As I Remember
engagement to Adelaide Lynch, a daughter of Judge James Lynch, of an old
New York family, was soon announced. On the voyage to America he had
made the acquaintance of a son of Lord Henry Gage of England, whose
principal object in visiting this country was to make the acquaintance
of his kinsman, Mr. Gouverneur Kemble. Through his instrumentality
Tasistro was introduced into New York's most exclusive set, and soon
became the lion of the hour. We girls discussed the engagement and
subsequent marriage of the distinguished foreigner (_sub rosa_, of
course), and to our childish vision pictured a wonderful career for this
New York girl. The marriage, however, soon terminated unfortunately, and
to the day of his death Tasistro's origin remained a mystery. He was an
intellectual man of fine presence and skilled in a number of foreign
languages. He claimed he was a graduate of Dublin College. Many years
later, after I had become more familiar with title-bearing foreigners,
Tasistro again crossed my path in Washington, where he was acting as a
translator in the State Department; but after a few years, owing to an
affection of the eyes, he was obliged to give up this position, and his
condition was one of destitution. Through the instrumentality of my
husband he obtained an annuity from his son, whom, by the way, he never
knew; and for some years, in a spirit of gratitude, taught my children
French. His last literary effort was the translation of the first two
volumes of the Comte de Paris's "History of the Civil War in America."
His devotion to my husband was pathetic, and I have frequently heard the
Count say during the last years of his life that he never met him
without some good fortune immediately following.
After Mr. Gouverneur's death I received the following letter from
Tasistro, which is so beautiful in diction that I take pleasure in
inserting it:
WASHINGTON, April 26, 1880.
My dear Mrs. Gouverneur,
Had I obeyed implicitly the impulses of my heart, or been
less deeply affected by the great loss which will ever
render the 5th of April a day of sad & bitter memories to
me, I should perhaps have been more expeditious in rendering
to you the poor tribute of my condolence for the terrible
bereavement which it has pleased the Supreme Ruler of all
things to afflict you with.
My own particular grief in thus losing the best & most
valued friend I ever had on earth, receives additional
poignancy from the fact that, although duly impressed with
an abiding sense of the imperishable obligation, conferred
upon me by my lamented friend, I have been debarred, by my
own physical infirmities, from proffering those services
which it would have afforded me so much consolation to
perform.
I should be loath, however, to start on my own journey for
that shadowy land whose dim outlines are becoming daily more
& more visible to my mental eye, without leaving some kind
of record attesting to the depth of my appreciation of all
the noble attributes which clustered around your husband's
character--of my intense & lasting gratitude for his
generous exertions in my behalf, & my profound sympathy for
you personally in this hour of sorrow & affliction.
Hoping that you may find strength adequate to the emergency,
I remain, with great respect,
Your devoted servant,
L. F. TASISTRO.
A valued friend of my father's was Dr. John W. Francis, the "Doctor
Sangrado" of this period, who, with other practitioners of the day,
believed in curing all maladies by copious bleeding and a dose of
calomel. He was the fashionable physician of that time and especially
prided himself upon his physical resemblance to Benjamin Franklin. He
had much dramatic ability of a comic sort, and I have often heard the
opinion expressed that if he had adopted the stage as a profession he
would have rivalled the comedian William E. Burton, who at this time was
delighting his audiences at Burton's Theater on Chambers Street. In my
early life when Dr. Francis was called to our house professionally the
favorite dose he invariably prescribed for nearly every ailment was
"calomel and jalap."
One day during school hours at Miss Forbes's I was suddenly summoned to
return to my home. I soon discovered after my arrival that I was in the
presence of a tribunal composed of my parents and Dr. Francis. I was
completely at a loss to understand why I was recalled with, what seemed
to me, such undue haste, as I was entirely unconscious of any
misdemeanor. I soon discovered, however, that I was in great trouble. It
seems that a young girl from Santa Cruz, a boarding pupil at our school,
had died of a malady known at this period as "iliac passion," but now as
appendicitis. Her attending physician was Dr. Ralph I. Bush, a former
surgeon in the British Navy, and I soon learned to my dismay that I was
accused of having made an indiscreet remark in regard to his management
of my schoolmate's case, although to this day I have never known exactly
how Dr. Francis, as our family physician, was involved in the affair. I
stood up as bravely as I could under a rigid cross-examination, but,
alas! I had no remembrance whatever of making any remark that could
possibly offend. At any rate, Dr. Bush had given Dr. Francis to
understand that he was ready to settle the affair according to the
approved method of the day; but Dr. Francis was a man of peace, and had
no relish for the code. Possibly, with the reputed activity of Sir
Lucius O'Trigger, Dr. Bush had already selected his seconds, as I have
seldom seen a man more unnerved than Dr. Francis by what proved after
all to be only a trifling episode. Soon after my trying interview,
however, explanations followed, and the two physicians amicably adjusted
the affair.
