Virginia's orator, 
 Patrick Henry. 
 
 The devout believer in the transmission 
 of family qualities will be content with 
 the inheritance of Dolly Madison from 
 this mother and grandmother, both noted 
 for their beauty and popularity. Mary 
 Coles was a great belle, having many ad- 
 mirers, — among them the young Thomas 
 Jefferson, whose promising talents were 
 even then appreciated. In spite, however, 
 of the persistency of friends, John Payne 
 was the favored suitor, and shortly after 
 his marriage purchased an estate in Han- 
 over County, Virginia, within driving dis- 
 tance of Coles Hill, the residence of his 
 father-in-law. 
 
 Towards the close of her life, Mrs. Mad- 
 ison frequently recalled the home of her 
 childhood, dwelling upon the great black 
 marble mantelpieces, supported by white 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 5 
 
 figures. The house was called Scotch- 
 town because of the emigrants, and was 
 surrounded by a number of small brick 
 houses, attached to the main building, 
 which was very large, having as many as 
 twenty rooms on a floor. 
 
 John Payne was the father of six chil- 
 dren, of whom the second is the subject of 
 this memoir. Much might be said of un- 
 usual charms discovered by adoring par- 
 ents during her infancy. Dorothy Payne 
 first opened her eyes on this world, which 
 she was destined so thoroughly to enjoy, 
 on the 20th May, 1772, in North Carolina, 
 where her parents were visiting ; and was 
 named Dorothy for her mother's aunt, 
 Mrs. Patrick Henry. 
 
 Both father and mother were strict mem- 
 bers of the ''Society of Friends," and 
 Dolly's childhood was passed quietly in 
 their country home until she reached the 
 age of twelve years. A favorite with all, 
 she was the particular pet and companion 
 of her grandmother, who often made her 
 happy by surreptitious presents of old- 
 fashioned jewelry, and not daring to wear 
 them before her father and mother, she 
 sewed them into a bag, which was tied 
 
6 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 around her neck, and concealed beneath 
 her little frock. Almost the first grief of 
 her childhood was the loss of this precious 
 bag, discovered in school, after a long ram- 
 ble through the woods, during which the 
 string must have become unfastened, scat- 
 tering the treasure where days of search- 
 ing proved of no avail. 
 
 The cultivation of the female mind at that 
 time was regarded with utter indifference. 
 It may have been that the example of Mrs. 
 Hutchinson in the early Colony days had 
 not yet effaced from the mind of the pub- 
 lic a conviction of the danger that may 
 attend the m.eddling of women with ab- 
 struse points of doctrine. And also it was 
 the fashion to ridicule *' learned women." 
 The little country school to which Dolly 
 Payne wended her way for the first twelve 
 years was of the simplest description. 
 Reading, writing, and arithmetic were all 
 that was considered necessary, and though 
 her educational advantages were greater 
 after their removal to Philadelphia, her 
 life until she married was rigidly simple 
 and quiet, giving no scope for that intui- 
 tive tact and knowledge of character which 
 was so conspicuous in after years. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. J 
 
 Equipped with a white linen mask to 
 keep every ray of sunshine from the com- 
 plexion, a sun-bonnet sewed on her head 
 every morning by her careful mother, and 
 long gloves covering the hands and arms, 
 one can see the prim little figure starting 
 off for school, with books under her arm, 
 and the dear but wicked baubles safely 
 hidden beneath the severely plain Quaker 
 dress. 
 
MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Mr. Payne was one of the first of his 
 sect in Virginia to become doubtful — and 
 later conscientiously scrupulous — about 
 the right of slavery. He was called a fa- 
 natic, but persisted in his views, selling his 
 plantation and giving freedom to all the 
 slaves. Several of the most devoted ser- 
 vants refused to go, and these he took with 
 him to Philadelphia, whither he moved 
 with his family in 1786, with but one aim 
 in view — the better maintenance of his 
 religious character. There he became an 
 Elder, spoke with great effect at the 
 *' Meetings," and was called a Quaker 
 preacher. 
 
 Though a strict and particular father, he 
 was also a devoted one, bringing up his 
 children in that religion which has utility 
 for its basis, sending them to schools 
 taught by his own sect, and himself giv- 
 ing them every attention at home. Orna- 
 ments and accomplishments were equally 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 9 
 
 forbidden by their religion ; even a clock 
 belonging to an unthinking member was 
 shorn of its beautiful carving by a delega- 
 tion from the " Meeting," as savoring too 
 much "of the vanities," and in the same 
 systematic way were all the little accom- 
 plishments cut off from the children. 
 
 Hospitable, generous, and believed to be 
 very rich, as Mr. Payne was, his house be- 
 came the resort of all needy Southerners, 
 who often took advantage of his Hberality. 
 The transition from life on a plantation 
 with many slaves, to town, together with a 
 total ignorance of money matters, brought 
 about an embarrassment in his affairs, and 
 he determined to go into business, taking 
 with him into partnership his eldest son, 
 John, who had been traveling in Europe. 
 
 Much of his capital, however, was in Rev- 
 olutionary money, and as that gradually 
 depreciated in value, he failed, and his 
 family found themselves much reduced in 
 circumstances. This failure had a most 
 depressing effect upon him, physically and 
 mentally, and he never held up his head 
 again, taking to his room, which he left 
 only to be carried to his last resting-place. 
 
 All this while the pretty Dolly was 
 
lO MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 growing in grace and stature, winning 
 hearts from old and young by the peculiar 
 charm of manner for which she afterwards 
 became noted. A tall, slight girl of nine- 
 teen, with a delicately oval face, and well- 
 formed, if not perfect, features ; a com- 
 plexion dazzlingly fair, contrasted with 
 very black hair ; and blue eyes that gazed 
 at you with much sweetness, beneath the 
 modest little Quaker cap. Who knows 
 what ideal the girl may have had, and why 
 it was that when the good-looking John 
 Todd, a promising young lawyer of means, 
 and a member of the Society of Friends, 
 proposed to her, the answer was that she 
 *' never meant to marry." Children at that 
 time, • however, were taught to obey their 
 parents unquestioningly, and when Dolly 
 was sent for, to the bedside of her father, 
 and told that he wished her much to be- 
 come the wife of John Todd, a young man 
 who had shown him great kindness in his 
 trouble, and of whom he had the highest 
 opinion, there was nothing for it but to 
 obey, which she did with the best possible 
 grace, and was amply rewarded by seeing 
 her father tranquil and happy during the 
 few remaining months of his life, and by 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 1 
 
 the devotion of a husband who made the 
 three short years of their married life all 
 that could be wished. 
 
 In 1792 Lucy Payne, a younger sister of 
 Mrs. Madison, married at fifteen George 
 Steptoe Washington, nephew of General 
 Washington, and then a resident of Jeffer- 
 son County, Virginia, where he owned a 
 large and valuable property, inherited from 
 his father, Samuel Washington, a gay, fox- 
 hunting squire, who thought much of his 
 wives (of whom he had had five), and his 
 horses and dogs. On the walls of Hare- 
 wood, I believe, his portrait still hangs, in 
 powdered wig, long coat, and lace ruffles, 
 and by it the likeness of one of his wives, 
 Anne Steptoe, also represented in the elab- 
 orate dress of the day, with cushioned hair 
 and blue brocade. Here it was that Mr. 
 Madison came to wed the pretty " Widow 
 Todd." 
 
 On the nth of September, 1793, Mr. 
 Jefferson, then in Philadelphia, wrote to 
 Mr. Morris : '' An infectious and deadly 
 fever has broken out in this place. The 
 deaths under it, during the week before 
 last, were about forty, the last week fifty, 
 and this week I fear they will be two hun- 
 
12 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 dred, so rapidly is it increasing. Every one 
 is leaving the city who can. Colonel Ham- 
 ilton has been ill, but on the road to re- 
 covery. The President, according to an 
 arrangement made some time ago, left for 
 Mt. Vernon yesterday. The Secretary of 
 War is starting out on a visit to Boston. 
 I shall go in a few days to Virginia. When 
 we shall meet again may depend on the 
 course of the malady, and on that may de- 
 pend the date of my next letter." 
 
 Mrs. Todd, with her two children, one a 
 baby of three weeks, was removed in a lit- 
 ter to Gray's Ferry, to avoid the epidemic. 
 Her husband, however, could not be kept 
 away from the infected city, and hurried 
 back, arriving only in time to be present 
 at the death-bed of his father and mother, 
 both victims to the dreadful scourge of 
 yellow fever. 
 
 Deaf to the tearful entreaties of his wife, 
 Mr. Todd lingered on in Philadelphia to 
 close his office and give assistance to the 
 many friends needing help. When these 
 duties were over, "he would never leave 
 her again," he said. Alas ! a vain boast. 
 He returned to Gray's Ferry, and meeting 
 his mother-in-law, Mrs. Payne, at the door, 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 3 
 
 said, " I feel the fever in my veins, but I 
 must see Jicr once more." 
 
 Dolly, on hearing his voice, rushed down 
 stairs and threw herself into his arms, 
 heedless of infection, begging to be al- 
 lowed to go back to town with him. 
 
 A few hours afterwards that good, un- 
 selfish spirit breathed its last, and the 
 young wife was brought almost to death's 
 door by the fatal scourge. 
 
14 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 After a slow recovery, during which 
 time she lost her younger child, Mrs. Todd 
 returned to Philadelphia with her mother 
 and little boy, named after her father, John 
 Payne. All danger of infection was over, 
 but there were many sorrowing hearts, and 
 none more so than this young widow's, be- 
 reft of husband and child within a few 
 short days of each other. Still young, 
 only twenty-two, very rich and very attrac- 
 tive, it is only natural that in course of 
 time she should have many admirers ; and 
 one of her friends, a bridesmaid at her 
 wedding, said that "gentlemen would sta- 
 tion themselves where they could see her 
 pass," and sometimes she had remonstrated 
 with her, laughingly, " really Dolly, thou 
 must hide thy face, there are so many star- 
 ing at thee." 
 
 It was during one of these walks that 
 Mr. Madison saw Mrs. Todd for ^the first 
 time, and was so struck with her appear- 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 15 
 
 ance that he did not rest until an introduc- 
 tion was procured. 
 
 Mrs. Lee also tells us of this first meet- 
 ing, a few days afterwards, when she re- 
 ceives a hurried little note from Dolly, 
 saying, " Dear friend, thou must come to 
 me. Aaron Burr says that the * great lit- 
 tle Madison ' has asked to be brought to 
 see me this evening." She was dressed in 
 a mulberry-colored satin, with a silk tulle 
 kerchief over her neck, and on her head an 
 exquisitely dainty little cap, from which an 
 occasional uncropped curl would escape. 
 In this first interview, at her own house, 
 she captured the heart of the recluse book- 
 worm, Madison, — twenty years her senior, 
 and always thought to be an irreclaimable 
 old bachelor. 
 
 A report soon got about of their en- 
 gagement ; such unwonted attentions from 
 Mr. Madison excited comment, and rumor 
 was as active in those days as now. 
 
 It reached the Presidential mansion, 
 where General and Mrs. Washington were 
 much interested ; and impatient to hear 
 the truth, sent for Mrs. Todd, who all un- 
 conscious obeyed the summons at once. 
 
 "Dolly," said Mrs. Washington, "is it 
 
 > 
 
1 6 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 true that you are engaged to James Mad- 
 ison ? " The fair widow, taken aback, an- 
 swered stammeringly, *'No," she "thought 
 not." " If it is so," Mrs. Washington con- 
 tinued, " do not be ashamed to confess it : 
 rather be proud ; he will make thee a good 
 husband, and all the better for being so 
 much older. We both approve of it ; the 
 esteem and friendship existing between 
 Mr. Madison and my husband is very 
 great, and we would wish thee to be 
 happy." And thus the rumor grew to 
 be an established fact, and in September, 
 1794, Mrs. Todd left Philadelphia to drive 
 to Harewood, her sister's place in Vir- 
 ginia, where the wedding was to take 
 place. Fortunately the weather was bright 
 and beautiful, as the gay cavalcade were 
 a week on their way : Mrs. Todd in an 
 open barouche, accompanied by her sister, 
 Anna, a child of twelve years, the little 
 boy and a maid; Mr. Madison and sev- 
 eral of their mutual friends driving or 
 riding beside them. 
 
 A most delightful picture is given of 
 this country wedding ; friends and neigh- 
 bors from far and near driving over. 
 Frances Madison, Harriet Washington, 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 7 
 
 and many of the connection staying for 
 days, keeping up a prolonged merry-mak- 
 ing. 
 
 The girls, vying with each other in ob- 
 taining mementos of the evening, cut in 
 bits the Mechlin lace from Mr.. Madison's 
 shirt ruffles ; and amid a shower of rice, 
 the laughing bride and groom drove ojf 
 to Montpelier, his father's estate in Orange 
 County, Virginia. 
 
 The close of the year, however, found 
 them back in Philadelphia, where Mrs. 
 Madison, laying aside the sober Quaker 
 dress at her husband's desire, began for 
 the first time to enjoy a little gay society, 
 even going to Mrs. Washington's drawing- 
 room, where she was warmly welcomed 
 and congratulated. 
 
 Anna Payne, the little sister who had 
 lived with Mrs. Madison from the time of 
 her first marriage, grew up like a daughter 
 of the house, and shared the responsibili- 
 ties and pleasures until she married in 
 1804. 
 
 Some bright letters have come into my 
 hands, written by one of their intimate 
 friends, Sally McKean, the daughter of 
 Governor McKean, and afterwards wife of 
 
1 8 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 the Marquis d'Yrujo, the Minister from 
 Spain in 1796. She was handsome, gay, 
 and independent, and the following letters 
 give a graphic description of Philadelphia 
 society and fashions about that time. 
 
 TO ANNA PAYNE. 
 
 Philadelphia, Ju7ie 10, 1796. 
 
 My DEAR Anna, — Yours, dated the 
 19th of May, was handed to me the day be- 
 fore yesterday by one Mr. Grove, who . . . 
 
 And now, my dear Anna, we will have 
 done with judges and juries, courts, both 
 martial and partial, and we will speak a 
 little about Philadelphia and the fashions, 
 the beaux. Congress, and the weather. Do 
 I not make a fine jumble of them } What 
 would Harper or beau Dawson say were 
 they to know it, ha, ha, — mind you laugh 
 here with me. Philadelphia never was 
 known to be so lively at this season as at 
 present ; for an accurate account of the 
 amusements, I refer you to my letter to 
 your sister Mary. I went yesterday to see 
 a doll, which has come from England, 
 dressed to show us the fashions, and I saw 
 besides a great quantity of millinery. Very 
 
OF AIRS. MADISON'. 1 9 
 
 long' trains are worn, and they are festooned 
 up with loops of bobbin, and small covered 
 buttons, the same as the dress : you are 
 not confined to any number of festoons, 
 but put them according to your fancy, and 
 you cannot conceive what a beautiful ef- 
 fect it has. There is also a robe which 
 is plaited very far back, open and ruffled 
 down the sides, without a train, being even 
 with the petticoat. The hats are quite a 
 different shape from what they used to be : 
 they have no slope in the crown, scarce 
 any rim, and are turned up at each side, 
 and worn very much on the side of the 
 head. Several of them are made of 
 chipped wood, commonly known as cane 
 hats ; they are all lined : one that has come 
 for Mrs. Bingham is lined with white, and 
 trimmed with broad purple ribbon, put 
 round in large puffs, with a bow on the 
 left side. The bonnets are all open on 
 the top, through which the hair is passed, 
 either up or down as you fancy, but lat- 
 terly they wear it more up than down ; it 
 is quite out of fashion to frizz or curl the 
 hair, as it is worn perfectly straight. Ear- 
 rings, too, are very fashionable. The 
 waists are worn two inches longer than 
 
20 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 they used to be, and there is no such thing 
 as long sleeves. They are worn half way 
 above the elbow, either drawn or plaited in 
 various ways, according to fancy ; they do 
 not wear ruffles at all, and as for elbows, 
 Anna, ours would be alabaster, compared 
 to some of the ladies who follow the fash- 
 ion ; black or a colored ribbon is pinned 
 round the bare arm, between the elbow 
 and the sleeve. There have come some 
 new-fashioned slippers for ladies, made of 
 various colored kid or morocco, with small 
 silver clasps sewed on ; they are very hand- 
 some, and make the feet look remarka- 
 bly small and neat. Everybody thinks the 
 millinery last received the most tasty seen 
 for a long time. 
 
 All our beaux are well ; the amiable 
 Chevalier is perfectly recovered, and hand- 
 somer than ever. I mentioned to him last 
 evening that I had received a letter from 
 you, and that you desired to be remem- 
 bered to him ; he seemed much pleased at 
 your attention, and desired that I should 
 give his best love to you when I wrote ; 
 so did Fatio and good Mr. Viar: so you 
 see, my dear Anna, I do keep my promise, 
 tho' you scold me so much. Mind that 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 21 
 
 you write me a long answer to this, and 
 that very soon. 
 
 Your sincere and affectionate friend, 
 Sally McKean. 
 
 to anna payne. 
 Philadelphia, Septeinber 3, 1796. 
 
 My dear Anna, — I received yours by 
 Mr. Taylor — and duly delivered its inclos- 
 ure. You can have no idea, my dear girl, 
 what pleasant times I have ; there is the 
 charming Chevalier, the divine Santana, 
 the jolly Viar, the witty and agreeable 
 Fatio, the black-eyed Lord Henry, the soft, 
 love - making Count, the giggling, foolish 
 
 , and sometimes the modest, good Me- 
 
 clare, who are at our house every day. We 
 have fine riding-parties and musical frolics. 
 However, I will refer you to my letter to 
 your sister Madison, as I am tired of writ- 
 ing, this being my third letter to-day. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Jandenes set sail about 
 the middle of July, with the two dear little 
 children in good health and remarkably 
 fine spirits. I am to have a large packet 
 of papers from them as soon as they ar- 
 rive in Spain, telling me all the news, and 
 also a very elegant Spanish guitar, on 
 
22 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 which I intend to learn to play. Signer 
 Don Carlos has given me a few lessons on 
 that instrument. I have one at present, 
 lent me by Santana, and we have a famous 
 Italian singer, who came with the Minis- 
 ter, who can play on any instrument, and 
 is moreover the drollest creature you ever 
 saw. He sings divinely, and is the leader 
 of our fine concerts. I am serenaded 
 every night with divine music. I must 
 say divine, for it is so much above the 
 common music. 
 
 I long with the greatest impatience for 
 the month of October, that I may have the 
 pleasure of embracing my dear Anna ; for 
 Heaven's sake make as much haste to town 
 as you can, for we are to have one of the 
 most charming winters imaginable. San- 
 tana and Fatio send their compliments to 
 you, and Meclare told me to be sure to 
 give his best and most sincere love to you ; 
 he looks quite handsome, and is smarter 
 than ever. God bless you, my dearest, 
 and believe me to be your sincere friend 
 and admirer, Sally McKean. 
 
 About this time Mr. Madison writes to 
 an old friend and schoolmate, Mr. Murray, 
 
OF MRS, MADISON. 23 
 
 of Virginia, who was then Consul at Liv- 
 erpool, which post he held for more than 
 thirty years. 
 
 TO MR. MURRAY. 
 Philadelphia, January^ 18, 1797; 
 
 Dear Sir, — Mr. Mason and myself 
 lately received your packets of London pa- 
 pers by the " Alexander Hamilton," which 
 were very acceptable, as they brought us 
 the earliest accounts of some of the im- 
 portant articles contained in them. I send 
 in return several packets by Captain Jo- 
 seph Prince, who is to sail from New York, 
 and to whom I cannot conveniently trans- 
 mit anything of a more bulky nature. 
 Captain Prince is a brother-in-law of Mr. 
 Beckley, clerk of the House of Represen- 
 tatives, and formerly known to you in Vir- 
 ginia. He will be very sensible to any 
 kindness it may be in your power to show 
 his friend ; and they will have a proper 
 claim on his acknowledgments also. 
 
 This country is extremely agitated by 
 pecuniary distresses, and the mercantile 
 troubles which begin to thicken. The un- 
 fortunate Treaty intended to appease the 
 nation is bringing us into trouble with 
 
24 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 several. You will see that the House of 
 Representatives is engaged on the ques- 
 tion of a direct tax. The result is a prob- 
 lem not yet to be solved. It is expected 
 that the Executive will communicate in a 
 few days a full statement of the contro- 
 versy with France. 
 
 After a warm contest for the succession 
 to General Washington, the vacancy will 
 be filled by Mr. Adams. He has seventy- 
 one votes, and Mr. Jefferson only sixty- 
 eight. The division would be more, but 
 for the failure of one of the returns from 
 a county in this State in time to be count- 
 ed, and other casualties in other States 
 had a share in favoring Mr. Adams. Mr. 
 Jefferson, it is now well known, will serve 
 in the secondary place allotted to him. 
 
 This being the last session of Congress 
 of which I shall be a member, I must, at 
 the same time that I return you thanks 
 for all your past favors, request that your 
 future ones be addressed to Orange Coun- 
 ty, Virginia, and that they may not be sent 
 on the calculation that I shall get them 
 free of postage. 
 
 With great esteem, I am, dear sir, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 James Madison, Jr. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON, 25 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 In the year 1799, Mrs. Madison, accom- 
 panied by her husband, made her last visit 
 to her uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Winston, who lived near her old home in 
 Hanover County, Virginia. Colonel Isaac 
 Winston was a man of cultivation and 
 sound judgment, whom Mr. Madison re- 
 garded with the highest respect, and one 
 of the few to whom he would yield his 
 opinion. We find by letters received at 
 different times much good advice given 
 by this quiet country gentleman, — advice 
 that was valued and acted upon. 
 
 A visit of condolence was also paid to 
 Mrs. Washington at Mt. Vernon, by Mr. 
 and Mrs. Madison, accompanied by Mr. Jef- 
 ferson, after General Washington's death. 
 Here it was that the intimacy began be- 
 tween Mrs. Madison and Miss Henley, a 
 favorite niece and ward of Mrs. Washing- 
 ton, afterwards Mrs. Tobias Lear. 
 
 In 1 80 1, Mr. Jefferson was elected Pros- 
 
26 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 ident, Mr. Madison became Secretary of 
 State, Albert Gallatin succeeded Mr. 
 Dexter in the portfolio of the Treasury, 
 and Mr. Dearborn was made Secretary of 
 War. The other members of the Cabinet 
 remained unchanged for a year or more. 
 Happy and handsome, Mrs. Madison came 
 on to Washington prepared to do her best 
 with the duties and responsibilities before 
 her. The position was in perfect accord- 
 ance with her disposition. She was hum- 
 ble-minded, tolerant, and sincere, but with 
 a desire to please, and a willingness to be 
 pleased, which made her popular, and al- 
 ways a great friend and support to her 
 husband. The power of adaptation was 
 a life-giving principle in her nature, while 
 an unusually retentive memory prevented 
 her from ever forgetting either names, 
 faces, or the slightest incident connected 
 with the personal history of any one. 
 Washington at that time was almost a wil- 
 derness. The houses were few and far 
 between, while the streets, or rather roads, 
 were at times almost impassable from mud. 
 There was, however, a small and agreeable 
 resident society in the three District cities, 
 Alexandria, Washington, and Georgetown, 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 2/ 
 
 where the entertainments began at seven 
 o'clock and lasted until ten. 
 
 In those days, when steamboats were 
 just beginning, railroads unknown, stage- 
 coaches ingeniously uncomfortable, and 
 even turnpike roads rare, journeys were 
 made either on horseback, or in a private 
 conveyance. The daughter of a Senator, 
 who wished to enjoy the gayeties of the 
 capital, accompanied her father five hun- 
 dred miles on horseback. The wife of a 
 member of Congress, being equally ambi- 
 tious, rode fifteen hundred miles on horse- 
 back, passing through several Indian en- 
 campments on the way, and was for many 
 nights without a house to lodge in. Mrs. 
 Madison herself had traveled from her 
 Virginia home by easy stages, incumbered 
 with household furniture, occupying what 
 seems to us in these days an incredible 
 length of time. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson's two daughters being mar- 
 ried and living in Virginia, Mrs. Madison, 
 aided by her sister, usually presided at the 
 White House, and was much depended 
 upon, as a few of the many little notes re- 
 ceived at various times will show : — 
 
28 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 May 27, 1 801. 
 
 Thomas Jefferson begs that either 
 Mrs. Madison or Miss Payne will be so 
 good as to dine with him to-day, to take 
 care of female friends expected. 
 
 Jtme 4, 1 80 1. 
 Thomas Jefferson was much disap- 
 pointed at breakfast this morning, not hav- 
 ing until then known of the departure of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Madison and Miss Payne ; he 
 hopes they will come and dine to-day with 
 the .Miss Butters, who were assured they 
 would meet them here, and to-morrow with 
 Mrs. Gallatin and Mrs. Mason. Affection- 
 ate salutations. 
 
 July 10, 1805. 
 
 Thomas Jefferson presents his respect- 
 ful thanks to Mrs. Madison for the trouble 
 she has been so kind as to take on his 
 behalf. Nothing more is wanting, unless 
 (having forgotten little Virginia) a sash 
 or something of that kind could be picked 
 up anywhere for her. The amount, and 
 the person from whom the earrings and 
 pin were bought, Thomas Jefferson would 
 also ask of Mrs. Madison. He presents 
 his affectionate salutations. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 29 
 
 Martha Jefferson, who married Mr. Ran- 
 dolph was able to pay two visits only to 
 her father during his administration. She 
 would have been particularly fitted to do 
 the honors of the White House, having 
 accompanied her father to Paris, when a 
 child, where she was placed under the care 
 of Madame de Genlis, and received a most 
 thorough education, enjoying afterwards a 
 glimpse of the brilliant French society just 
 before the Revolution. She and Mrs. Mad- 
 ison became firm friends, and from being 
 much together during her visits to Wash- 
 ington were sometimes taken for each 
 other. On one occasion, having been in- 
 duced to put on " a peUsse and hat to 
 correspond " belonging to her friend, she 
 made a number of visits to comparative 
 strangers, announced invariably as Mrs. 
 Madison. 
 
 Maria Jefferson, the youngest daughter, 
 was very beautiful, but delicate ; she mar- 
 ried Mr. Eppes, of Virginia, and died while 
 her father was President. 
 
 The following are the rules of etiquette 
 formed and followed conscientiously by 
 the President and his Cabinet : — 
 
30 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 CANONS OF ETIQUETTE TO BE OBSERVED BY 
 
 THE EXECUTIVE. 
 
 By President Jefferson. 
 
 1st. Foreign Ministers' arriving at the 
 seat of government pay the first visit to 
 the ministers of the nation, which is re- 
 turned ; and so likewise on subsequent oc- 
 casions of reassembling after a recess. 
 
 2d. The families of foreign Ministers 
 receive the first visit from those of the na- 
 tional Ministers, as from all other resi- 
 dents, and as all strangers, foreign or do- 
 mestic, do from all residents of the place. 
 
 3d. After the first visit the character 
 of stranger ceases. 
 
 4th. Among the members of the Diplo- 
 matic Corps, the Executive Government, in 
 its own principles of personal and national 
 equality, considers every Minister as the 
 representative of his nation, and equal to 
 every other without distinction of grade. 
 
 5 th. No titles being admitted here, 
 those of foreigners give no precedence. 
 
 6th. Our Ministers to foreign nations 
 are as private citizens while here. 
 
 7th. At any public ceremony to which 
 the Government invites the presence of 
 foreign Ministers and their families, no 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 3 1 
 
 precedence or privilege will be given them 
 other than the provision of a convenient 
 seat or station with any other stranger in- 
 vited, and with the families of the National 
 Ministers. 
 
 8th. At dinners, in public or private, 
 and on all other occasions of social inter- 
 course, a perfect equality exists between 
 the persons composing the company, 
 whether foreign or domestic, titled or un- 
 titled, in or out of office. 
 
