Helen Topping Miller

“ After a dozen more songs, coming sweetly clear on the frosty air, the singers launched into a popular song that had been sung when crowds greeted the hero of San Juan Hill.
We’ll send you to the White House for the gallant deeds you’ve done.
Edith knew a sudden trepidation as the wagon jolted away, the voices still floating back on the still, cold air. She had heard whispers of the White House before from the politicians and public men who were constantly thronging the house, but never a word from Theodore. ”

“ He helped the girls to crouch deep in the dry stack, Alice disliking the tickle of the hay on her neck and impatiently slapping at it while Ethel burrowed happily as a mole.
“Holler when you’re ready,” called Ted from the opposite side of the stack.
“Settlers never let Indians know where they are hiding,” objected their father, who had dug himself deep into a pile; more excited and intrigued by the game than the young ones.
The Indians finally advanced, stealth being somewhat diminished by giggles from Archie and muttered orders to be quiet from Ted. ”

“ Theodore suggested.
“But first we must all wash our hands,” said the mother. “Run along upstairs. Ted, leave your hat and coat up there. I’m not sure I want you outside today.”
“The outside air can’t hurt him,” demurred Roosevelt, when the troop had pelted off up the stairs.
“You aren’t sure of that. You can be too insistent about toughening up Ted, as the doctor reminded you. After all, you were a frail child yourself.”
“But my life in Dakota toughened me. Now I never have a pain and rarely a cold,” he insisted.
“You were grown then. Give your sons a chance to grow, Theodore.” ”

“ Alice began her argument again. “Mother, why can’t I go to Albany with the rest of the family?”
“Because your mother’s family want you to have every advantage, Alice.” Edith spoke quietly, waving off an interruption from Theodore with a flick of her hand, “You must be grateful for them and for the education they are able to give you. A girl like you is born with an obligation to make the most of herself and I am sure you will, as I hope my own children will too.” ”

“ Ethel flashed quickly up the ladder. The others came after, Theodore taking the rear to help Archie, who had to be lifted up the last steps. The mow above was high and lighted by a dusty window. The roof had chinks here and there between the aged shingles, letting in pale beams of light that showed the ragged mounds of hay with a pitchfork sticking up out of one stack.
Ted promptly seized this and began waving it, shouting, “I’m a Rough Rider. I choose Father with me. The rest of you can be Spaniards.” ”

“ We have just four days to get to Albany and I’d hate you to miss your own inauguration ceremony.”
“Is this jacket all right? After all, I’m supposed to be informal at home.”
“It will do. Straighten your tie. You always seem to get the knot slightly crooked.”
“So you will have some reason to notice me, my dear.”
He kissed her, grinning like a boy, and hurried down the stairs thinking that his Edith was still the loveliest thing alive and the best thing that had ever happened to one Theodore Roosevelt. ”

“ This house is just hard to heat on a windy day.”
“My room is like an icehouse,” said Alice. “My fingers got practically stiff while I was dressing.”
“We’ll hope that the house in Albany is easier to heat,” said Mrs. Roosevelt.
“I don’t want to move to Albany,” Ethel whimpered. “I don’t want to leave my puppies and my pony.”
“Silly!” scorned young Ted, who had stood a little aloof from all the excitement over the goldfish, as he usually did from things he considered childish. “You should be proud to go to Albany, Father’s going to be governor of New York.” ”

“ He laid the log back on the stack, sending down a shower of dry bark, wondering when he would be free to chop wood again or wander these hills followed by his adoring children, or swim in the Bay or teach Quentin to dive off the diving board. He had instructed all the youngsters there, tossing them into deep water relentlessly, ready to fish them out if they foundered, but confident that they would conquer their fears and learn to paddle about, being his own children. ”

“ When the Rough Riders had gone, Roosevelt picked up the sleeping Archie and carried him up the stairs, Ted climbing after, asking with every breath, “Can I go out now, Father? Is there enough snow for my sled?”
“There’s almost no more snow, Ted, but we’ll hope for some to fall overnight. Those fellows,” he said to Edith when he had put Archie on his bed and covered him well, “came out of their way to see me and I was very much honored by their visit. They hired that driver too and I don’t doubt they needed the money. Men who work in mills and have families have little money to spare. ”

“ Alice followed her father into the nursery. “I’m surely glad I have my own room,” she said. “There’s just no peace or privacy in this nursery any more.”
“It’s time you were in bed too, Alice,” said her stepmother. “You were up before dawn this morning.” ”

