As I Remember
Middletons, whose ancestors were historically prominent; the Pinckneys,
descended from the illustrious Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, who uttered
the well-known maxim, "Millions for defense but not one cent for
tribute;" the Izards; the Draytons, of South Carolina; and the
Habershams of Georgia. During this visit in Newport I was the guest, at
their summer cottage, of my life-long friends, the Misses Mary and
Margaret Gelston, daughters of Maltby Gelston, former President of the
Manhattan Bank of New York. Not far from the Gelstons resided what Sam
Weller would call three "widder women." They were sisters, the daughters
of Ralph Izard of Dorchester, S.C., and bore distinguished South
Carolina names; Mrs. Poinsett who had been the wife of Joel Roberts
Poinsett, the well-known statesman and Secretary of War under Van Buren,
Mrs. Eustis, the widow of Gen. Abram Eustis, U.S.A., who had served in
the War of 1812, and Mrs. Thomas Pinckney, whose husband, the nephew of
General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, had been a wealthy rice planter in
South Carolina. The beautiful Christmas flower, the poinsettia, was
named in compliment to Mr. Poinsett. These interesting women for many
years were in the habit of leaving what they called their "Carolina"
home for a summer sojourn at Newport, where their house was one of the
social centers of attraction. With their graceful bearing, gentle voices
and cordial manners they were characteristic types of the Southern
_grandes dames_ now so seldom seen. A short distance from my hosts'
cottage lived the daughter of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, who was
also the widow of Robert Goodloe Harper, a prominent Federalist and a
United States Senator during the administrations of Madison and Monroe.
Mrs. Harper's sister married Richard Caton of Maryland, whose daughters
made such distinguished British matrimonial alliances. Her daughter,
Emily Harper, upon whose personality I love to dwell, was from her
earliest childhood endowed with strong religious traits. Her gentle
Christian character exemplified charity to all who were fortunate enough
to come within the radius of her influence. She was in every sense of
the word a deeply religious woman, and her influence upon those around
her was of the most elevating character.
I shall always remember with the keenest enjoyment some of the pleasant
teas at this hospitable home of the Harpers in Newport. All sects were
welcomed, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Hebrews, Unitarians, and I doubt
not that an equally cordial reception would have awaited Mahommedans or
Hindoos. I once heard Miss Harper say that she shared with Chateaubriand
the ennobling sentiment that the salvation of one soul was of more value
than the conquest of a kingdom. Naturally the Harper cottage was the
rendezvous for Southerners and its hospitable roof sheltered many
prominent people, especially guests from Maryland. Mr. Maltby Gelston
told me at the time of this visit that Mrs. Harper was the only child of
a Signer then living. It is probable that he spoke from positive
knowledge, as he was an authority upon the subject, having married the
granddaughter of Philip Livingston, a New York Signer. A few years
later, when I was married in Washington, D.C., I was deeply gratified
when Miss Harper came from Baltimore to attend my wedding. The marked
attentions paid to her by Caleb Cushing, then Attorney-General under
President Pierce, were the source of much gossip, but she seemed
entirely indifferent to his devotion. I once heard him express great
annoyance after a trip to Baltimore because he failed to see her on
account of a headache with which she was said to be suffering, and he
inquired of me in a petulant manner whether headaches were an universal
feminine malady. Like her mother, she lived to a very advanced age and
when she departed this life the world lost one of its saintliest
characters.
One of the most attractive cottages in Newport at the time of my second
visit was occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Henry Casimir de Rham of New York. It
was densely shaded by a number of graceful silver-maple trees. Mr. de
Rham was a prosperous merchant of Swiss extraction, whose wife was Miss
Maria Theresa Moore, a member of one of New York's most prominent
families and a niece of Bishop Benjamin Moore of New York.
The social leaders of Newport at this period were Mr. and Mrs. Robert
Morgan Gibbes, whose winter home was in New York. Mr. Gibbes, who, by
the way, was a great-uncle of William Waldorf Astor, was a South
Carolinian by birth and had married Miss Emily Oliver of Paterson, New
Jersey. They lived in a handsome house, gave sumptuous entertainments,
and had an interesting family of daughters, several of whom I knew quite
well. One well-remembered evening I attended a party at their house
which was regarded as the social affair of the season. It made a lasting
impression upon my mind owing to a trivial circumstance which seems
hardly worth relating. It was the first time I had ever seen mottoes
used at entertainments, and at this party they were exceptionally
handsome. The one which fell to my share, and which I treasured for some
time, bore upon it a large bunch of red currants. These favors were
always imported, and a few years later became so fashionable that no
dinner or supper table was regarded as quite the proper thing without
them. I take it for granted that this custom was the origin of the
german favors which in the course of time came into such general use.
In 1853 I made a third visit to Newport as the guest of Mrs. Winfield
Scott. General Scott's headquarters were then in Washington, but, as his
military views were widely divergent from those of Jefferson Davis,
President Pierce's Secretary of War, he was urging the President to
transfer him to New York. I have frequently heard the General jocosely
remark that he longed for a Secretary of War who would not "make him
cry." The Scotts at this period were spending their winters in
Washington and their summers in Newport. Meanwhile his numerous
admirers, in recognition of his distinguished services, presented him
with a house on West Twelfth Street which was occupied by him and his
family after his transfer to New York. The principal donor of this
residence was the Hon. Hamilton Fish.
