As I Remember
devoted to good works. Her sister, Mary, married Dr. Frederick D. Lente,
at one time physician to the West Point foundry, at Cold Spring, N.Y.,
and subsequently a distinguished general practitioner in New York and
Saratoga Springs. Ellen Kemble, the other sister, of whom I have already
spoken, never married. She was eminent for her piety, and her whole life
was largely devoted to works of charity.
The Kemble house on Beach Street was always a social center and I think
I can truthfully say it was more than a second home to me. Mrs. William
Kemble, who was Miss Margaret Chatham Seth of Maryland, was a woman of
decided social tastes and a most efficient assistant to her husband in
dispensing hospitality. Gathered around her hearthstone was a large
family of girls and boys who naturally added much brightness to the
household. Mr. Kemble was a well-known patron of art and his house
became the rendezvous for persons of artistic tastes. It was in his
drawing-room that I met William Cullen Bryant; Charles B. King of
Washington, whose portraits are so well known; John Gadsby Chapman, who
painted the "Baptism of Pocahontas," now in the rotunda of the Capitol
at Washington; Asher B. Durand, the celebrated artist; and Mr. Kemble's
brother-in-law, James K. Paulding, who at the time was Secretary of the
Navy under President Martin Van Buren. Mr. Kemble was one of the
founders of the Century Club of New York, a life member of the Academy
of Design, and in 1817, at the age of twenty-one, in conjunction with
his older brother, Gouverneur Kemble, established the West Point
foundry, which for a long period received heavy ordnance contracts from
the United States government. The famous Parrott guns were manufactured
there. Captain Robert P. Parrott, their inventor and an army officer,
married Mary Kemble, a sister of Gouverneur and William Kemble, who in
early life was regarded as a beauty. Mr. William Kemble, apart from his
artistic tastes, owned a number of fine pictures, among which was a
Sappho by a Spanish master. It was given to Mrs. Kemble by the
grandfather of the late Rear Admiral Richard W. Meade, U.S.N. When the
Kemble family left Beach Street and moved to West Twenty-fifth Street
this picture was sold to Gouverneur Kemble for $5,000, and placed in his
extensive picture gallery at Cold Spring.
Mrs. William Kemble was a woman of marked ability and an able
_raconteurse_. Early in life she had been left an orphan and was brought
up by her maternal uncle, Dr. Thomas Tillotson of the Eastern shore of
Maryland, whose wife was Margaret Livingston, a daughter of Judge Robert
R. Livingston and a sister of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston. Another
sister of Mrs. Tillotson was the widow of General Richard Montgomery, of
the Revolutionary War, who fell at the battle of Quebec. The Tillotsons,
Livingstons and Montgomerys all owned fine residences near Hyde Park on
the Hudson; and a close intimacy existed between the Tillotsons and the
Kembles owing to the fact that Mr. Kemble's first cousin, Emily
Gouverneur, married Mrs. Kemble's first cousin, Robert Livingston
Tillotson. William Kemble's younger brother, Richard Frederick, married
Miss Charlotte Morris, daughter of James Morris of Morrisania, N.Y.
The summer home of William Kemble was in a large grove of trees at Cold
Spring and life under its roof was indeed an ideal existence. I was
their constant guest and although it was a simple life it teemed with
beauty and interest. Our days were spent principally out of doors and
the sources of amusement were always near at hand. As all of the Kembles
were experts with the oar, we frequently spent many hours on the Hudson.
Another unfailing source of pleasure was a frequent visit to West Point
to witness the evening parade. As we knew many of the cadets they
frequently crossed the river to take an informal meal or enjoy an hour's
talk on the attractive lawn. Lieutenant Colonel (subsequently General)
William J. Hardee, who for a long time was Commandant of Cadets at West
Point, I knew quite well. Later in his career he was ordered to
Washington, where as a widower he became a social lion, devoting himself
chiefly to Isabella Cass, a daughter of General Lewis Cass. His career
in the Confederate Army is too well known for me to relate. After the
Civil War I never saw him again, as he lived in the South. During one of
my visits at the Kembles General Robert E. Lee was the Superintendent of
the West Point Military Academy, but of him I shall speak hereafter.
Among the cadets whom I recall are Henry Heth of Virginia, an officer
who was subsequently highly esteemed in the Army, and who, at the
breaking out of the Civil War, followed the fortunes of his native state
and became a Major General in the Confederate Army; Innis N. Palmer,
whom I met many years later in Washington when he had attained the rank
of General; and Cadet Daniel M. Beltzhoover of Pennsylvania, a musical
genius, who was a source of great pleasure to us but whose career I have
not followed.
At this period in the history of West Point Cozzen's Hotel was the only
hostelry within the military enclosure. A man named Benny Havens kept a
store in close proximity to the Military Academy, but as it was not upon
government territory no cadet was allowed to enter the premises.
Although liquor was his principal stock in trade he kept other articles
of merchandise, but only as a cover for his unlawful traffic. The cadets
had their weaknesses then as now, and as this shop was "forbidden fruit"
many of them visited his resort under the cover of darkness. If caught
there "after taps," the punishment was dismissal. The following
selections from a dozen verses written by Lieutenant Lucius O'Brien,
U.S.A., and others, which I remember hearing the cadets frequently sing,
were set to the tune of "Wearing of the Green":
Come, fill your glasses, fellows, and stand up in a row,
To singing sentimentally, we're going for to go;
In the army there's sobriety, promotion's very slow,
So we'll sing our reminiscences of Benny Havens, oh!