 9th. To give force to the principle of 
 equality, or pile miky and prevent the 
 growth of precedence out of courtesy, the 
 members of the Executive, at their own 
 houses, will adhere to the ancient usage of 
 their ancestors, — gentlemen en masse giv- 
 ing place to the ladies en masse, 
 
 loth. The President of the United 
 States receives visits, but does not return 
 them. 
 
 nth. The family of the President re- 
 ceives the first visit and returns it. 
 
 1 2th. The President and his family 
 take precedence everywhere, in public, or 
 private. 
 
 13th. The President when in any State 
 receives the first visit from the Governor 
 and returns it. 
 
32 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 14th. The Governor in his State re- 
 ceives the first visit from a foreign Min- 
 ister. 
 
 The next two or three years passed 
 smoothly and pleasantly to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Madison; he, absorbed in his work, and 
 always a great reader, left all social duties 
 to her, and we get glimpses of their many 
 entertainments through her letters. 
 
 When the first Turkish Minister, Meley 
 Meley, arrived in Washington a grand ball 
 was given in his honor, to which the beauty 
 and fashion of the town flocked, curious to 
 see his elaborate dress, and turban made 
 of plaster of Paris, representing the finest 
 muslin. He, however, showed perfect in- 
 difference to the open admiration about 
 him, until spying a large, fat negress on 
 her way from the kitchen, he rushed to 
 her, and with much enthusiasm threw his 
 arms around her, saying she reminded him 
 of home and his best and most expensive 
 wife, ** A load for a camel." 
 
 TO MRS. GENERAL MASON. 
 
 I am obliged, my charming friend, to 
 announce to you the disappointment in my 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 33 
 
 hopes of attending your agreeable party 
 to Alexandria, as some imperative domes- 
 tic engagements forbid (to me) such an 
 indulgence, — I know you will be good 
 enough to make my apology to Madame 
 Buonaparte, and if my sister can contrib- 
 ute to your pleasant excursion, she will go 
 with great cheerfulness. 
 
 With affectionate salutations to the la- 
 dies of your house, believe me. 
 
 Truly yours, D. P. Madison. 
 
 In February, 1803, Captain Lewis and 
 Captain Clark were sent by Mr. Jefferson 
 to explore the Missouri River, and discover 
 the best communication with the Pacific 
 Ocean. The ladies of the Cabinet, partic- 
 ularly Mrs. Madison, were most interested 
 and sympathetic, providing everything that 
 could possibly be needed in such a perilous 
 journey, fearing they might never return 
 from the distant land of savages. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson writes to his friend. Dr. 
 Barton, of Philadelphia, of this interesting 
 expedition : — 
 
 It was impossible to find a man who, 
 to a complete science in Botany, Natural 
 3 
 
34 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 History, Mineralogy, and Astronomy, 
 joined the lirmness of constitution and 
 character, prudence, habits adapted to the 
 woods, and familiarity with the Indian 
 manners and habits requisite for this un- 
 dertaking. 
 
 All the latter quahfications Lewis has ; 
 although no real botanist, etc., he pos- 
 sesses a remarkable store of accurate in- 
 formation on all subjects of the three king- 
 doms, and will therefore readily single out 
 whatever presents itself new to him in 
 either, and he has qualified himself for tak- 
 ing the longitude and latitude necessary 
 to fix the geography of the line he passes 
 through. In order to draw his attention 
 at once to the objects most desirable, I 
 must ask of you to prepare for him a note 
 of those in the Hnes of Botany, Zoology, or 
 of Indian history which you think most 
 worthy of observation. 
 
 Sincerely your friend, 
 
 Thomas Jefferson. 
 
 In the same year Gilbert Stuart, the 
 celebrated portrait painter, came to Wash- 
 ington, and was very cordially received. It 
 became the fashion to have a " Stuart por- 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 35 
 
 trait," and his time was soon very fully- 
 taken up. A friend writes to Mrs. Madi- 
 son, who was away temporarily : "■ I can tell 
 you nothing new. Stuart is all the rage, 
 he is almost worked to death, and every 
 one afraid that they will be the last to be 
 finished." He says, "The ladies come and 
 say, dear Mr. Stuart I am afraid you will 
 be very much tired ; you really must rest 
 when my picture is done." 
 
 His great success seemed to lie in his 
 power to interest and amuse the sitters so 
 that they forgot themselves, and appeared 
 simply and naturally. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
 Madison were painted with very favorable 
 results. 
 
36 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 In 1804, Mrs. Madison writes : " One of 
 the greatest griefs of my life has come to 
 me, in the parting for the first time from 
 my sister-child." 
 
 This favorite sister, the little Anna, who 
 had been her constant companion always, 
 married Richard Cutts, a member of Con- 
 gress from the District of Maine, then 
 constituting a part of the Commonwealth 
 of Massachusetts. A clever, well-educated 
 man, having studied both at Harvard Uni- 
 versity and in Europe, he was chosen to 
 represent his district at the age of twenty- 
 eight, and remained through six succes- 
 sive Congresses. He was taken immedi- 
 ately into the warm heart of his sister- 
 in-law, and the wedding was a scene of 
 great gayety, forming an irresistible oppor- 
 tunity for Mrs. Madison to give pleasure 
 to everybody. The wedding-presents of 
 eighty years ago differed from the present 
 gorgeous display of jewels, bric-a-brac, etc., 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 37 
 
 inasmuch as they were tokens of love or 
 friendship made by the hand of the friend, 
 elaborate embroideries from sleeves to pin- 
 cushions, paintings and original poetry ; 
 the wife of the Russian Minister, Madame 
 Dashcoff, sent the usual wedding present 
 of her country — two wine-coolers, one 
 filled with salt, the essence of life, and 
 the other with bread, the staff of life. 
 Parson McCormick performed the cere- 
 mony. He had charge of the only church 
 in Washington at that time, a church at 
 the Navy Yard, to which the President 
 and Cabinet were obliged to drive two or 
 three miles through muddy roads to at- 
 tend service. To avoid this he very often 
 preached in the Hall of the State or 
 Treasury Department. 
 
 TO ANXA CUTTS. 
 
 April 26, 1804. 
 Though few are the days passed since 
 you left me, my dearest Anna, they have 
 been spent in anxious impatience to hear 
 from you. Your letter from Baltimore re- 
 lieved my mind, and the one from Phila- 
 delphia this hour received gives me the 
 greatest pleasure. To trace you and your 
 
38 MEMOIRS AXD LETTERS 
 
 dear husband in that regretted city, where 
 we have spent our early years, to find that 
 even there you can recollect with affection 
 the solitary being you have left behind, re- 
 flects a ray of brightness on my sombre 
 prospects. I will now give you a little 
 sketch of our times here. I shut myself 
 up from the time you entered the stage 
 until Saturday, when we went to drive in 
 the rain with Marshall Brent. All our ac- 
 quaintance called in to see me on the dif- 
 ferent mornings. Those few whom I saw 
 seemed to sympathize with me in your 
 loss ! ! ! I drank tea with the Fingeys and 
 Mrs. Forest, the amount of visits accom- 
 plished. A letter from the President an- 
 nounces the death of poor Maria, and the 
 consequent misery it has occasioned them 
 all. This is among the many proofs, my 
 dear sister, of the uncertainty of life. A 
 girl so young, so lovely! All the efforts 
 of friends and doctors availed nothing. I 
 am delighted with the kind attention you 
 meet from our old acquaintance, and have 
 no doubt but that you will have a grateful 
 welcome in all the places you are destined 
 to visit. Remember me to the McKeans, 
 and to Sally say a great deal, for I feel a 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 39 
 
 tenderness for her and her husband, inde- 
 pendent of circumstances. 
 
 Your devoted sister, Dolly. 
 
 TO MRS. MADISON FROM HER SISTER. 
 
 Boston, May, 1804. 
 My dearest Dolly, — How I miss 
 you it would not be possible to say. The 
 town of Boston is all confusion, no res:u- 
 larity anywhere, and after Philadelphia 
 and New York it seemed as if I should 
 be stifled ; the situations and prospects 
 outside of. the town are delightful, but 
 you have heard from others, more capable 
 of describing it. We have very pleasant 
 lodgings, and for my companion the famous 
 Madame Knox, who although very haughty 
 I find pleasant and sensible. Chess is 
 now her mania, which she plays extremely 
 well, only too often for my fancy, who am 
 not of late so partial to it. Every morn- 
 ing after breakfast, there is a summons 
 from her ladyship, which if I attend pins 
 me to her apron-string until time to dress 
 for dinner, after which she retires, again 
 inviting me to battle. Out of twenty-one 
 games, in only two, and a drawn game, has 
 she shown me any mercy ; she is certainly 
 
40 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 the most successful player I ever encoun- 
 tered. Thursday we dined at the Mortons', 
 an extremely pleasant place, the house 
 and grounds quite tasteful. Mrs. Morton 
 strikes one most at home, believe me, and 
 had I her establishment would never quit 
 it for anything in Washington. She has 
 four fine daughters, all women, and two of 
 them very pretty. They gave us a hand- 
 some dinner and a pleasant party, with a 
 dash at Loo in the evening, to please Mrs. 
 Knox, I suppose. The Federal party in 
 Boston prevails, — however, in spite of my 
 connections, I find much civility among 
 them. Always, my dearly beloved sister, 
 much love, in which my husband joins me. 
 Yours devotedly, Anna. 
 
 This Mrs. Knox who was so fond of 
 chess was the wife of Washington's favor- 
 ite general, and the owner of one of the 
 handsomest places in Maine, at Thomas- 
 ton ; of which Mrs. Madison's sister writes 
 to her : " We have not yet made our visit 
 to General Knox, though we have received 
 many pressing invitations to hasten to do 
 so. It is more than an hundred miles from 
 us, and I have an antipathy to make such 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 41 
 
 an addition to my journey, notwithstand- 
 ing my desire to see the country, and most 
 of all their princely establishment, which 
 is the wonder of the eastern world." 
 
 Mrs. Knox's mother was engaged at one 
 time to the son of Sir William Pepperell, 
 and great preparations were made for the 
 wedding. A house was built and furnished 
 — everything was done that money and 
 love could do to smooth the way of the 
 happy young couple. At the wedding, 
 however, standing before the clergyman, in 
 the midst of a gay party of friends, the 
 bride suddenly changed her mind and 
 walked up stairs, saying she had decided 
 not to marry. Two days after this the 
 bridegroom dropped dead in the street. 
 
 TO ANNA. 
 Washington, June^ 1804. 
 My dearest Anna, — How delighted 
 I should be to accompany you to all the 
 charming places you mentioned, to see all 
 the kind people, and to play Loo with Mrs. 
 Knox. Mr. Madison would write, but is 
 overwhelmed with business. The British, 
 French, and Spanish infringements are all 
 under his pen ; he expects General A. 
 
42 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 every day, who is to succeed Mr. Living- 
 stone, to receive his instructions. He al- 
 ways sends his affectionate love. Mount 
 Vernon has been set on fire five different 
 times, and it is suspected some malicious 
 persons are determined to reduce it to 
 ashes. Oh, the wickedness of men and 
 women ! I am afraid to accept their invi- 
 tations. 
 
 Washington, July i6, 1804. 
 
 My dearest Anna, — Yours from Maine 
 reached me yesterday, and I need not say 
 how delighted I am at your description of 
 places and persons, and at the knowledge 
 of your felicity. We go to Montpelier 
 this week. Payne continues weak and 
 sick ; and my prospects rise and fall to 
 sadness as this precious child recovers or 
 declines. You have heard, no doubt, of 
 the terrible duel and death of poor Hamil- 
 ton. I sent the President word of your 
 offer to get the glass, etc. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 43 
 
 TO MRS. ISAAC WINSTON. 
 
 Aprils 1804. 
 I consider myself a most unlucky being, 
 my dearest aunt, in regard to my letters 
 to you, for you certainly cannot have re- 
 ceived my two last or you would have al- 
 luded to them in yours, which we have 
 this moment received. What must my 
 dear uncle think of me! but I will now 
 take the opportunity to scold you for not 
 knowing my heart better, which has al- 
 ways been open to you, — you speak to me 
 in apologies for my Cousin Dolly's stay, 
 when I have considered it as a favor, and a 
 very great pleasure, only wishing we could 
 live together all our lives. We hope and ' 
 expect to go to you in May. Public busi- 
 ness, perhaps, was never thicker. I have 
 just received a long letter from mamma, 
 who is quite well, and I pray that your 
 fears may not be realized, my dear aunt, 
 but that you may yet spend a great deal 
 of time together in this life. I should be 
 miserable, indeed, if I did not feel such a 
 conviction. I am taking care of my best 
 prunes and figs for you. Tell dear uncle 
 I am ashamed to speak to him, but he will 
 
44 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 see by this that it was not my fault. Fare- 
 well, dearest aunt, I have nothing new to 
 tell you as you must know all about Burr. 
 Ever your devoted, Dolly. 
 
 Missing the companionship of her sis^ 
 ter and craving sympathy and love always, 
 Mrs, Madison persuaded her Cousin, Dol- 
 ly Winston, to live with her for a time, 
 and later on Anna Payne, her brother's 
 child, took her place, and became like a 
 daughter in her old age, remaining with 
 her until her death. In the years when 
 the kind, unselfish old lady found herself 
 too weak to wield a pen, she begged her 
 niece to copy her handwriting, not to dis- 
 appoint the many who valued little notes 
 from her, which she did so successfully 
 that the harmless subterfuge was never 
 discovered. 
 
 In the spring of 1804 Baron Humboldt 
 came to Washington, and Mrs. Madison 
 writes of his attractiveness to the absent 
 sister, whom she kept informed of every- 
 thing she was doing and thinking : — 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 45 
 
 TO ANNA. 
 
 We spent last evening at Mr. Pichon's. 
 Our city is now almost deserted, and will 
 be more so in a week or two. Dr. and 
 Mrs. T. sat yesterday for the last time to 
 Stuart. He has now nearly finished all his 
 portraits, and says he means to go directly 
 to Boston, but that is what he has said 
 these two years ; being a man of genius, 
 he of course does things differently from 
 other people. I hope he will be here next 
 winter, as he has bought a square to build 
 a " Temple " upon. Where will you cele- 
 brate the Fourth of July, my dear sister } 
 We are to have grand doings here. Mr. 
 Van Ness is to deliver an oration, Mr. L. 
 says, in the woods, and the ladies are to 
 be permitted to partake of the mirth. We 
 have lately had a great treat in the com- 
 pany of a charming Prussian Baron. All 
 the ladies say they are in love with him, 
 notwithstanding his want of personal 
 charms. He is the most polite, modest, 
 well-informed, and interesting traveller we 
 have ever met, and is much pleased with 
 America. I hope one day you will become 
 acquainted with our charming Baron Hum- 
 
46 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 boldt. He sails in a few days for France 
 with his companions, and is going to pub- 
 lish an account of his travels in South 
 America, where he lived five years ; pro- 
 posing to return here again. He had with 
 him a train of philosophers, who, though 
 clever and entertaining, did not compare 
 to the Baron. 
 
 TO ANNA. 
 
 May 22, 1804. 
 I am always rejoiced to hear from you, 
 dearest Anna, and glad you have recovered 
 my letters. There is so much I could tell 
 you about these new French people, things 
 that could not fail to divert you, but I 
 must forbear, and. am learning to hold my 
 
 tongue well. Madame shows me 
 
 everything she has, and would fain give 
 me of everything. She decorates herself 
 according to the French ideas, and urges 
 me to do the same. She is very anxious 
 to see my " belle soeur," as she styles you, 
 and oh ! Anna, Fm dying to come to your 
 country; if I could only be with you how 
 glad I should be. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 47 
 
 TO ANNA. 
 
 MoNTPELiER, June 3, 1804. 
 I have received all your letters, my dear- 
 est Anna, one from Boston, in which my 
 dear brother adds his mite of amusement 
 for Madison and myself, with one from 
 your own house. I rejoice more in the 
 last ; the former frightened me a little, but 
 we hope from the public prints that we 
 shall not be quite outdone by the Feder- 
 alists this time. We are still in Orange, 
 and shall not leave it before the gth or 
 loth. I have been very ill since I wrote 
 last, with inflammatory rheumatism ; never 
 had I more extreme pain in sickness. Dr. 
 WilHs bled me, and Mother Madison 
 nursed, and waited upon me with great at- 
 tention and kindness. We have had a 
 continual round of company, which has 
 been burdensome, though I 've had no 
 trouble with it ; the day I was most ill, 
 fifteen or twenty of the family and connec- 
 tion dined here, and I did not quit my bed, 
 or know anything about them. I have a 
 long letter from the Marchioness d'Yrujo, 
 who speaks of you like a good friend. 
 Ah ! my dear, you little know the triumph 
 
48 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 I feel when I hear of you and your be- 
 loved husband in the way that so many 
 speak of you ! If Payne was a man, mar- 
 ried, and gone from me, I could not feel 
 more sensibly everything that regarded 
 him than I do for you both. Stuart has 
 taken an admirable likeness of Mr. Madi- 
 son ; both his and mine are finished. 
 Devotedly yours, 
 
 Dolly P. Madison. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 
 
 49 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Always amiable and conciliatory in 
 dealing with friends or slaves, Mrs. Madi- 
 son's popularity grew day by day. Her 
 politeness was that which comes from the 
 heart, and cannot be imitated by those 
 who have not the love and sympathy ready 
 to be called forth at all times. 
 
 She complains of being '' put forward 
 by Mr. Jefferson," to her sister Anna (who 
 spent a part of every year in Maine), and 
 describes a state dinner at the "White 
 House" to which many of the Diplomats 
 were invited, when, to her surprise, the 
 President stepped forward and offered her 
 his arm, as the wife of the Secretary of 
 State ; she demurred, and whispered, **Take 
 Mrs. Merry" (the wife of the British Min- 
 ister) ; but firmly refusing, she was obliged 
 then and always, during his administra- 
 tion, to take the head of the table. Mrs. 
 Merry, feeling deeply insulted, seized her 
 husband's arm, and walked in behind them ; 
 4 
 
50 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 afterwards they complained to their gov- 
 ernment of bad treatment, and were re- 
 called. 
 
 She used to tell a little anecdote of her- 
 self, at the time when delegations of In- 
 dians were brought to Washington on one 
 plea or another, and entertained by the 
 Cabinet. After a supper given to some of 
 these red men by the Secretary of State, 
 Mrs. Madison, on the point of retiring, 
 happened to look in her mirror, and saw 
 there the reflection of an Indian in all his 
 war paint, behind the door ; taking care 
 not to catch his eye, she paused a moment 
 to avoid suspicion, then walking quietly 
 into the other room, rang the bell, and re- 
 turned to her toilet. The bell was an- 
 swered by a tall negro, who, with her help, 
 gently persuaded the astonished man that 
 he had made a mistake. 
 
 In 1805 Mrs. Madison injured her knee, 
 which, on being neglected, threatened to 
 prove a serious accident, and she writes 
 despondingly of recovery. 
 
 Washington, Jmie 4, 1805. 
 My dearest Anna, — I write to you 
 from my bed, to which I have been con- 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 5 I 
 
 fined for ten days with a bad knee ; it has 
 become very painful, and two doctors have 
 appUed caustic with the hope of getting 
 me well, but Heaven only knows ! I feel 
 as if I should never walk again. My dear 
 husband insists upon taking me to Phila- 
 delphia to be under Dr. Physic's care, but 
 he cannot stay with me, and I dread the 
 separation. 
 
 Yesterday we had brother George, 
 Thornton, and Lawrence Washington to 
 spend the day, and I enjoyed the sound 
 of Virginia hilarity echoing through the 
 house ; George coughs incessantly, looks 
 thin and hoarse, but has no idea of dying. 
 Since I wrote you two days past, I have 
 heard sad things of Tourreau, — that he 
 whips his wife, and abuses her dreadfully ; 
 I pity her sincerely ; she is an amiable, 
 sensible woman. A letter from Mount 
 Vernon begging me to come there, but 
 alas ! I shall walk no more. 
 
 Yours ever, Dolly. 
 
 General Tourreau was Minister from 
 France under the reign of Egalite, and his 
 career seems to have been one character- 
 istic of that period. Of obscure birth, but 
 
52 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 handsome and clever, he made his way up, 
 and became an aide to Napoleon Bona- 
 parte. 
 
 In the rapid changes of popular favor, 
 he, who had shown nothing but extreme 
 cruelty when in power, was condemned to 
 death, and his door marked with the fatal 
 guide to the bloody guillotiners. A ser- 
 vant-girl employed about the jail, taking a 
 rude interest in the handsome gentleman, 
 rubbed out the mark and* so saved his life, 
 in return for which he married her ; the 
 alliance, of course, proved to be a most un- 
 happy one, ending in a separation at the 
 time he was representing his country in 
 Washington. 
 
 TO ANNA. 
 
 Washington, July 8, 1805. 
 Still, my dear Anna, must your sister 
 write to you from the bed. My knee will 
 keep me in Washington longer, I fear, 
 than will be conducive to our health or in- 
 terest. I have nothing new to tell you, 
 for the town is dull and vacant. The 
 President goes in a week, and we were all 
 to go about the same time, but for the rea- 
 son given. I feel now very impatient to 
 be in Montpelier, and have confidence in 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 53 
 
 the change of air, though this place seems 
 to be healthy, if terribly warm and dry. 
 I had a long friendly note from the Presi- 
 dent yesterday, begging me to get Vir- 
 ginia's (his granddaughter) wedding gar- 
 ments, also trinkets and dresses for all the 
 family. I shall drive to the shops, but am 
 not able to alight ; and so little variety in 
 Georgetown ; but I must do my best for 
 them, and have promised to be at the wed- 
 ding, if possible, the last of this month. 
 But I have scarcely a wish, and no expec- 
 tation of going. How I should rejoice to 
 be with you, dear Anna, though I could 
 not have the pleasure of playing nurse to 
 you now, as I never leave my room but to 
 drive. The Fourth of July I spent at the 
 President's, sitting quite still, and amusing 
 myself with the mob. Farewell. 
 
 Your own sister, Dolly. 
 
 TO ANNA. 
 Philadelphia, July 29, 1805. 
 If my beloved sister has received my 
 last from Washington, she will be unhappy 
 to find that I was obliged to take this jour- 
 ney in such dangerously hot weather, but 
 it proved not unpleasant, for I was easier 
 
54 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 riding than in any other position. My 
 health and spirits revived every day with 
 the drive, and here I am on my bed, with 
 my dear husband sitting anxiously by me, 
 who is my most willing nurse. But you 
 know how delicate he is. I tremble for 
 .him ; one night on the way he was taken 
 very ill with his old complaint, and I could 
 not fly to aid him as I used to do. Heaven 
 in its mercy restored him next morning, 
 and he would not pause until he heard my 
 fate from Doctor Physic. 
 
 Your devoted sister, Dolly. 
 
 TO ANNA. 
 
 Philadelphia, July 31, 1805. 
 My dear Sister, — We are in excel- 
 lent lodgings on Sansom Street, and I feel 
 like another being. Dr. Physic has put 
 my knee in splints and promises me a 
 cure in time. I have the world to see me, 
 and many invitations to the houses of the 
 gentry, but withstand all, to be at ease 
 here. I have not seen where I am, yet, 
 and the longer I stay, the less do the van- 
 ities tempt me, though, as you know, I 
 usually like the routs all too well. You 
 ask who is kindest to me here, and I can 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 55 
 
 tell you that, among a number, Betsey 
 Pemberton bears off the palm. Never 
 can I forget Betsey, who has been to me 
 what you would have been. I have had a 
 lecture from S. L. on seeing too much 
 company, and it brought to my mind the 
 time when our society used to control me 
 entirely, and debar me from so many ad- 
 vantages and pleasures ; even now, I feel 
 my ancient terror revive in a great degree. 
 Madison is well, though besieged with call- 
 ers ; he sends his love to you both, as I do. 
 Ever your devoted Dolly. 
 
 Dr. Physic, an eminent physician in 
 Philadelphia, having promised to cure the 
 lame knee, Mr. Madison, with great reluc- 
 tance, left her and returned to Washing- 
 ton, to his official duties ; from there he 
 WTites frequently of his loneliness and anx- 
 iety. This, almost the first separation 
 since their marriage, seems to have been 
 great pain, too, to Mrs. Madison, and she 
 writes full of anxiety for his health, after 
 the long weary drive from Philadelphia to 
 Washington, albeit he was put under the 
 care of their faithful attendant, " black 
 Peter." 
 
56 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 TO MR. MADISON. 
 
 Philadelphia, October 2^,, 1805. 
 A few hours only have passed since you 
 left me, my beloved, and I find nothing 
 can relieve the oppression of my mind but 
 speaking to you, in this, the only way. 
 Dr. Physic called before you had gone far, 
 but I could only find voice to tell him my 
 knee felt better. Betsey Pemberton and 
 Amy (her maid) are sitting by me, and 
 seem to respect the grief they know I feel 
 at even so short a separation from one who 
 is all to me. I shall be better when Peter 
 returns with news, not that any length of 
 time could lessen my first regret, but an 
 assurance that you are well and easy will 
 contribute to make me so. I have sent 
 the books and note to Mrs. D. Betsey 
 puts on your hat to divert me, but I can- 
 not look at her. 
 
 October 24. — What a sad day ! The 
 watchman announced a cloudy morning 
 at one o'clock, and from that moment I 
 found myself unable to sleep, from anx- 
 iety for thee, my dearest husband. De- 
 tention, cold, and accident seem to menace 
 thee. Betsey, who lay beside me, admin- 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. $7 
 
 istered several drops of laudanum, which 
 had a partial effect. Every one is most 
 kind and attentive. 
 
 October 25. — This clear, cold morning 
 will favor your journey, and enliven the 
 feelings of my darling. I have nothing 
 new to tell you. The knee is mending, 
 and I sit just as you left me. The doctor, 
 during his short visits, talks of you. He 
 regards you more than any man he knows, 
 and nothing could please him so much as 
 a prospect of passing his life near you ; 
 sentiments so congenial to my own, and in 
 such cases, like dew-drops on flowers, ex- 
 hilarate as they fall. The Governor, I 
 hear, has arrived, and is elated with his 
 good fortune. General Moreau is expected 
 in town very shortly, to partake of a grand 
 dinner the citizens are about to give him. 
 Adieu, my beloved, our hearts understand 
 each other. In fond affection thine, 
 
 Dolly P. Madison. 
 
 TO MR. MADISON. 
 
 Philadelphia, October 7.6, 1805. 
 My dearest Husband, — Peter re- 
 turned safe with your dear letter, and 
 cheered me with a favorable account of 
 
58 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 the prospects of your getting home in the 
 stage, I was sorry you could not ride 
 further in our carriage, as it might have 
 spared you fatigue. 
 
 In my dreams of last night, I saw you 
 in your chamber, unable to move, from 
 riding so far and so fast. I pray that an 
 early letter from you may chase away the 
 painful impression of this vision. I am 
 still improving, and shall observe strictly 
 what you say on the subject of the doc- 
 tor's precepts. 
 
 October 28. — I have this moment re- 
 ceived the letters you inclosed from Wash- 
 ington. I rejoice to hear you are there, 
 and shall await the next post with impa- 
 tience ; by that, you will speak of your- 
 self. The Marquis and Marchioness came 
 to see me yesterday, with many other 
 friends. I am getting well as fast as I 
 can, for I have the reward in view of then 
 seeing my beloved. Tell me if Mrs. Ran- 
 dolph is expected, and all the news you 
 shall have time and patience to give me. 
 I have written you every day since we 
 parted, but am so shut up that I can say 
 nothing to amuse ; when I begin to drive 
 out, I hope to become a more interesting 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 59 
 
 correspondent. Did you see the Bishop, 
 or engage a place at school for Payne ? 
 Farewell, until to-morrow, my best friend ; 
 think of thy wife, who thinks and dreams 
 of thee. Dolly. 
 
 TO MR. MADISON. 
 
