In Seclusion

The beach that used to be guarded by foot patrols and a Coast Guard cutter has been returned to the public. Last week a stream of strollers made the one-mile trek along the sand from San Clemente State Beach to stare at--and try to peer over--the wooden fence behind the railroad tracks and the 25-ft. bluff behind it. All that the curious could see was the gazebo that was refurbished at public expense and a corner of the main building. Richard Nixon stayed out of sight, as secluded in the Casa Pacifica at San Clemente as he was in his last weeks in the White House.

Except for occasional trips to the beach at Camp Pendleton 13 miles south of the estate and a drive in a dark-topped white Mercury, Nixon remained inside the compound. He received hardly any visitors and made only a few telephone calls to old supporters. He did call his longtime friend and former communications director, Herb Klein, to offer a good-humored apology for the unflattering references in the transcripts of June 23,1972, to Klein's not having "his head screwed on." After President Ford's address to Congress, Nixon sent him a congratulatory telegram. The next day Ford called to thank Nixon, and the two talked for 15 minutes.

Los Angeles Lawyer Dean Butler, who is handling Nixon's personal legal affairs, journeyed to San Clemente for a round of talks with Nixon Aides Ronald L. Ziegler, Stephen B. Bull and Colonel Jack Brennan. Butler glimpsed the former President walking the grounds, but the two did not speak. He is not involved with Nixon's Watergate-related legal problems.

San Clemente is adjusting calmly to the reduced estate of its most famous resident. Souvenir hunters quickly made off with signs referring to the city as the "home of the Western White House." One mile northeast of the Nixon house, the 300-unit condominium development called "Presidential Heights" continues to advertise that "nearly every hillhouse home has a view of the Western White House." Real Estate Broker Charles Day said last week that the ad may be changed, but not the name. "It's been very successful," he insisted. "It has the connotation of quality and success."

Back in Washington, Julie Nixon Eisenhower supervised the packing of her mother's prized glass and crystal and the delicate art objects collected by the Nixons in years of world travel. They will be shipped to San Clemente. At midweek Julie flew to the headquarters of Curtis Publishing Co. in Indianapolis, an unvarying routine for her even in the worst weeks of the impeachment crisis. Julie's career is faring well: last week she was promoted from associate editor to assistant managing editor of the monthly Saturday Evening Post.

Meanwhile, some of the more intimate vignettes of the final hours of the Nixon presidency continued to emerge in Washington as the participants compared notes. A poignant one concerned Nixon's farewell meeting with 46 invited friends from Congress, just one hour before he announced his resignation in a televised address from the Oval Office. At the meeting, Richard Nixon was on the verge of emotional collapse. He noted that it would be his last meeting in the Cabinet Room--and then he laughed loudly and incongruously.

Nixon launched into a disjointed monologue. He talked of his days at Whittier College, where he had made the freshman football team, which had been so hard up for personnel that "they even played a fellow who had a broken ankle." He had made the eleventh spot on the twelve-man track team "by only an inch." Again, the strange laugh. But as he turned to his Watergate predicament, Nixon choked up. There were long silences. "Wait a little bit," he would say as sobs blocked his speech. Reminiscing again, he thanked the members of Congress for their support of his Viet Nam War policies.

As his television appointment approached, Nixon's state grew worse. He rose and started to leave the room. Weeping softly with his head down, he weaved unsteadily, then stumbled. Several aides rushed to his side, took his arms and helped him regain his balance. Yet moments later, showing his amazing recuperative powers, the outgoing President firmly and forcefully told the nation that he was resigning.

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