Show written for this paper SANTA CLAUS AT THE WHITE HOUSE copyrighted bv frank Q G carpenter 1896 1895 washington december 18 1895 J 1 ANTA CLAUS at the white house kow how his reindeer sledges gallop over the roof and how his pack goes easily down the great chimneys t he has bas visited so I 1 often that tn he e just the easiest way to the second floor where the babies sleep and down lurther further to the big room below where the christmas tree stands and to the wood fireplace about which the stock ings of ruth ruin and little esther hang he stops a moment on the way and takes a peep at father cleveland ceveland the president is sleeping soundly his rotund form making a mountain of the bed clothes he lies upon his bis back and the night lamp on the table casts a sickly glow over his worn features he looks weary and old for the troubles of the office seekers and the cares ol of the state have followed him to bed As santa claus looks at him his bis laughing eyes grows serious he whispers to himself that such a face will never do for christmas morning and with feet which move the softer from the snow upon apon them he steps to the side of the sleeping man and over his troubled features he breathes his christmas greeting peace on earth good will to men benl I 1 As he does so the Preside presidents tits brow clears his soul his filled with the thought of christmases Christ mases past and in his bis dreams he travels back to the days when as a poor preachers son he hung bung his bis stocking at the chimney side and prayed for santa claus As old kris kringle looks his own memory brings back that picture of innocence land and faith and his heart feels even more tender than before as he throws a kiss at little ruth and esther who are sweetly sleeping in an adjoining room i and prepares to make his way through the fireplace down to the rooms below low there he unloads his pack he fills esthers little stockings and stuffs with candy those which the fat legs of little ruth have touched laughing as he does so at the big stockings which hang beside them and which the children have borrowed for the time of their papa and their mamma tor for fear their own may not be large enough he decorates the tree with dolls and toys he strings upon it glass balls of every hue and with tinsels makes it shine like the si si ver and golden bushes of fairyland there are presents by the hundreds tor for him to hang upon its branches the babies of the white house have many friends and the most honorable of our statesmen send them christmas gifts at last however the work is done and santa claus stops for rest he is tired the night is late and the morn ing is almost come he started upon his travels when the sand man first began to throw his dust in sleepy childrens eyes and this white house visit completes his long nights work he sinks back mio into the presidents bi 1 armchair looks ct t the tree and talks how his words came to me I 1 dare not tell it may have been that the toy graph which was intended lor for little ruth and which was placed upon the tree recorded them it has never worked since then I 1 know and has been sent back as useless to the store from whence it came I 1 can only say that every word is true and that the big eyed brownie who guards the white house children heard it all and will corroborate my statements said santa sania claus there a good job done how the children will hop up and down and dance about that tree how ruth will scream with joy and esther clap her hands how papa grover will grow young again and mamma frances smile I 1 like the white house best when it is filled with children and I 1 hope the day of childless presidents has passed away forever how dreary these rooms were about eight years ago and how they brightened when mary and benjaman mckee and the little harrisons came in we had four good christmas days and lour good trets every branch of which was loaded down with gifts at this the brownie jumped from out the tree and sat down on atie stool at ac santas feet he asked the old man questions and santa claus went ou oa the first great day for grandpa harrison I 1 mean christmas day ot of course there are no great days but christmas the lun fun began with a big tin horn born blown by mrs dimmick at this the white house family came together gether and great grand pa dr scott and grandea harrison formed them into line little ben mckee and mary walked side by side and in double file the chidden chi ch dren idren and the grownups marched into this room the toys not put on the tree but piled up under iland it and mary had a dozen dolls a toy piano and a lull full doll housekeeping outfit ben was mose delighted with a toy steam engine which really went by steam and puffed us its way about the room there were presents for the president and mrs Harri harrison ion and all the white house servants and black jerry the butler I 1 remember grinned all over when he was handed out an order for a turkey and a pair of gloves there were games in which the ninety year old dr scott played with little ben and ben and mary recited german poems as christmas greetings to their grandparents what said the brownie as his round eyes grew big babies speak ing german yest yes said santa claus and these are just the words that little mary said Gross mamma dir gottes le gen gluck und freund auf aller wegen und gesundheit aller best zu den 11 then baby mckee gave something of the same kind to the president it was written out in in german text and it reads something like this Gross papa dem lieben hat dies eversen ich rieben here the brownie who evidently did not understand german brote bro in yes santa that is very nice but want it rath stiff miff for christmas yes perhaps so was the reply but it suited the president who just between us is a little bit stift stiff himself he seldom unbends to any one but baby mckee so wrapped himself about vie old mans heart that the two made me think of old abe lincoln and lively little tad here the brownies eyes grew from pennies into saucers and his round mouth opened wide until it became a big round hole in his fat round lace face as he gasped out andain and did you know tad lincoln yes indeed cleed in said santa claus 1 I knew him and loved him he wanted all other boys to have as good a time as himself and I 1 remember how one stormy christmas day he brought a crowd ot of hungry ragged newsboys to the white house kitchens the cook a surly bead eyed thin lipped bachelor was basting baiting the christmas turkey and hot mince pies were smoking range A savory smell of steaming dainties floated forth and made the boys mouths water but the cook with anger in his eye raged at young tad and told him to take his ragged squad away how tads aads eye flashed he told the boys to waft and ran off to his lather father he flew upstairs but his fator father was not in he found him in the carld walking toward the war department and talking with secretary seward upon affairs of state and ran to him and cried papa papa that our kitchen and cant I 1 bring those poor cold bark gry boys in here to eat eai president lincoln