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Show w J IMHAT manner of tw I - woman Is Mrs. Wil- t, I A !lnra Tart, whose I Af namo ,las ueo' add- ed to those of tho . . Vmmmmmm women whoso Influ- Ss inS5Jd orco has mado tho IyfMMui social fame of past 25gs2i n (1 111 1 n 1 s t r a . fl i-t tlons? How docs II tho Whlto Houso reglmo with which j J history connects tho name of Taft U compare with the hospitality of aiadl-Bon's, aiadl-Bon's, tho elegance of John Qulncy Adama', tho simple democracy of Andrew Jackson's or the statellness of James Buclmnan's? a'lort U tit quaint atmosphero of the early century. Becky Sharp, perhaps, temporarily deluded tho same youthful group as alio for a time deluded her own glad array of daughters, much of (he own kith and kin. Henry Esmond embodied their Ideal of chivalry, and Thackeray'B wholo world of characters were familiar famil-iar figures on tho horizon of their Imagination, airs. Taft Is loyal to her old literary friends, and still dips into their society. Ooorgo Eliot Is one of the favorites of her later years. She Is -a general reader, tho newspapors coming In for a dally share of hor time. To any subject In which Mr. Taft Is Interested In-terested or of which ho Is mnklng a study sho also al-so gives her attention. As fow men of (ho period havo had occasion to look up Information on such a variety of subjects as tho president-elect, Mrs. Taft haB mado herself a student stu-dent or wldo range, it has Intensified tho sense of comradeship existing between them, .and Is por-haps por-haps hut anothor expression expres-sion of tho sentiment which takes hor walking over tho golf courso with hor husband, though sho docs not play. At Hot I .pertinently still, how does It measure with tho record of the Hoosevelt reglmo? Theso aro to-day queries of absorbing Interest, Inter-est, and nowhoro has this phaso of a now administration ad-ministration quite, tho slgnincancethat It has at Washington. Diplomats, and back of them tho governments for which they stand, are as. much Interested In tho personality of tho rising ris-ing American ppwors as their own countrymen. country-men. Mrs. Taft is neither tho soft green of tho soul of Burke's ideal feminlno, nor Is sho Napoleon's Na-poleon's nbhorronco, Intellect In petticoats. Sho Is that rarer thing, n well-balanced woman. Tho Tories, said Wellington, when Victoria ascended tho English throne, could hopo for llttlo headway under n fomalo sovereign, because be-cause ho had no small talk and Pitt had no mnnncrs, Mrs. Taft Is a woman whom ono might well Iniaglno making allowances for both shortages, provided there were such compensations com-pensations along other lines as Wellington and Pitt possessed-Given possessed-Given 'such a foundation In character, with youth, good health and ambition and tho po-cullar po-cullar advantages her life has already given her, few womon havo gone Into tho Whlto House so woll equipped to meet tho exactions of tho position of "ilrst lady of tho land." Her regime, moreover, has not that negatlvo quality which circumstances have Infused Into tho social so-cial ntmosphoro of somo previous administrations. administra-tions. Sho has tastes and enthusiasms which will glvo chnracter to tho social life at Washington, Wash-ington, of which tho Whlto Houso Is the center, for tho next four years. .Music, which has flourished at Washington under White House patronago during tho seven years of Mr. and Mrs. itoosovelt's residence there, lias oven more emphatic encouragomcnt under tho social Bway of a woman who was ono of tho founders of Cincinnati's famous musical organization, tho Symphony orchestra. Not only Is sho a patroness of music, but is a musician. Sho kopt up her hours of dnlly practlco regularly until within recent years, when tho frcquout changes In her llfo and Its many added duties made tho continuance Impossible Im-possible Though sho does not regard herself as sufficiently suffi-ciently In practlco to perform for a critical audience, sho has by no moans lost hor skill and frequently plays for her husband and children during their ovonlngs at homo. Theso are moro than might bo supposed, for airs. Taft Is ono of the women who stays usually at homo unless her husband can go out with hor. Other , nvenues through which her artistic taBto fln'ds an outlet aro hor love of pictures tW and her appreciation of wood carving. Charles Taft'B art collection has no more appreciative frlond than his slBtor-ln-law. Sho Is enthusiastic enthusias-tic about every treasure ho adds to It, and enjoys