 Philadelphia, October ^^o^ 1805. 
 I have at this moment perused with de- 
 light thy letter, my darling husband, with 
 its inclosures. To find you love me, have 
 my child safe, and that my mother is well, 
 seems to comprise all my happiness. The 
 doctor has ordered me some drops, which 
 I take dutifully. I walk about the room, 
 and hope a few days more will enable me 
 to ride, so that you may expect me to fly 
 to you as soon — ah ! I wish I might say 
 how soon. Madame Pichon writes me an 
 affectionate letter, and begs me to accept 
 a pair of ear-rings for her sake. You no 
 doubt have them, as they are not with the 
 letter. I am punctual in delivering to 
 Betsey all your commands, and she insists 
 on adding a postscript to this which I am 
 not to see. I have also a letter from the 
 President, asking me to procure several 
 articles for Mrs. Randolph, which I shall 
 
60 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 soon be able to do, by driving to the shop 
 doo;:s. There have been many callers to- 
 day, and pressing invitations. It is now 
 past nine o'clock, and I cease to write, 
 only to dream of thee. Tell Mrs. Thorn- 
 ton I am having the model of a bonnet 
 made for her; the new ones are just com- 
 ing in. Write soon to thy devoted 
 
 Dolly. 
 
 to mr. madison. 
 Philadelphia, November i, 1805. 
 I have great pleasure, my beloved, in re- 
 peating to you what the doctor has just 
 told me — that I may reasonably hope to 
 leave this place in a fortnight ; I am so 
 impatient to be restored to you. I wish 
 you would indulge me with some informa- 
 tion respecting the war with Spain, and 
 the disagreement with England, which is 
 so generally expected. You know I am 
 not much of a politician, but I am ex- 
 tremely anxious to hear (as far as you 
 think proper) what is going forward in the 
 Cabinet. On this subject, I believe you 
 would not desire your wife to be the ac- 
 tive partisan that our neighbor is, Mrs. 
 L., nor will there be the slightest danger, 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 6 1 
 
 while she is conscious of her want of tal- 
 ents, and the diffidence in expressing those 
 opinions, always imperfectly understood by 
 her sex. Kiss my child for me, and re- 
 member me to my friends. Adieu, my dear 
 husband. Peter brings me no letter from 
 you, which really unfits me from writing 
 more to any one. 
 
 Your ever affectionate Dolly. 
 
 TO MR. MADISON. 
 Philadelphia, November 15, 1805. 
 My darling Husband, — I have just 
 parted from Colonel Patton, who is well 
 pleased with the payment of the horses, 
 and congratulated me on possessing such 
 a handsome pair. I went to pay some 
 visits this morning, and on my return 
 found Anthony Morris waiting, with a pe- 
 tition from his wife that I would let him 
 wait upon me to her house for some days ; 
 but am too fearful of taxing my strength, 
 much as I love these old and dear friends. 
 I see that Jackson's paper has announced 
 the declaration of war from Spain against 
 us, and that the Marquis d'Yrujo has re- 
 quested his passport. He was here with 
 other company last evening. Mrs. Stewart 
 
62 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 inquired if this was true, and he became 
 terribly angry. Thureau is ill, but goes 
 abroad too. The impression of him in 
 Philadelphia is a sad one ; he is remem- 
 bered as the cruel commander at La Ven- 
 dee, and the fighting husband. I am about 
 to put up the articles for the President, 
 and will inclose a note for you, too. 
 
 November 17. — Anna and her husband 
 arrived last evening, my beloved, and so 
 pleased and agitated was I, that I could 
 not sleep. We will leave on Monday, if I 
 am quite strong enough ; but I will wait 
 your commands. Farewell, my beloved 
 one. Dolly. 
 
 Having entirely recovered from all 
 trouble with her knee, Mrs. Madison, to 
 her great joy, joined her husband and child 
 in Washington. From there they went for 
 a month or two in summer to the dearly- 
 loved Montpelier, and she writes in great 
 grief, at hearing of the death of a little 
 niece and namesake. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON 63 
 
 TO MRS. JOHN PAYNE. 
 
 MONTPELIER, August 4, 1806. 
 
 Expressions are wanting, my clearest 
 mother, to convey to you my feelings ; I 
 have not been very well since hearing 
 from poor Mary, and it seems to me I can 
 never feel as I have done. Dolly and 
 Lucy both gone ! they are now angels, and 
 can never know evil or misery ; ought we 
 not to console ourselves with this reflec- 
 tion ? I trust my beloved mother, whose 
 trials have been so many, will exercise her 
 fortitude, which is to preserve her for 
 those of us that are left. I wrote thee by 
 the last post, and have written repeatedly 
 to John, but received only the inclosed let- 
 ters. I shall now look out for vessels go- 
 ing to the Mediterranean, and write by 
 them to him ; thine for him, thee had bet- 
 ter inclose to me. Payne is to follow us 
 in the stage on the 14th ; I am looking for 
 a letter to cheer me with news of thy 
 health. Ever thine, affectionately, 
 
 Dolly. 
 
64 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 TO ANNA. 
 Washington, March 27, 1807. 
 I am grieved, my dear Anna, at not 
 hearing a word from you since you left us ! 
 What can be the matter ? If the precious 
 children engross your time, surely my 
 good brother would think to relieve my 
 anxiety by writing himself. This is the 
 twelfth day of your absence, and I know 
 not where to direct to you, but shall ven- 
 ture this to Philadelphia ; the postmaster 
 will forward it, should you be gone. Mr. 
 Madison is very unwell with a cold, but is 
 able to go to the office. We see no cer- 
 tain prospect of going to Orange yet. The 
 President has a sick headache every day, 
 and is obliged to retire to a dark room 
 every morning by nine o'clock ; he will 
 not leave this until April 6th. I suppose 
 you have heard that Burr is retaken, and 
 on his way to Richmond for trial. We 
 are quiet, and have but few parties. We 
 went to the wedding feast of Miss Stod- 
 dard, and dined last Saturday with Mr. 
 Erskine. Miss Clinton is still here with 
 her father, but they have sent for a vessel, 
 and intend sailing in a few days. 
 
 Ever thy loving sister, Dolly. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 65 
 
 Always taking an intense interest in 
 every movement of this favorite sister, 
 whose children were, as she says, like her 
 own grandchildren, Mrs. Madison kept up 
 a constant correspondence through the 
 long summers of those eight years when, 
 with one sister in Maine and one in Vir- 
 ginia, the '' post " must indeed have been 
 anxiously watched for. What might not 
 happen during the days and weeks that it 
 took a letter to travel from one to the 
 other ? 
 
 TO ANNA. 
 MONTPELIER, August 28, 1808. 
 
 With heartfelt joy, my beloved sister, 
 did I receive the short letter of my brother, 
 giving the good tidings of your third son, 
 and the promising health of you both. 
 Mr. Madison, Lucy, George, and Payne 
 were with me, and we all clapped our 
 hands in triumph. The post did not come 
 for a week after the letter, or I should have 
 written you directly ; and since that we 
 have passed nearly a week at Monticello. 
 Mrs. Randolph has a third son likewise, 
 and she calls him Benjamin Franklin. 
 Ann is to be married on the 15th, and I 
 
^ MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 left them busy in their preparations. The 
 Monroes were at their seat near here, but 
 I did not see much of them. 
 
 Lucy left me on the 24th, and George 
 seemed no better. We expect to go back 
 to the city the last of September, because 
 of public business. The President and 
 Madison have been greatly perplexed by 
 the remonstrances from so many towns 
 to remove the Embargo. You see they 
 refer to Congress, and the evading it is 
 a terrible thing. Madison is uneasy and 
 feels bound to return to the seat of gov- 
 ernment, where I shall be sorry to go so 
 soon. The hope of my meeting you, dear 
 Anna, is the chief sweetener to my pros- 
 pect. The family here are as they always 
 are, most affectionate and kind, and send a 
 thousand loves to you. I expect a large 
 party to fill the house next week. 
 
 Ever thy Dolly. 
 
 TO MRS. MADISON. 
 
 Washington, August 17, 1809. 
 My Dearest, — We reached the end of 
 our journey yesterday at one o'clock, with- 
 out interruption of any sort on the road. 
 Mr. Coles had been here some time, and 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 6/ 
 
 one, if not two, of the expected despatch 
 vessels of England had just arrived, and 
 Mr. Gilston, after a short passage from 
 France, entered Washington about the mo- 
 ment I did. You may guess, therefore, the 
 volumes of papers before us. I am but 
 just dipping into them, and have seen no 
 one as yet, except Mrs. Smith for a few- 
 minutes last evening. What number of 
 days I may be detained here it is impossi- 
 ble to say. The period, you may be sure, 
 will be shortened as much as possible. 
 Everything around and within reminds me 
 that you are absent, and makes me anxious 
 to quit this solitude. I hope in my next 
 to be able to say when I may have this 
 gratification, perhaps also to say something 
 of the intelligence just brought us. I send 
 the paper of this morning, which has some- 
 thing on the subject, and I hope the com- 
 munications of Gilston will be found more 
 favorable than is stated. Those from Eng- 
 land can scarcely be favorable when such 
 men hold the reins. Mr. and Mrs. Erskine 
 are here. His successor had not sailed on 
 the 20th of June. 
 
 God bless you, and be assured of my 
 constant affection. James Madison. 
 
6S MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Jefferson's administration was now 
 drawing to a close. The territorial area 
 of the United States had been greatly ex- 
 tended. Burr's wicked and dangerous 
 conspiracy had come to naught. Pioneers 
 were pouring into the Valley of the Mis- 
 sissippi. Explorers had crossed the moun- 
 tains of the great West. The woods by 
 the river-shores resounded with the blow 
 of the axe. But the foreign relations 
 of the United States were troubled and 
 gloomy, and there were serious forebod- 
 ings of war. The President, following the 
 example of Washington, declined a third 
 election, and was succeeded by James 
 Madison, with George Clinton for Vice- 
 President, in 1809. Mr. Madison owed his 
 election to the Democratic party, whose 
 sympathy with France and hostility to 
 Great Britain were well known. Three 
 days before the new administration came 
 into power, the Embargo Act was repealed 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 69 
 
 by Congress ; but another measure was 
 adopted instead, called the Non - Inter- 
 course Act. By its terms American mer- 
 chantmen were allowed to go abroad, but 
 were forbidden to trade with Great Britain. 
 The affairs of the two nations were fast 
 approaching a crisis. It became more and 
 more evident that the wrongs perpetrated 
 by England against the United States 
 would have to be corrected by force of 
 arms. The ministry of that same George 
 III., with whom the Colonies had struggled 
 in the Revolution, still directed the affairs 
 of the kingdom ; from him, now grown 
 old and insane, nothing was to be expected. 
 The elections held between 1808 and 181 1 
 showed conclusively the drift of public 
 opinion ; the sentiment of the country 
 was that war was preferable to further 
 humiliation and disgrace. In 1809, Mr. 
 Jefferson writes : '' The belligerent edicts 
 rendered our Embargo necessary to call 
 home our ships, our seamen and property. 
 We expected some effect, too, from the 
 coercion of interest. Some, it has had, 
 but much less on account of evasions and 
 domestic opposition to it. After fifteen 
 months' continuance it is now stopped, be- 
 
70 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 cause by losing so much money annually 
 it really costs more than war. War there- 
 fore must follow unless the edicts are re- 
 pealed before the meeting of Congress." 
 
 Many and sincere were the congratula- 
 tions received by Mrs. Madison on going 
 into the White House. Every one in 
 Washington felt that her watchful care 
 and friendly interest would in no wise be 
 diminished by her advancement to a higher 
 position ; and the magical effect of her 
 dainty snuff-box was as potent in one ca- 
 pacity as another. Political feuds ran high, 
 and party spirit was never more virulent 
 than at that time. The elements were 
 various and difficult to harmonize ; yet she 
 was loved by all parties, and embittered 
 politicians, who never met save at her hos- 
 pitable board, forgot all their quarrels un- 
 der the influence of her gracious tact. 
 During the eight years of her life as wife 
 of the Secretary of State, she dispensed 
 with a liberal hand the abundant wealth 
 she prized so little, and the poor of the 
 District loved her name as that of a house- 
 hold deity. Finding time always among 
 her many social and domestic duties to 
 take her part in the administration of the 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 7 1 
 
 local charities, I find her name down in the 
 books of the Washington Orphan Asylum 
 (now one of the most prosperous in the 
 country), as one of the first directresses, 
 and the donor of twenty dollars and a 
 cow. The forms and ceremonials which 
 rendered Mrs. Washington's and Mrs. 
 Adams's drawing-rooms dull and tiresome 
 were laid aside, and no stiffness of any 
 kind was permitted. She returned all calls 
 made her by her own sex, and the " dove 
 parties," composed of the wives of Cabi- 
 net Officers and foreign Ministers, when 
 their lords were engaged in formal din- 
 ners, were exceedingly popular and lively. 
 Her private parties, and the lotteries in 
 which every guest received a " Cadeau," 
 are still remembered with great pleasure 
 by a few. Though in no sense a learned 
 woman, nor one who at any time cared for 
 study, or even for reading, Dolly Madison 
 was eminently a talented woman, full of a 
 most delicate tact, and so warm-hearted 
 and amiable that even her early Quaker 
 friends were induced to condone what 
 they feared was " an undue fondness for 
 the things of this world." Thirty-seven 
 years of age, still very young in appear- 
 
72 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 ance and feelings, she dressed handsomely 
 and "in the mode," clinging for a time to 
 the pretty little Quaker cap, but discarding 
 that even, when she went into the White 
 House, as unsuitable to her surroundings. 
 She was ambitious in that she endeavored 
 to make her husband's administration a 
 •brilliant and successful one. With all her 
 appreciation of admiration she was not 
 extravagant, though hospitable to a de- 
 gree which was rarely seen out of Vir- 
 ginia. She delighted in company, and her 
 table fairly " groaned," as the saying is, 
 with the abundance of its dishes. The 
 serious, thoughtful Madison, physically 
 weak, and harassed and worried by the 
 many cares crowding upon him at this 
 time, often said that a visit to his wife in 
 her sitting-room, where he was sure of a 
 bright story and a good laugh, was as re- 
 freshing as a long walk. And it was for 
 this end, to cheer and amuse her husband, 
 that she kept a pleasant party of friends 
 constantly with her, making them feel that 
 -her home was theirs in the warmth of her 
 hospitality. An early riser, she superin- 
 tended all the domestic arrangements be- 
 fore breakfast, and while her guests were 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 73 
 
 Still sleeping. The servants, many of 
 whom were slaves, identified themselves 
 entirely with the family, vying with each 
 other in waiting on ''Miss Dolly;" and at 
 Montpelier, wherever the click of her high- 
 heeled shoes was to be heard, a train of 
 small negroes was sure to be seen waiting 
 for the " sweety," accompanied by a bright 
 smile, which never failed them. 
 
 TO ANNA. 
 Washington, December 20, 1811. 
 My dearest Anna, — I received with 
 joy your letter last evening, which, being 
 longer than usual,- raised my spirits, which 
 have been rather low in these troublous 
 times. No Constitution heard of yet ; the 
 Hornet went to take despatches and to let 
 them know our determination to fight for 
 our rights. I wrote by the Hornet to Mrs. 
 Barlow, and begged her to send me any- 
 thing she thought suitable in the way of 
 millinery. I fear I cannot obtain a new- 
 fashioned pattern for you, but will make 
 you a cap such as is much worn. The in- 
 trigues for President and Vice - President 
 go on, but I think it may terminate as the 
 last did. The Clintons, Smiths, Arm- 
 
74 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 Strongs, et cetera, are all in the field, and I 
 believe there will be war. Mr. Madison 
 sees no end to the perplexities without it, 
 and they seem to be going on with the 
 preparations. General Dearborn, you know, 
 is nominated to command. Congress talks 
 of adjourning for two months, but I be- 
 lieve it is merely a threatening, and they 
 will sit until June. Before then I trust 
 you will be able to come on, as the roads 
 become passable by April. 
 
 Devotedly your sister, 
 
 Dolly Madison. 
 
 A few extracts from the letters passing 
 between Mrs. Madison and her sister dur- 
 ing the next year, when matters were ap- 
 proaching a crisis between the United 
 States and Great Britain, give a little in- 
 sight into her thought and feelings. Mr. 
 Madison too kept up a most regular cor- 
 respondence with his brother-in-law, who 
 was obliged to spend that winter in Maine, 
 owing to an accident to his shoulder, ren- 
 dering the interminable carriage drive to 
 Washington impossible. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 75 
 
 TO HON. RICHARD CUTTS. 
 
 Washington, February 25, 181 2. 
 My dear Cutts, — I inclose for your 
 amusement a few papers of the latest date. 
 You will see that the Constitution has re- 
 turned from France, and that an arrival 
 from Great Britain has brought the speech 
 opening the British Parliament. The lat- 
 ter decides nothing as to a change of the 
 Cabinet, or repeal of the Orders in Council. 
 Its tone on the whole is not arrogant. It 
 is silent as to Russia and to Ireland, and as 
 to trade and revenue. Distress may pos- 
 sibly supply motives, which ought to be 
 found in wisdom and justice, but it is to be 
 hoped that our National Councils will rely 
 less on either than on our measures. We 
 learn from France that Barlow is engaged 
 in discussions which encourage his hope of 
 doing something valuable. The return of 
 the Hornet will enable us to form a more 
 decided judgment. The repeal of the de- 
 crees of B. A. M. is a fact nowise in 
 question there, though still a topic of ma- 
 lignant cavil here. A very large batch of 
 the nominations for the army of 25,000 
 went in to the Senate to-day, and it will 
 
76 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 soon be followed by others. General Dear- 
 born is with us and lends a helping hand. 
 We are well, and offer affectionate saluta- 
 tions to Anna and yourself. We hope to 
 see you all in the spring, and that you will 
 pass the interim with us at Montpeher. 
 Yours, James Madison. 
 
 TO ANNA. 
 Washington, March 20, 181 2. 
 
 Before this reaches you, my beloved sis- 
 ter, Lucy will be married to Judge Todd, 
 of Kentucky. You are, I know, prepared 
 for it, and reconciled to her choice of a 
 man of the most estimable character. 
 Their home is now to be in Lexington, 
 very near our old friend, General Taylor, 
 but as a Supreme Judge he is obliged to 
 come here for two months every winter, 
 and binds himself to bring her to her 
 friends when she pleases to come. You 
 may imagine my grief is not slight at the 
 parting, and Lucy too is in deep distress. 
 . . . All are busy electioneering yet. 
 
 The Federalists affronted to a man. 
 Not one of the two houses of Congress 
 will enter Madison's door since the com- 
 munications of Henry except Livingston, 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 77 
 
 who considers himself attached by his ap- 
 pointment. 
 
 General Dearborn has had a fall, which, 
 though not serious, confines him to the 
 house. . . . 
 
 March 27, 18 12. 
 The Vice-President Hes dangerously ill, 
 and electioneering for his office goes on be- 
 yond description — the world seems to be 
 running mad, what with one thing or an- 
 other. The Federalists, as I told you, were 
 all affi'onted with Madison, — refused to 
 dine with him, or even come to the house. 
 But they have changed. Last night and 
 the night before, our rooms were crowded 
 with Republicans, and such a rallying of 
 our party has alarmed them into a return. 
 They came in a large body last night also, 
 and are continuing calling ; even D. B. W. 
 (who is a fine fellow) came last night. 
 The old and the young turned out to- 
 gether. The war business goes on slowly, 
 but I fear it will be sure. Where are your 
 husband's vessels t and why does he not 
 get them in } Congress will be here until 
 May, and perhaps longer. 
 
yS MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 TO ANNA. 
 
 Washington, 1812. 
 I wrote you that the Embargo would 
 take place three or four days before it did, 
 dear Anna. General Dearborn will leave 
 this in a few days. I went to Mrs. Eustis's 
 last Sunday evening with Mr. and Mrs. M. 
 — only two or three ladies present. Fos- 
 ter, Serurier, General Dearborn, Mr, Brent, 
 and one or two other men, but dull. Mrs. 
 Hamilton and Mrs. Eustis have had par- 
 ties — no one else. Congress will not ad- 
 journ, I believe, though it has been much 
 spoken of ; the intention is on the decline 
 now, from an idea that it will make a bad 
 impression, both in and out of our country. 
 So now, my dear sister, it seems May will 
 smile on your journey to us ; tell me when 
 and how you begin it. I received a letter 
 by ship from Mrs. Barlow, which I will 
 send you. She says the Hornet will sail 
 in a few days, and will bring us a treaty of 
 commerce, et cetera. Every prospect is 
 fair in that quarter. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 79 
 
 Washington, May 12, 181 2. 
 
 My dear Anna, — John Randolph has 
 been firing away at the "House" this 
 morning against the declaration of war, 
 but we think it will have little effect I 
 told you of the Hornet and all the news it 
 brought. We have nothing among our- 
 selves worth repeating. Lucy writes often 
 and is still delighted with Kentucky ; our 
 friends in Virginia are all well. My dear 
 husband is overpowered with business, but 
 is in good health. We had all the heads 
 of departments here yesterday to dinner, 
 with their wives. 
 
 I will write you, dear Anna, every day 
 that I can take up my pen, and am already 
 prepared with a room, and every sisterly 
 attention for your husband ; he will be 
 here, I hope, in time to give his vote for 
 war. However, I may be mistaken, and 
 that dreaded epoch may be some distance 
 off. 
 
 Payne is in Baltimore yet, and as much 
 admired and respected as you could wish. 
 He writes me that Mrs. Patterson and 
 Mrs. Bonaparte are very kind to himi, and 
 he is invited out all the time. We intend 
 
80 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 to send him in a few months to Princeton. 
 Kiss the sweet giris and boys for me, and 
 sleep in peace, my dear sister ; Heaven will 
 preserve you and yours as you trust in its 
 great power. Ever your own 
 
 Dolly. 
 
 Lucy Payne, v^^ho had married George 
 Steptoe Washington at the early age of 
 fifteen, was left a widow about the time 
 Mr. Madison entered the White House, 
 and lived there with them for several 
 years ; she then married Judge Todd, of 
 Kentucky, a widower, with five children, 
 and a man much respected by his brother 
 justices of the Supreme Court. She is de- 
 scribed by Washington Irving, after a visit 
 to one of Mrs. Madison's drawing-rooms, 
 as bright and handsome, ^' reminding me 
 of the merry wives of Windsor." "How 
 wise Lucy is," she writes, " to choose him, 
 in preference to the gay ones who courted 
 her. Yes, my regrets are all selfish : only 
 for myself, not for her. She will, I hope, 
 be here every winter for three months. 
 Mr. Madison thinks that ere long the 
 seven Supreme Judges may be obliged to 
 live at or near the seat of government." 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 8 1 
 
 TO MR. AND MRS. JOEL BARLOW. 
 
 Washington, November 15, 181 1. 
 Ever dear and valued Friends, — 
 Your notes giving us an account of your 
 progress on the water were grateful, in- 
 deed, but the news of your safe arrival in 
 France infinitely more so. Many, many 
 are the questions that rise to my lips. 
 How did you bear the voyage } How is 
 dear Clara, Mr. Barlow, et cetera ? I hope 
 soon to know these things, which I con- 
 fess interest me more than the success of 
 your mission, of which few have a doubt. 
 Even the enemies of our Minister admit 
 his talents and virtue ; how then can any 
 one doubt } We passed two months on our 
 mountain in health and peace, returning 
 the first of October to a sick and afflicted 
 city. The unfinished canal caused a bil- 
 ious fever to prevail through all its 
 streets ; many died, and Congress con- 
 vened in dread of contagion. Happily all 
 fear is now over, and public business en- 
 grosses them very thoroughly. John Ran- 
 dolph is the only one as yet who seems 
 hostile to a quiet " House." They have 
 before them the nomination of Colonel M. 
 6 
 
82 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 and some lesser appointments, and I be- 
 lieve are in a disposition to do as they are 
 advised. 
 
 The French Minister, Mr, Serurier, is 
 still delighted with Kalorama, and takes 
 much pleasure in beautifying the grounds. 
 Mrs. Baldwin was well and cheerful when 
 I saw her some days since ; she no doubt 
 is writing you volumes, and keeps you 
 posted as to the health of your little dog. 
 Mr. Madison is writing also, and will tell 
 you that he has settled the business of the 
 Chesapeake with Mr. Foster. I have not 
 yet begun the journal I promised, having 
 nothing worth relating. Mr. Barlow knows 
 the disposition of our world better than I 
 do, and from what I learn, good sense and 
 principle will prevail over intrigue and 
 vanity. You will see that Calvin declares 
 himself the author of the boasted letters : 
 some think this a finishing stroke, but I 
 absolutely pity the man, — '' fallen from 
 his high estate." We have new members 
 in abundance, with their wives and daugh- 
 ters ; and I have never felt the entertain- 
 ment of company oppressive until now. 
 How I wish I were in France with you for 
 a little relaxation. As you, my dear friends. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 83 
 
 have everything and we nothing that is 
 beautiful, I will ask the favor of you to 
 send me by a safe vessel large head- 
 dresses, a few flowers, feathers, gloves, and 
 stockings, black and white, with anything 
 else pretty, and suitable for an economist, 
 and let me know the amount. We have a 
 house full of company, and I must con- 
 clude with love and prayers for you all, my 
 best friends. Affectionately, 
 
 Dolly Madison. 
 
 She must have had enemies, as all per- 
 sons of strong individuality are sure to 
 have ; her high-bred air and refinement, 
 which she could not help, would hardly 
 commend her to the average citizen, in an 
 order of things in which mediocrity was at 
 a premium, and her gracious presence, 
 which rarely comes without family antece- 
 dents to account for it, " is not always 
 agreeable," as Oliver Wendell Holmes 
 says, *' to the many, whose two ideals are 
 the man on horseback, and the man in his 
 shirt - sleeves." Her inordinate love of 
 pleasing, of making every one happy about 
 her, was called insincerity, and even 
 "toadyism," by those who did not know 
 
84 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 the absolute pain given to the loving, faith- 
 ful heart by an unkind word, or censure of 
 herself, or the dearly loved friends, whose 
 troubles were all taken upon her sympa- 
 thetic shoulders. Having a great dislike 
 to hot argument, or contention of any kind 
 that might wound the feelings of others, 
 she would quietly leave the room for a few- 
 moments, returning to find the hint taken, 
 and peace restored. " I would rather fight 
 with my hands than my tongue," she used 
 to say, and indeed an atmosphere of sun- 
 shine followed her, even in the dark days 
 during the war, when the waters of polit- 
 ical and social life were turbid indeed, with 
 but dim hope of clearing. Her own pos- 
 sessions, gowns, and the like, were at 
 every one's disposal. "How can you think 
 I would, or could, wear my pretty things, 
 unless you partook," she writes to her sis- 
 ter Anna, who had evidently written full 
 of the cares and responsibilities of a large 
 family of children. " Do not give way to 
 sad thoughts, but remember we have a 
 goodly prospect before us of enjoying to- 
 gether the blessings an approving Provi- 
 dence has already bestowed upon us." 
 She was devoted to children, and kept 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 8$ 
 
 them constantly about her, replacing worn 
 or soiled pinafores by taking them into 
 her store-room : *' Come, sweet one, and 
 let us be tidied up," she would say ; and 
 there, with her great shears, a garment 
 would quickly be cut out, and given to one 
 of her women to make up. In the same 
 way, if she thought a dress or ornament of 
 hers could be of use to a friend, it was 
 proffered in such a delicate manner that 
 no feeling but gratitude could be pro- 
 duced. 
 
 Mr. Joel Barlow, a distinguished poli- 
 tician, and also something of a poet and 
 philosopher, was sent by Mr. Madison as 
 Minister to France, to negotiate a treaty 
 of commerce with Napoleon, which, after 
 many efforts failed signally. In 1812 he 
 was invited by the Due de Bassano to a 
 personal conference with the Emperor in 
 Poland, and hurrying thither in stormy 
 weather, was seized with inflammation of 
 the lungs and died before reaching the 
 " rendezvous." Mrs. Madison considered 
 him one of her warmest friends, and the 
 correspondence between Mrs. Barlow and 
 herself seems of the most unrestrained 
 and affectionate character. I will add one 
 
S6 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 more letter of hers to these dear friends, 
 who had begged her to keep a sort of 
 journal, descriptive of everything that took 
 place in her life. 
 