After a charming sojourn of several weeks in Newport, I was about
returning to my home when I casually invited General Scott's youngest
daughter, Marcella ("Ella"), then only a schoolgirl, to accompany me to
Miss Harper's cottage, as I wished to say good-bye. Upon entering the
drawing-room a cousin and guest of Miss Harper's, Charles Carroll
McTavish of Howard County, Maryland, appeared upon the threshold and was
introduced to us. He was then approaching middle life and I learned
later that he had served some years in the Russian Army. Marcella
Scott's appearance apparently fascinated him from the moment they met,
and from that day he began to be devotedly attentive to her. Mrs. Scott,
however, entirely disapproved of Mr. McTavish's attentions to her
daughter on account of her extreme youth. A few months later Marcella
returned to Madame Chegaray's school, where she became a boarding pupil
and was not allowed to see visitors. The following winter she was taken
ill with typhoid fever, and, when convalescent enough to be moved, was
brought to my home in Houston Street, New York, to recuperate, as the
Scotts were still living in Washington and the journey was considered
too long and arduous to be taken by an invalid. Meanwhile, Mr. McTavish
renewed his attentions to Miss Scott and the impression made was more
than a passing fancy for in the following June they were married in the
Twelfth Street house of which I have already spoken, General Scott
having in the interim succeeded in having his headquarters removed to
New York.
I had the pleasure of being present at this wedding, which, in spite of
a warm day in June and the many absentees from the city, was one of
exceptional brilliancy. The Army and Navy were well represented, the
officers of both branches of the service appearing in full-dress
uniform. The hour appointed for the ceremony was high noon, but an
amusing _contretemps_ blocked the way. An incorrigible mantua-maker,
faithless to all promises and regardless of every sense of propriety,
failed to send home the bridal dress at the appointed time. This state
of affairs proved decidedly embarrassing, but the guests were informed
of the cause of the delay and patiently awaited developments. Behind the
scenes, however, quite a different spectacle was presented, while amid
much bustle and excitement a second wedding gown was being hurriedly
prepared. After an hour's delay, however, the belated garment arrived,
when the bride-elect was quickly dressed and walked into the large
drawing-room in all of her bridal finery, leaning, as was then the
custom, upon the arm of the groom. Archbishop Hughes conducted the
wedding service, and seized upon the auspicious occasion to make an
address of some length. Previous to the ceremony, my intimate friend,
the young bride's older sister, Cornelia Scott, who a few years
previous had become while in Rome a convert to Catholicism, asked me
with much earnestness of manner to do my best to entertain the
Archbishop, as she thought, in her kind way, that he might be somewhat
out of his element when surrounded by such a large and fashionable
assemblage. This was, indeed, a pleasing task, as it enabled me to renew
my earlier acquaintance with this gifted prelate. The only member of the
groom's family present at this ceremony was his handsome brother,
Alexander S. McTavish, who came from Baltimore for the occasion. Strange
to say, in view of the many presents usually displayed upon such
occasions nowadays, I do not remember, although I was a family guest,
seeing or hearing of a single bridal gift, but some of the wedding
guests I recall very distinctly. Among them were Mr. and Mrs. Charles
King, the former of whom was President of Columbia College and an
intimate friend of General Scott's; Mr. and Mrs. Robert Ray, whose
daughter Cornelia married Major Schuyler Hamilton, aide-de-camp to
General Scott during the Mexican war; Prof. Clement C. Moore and his
daughter Theresa; Mr. and Mrs. Edward Mayo of Elizabeth, N.J., the
former of whom was Mrs. Scott's brother; Mrs. Robert Henry Cabell, a
sister of Mrs. Scott's from Richmond; Major Thomas Williams, an aide to
General Scott, who was killed during the Civil War; and Major Henry L.
Scott, aide and son-in-law of General Scott.
The same evening, after the wedding guests had departed and quiet again
reigned supreme in the household, I went to Mrs. Scott's room to sit
with her, as she seemed sad and lonely, and at the same time to talk
over with her, womanlike, the events of the day. In our quiet
conversation I remember referring to Archbishop Hughes's address to the
groom, and asked her if she had observed that he had dwelt upon the
bride "being taken from an affectionate father," while the remaining
members of the family were entirely ignored. Mrs. Scott immediately
bristled up and with much warmth of feeling said that she had noticed
the omission and believed that the action of the Archbishop was
premeditated. Just here was an undercurrent which as an intimate friend
of the family I fully understood. After Virginia Scott's death at the
Georgetown Convent Mrs. Scott was most outspoken in her denunciation of
the Roman Catholic Church, which she felt had robbed her of her
daughter.
Some years after his marriage Charles Carroll McTavish applied to the
Legislature of Maryland for permission to drop his surname and to assume
that of his great-grandfather, Charles Carroll. As this request was
strenuously opposed by other descendants of the Signer, who regarded it