Jackson well and long, recorded
his opinion of her in the following forcible language:
"A more exemplary woman in all the relations of life--wife, friend,
neighbor, mistress of slaves--never lived, and never presented a more
quiet, cheerful, and admirable management of her household. She had the
general's own warm heart, frank manners, and admirable temper; and no
two persons could have been better suited to each other, lived more
happily together, or made a house more attractive to visitors. No
bashful youth or plain old man, whose modesty sat them down at the lower
end of the table, could escape her cordial attention, any more than the
titled gentlemen at her right and left. Young persons were her delight,
and she always had her house filled with them, all calling her
affectionately 'Aunt Rachel.'"
In the homely fashion of the time, she used to join her husband and
guests in smoking a pipe after dinner and in the evening. There are now
living many persons who well remember seeing her smoking by her fireside
a long reed pipe.
When General Jackson went forth to fight in the war of 1812, he was
still living in a log house of four rooms. "And this house," says
Parton, in a sketch written years ago, from which this is chiefly drawn,
"is still standing on his beautiful farm ten miles from Nashville. I
used to wonder, when walking about it, how it was possible for Mrs.
Jackson to accommodate so many guests as we know she did.
Pages:
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494