 TO MR. AND MRS. JOEL BARLOW. 
 
 Washington, i8ii. 
 This unexpected opportunity and short 
 notice, my beloved friends, scarce gives 
 me time to embrace you round ; still I do 
 it with my whole heart. I have received 
 all your most welcome letters — Mr. Bar- 
 low's and Mr. Lee's, by the Constitution, 
 with one, too, from Mr. Warden — all of 
 which I should like to answer now, were 
 it not that the despatches go in one hour, 
 and I can only return to each individual 
 my love and best thanks for their goodness 
 and friendship. Before this, you know of 
 our Embargo, — to be followed by War ! ! 
 Yes, that terrible event is at hand, I fear ; 
 our appointments for the purpose are 
 mostly made, and the recruiting business 
 goes on with alacrity. The major-gener- 
 als are Henry Dearborn, Thomas Pinck- 
 ney, Joseph Bloomfield, J. Winchester, 
 Wm. Polk, Wm. Hull, et cetera. You will 
 have an account of our political situation 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. ^j 
 
 in all its shades by this vessel. We antic- 
 ipate some little contention among our- 
 selves on the death of the Vice-President, 
 whose physicians give out that he cannot 
 live until morning. The sentiment is in 
 favor of John Langdon as his successor. 
 Congress will remain in session, perhaps, 
 until July ; if not, full power to declare 
 war will be vested in the President. 
 ^ Your letters by the Neptune were par- 
 ticularly acceptable, as we had been wor- 
 ried by a report that the Emperor had 
 seized the Hornet, and as I promised to 
 write you everything, personal or imper- 
 sonal, you will pardon me if I say aught 
 that gives you pain, in preparing you for 
 the disappointment expressed at Mr. Bar- 
 low's having told the state of his negotia- 
 tions to Mr. Granger, who directly gave it 
 circulation, and a place in the newspapers. 
 The objection to this communication is — 
 " that you may yet be disappointed ; the 
 anticipations of such a treaty might cause 
 improper speculations ; " '' that Mr. G. was 
 not a proper channel," and much of the 
 same kind. All this is from the people, 
 not from the Cabinet, yet you know every- 
 thing vibrates there. 
 
88 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 Tell Mr. Lee that I shall be ever grate- 
 ful for the fatigue and trouble he must 
 have experienced for my sake, in procur- 
 ing the valuable collection he sent me ; 
 the bill was immediately paid, but he will 
 be astonished at the amount of duties — 
 two thousand dollars. I fear I shall never 
 have money enough to send again. All 
 the articles are beautiful ; the heads I 
 could not get on, being a little tight, so I 
 shall lay them aside until next winter, 
 when I can have them enlarged to fit. 
 The flowers, trimmings, and ornaments 
 were enchanting. I wish I could gratify 
 you, my dear friend, in the matter of the 
 portraits you so kindly wish of us ; but I 
 see little prospect at present of accomplish- 
 ing it. Stuart is far from us, and we 
 have no painter of skill in this place ; be 
 assured, if an opportunity occurs, I will do 
 my best to send you what you wish. My 
 sister Lucy has gone, and Anna not yet 
 come ; you may imagine me the very 
 shadow of my husband. Do write me 
 continually of your dear selves, and what 
 you are doing ; you cannot image the im- 
 patience felt when you are silent. 
 Your ever affectionate 
 
 Dolly Madison. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 89 
 
 Mr. Edward Coles, of Albemarle, filled 
 the office of private secretary to Mr. Mad- 
 ison for six years, leaving him only to 
 carry out a long-cherished plan of going 
 west to Illinois, of which State he after- 
 wards became governor. He was a cousin, 
 and much-esteemed friend, as the following 
 letters show, 
 
 TO MR. EDWARD COLES. 
 
 Washington, May 12, 18 13. 
 Your letter caused me great affliction, 
 my dear cousin ; the continuation of your 
 illness, and Payne's reluctance at leaving 
 America, left me without fortitude to 
 write, until now that a letter has come 
 from my son on ship-board, in which he 
 expresses satisfaction at all around him. 
 He had seen Mr. Swertchkoff, who assured 
 him you would soon be well in spite of 
 yourself. We indulge this pleasing hope 
 in addition to that of your remaining with 
 us, to the last. Not that I would for the 
 world retard any plan for your prosperity ; 
 but that I flatter myself the western 
 country may be given up for something 
 more consonant with your happiness, and 
 that of your connections, among them 
 
90 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 there are none who feel a more affection- 
 ate interest in you than Mr. Madison and 
 myself. I hope you will believe that such 
 is our regard and esteem for you that we 
 should consider your leaving us a misfor- 
 tune. Mr. Madison can do very well with- 
 out a secretary until your health is rees- 
 tabhshed. The winter is not a season for 
 emigration, so that next summer you will 
 be better able to make your election — to 
 go, or not to go. 
 
 And now if I could I would describe to 
 you the fears and alarms that circulate 
 around me. For the last week all the city 
 and Georgetown (except the Cabinet) have 
 expected a visit from the enemy, and were 
 not lacking in their expressions of terror 
 and reproach. Yesterday an express an- 
 nounced the pause of a frigate at the 
 mouth of the Potomac. The commander 
 sent his boats to examine a Swedish ship 
 that lay near, but our informer was too 
 frightened to wait for further news. We 
 are making considerable efforts for defense. 
 The fort is being repaired, and five hundred 
 militia, with perhaps as many regulars, are 
 to be stationed on the Green, near the 
 Windmill, or rather Major Taylor's. The 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 91 
 
 twenty tents already look well in my eyes, 
 who have always been an advocate for 
 fighting when assailed, though a Quaker. 
 I therefore keep the old Tunisian sabre 
 within reach. One of our generals has 
 discovered a plan of the British, — it is to 
 land as many chosen rogues as they can 
 about fourteen miles below Alexandria, in 
 the night, so that they may be on hand to 
 burn the President's house and offices. I 
 do not tremble at this, but feel hurt that 
 the admiral (of Havre de Grace memory) 
 should send me word that he would make 
 his bow at my drawing-room very soon. 
 Mrs. Buonaparte and Miss Stevenson re- ♦ 
 turned to their house four days ago to 
 secure their wardrobe, but I question 
 whether they leave us again, as strangers 
 and members are crowding in. Mr. Mon- 
 roe and family dined with us yesterday in 
 a large party given to Mr. Jones. Mr. 
 Hay is with them, having come to escort 
 Mrs. Monroe to Richmond on a visit of 
 three weeks to her two daughters. Cousin 
 Sally is still in South Carolina, and Miss 
 Mayo is as gay as ever. Anna has not 
 been very well of late, and her children 
 are ill with measles, so that I confine my- 
 self very much with them. 
 
92 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 Be careful of yourself, dear cousin, and 
 return as soon as you can to your anxious 
 friends. Dolly Madison. 
 
 Washington, June lo, 1813. 
 Mr. Madison has received your letter, 
 my dear cousin, and desires me to answer 
 **as I please" the subject of his picture; 
 when I will take advantage of the occa- 
 sion to express my great sorrow at the 
 cause of your detention, and my hope that 
 you will exert great fortitude, knowing that 
 a cheerful spirit will aid your recovery. 
 By the Ida I received a letter from dear 
 Payne. He is charmed with his voyage so 
 far, and had escaped sea-sickness, though 
 all the party had succumbed. You will 
 pity me, I know, when you hear that 
 Mitchell has left us for France, that I am 
 acting in his department, and that the city 
 is so full of strangers I am positively 
 dizzy. There is so much to say to you 
 and so little time. About the picture, if 
 Mr. D. will return it safe in six months, 
 more or less, he may send for it as soon as 
 ever he chooses. Present me to Dr. Phys- 
 ic, and pray tell P. Morris that I love her 
 as much as ever. Yours in friendship, 
 Dolly P. Madison. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 93 
 
 July 2, 181 3. 
 I have the happiness to assure you, my 
 dear cousin, that Mr. Madison recovers ; 
 for the last three weeks his fever has been 
 so slight as to permit him to take bark 
 every hour and with good effect. It is 
 three weeks now I have nursed him, night 
 and day, — sometimes with despair ! but 
 now that I see he will get well I feel as if 
 I might die myself from fatigue. Adieu ! 
 Ever yours, D. P. Madison. 
 
 TO GOVERNOR COLES, ILLINOIS. 
 
 MONTPELIER, Septeinber 5, 1819. 
 
 I am afraid, dear cousin, that while you 
 and I deliberate who to choose for a wife, 
 we shall lose some of the finest girls now 
 grown. For instance, it is reported that 
 Ellen Randolph is to be married to Gen- 
 eral Cooke, and Virginia to William Bur- 
 well. Our niece Eliza was married to Mr. 
 Willis in May, and his sister is to be bound 
 to her brother on the i6th of this month ; 
 still I have hopes for you, that your future 
 one may become manifest to reward your 
 merits and long search. 
 
 We have been expecting a visit from my 
 
94 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 beloved Sally, until within tl»e last few 
 days, when I was informed she had gone to 
 the Virginia Springs. Payne still says he 
 will write to you. I suspect he begins to 
 feel with you that a good wife would add 
 to his happiness. I am sadly disappointed 
 at not having my dear Lucy with me next 
 winter ; the Judge has persuaded her to 
 remain in Frankfort until they can remove 
 altogether, which the change in the judi- 
 ciary will soon authorize him to do. We 
 have now with us a visitor from Washing- 
 ton, the curious Captain O'Brion ; he tells 
 us a medley of news, blended with sea- 
 phrases, which, to appreciate, you must 
 hear. The President passed a day with us 
 on his return to the city, and looked much 
 better than was expected after his fatigues. 
 Mr. Madison has gone with him to Loudon. 
 I must not expect to amuse you, only in 
 truth can assure you of our affectionate 
 interest and friendship, hoping to see you 
 soon amongst us. 
 
 Dolly P. Madison. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 95 
 
 CHAPTER ^I. 
 
 The first three years of Mrs. Madison's 
 life in the White House were passed in 
 unclouded peace and happiness; a pros- 
 perity, however, which was doomed. In- 
 satiate warriors already surrounded the 
 peace-loving, humane Madison, urging him 
 to take decisive steps against Great Brit- 
 ain. He had no disposition, and but little 
 capacity, for war, and his various messages 
 to Congress were marked as the produc- 
 tions of a ruler rather too cautious to suit 
 the fiery leaders of the Democracy, who 
 supported the President's administration ; 
 and notwithstanding the opposition of the 
 Federalists, the war-spirit fired the popular 
 heart. 
 
 On the 4th of April, 1812, an Act was 
 passed by Congress laying an Embargo for 
 ninety days on all British vessels within 
 the jurisdiction of the United States. On 
 June 4th the President sent an able and 
 conclusive message to Congress, urging 
 
96 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 war as the only means of once more as- 
 serting our independence. The resolution 
 passed both the House and Senate, and 
 vigorous preparations were made for the im- 
 pending confiiSt. The i8th of June, 1812, 
 is memorable to every one as the begin- 
 ning of that three years' war whose fierce- 
 ness was felt from Canada to New Orleans. 
 It will not be necessary to go into the de- 
 tails of our brave fight with an incredibly 
 small navy, where personal heroism seemed 
 to take the place of numbers. From the 
 first it became evident that the war was 
 destined to be a conflict on the sea-coast 
 and the ocean, the condition of both nations 
 being such as to provoke this sort of war- 
 fare, and the many daring deeds are familiar 
 to us, both in prose a»d song. After the 
 Revolution, especially during the adminis- 
 tration of Jefferson, the military spirit was 
 discouraged, and the defenses fell into de- 
 cay. Upon a few scattered fortifications 
 and the terror inspired by Fulton's torpe- 
 does, the Americans must depend for the 
 defense of a coast-line reaching from Pas- 
 samaquoddy to the St. Mary's. Great, 
 therefore, was the astonishment of the 
 world when the American sailors took the 
 
OF MRS. MAD ISO A^. gy 
 
 initiative, and with great alacrity, and with- 
 out a tremor, set forth to smite the mis- 
 tress of the seas. And greater the admira- 
 tion when a series of brilliant victories de- 
 clared for the flag of the Republic, and the 
 navy of the United States won a just and 
 lasting renown. At this critical time, 1813, 
 Madison entered upon his second term of 
 Presidency, and the choice of Vice-Presi- 
 dent fell upon Elbridge Gerry, of Massa- 
 chusetts. Mr. Jefferson, gazing out upon 
 the world from his retirement at Monti- 
 cello, writes again to a friend (Thomas 
 Flournoy) of his great confidence in his 
 successor : — 
 
 " Servile inertness is not what is wanted 
 to save our country. The conduct of a 
 war requires the vigor and enterprise of 
 younger heads, and therefore all such un- 
 dertakings are out of the question with 
 me, and I say so with the greater satisfac- 
 tion, when I contemplate the person to 
 whom the powers were handed over. You 
 probably may not know Mr. Madison per- 
 sonally, or at least intimately, as I do. I 
 have known him from 1779, when he first 
 came into the pubHc councils ; and from 
 three and thirty years' trials, I can say 
 
98 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 conscientiously that I do not know a man 
 in the world of purer integrity, more dis- 
 interested and devoted to genuine Repub- 
 licanism, than himself, nor could I, in the 
 whole scope of America and Europe, point 
 out an abler head. He may be illy sec- 
 onded by others, betrayed by the Hulls 
 and Arnolds of our country, for such there 
 are everywhere, we know only too well. 
 But what man can do will be done by Mr. 
 Madison. I hope, therefore, there will be 
 no difference among Republicans as to 
 his reelection, for we shall only appreciate 
 his true value when we have to give him 
 up, and look at large for a successor." 
 
 The American army was now organized 
 in three divisions : The army of the north, 
 commanded by General Wade Hampton, 
 to operate in the country of Lake Cham- 
 plain ; the army of the centre, under the 
 direction of the Commander-in-chief, to re- 
 sume offensive movements on the Niagara 
 frontier and Lake Ontario ; the army of 
 the west, under command of General Win- 
 chester, who was soon superseded by Gen- 
 eral Harrison. Many battles were fought 
 both on land and sea, and much blood and 
 treasure wasted ; but the year closed with- 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 99 
 
 out decisive results. Late in the summer 
 of the year 18 14, Admiral Cockburn ar- 
 rived off the coast of Virginia with an ar- 
 mament of twenty - one vessels. General 
 Ross, with an army of four thousand vet- 
 erans, freed from service in Europe, came 
 with the fleet. The American squadron, 
 commanded by Commodore Barney, was 
 unable to oppose so powerful a force, and 
 the enemy's flotilla entered the Chesapeake 
 with the purpose of attacking Washington 
 and Baltimore. Commodore Barney was 
 obliged to leave his ships and take to the 
 shore, meeting the British troops with a 
 small band of undisciplined militia at Bla- 
 densburg, where a battle was fought, and 
 he himself taken prisoner. 
 
 Mrs. Madison's course during all this 
 time was one of peace, her great effort 
 being to destroy, as far as her power lay, 
 the bitter feeling between Federalists and 
 Republicans. Women, as usual, took ex- 
 aggerated views of politics, and one (who 
 afterwards changed her politics and apolo- 
 gized) drove to Mrs. Madison's door, and 
 standing up in her carriage, loosened her 
 beautiful hair, which was celebrated for its 
 length, praying that she might have the 
 
lOO MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 privilege of parting with it, for the purpose 
 of hanging Mr. Madison. A week before 
 the British entered the city of Washing- 
 ton, Mr. Monroe, the Secretary of State, 
 mounted his horse, and rode to Benedict, a 
 small village on the Patuxent, and there 
 sadly witnessed the landing of the enemy 
 on our shores. Knowing how unprepared 
 was the seat of government for defense, he 
 instantly ordered the public papers and 
 records in his department to be removed 
 and placed in some safe spot, which was 
 accordingly done by Mr. Pleasanton, a 
 clerk. A large number of linen bags were 
 made, which, filled with papers, were con- 
 veyed in carts and wagons to Leesburg, 
 about thirty-five miles from Washington, 
 and placed in an empty house, just in time 
 to see the flames arising from the burning 
 of the government buildings. The Eng- 
 lish used many stratagems to gain posses- 
 sion of Mr. Madison's papers. Spies found 
 their way into his house, disguised as wo- 
 men. Anonymous letters were received 
 threatening his life with the dagger or poi- 
 son. All remained unheeded until the 
 English officer, in command of the ad- 
 vancing troops, sent word to Mrs. Madison 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 01 
 
 that unless she should leave, the house 
 would be burned over her head. 
 
 Generous British sentiments revolted at 
 the destruction of the American capital, 
 but it was impossible to satisfy warfare, in 
 its abominable lust for libraries, buildings, 
 objects of art, and embodiments of national 
 pride. The day before the fall of Wash- 
 ington was one of extreme alarm ; the Sec- 
 retary of State wrote to the President : 
 ** The enemy has advanced six miles along 
 the road to the wood-yardj and our troops 
 are retreating. You had better make all 
 preparations to leave." Then began the 
 panic, which was doomed to grow more 
 intense, as hour after hour passed on. 
 Scarcely had the wagons that bore the 
 papers crossed the wooden bridge over the 
 Potomac, than crowds of fugitive women 
 and children pressed upon it, in such num- 
 bers as to render the present danger even 
 greater than the one they were fleeing from. 
 The frightened multitude swayed to and fro, 
 seeking means of escape, till night closed 
 in upon the horrible drama ; then, upon 
 Capitol Hill, appeared the red-coated sol- 
 diery of the British army. The sun sank 
 peacefully behind the bank of fleecy clouds 
 
102 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 that floated softly over the southern hori- 
 zon, contrasting with the terrible atmos- 
 phere below. Dust and heat were intol- 
 erable, and a rumor that the water was 
 poisoned rendered the sufferings of the 
 weary soldiers painful in the extreme. For 
 the seventh time that day a retreat was 
 commanded, and the city troops, mortified 
 and enraged, refused at first to obey. Back 
 from the city to the heights of Georgetown 
 was the order ; to leave their families, their 
 homes, and property behind them, march- 
 ing away from those they were sworn to 
 protect. Down the long, broad, solitary 
 avenue, past the President's house, through 
 Georgetown, and even as far as Tennally- 
 town, the demoralized, disorganized rem- 
 nant of the army wended their weary way, 
 resting on the ground lighted up by the 
 fiery red glare from the burning buildings 
 in Washington. All through that terrible 
 night they lay in the fields, too frightened 
 and miserable to steal more than a few 
 moments' sleep. The bursting shells in 
 the navy yard were heard for miles, each 
 boom sounding a knell to the agonized 
 hearts, all ignorant of the fate of dear 
 friends during those hours of horror and 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 103 
 
 darkness. When the British marched 
 slowly into the deserted city by the lurid 
 light that shot up from the blazing Capi- 
 tol, the population had dwindled down to 
 a few stragglers, and the slaves of the 
 absent residents. The houses scattered 
 over a large space were closed, and no sign 
 of life visible. Mr. Madison had crossed 
 the Potomac early in the afternoon, and 
 his wife had gone in another direction. 
 The bayonets of the British gleamed as 
 they filed down the avenue, and the fulmi- 
 nations from the navy yard saluted them 
 as they passed. Nothing but the prayers 
 and entreaties of the women and the ex- 
 postulations of the residents deterred the 
 British commander. General Ross, from 
 blowing up the Capitol ; he contented him- 
 self, however, by firing it at all points, and 
 destroying with it many houses in the vi- 
 cinity, among which was one belonging to 
 General Washington. " I have, indeed, 
 to this hour [said Mr. Bush in 1855] the 
 vivid impression upon my eye of columns 
 of smoke and flame ascending all through 
 the night of August 24, 18 14, from the 
 Capitol, President's house, and other pub- 
 lic buildings, as the whole were on fire, 
 
104 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 some burning slowly, others with bursts of 
 flames, and sparks mounting high in the 
 dark heavens. This can never be forgot- 
 ten by me, as I accompanied on that mem- 
 orable night President Madison, Mr. Jones, 
 Secretary of the Navy, General Mason, of 
 Anacostia Island, and Mr. Carroll, of Belle- 
 vue, across the river. If, at intervals, the 
 heart-breaking sight was lost to our view, 
 we found it again from some hill-top or 
 eminence, where we would pause to gaze 
 at it." Among the many stories which 
 greeted Congress, when it met near the 
 ruins some three weeks afterward, was 
 that Admiral Cockburn, in a strain of 
 coarse levity, mounting the Speaker's chair 
 in the Capitol, went through the form of 
 putting the question : "■ Shall this harbor 
 of Yankee democracy be burned 1 " And 
 when the mock resolution was declared 
 unanimous, it was carried into effect, by 
 placing combustibles under the furniture. 
 The temporary wooden structure readily 
 ignited ; doors, chairs, the library, and its 
 contents in an upper room of the senate 
 wing, everything that could burn, soon dis- 
 appeared in sheets of flame, illuminating 
 the country for thirty miles around. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 105 
 
 Through the " eternal Pennsylvania Ave- 
 nue," the British commanders led their 
 elated troops, where, but a few hours 
 before, the flying, scattered Americans, 
 ashamed and despairing, had wended their 
 sorrowful way, the Capitol behind them, 
 wrapt in its winding robe of flame. At a 
 house near the President's mansion they 
 halted and ordered supper, which was 
 eaten by General Ross and Admiral Cock- 
 burn, in the glare of their own barbarous 
 handiwork. This onslaught was so unex- 
 pected that a dinner-party had been ar- 
 ranged by Mrs. Madison for that day, and 
 the following note from Mrs. Jones, wife 
 of the Secretary of the Navy, shows that 
 though surprised and alarmed, they even 
 then had no idea of immediate danger : — 
 
 TO MRS. MADISON. 
 Washington, Angust 23, 18 14. 
 My dear Madam, — In the present 
 state of alarm and bustle of preparation 
 for the worst that may happen, I imagine 
 it will be more convenient to dispense 
 with the enjoyment of your hospitaHty to- 
 day, and, therefore, pray you to admit this 
 as an excuse for Mr. Jones, Lucy, and 
 
I06 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 myself. Mr. Jones is deeply engaged in 
 dispatching the marines and attending to 
 other public duties. Lucy and I are pack- 
 ing, with the possibility of having to leave; 
 but in the event of necessity we know not 
 where to go, nor have we any means yet 
 prepared for the conveyance of our effects. 
 I sincerely hope and trust the necessity 
 may be avoided, but there appears rather 
 serious cause of apprehension. Our car- 
 riage horse is sick, and our coachman ab- 
 sent, or I should have called last evening 
 to see your sister. I feel great solicitude 
 on her account. Yours very truly and affec- 
 tionately, E. Jones. 
 
 Hoping and fearing, Mrs. Madison lin- 
 gered on at the President's house for Mr. 
 Madison's return, until the British officers 
 were actually at the threshold, and the 
 moment could be no longer delayed. She 
 had secured the public papers and the Dec- 
 laration of Independence, and was being 
 hurried out to the waiting carriage by 
 Mr. De Peyster and Mr. Barker, when her 
 eye was attracted by the valuable portrait 
 of General Washington hanging on the 
 wall, this being one of the few adornments 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. lO/ 
 
 of the White House at that time, and an 
 excellent likeness of the adored first Presi- 
 dent. She felt she could not leave it, and at 
 the risk of capture herself, resolved to save 
 it, if possible. After much valuable time 
 spent in trying to unfasten the great frame 
 from the wall, the servants were obliged to 
 break the outside edge with an axe, keep- 
 ing the entire canvas, however, quite unin- 
 jured ; this they sent in a hack to a woman 
 named Baker, living beyond Georgetown. 
 The portrait was painted partly by Gilbert 
 Stuart, and completed by Winstanley, with 
 Colonel Smith, the son-in-law of President 
 John Adams, as a model for the unfin- 
 ished body and limbs. Half a century later, 
 when the White House was being rebuilt, 
 this picture was renovated and put back in 
 its place on the wall, together with many 
 others added to the collection. " I lived a 
 lifetime in those last moments," she tells 
 a friend afterwards, " waiting for Madison's 
 return, and in an agony of fear lest he 
 might have been taken prisoner ! Anna, 
 too, was away, I hardly knew where." 
 Fortunately her mind was in a measure re- 
 lieved by meeting Mr. Madison, who, with 
 several friends, had come back to see after 
 
I08 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 her safety. She insisted upon going with 
 him to the Virginia shore, and then, and 
 not until then, did she yield to the persua- 
 sions of her friends, and seek rest in the 
 house of an acquaintance, about two miles 
 beyond Georgetown. Sleep, of course, was 
 impossible, and the long night was passed 
 at the window, gazing at the flames, which 
 looked as if nothing could stop them in 
 their mad fury. 
 
 A letter written to her sister the day 
 before gives an insight into her feelings 
 at this time of trial and danger. 
 
 TO ANNA. 
 
 Ttiesday, August 23, 1814. 
 Dear Sister, — My husband left me 
 yesterday morning to join General "Win- 
 der. He inquired anxiously whether I 
 had courage or firmness to remain in the 
 President's house until his return on the 
 morrow, or succeeding day, and on my as- 
 surance that I had no fear but for him, 
 and the success of our army, he left, be- 
 seeching me to take care of myself, and 
 of the Cabinet papers, public and private. 
 I have since received two despatches from 
 him, written with a pencil. The last is 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 109 
 
 alarming, because he desires I should be 
 ready at a moment's warning to enter my 
 carriage, and leave the city ; that the en- 
 emy seemed stronger than had at first 
 been reported, and it might happen that 
 they would reach the city with the inten- 
 tion of destroying it. I am accordingly 
 ready ; I have pressed as many Cabinet 
 papers into trunks as to fill one carriage ; 
 our private property must be sacrificed, as 
 it is impossible to procure wagons for its 
 transportation. I am determined not to 
 go myself until I see Mr. Madison safe, 
 so that he can accompany me, as I hear 
 of much hostility towards him. Disaffec- 
 tion stalks around us. My friends and ac- 
 quaintances are all gone, even Colonel C. 
 with his hundred, who were stationed as a 
 guard in this inclosure. French John (a 
 faithful servant), with his usual activity and 
 resolution, offers to spike the cannon at 
 the gate, and lay a train of powder, which 
 would blow up the British, should they en= 
 ter the house. To the last proposition I 
 positively object, without being able to 
 make him understand why all advantages 
 in war may not be taken. 
 
 Wednesday Morningy twelve o'clock. — 
 
no MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 Since sunrise I have been turning my 
 spy-glass in every direction, and watching 
 with unwearied anxiety, hoping to discover 
 the approach of my dear husband and 
 his friends ; but, alas ! I can descry only 
 groups of military, wandering in all direc- 
 tions, as if there was a lack of arms, or of 
 spirit to fight for their own fireside. 
 
 Three o'clock. — Will you believe it, my 
 sister ? we have had a battle, or skirmish, 
 near Bladen sburg, and here I am still, 
 within sound of the cannon ! Mr. Madi- 
 son comes not. May God protect us ! 
 Two messengers, covered with dust, come 
 to bid me fly ; but here I mean to wait for 
 him. ... At this late hour a wagon has 
 been procured, and I have had it filled with 
 plate and the most valuable portable arti- 
 cles, belonging to the house. Whether it 
 will reach its destination, the " Bank of 
 Maryland," or fall into the hands of British 
 soldiery, events must determine. Our kind 
 friend, Mr. Carroll, has come to hasten my 
 departure, and in a very bad humor with 
 me, because I insist on waiting until the 
 large picture of General Washington is 
 secured, and it requires to be unscrewed 
 from the wall. This process was found 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 1 1 
 
 too tedious for these perilous moments ; I 
 have ordered the frame to be broken, and 
 the canvas taken out. It is done ! and the 
 precious portrait placed in the hands of 
 two gentlemen of New York, for safe keep- 
 ing. And now, dear sister, I must leave 
 this house, or the retreating army will 
 make me a prisoner in it by filling up the 
 road I am directed to take. When I shall 
 again write to you, or where I shall be to- 
 morrow, I cannot tell ! Dolly, 
 
 • John Sioussa, the French porter, was 
 the last to leave the house, and after see- 
 ing Mrs. Madison safely off, he took a ma- 
 caw, which had been much petted by her, 
 to the house of a friend, Colonel Taylor ; 
 then locking the house carefully, he depos- 
 ited the key with the Russian Minister, 
 Mr. Dashoff, whose house was protected 
 by his country's flag, and went to Phila- 
 delphia. All the afternoon, parties of 
 straggling soldiers, on their way to George- 
 town, with vagrant negroes pilfered in 
 many directions, in spite of the efforts of 
 faithful servants. Mad with disappoint- 
 ment at the escape of the President and 
 his wife, "whom they wanted to capture 
 
112 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 and show in England," the enemy broke 
 open the doors of the White House, and 
 ransacked it from cellar to attic, finding 
 nothing of value, in the way of trophies, 
 except a small bundle of pencil notes re- 
 ceived by Mrs. Madison from her hus- 
 band when he was with the troops, and 
 which she had inadvertently rolled to- 
 gether, and left in her table drawer. To 
 everything else in the house, furniture, 
 wines, provisions, and family stores of all 
 kinds, which had cost Mr. Madison twelve 
 thousand dollars, together with an excel- 
 lent library, the torch was applied. Fire 
 for the purpose was procured at a small 
 beer -house opposite the Treasury, and 
 common soldiers, together with negroes, 
 and thieves of all grades, did what they 
 could to pillage and destroy. The White 
 House was not so large and complete as it 
 is now. The east room, which had served 
 Mrs. Adams for a drying-room, was bare 
 and unfurnished ; the whole house was 
 plain, unfinished, and totally destitute of 
 ornament ; the front vestibule had not 
 then been added, and the grounds were 
 uninclosed, and entirely uncultivated. 
 Nothing but the lateness of the hour 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. \ \ 3 
 
 and the threatening storm prevented the 
 troops from firing the War Department. 
 The promised reinforcement had failed to 
 come, filHng the minds of the officers with 
 vague and timorous apprehension, and 
 they resolved to evacuate the next day. 
 Constant rumors and frights had unnerved 
 the stoutest hearts, and the unhappy cit- 
 izens of Washington flying from a foreign 
 foe rendered the situation of those who 
 could not leave even more distressing. All 
 the vehicles had been pressed into the 
 service, and valuables scattered in every 
 direction for safety. 
 
 An English narrator states that ^'the 
 most tremendous hurricane ever remem- 
 bered by the inhabitants broke over Wash- 
 ington the day after the conflagration. 
 Roofs of houses were torn off and carried 
 up into the air like sheets of paper, while 
 the rain which accompanied it was like 
 the rushing of a mighty cataract rather 
 than the dropping of a shower. This 
 lasted for two hours without intermission, 
 during which time many of the houses 
 spared by us were blown down, and thirty 
 of our men, with as many more of the in- 
 habitants, were buried beneath the ruins. 
 
114 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 Two cannons standing upon a bit of rising 
 ground were fairly lifted in the air and 
 carried several yards to the rear." 
 
 Long before day Mrs. Madison and her 
 sleepless companions bade farewell to their 
 hospitable friend and started forth to the 
 place appointed by Mr. Madison for a 
 meeting. Consternation and despair were 
 at their height ; the whole region filled 
 with frightened people and straggling sol- 
 diers, roaming about and spreading alarms 
 that the enemy was coming now this way, 
 now that, making no place safe. As the 
 day wore on the storm burst upon the 
 forlorn refugees, as they traveled slowly, 
 and with great difficulty, through round- 
 about lanes and roads to the little tavern 
 in the middle of an apple orchard, sixteen 
 miles from Washington, where Mr. Madi- 
 son had promised to join them. Here the 
 drenched, tired travelers were very inhos- 
 pitably received ; the house was crowded 
 with refugees, who, frightened and miser- 
 able, worked themselves up into a feeling 
 of anger and reproach against Mr. Mad- 
 ison and herself, declaring them to be the 
 cause of their present troubles, and refus- 
 ing them entrance. With evening came 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. \ \ 5 
 
 another furious thunder-storm, and common 
 humanity made them open the doors to 
 the poor shivering women, who were afraid 
 to leave the neighborhood for fear of miss- 
 ing their friends. The sky was as black 
 as night, and the thunder and lightning 
 seemed almost continuous : at one time 
 striking a tree in the woods near by, at 
 another flashing into the dark little wait- 
 ing-room, lighting up the faces of the awed 
 and panic-stricken women, who had passed 
 through so much in this last twenty-four 
 hours. Slowly the hours dragged on, the 
 storm abated, but the anxious wife looked 
 in vain for her husband. Nervous and in- 
 tensely anxious, Mrs. Madison waited on 
 in breathless impatience for the promised 
 relief, too unhappy to feel the discomforts 
 around her; until late in the night her 
 fears were relieved by the approach of Mr. 
 Madison with the friends who had accom- 
 panied him the night before. He looked 
 careworn and weary, and after a somewhat 
 scant meal of such food as had been left in 
 the over-crowded tavern, he yielded to his 
 wife's entreaties and sought forgetfulness 
 in sleep. 
 
 During that time General Ross hastily 
 
Il6 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 evacuated the town ; victors and van- 
 quished aUke victims of imaginary perils : 
 the one superstitiously fearful of the vio- 
 lent, almost tropical, storms to which they 
 were unused, and credulous of vague re- 
 ports of reinforcements on the other side ; 
 while the American troops were still too 
 scattered and frightened to distinguish the 
 false from the true in the rumors of mur- 
 der and rapine that were flying in all di- 
 rections. 
 
 Toward midnight a courier, breathless 
 from fatigue and excitement, warned the 
 President that the enemy had discovered 
 a clue to his hiding-place, and were even 
 now on their way hither. Yielding to the 
 entreaties of his wife and friends he sought 
 refuge in a miserable little hovel in the 
 woods, where the boughs moaned and 
 sobbed around him, and the storm ex- 
 pended itself in dismal sighs through the 
 tall trees ; here he spent the remainder of 
 the night, expecting at any moment to 
 hear the tread of the British soHdiers as 
 they passed, or perhaps halted and searched 
 for the coveted prisoner. 
 
 Mrs. Madison had promised to disguise 
 herself and seek safety further on ; so at- 
 
OF MRS. MADISON-. 1 17 
 
 tended only by Mr. Duvall and one soldier 
 she started out at the first dawn of day, 
 leaving her carriage to her companions 
 and taking a small wagon. Before they 
 had gone very far, however, the news 
 reached them that Washington was evac- 
 uated, and joyfully retracing their steps, 
 after a weary ride they reached the Long 
 Bridge, only to find it burned at both ends. 
 Forgetting her disguises he appealed to an 
 officer standing by to take her across the 
 river in the one remaining boat, but was 
 curtly refused, not daring, as he said, '' to 
 let an unknown woman into the city." No 
 alternative was left but to explain who she 
 was, and after some doubt and demur on 
 his part the frail little craft landed them 
 safely on the other side. There she found 
 her former home in ruins, and the smoke 
 still rising from the heaps of blackened 
 timber that greeted her on every side ; the 
 streets were as deserted and quiet as the 
 forests through which she had just passed, 
 and sick at heart she turned away, and in a 
 strange carriage drove to the house of her 
 sister, Mrs. Cutts, to await the return of 
 Mr. Madison. 
 
 " The memory of the burning of Wash- 
 
Il8 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 ington cannot be obliterated. It can never 
 be thought of by an American, and ought 
 not to be thought of by an enlightened 
 Englishman, except with deplorable shame 
 and mortification. History cannot record 
 it as a trophy of war for a great nation. 
 The metropolis at that time had the aspect 
 of a straggling village, interspersed here 
 and there by a handsome public building, 
 and with a scattered population of not 
 more than eight thousand inhabitants ; 
 fortresses there were none, and but a few 
 mounted cannon." 
 
 Late in the day, the news reached the 
 President in his hovel that the enemy had 
 retreated to their shipping ; and he, too, 
 turned his steps toward the city and re- 
 joined his wife. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. II9 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 From the beginning many of the people 
 of New England had opposed the war. 
 Their interests centred in ships and fac- 
 tories ; the former were at sea, and the 
 latter came to a stand-still. Industry was 
 paralyzed, and the members of the Federal 
 party cried out against a continuance of 
 the contest. A convention was called, 
 which assembled at Hartford, and ruined 
 the Federal party. Meanwhile many bat- 
 tles were fought on sea and land, and hos- 
 tilities lingered on until the spring of 18 14. 
 American commissioners were sent to 
 Ghent, in Belgium, and were there met by 
 the British ambassadors. The agents of 
 the United States were John Quincy 
 Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, 
 Jonathan Russell, and Albert Gallatin. 
 Several months were spent in negotia- 
 tions; and on the 24th of December, 18 14, 
 a treaty was agreed to and signed, which 
 was received in England with deep satis- 
 
120 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 faction, and in America with a delight 
 bordering on madness. Before the terms 
 of settlement could be made known, the 
 people broke forth in universal jubilee, 
 nobody stopping to inquire whether the 
 treaty was good or bad, honorable or dis- 
 honorable. Nor could the country be 
 blamed for rejoicing that a conflict which 
 had cost the United States one thousand 
 six hundred and eighty-three vessels, and 
 more than eighteen thousand sailors, was 
 ended. The war-cloud rolled away from 
 the public mind, and immediately the dock 
 yards were ringing with the sound of saw 
 and hammer. On the i8th of February 
 the treaty was ratified by the Senate of 
 the United States, and peace was publicly 
 proclaimed ; not soon enough, however, to 
 prevent the terrible bloodshed at the bat- 
 tle of New Orleans, which occurred in 
 the interim between the conclusion of the 
 treaty and the reception of the news in 
 America. Deeply in debt as the country 
 was, her monetary affairs in a deplorable 
 condition, and domestic commerce at a 
 stand-still, one advantage had been gained 
 by America, the recognition of her naval 
 power. It was no longer doubtful that 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 121 
 
 American sailors were the peers in valor 
 and patriotism of any seamen in the world. 
 It was no small triumph for the Republic 
 that her flag should henceforth be honored 
 on every ocean. Political troubles having 
 become partially straightened out in 1814, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Madison retired to Mont- 
 pelier for a month or two to recruit, and 
 rest body and mind after the great excite- 
 ment so recently undergone. Here it was 
 that two old Quaker ladies, Rebecca 
 Hubbs and Sarah Scull, members of her 
 society in Philadelphia in years gone by, 
 came to pay a visit, not only of affection, 
 but perhaps with a little curiosity, to ascer- 
 tain if the adulation and worldly life of so 
 many years had corrupted the heart and 
 mind of their much-loved sister ; and that 
 they were satisfied is shown from the fol- 
 lowing letter from Rebekah Hubbs on her 
 return. 
 
 TO MRS. MADISON. 
 
 Seventh Month, 13, 1814. 
 
 Dear Friend, — Thinking it may be 
 
 acceptable I put pen to paper to write thee 
 
 a few lines, in part to inform thee of the 
 
 manner in which we got along and my safe 
 
122 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 return home. The kind reception we met 
 with when at thy dwelling has caused my 
 mind to be much with thee and thine. 
 Since we parted from thee particularly so, 
 dear Dorothy, for several days after, when 
 at a clear, flowing brook, with the help of 
 thy kindness, we poor pilgrims were re- 
 freshed on the way, which seemed to sat- 
 isfy as a sit meal at a full spread table ; and 
 though we were strangers in a strange 
 land, yet at times were enabled to rejoice 
 that the Lord had counted us worthy to 
 suffer shame for his sake. We were fa- 
 vored to get along very well, and arrived 
 at Baltimore the day preceding the yearly 
 meeting, where I received a letter from 
 home, and was informed that my dear 
 babe was ill and by account could not ex- 
 pect to recover. 
 
 The next day after this news my beloved 
 companion, Sarah Scull, was taken sick. 
 This centred my mind in deep humihty 
 before the Lord, and thankful of my own 
 health, desirous that every trying dispensa- 
 tion may be prosperous in their errand to 
 me, I endeavored to resign my will to the 
 Divine will, and parting with my companion 
 in good hands at Baltimore, set out for 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 123 
 
 home, where through the protection of Di- 
 vine mercy I found my husband and chil- 
 dren in good health, and my dear babe re- 
 covered of her sickness. And now, my 
 dear friend, having visited thy dwelling 
 much bowed down in mind under a sense 
 of my weakness, having none but the 
 Lord to appeal to, to justify me in my 
 visit, to relieve my mind of much that was 
 on it. Dear friend, thou hast a precious 
 talent committed to thy trust by the King 
 of kings, and my soul's desire for thee is 
 that thou may more and more come out of 
 all that cumbers the earth, and redeem 
 thy soul from all difficulties that do or 
 may attend it. My wishes for thee and 
 thine is that thou may be supported under 
 every exercise of mind, and witness the 
 living presence of Jesus Christ, to war 
 against vanity, pleasure, ambition, and ava- 
 rice, and to put from thee all the fading 
 pleasures of this world, but rather prize 
 the crown immortal that fadeth not away. 
 Assuredly, dear Dorothy, I think I shall 
 ever remember thee with gratitude of 
 heart, thee and thy beloved companion, 
 your kind and Christian entertainment of 
 us ; God will not be wantino: to reward 
 
124 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 your love. Desirous to be had in remem- 
 brance by thee, dear Dorothy, in love, I 
 conclude, and remain thy soul's best 
 wisher, Rebekah Hubbs. 
 
 My love to thy dear, ancient mother-in- 
 law, who I believe is not far from the 
 kingdom of Heaven. Sarah Scull joins 
 in that love which neither time nor dis- 
 tance can erase. 
 
 A letter from the postmaster at New 
 Orleans, written on the 19th of January, to 
 Mrs. Madison, announces the departure of 
 the British troops from our shores at last. 
 He evidently was desirous of being the 
 first to break the joyful news to one who 
 would sympathize so heartily with the 
 people's delight. 
 
 New Orleans, January 19, 18 15. 
 Mrs. Madison : 
 
 Madam, — I had confidently hoped from 
 the events of the last fourteen days to have 
 announced to you in this letter the depar- 
 ture from our shores of the implacable 
 foe, who, trusting to our supposed disun- 
 ion and disaffection, has had the temerity 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 25 
 
 to assail us at our very thresholds ; but 
 although he still maintains a precarious 
 foothold on our soil, be assured, madam, 
 he speedily must abandon it, covered with 
 disgrace. 
 
 Madam, the American army in Louisi- 
 ana has gained immortal glory. It has 
 made a defense against the most valiant 
 and fortunate troops of Europe, excited to 
 desperation by resistance, and staking its 
 all of reputation on the die, unsurpassed 
 in the annals of military warfare, its leader 
 achieving in one hour the object of a 
 whole campaign, — the preservation of the 
 state from conquest, and the overthrow of 
 its invaders. The 8th of January will 
 form an epoch in the history of the Re- 
 public. It was on the morning of that 
 day the British, led on by Mr. Edward 
 Packenham, attempted to storm our lines, 
 and to force a way to the city at the point 
 of the bayonet. Advancing in full confi- 
 dence with this intent, and encouraged to 
 it by their commander, his watchword 
 ''booty and beauty," they were suffered to 
 approach within twenty yards of our bat- 
 teries unmolested, at which moment a fire 
 from our guns and our musketry opened 
 
126 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 on them with such irresistible force, they 
 gave way at all points, flying in the ut- 
 most confusion, leaving the ground strewn 
 with their dead and dying. 
 
 You may conceive, madam, what a spec- 
 tacle of carnage must have met the eye, 
 after the battle, when you learn that in 
 killed, wounded, and missing, the loss of 
 the enemy exceeded two thousand ; eight 
 hundred being left dead ; their command- 
 er-in-chief killed ; Cxenerals Gibbs and 
 Keene severely wounded, and the flower 
 of their army, the 4th and the 21st regi- 
 ments, almost exterminated. On the other 
 side of the river we were momentarily dis- 
 possessed of a battery by the enemy (the 
 guns of which, however, we had time to 
 spike), in consequence of a part of our 
 troops being seized with a panic, in spite 
 of the better countenance maintained by 
 their comrades to the last, and the exhor- 
 tations of their officers not to dishonor 
 themselves. But it was attended with a 
 further disaster, Colonel Thornton retreat- 
 ing almost immediately, badly wounded. 
 
 12 o'clock. — Intelligence has at this mo- 
 ment been received from General Jackson 
 that the British have evacuated the coun- 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 127 
 
 try. The rear of their army completed the 
 retreat to their shipping last night, leav- 
 ing behind them many of their men, des- 
 perately wounded, besides several pieces 
 of cannon. The city is in a ferment of de- 
 light. The country is saved, the enemy 
 vanquished, and hardly a widow or an or- 
 phan whose tears damp the general joy. 
 All is exultation and jubilee. What do 
 we not owe a protecting Providence for 
 this manifestation of his favor! Permit 
 me to offer you my congratulations on this 
 auspicious termination of our trials and 
 tribulations, and to assure you of the ever- 
 lasting respect of 
 
 Your obedient and admiring servant, 
 Thomas B. Johnson. 
 
 Mrs. Madison's only child, James Payne 
 Todd, the son of her first marriage, had 
 been educated at an excellent Roman 
 Catholic school in Baltimore, under the 
 charge of the Bishop of Maryland. Hav- 
 ing a fortune in his own rio^ht, and beins: 
 the idol of his mother, he had grown up 
 rather self-willed and impatient of control, 
 though bright and attractive ; so much so 
 that it was proposed he should be attached 
 
128 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 to the special embassy going to Ghent to 
 confer with the British representatives on 
 the subject of the famous treaty. This 
 offer was immediately accepted by Mrs. 
 Madison for her son, knowing that going 
 with her cordial friends would insure every 
 kindness to the young man, while the life 
 with them, in Washington, brought with 
 it many temptations. The following two 
 letters from Mrs. Albert Gallatin were 
 found among Mrs. Madison's papers, giv- 
 ing tidings of the absent son. 
 
 New York, July 2, 1814. 
 I understand, my dear friend, that you 
 did not receive any letter from Payne by 
 the last arrivals. I will communicate to 
 you with pleasure what Mr. Gallatin says 
 of him. He says Todd and Millegan left 
 St. Petersburg before them, and took the 
 Sweden route ; found the coast frozen, and 
 after a long detention came by way of Co- 
 penhagen, and joined them at Amsterdam 
 the day before they left it ; that Payne 
 had gone on a visit to Paris, and was to 
 return to Mr. Gallatin in three weeks ; he 
 set off the 7th of May from London. He 
 will have a very pleasant jaunt, no doubt, 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 129 
 
 and Dallas expected to follow him. Mille- 
 gan was gone on a message to Gotten- 
 burgh. I dare not write you a long letter 
 for fear of being too late for the mail, and 
 I wish you to get the information as soon 
 as possible, for I know you must be anx- 
 ious. Remember me to your sister, and 
 believe me your very sincere friend, 
 
 W. Gallatin. 
 
 New York, August 13, 181 5. 
 Ah, my dear friend, what misery are we 
 enduring ! How can Mr. Crawford be so 
 unfeeling.? I thought you had certainly 
 received every information about your be- 
 loved Payne, and was in hopes from day to 
 day that it would come to Mr. C.'s recol- 
 lection, also, what my feelings must be. 
 But alas ! not one word from him. William 
 Nicholson (whom you may remember lived 
 with us) tells me that Mr. Crawford wrote 
 to Mr. Gallatin that the ship could not be 
 detained on account of Mr. Bayard, and 
 that Mr. Gallatin answered it was impos- 
 sible for them to be at Plymouth before 
 the 24th of June, and that they sailed im- 
 mediately without waiting for any further 
 information from them. It is proved, to be 
 9 
 
130 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 sure, that there was no time to be lost, for 
 poor Mr. Bayard died the sixth day after 
 their arrival, Mr. Crawford I can never 
 forgive for not attending a little to our 
 feelings. Oh ! what anguish there is in 
 disappointed hope. Our servant, Henry, 
 has arrived in the Neptune with all Mr. 
 Gallatin's and James's baggage ; I have 
 written to Captain Jones to send them on 
 here to me with Henry, who is a faith- 
 ful, excellent creature. His family live in 
 Washington, and I presume he will be anx- 
 ious to go and see them. I will then get 
 him to take charge of all the things be- 
 longing to Payne and yourself, and deliver 
 them in Washington. I am told he was 
 much distressed at the ship's sailing with- 
 out his master. 
 
 I have seen in the newspaper that a 
 vessel had arrived at Boston, direct from 
 London, left there the 26th of June, and 
 the captain says was to have brought out 
 Messrs. Clay, Gallatin, and suite, but they 
 afterwards concluded to sail from Liver- 
 pool. I presume from this that they had 
 finished the treaty, and we may expect 
 them any moment. I think they will come 
 to New York, and the instant they arrive. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 131 
 
 my dear friend, I will let you know of it. 
 You and I can best feel for one another. 
 In the mean time, if Mr. Crawford should 
 give you any information about them, do 
 let me know ; at all events, write to me, 
 like a dear friend. I believe the captain 
 on board is careful, and we need not feel 
 uneasy about our properties ; but what a 
 disappointment to those left behind, — all 
 the clothes they needed at sea, besides lit- 
 tle conveniences which will be hard for my 
 poor husband, who is distressedly sick at 
 sea, and Henry was his nurse. I can nei- 
 ther eat nor sleep, after all my anxiety 
 about the Neptune, that she should arrive 
 without my husband and child. It is, in- 
 deed, distressing beyond anything, and I 
 fear to expect them, lest I should have an- 
 other disappointment. It must be a com- 
 fort to you to have your sister with you, 
 and it is a pleasure to me to hear that she 
 and her children are well. Pray remember 
 me to her, and to Mr. Madison. Heaven 
 bless you. 
 
 Ever your affectionate friend, 
 
 W. Gallatin. 
 
132 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 TO MRS. MADISON FROM MADAME d'yRUJO 
 
 (sally mckean). 
 
 Baltimore, Jtme 20, 18 12. 
 My dear Mrs. Madison, — I arrived 
 here about ten days ago, and had a strong 
 desire to write you the moment of my ar- 
 rival, but the state of affairs suggested to 
 me this idea, that it was most prudent to 
 suspend it until things took a decisive turn, 
 lest some exalted patriot might suspect 
 our innocent correspondence. This motive 
 having at present ceased, I do not lose a 
 moment to write you ; it would delight me 
 to spend a day with you, and be able to 
 press you to my heart, but I am obliged to 
 set out for Philadelphia to-morrow, or next 
 day, at furthest. I will not leave America, 
 however, without seeing you. On account 
 of the Marquis's health becoming affected 
 by the climate of Brazil, he asked to be 
 recalled, and we were on the point of em- 
 barking in a ship going directly to Spain, 
 when, happily for me, a fine ship from this 
 port came along, and I prevailed on the 
 Marquis to return by way of my own dear 
 native country, on condition of departing 
 for Cadiz in October. But. I will not go 
 before next spring, if I can possibly help it, 
 for am tired of so many long voyages. 
 
OF MRS. MAD /son: 133 
 
 Your son Payne has been twice to see 
 me, but unfortunately I was out both times ; 
 the Marquis saw him, and says he is a fine 
 young man, grown so tall and handsome. 
 I shall make an effort to find him to-day, 
 and intend to ask him if he remembers that 
 when a little fellow he pulled off General 
 Van Courtland's wig at the very moment 
 he was making me a flourishing compli- 
 ment. What has become of the old beau ? 
 The ladies and gentlemen of this place 
 have been very polite to me, every one has 
 been to see us, and I have dined at home 
 but once. 
 
 I have been highly amused by a piece of 
 poetry, relative to a scene they say took 
 place in Washington last winter, in which 
 the famous Count de Crillon cut a figure, 
 as well as some ladies, and I am told the 
 winter was a most dashing one in your 
 city. I am sorry the Count P. left just 
 before our arrival, so many fine things 
 are said in his praise. I find Madame Bo- 
 naparte a good deal changed. We had 
 heard in Rio Janeiro that she bore the 
 title of "Duchess," and had a salary of 
 fifty thousand pounds. I verily think when 
 I see you and Anna once more, there is 
 
134 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 SO much to tell you of what I have seen 
 and heard abroad as would keep me talking 
 for three days without stopping, and I am 
 morally certain I should make you laugh, 
 and your good husband too, for I am just 
 as giddy and full of spirits as ever. In- 
 deed, I am for the French principle, never 
 to let anything trouble me much unless it 
 is absolutely necessary. 
 
 Your sister Lucy is again married, I 
 hear, but am sorry she has gone so far off ; 
 rumor says she has been a great belle, and 
 is as lively and amiable as ever. Tell me 
 if you received a letter from me dated Rio 
 Janeiro, by Mr. C. of this place, as I never 
 received an answer. In answer to the thou- 
 sand questions I have asked about you, 
 they say that you never looked so well in 
 your life, and that you give and have given 
 universal satisfaction to all friends and 
 visitors, which is, indeed, a very difficult 
 matter, that of pleasing everybody. You, 
 however, were always so good, and pos- 
 sessed such an amiable temper, as to make 
 every one your friend. I have heard much 
 in your praise from the American gentle- 
 men who have been in Brazil, when, you 
 may be sure, I asked hundreds of ques- 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 135 
 
 tions about you all. My two dear children 
 (only two) are well, and grown so much you 
 would not know them. They speak Eng- 
 lish, Spanish, and Portuguese fluently, and 
 are learning French. I find I cannot now 
 say a word in that language I do not want 
 them to understand. Give my love (yes 
 love !) to Mr. Madison, and ask him if he 
 has entirely forgotten me, and the dear old 
 times } And when you write to Mr. Jeffer- 
 son's daughter, Mrs. Randolph, pray re- 
 member me particularly to her. She is a 
 sweet woman, and I have a great regard 
 for her. The Marquis desires his best 
 compliments to yourself and Mr. Madison. 
 And believe me, my dear Mrs. Madison, 
 your old and affectionate friend, 
 
 Sally d'Yrujo. 
 
 general lafayette to mr. madison. 
 
 Paris, Ge?'mifial the loth, nth year. 
 My DEAR Madison, — General Berna- 
 dotte is so gloriously introduced by his 
 own reputation and character, that I shall 
 only present him to you as my personal 
 friend. He is of all men the one I should 
 prefer to see going to America as an am- 
 bassador, was he not also the man whom 
 
136 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 all true and steady patriots cannot but 
 heartily wish to keep nearer to his own 
 country, where none surpass and few can 
 equal the sincerity and steadiness of his 
 republican civism. Madame Bernadotte 
 accompanies him on this mission, and I 
 hope the amiable consort of the general 
 will meet from our American ladies the 
 reception to which she is so well entitled. 
 She particularly wishes to obtain the 
 friendship of Mrs. Madison, and I have 
 no doubt, from the knowledge of your 
 mutual sentiments, that the intimacy will 
 be soon established between the two fam- 
 ilies. Mr. Livingstone's correspondence 
 will acquaint you with the political trans- 
 actions of Europe, and the situation of af- 
 fairs respecting America. I shall the less 
 expatiate on these points as I am under 
 very painful operations, resulting from an 
 accident, the particulars of which may be 
 given you by General Bernadotte. With 
 heartfelt gratitude, but without surprise, I 
 have heard in how friendly a way you have 
 interested yourself about my affairs. 
 
 I hope a long letter from me . . . has 
 reached you. May the affair of Louisiana 
 be settled in a satisfactory manner, so that 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 137 
 
 her passage to the situation of an united 
 and independent commonwealth, as it can- 
 not fail in every chance to be soon the 
 case, be not attended with any disagree- 
 ment between the two countries to whom 
 I am so patriotically bound. Adieu, my 
 dear sir. 
 
 I am most affectionately your old and 
 constant friend, Lafayette. 
 
