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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 7, 1906)
i 1 re nnncciTCiT LEVEJN WHITE HOUSE BKIDE - 1 1 - Copyright, 1S0G, by John Elfreth Watkins. WASHINGTON, Jan. 2. (Special Cor respondence.) In the Autumn of 1SS3, and upon his 25th birthday, a hale and hearty son ot the metropolis bearing the distinction of being- the young est member of the New Tork Legislature received at the altar his blushing bride, a Boston girl of 19. They set up housekeep ing in an old-fashioned, roomy house at 6 West Fifty-seventh street, and there soon came to stay with the happy young couple the mother of the groom, a hand some matron, now reminded of those ante-bellum days -when - she had been brought a blushing bride from her fath er's Georgia plantation. The reader has already suspected that this bridegroom and son was Theodore Roosevelt, that the bride "was Alice Hathaway Leo Roosevelt, and the mother Martha Bulloch Roose velt. Lincoln's birthday, February 22, 3884, was an anxious, desolate day for the young husband. His mother was lying dangerously ill in one room of the hith erto cheerful home and his girl bride was at death's door in the adjoining chamber. On that day a child had come a daughter, for whom many great plans had been laid. On St. Valeiitlne's day, -when New York was merry in festival, the black angel Death descended upon this home, snatching from her two-days-old infant the lovely young mother from the far north, and, within a few hours, the soft voiced grandmother from the distant southland. Two days later, when, from the same house, the bodies of these two adored women were carried to the same church and laid side by elde in the same cemetery lot, and when the young, moth erless widower had returned to realize the awful void in the once happy home, despair seized him. But he had one com fort left the wee little daughter, to whom he gave the name of her mother Alice Lee. Intrusting the little one to his .sis ter, Miss Anna Roosevelt, the young -widower fled from the scene of his grief. He went to South Dakota, bought the Maltese Cross ranch sold the other day for 515, 000 and epent two years In "broncho busting" and other strenuous outdoor work. Childhood's Varied Scenes. Baby Alice knew no mother other than her Aunt Anna until she was a tow-headed, blue-eyed tot of nearly 3, when her father married, in .London, Miss Bdlth Carew, a childhood friend and his first wife's junior by eight days. The next two years the little nnn snont nt n..ct.r Bay and at the home of her Grandfather a vranamoiner iee near Boston. When he was 5 years old she had her first glimpse of the capital city, for her father had just been appointed Civil Service Commissioner. "When she first gazed In chlldlshawe at the White House and was told that the ruler of the great counlrv dwelt therein little did this be-plgtalled tqmboy imagine that one day and not far off It would bo her home. trhprin she would -wield the social scepter over the millions of other maidens of the land. She did not enter the "Washington pubUc schools, as did. later her half-brothers, but was in charce of a mivernes.q xchn latn the foundation of her education. When sue was 11 ner tatner was appointed presi dent or tne police Board of New Tork and she was taken back to Oyster Bay "When she was 13 she returned in Wash, Ington again, her father having become Assistant Secretary of the Navy. She was now enrolled in a private academy, but in a few months resumed her education under nrivate tutors. She learned in speak. French fluently, to paint in water colors, 10 piay tne piano, one roae norse haelc unci took lonir eountrv ramHw -wrlth her father, romped with her brother Theodore, visited her Aunt Anns, nnv living in Washington and the wife bf a naval officer Lieutenant Commander Cowles. She was a miss of 14 when she klseed her father good-by and saw him depart tor the Spanish War, whence he might never return, alive. She was scarce 1H wjien sue " no uuwn iu .iuixi yj uve vum in the executive mansion, and Just jst 11 when her, father, returned to .fiwm VQAi mmtm: - 3- V- yi'VN.aV ' ' - Si 1 saying: "We received your Princes: you must admit our hogs." .Some tim,e there after, at the. Metropolitan Theater. Ber- 'lln. In- the course of a roaring farce, our President was represented In Rough Rider costume and Miss Roosevelt was imper sonated by a young woman speaking wjth what was supposed to be an American twang. Upon Interference by the police the management substituted the -names Mr. and Miss "Washington" for "Roose velt." A Paris paper after thjs published 1 an article describing many ;oung scions of European royalty, from whom Miss ! Roosevelt ' might have her pick, and grouped their pictures aoout ners upon tha page. Accused or Title-Hunting. Indeed, the first- maid of the land found her name linked with that ot titled for eigners" from the time she made her de but. Some of ', the , President's political enemies, as well" as back-door gossips. Just prion to his recent election, circulat ed stories to the effect that Miss Roose velt was hankering for a title and was about to marry thisand that foreign noble or the diplomatic corps. The most persistent of these rumors was that she was to become the bride" of the A'lscount de 'Chambrun. secretary of the French Embassy and great-grandson