“ Trouble is, people want a lot of things till it comes time to pay for them and then they want somebody else to take on the load.”
“That’s the trouble with the whole country,” said Roosevelt. “In Albany there are probably people already waiting, wanting something but wanting no part of the financial responsibility of paying for it. The President and Congress 13 are bombarded constantly with requests to give benefits to certain areas and groups of people but all those things cost money and the money has to come from the people, the ordinary people like you and me, gentlemen.” ”

“ Ethel and Archie won and squealed with delight, while Alice remarked philosophically, “I’d rather have breast, anyway. Drumsticks are dry and tough.”
Before the dessert was served, the maid approached the head of the table.
“Three gentlemen to see Mr. Roosevelt,” she announced.
“Ask them in to the fire and invite them to sit down and wait,” said Theodore. “Are they elderly gentlemen?”
“No, sir. They’re young and sort of brown and tough looking.”
He jumped, upsetting his glass of water. “My boys!” he exclaimed, hurrying out while Kermit and Archie scurried after. ”

“ He emitted a piercing whoop to prove it.
“Indians don’t yell,” said Ted, scornfully. “They creep out of ambush very stealthily.” He quoted triumphantly from the stories their father had read to them. “They like to surprise their victims.”
“When they’re on horseback they yell,” Roosevelt said. “But you’ll be prowling Indians. They know how to be still as mice. And twice as deadly.” He twined a spray of hay through Archie’s hair for a feather. Instantly Ted and 33 Kermit had to have feathers too and tying knots in their short hair to hold a dry wisp of hay erect was a slow business. ”

“ She was too conscientious about her duty here to take time even for a Christmas visit.”
But Theodore was still not soothed or mollified. “Those fellows who came here had the presumption to ask me to intervene in a civic matter that concerns only their own interests in the City of New York.” He resumed his angry self-justification, “I practically showed them the door. They were important men and politically powerful and now I have undoubtedly made three powerful and influential enemies.”
“You’ll make more, Theodore. You always have when you were in a position of power just as every man does.” ”

“ Rank loses its importance when a lot of savage men are attacking you, and you see your men fall and know the next bullet may be for you. They were all gallant, all of them. I owe them more than I can ever repay.”
“Shall we go down now to the fires?” Edith asked. “By the way, Davis won’t be back today. I gave him Christmas afternoon off to be with his family. Some of his children have come home bringing their children with them. Can you attend to the furnaces?”
“I’d better put on some overalls. That’s a dirty job. Then I’m going to take the youngsters out awhile. We can have a romp in the barn. ”

“ There are vast numbers of forgotten heroes in this country, men who rode the crest of a popular wave and deluded themselves into thinking it would last forever. You can be an old story overnight, and forgotten in a month if another object of exciting interest appears. ”

“ A bit of exercise will steady my nerves.”
“I didn’t know you had that sort of nerves, Theodore.”
“Now and then they take possession of me. Do you know, Edie,” he sat on the edge of the bed, “there are times when I shrink a little from this job I have set myself? After all New York is a big state, the most important state in the Union.”
“And you are a big man,” she consoled him. “And since San Juan Hill you have been about the biggest man in the Union.”
“Hero worship. Public hysteria. It can die as quickly as it flames and it leaves some mighty cold and bitter ashes. ”

“ A man has a right to defend himself, in law, Mrs. Witten,” Roosevelt said.
“Well, they brought out in the trial that the other feller was shot in the back and didn’t have a gun with him. But he was heading for where it stood, Governor, Ollie said so and I believe him. Ollie was just smart and shot quick, knowing the other feller was a crack shot and would get him from a long ways off. Now they’re sending Ollie up where his father is, and I got nobody to depend on but Clint, and he ain’t just right in his head, and I got three little ones, all girls. Clint forgets everything. ”

“ They wanted Colonel Roosevelt when he took office as governor to do something about getting better roads for the county.
“They’re a bog in winter and a fog of dust in summer. They’re a hardship to the folks who live here and they discourage summer people. Every time some people pay their taxes they harangue us about the bad roads.” ”

“ No one knows it better than I. All my life I’ve battled against going at things headlong, the way I fought in Cuba, and struggled to put down graft and corruption when I was with the New York Police Commission. ”

“ Get along, boys, I can’t keep those people waiting too long.”
“You do,” reminded Ted. “That time when we were all playing circus in the barn you kept some men waiting a 12 long time while you were trying to teach Kermit’s pony to kneel.”
“Then Father was not governor of New York,” his mother told him. “Now he has a responsibility to the people of this state.”
“Thank you, my dear,” said her husband. “Kiss me good night, all you youngsters. I’d better see what those people want. After all, this is Christmas Eve and a cold night. Likely they want to get home to their families.” ”