en-joys few things moro than pointing out Its benutlos to others. Faces nnd figures appeal moro to her than landscapes, and a recently acqilred Rembrandt has given hor keon pleasure.. pleas-ure.. She has mado a study of wood carving, and has. tho nucleus of a collection containing some oxcolicnt specimens. She Is a connoisseur connois-seur of the craft, and knows (ho fine points In tho work of various schools and masters. Sho Is a. book lover, and has bcon a student all hor llfo, first bocauso alio grow up In a homo whJro hooks camo down from tho sholves uml made tho worlds they contain part of tho domestic environment. Elizabeth Bennett and her slstors, with their heart affairs and all tho Incidental character dellnoatlonB, stopped front-a front-a worn copy or "Prldo and Prejudlco," bringing Into tho Herron homo In Cincinnati, with Its CfARU TAFT f opnngB last summer sho nm,i . . . .i -courso with Mr. Taft ,,vo ' T of lh walk a8(ivprv i ry dny' a strenuous ouhn'inT" ,ma bral"8' mi ses wth-' S .t k-ulnny 1,"S0 "KSresslvo-or pedantic. SJr it., ! n,.'d l00ks wo" when 8 18 tnlk-m tnlk-m n.,?nVm"uhaa t charm of Intelligence, tS Sin 1h or,.rccenltlon. distinct from wn,J f ' au,,omnt' 8" Peculiar to many woman in official llfo, on whom social duties 1, i "Sfy ", oven to that of contln-uous contln-uous ly looking pleasant." She has a generous mouth -and handsomo teeth, a straight nose, well proportioned to her othor features, a broad forehead, abovo which hor brown hair Is arranged In a soft pompadour. In hor knowlodgo of languages airs. Taft has s an advantage over many of her predecessors. During their laBt winter as members of tho cablnot circle, Mr. mid airs. Taft wero In mourning for air, Taft's mothor, and they took no part in formal Boclal occasions, They havo many friends In many lands, airs, Taft, how-over, how-over, llko many women who ha"vo grown up In a large family pf girls among whom the tlo of kinship is strong, hns fow Intimate friends. Sho plays a Bclantiflo gamo of whist, and lias gravitated hero toward tho womon who take tho gamo seriously. Of these ailss Cannon, daughter of tho speaker of tho houso of repre sontatives, Is ono who in frequently with airs. Taft. They drive together, ono of Mrr Taft's favorito diversions, and nro ofton togothor r concorts, airs. Hallle Ermlnle nives Wheeler, wlfo of tho secretary of, ,the American embassy at Tokyo, Is anothor of airs. Taffa friends. Sho spent sovornl months recon(ly in thin country, and during part of tho time was tho guest of air. and aira. Taft. Their friendship goes back to days of travol in the east, when thoy saw many things together and discovered a sympathy In tho point of view. if Qen. and airs. Corbln and Gen. and afrs. Edwards aro prominent In tho soclnl entourage en-tourage of tho noxt ,Whlte House reglmo. Gen. Corbln comes from Ohio. airs. Corbln Cor-bln was Miss Edith Patten of Washington, formerly of California. Their friendship with air. and airs. Taft Is of long standing. They wore all In tho Philippines together. to-gether. Gen. and airs. Corbln Cor-bln have recently coinplotcd a handsomo country home at Chevy Chase, Washington's Washing-ton's most fashlonablo suburb. sub-urb. Gen. and airs. Edwards aro close neighbors of tho Whlto House. Their friendship friend-ship with the Tafts has also al-so a far-reaching nnd interesting inter-esting background. With Gon. Edwards they havo reminiscences in common of many lands. Tho chief of staff or tho army and airs. Uoll and Gen. and airs. Gar-llngton, Gar-llngton, with their pretty dnuchtcr Sally, ono or tho army circle at Washington, aro all prominent figures at tho White Houso. airs. Garllng on and Miss Qartlngton wore members or the little party who heard tho, result of tho noml-nntlng noml-nntlng convention at Chicago last Juno with airs. Taft. In tho offlco or tho secretary of war. In addition to the sons and daughter of air. and airs, Tnft, there aro plenty or young pcoplo t tho White Houso from tlmo to time, representing repre-senting various branches of tho family. Tho country became familiar with tho names of air. Taft's nieces and nephews nt tho tlmo of tho convention In June, when thoy wero on hand to cjieor for "Undo Will." Of airs. Taft's flvo slstors, four nro married, as are also her two brothers, and all havo families. airs. Taft's sisters nro airs; Parsons of Columbus, Co-lumbus, O.; airs. Charles Anderson of Cincinnati, Cincin-nati, who has threo charming daughtora who aro graduates of Bryn aiawr, where ailss Helen Taft Is now a student; airs. Louis