Page:The part taken by women in American history.djvu/255

224 It was here, through his wife's influence, that Madison was induced to hold his seat in Congress until the end of the Washington administration, which concluded in 1797. When it ended Dolly Madison lived in Philadelphia, for Madison did not come to take part in national affairs again until Jefferson became President, in 1801, and in the meantime the seat of government had been moved to Washington. Then the man who had framed the Constitution of the United States, and was known as the "Father of the Constitution," was needed, and Jefferson appointed Madison Secretary of State. From this time began Dolly Madison's social reign in Washington. She became, indeed, a power to be reckoned with in political games. For, though she made no effort to mix in the affairs of state, her influence was felt indirectly in matters of great importance.

In 1809, Dolly Madison's husband succeeded Jefferson as President, and she realized her ambition by becoming the first lady of the land. She was equal to the occasion. When shy young youths came to the White House it was she who put them at ease. When aiders of the opposition party grew most bitter, the President's wife was always unfailing in her courtesy and attention to their wives. In her drawingroom opposing elements met, and she smoothed away the friction with one of those rare smiles or a pleasant word. Even during the trying period of the War of 1812, when Madison was torn to distraction by the Peace party, she was the most popular person in the United States. The story of her cutting out Washington's portrait from the frame when the British were about to enter the Capital, does not seem to be quite true ; she had the frame broken because it had to be unscrewed, and there was no time to lose, but one of the servants actually did it. It was a sultry August day that the English fleet sailed up the Chesapeake' and anchored at the mouth of the Potomac. At sight of the enemy's ships Washington presented a spectacle very much like