“ They get too restless in the house all day. I’ll keep Ted’s feet dry,” he promised.
“And don’t let them get overheated,” she warned. “That thermometer downstairs hasn’t risen above freezing all day. It seems awfully cold for so early in the winter. I hear Quentin now. I’ll take him down by the fire so Mame can get some rest.”
He shrugged into a rough army coat and cotton overalls and went below to poke and rattle vociferously at the two furnaces, shoveling out ashes, wondering whimsically what the important politicians of New York would think if they saw their governor-elect carrying a hod? ”

“ The ranch had been a losing venture for several years and there had been times when he and Edith had worried about being able to provide for their large, expensive family, but now the future seemed secure for at least a few years and Theodore Roosevelt had never been one to let anxiety harass him for long.
He paused to look up at Sagamore Hill on his way back from the carriage house. The bulky building with its wings and high roof line stood out clearly against the sky of early night. ”

“ When he rode an average size cow pony his feet almost touched the ground, he could step over a yearling calf or a fence as easily as you can step over a threshold.”
“I can jump over a fence,” bragged Kermit, “if I can climb up a little way.”
“Ponies can jump over without climbing,” said Ted, “but they have very strong muscles in their back legs. They can kick hard too. Grant kicked a pig once and made him roll over and squeal loud. ”

“ Ted never goes to sleep promptly, and Ethel and Kermit were both very excited when Mame put them to bed.”
“Good old Mame! I bought her a locket. Probably a frivolous gift for Mame, but everyone needs something foolish and gay to liven up life now and then.”
“She has been faithful for years. I couldn’t have raised the children without Mame. She doesn’t get along too well with the other servants at times, but they’re used to her blunt way now and ignore her difficult days,” Edith said. ”

“ In simple language, talking directly to the young fry, he outlined his philosophy of life, counseled them to decide that they were going to have a good time as long as they lived, and that without being quarrelsome they should stand up for their rights, be honorable and fair to all people. ”

“ He liked fires to roar, horses to gallop, he had to put gusto into everything he did, his wife lay thinking.
20
“We’ll have breakfast first,” she said firmly. “No one will be downstairs this early, so all of you take your stockings and crawl back into your beds till Mame comes in. Then after breakfast we’ll light the Christmas trees in the gun room.”
“It’s cold in there too,” complained Ted, “cold as anything.”
“It’s cold everywhere. This is a winter’s day,” said Theodore. “Scamper now! No one is to stir out of bed again till Mame comes in.”
“She’s an awful sleepyhead,” complained Ethel. ”

“ He’s away down in Pennsylvania today. It was too far to come home for Christmas but it makes it a dreary time when the man’s away, the young ones miss him.”
As the carriage started up the hill Ethel announced, “I never got to put my five cents in the collection, Father.”
“You mean you’ve lost it already?”
“It’s in my mitten. Where Mother put it. Do I have to give it back to Mother?”
“No, you may keep it. When we get to Albany you can take a ride on the streetcar with it, but unless you can promote a little more cash you’ll have to walk back,” he teased. ”

“ It’s officially called a mansion.”
“In storybooks governors always live in palaces. Does the president live in a palace in Washington?”
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“No, just a big white house. You’ve seen it. You should remember.”
“I’ve seen so many places,” sighed Ted, “but I like this house best.”
“We all do. We’ll come back to it every summer,” promised Roosevelt.
The house was quiet at last but Edith Roosevelt, when they had completed the task of filling all the dangling stockings, lay awake a long time, her thoughts trying to search the future, what lay ahead for all those children. ”

“ She’s scaring me!”
“The game is over,” announced Roosevelt, lifting Kermit 35 to his feet. Close by Alice and Archie had been tussling, Alice subduing the attack by tickling the Indian till he squirmed and giggled. “Brush the hay off your clothes. Now we’ll mend the stack again and see who can jump the farthest.”
“Oh, that’s easy!” bragged Ethel, reviving from the dead. “I can. I always do beat the boys.”
“You can’t beat me if Father will hold my glasses,” Ted objected.
“Stack hay and don’t argue. Archie, take off your jacket, you’ve got the back of your shirt full of hay.” ”

“ Come in out of the cold.” Theodore held the door wide, the raw wind flaring the lamp. When they were 48 inside he said, “Any woman who has come so far deserves to be heard though I can’t promise I can do anything for you. I’m not even governor of New York yet, you know.”
“Well, you will be, sir. Clint here said I should wait till you come to Albany that wasn’t so fur for us to travel, but I said there’d be so many bigwigs crowding in to see you then I’d never even get let in much less get a chance to talk to you.” ”