Moore of Cincinnati, who has ono llttlo son, and airs. Thomns Laughlln of Pittsburg, who has two smnll children. Her brothora, William Herron, Her-ron, who married ailss Janoy Esby of Cincinnati, Cincin-nati, and John Herron, who married ailss Gcorglo Aldrlch, both have young children. Much of. tho domestic machinery of the Whlto Houso goes on automatically, with llt(lo variation from one administration to another. Mrs. Toft Is u good housokeoper. in tho home maintained until last June sho had four servants, serv-ants, ono u Filipino boy brought from tho Islands. The houso was tastefully furnished, many souvenirs of travels giving It an Interesting Interest-ing "background, airs. Taft's room was decorated decor-ated In blue, her favNrlto color. In matters of dress airs. Taft has quip tastes. Sho docs much of her own choosing and shopping, and patronizes local shops. For evening sho wears white frequently, though pink Is portiaps tho color for which she has greater partiality. At a reception at the Whlto House ono nttornocf last May, the last formal function she nttond- fJS HELEN TAFT 2 cd thero as wlfo of tho secretary of war. she wore a deml-toiletto of black lnc over white, with n black and whlto hat She prefers hats to toques. The question has already come up ns a matter mat-ter of speculation In nfnclnl circles of Washington Wash-ington society as to whethnr ailss1 Helen Tnrt will finish hor collego course or bo a Whlto Houso debutanto within tho next two years. Tho question undoubtedly will bo left to hor own Inclination to sottlo. Ono nftcrnoon last June, when tho eyes of tho nation wero on Chlcngo, thero emerged -from one of tho big, substantial brick houses In K street, Washington, a llttlo group of figures, Including n woman who led tho way as thoy turned Into Slxtoenth street nnd walked southward toward tho Whlto Houso, Sho swung nlong with a step as elastic as that of the boy and girl accompanying her. Thoy tnlked and laughed as thoy went, and their voices, nil pitched to tho samo pleasant contralto con-tralto tone, bespoko their kinship. Perhaps thoy noted through the green vista of Lafayette park the glistening columns of tho north portico of tho Whlto Hon bo. Tho picture was a familiar ono to all of them. That to tho woman It stood for tho moment ns tho concrete presentment of fato toward which hor stops had turned 22 years before almost to tho day, who shall say? Her clear, bluo gray eyes looked as unbllnklngly at tho reality as they had at tho vision. Though In no sense under tho spell of that faculty which Thurlow Weed years ago declared had bowll-dered bowll-dered many men whoso eyes wero turned In that direction, sho was too frnnk to feign an Indifrerenco to tho alluring possibility of n residence within its wnlls. Sho had a can-dldato can-dldato at Chicago that day, and If tho question wore put squarely to her sho was ready un-hosltatlngly un-hosltatlngly to avow h!ni. The woman nnd children mado altogether an Inconspicuous llttlo group ns thoy crossed Pennsylvania avenue and entered tho big triple department building on tho cornor of Seventeenth Seven-teenth street. Tho watchman at tho door of tho war department and tho messengers In tho corridors recognized them,' however, as they mado their way toward tho onico or tho secretary, returning tho grinning salutations that greeted them on all sides. airs. Tart wore a whlto llnon suit. A flower-laden flower-laden hat shaded her face, which retains all its girlhood contours. Tho door closed upon thorn, nnd it was flvo o'clock before thoy reappeared. re-appeared. Was it tho samo party, or had that history-making afternoon wrought somo subtle chango? airs. Tr.ft, wlfo of 'the secretary secre-tary of war, was now air3. Taft, wife of n presidential nominee. Her step was lighter, hor eyes brighter. Happy? Surely. Her candidate can-didate had won the first approaches to ultl-mato ultl-mato victory. They went ns thoy had como, on foot, stopping stop-ping In tho street to buy an "extra," for tho pleasure of approaching tho good nows from another nngle, Tho wlfo of a man nlready one of the most conspicuous figures In public llfo In America, airs. Taft became from that moment a national figure. Tho November victory of the Itopubll-enn Itopubll-enn party but concentrated tho attention which had been upon her for five montliB as tho wlfo of Its nominee. Thero were no longer favorites favo-rites In tho Held. Comparisons wero out of order. or-der. The names of the president-elect and his family becamo household words throughout tho land. |