of the 11- lustrious Marquis de Lafayette. Then t there was the same rumor anent the I Viscount de Alte and Count Conrad Hochberg. Great capital was made ot ' the rumor that Miss Roosevelt was to ! attend the coronation of King Edward as i. the guest ot her chum. Miss Jane Reld. 1 daughter of Whitelaw Reld. then special Ambassador to the ceremonies. tnis. . like all of the other rumors, proved base- I less. Ind the young lady was next criti cised for her friendship with the Count ' ss Cassini, foster-daughter ot the recent - t. often favored the men whom society looked upon as least "ellglDie. &ne automobiled. attended the Spring, and Fall races at Bennlng. the horse shows at Chevy Chase, went to dances, dinners: and box parlies galore and occasionally took a spin to New York, always travel ing in an ordinary parlor car and carry ing her own dress-suit case. One even ing, shortly after taking up her home at th White "House, she attended a box r party at one of the Washington theaters. and in cadence with tne orcneaira catve--walked" down the aisle from her box to the exit. During these gay days, when Miss Roosevelt was heartwbole and fancy free. It was estimated that in 15 months she attended 403 dinners. SCO parties. SSQ balls and 6S0 afternoon teas; that in this time she shook hand3 with 32.000 people and paid 170" calls. Meets Mr. Longworth. When Miss Alice was a little girl of 7. her father.. then Civil Service Commis sioner and living in Washington,, heard that the son of his old friend. Judge Longworth, of Cincinnati, had just oeen graduated at Harvard, where Mr. Roose velt himself had received his sheepskin 11 years before. Miss Alice may have heard of it. too. at the time, but a young man of 21 was a patriarch in her eyes. When she was 10 the same young man had finlshed law school, and when she was 15 he had been elected to the Ohio Legis lature. The Autumn following her bril liant debut the same young man wo elected to Congress, and during the next Winter, just before taking his seat In the House, he received an Invitation to dine with his father's old friend. When Representative-elect Nicholas Longworth on that evening entered the White House: he met Miss Roosevelt for the first time. She probably classed him among the older men. to whom she was indifferent, for. although but 34, he had a forehead which extended all the way over his cranium and bid fair to form a Junction with the back of his neck. Miss Roosevelt wa? then ID. the same age her mother had been when a bride. Mr. Longworth and his wealthy mother took up their Winter residence at the capital. He was the nephew of Mrs. Bel lamy Storer. wife of our ambassador to Vienna, whose, house Mr. Roosevelt was to have occupied while Vice-President. Mr. Longworth's ulster was the wife of the Marquis de Chambrun. brother of that other great grandson of Lafayette then said to be wooing Miss Roosevelt The three were often seen together the wealthy representative, the viscount and the President's daughter. The following Summer Mr. Longworth gave Mlss Allco a splendid costume ball while she was at Hamilton. Mass. Thenceforth he was always at her side. Early in the Sprlnc following their chauffeur was arrested and fined jnO for speeding. When the re cent tour of the Orient was planned by Secretary Taft, Mr. Longworth saw to It that he was included In the Congressional delegation which was to Inquire Into the weighty problem of the Philippine tariff. Whether It "wag upon the moonlit deck of the Manchuria, while that great ves sel was plowing across the Pacific: whether It was upon the beautiful Inland sea of Japan, amid the palms of the Moro country, or as they sat 'midst cherry blossoms and lotus buds In the gardens of the Mikado's palaces; whether 7AXZ 3E 7SCfl7ZPy TZ JtfP & Washington' as Vice-President of the United States. Suddenly Thrust in Limelight. Until this time toe Nation beyond her own little circle did not know that j there was such a young lady as Alice 1 Roosevelt. Even as the Vice-President's j daughter she. was little heralded, for Vice-Presidents are of little conse quence at besL Her father remained ln Washington only lbng enough for the Senate to confirm the President's nom inations. Then, from March until Sep tember the family -was united again at Oyster Bay. Miss Alice was making va rious and sundry plans for a debut the following Winter, when she would live in Washington, in the great Ballamy Storer mansion,' now the Embassy of France. But these visions were inter rupted by the crash of a bullet -which went echoing around the world, and on a day of mid-September, while her father was away hunting- In the wood, the wire brought Intelligence to Oys ter Bay which" meant that Theodore, Roosevelt must now become President pf the .United States. Miss Alice 'was then 17 years and 7 months old. The eyes of the land, when their tears were dried, were upon her. They beheld, a slender, blue-eyed girl, a little below the average, stature, with" a "face which "was the feminine repro duction of her father's a face broad at the temples, with yes far apart, nose short and broad, brow full but of medium height, and crowned -with a wealth of light-brown hair. Jt wis a good, stolid, sincere Dutch face, but while the mold of the Teuton prevailed, there was some of the blurjtneas ot the Celt of those Irish ancestors of her fathers