Yet he found
much time, especially in the evenings, for the enjoyment of his long
reed pipe with red clay bowl, in the intimacy of the White House
living room, with perhaps a Cabinet officer to read dispatches or
other state papers to him in a corner, while the ladies sewed and
chatted and half a dozen children played about the room.
Social affairs there were, of course. But they were simple enough to
please the most ardent Jeffersonian--much too simple to please people
accustomed to somewhat rigorous etiquette. Thus George Bancroft, who
had the reputation of being one of Washington's most punctilious
gentlemen, thought well of Jackson's character but very poorly of his
levees. In describing a White House reception which he attended in
1831, he wrote:
"The old man stood in the center of a little circle, about large enough
for a cotillion, and shook hands with everybody that offered. The
number of ladies who attended was small; nor were they brilliant. But
to compensate for it there was a throng of apprentices, boys of all
ages, men not civilized enough to walk about the room with their hats
off; the vilest promiscuous medley that ever was congregated in a
decent house; many of the lowest gathering round the doors, pouncing
with avidity upon the wine and refreshments, tearing the cake with the
ravenous keenness of intense hunger; starvelings, and fellows with
dirty faces and dirty manners; all the refuse that Washington could
turn forth from its workshops and stables.
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