and imposing presence and was
said to bear a striking resemblance to Prince Albert, the father of
Edward VII. His wife was one of the three heirs of John Watts, who owned
a princely estate. The other two were her brother, the gallant General
Philip Kearny, and her cousin, General John Watts de Peyster, a son of
that most accomplished gentleman, Frederick de Peyster, of whom I have
already spoken. Mrs. Macomb was a generous and attractive woman who
dispensed with a liberal hand the wealth she had inherited. Her pretty
cousins, Mary and Nancy Kearny, whom I knew quite well, daughters of her
father's brothers, were her constant guests. Another frequent visitor of
this household was Mrs. "Phil" Kearny, as she was invariably called,
whose maiden name was Diana Moore Bullitt, a famous Kentucky belle,
well-known for her grace and intellectual attractions. Her sister
Eloise, usually called "Lou" Bullitt by her intimate friends, married
Baron Frederick de Kantzow of Sweden, a courtly foreigner who had
commercial relations with the merchant princes of New York. Tradition
states that the Baroness de Kantzow, though not possessed of Mrs.
Kearny's beauty, was a more successful slayer of hearts than her sister,
and it is said that she had adorers by the score. A third Bullitt
sister, Mary, married General Henry Atkinson and after his death Major
Adam Duncan Steuart, both of the United States Army, the latter of whom
was stationed for many years at Fort Leavenworth.

Mrs. Macomb's health failed at an early period of life and to restore it
she sought a foreign clime; but, alas, her many friends were never
gladdened again by her kindly welcome, as she died abroad. In my young
womanhood I frequently attended parties at the Kearny house where
dancing and other social pleasures enlivened the scene. In this
connection it seems proper to refer at greater length to John Watts and
his interesting trio of daughters. I have already spoken of his son
Robert, who died unmarried at an early age. His two older daughters,
Susanna, wife of Philip Kearny, and Mary Justina, wife of Frederick de
Peyster, did not long survive their marriages; but a third daughter,
Elizabeth, the wife of Henry Laight, who never had children, lived many
years with her father and managed the affairs of his household. An
amusing story was told me many years ago regarding Mrs. Laight which is
well worthy of mention. As a young girl she was deeply in love with the
young man who