who in colonial days settled In Pennsylvania. Mrs. Grundy hurried to the White House expecting to behold a very vain and haughty young woman, self-conscious, conceited and ready to snub all wave the titled and the rich;, for Mrs. Grundy pould only b3se her Judgment upon past experiences,. But Mf. Grun dy came away with mouth agape and ceaij$a.htlB .tot ilUs JLUc,x sin cere to the point of brusquenese. that( she was not prim enough, considering 1 her station: had too much of the torn- j boy left in her. In other words, Mrs. Grundy discovered that she was a "cnlp , off the old block." Six weeks before her ISth birthday Miss AMcu became Miss Roosevelt. She made her debut to society at a grand bait in the east room. It was the most gorgeous event seen at the White House since Dolly Madison in the same apartment led the stately minuet with the glided diplomats and military offi cers of her day. Gowned in gorgeous wnlte silk and lace. Miss Roosevelt bowed to 700 guest. Including all of the high officials of the Government and the representatives of the great powers of the world. The next day she sent her many .wagonloads of flowers to the hospitals of Washington. Dame Gossip now entered upon-the scene. Hitherto there had been no talk of beaux. The previous Summer the first maid of the land had told her Grandmother Lee not to introduce her to any men out of college, for she wished to make the best of thla last girlhood vacation. "In Washington." she complained, with a sigh. "I shall have to sit at dinner with old men In their 30s" A Factor In International Politics. A few weeks after' her debut Prlnc Henry sailed over from Gerroany and in vited her to christen the Kaiser's yacht Meteor. With a specially made nickel hatchet she cut the ropes and broke a bottle of champagne over It's bow. The Prince, on behalf of the Emperor, then presented her with a gold bracelet set with diamonds, other gems and a small picture of his royal brolher. After she had replied to the Emperor's telegram thanking her for christening the yacht, a London newspaper criticised her for not framing the dispatch in erms of greater servility. Shortly afterward William vDI named another of his naval yachts the AJice Roosevelt, and thtrefroin came from Berlin a story that the Present's daughter was to be a guest at the Royal Palace,- Berlin;, that th- BmfierQc- ad ZrCSAW 1 I 1 I - - V Empress had looked over the list of marriageable Protestant princesses and found them ,all unavailable: that they were keen to marry, the Crown Prince to Miss Roosevelt; that the Kaiser would first see to it that some friendly mon arch wouW confer upon the -President's iJaughter'anltle. - At about this- tlme,- apropos of the tariff war between Ger many and .the United States, a sensa tional Berlin paper, often confiscated by the authorities, published a cartoon show ing Miss Roosevelt in an open boat seated opposite an immense hog. In her arms was a little pig .wrapped In the Stars and Stripes, and the' President's daughter was Ambassador from Russia. Two years rolled by and a vast train of suitors fell upon their knees. before the happiest, luckiest girl of the land. But to all'-alike sher desired to remain only a good fellow. At balls she divided her dances so evenly that none could ob serve any partiality to another. She it was before or after she was offered" the hand of the Sultan of Sulu. that the vital word came from her lips has not yet passed Into history perhaps never will. Probably history will never tell, either, whether It was ecstatic happiness over her new "state that caused the "Amer ican princess" to pause too long at Hono lulu and have to catch her steamer by specially chartered tug: that Inspired her to dance on her boat in native Sulu cos tume or to dive, pretty frock and all. Into the swimming pool of the Manchuria, where her present fiance was bathing. History will probably record In mere pro saic language that the vital answer was given and that the couple was wedded. It Is supposed that the Roosevelt Langworth wedding will occur in the historic east room, where all of the other official White House nuptials ap pear to have been performed, except those of young John Adams and Presi dent Cleveland, who were married In the blue parlor. The great east room Is an Ideal apartment for such a cere mony. It is the largest of the four state parlors and extends through the entire depth of the east end ot the building. Three years ago the old gold decorations which obtained when Miss Roosevelt made her grand debut there were changed to white and the entire room was refurnished. It is probable that after being married in the east room in the presence of the elite of the land. Mr. and Mrs. Longworth will re ceive their guests in the blue parlor and then ' sit down to their wedding feast In the state dining-room. Miss Roosevelt's future home, which she will share with her mother-in-law-elect, Mrs. Longworth, is a very com fortable mansion at. 831 Eighteenth street, near the corner of I. It is -with-. In a stone's throw ot the Harriet Lane Johnston house, just purchased by Thomas F. Ryan, the New York finan cier. Upon the death of her wealthy maternal grandparents. Mr. and Mrs. Gcorg.e CL Leer of Boston, whose heiress she Is, Miss Roosevelt, it Is understood, will possess . quite a comfortable pri vate fortune. JOHK ELFRETH WATKINS. -i