This plateau, purchased by President Monroe,
is likely the same one referred to in the Nelsons’ anecdote
about Mrs. Polk and her servants. Photo by
Bruce White, © WHHA.
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Mrs. Polk receives
unwelcome advice about her servants
James K. Polk and Sarah Childress Polk lived
in the White House from 1845 to 1849.
Anson and Fanny Nelson, admirers of Mrs.
Polk, published this story many years later:
"An
elderly lady, who had been present at [a
White House] dinner-party, called on Mrs.
Polk and said, 'May I take the
liberty [to] make a suggestion to you, Madame?'
The dining-table at the White House was adorned
with a long mirror, . . . called the plateau,
reflecting the light of the candelabra. .
. . The table extended about a foot beyond
the plateau, and this space was covered with
a long napkin, which upon the removal of
the dishes for dessert was rolled up by the
servants, and formed a bulky bundle of linen. The
lady’s suggestion was that the long
napkin should be cut into short pieces, for
the convenience of the servants. 'I
seldom noticed these things,' said
Mrs. Polk, 'and did not know when the
napkin was rolled up and taken off, being
engaged in conversation; . . .' [Mrs.
Polk] said that the servants knew their duties,
and she did not undertake the needless task
of directing them." —Anson and Fanny Nelson, Memorials
of Sarah Childress Polk, Wife of the Eleventh
President of the United States (New
York: Anson D. F. Randolph Co., 1892), 110–111. |
