The Olivia Letters: Being Some History of Washington City for Forty Years as Told by the Letters of a Newspaper CorrespondentBriggs, Emily Edson
History
The Olivia Letters: Being Some History of Washington City for Forty Years as Told by the Letters of a Newspaper Correspondent
Briggs, Emily Edson
United States -- Politics and government -- 1865-1933; Washington (D.C.) -- History
Visitors at the White House during the past two or three years may
retain the memory of a dignified, statuesque blonde, with a few very
fine points which a fashionable butterfly once said would make any
woman a belle if she only knew how to make the most of them. Mrs.
Stover never became a star in fashionable circles, and now that she
has left the gay capital, perhaps for a lifetime, she is remembered
by those who knew her best as the charming companion of the domestic
fireside, a true daughter and a judicious mother.
The eldest son of Mrs. Johnson was killed. Not long after his
receiving his diploma as physician, he was appointed a surgeon in the
First Tennessee Infantry. One bright spring morning, starting on his
rounds of professional duty in the exuberance of youth, health, and
spirits, he sprang upon the horse of a brother officer. He had gone
but a short distance when the high-mettled creature reared upon its
hind feet suddenly; the young man was thrown backward suddenly, and
falling upon the frozen earth, was instantly killed. The concussion
fractured his skull. Mrs. Johnson has grieved for this son as did
Jacob for his beloved Joseph, and not only the mother but the whole
family have mourned with unusual poignancy his untimely death.
Robert Johnson, the eldest living son, entered the army as a
volunteer while still a young boy; and was given a position among
the older men, on account of his father. It was at this time that he
formed the fearful habit of intemperance. As soon as Mrs. Johnson
was settled at the White House, she sent for this son, hoping that
his responsible position as private secretary to the President and
the personal influence of his sisters and herself could reclaim him;
but alas! she found his new position, in its surroundings, a still
heavier death weight to her hopes. Clever, genial “Bob,” the young
man who had the ear of the President at any time, was everybody’s
friend. A crowd followed him wherever he went. The choicest viands
of Willard’s and Welcker’s were set before him, and miniature rivers
were made to float with wine. Robert Johnson is now in an asylum,
hoping and trying to overcome this vice. During the few months of
his sojourn in Washington he provoked no enmity and left many true
personal friends.
Andrew Johnson, jr., the youngest child, who makes the fourth
and last of Mrs. Johnson’s children, is a boy of 15, attending
the college for young boys in Georgetown, D. C. He is a slender,
finely formed youth, characterized by the same modest deportment
usual to the family. His face bears a striking resemblance to Mrs.
Patterson’s, but at present he is only noticeable on account of his
family relations, and because he is the last child of his mother.
Mrs. Johnson is unusually feeble at this time; but, weather
permitting, she will soon leave with Mrs. Patterson for her distant
home in Tennessee.
OLIVIA.
SENATORIAL PEN PICTURES.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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