 Madame Serurier, the wife of another 
 Minister from France, was a great pet and 
 friend of Mrs. Madison. She is repre- 
 sented as being wonderfully beautiful and 
 attractive, and withal the heroine of quite 
 a romantic story. Her parents, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Pageot, then living in New York, were 
 refugees from the island of St. Domingo. 
 Their flight had been attended by many 
 hair -breadth escapes, until reaching the 
 vessel which was to bear them away from 
 their troubles they began to breathe more 
 freely and to consider themselves compara- 
 tively safe. 
 
 This feeling of confidence, however, was 
 premature ; that night just before saiHng, 
 a band of natives who had followed up the 
 fugitives came on board, and discovering 
 
138 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 the objects of their search were on the 
 point of murdering them, when the cries 
 awakening their daughter, then only a 
 child of seven years, she rushed on deck, 
 clad in the little white gown in which she 
 had been sleeping, and, throwing herself 
 at the feet of the brutal negroes, implored 
 them to spare the lives of her parents. 
 Astonished and superstitious, half believ- 
 ing it was a spirit before them, they paused 
 and gradually dispersed, leaving the ship 
 to make the most of its opportunity to es- 
 cape. Directly on their arrival. Monsieur 
 Serurier brought her to one of Mrs. Madi- 
 son's drawing-rooms, where she conceived 
 a most enthusiastic and lasting friendship 
 for her hostess. Twenty years later Mon- 
 sieur Serurier was again appointed to rep- 
 resent France in Washington, and their 
 friendship was renewed by a long and en- 
 joyable visit to Montpelier. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 39 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Many houses were offered to the Presi- 
 dent on his return to Washington, and for 
 a year he rented a building called the Oc- 
 tagon, owned by Colonel Taylor, and there 
 it was that the treaty of peace was signed. 
 Afterwards he removed to the northwest 
 corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Nine- 
 teenth Street, to a large house, which had 
 previously been occupied by the Treasury 
 Department. 
 
 The White House was repaired only in 
 time for Mr. Monroe. An old citizen says 
 " that the drawing-room of Mrs. Madison 
 in February, 18 16, was remembered for 
 years as the most brilliant ever held up 
 to that date in the Executive Mansion. 
 The Justices of the Supreme Court were 
 present in their gowns, at the head of 
 whom was Chief Justice Marshall. The 
 Peace Commissioners to Ghent — Gallatin, 
 Bayard, Clay, and Russell — were in the 
 company. 
 
I40 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 Mr. Adams alone was absent. The levee 
 was made additionally brilliant by the he- 
 roes of the War of 1812, Major-Generals 
 Brown, Gaines, Scott, and Ripley, with 
 their aids, all in full dress uniform, form- 
 ing an attractive feature. The return of 
 peace had restored the kindest feehng at 
 home and abroad. The Federalists and 
 Democrats of both Houses of Congress, 
 party politicians, citizens, and strangers, 
 were brought together as friends to be 
 thankful for the present, and to look for- 
 ward with security to the future. 
 
 The Diplomatic Corps, too, was well rep- 
 resented in the gorgeousness of court dress, 
 prominent in which was Sir Charles Bagot, 
 special ambassador from our late enemy. 
 Great Britain. It was on this occasion 
 that he made the remark that " Mrs. Mad- 
 ison looked every inch a queen." 
 
 Two plain ladies from the West, passing 
 through Washington, determined not to 
 leave without seeing Mrs. Madison ; and 
 having but little time were very much 
 puzzled how to accomplish it. 
 
 Meeting an old gentleman in the street 
 early next morning, who happened to be a 
 friend of Mrs. Madison's, they timidly ex- 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 14I 
 
 plained their wish, and requested him to 
 show them the way to the President's 
 house. Pleased with their simplicity he 
 took pleasure in conducting them himself, 
 where he found the family at breakfast. 
 Mrs. Madison good-naturedly went in to 
 the parlor to be inspected, and put the old 
 ladies quite at their ease by her cordial 
 welcome. 
 
 Their astonishment, however, at seeing 
 so great a personage in a dark gray stuff 
 dress, with a white apron, and kerchief 
 pinned across her breast was unbounded, 
 but so reassuring, that when the time came 
 for leaving, one of them said : " P'r'aps 
 you wouldn't mind if I just kissed you, to 
 tell my girls about." Mrs. Madison, not 
 to be outdone by her guests' politeness, 
 gracefully embraced them both, and after 
 many expressions of admiration and friend- 
 liness the delighted old ladies departed. 
 
 At a drawing-room held by Mrs. Madi- 
 son in 1813 "General Harrison was the 
 subject of a dispute between a lady of 
 great beauty and high connections and Mr. 
 Madison. She observed when she went in 
 that General Harrison had received her 
 commands to meet her at the reception 
 
142 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 this evening. * But that he cannot do,' 
 said the President, ' because he left Wash- 
 ington this morning, with his horses and 
 attendants, from the door of this house, 
 and must now be some twenty or thirty 
 miles on his way to the West.' * Still,' 
 replied the lady, laughing, ' he must be 
 here, for I laid my command upon him, 
 and he is too gallant a man to disobey 
 me.' The President rejoined with his 
 manner of gentle but positive assurance, 
 * We shall soon see whose orders he obeys,' 
 when the door opened and General Harri- 
 son appeared with his military attendants 
 in full uniform, and the lady smiled her 
 triumph over the most successful General 
 of that day and the President of the 
 United States." 
 
 Until the close of Mr. Madison's troubled 
 administration in 1817, Mrs. Madison con- 
 tinued to dispense her hospitalities in the 
 same hearty, simple manner, having among 
 her guests from time to time many distin- 
 guished men, among whom were Thomas 
 Moore, Talleyrand, Chateaubriand, Volney, 
 General Moreau, Joseph and Jerome Bona- 
 parte, Dr. Priestly, the celebrated philoso- 
 pher and polemical divine, and others. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 143 
 
 It had been said by a foreigner that 
 " her table was more like a harvest home 
 supper than the entertainment of a high 
 official." These and similar remarks came 
 to her ears, and she observed with a smile, 
 "■ that to her, abundance was preferable to 
 elegance ; that circumstances formed cus- 
 toms, and customs formed taste ; and as 
 the profusion so laughed at by foreigners 
 arose from the happy circumstance of the 
 superabundance and prosperity of ou.r 
 country, she did not hesitate to sacrifice 
 the delicacy of European taste for the less 
 elegant, but more liberal, fashion of Vir- 
 ginia." 
 
 Washington had so long been the home 
 of Mrs. Madison that it was with much re- 
 gret she prepared to leave it. Many and 
 dear were her friends, and they united in 
 showing every attention that affection and 
 respect could dictate. The actual depar- 
 ture was delayed for some time by the 
 many entertainments given in honor of 
 the Ex-President and his wife. 
 
 From a letter written by a Virginia lady, 
 who was once an inmate of the White 
 House, we take the following extract : — 
 
 " My recollections of Mrs. Madison are 
 
144 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 of the most agreeable nature, and were 
 formed from a long and intimate acquaint- 
 ance, beginning in my childhood and end- 
 ing only with her life. She had a sweet 
 natural dignity of manner, which attracted - 
 while it commanded respect ; a proper de- 
 gree of reserve without stiffness in com- 
 pany with strangers ; and a stamp of 
 frankness and sincerity, which, with her 
 intimate friends, became gayety and play- 
 fulness of manner. There was, too, a cor- 
 dial, genial, sunny atmosphere surround- 
 ing her which won all hearts — and was 
 one of the secrets of her popularity. She 
 was said to be, during Mr. Madison's 
 administration, the most popular person 
 in the United States, and she certainly 
 had a remarkable memory for names and 
 faces. No person introduced to Mrs. Mad- 
 ison at one of the crowded levees at the 
 White House required a second presen- 
 tation on meeting her again, but had the 
 gratification of being recognized and ad- 
 dressed by name. Her son, Payne Todd, 
 was a worthless fellow, and his behavior 
 was the great sorrow of her life. Mr. 
 Madison, during his lifetime, bore with 
 him like a father, and paid many of his 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 45 
 
 debts ; but he was an incorrigible spend- 
 thrift, and spent his own fortune and his 
 mother's too, embittering the last years of 
 her life." 
 
 TO MRS. MADISON FROM MRS. LEE. 
 
 Washington, March 4, 181 7. 
 
 My dear Friend, — On this day eight 
 years ago, I wrote from the retirement of 
 Sully to congratulate you on the joyful 
 event that placed you in the highest sta- 
 tion our country can bestow. I then en- 
 joyed the proudest feelings — that my 
 friend, the friend of my youth, who never 
 had forsaken me, should be thus distin- 
 guished, and so peculiarly fitted for it. 
 
 How much greater cause have I to con- 
 gratulate you at this period, for having so 
 filled it as to render yourself more envi- 
 able this day than your successor, as it is 
 more difficult to deserve the gratitude and 
 thanks of the community than their con- 
 gratulations. You have most decidedly 
 deserved all of this. Being deprived, by 
 the sickness of my child, from joining the 
 multitude to-day in paying my respects 
 where they are due, I feel the sweetest 
 10 
 
146 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 consolation in devoting myself to you. 
 My heart clings to you, my beloved friend, 
 and has done so for the last fortnight, with 
 a selfishness that produces the keenest 
 feelings of regret, and though my domestic 
 habits, more than inclination, have pre- 
 vented my taking advantage of your kind 
 invitations to be more with you, yet I felt 
 a security and pleasure in being so near 
 you, and a confidence in your affection, 
 that constituted my chief pride as a citi- 
 zen, I assure you. But the period has at 
 length arrived when we must again part. 
 You will retire from the tumult and fa- 
 tigue of public life to your favorite retreat 
 in Orange County, and will carry with you 
 principles and manners not to be put off 
 with the robe of state, having been drawn 
 from maternal breasts, and nurtured from 
 the example of those dear, pious parents, 
 to whom you ever resigned yourself with 
 such filial obedience and devotion as to 
 bring their blessings on your head. Tal- 
 ents such as yours were never intended 
 to remain inactive ; on retiring from pub- 
 lic life, you will form a more fortunate ar- 
 rangement of your time, be able to display 
 them in the more noble and interesting 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 47 
 
 walks of life. You will cherish them, my 
 dear friend, in a more native soil ; they 
 will constitute the chief felicity of your 
 dear, venerated husband, and descend in 
 full perfection to your son. I remember 
 at this moment, in my last conversation 
 with my venerable uncle, your father's 
 friend, he said of you, " She will hold out 
 to the end ; she was a dutiful daughter, 
 and never turned her back on an old 
 friend, and was charitable to the poor." 
 Will you do me the favor, dear Dolly, — 
 for it is near my heart that you should, — 
 take advantage of some leisure moment 
 to say something for me to your husband. 
 In the fullness of my gratitude I can ex- 
 press nothing, but shall ever hold in re- 
 membrance the highly valued friendship 
 and confidence he has shown my husband. 
 I rejoice to hear that you do not leave the 
 city very soon, and may hope to enjoy 
 your society, though I presume your en- 
 gagements are most numerous just now. 
 I must ask your pardon for thrusting such 
 an epistle upon you, but it relieves my 
 heart, and will not, I trust, wound yours ; 
 it demands no other acknowledgment, at 
 present, than a cordial reception. It 
 
148 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 grows dark, and I want you to have this 
 on this momentous evening. 
 
 Believe me most truly yours, 
 
 Eliza Lee. 
 
 There were many persons who ascribed 
 to Mrs. Madison a degree of influence 
 over the public conduct of her husband 
 far greater than really existed. That her 
 opinions, even upon public affairs, had 
 great weight with her husband is unques- 
 tionably true, for he frequently gave his 
 testimony to the solidity of her advice ; 
 but there is no evidence that it either orig- 
 inated or materially altered any part of the 
 course he had laid out for himself. When- 
 ever she differed in sentiment from him, 
 she perfectly understood her own position, 
 and that the best way of recommending 
 her views was by entire concession. A 
 word said after the mood had passed would 
 receive great consideration from him ; her 
 influence was of that calm, negative order, 
 which often prevents evil consequences 
 from momentary indiscretion. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 149 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Mr. Madison's second term having ex- 
 pired, and his Secretary of State, James 
 Monroe, being installed in the Presidency, 
 he gladly retired to his dearly-loved Mont- 
 pelier, where with a few congenial friends 
 around him, he could still give a large pro- 
 portion of his time to his favorite studies. 
 He was a silent, grave man, whose nature 
 was relieved by a vein of quaint, quiet 
 humor, which, in his moments of relaxa- 
 tion, gave an inexpressible charm to his 
 presence. A statesman of an unusually 
 sound mind and great research, his diplo- 
 matic correspondence was remarkable for 
 its clearness and precision ; the language, 
 well-chosen and to the point, showed a 
 cool, clear judgment, which caused him to 
 be referred to in matters of importance, 
 even before and after his many years of 
 public life. 
 
 He combined with a free and manly ex- 
 pression of his opinions an observance of 
 
150 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 parliamentary courtesy, worthy of the dig- 
 nity of his character, and of the gravity 
 and importance of the question at issue. 
 His style of dress^.was never altered : plain 
 black cloth coat and knee-breeches with 
 buckles, the hair powdered and worn in a 
 queue behind ; the daily task of dressing 
 it devolved upon his wife, who would not 
 think his body-servant capable of doing it 
 justice. He was a decided contrast to 
 Mrs. Madison, who was still blooming, and 
 showed little sign of the forty-five years 
 she was entitled to. Always handsomely 
 and becomingly dressed, her matronly fig- 
 ure had not yet outgrown the grace and 
 dignity so much admired. 
 
 He shared with General Washington 
 and Mr. Jefferson a great predilection for 
 agricultural pursuits, and Montpelier, his 
 father's residence, had always been his 
 home during the few months in summer 
 that he was enabled to throw off partially 
 the cares of official life. He devoted him- 
 self with great earnestness, as well as a 
 keen relish, to the tranquil and tranquiliz- 
 ing pursuits of the country, identifying 
 himself with all its familiar and home-bred 
 interests, and embarking with zeal in every 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 5 I 
 
 plan for the improvement of agriculture, 
 its processes, and its implements. A few- 
 extracts from the almost daily correspond- 
 ence between him and Mr. Jefferson, at 
 the time of one of his congressional va- 
 cations, will show the primitive tastes of 
 these two statesmen, which with Washing- 
 ton made them the true representatives of 
 the great agricultural classes and interests 
 of America. 
 
 In his first letter from Virginia he says : 
 "Our fields continue to anticipate a luxu- 
 riant harvest. The greatest danger is ap- 
 prehended from too rapid a vegetation, 
 under the present warm weather. . . . 
 Will you be so good, in case an opportu- 
 nity should offer, to inquire of Dr. Logan 
 as to the ploughs he was to have made 
 and sent to Mrs. House's for me." In a 
 letter a few weeks later, he speaks with 
 the anxiety and minuteness of a practical 
 farmer, of the unfavorable change which 
 the intervening period had made in the 
 prospects of the crops. 
 
 " Our fine prospects in the wheat-field 
 have been severely injured by the weather 
 for some time past. The wheat had gotten 
 safe into the head, and with tolerable 
 
152 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 weather would have ripened into a most 
 exuberant harvest. . . . Should the weather 
 be ever so favorable henceforward, a con- 
 siderable proportion will be lost." 
 
 Mr. Jefferson found time, in the midst 
 of his absorbing duties as Secretary of 
 State, to execute the commission of his 
 friend, and to indulge his yearnings for 
 the country life from which he was so re- 
 luctantly parted. In a letter on the 9th of 
 June, 1793, he says to Mr. Madison : "Your 
 ploughs shall be duly attended to. Have 
 you taken notice of Tull's horse-shoeing 
 plough ? I am persuaded that it is good 
 where you wish your work to be very exact, 
 and our great plough, where a less degree 
 of exactness is required, leaves us nothing 
 to wish for from other countries as to 
 ploughs, under our circumstances. I have 
 not yet received my (Scotch) threshing- 
 machine. I fear the late long and heavy 
 rains have extended to us, and affected 
 our wheat." 
 
 These allusions to rural life, and its in- 
 terests and occupations, recur perpetually 
 in all the letters of the two friends, in the 
 midst of the gravest discussions on the 
 country's welfare, and exhibits, besides. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 53 
 
 another pleasing feature in Mr. Madison's 
 character as a country gentleman. He 
 gave himself up with a free and conge- 
 nial spirit to the duties of hospitality and 
 the calls of social intercourse and friend- 
 ship. He goes to pay promised visits to 
 two friends in the neighboring county of 
 Albemarle, Colonel Monroe and Colonel 
 Wilson Cary Nicholas ; and on his return 
 writes to Mr. Jefferson : " I find the house 
 full of particular friends, who will stay 
 some weeks, receiving and returning visits, 
 from which I cannot decently exclude my- 
 self, even for my dear library." 
 
 We are tempted to pursue still further 
 the unreserved correspondence of these two 
 congenial friends ; in one letter, where 
 Mr. Jefferson feels so anxious to return to 
 Monticello, that he is seriously tempted to 
 resign the portfolio of State ; and in an- 
 other, where he writes to urge Mr. Madi- 
 son to purchase a farm in the immediate 
 vicinity of his own home, " a nice little 
 place," he adds, "which purchase would 
 add so much to my happiness." 
 
 Enough has been said, however, to show 
 the spirit with which Mr. Madison turned 
 his back upon Washington, and the cares 
 
154 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 of office, devoting himself to his favorite 
 pursuits, reading and farming, for the re- 
 maining years of his life. Mrs. Madison, 
 too, was devoted to Montpelier, and led a 
 busy life among her household of guests, 
 and the many interests of gardens and 
 poor people. Mr. Madison senior, and his 
 eldest son Ambrose, had both passed away, 
 leaving the property, which comprised 
 2,500 acres, to James, who enlarged the 
 house to make room for friends, without 
 interfering at all with his mother's house- 
 hold. She lived to the age of ninety-eight 
 years, retaining the use of all the original 
 part of the old homestead, and keeping up 
 the old-fashioned hours ; waited upon by 
 servants who had grown old in her service. 
 One old negro at ninety, with a halo of 
 gray hair about his head, refused to allow 
 any one to take his place behind his mis- 
 tress's chair, though sleep sometimes made 
 him totter in a most alarming manner. 
 
 General Lafayette, when he visited Mont- 
 pelier in his last journey to this country in 
 1825, enjoyed going about with Mrs. Mad- 
 ison to all the different cabins occupied 
 by the negroes, one of whom. Granny 
 Milly, a hundred and four years old, lived 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 155 
 
 with her daughter and granddaughters, the 
 youngest seventy years of age, all retired 
 from their labors. These became great 
 friends of his, and he would stroll down to 
 the " Walnut Grove "for a little chat, com- 
 ing back with a fresh ^gg, or a nosegay 
 presented by the old people. 
 
 The house of Montpelier lay on a very 
 pretty slope of land, surrounded by the 
 Blue Ridge Mountains, which extended as 
 far as the eye could reach, with little vis- 
 tas of country roads winding in and out ; 
 roads eagerly scanned with a telescope, 
 which was part of the portico furniture, 
 when carriages were almost daily seen, 
 bringing friends, or even strangers, who 
 wished to pay their respects to the host 
 and hostess. Tourists on the road to the 
 Virginia Springs were told at Orange 
 Court House that they were only five 
 miles from Ex-President Madison's, and 
 though hesitating to intrude upon his pri- 
 vacy, they most of them found their way 
 to the hospitable mansion, and were reas- 
 sured by the cordiality of their reception. 
 
 A contemporary writer, describing Mont- 
 pelier, says : "There are few houses in Vir- 
 ginia that gave a larger welcome, or made 
 
156 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 it more agreeable, than that over which 
 * Queen Dolly,' the most gracious and be- 
 loved of all our female sovereigns, reigned, 
 and wielding as skillfully the domestic, as 
 she had done worthily and popularly the 
 public, sceptre ; everything that came be- 
 neath her immediate and personal sway, 
 the care and entertainment of visitors, the 
 government of servants, the whole policy 
 of the interior, was admirably managed 
 with equal grace and efficacy." 
 
 The house had a very large, wide por- 
 tico in front, supported by pillars, where 
 Mr. Madison exercised in stormy weather, 
 walking his allotted number of miles. In 
 the centre of the gravel walk to the first 
 gate, a large tin cup was imbedded to show 
 the amount of rain fallen, which was care- 
 fully measured and brought to him, after a 
 shower, and on the right hand a path bor- 
 dered with silver pine led to a little build- 
 ing in the form of a temple, surmounted 
 by a statue of Liberty, and intended for his 
 study ; from this, groups of trees — silver 
 poplar and weeping willow — concealed the 
 numerous out-buildings so essential to a 
 southern country - house. Back of the 
 house was another large portico, opening 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 157 
 
 on an extensive lawn, bounded by a ha-ha 
 hedge, and with two large tulip-trees in the 
 centre, so exactly alike that Mr. Madison 
 named them *' the twins ; " they were still 
 standing a few years ago in a field, sur- 
 rounded by a quantity of tiger-lilies, the 
 product of seed sent from France by Gen- 
 eral Lafayette. Our much-abused thistle, 
 too, was first propagated in that region by 
 a package of seeds from the same source, 
 marked "very rare." 
 
 At some distance from the house was a 
 garden laid out in the form of a large 
 horse-shoe, and kept in perfect order by a 
 French gardener, named Beazee. This 
 Beazee and his wife came to Virginia at 
 the time of the French Revolution, and 
 made themselves very popular with the 
 slaves, taking the trouble to teach some of 
 the more enlightened ones to speak French, 
 much to the amusement of their mistress, 
 who laughed very heartily over the jargon. 
 The wife was a good woman, with a very 
 voluble tongue, and who delighted to please 
 "Madame" in any way. She exercised 
 her ingenuity in manufacturing a very 
 ugly shade hat, which Mrs. Madison called 
 her "Beazee bonnet," and wore during 
 her morning rambles about the place. 
 
158 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 Fruits of all kinds, including figs, flowers, 
 and plants, many of them rare and deli- 
 cate, sent by admiring friends, made the 
 grounds most attractive to guests. Roses 
 and white jessamine entwined the pillars 
 of the south portico, creeping up to the 
 terraces and making the summer air rich 
 with perfume, as it stole in through the 
 long drawing-room windows. The " old 
 lady," as she was called, had her own sep- 
 arate garden, laid out in the most prim, 
 old-fashioned manner by her own gardener. 
 No innovation of any kind was allowed in 
 her domain. She was a woman of strong 
 mind and good education, active and 
 bright up to the last days of her life, 
 taking a great interest and pride in the 
 friends visiting her son and daughter, who 
 were brought to see her and her quaint 
 surroundings at two o'clock, the hour set 
 apart for receiving. At this hour she was 
 to be found seated upon a couch in the 
 centre of a large room, with a table by her 
 side, containing her Bible and prayer-book, 
 which, with her knitting, divided her time ; 
 the innumerable gloves and stockings 
 made by her, with the names knitted in, 
 were presented to those whom she fancied 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 159 
 
 among the guests. The long hall, with its 
 highly polished floor, connecting the old 
 wing with the main part of the house, was 
 hung with pictures, and led into the large 
 dining-room in which were many portraits. 
 Napoleon in his ermine robes, Louis the 
 Fourteenth, Confucius, several members 
 of the family, and faithful slaves, together 
 with a water-color painting of Mr. Jeffer- 
 son by his enthusiastic admirer Kosciusko, 
 — these with the many medalhons and 
 other testimonials of respect and admira- 
 tion from crowned heads as well as friends, 
 covered the walls, while the large, polished 
 mahogany table and sideboard were bright 
 with silver, the accumulation of three fam- 
 ilies. Out of this opened Mr. Madison's 
 sitting-room, furnished with chairs and bed 
 of iron, brought by Mr. Monroe from the 
 dismantled palace of the Tuileries ; the last 
 with very high posts, and a heavy canopy 
 of crimson damask. 
 
 Here, with his own desk and papers 
 around him, he spent much time, and to- 
 wards the latter years of his life, when 
 rheumatism crippled his fingers so that 
 he could not manage the knife, he dined 
 at a small table, placed sufficiently near 
 
l60 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 the door of the dining-room to permit con- 
 versation with his guests. Another door 
 opened into a room filled with statuary, 
 called the " clock-room," out of respect to 
 an old-fashioned English clock, which regu- 
 lated the household for many years. There 
 were some fifty statues and busts, including 
 those of Washington, Jefferson and the 
 elder Adams, with a very excellent profile 
 of himself in marble by Carried, who af- 
 terwards lost his life in prison from hav- 
 ing invented the infernal machine. The 
 drawing-room was carpeted with Persian 
 rugs, the walls were quite covered with 
 mirrors and pictures, six of which last 
 were by Stuart, and the framed Declara- 
 tion of Independence; while many pretty 
 bits of furniture and china made the 
 room look cheerful and homelike, as one 
 glanced through the glass doors leading 
 in from the lawn. From the front hall the 
 carved oaken staircase led up-stairs to the 
 bedrooms and the library, the latter not 
 only lined with book-cases, but the centre 
 so filled with them that there was only 
 just room enough to pass among them. 
 Books and pamphlets were piled up every- 
 where, on every available chair and table, 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. l6l 
 
 accumulated by Mr. Madison and his fa- 
 ther, who shared the same literary tastes. 
 Added to their own collection was the 
 valuable library of Lord Dunmore, bought 
 by the elder Madison, and left at his son's 
 death to the University of Virginia. 
 
 With this pleasant home, full of friends 
 and waited upon by devoted slaves, the 
 days passed quickly enough ; only once 
 did Mr. and Mrs. Madison leave Montpe- 
 lier for any distance, and that was to go 
 to Richmond, where he attended the con- 
 vention for revising the Constitution of 
 Virginia. Here they were very pleasantly 
 entertained ; the people, famed for their 
 hospitality, were delighted to welcome the 
 Ex-President and his wife, who, after a few 
 weeks of gayety, were glad to return home 
 to their more quiet country life. 
 
 Mrs. Madison had been very much drawn 
 to the Episcopal Church before leaving 
 Washington, and though five miles of bad 
 road intervened between her home and the 
 nearest church at Orange Court House, 
 both Mr. Madison and herself, with such 
 guests as were of the same mind, took the 
 long drive every fair Sunday until failing 
 11 
 
1 62 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 health kept him at home and her to keep 
 him company. 
 
 One of the great occasions for bringing 
 the neighbors together from far and near 
 were the camp-meetings, looked forward 
 to with great pleasure and participated in 
 by old and young of all denominations. 
 Barbecues, too, were at the height of their 
 popularity. At these feasts the woods were 
 alive with carriages, horses, servants, and 
 children ; farmers exchanged ideas about 
 crops and politics, while a long table was 
 spread under the forest oaks, and heaped 
 with good things of every kind. Animals 
 were roasted whole, the punch-bowl passed 
 from lip to lip accompanied by an appetite 
 v/hetted by the invigorating mountain air, 
 "and the pleasure of clasping hands with 
 neighbors seen only at meeting time." 
 The woods rang with merriment. If not 
 too late, fiddles were produced by some of 
 the negroes, and a dance ended the day, 
 the guests departing reluctantly and ac- 
 cording to the number of miles before 
 them, while the negroes, after a feast off 
 the remains of the repast, made the night 
 melodious with their wild, sweet songs. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 163 
 
 TO MR. EDWARD COLES. 
 
 MONTPELIER, September 3, 18 19. 
 
 I have received, my dear sir, your agree- 
 able letter, which lingered a long time on 
 the way. 
 
 We congratulate you much on the vari- 
 ous successes of your western career, and 
 the first thing that strikes us is the rapid- 
 ity of your promotions. Bounding over 
 the preliminary sailorship, the first step 
 on the deck of your bark — pardon me, of 
 the noble structure the Ark — makes you 
 a pilot ; the name of pilot is scarcely pro- 
 nounced before you are a captain ; and in 
 less than the twinkling of an eye the cap- 
 tain starts up a commodore. On the land 
 a scene opens out before us in which you, 
 too, figure. We see you at once a plough- 
 man, a rail-splitter, a fence-builder, a corn- 
 planter, and a hay -maker. To all these 
 rural functions, which leave but a single 
 defect in your title of husband-(man), you 
 add the facilities of a town life. And to 
 cap the whole you enjoy the official dignity 
 of ''Register of the Land Office" in the 
 important Territory of Illinois. We repeat 
 our congratulations on all these honors 
 
1 64 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 and employments, and wish that the emol- 
 uments may equal them. 
 