It seems that this unfortunate entanglement arose from a
misunderstanding. There were two cases of illness at Miss Forbes's
school at the same time, the patient of Dr. Bush already mentioned and
another child suffering from a broken arm whom Dr. Francis attended. He
set the limb but, as he was not proficient as a surgeon, the act was
criticized by the schoolgirls within my hearing. My sense of loyalty to
my family doctor caused me to utter some childish remark in his defense
which was possibly to the effect that he was a great deal better doctor
than Dr. Bush, who had failed to save the life of our late schoolmate.
In recalling this childish episode which caused me so much anxiety I am
surprised that such unnecessary attention was paid to the passing remark
of a mere child.
Dr. Francis was as proficient in quoting wise maxims as Benjamin
Franklin, whom he was said to resemble. One of them which I recall is
the epitome of wisdom: "If thy hand be in a lion's mouth, get it out as
fast as thou canst."
I may here state, by the way, that in close proximity to Dr. Francis's
residence on Bond Street lived Dr. Eleazer Parmly, the fashionable
dentist of New York. He stood high in public esteem and a few still
living may remember his pleasing address. He accumulated a large fortune
and I believe left many descendants.
The girls at Miss Forbes's school were taught needle work and
embroidery, for in my early days no young woman's education was regarded
as complete without these accomplishments. I quote from memory an
elaborate sampler which bore the following poetical effusion:
What is the blooming tincture of the skin,
To peace of mind and harmony within?
What the bright sparkling of the finest eye
To the soft soothing of a kind reply?
Can comeliness of form or face so fair
With kindliness of word or deed compare?
No. Those at first the unwary heart may gain,
But these, these only, can the heart retain.
It seems remarkable that after spending months in working such effusive
lines, or others similar to them, Miss Forbes's pupils did not become
luminaries of virtue and propriety. If they did not their failure
certainly could not be laid at the door of their preceptress.
Miss Forbes personally taught the rudiments but Mr. Luther Jackson, the
writing master, visited the school each day and instructed his scholars
in the Italian style of chirography. Mr. Michael A. Gauvain taught
French so successfully that in a short time many of us were able to
place on the amateur boards a number of French plays. Our audiences were
composed chiefly of admiring parents, who naturally viewed the
performances with paternal partiality and no doubt regarded us as
incipient Rachels. I remember as if it were only yesterday a play in
which I took one of the principal parts--"Athalie," one of Jean Racine's
plays.
This mode of education was adopted in Paris by Madame Campan, the
instructor of the French nobility as well as of royalty during the First
Empire. In her manuscript memoirs, addressed to the children of her
brother, "Citizen" Edmond Charles Genet, who was then living in America,
and of which I have an exact copy, she dwells upon the histrionic
performances by her pupils, among whom were Queen Hortense and my
husband's aunt, Eliza Monroe, daughter of President James Monroe and
subsequently the wife of Judge George Hay of Virginia. She gives a
graphic account of the Emperor attending one of these plays, when
"Esther," one of Racine's masterpieces, was performed.
The dancing master, who, of course, was an essential adjunct of every
well regulated school, was John J. Charraud. He was a refugee from Hayti
after the revolution in that island, and opened his dancing-school in
New York on Murray Street, but afterwards gave his "publics" in the City
Hall. He taught only the cotillion and the three-step waltz and came to
our school three times a week for this purpose. Much attention was given
to poetry, and I still recall the first piece I committed to memory,
"Pity the Sorrows of a Poor Old Man." My father thoroughly believed in
memorizing verse, and he always liberally rewarded me for every piece I
was able to recite. I may state, by the way, that Blair's Rhetoric was
a textbook of our school and the one which I most enjoyed.
Miss Forbes had a number of medals which the girls were allowed to wear
at stated periods for proficiency in their studies as well as for
exemplary deportment. There was one of these which was known as the
"excellence medal," and the exultant pupil upon whom it was bestowed was
allowed the privilege of wearing it for two weeks. Upon it was inscribed
the well known proverb of Solomon, "Many daughters have done virtuously,
but thou excellest them all."
Among the pleasant memories of my early life are the dinners given by my
father, when the distinguished men of the day gathered around his
hospitable board. In New York at this time all the professional cooks
and waiters in their employ were colored men. Butlers were then unknown.
It was also before the days of _a la Russe_ service, and I remember
seeing upon some of these occasions a saddle of venison, while at the
opposite end of the table there was always a Westphalia ham. Fresh
salmon was considered a _piece de resistance_. Many different wines were
always served, and long years later in a conversation with Gov. William
L. Marcy, who was a warm friend of my father, he told me he was present
on one of these occasions when seven different varieties of wine were
served. I especially remember a dinner given by him in honor of Martin
Van Buren. He was Vice-President of the United States at the time and
was accompanied to New York by John Forsyth of Georgia, a member of
Jackson's cabinet. Some of the guests invited to meet him were Gulian C.
Verplanck, Thomas Morris, John C. Hamilton, Philip Hone and Walter