5., \fiwrvawmdfiygxg ‘ x

< "Area-9w. 5 ~. .7  .

 

 

wv—u

if é'7?#?‘€‘€‘é’»zxa 

 

 

,..~g;=z.. s, 131454} ,  .

vs

4‘

 

6 MRS. MADISON.

 

to his estate in Virginia, and resided
there till his duties as Secretary of
'State under Mr. Jefferson called him
to Washington in 1801.

Mrs. Madison was not accomplished,
in the European sense of the term, but
her frank and cordial manners, and
her lovely character, soon drew around
her an admiring circle. The 110spital-
ities of the White House were then
presided over by Mr. Jefferson ’5 niece,
and whenever she was absent, Mrs.
Madison stepped gracefully into her
place.

In 1809 Mr. Madison became Presi-
dent of the United States. The excel-
]entqualities of the new chiet'magistrate
were unfortunately obscured by con-
stitutional coldness and haughtiness of
manners. The social prospects of the
incoming administration would have
been cheerless indeed, had it not been
for Mrs. Madison. She received her
guests with cordiality and gentle court-
esy, and by her cheerfulness and ur-
banity removed the stiffness which her
husband’s reserve produced. Never
was the presidential mansion more
attractive than during the eight years
she presided there. The guest who
entered the brilliantly illuminated
drawing-room with nervous dread, no
sooner caught the beaming eye of its
mistress than he read “ welcome.”
there, and felt himself at home. It 18
said that she never forgot a name or
lost her interest in those who had sat
at her table. When she met them in
subsequent years she w0uld give them
a quick recognition, and perhaps re-
mind them of some pleasant incident
of their former acquaintance, which
they had themselves forgotten.

While Mrs. Madison was unusually

lain in her dress and furniture, her
board was spread in a style of profu-
sion which honored her Virginian
ancestry. Her table literally groaned
with creature comforts. The wives of
the foreign ministers, who thopght their

resence conferred great distinction on
the Republican court, were disposed to
ridicule any departure from European
etiquette. One of them laughed at

 

the enormous size of the. dishes on
Mrs. Madison’s table. That lady
heard her raillery without any of the
sensitiveness of a little mind, and re-
plied with the true dignity of an Amer-
ican gentlewoman, “that she thought
abundance was preferable to elegance;
that circumstances formed customs,
and customs formed taste; and as the
profusion so repugnant to foreign cus-
toms arose from the happy circum-
stance of the superabundance and
prosperity of our country, she did not
resitate to sacrifice the delicacy of
European taste, for the less elegant but
more liberal fashion of Virginia.”

Retiring with her husband to pri-
vate life in 1817, Mrs. Madison main-
tained the generous hospitality which
had characterized her at Washington.
Montpelier was always full of guests,
drawn thither not more by the sage
virtues of its host than the gentle
manners of its hostess. There the
character of Mrs. Madison had a new
and still more beautiful development.
The venerable mother of Mr. Madison
occupied one wing of the family man-
sion, where she kept her separate es-
tablishment, and retained the tastes
and customs of ante-revolutionary
times. It was interesting to see these
two admirable women together. The
wife of Madison, watching over her
aged and infirm mother, was more
lovely and attractive than when she

resided over the festivities of the cap-
ltOl. She soothed the declining years
of her excellent relative with the filial
tenderness of a daughter, and the
careful devotion of a mother.

To a guest at Montpelier the elder
lady remarked, “My eyes, thanks be
to God, have not failed me yet, and I
read most part of the day. But in
other respects I am feeble and help-
less, and owe every thing to her,”
pointing to Mrs. Madison. “ She is my
mother now, and tenderly cares for all
my wants.” '

After the death of her husband in
1836, Mrs. Madison removed to Wash-
ington, where she resided till her
decease. Her house was, during all