“The large parlor was scantily furnished; there was light from the chandelier, and a blazing fire in the grate; four or five ladies sewing around it; Mrs. Donelson, Mrs. Andrew Jackson, Jr., Mrs. Edward Livingston. Five or six children were playing about, regardless of documents or work-baskets. At the farther end of the room sat the President, in his arm-chair, wearing a long loose coat, and smoking a long reed pipe, with bowl of red clay—combining the dignity of the patriarch, monarch, and Indian chief. Just behind, was Edward Livingston, the Secretary of State, reading a dispatch from the French Minister for Foreign Affairs. The ladies glance admiringly, now and then, at the President, who listens, waving his pipe toward the children, when they become too boisterous.” CHAPTER XXIII. SCENES AT THE WHITE HOUSE—MEN AND WOMEN OF NOTE. Widows “at par”—Four Sonless Presidents—Supported by Flattery—A Delicate Constitution—Living to a Respectable Age—Teaching Her Grandsons How to Fight—Inheriting Religion—“Another Sensitive, Saintly Soul”—A Pathetic Reminiscence—A Perfect Gentlewoman—A Stately Black-eyed Matron—A Lady of the Old School—Obeying St. Paul—A Woman Who “Kept Silence”—“Sarah Knows Where It Is”—Commanding “Superlative Respect”—An English Lady “Impressed”—Three Queens in the Background—A Very Handsome Woman—Retiring from Active Life—A Lady’s Heroism—“My Home, the Battle-field”—A Man Who Kept to His Post—A Life in the Savage Wilderness—A Life’s Devotion—The Colonel’s Brave Wife—The Conquering Hero from Mexico—Objecting to the Presidency—“Betty Bliss”—The Reigning Lady—An Overpowering Reception—“A Bright and Beaming Creature, Dressed Simply in White”—An Inclination for Retirement—The Penalty of Greatness—Death in the White House—A Wife’s Prayers—A New _Regime_—The Clothier’s Apprentice and the School Teacher—The Future President Builds His Own House—Becomes a Lawyer—Chosen Representative—Domestic Happiness—Twenty-seven Years of Married Life—“A Matron of Commanding Person”—A Scarcity of Books—Home “Comforts” at the White House—The Memory of a Loving Wife—A Well Balanced Young Lady.