Mrs. Donelson was of medium height, with dark auburn hair, dark brown eyes, fair complexion, lips and brow exquisitely moulded, slender symmetrical figure, and hands and feet tiny as a child’s. Her portrait bears a striking resemblance to the pictures of Mary Queen of Scots. No stranger ever passes it without commenting on its singular fascination. Young, fond of society and pleased with attention, she entered with zest into the festivities of Washington, and participated in all its gayeties. Her taste in dress was exquisite, and her toilette was the envy and admiration of fashionable circles. The dress she wore at the first inauguration, an amber-colored satin, brocaded with bouquets of rosebuds and violets, and richly trimmed with white lace and pearls, was a present from the General, and was described in every paper of the Union. It is still preserved in the family, and even in this day of costly attire, would be a gala dress. Beloved as a daughter by Mrs. Jackson, and intimately associated with her for years, she was beside that honored and dear friend at the time of her death; and her tenderness and sympathy did much to mitigate the poignancy of the General’s bereavement. He always called her “my daughter;” and often when wearied with the cares of office, would seek relaxation amid her family circle. Arbiter in politics, he deferred all matters of etiquette to her; and when she would appeal to him to settle any knotty social point, he would reply, “You know best, my dear. Do as you please.” Of lively imagination, she was quick at repartee, and had that gift possessed by so few talkers, of listening gracefully. Thrown in contact with the brightest and most cultivated intellects of the day, she sustained her part; and her favor was eagerly sought by the learned and polished. A foreign minister once said to her, “Madam, you dance with the grace of a Parisian. I can hardly realize you were educated in Tennessee.” “Count, you forget,” was the spirited reply, “that grace is a cosmopolite, and like a wild flower, is much oftener found in the woods than in the streets of a city.” During the Eaton controversy, the public was curious to see what course she would take. Her friends were also Mrs. Eaton’s friends, it was her policy to please General Jackson, and General Jackson’s heart was set on Mrs. Eaton’s social recognition. At the public receptions and levees, she received Mrs. Eaton with her usual dignity and courtesy; but when the General asked her to visit that lady, and set the example of public recognition of his favorite, she refused decidedly, saying, “Uncle, I will do anything on earth for you, consistent with my dignity as a lady, but I cannot and will not visit any one of Mrs. Eaton’s reputation.” She carried her point, and the President never alluded to the distasteful subject again in her presence.[14] Footnote 14: