CHAPTER XX – WASHINGTON – THE WHITE HOUSE – MOUNT VERNON

HAWAII’S STORY

BY
HAWAII’S QUEEN

LILIUOKALANI

ILLUSTRATED

BOSTON
LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS
1898

A FEW days after our arrival the Queen signified her wish to call on the President, so we all attended Her Majesty to the White House. President Cleveland and his beautiful young bride most cordially received and hospitably entertained us; and a more recent experience of my own would prove that neither one of them has ever forgotten that their position required them to be really the first lady and the first gentleman of the land.

The White House State Dining Room – around the 1870s.
At two o’clock in the afternoon of the same day our call was returned by Mrs. Cleveland, accompanied by the ladies of the cabinet. No person could have shown in her presence a fairer type of youth and loveliness than the wife of the President, and her manner was graceful and dignified in a rare degree for so young a lady. She impressed us with a conviction, since most abundantly justified, that she was well chosen for the duties and responsibilities of an exalted position. On the day following her call we were invited to dine at the executive mansion. The Queen occupied the seat of the guest of honor at the right of President Cleveland, the Secretary of State, Mr. Endicott, attended me to my seat on the President’s left; the Hawaiian Minister, Hon. H. A. P. Carter, was assigned to a seat on Mrs. Cleveland’s right; while General Dominis, my husband, waited upon Mrs. Endicott, and was at Mrs. Cleveland’s left. The remaining members of the Queen’s party were disposed of in proper order, and the dinner passed off with cheerfulness and in due form; it was a grand affair, and arranged with the best of taste. The apartment where it was held had been decorated to do honor to the occasion. The toilet of Her Majesty Queen Kapiolani was of white silk brocade of the choicest Japanese manufacture, artistically embroidered with heavy raised and richly worked designs; it was cut in Hawaiian fashion, a loosely flowing robe of a pattern or mode very becoming to our women, whether made of inexpensive calico or print, or of the finest of silks or most lustrous of satins. A description of this dress was given by all the newspapers, and attracted so much attention that on our arrival abroad the Queen was requested to wear the dress at court, with which solicitation she was happy to comply.

Next to the courtesies extended by the President and the ladies of the executive, perhaps the consideration shown to us by dignitaries of the Masonic order most deserves my notice. General Albert Pike, accompanied by thirteen members of the Supreme Council, thirty-third degree, Scottish Rite, called on the Queen and myself. He was a person of most impressive appearance, a venerable gentleman with long flowing beard and silky white hair resting on his square shoulders, and with the kind, benevolent character and charming manners so appropriate to his official position as the head of

SCENERY ON THE ESTATE OF PRINCESS KAIULANI THE FISH POND
the order of fraternity and charity. He greeted us with dignity and cordiality, and left with Queen Kapiolani and myself written evidences of the consideration with which we were regarded by his order. These were certificates, of which mine is always carried with me, giving us the privilege of an appeal to the brethren of the fraternity in any part of the world wherever or whenever they could be of use to us. Both General Pike and the members of his staff were well acquainted with my husband, because General Dominis was of the same Masonic rank, and had maintained frequent correspondence with them on subjects of interest to the world-wide and useful society. While it has now been a joy to me to find my husband still remembered by the Masons of Washington, and to receive from them on my own part evidences of continued interest, I have sorrowed to find some places vacant in the number of those who greeted me so cordially ten years ago, notably that of General Pike.

Many other visitors and social attentions caused the time to fly past most agreeably, several entertainments where the Queen and her party were the guests of honor having been arranged for by the Minister of Hawaii to the United States, the Hon. Henry A. P. Carter. On one of these we were taken to the barracks, and invited to a careful inspection of the quarters for the officers and men. We were received with honors by the commanding officers and their wives, and taken all over the buildings, while the numberless comforts and conveniences of the establishment were exhibited and explained to us. After this an artillery drill was ordered for our special benefit, and we had the pleasure of seeing how expeditiously both men and horses could work the great and destructive field-pieces. After a few hours pleasantly spent in this manner, we returned to our hotel, intending to visit the great historic spot of the American Union on the day following.