Oh, Benny Havens, oh!--oh! Benny Havens oh!
So we'll sing our reminiscences of Benny Havens, oh!
* * * * *
Come, fill up to our Generals, God bless the brave heroes,
They're an honor to their country and a terror to her foes;
May they long rest on their laurels and trouble never know,
But live to see a thousand years at Benny Havens, oh!
Here's a health to General Taylor, whose "rough and ready" blow
Struck terror to the _rancheros_ of braggart Mexico;
May his country ne'er forget his deeds, and ne'er forget to show
She holds him worthy of a place at Benny Havens, oh!
To the "veni vidi vici" man, to Scott, the great hero,
Fill up the goblet to the brim, let no one shrinking go;
May life's cares on his honored head fall light as flakes of snow,
And his fair fame be ever great at Benny Havens, oh!
Lieutenant O'Brien died in the winter of 1841 and the following verse to
his memory was fittingly added to his song:
From the courts of death and danger from Tampa's deadly shore,
There comes a wail of manly grief, "O'Brien is no more,"
In the land of sun and flowers his head lies pillowed low,
No more he'll sing "Petite Coquette" or Benny Havens, oh!
Since then numerous other verses have been added, from time to time,
and, for aught I know to the contrary, the composition is still growing.
After the death of General Scott in 1866 the following verse was added:
Another star has faded, we miss its brilliant glow,
For the veteran Scott has ceased to be a soldier here below;
And the country which he honored now feels a heart-felt woe,
As we toast his name in reverence at Benny Havens, oh!
I wish that I could recall more of these lines as some of the prominent
men of the Army were introduced in the most suggestive fashion. Benny
Havens doubtless has been sleeping his last sleep for these many years,
but I am sure that some of these verses are still remembered by many of
the surviving graduates of West Point.
In the vicinity of William Kemble's cottage at Cold Spring was the
permanent home of his older brother, Gouverneur Kemble. For a few years
during his earlier life he served as U.S. Consul at Cadiz, under the
administration of President Monroe. His Cold Spring home was of historic
interest and for many years was the scene of lavish hospitality. General
Scott once remarked that he was "the most perfect gentleman in the
United States." The most distinguished men of the day gathered around
his table, and every Saturday night through the entire year a special
dinner was served at five o'clock--Mr. Kemble despised the habitual
three o'clock dinners of his neighbors--which in time became historic
entertainments. This meal was always served in the picture gallery, an
octagonal room filled with valuable paintings, while breakfast and
luncheon were served in an adjoining room. All of the professors and
many of the officers at West Point, whom Mr. Kemble facetiously termed
"the boys," had a standing invitation to these Saturday evening dinners.
There was an agreement, however, among the younger officers that too
many of them should not partake of his hospitality at the same time, as
his dining table would not accommodate more than thirty guests. How well
I remember these older men, all of whom were officers in the Regular
Army: Professors William H. C. Bartlett, Dennis H. Mahan, the father of
Captain Alfred T. Mahan, U.S.N., Albert E. Church, and Robert W. Weir.
If by any chance Mr. Kemble, or "Uncle Gouv," as he was generally known
to the family connection, was obliged to be absent from home, these
entertainments took place just the same, presided over by his sister,
Mrs. Robert P. Parrott. Indeed, I recall that during a tour of Europe
Mr. Kemble made with ex-President Van Buren these Saturday dinner
parties were continued for at least a year.
Carving was considered a fine art in those days, an accomplishment which
has largely gone out of style since the introduction of dinner _a la
Russe_. A law existed in Putnam County, in which Cold Spring is
situated, which forbade the killing of game during certain months in the
year. When a transgressor of this law succeeded in "laying low" a pair
of pheasants, they were nicknamed "owls"; and I have seen two "owls"
which, under these circumstances, were almost unobtainable, carved in
such a proficient manner by "Uncle Gouv" that, although we numbered over
a score, each person received a "satisfying" piece. His guests were most
appreciative of his hospitality, and I once heard General Scott say that
he would be willing to walk at least ten miles to be present at a dinner
at Gouverneur Kemble's. His wines were always well selected as well as
abundant. I have often known him to have a house party of many guests
who had the privilege of remaining indefinitely if they so desired. The
actress Fanny Kemble and her father, though not related to the New York
family, were guests in his home during one of their visits to America.
She was a great pedestrian, and I recall having a small stream of water
in the vicinity of Cold Spring called to my notice where, during her
rambles, she was known to stop and bathe her feet.
Long before the War of the Revolution, Mr. Kemble's aunt, Margaret
Kemble, married General Thomas Gage, Commander-in-Chief of the British
forces in that conflict, and resided with him in England. While I was
living in Frederick, Maryland, I sent "Uncle Gouv"--he was then an old
man and very appreciative of any attention--a photograph of Whittier's
heroine, Barbara Frietchie. He in turn sent it to Viscount Henry Gage, a