 You are well off, for this year at least, 
 when you can expect bread from corn 
 planted in July. Here, famine threatens 
 us in the midst of fields planted in April. 
 So severe a drought is not remembered. 
 On some farms, and among them my two 
 small ones near home, there has been no 
 rain at all, or none to produce any sensible 
 effect. It has been, I hear, particularly 
 hard upon the tobacco crop in Virginia, 
 and will make a bad year. 
 
 You are pursuing, I observe, the true 
 course with your negroes in order to make 
 their freedom a fair experiment for their 
 happiness. With the habits of the slave 
 and without the instruction, property, or 
 employments of ^freeman, the blacks, in- 
 stead of deriving advantage from the par- 
 tial benevolence of their masters, furnish 
 arguments against the general efforts in 
 their behalf. I wish your philanthropy 
 could complete its object by changing 
 their color as well as their legal condition. 
 Without this they seem destined to a pri- 
 vation of that moral rank and those social 
 blessings which give to freedom more than^ 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 65 
 
 half its value. Mrs. Madison as well as 
 myself is much gratified by your promise 
 to devote the next winter to your native 
 haunts. We sincerely hope your arrange- 
 ments will give us an ample share of your 
 time. We will then take the case of your 
 bachelorship into serious and full consid- 
 eration. Mrs, Madison is well disposed to 
 give all her aid in getting that old thorn 
 out of your side, and putting a young rib in 
 its place. She very justly remarks, how- 
 ever, that with your own exertions hers 
 will not be wanted, and without them not 
 deserved. 
 
 Accept our joint wishes for your health 
 and every other happiness. 
 
 James Madison. 
 
 Payne Todd came home from Europe, 
 after several years of traveling which made 
 large inroads into his fortune, and bought 
 an estate in Virginia. Much of his time, 
 however, was spent in Philadelphia and 
 Washington, or in wandering about, to his 
 mother's sorrow, who had been very anx- 
 ious to have him marry and settle down to 
 a profession. 
 
1 66 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 TO PAYNE TODD, ESQ. 
 
 r^IONTPELIER, April ^, 1823. 
 
 I am impatient to hear from you, my 
 dearest Payne, and had I known where to 
 direct I should have written you before 
 this : not that there is anything particular 
 to communicate, but for the pleasure of 
 repeating how much I love you, and to 
 hear of your happiness. 
 
 Your father received the journal of 
 " Las Casas," with your name in it, from 
 Philadelphia, which is an indication that 
 you are there, and I write accordingly. 
 We returned yesterday from Monticello, 
 after passing three days with Mr. Jefferson 
 and one with Judge Nelson. 
 
 Ellen and Virginia were indisposed, but 
 all the others, with Mr. Jefferson, are well ; 
 they hoped to have seen you with us. I 
 inclose a letter your father received from 
 General Taylor, as, perhaps, you might 
 draw on him without knowing his payment 
 was intended to be made you so soon. 
 Let me know when you propose leaving 
 Philadelphia and your route, that I may 
 send you £ome commissions. Adieu, my 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 6/ 
 
 dear boy. Your father joins me in affec- 
 tionate wishes for you. Your 
 
 Mother. 
 
 to payne todd, esq. 
 
 MoxTPELiER, December 2, 1824. 
 I have received yours, my dearest Payne, 
 of the 23d and 24th of November, and was 
 impatient to answer them yesterday, — the 
 day of their reaching me, — but owing to 
 the winter arrangement for the mail, no 
 post leaves this until to-morrow morning. 
 Mr. Clay inquired affectionately after you ; 
 he with two members of Congress have 
 been passing several days with us. Every 
 one inquires after you ; but, my dear son, 
 it seems to be the wonder of them all that 
 you should stay away from us for so long 
 a time ! and now I am ashamed to tell, 
 when asked, how long my only child has 
 been absent from the home of his mother. 
 Your father and I entreat you to come to 
 us ; to arrange your business with those 
 concerned, so that you may return to them 
 when necessary, and let us see you here 
 as soon as possible with your interest and 
 convenience. Your father thinks as I do, 
 that it would be best for your reputation 
 
1 68 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 and happiness, as well as ours, that you 
 should consult your parents on subjects of 
 deep account to you, and that you would 
 find it so on returning to Philadelphia at 
 the appointed time, which shall be when- 
 ever you wish it. I have said in my late 
 letters, as well as this, all that I thought 
 sufficient to influence you. I must now 
 put my trust in God alone ! . . . 
 
 I can add no news that is likely to inter- 
 est you, except about poor Judge Todd, 
 who is very ill ; and that Ellen Randolph 
 is to be married to Mr. Coolidge. We 
 should rejoice in any occurrence that 
 would bring you speedily to our arms, who 
 love you with inexpressible tenderness and 
 constancy. Your own Mother. 
 
 TO MRS. MADISON FROM MRS. PHCEBE 
 MORRIS. 
 
 Washington, Jatiuary 19, 1824. 
 My DEAREST Mrs. Madison, — I have 
 been in Washington about a fortnight, 
 where everything reminds me of you ; but 
 alas ! sometimes painfully, for so many 
 scenes of joy and sorrow have passed since 
 the happy period of my early youth, which 
 was rendered more joyous by your protect- 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 69 
 
 ing care. We are very comfortably estab- 
 lished together at the "six buildings." I 
 often think of you and my dear Mr. Madi- 
 son alone at Montpeher, for you have told 
 me that there is not so much visiting in 
 winter. I know all your motions and ways 
 so well, that at any hour of the day I can 
 represent to myself what you are doing. 
 What do you think of the probability of 
 having the Marquis de Lafayette for a 
 visit, for surely Montpelier will be the first 
 place to fly to, when he comes to the 
 United States. The Secretary of the 
 Navy says he shall have one of the finest 
 and best manned vessels in the service to 
 convey him hither, if Mitchell's resolution 
 is carried, and he wishes to come, which 
 does not appear as yet quite decided. 
 
 Mrs. Monroe is really going to have a 
 drawing-room on Wednesday. You have 
 no doubt seen the description of Mrs. 
 Hays's personal elegance of deportment 
 and costume in the papers. We all at- 
 tended Mrs. Adams's reception on the 8th, 
 and it was really a very brilliant party, 
 and admirably well arranged. The ladies 
 climbed the chairs and benches to see Gen- 
 eral Jackson, and Mrs. Adams very grace- 
 
170 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 fully took his arm, and walked through the 
 apartments with him, which gratified the 
 general curiosity. 
 
 It is said there were fourteen hundred 
 cards issued, and about eight hundred sup- 
 posed to be present. 
 
 I would like to hear something of Miss 
 Willis ; whenever I feel a little romantic, 
 and think of some pure and innocent be- 
 ing, sheltered from the. storms of life, and 
 lovely in the bosom of retreat, my imagi- 
 nation turns to that sweet and sympathetic 
 girl. I beg you will remember me to her 
 affectionately, my dearest friend, also to 
 her excellent mother. How is your mother, 
 Mrs. Madison } I hope she is as bright 
 and active as ever : give my love and re- 
 spectful admiration to her. Adieu, my 
 dearest and best friend ; believe me, as 
 ever, Your own affectionate 
 
 Phcebe Morris. 
 
 to mrs. andrew stevenson. 
 
 MONTPELIER, 1826. 
 
 I have received by post just now, my 
 ever dear cousin, your welcome letter, and 
 cannot express my anxiety to embrace you 
 once more ; but a spell rests upon me, and 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 171 
 
 withholds me from those I love most in 
 this world ; not a mile can I go from 
 home ; and in no way can I account for it, 
 but that my husband is fixed here, and 
 hates to have me leave him. This is the 
 third winter in which he has been engaged 
 in the arrangement of papers, and the busi- 
 ness seems to accumulate as he proceeds, 
 so that it might outlast my patience, and 
 yet I cannot press him to forsake a duty 
 so important, or find it in my heart to 
 leave him during its fulfillment. We very 
 often speak of you, and the many causes 
 of our admiration for you, concluding, by 
 assuring one another, that if we could leave 
 home this winter, it should be only to visit 
 you and Mr. Stevenson. Allow us, then, 
 my dear, to retain the privilege you so 
 kindly give us, of our rooms, where you 
 shall some day see us. 
 
 This fall I had the pleasure of receiving 
 a visit from Mrs. Randolph, her sister, and 
 Ellen ; they told me you had been indis- 
 posed, and from your silence, I feared you 
 had not recovered. I receive letters every 
 week from my sister Anna ; she is in a 
 round of pleasant society, and though de- 
 voted as ever to her children, takes time 
 
1/2 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 to enjoy a good dance. Mrs. Brown, whom 
 you may remember, has rented a house 
 near her, gives a great many handsome 
 parties. Mrs. Crawford, Mrs. Adams, and 
 many others keep up the fashion of dissi- 
 pation. Our love, dear cousin, to you and 
 yours, hoping to see you ere long. 
 Affectionately yours, 
 
 Dolly Madison. 
 
 Much as she graced her public station, 
 Mrs. Madison has not been less admirable 
 in domestic life. Neighborly and compan- 
 ionable among her country friends, as if 
 she had never lived in a city ; delighting 
 in the society of young people, and pro- 
 moting their pleasure by her participation 
 and enjoyment of it; she still proved her- 
 self a most affectionate and devoted wife 
 during the years of suffering before Mr. 
 Madison's death. Without neglecting the 
 duties of a kind hostess, a faithful friend 
 and relative, she soothed, occupied, and 
 amused the tiresome hours of his long con- 
 finement. 
 
 Never, in the midst of a drawing-room, 
 surrounded on all sides by everything that 
 was brilliant and courtly, — the centre of 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 173 
 
 attraction, the object of admiration, — never 
 was she so interesting, so attractive, as in 
 her loving attendance on her venerable 
 mother-in-law, who said, "Dolly is my 
 mother now, and cares most tenderly for 
 all my wants," and later on, in filUng the 
 same office to her husband in his declining 
 years. 
 
 Monticello was about thirty miles from 
 Montpelier, and in the estimate of a Vir- 
 ginian, Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Madison 
 were neighbors, and visited frequently, over 
 roads so bad that outriders were brought 
 into requisition at times to hold up the 
 coach. 
 
 TO ANNA. 
 
 Montpelier, July 5, 1820. 
 
 I have just received yours, dearest Anna, 
 and rejoice that you are well and have 
 your friends about you. Yesterday we had 
 ninety persons to dine with us at one ta- 
 ble, — put up on the lawn, under a thick 
 arbor. The dinner was profuse and good, 
 and the company very orderly. Many of 
 them were old acquaintance of yours, and 
 among them the two Barbours. 
 
 We had no ladies except mother Madi- 
 son, Mrs. Macon, and Nelly Willis ; the 
 
1/4 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 day was cool and pleasant ; half a dozen 
 only stayed all night with us, and they are 
 now about to depart. Colonel Monroe's 
 letter this morning announces the advent 
 of the French Minister, and we shall ex- 
 pect him this evening, or perhaps sooner. 
 I am less worried here with an hundred 
 visitors than with twenty-five in Washing- 
 ton, — this summer especially. I wish, 
 dearest, you had just such a country home 
 as this. I truly believe it is the happiest 
 and most true life, and would be so good 
 for you and the dear children. 
 
 Always your devoted sister, 
 
 Dolly P. Madison. 
 
 Her nieces and nephews, children of the 
 favorite sister, Anna, were a great delight 
 and pleasure to Mrs. Madison, and she 
 kept up a constant correspondence with 
 them, particularly with Mary, and Dolly 
 her namesake, from their babyhood. 
 
 TO HER NIECE, MARY CUTTS. 
 
 MONTPELIER, July 30, 1826. 
 
 Your letter, my dearest niece, with the 
 one before it, came quite safely, for which 
 I return many thanks and kisses. I rejoice 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 75 
 
 too, dear Dolly, to see how well you write 
 and express yourself, and am as proud of 
 all your acquirements as if you were my 
 own daughter. I trust you will yet be 
 with me this summer, when I shall see 
 your improvement in person also, and en- 
 joy the sweet assurance of your affection. 
 Mary Lee and her husband have been in- 
 disposed, but are better. They say often 
 they hope you will come with your dear 
 mother, as do all your relatives and friends 
 in this quarter. The old lady, — even the 
 negroes, young and old, want to see you, 
 dear. 
 
 We had old Mr. Patterson and his son 
 Edward from Baltimore to stay with us 
 several days, and they tell me that Mad- 
 ame Bonaparte is still in France, and her 
 son gone to Rome to visit his father. Mr. 
 Monroe left us yesterday, disappointed in 
 his views of raising money from his land. 
 Mr. B. continued on his way to the Springs, 
 and I was disappointed at not sending a 
 packet to you, inclosing the flounce which 
 I wanted you to wear, worked by me long 
 ago. 
 
 I received by the last post a letter from 
 your cousin Payne, at New York ; he 
 
176 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 writes in fine health and spirits, and says 
 he will be detained only a few weeks 
 longer in that city. I sincerely hope to 
 see him soon, though it is impossible for 
 him to prefer Virginia to the North. If I 
 were in Washington with you I know I 
 could not conform to the formal rules of 
 visiting they now have, but would disgrace 
 myself by rushing about among my friends 
 at all hours. Here I find it most agreeable 
 to stay at home, everything around me is 
 so beautiful. Our garden promises grapes 
 and figs in abundance, but I shall not en- 
 joy them unless your mamma comes, and 
 brings you to help us with them ; tell the 
 boys they must come too. Alas ! poor Wal- 
 ter, away at sea ! I can scarcely trust my- 
 self to think of him, — his image fills my 
 eyes with tears. 
 
 Adieu, and believe me always your ten- 
 der mother and aunt, 
 
 Dolly P. Madison. 
 
 P. S. We are very old-fashioned here. 
 Can you send me a paper pattern of the 
 present sleeve, and describe the width of 
 dress and waist ; also how turbans are 
 pinned up, bonnets worn, as well as how 
 to behave in the fashion ? 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. lyj 
 
 TO DOLLY. 
 MoNTPELiER, March lo, 1830. 
 
 I am now seated, pen in hand, my sweet 
 niece, to write you, though not in the hu- 
 mor for the success I desire in producing 
 an amusing letter such as mine should be 
 in answer to yours. 
 
 Imagine, if you can, a greater trial to the 
 patience of us farmers than the destruc- 
 tion of a radiant patch of green peas by 
 frost ! It came last night on the skirts of 
 a storm ; and while I was lamenting that 
 our dear midshipman, Walter, should ever 
 be exposed to such winds, my young adven- 
 turers at home were completely wrecked 
 off their m^oorings ! But away with com- 
 plaints, other patches equally radiant will 
 arise, and I will mourn no longer over a 
 mess of peas or pottage, but would rather 
 meet you somewhere, or hear about your 
 last party. I had, indeed, my ^' qiiaritiim 
 sufficif of gayety in Richmond, but what 
 I enjoyed most was the quiet but thorough 
 hospitality of the inhabitants among whom 
 I should like to spend my winters. Wash- 
 ington, if my old friends were still there, 
 would no doubt be my preference ; but I 
 12 
 
178 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 confess I do not admire contention in any 
 form, either political or civil. In my quiet 
 retreat I like to hear of what is going on, 
 and therefore hope, my dear, you will not 
 be timid in telling me, though your state- 
 ments shall be seen by no one else. I wish 
 that circumstances would have permitted 
 you to have accepted Mr. V. B.'s invita- 
 tion, but I cannot doubt you had a good 
 reason for declining. By the bye, do you 
 ever get hold of a clever novel, new or old, 
 that you could send me t I bought Coop- 
 er's last, but did not care for it, because 
 the story was so full of horrors. 
 
 Adieu, my dearest Dolly, think of me as 
 your own friend as well as aunt, and write 
 as often as you can to 
 
 Yours affectionately, 
 
 Dolly P. Madison. 
 
 TO DOLLY. 
 MoNTPELiER, Nove7nber, 1830. 
 Dearest Ntece, — I have been so much 
 engaged in the book you kindly sent by 
 the last post, that I have scarcely left my- 
 self time to thank you for it by this. I 
 will, however, take an early opportunity to 
 show my gratitude by a longer letter. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 79 
 
 If you can send me the " Romance of 
 History " I will be very glad, and will make 
 proper dispatch in the perusal of it. Gov- 
 ernor Barbour is here and will stay some 
 time. Philippa does not expect to see 
 Washington again for some time, and re- 
 grets it much. Her father is now a judge 
 and she a recluse. I find you have no idea 
 yet of the improvement love can make, or 
 you would not surmise that another must 
 have had to do the courting for John. Af- 
 ter he became acquainted with S. Carter, 
 his tongue twanged as if sent from a bow ! 
 Last winter when I witnessed his attentions 
 to her, and heard him talk and laugh like 
 Ganymede, I knew it was Cupid's act, by 
 the color. She is a sweet girl and I hope 
 you will see her before long, you and my 
 dear Mary. 
 
 Ever your affectionate aunt, 
 
 Dolly P. Madison. 
 
 TO MARY. 
 MoNTPELiER, Jaiiuary 5, 183 1. 
 Dearest Mary, — Yours, ending on 
 the 2d of January, came to relieve my op- 
 pressed heart with the tidings of your be- 
 loved mother's recovery from that extreme 
 
l8o MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 illness, under which I knew or feared she 
 was laboring. 
 
 I had written a week ago this day to 
 Dolly and one to you, inclosed to your 
 father, which could hardly have reached 
 you, or you would have yielded to my 
 pleadings for that single line by every post 
 which would tell me your mamma is better 
 and has a prospect of regaining her health. 
 To secure this, my dearest girls, you must 
 help her in every way you can, keep her 
 room quiet, and herself free from the 
 slightest agitation or uneasiness. The ner- 
 vousness of which Dr. Sim speaks must 
 be attended to with all your delicacy of 
 thought and conduct ; her sufferings have 
 caused it, and now, no one should approach 
 her who is not sensible of the importance 
 of smiles and comfort to one who has been 
 so near the grave. May Heaven sustain 
 and support her for many years to come to 
 bless you with her protecting love. 
 
 I inclose '* The Oxonians," which I could 
 not read, while my heart was oppressed by 
 fears for you all. We are well and send 
 love. Your own aunt, 
 
 Dolly P. Madison. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. i8l 
 
 TO MARY. 
 MoNTPELiER, September i8, 1831. 
 My dearest Mary, — I hasten to an- 
 swer your nice letter in order to obtain 
 your forgiveness about the mislaid letter ; 
 I fear Beckey may have used it to kindle 
 the fire she was so anxious about for her 
 master, and as far as I can discover col- 
 lected everything in the way of paper on 
 my table this morning. It was so short 
 I hope you can recollect enough of it to 
 write it again for your amiable corre- 
 spondent, to whom give my assurance of 
 love. I am so grieved that your mamma 
 is not well, but trust it proceeds from 
 fatigue. Do persuade her to go to see 
 Mrs. B., and not to worry about household 
 cares. I hope the alarm of "insurrections" 
 is over in the city, though every one should 
 be on guard after this. I am quiet, hear- 
 ing little about it, and quite helpless if 
 in danger. Tell Mr. Trist I send him a 
 few leaves, if not the whole flower, of his 
 dear lady (Cape Jessamine), who is now 
 blooming, when all her contemporaries 
 have changed color and are passing away, 
 emblematic of her good disposition and 
 
1 82 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 heart, whose fragrance will last until the 
 end. 
 
 Your Uncle Madison still wears the 
 bead ring you placed on his finger, and I 
 see him look at it every now and then 
 without saying anything. 
 
 My eyes are troubling me, still I write 
 on a great deal of nonsense. To-morrow 
 I expect a large party from Richmond and 
 the lower country to stay with us. I feel 
 very grateful to all those ladies who are 
 so kind to your mother while she is ailing, 
 and could love the blackest Indian who 
 was good to her ; indeed, it seems to me 
 I would like to bribe the whole world to 
 make her well. Payne is on the wing 
 again with three gentlemen in his train. 
 
 Adieu, dearest niece. Ever yours, 
 
 Dolly Madison. 
 
 TO MARY. 
 MONTPELIER, December^ 1831. 
 My own dear Niece, — I have been 
 the most disconsolate of persons these 
 three or four days, and all because of a 
 violent toothache. The book you mention 
 I will keep unless you say no, while I read 
 the second volume, and send them both to 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 83 
 
 you by Walter, who is summoned to Phila- 
 delphia on the first Monday in January, 
 and will stop in Washington to see you. 
 
 In my last I informed you that Walter 
 and Payne had been detained abroad by 
 bad weather, but now they are safe and 
 sound with us, and we have played chess 
 and talked together all this time without 
 the appearance of ennui. Thank my dear 
 Dolly for her kind letter ; and I rejoice 
 in her recovery, which is due in a great 
 measure to the judicious nursing of a good 
 mother. 
 
 I hope you will soon be going to parties, 
 and give me a detailed account of what is 
 going forward amongst the various charac- 
 ters in Washington. 
 
 I have so long been confined by the side 
 of my dear sick husband, never seeing or 
 hearing outside of his room, that I make a 
 dull correspondent. 
 
 Your uncle is better now than he was 
 three days ago, and I trust will continue to 
 mend, but his poor hands are still sore, 
 and so swollen as to be almost useless, and 
 so I lend him mine. The music -box is 
 playing beside me, and seems well adapted 
 to solitude, as I look out at our mountains, 
 
1 84 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 white with snow, and the winter's wind 
 sounding loud and cold. I hope you will 
 take more than usual care of yourself 
 this weather, and wish I could cover you 
 with furs ; but ah ! if I dare indulge in 
 wishes — 
 
 Good night, my love. Your fond aunt, 
 Dolly Madison. 
 
 to her sister anna. 
 
 MONTPELIER, Allg2lSt 2, 1 832. 
 
 Beloved Sister Anna, — Mrs. Mason 
 has just written to me to say you are a 
 little better, and those dear daughters of 
 yours, Mary and Dolly, whom I shall ever 
 feel are my own children, have often con- 
 soled me by their letters since you were 
 unable to write. Your husband and boys 
 too have written frequently, — all in that 
 affectionate feeling towards you which 
 manifested their deep love ; and although 
 my heart is sad within me, because I can- 
 not see or assist you in your long and pain- 
 ful sickness, yet am I very thankful to the 
 Almighty for his favors in bestowing such 
 devoted friends as have surrounded your 
 pillow. 
 
 My dear husband is recovering, I hope. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 85 
 
 slowly, though still confined to his bed. 
 He speaks of you to me every day with 
 all the partiality and love of a tender 
 brother, and ardently hopes that we may 
 be long spared to each other. 
 
 Mrs. Clay and her husband did not call 
 to see me as we expected. They under- 
 stood that General Jackson was at Mont- 
 pelier and passed on to Governor Barbour's. 
 The next day Mr. Clay came for a few 
 hours, but did not meet the President here. 
 I regretted much not seeing Mrs. Clay, as 
 she would have talked to me of you. 
 
 Do, dear sister, strive to get well and 
 strong for my sake and your children's ; 
 what should we do without you ! As soon 
 as my eyes are well I will write to dear 
 Mrs. B. In the mean time offer her my 
 love and thanks for all her goodness to you. 
 
 Adieu, my dear, ever and always. 
 Your loving sister, 
 
 Dolly P. Madison. 
 
 Two days after this letter Mrs. Madison 
 received the news of her sister's death, 
 and though in a measure prepared for it, 
 the blow seemed to fall so heavily upon 
 her that she aged very much in a week; 
 
1 86 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 her friends said that for the first time she 
 lost her bright cheerfulness, and from that 
 day until the second shock came upon 
 her of Mr. Madison's death, everything 
 seemed to be an effort. 
 
 MONTPELIER, Ang7lSt ^, 1832. 
 
 Dear Brother, — The heart of your 
 miserable sister mourns with you and for 
 your dear children. 
 
 Come to us as soon as you can, and 
 bring them all with you ; I am as deeply 
 interested in them as if they were my 
 own. Where are her remains t I will my- 
 self write my gratitude to the kind friends 
 who were privileged to do what I could not 
 for my lamented sister. 
 
 Mr. Madison partakes in our sorrows, 
 and in my wish to see you all here. Show 
 this to Dolly and Mary, please, as I can- 
 not write to them at this moment. Yours 
 came yesterday. 
 
 Affectionately your sister, 
 
 Dolly P. Madison. 
 
 TO MARY. 
 MONTPELIER, ^?/^?^J-/ I, 1833. 
 
 May your fortune, dearest Mary, be even 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 87 
 
 better than the sybil's predictions. There 
 is one secret, however, she did not tell you, 
 and that is the power we all have in form- 
 ing our own destinies. 
 
 We must press on that intricate path 
 leading to perfection and happiness, by do- 
 ing all that is good and noble, before we 
 can be taken under the silver wing of our 
 rewarding angel ; this I feel sure you will 
 aim at, and succeed beyond doubt. It will 
 not be necessary, dear child, to recapitu- 
 late all the virtues important to render us 
 worthy and deserving of good fortune, be- 
 cause you know them well. 
 
 I received your last letter just a week 
 after the date on the inside, though the 
 envelope was marked for the 26th. 
 
 I hope the book I sent has been re- 
 ceived, and that ere this you are ready to 
 go on your visit to Cousin William. Pre- 
 sent me affectionately to him and the 
 girls ; I should delight in seeing them all. 
 Your Uncle Madison mends in his health, 
 but has many relapses. We have had more 
 company this summer than I can enumer- 
 ate, and though I enjoy it, my health has 
 not been so good as usual ; this morning 
 I was not able to breakfast with my eight 
 
1 88 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 guests, but went for a drive with my dear 
 husband and shall join them at dinner. 
 Your affectionate aunt, 
 
 Dolly P. Madison. 
 
 TO DOLLY. 
 MONTPELIER, Septe7nber <^^ 1833. 
 
 It has seemed to me, my dearest Dolly, 
 that I should never be able to write you a 
 letter on account of a stream of people 
 coming and going, until I fear I am quite 
 nervous. There is not much of interest to 
 tell you. Our neighborhood is as you left 
 it ; many lowlanders have been among us, 
 and Mrs. Needham* Washington is now 
 with Mrs. Cole. 
 
 Do you know, my dear, that I was as 
 glad to get a letter from you yesterday as 
 I was to receive a present of a pair of 
 the celebrated English Holkim calves, sent 
 me by Mr. Patterson, of Baltimore. Your 
 Uncle Madison is better, and rides out 
 every day, three or four miles, and these 
 are the only excursions I have taken since 
 you left us. Mr. Longacre was here for 
 some days to take your uncle's likeness 
 for his gallery, and I think succeeded very 
 well. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 89 
 
 I do not know if I wrote you that Mr. 
 Livingstone sent me a fine bust of himself 
 as a remembrance, before sailing, and I 
 prize it very much. A young artist named 
 Chapman is coming to take your uncle's 
 portrait ; we also expect Mr. and Mrs. 
 Rives, Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson, and many 
 others, on their way from the White Sul- 
 phur Springs. Payne is at home and im- 
 proving his knowledge of geology. 
 Ever your own aunt, 
 
 Dolly P. Madison. 
 
 TO MARY. 
 MoNTPELiER, December 2, 1834. 
 There has been a spell upon my fingers 
 for a long time, dearest niece, and even 
 now there rests one on my eyes ; still I 
 would commune with you, whom I love so 
 much, and tell you that your letters are all 
 received, and my spirits rising as I peruse 
 them, because my hopes are renewed for 
 dear Walter in your amiable efforts to em- 
 bark him again on the waves of fortune. 
 I rejoice at the pleasant visit you made to 
 Kalorama with dear Dolche. I was anx- 
 ious to write and tell you of our visit from 
 Miss Martineau, and how much we en- 
 
1 90 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 joyed her enlightened conversation and 
 unassuming manners. We also liked her 
 lively little friend, ]Miss Jeffries. Ah me ! 
 my eyes are even now so troublesome that 
 I must hasten to say as much as I can in a 
 short space of time, hoping to do more 
 when they are better. 
 
