Grant and Lincoln's invitation

[Eva Elisabeth]

(10-11-2014 06:30 PM)Linda Anderson Wrote:  I have a hard time with Mary Lincoln. It seems she could be lovely when she wanted to be and not so lovely when it didn't suit her. She snubbed Mrs. Seward and Fanny when Mrs. Seward came to pay a courtesy call on her when Mrs. Seward first came to Washington in September 1861. Mary didn't like Seward but she should have met with Mrs. Seward for Lincoln's sake.

I agree 98% - Mary should have found time to receive them.
For the remaining 2% I would like to learn first what exactly happened.

Catherine Clinton (p. 361/62 of "Mrs. Lincoln") respectively Fanny Seward writes about this incident:
"The diary of Fanny Seward (Sept.9, 1861) records that the Seward women came to pay a call on Mrs. Lincoln at the White House. The group were seated, then told Mrs. L. was 'very much engaged,' so they filed out, but 'the truth of Mrs. L's engagement was probably that she did not want to see Mother - else why not give general direction to the doorkeeper to let no one in? It was certainly very rude to have us all seated first...' Fanny was extremely annoyed but goes on to compliment Mrs. Lincoln for begging for life of a soldier. "

My questions:
- Does "came to pay a call" mean they were invited and/or expected, or did they come unexpectedly? (What does "they filed out" mean?)
- What real evidence was there that "probably..she did not want to see Mother"? Lacking "general direction to the doorkeeper to let no one in" alone is IMO a too weak argument. Also why should Mary have them seated when she knew she didn't want to see them? To haze them? Maybe, if they came along unexpectedly, Mary indeed first intended to make up time for them but her schedule had already been too full and all became too much?
- Did Mary ask to excuse she turned the Seward ladies away? Linda, do you perhaps know more details on the incident?

Catherine Clinton suspects: "Perhaps Mrs. Lincoln was engaged in trying to deal with the rumors of the scandal and corruption that were raging around her renovations of the White House, which she discovered upon her arrival back in Washington on Sept.5. It is also true that she repeatedly blamed Seward for circulating stories against her. In addition, missing callers was a common hazard, as Mrs. Seward reported the same week: 'Sept.8, 1861, Mrs. Bates Called last week - I did not see her.'"

Before that incident, on her way to Niagara Falls in August, Mary had payed a call on Frances Seward in Auburn, and W. Seward had accompanied her and her sons from Albany to his home. Linda, do you (or does anyone else) know what the Seward women thought of her and her behavior/feelings towards them then?