stopped tao tad seized him by the hand and excitedly went on 1 papa I 1 want those boys to havea have a good warm dinner they are cold and almost starving and two of them have soldier papas and papa I 1 want tt to tell you that I 1 am going to discharge that cook ccok if he dont give us some turkey and mince pies say cant T I 1 papa and that our I 1 I 1 remember santa claus went on his great round stomach moving copoul up and down as he laughed within 1 I remember how mr seward smiled and how tad aads fathers face lace grew tender as he told him to run along and feed the hungry boys and tad did feied them too he stuffed their stomachs full and as they went away he loaded them with candy and with nuts from the abc store which chic I 1 had bad thrust i into to his own stockings how many christmas mornings ive spent here santa claus went on here ere I 1 came to fill the stockings of nellie arthur when her father was the president she was a sweet child too and it was through her that thousands thon sands ot poor children got their christmas dinners she organized a christmas clubton which the riches children ot of washington belonged and joined with her in making presents and in giving dinners to tb the poor I 1 wonder if there will not be such a thing this year frances cleveland moltie mollie vilas and pauline whitney with other girls dined two thousand little children in this way on christmas eight years ago but that was eight years agol how time does fly said santa claus as he threw his great tat lat leg across his knee now frances cleveland is a mother and has children of her own little pauline whitney has grown up and married and her own good mother who made so many others happy has passed on to that land where life is one long christmas day here santa claus dropped off into a doze his head fell slowly back until it struck the pack which he had bad hung upon the chair he jerked it forward with a start and as his eyes flew open they caught those of mrs hayes which were kindly looking down from out a gold frame on the wall old santa blew a kiss up at the picture and went on talking to himself there is a woman who knew what christmas was she made this house bouse merry every year that she was in it and shed she gladdened the homes of otters every christmas she bought forty turkeys and gave them to the poor she had her christmas trees and the day was made merry with fun and games lor for the children from daylight to dark I 1 liked the hayes boys too santa claus mused on they were healthy fellows and they did not put on airs it was the same with those grant children fred and buck and little nellie what a crowd they were and how they did make this old white house ring gen sn r man used to come here christmas night and grant and sherman joined with the children in their games the grizzly sherman always watching the mistletoe and claiming a kiss irom every pretty girl who chanced to come beneath it I 1 always liked sherman he loved christmas his heart was always young he laughed and cried when he be was the nations hero as easily as he did when I 1 first filled the blue knit socks which he be hung up for me so many years ago in his Ohio home my said the brownie what a lot you have seen santa when did you first come here oh answered santa claus 1 I do not like to say it makes me feel so old it was when a red haired freckled rec kled faced blue eyed man named Ta jefferson jafferson fferson az was president now almost one hundred years ears ago he had no little children K but ut his married daughters often came came to see him and brought their babies with them I 1 remember one bright christmas day when there were six young children here dolly madison whose husband was then in the cabinet presided at the christmas dinner and the babies who had less colic then than now stuffed their stomachs with cranberry tarts roast turkey mince mince pies and molasses candy dolly madison was also a staunch friend of mine santa claus went on she gave so much on christmas that she was almost a santa claus herself for sixteen years she was the mistress here for she managed the white house during the days ot 01 jefferson as well as when her husband was the president she was I 1 think the prettiest and the kindest mistress that this white house ever had her hair was black as jet her eyes cerulean blue and her cheeks were as rosy as those of that china shepherdess which hangs thereon there on the tree for little ether either bhe wore a grey silk turban though she was a quaker girl and her parents dressed in arab how about madam washington said the brownie and little george who never told a lie little george grew big long before this house was duiet was santa claus reply and george and martha never lived a night within it their christ mases when george was president were spent in philadelphia new york or at mount vernon and the presents were all made to the custis babies for gener al washington had you know no children of his own it was on christmas day in 1783 that washington came home after the english were defeated and peace declared dred on that day he took off his military clothes and put on the garb of a private citizen the uniform he kept the coat and breeches you may see in the national museum and the very stockings are preserved among the relics at mt mi vernon ive filled them several times for little george and nellie custis they were of and longer than the aver average age actors tights there was another great general who was president I 1 mean that lall lail man there andrew jackson said the brownie as he pointed to a picture on the wall yes replied santa claus 1 I knew him I 1 pitied him tor for he had no children still he loved children and when his adopted son had a baby born to him he was the happiest man in washington he used to nurse the baby when it had the colic and he sometimes wheeled it up and down the east room for hours at ai a time he had bad a lot of children with him here in the white house and he was as much interested in christmas as the babies were he would sit arid and smoke a clay pipe as he talked with them he wo would uld tell them all about me and how I 1 came down the chimney I 1 have olten often watched dimand I 1 have seen his wrinkled face grow soft and gentle as he looked into the fit faie e a id saw there through the smoke the hard rough days of his own poor boyhood when he lived so far away in the wilds of north carolina that christmas passed unheeded and presents seldom came As santa claus said this a ray of morning light jumped through the window at his back and caught the gold of the little brownies hair it played a moment upon the mirror of the dolls bureau which abich santa had hung upon the tree for little ruth and then in saucy mood jumped back and put its fiery little fist wu in in old santas eyes As santa claus received the blow he blinked he sprang straight to his fett feet and without a word rushed up the chimney and out on to the roof the brownie heard his bis reindeers rein deers gallop on off and then ran oui himself just in time to hear the prattle of the waking children overhead arr aa AA |