 I have no idea of the new dance you 
 speak of, or its motions, but approve of 
 your declining to learn it, if disapproved 
 of by society. Our sex are ever losers, 
 when they stem the torrent of public opin- 
 ion. Baron K.'s parties must be piquant 
 and agreeable, but if Sir Charies Vaughn 
 leaves what will you all do } 
 
 Your uncle is still about the same, but I 
 hope as the season advances he will gain 
 strength again. With much love to all the 
 dear ones, Always your own aunt, 
 
 Dolly P. Madison. 
 
 TO PAYNE TODD. 
 
 MONTPELIER, Jtlly 20, 1834. 
 
 Yours, dearest, promising to write me 
 again, came safely, and I was glad to hear 
 mine, with the inclosure, had reached you. 
 You did not tell me whether you had been 
 successful in your collections. If not, you 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 91 
 
 will want supplies proportioned to your 
 detention ; I am anxious that you should 
 have them, and you know the little I have 
 in my power is at your command, though 
 but ''a drop in the bucket." You will tell 
 me when you intend to return, that I may 
 have the pleasure of expecting you. 
 
 Messrs. Patton and Rives dined with us 
 on the 1 2th; they inquired for you, and 
 said they had hoped to see you at the 
 party as a "Jackson man." General Mad- 
 ison came with them, looking well and 
 happy. Mr. Madison is better, though 
 very ill a few days since, and I now hope 
 he will soon be well enough for me to leave 
 him on an expedition to the Court House. 
 It would be quite an event for me to go 
 there, five miles from home. Our last to- 
 bacco was a failure ; it sold at seven when 
 seventeen was expected ; so it goes with 
 planters. Dolly and Mary wrote me yes- 
 terday that you were very popular in 
 Washington, and I should like to be with 
 you to witness it — the respect and love 
 shown to my son would be the highest 
 gratification the world could bestow upon 
 me. I think to inclose this to my brother 
 to deliver, in case of your having left, to 
 
192 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 keep it for you, or return when you are 
 at home, as I shall inclose. . . . We have 
 seen but few strangers since you left home. 
 Mr. Burney, of Baltimore, called on his way 
 to the Springs, and Mr. Randall, of Phila- 
 delphia, with his daughters and niece. He 
 said, by the way, that he had caught a 
 glimpse of you at the station, but lost sight 
 of you again, as he was busy with his bag- 
 gage. 
 
 I suppose you saw Madame Serurier be- 
 fore she went on her travels. If you can 
 see Mrs. Lear, tell her she must come 
 from the Springs to visit me. And now 
 adieu, my dear son ; may Heaven pre- 
 serve and protect you, prays 
 
 Your mother, Dolly P. Madison. 
 
 TO DOLLY. 
 MONTPELIER, May II, 1835. 
 
 Dearest Dolly, — Payne met a friend 
 (Mr. H.) of yours yesterday at Orange 
 Court House, and brought him home to 
 dinner, with his two cousins. We were 
 much pleased with his society, as well as 
 the account he gave of you and Mary. He 
 told me of your pleasant party, and how 
 much he admired and regarded you both, 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 193 
 
 but not half as much about you as I want 
 to know ; indeed, how could he, when my 
 love for you makes me wish to trace your 
 every word and deed throughout the year. 
 He gave me your letter, and told us about 
 all the great personages now with you ; 
 but what was my grief to receive only one 
 music-box ! the box I prized — the one you 
 and Mary gave me — was missing ! I will 
 hope, however, that it was left with you, 
 and I shall still hear it in these deep 
 shades. 
 
 Your inquiries after your uncle, and how 
 we pass our time, can be more accurately 
 answered. My days are devoted to nurs- 
 ing and comforting my sick patient, who 
 walks only from the bed in which he break- 
 fasts to another, in the little room in which 
 you left him ; he is a little better, but not 
 well enough to get into a carriage to drive 
 to the Springs, which I fondly hoped he 
 might do. I expect Mrs. Randolph, Sep- 
 timia, and two Misses Jefferson Randolph 
 to-morrow, to pass a few days. My love 
 to Dolly and Richard, and accept my apol- 
 ogy for this scrawl. 
 
 Your own and always, 
 
 Dolly P. Madison. 
 ^ 13 
 
194 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 TO MARY. 
 MONTPELIER, October -^i, 1835. 
 I was delighted to receive your last let- 
 ter, my dearest Mary, as I am always, and 
 sorry for your disappointment at not see- 
 ing Thomas and his wife. You inquire 
 if Count d'Orsay has been here ? Yes, 
 he spent nearly three weeks with us, off 
 and on, and seemed to enjoy himself very 
 much. He is a great sportsman, and would 
 borrow Payne's summer clothes, and go 
 forth, returning as ragged as bushes and 
 mire could make him, rest for several 
 days, and then off again, tumbling into the 
 river, losing his way — and yet come home 
 laughing at his adventures. We found 
 him an elegant young man, sensible and 
 well-informed, except on the intricacies of 
 our woods. I forget, now, who introduced 
 him ; I think General Dearborn sent a let- 
 ter of introduction. Mr. and Mrs. Steven- 
 son stayed a week with me, but I have not 
 yet heard from Mrs. Grimes and her chil- 
 dren, of their time for coming. I must 
 tell you that my English beauty has given 
 me a calf as pretty as herself ; tell this to 
 dear Dolly that she may be glad with me. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 95 
 
 Have you any amusing books, no matter 
 how old, to lend me ? You see in what 
 haste I write ; tell me everything that you 
 are doing, dear girls ; my heart follows you 
 all the time, in spite of my engrossing 
 family. It is now late at night, and my 
 eyes close. Dear love to you all. Good- 
 night, and sweet dreams ! Your aunt 
 
 Dolly. 
 
 to james madison. 
 
 By Edward Everett. 
 
 Happy the sage whose active race is run, 
 His warfare ended, and his labor done. 
 Him Heaven assigns, ere yet he 's called away, 
 The peaceful evening of an honored day. 
 For him youth's eager appetite is o'er, 
 Which, ever nourished, asks for something 
 
 more. 
 No more ambitious tasks, each toilsome hour. 
 To gain some loftier eminence of power. 
 Nor friends, nor party, now his strength con- 
 trol. 
 And press a nation's troubles on his soul. 
 To him the sweets of life alone remain, 
 Without its care, its labor, and its pain. 
 Long may they thus remain, and late the day 
 When that strong sun shall shed its parting 
 ray. 
 
196 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 Warm, bright, and genial, was its morning 
 
 hour, 
 And high and brilliant was its noon of power. 
 Long may its evening beams serenely shine, 
 While grateful millions bless its slow decline ; 
 Till gracious Heaven again shall bid it rise, 
 And shine to set no more, in purer skies. 
 March 21, 1830. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 9/ 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 As Mr. Madison grew weaker, and more 
 crippled from rheumatism, they were 
 obliged in a measure to close their hospi- 
 table doors. Mrs. Madison's whole time 
 and thoughts were given to the invalid, 
 and she writes to an old friend : '' I never 
 leave my husband more than a few min- 
 utes at a time, and have not left the incis- 
 ure around my house for eight months, on 
 account of his continued indisposition, of 
 which friends at a distance have received 
 but too favorable reports. Our physi- 
 cians have advised the Warm Springs, and 
 we hoped to have taken him there; but 
 as he could not travel unless conveyed 
 in his bed, we dare not think of it, at 
 present. I can only express the hope, 
 dearest friend, that my husband will be 
 well enough for us to have the gratifica- 
 tion of seeing you here before the winter 
 throws it barriers between us. Nothing 
 could give me more pleasure than to wel- 
 
1 98 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 come you, and your daughter. Indepen- 
 dently of my own feelings, I must ever 
 love the kind friends of my dear sister." 
 
 At eighty-five years of age, though much 
 reduced by disease and weakness, Mr. Mad- 
 ison's mind was bright, and his memory 
 ,good. Though a great sufferer, he rarely 
 complained, and his conversation was in- 
 teresting and even lively until the last few 
 days of illness. 
 
 The physicians were anxious to prolong 
 his life until the Fourth of July, but he re- 
 fused to take the necessary stimulants, and 
 died June 28, 1836, in the full possession 
 of all his faculties ; as serene, calm, and 
 philosophical in his last moments, as he 
 had been in all the trying occasions of life. 
 
 Governor James Barbour, a warm friend 
 and neighbor, gives a touching description 
 of his burial, where friends of all classes, 
 from far and near, flocked to do honor to 
 his memory, and the hundred slaves, as 
 they turned to leave the newly-made grave, 
 could control themselves no longer, and 
 gave vent to their lamentations in one vio- 
 lent burst of grief that rent the air. 
 
 When at last the great bereavement and 
 separation came upon Mrs. Madison, she 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 1 99 
 
 did not dare give way to her grief. The 
 feeling that there was something still to do 
 for him, something that required all her 
 energies, kept her up for several months, 
 until the nervous strain produced its con- 
 sequences, and her health gave way so com- 
 pletely, that during the following autumn 
 and winter she was confined almost en- 
 tirely to her bed. Left sole executrix, and 
 with the responsibility of the unpublished 
 manuscript her husband had worked upon 
 so long and so faithfully in her hands, 
 hundreds of letters and resolutions com- 
 ing in from every side, expressive of grief 
 and sympathy, there was no time to give 
 way to her sense of utter loneliness in a 
 separation from one with whom she had 
 lived so happily for forty years. The re- 
 plies were all written by herself, and one 
 of the first was addressed to General Jack- 
 son, then President of the United States, 
 who inclosed, with his own letter of condo- 
 lence, the Resolutions of Congress on the 
 death of Mr. Madison. 
 
200 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 TO GENERAL JACKSON. 
 
 MONTPELIER, July 10, 1 836. 
 
 I received, dear sir, in due time the 
 communication from Congress, made more 
 grateful to me by the kind sympathy which 
 accompanied it. 
 
 The high and just estimation of my hus- 
 band by my countrymen and friends, and 
 their generous participation in the sorrow 
 occasioned by our irretrievable loss, ex- 
 pressed through its supreme authorities 
 and otherwise, is the only solace of which 
 my heart is susceptible on the departure of 
 him, who had never lost sight of that con- 
 sistency, symmetry, and beauty of charac- 
 ter in all its parts, which rendered his own 
 transcendent as a whole and worthy of the 
 best aspirations. 
 
 I am now preparing to execute the trust 
 his confidence reposed in me, that of plac- 
 ing before Congress and the world what 
 his pen had prepared for their use, and 
 with the importance of this legacy, I am 
 deeply impressed. 
 
 With great respect and friendship, 
 Dolly P. Madison. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 201 
 
 TO RICHARD CUTTS, ESQ. 
 
 MONTPELIER, July 5, 1 836. 
 
 I could never doubt your sympathy, dear 
 brother, and require it much now. When 
 can you come and see me ? I hope it will 
 be soon, relying on that hearty welcome 
 always in store for you, and each one of 
 your dear children, who have been even as 
 my own. I wish you would see Mr. Morris 
 at the Highlands, and say to him from me 
 that his friendship is a dear consolation. 
 I prize his advice, and, as from my early 
 and most faithful friend, will strive to fol- 
 low that contained in his letter of the ist 
 as -well as any other which he may extend 
 to me when he visits Montpelier. ... I 
 would write more, dear Richard, but have 
 no power over my confused and oppressed 
 mind to speak fully of the enduring good- 
 ness of my beloved husband. He left me 
 many pledges of his confidence and love ; 
 especially do I value all his writings. 
 From the proceeds of the first part of the 
 "Debates in the Convention," I have to 
 pay donations to several institutions. My 
 brother and son are making a copy to send 
 to England. Adieu, with love, 
 
 Dolly P. Madison. 
 
202 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 When Congress assembled the follow- 
 ing winter President Jackson sent a special 
 message, proposing the purchase of Mr. 
 Madison's manuscript, comprising a rec- 
 ord of the Debates in the Congress of the 
 Convention during the years 1782- 1787. 
 This manuscript was accepted as a na- 
 tional work, and thirty thousand dollars 
 paid for it. A subsequent act was passed 
 giving to Mrs. Madison the honorary priv- 
 ilege of a copyright in foreign countries, 
 and later on Congress bestowed the frank- 
 ing privilege upon her, and voted her a 
 seat upon the floors of the Senate and 
 House, the only lady to whom such a dis- 
 tinction was ever given. 
 
 In 1837 the physicians persuaded her to 
 try change of air and scene by a few weeks 
 at the White Sulphur Springs, which had 
 a very beneficial effect, and on her return 
 she writes to her old friend, Mr. Anthony 
 Morris : — 
 
 TO MR. ANTHONY MORRIS. 
 
 MONTPELIER, Septe7nber 2, 1837. 
 Accept a thousand thanks, dear friend, 
 for your two unanswered letters, contain- 
 ing the best advice in the world, and which 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 203 
 
 I have followed as far as I could on my 
 visit to the White Sulphur Springs, a new 
 world to me, who have never left Mont- 
 pelier for nearly six years, even for a day. 
 I passed three or four days at the Warm 
 Springs, and two weeks at the White Sul- 
 phur, drinking moderately of the waters, 
 and bathing my poor eyes a dozen times a 
 day. The effect was excellent. My health 
 was strengthened to its former standing, 
 and my eyes grew white again ; but in my 
 drive home of six days in the dust they 
 took the fancy to relapse a little ; still I 
 cannot refrain from expressing with my 
 own pen (forbidden by you) my grateful 
 sense of your kind friendship on every 
 occasion. 
 
 I met with many relations and friends 
 on " my grand tour," and had every reason 
 to be gratified, but for my own sad, impa- 
 tient spirit, which continually dwelt on my 
 duties at home yet unfinished. In truth, 
 my five weeks' absence from Montpelier 
 made me feel as if I had deserted my du- 
 ties, and therefore was not entitled to the 
 kindness everywhere shown me, and so I 
 am at home at work again. 
 
204 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 As winter approached and Mrs. Madison 
 was left alone with her niece, Anna Payne, 
 the daughter of a brother living in Ken- 
 tucky, the memories and associations of 
 the place became intolerable to her, and 
 she made up her mind to spend the winter 
 months, which for the first time she found 
 desolate and dreary in the country, among 
 her friends in Washington. A house on 
 the corner of Lafayette Square and H 
 Street, built by her brother-in-law, Rich- 
 ard Cutts, now belonged to her, and there 
 she lived, enjoying the constant compan- 
 ionship of her nephews and nieces, every 
 winter until her death. 
 
 As the time of mourning passed, her 
 house again became filled with friends, and 
 she was gladly welcomed back, receiving 
 almost as much attention as she had done 
 years before. On the ist of January, the 
 Fourth of July, and every other gala day, 
 her house was thrown open, and the throng 
 of visitors was equal to that which as- 
 sembled at the White House. Friends 
 and strangers of all grades came, many of 
 them bringing their children and grand- 
 children, sure of the individual interest 
 she took in them. On these occasions, as 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 20$ 
 
 she became older, her memory sometimes 
 played her false, but so gracefully was the 
 mistake concealed or obviated that no one 
 left her without the most agreeable im- 
 pressions. 
 
 In 1844 Mrs. Madison was on board the 
 ill-fated steamer Princeton, when the great 
 cannon, called " the Peacemaker," ex- 
 ploded, and caused such terrible destruction 
 of life. She was sitting below with some 
 ladies, after dinner, when the crash came, 
 followed by heart-rending shrieks, as one 
 person after another was discovered to be 
 injured. With great presence of mind she 
 went about doing her best to soothe and 
 assist in caring for the wounded, until 
 forced to go home; there she found her 
 drawing-room filled with anxious friends, 
 waiting to be assured of her safety. She 
 came in quietly, bowing gracefully and 
 smiling, but unable to speak a word, with 
 her heart full of sympathy for the sufferers 
 she had just left ; nor could she ever after- 
 wards trust herself to speak of that terri- 
 ble afternoon, and she never heard it men- 
 tioned without turning pale and shudder- 
 ing. 
 
 Her husband's judgment and care were 
 
206 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 especially missed by Mrs. Madison with 
 regard to her pecuniary affairs ; accus- 
 tomed to the most lavish hospitality, she 
 was now, as she said, " too old to change 
 her habits," and with an expensive plan- 
 tation to keep up, which for some time 
 brought in no returns owing to bad crops, 
 and an extravagant, idle son, who, having 
 spent his own fortune, lived upon her fail- 
 ing resources, she was in her old age 
 obliged to sell the dearly-loved Montpelier, 
 together with the slaves, to Mr. Moncure, 
 of Richmond. 
 
 Most of the precious souvenirs were re- 
 moved to " Toddsbirth," the residence of 
 her son, Payne Todd, and here he intended 
 his mother to pass the remaining years of 
 her life ; spending much money in carry- 
 ing out his eccentric ideas for her comfort. 
 The large house had been burned down, 
 and several smaller ones were erected 
 around a tower-like building, containing 
 the ball-room and dining-room. 
 
 One of these cottages was to be for his 
 mother, which, in order to obviate the 
 fatigue of a staircase, she was to enter 
 from the dining-room by a window. She 
 never lived to see the completion of this 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 207 
 
 plan, money becoming very scarce, and was 
 always ready with excuses for her son. 
 " My poor boy," she would say ; " forgive 
 his eccentricities, for his heart is all right." 
 And at another time would make use of 
 Mr. Madison's favorite quotation : — 
 
 . " Errors like straws upon the surface flow, 
 
 Those who would seek for pearls must dive below." 
 
 Mrs. Madison always attended St. John's 
 Episcopal Church in after life, while Mr. 
 Hawley was the rector, and was baptized 
 and conifirmed there. In writing to her 
 nephew she says : — 
 
 "And now, my dear Richard, I must 
 tell you on what our thoughts have dwelt 
 a great deal — and that is to become wor- 
 thy of membership in the church which 
 I have attended for the last forty years, 
 and which Anna has attended all her life. 
 Yesterday this long-wished-for confirma- 
 tion took place. Bishop Whittingham per- 
 formed the ceremony, and we had an ex- 
 cellent sermon from the Bishop of New 
 Jersey — a fine preacher and beautiful 
 champion for Charity, which * suspects not 
 nor thinks no evil.'" 
 
 About this time she had a most provi- 
 
208 MEMOIRS AND LETTERS 
 
 dential escape from a fire, started by in- 
 cendiaries, who placed matches between 
 the shutters of the hall window and the 
 staircase of her house. As the flames 
 began to ascend towards her room in the 
 early morning, a neighbor aroused the ser- 
 vants, and the man, Ralph, rushing towards 
 his mistress' room, broke down the door 
 and found her quietly sleeping in the midst 
 of dense clouds of smoke. "Mistress," 
 he cried, " I have come to save you," and 
 awakening to the consciousness of dan- 
 ger to her husband's letters and papers, 
 as more important than her own Hfe, she 
 refused to leave until the frightened ser- 
 vants secured them ; then Ralph seized 
 her in his arms, rushed down the burning 
 staircase, out of a side door, and placed 
 her in safety in a remote corner of the 
 garden. The fire was soon extinguished 
 by kind neighbors, and Mrs. Madison 
 laughingly returned, clad in a black velvet 
 gown and nightcap, and with bare feet. 
 
 In 1846, Congress bought the remaining 
 letters and private correspondence of Mr. 
 Madison, together with those of Mr. Jeffer- 
 son and Mr. Hamilton, paying twenty-five 
 thousand dollars in each case. 
 
OF MRS. MADISON. 209 
 
 During the eighty-third and last year 
 of Mrs. Madison's life, her mind seemed 
 very busy with the past. She caused old 
 letters to be read to her, which brought in 
 their train memories and associations un- 
 known to those around her, and though 
 her mind was never clouded, nor her affec- 
 tions weakened, she suffered much from 
 debility and was confused and wearied by 
 the conflicting counsels around her. ** Oh, 
 for my counselor ! " she was heard to say, 
 as if the burden of life was becoming too 
 much for the tired brain. A few days be- 
 fore her death she said to a niece who had 
 gone to her, as usual, for sympathy over 
 some small grievance : — 
 
 *' My dear, do not trouble about it ; there 
 is nothing in tJiis world worth really 
 caring for. Yes," she repeated, looking 
 intently out of a window, "believe me, I, 
 who have lived so long, repeat' to you 
 there is nothing in this world here below 
 worth caring for." These last days she 
 was very fond of having the Bible read 
 to her, and invariably asked for the Gos- 
 pel of St. John, and it was at one of these 
 times that her last sleep came upon her, 
 sleep so profound that doctors were sum- 
 14 
 
2IO MEMOIRS AND LETTERS. 
 
 moned and pronounced it slow apoplexy. 
 For two days she lingered apparently with- 
 out suffering, waking only when aroused to 
 momentary consciousness, when she would 
 smile lovingly, and put out her arms to 
 embrace those whom she loved so well. 
 Several times she murmured " My poor 
 boy ! " as she seemed to feel her son's 
 presence near her, and gently relapsed 
 into that long rest which is peace. 
 
 Her funeral took place from St. John's 
 Church, in Washington, and her remains 
 were eventually deposited in the cemetery 
 at Montpelier, near the monument erected 
 over the grave of her illustrious husband. 
 
 Two years afterwards Payne Todd died 
 from typhoid fever, attended by his moth- 
 er's faithful servants, and full of grief for a 
 wasted life. 
 
American statesmen. 
 
 A Series of Biographies of Men coiispictious in the 
 Political History of the United States. 
 
 EDITED BT 
 
 JOHN T. MORSE, Jr. 
 
 The object of this series is not merely to give a 
 number of unconnected narratives of men in Ameri- 
 can poUtical life, but to produce books which shall, 
 when taken together, indicate the lines of political 
 thought and development in American history, — 
 books embodying in compact form the result of ex- 
 tensive study of the many and diverse influences 
 which have combined to shape the political history of 
 our country. 
 
 The volumes now ready are as follows : — 
 
 yohn Quiftcy Adams. By John T. Morse, Jr. 
 Alexander Hamilton. By Henry Cabot Lodge. 
 yohn C. Calhoun. By Dr. H. von Holst. 
 Andrew Jackson. By Prof. W. G. Sumner. 
 John Randolph. By Henry Adams. 
 James Monroe. By Pres. Daniel C. Oilman. 
 Thomas Jefferson. By John T. Morse, Jr. 
 Daniel Webster. By Henry Cabot Lodge. 
 Albert Gallatiti. By John Austin Stevens. 
 James Madison. By Sydney Howard Gay, 
 John Adams. By John T. Morse, Jr. 
 John Marshall. By A. B. Magruder. 
 Samuel Adams. By James K. Hosmer. 
 
 IN PREPARATION. 
 Henry Clay. By Hon. Carl Schurz. 
 Martin Van Buren. By Hon. Wm. Dorsheimer. 
 George Washington. By Henry Cabot Lodge. 
 Patrick Henry. By MoSES Coit Tyler. 
 
 Others to be announced hereafter. Each volume, i6mo. 
 gilt top, $1.25. 
 
ESTIMATES OF THE PRESS 
 
 "JOHN QUINCY ADAMS." 
 
 That Mr. Morse's conclusions will in the main be those of 
 posterity we have very little doubt, and he has set an admirable 
 example to his coadjutors in respect of interesting narrative, 
 just proportion, and judicial candor. — Neiv York Evening 
 Post. 
 
 Mr. Morse has written closely, compactly, intelligently, fear- 
 lessly, honestly. — New York Times. 
 
 "ALEXANDER HAMILTON." 
 
 The biography of Mr. Lodge is calm and dignified through- 
 out. He has the virtue — rare indeed among biographers — 
 of impartiality. He has done his work with conscientious care 
 and the biography of Hamilton is a book which cannot have 
 too many readers. It is more than a biography ; it is a study 
 in the science of government. — St. Paul Piojteer-Press. 
 
 "JOHN C. CALHOUN." 
 
 Nothing can exceed the skill with which the political career 
 of the great South Carolinian is portrayed in these pages. The 
 work is superior to any other number of the series thus far, and 
 we do not think it can be surpassed by any of those that are to 
 come. The whole discussion in relation to Calhoun's position 
 is eminently philosophical and just. — TTie Dial (Chicago). 
 
 "ANDREW JACKSON." 
 
 Prof. Sumner has, ... all in all, made the justest long esti- 
 mate of Jackson that has had itself put between the covers of a 
 book. — New York Times. 
 
 One of the most masterly monographs that we have ever had 
 the pleasure of reading. It is calm and clear. — Providence 
 yotirnal. 
 
"JOHN RANDOLPH." 
 
 The book has been to me intensely interesting. ... It is 
 rich in new facts and side lights, and is worthy of its place in 
 the already brilliant series of monographs on American States- 
 men.— Prof. Moses Coit Tyler. 
 
 Remarkably interesting. . . . The biography has all the ele- 
 ments of popularity, and cannot fail to be widely read. — Hart- 
 ford Courant. 
 
 "JAMES MONROE." 
 
 In clearness of style, and in all points of literary workman- 
 ship, from cover to cover, the volume is well-nigh perfect. 
 There is also a calmness of judgment, a correctness of taste, 
 and an absence of partisanship which are too frequently want- 
 ing in biographies, and especially in political biographies.— 
 American Literary ChiircJwian (Baltimore). 
 
 The most readable of all the lives that have ever been written 
 of the great jurist. — San Francisco Bulletin. 
 
 "THOMAS JEFFERSON." 
 
 The book is exceedingly interesting and readable. The at- 
 tention of the reader is strongly seized at once, and he is carried 
 along in spite of himself, sometimes protesting, sometimes 
 doubting, yet unable to lay the book down. — Chicago Standard. 
 
 The requirements of political biography have rarely been 
 met so satisfactorily as in this memoir of Jefferson. — Boston 
 Journal. 
 
 "DANIEL WEBSTER." 
 
 It will be read by students of history ; it will be invaluable as 
 a work of reference ; it will be an authority as regards matters 
 of fact and criticism ; it hits the key-note of Webster's durable 
 and ever-growing fame ; it is adequate, calm, impartial ; it is ad- 
 mirable. — Philadelphia Press. 
 
 The task has been achieved ably, admirably, and faithfully. — 
 Boston Transcript. 
 
"ALBERT GALLATIN." 
 
 It is one of the most carefully prepared of these very valu- 
 able volumes, . . . abounding in information not so readily ac- 
 cessible as is that pertaining to men more often treated by the 
 biographer. . . . The whole work covers a ground which the 
 political student cannot afford to neglect. — Bost07i Correspom 
 dent Hartford Coiirant. 
 
 Frank, simple, and straightforward. — New York Tribune. 
 
 "JAMES MADISON." 
 
 The execution of the work deserves the highest praise. It is 
 very readable, in a bright and vigorous style, and is marked by 
 unity and consecutiveness of plan. — The Nation (New York). 
 
 An able book. . . . Mr. Gay writes with an eye single to truth. 
 — The Critic (New York). 
 
 "JOHN ADAMS." 
 
 A good piece of literary work. ... It covers the ground 
 thoroughly, and gives just the sort of simple and succinct ac- 
 count that is wanted. — Evening Post (New York). 
 
 A model of condensation and selection, as well as of graphic 
 portraiture and clear and interesting historical narrative. — 
 Christian Ititelligencer (New York). 
 
 "JOHN MARSHALL." 
 
 Well done, with simplicity, clearness, precision, and judg- 
 ment, and in a spirit of moderation and equity. A valuable ad- 
 dition to the series. — New York Tribmte. 
 
 "SAMUEL ADAMS." 
 
 Thoroughly appreciative and sympathetic, yet fair and criti- 
 cal. . . . This biography is a piece of good work — a clear and 
 simple presentation of a noble man and pure patriot; it is 
 Written in a spirit of candor and humanity. — Worcester Spy. 
 
 A brilliant and enthusiastic book, which it will do every 
 American much good to read. — The Beacon (Boston). 
 
 **4^ For sale by all booksellers. Sent, post-paid, on re- 
 ceipt of price by the Publishers, 
 
 HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & COMPANY, 
 Boston and New York.