So, at as early an hour as was convenient for Her Majesty to be ready, carriages were taken for the wharf, where a boat was awaiting us, placed as our disposal by the courtesy of the United States government. A number of prominent ladies and gentlemen were already on board to be our companions and entertainers, amongst whom I recall the names of Mr. John Sherman, then senator, now Secretary of State; Mr. Evarts, the celebrated lawyer; and many senators, whose names I do not now recall, with their wives. When we were all on board, the lines were cast off, and the little steamer started on her way down the river. It was in the beautiful month of May. The trees were out with their fresh green leaves, the early flowering shrubs were in blossom, and the banks at the riverside were lined with verdure.

The different points of interest, forts, monuments, and public buildings, were pointed out to us, and places we had often heard mentioned identified as we passed along. Near to the grounds, however, the band which had accompanied us, discoursing the sweetest of music, changed to more solemn cadences; and, as the edifices which mark the sacred spot came in sight, the American flag was lowered, the steamer’s bell was tolled, the gentlemen removed their hats, and the air of the „Star Spangled Banner“ was rendered with impressive effect. The steamer then came to a standstill, and boats were lowered. Into the first the Queen entered; and the whole party disembarked, occupying in all five boats in their transportation ashore. There was but one vehicle at the boat-landing, into which those of us who wished to ride entered, and the party was conveyed to the mansion house.

The Mansion – Georg Washington’s Mount Vernon – ca. 1859
Another change I noticed in a recent visit was that bars are now placed at the doorways where then we were allowed to enter with perfect liberty to examine everything in the rooms. As time has passed, and the means of visiting the sacred shrine have become more available to the many, it has been found necessary to exclude the crowds that go to Mount Vernon; for the relic-hunter shows no respect to that which is the common property and the priceless heirloom of the people of the United States. So the ladies of the association having the care of this estate are obliged to protect the antique furniture and ancient ornaments from too close inspection.

On arriving we were requested to register our names in the book kept for the purpose in the great central hall; from there we were conducted to the banquet-hall, passing through a smaller room where there was a little, old-fashioned square piano, said to have been the property of George Washington.

The rooms which had been used by General Washington, General Lafayette, and by Martha Washington were opened to us; and we were permitted to enter, and, further, to pause in the lady’s bedroom to listen to the story of her constancy to the memory of her husband, whose grave she watched, as she sat daily at her window, from the day of his interment to that of her own death. This story, with the scene of its happening around me as I listened, was most touching to my heart; the simple four-posted, old-fashioned bedstead, with its chintz curtains, the arm-chair with valance and chintz-covering, the well-worn steps descending to a lower floor, – these homely souvenirs all spoke to me of the sister woman who had sat and reflected over the loss of that heroic life which it was her privilege to share, and rendered the visit almost too sadly interesting for the accompaniment of a pleasure tour. Why is it, by the way, that she is now „Martha Washington,“ when even in that day she was always mentioned as „Lady Washington“? Is it a part of the etiquette of the new woman’s era, or of the advancing democratic idea?

After spending many interesting moments in the examination of the house and its contents, we went out upon the lawn, and had our photographs taken in a group, Mr. Sherman being the Queen’s escort, and Mr. Evarts performing a like gallant duty for me. The next point of interest was the tomb where lie the mortal remains of that great man who assisted at the birth of the nation which has grown to be so great. Although it is but an humble resting-place for one so honored in the remembrance of mankind, yet the sight of the sarcophagus of the general and his wife as they lay side by side, the fresh, warm sunlight streaming through the iron bars which formed the gateway or entrance to the tomb, made a great impression on me; and although the Queen’s party were silent, and exchanged no comments, it seemed to me that we were one in our veneration of the sacred spot and of the first President of his country. After this lull in the conversation, the party turned as if by common consent to retrace their steps toward the river, where our boats awaited us. The wild-flowers were blooming beside our footsteps, the birds were chirping in the budding trees, or chasing each other through the branches. Mount Vernon was at its loveliest. There was more of the real face of nature there then than is found to-day, for now the wild flowers are notably absent. We returned to the city with the consciousness of taking with us the pleasantest of memories of our excursion, and a renewed appreciation of the hospitality of the nation whose capital city we were visiting.

 

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