Note 9 — Chapter VI · Fashions of the Fifties

In a letter dated New York, April 6, 1861, a correspondent, the intimate associate of James Gordon Bennett, wrote as follows: “I have been in Washington twice since I had the pleasure of seeing you, and I can say truthfully, that ... the ensemble of the personnel of the White House has sadly changed, more befitting a restaurant than the House of the President. They tell me many droll stories of them, and all are deservedly rich. ‘Old Abe’ tells stories and Mrs. Lincoln simpers. They keep a household of those horrid ... people with them all the time, mais assez!”