orhood, was "Abyssinia," owned and occupied for a long period by
the Ricketts family, whose walls were highly decorated by one of its
artistic members. I am informed that it still stands but that it is
used, alas, for mechanical purposes!

I recall with intense pleasure another of my visits to New Jersey when I
was a guest at the home of General and Mrs. Scott in Elizabeth. Isabella
Cass of Detroit, daughter of General Lewis Cass, was also there at the
same time. She attended school in Paris while her father was Minister to
France and received other educational advantages quite unusual for women
at that time. While residing in Washington at a subsequent period she
was regarded as one of the reigning belles. She married a member of the
Diplomatic Corps from the Netherlands and lived and died abroad. A
constant visitor of the Scott family whom I recall with great pleasure
was Thomas Turner, subsequently an Admiral in our Navy. He was a
Virginian by birth and a near relative of General Robert E. Lee; but,
though possessing the blood of the Carters, he remained during the Civil
War loyal to the national flag. His wife was Frances Hailes Palmer of
"Abyssinia."

Still another guest of the Scotts in Elizabeth was the erratic but
decidedly brilliant Doctor William Starbuck Mayo. Although Mrs. Scott
was a Mayo, they were not related. He was from the northern part of the
State of New York, while Mrs. Scott, as is well known, was from
Virginia. Doctor Mayo, however, was an ardent admirer of Mrs. Scott and
made the fact apparent in much that he said and did. He was the author
of several works, one of which was a romance entitled "Kaloolah," which
he dedicated to Mrs. Scott. When I met him in Washington he was on his
first bridal tour, although pretty well advanced in years. His bride was
Mrs. Henry Dudley of New York, whose maiden name was Helen Stuyvesant.
She was the daughter of Nicholas William Stuyvesant and one of the heirs
of the large estate of Peter G. Stuyvesant. During Van Buren's
administration, Doctor Mayo was a social light in Washington.

There was another Dr. Mayo--Robert Mayo of Richmond--who, in some
respects, created a temporary commotion in public life in Washington and
elsewhere. He was a Virginian by birth, and at one time figured
prominently as a politician. He engaged in the presidential campaign of
1828 as an ardent partisan of General Jackson and during that period
edited in Richmond the _Jackson Democrat