Full text of "The republican court; or, American society in the days of Washington."

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

GIFT OF

MRS. MARY WOLFSOHN

IN MEMORY OF

HENRY WOLFSOHN

X2K^3EK2^S^

THE

REPUBLICAN COURT;

OR,

AMERICAN SOCIETY IN THE DATS OF WASHINGTON.

BY RUFUS WILMOT GRISWOLD.

A NEW EDITION, WITH THE AUTHOR'S LAST ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS.

ENGRAVED FROM ORIGINAL PICTURES BY WOLLASTON, COPLEY, GAINSBOROUGH, STUART
PEALE, TRUMBULL, PINE, MALBONE, AND OTHER CONTEMPORARY PAINTERS.

or Tint
( VNIVCRSITY )

NEW YORK :
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 443 AND 445 BROADWAY

LONDON: 16 LITTLE BRITAIN.

1867.

iv TO DR. FRANCIS.

by Washington, and great numbers by Mrs. Adams, Mrs. Jay, Mrs. Gush-
ing, Mrs. Pinckney, the families of Wolcott, McKean, Livingston, Boudi-
not, Willing, and others who participated in the life I have attempted to
describe.

It is not so much from a consideration of our long continued friend-
ship, my dear Dr. Francis, that I inscribe tc you these pages, as from a
desire suitably to recognize my indebtedness to those inexhaustible re-
sources of minute and curious knowledge with which you are wont to
instruct and delight the attached circle which gathers about you, in the
intervals of that severe professional labor from which, after half a century
from its commencement, the public, for your eminent abilities, refuses to
relieve you. You have retained to the age of nearly three-score years and
ten all your native physical and intellectual vigor, a spirit as inquisitive,
a memory as retentive, and a temper as genial and indomitable, as you
possessed when the fathers and grandfathers of the new generation were
your partners in youthful energy, and the heroes of the first and best age
*of the republic still lived to instruct the world from their experience.
May God long preserve to you these qualities, and, to your friends, your
wise conversation and the assurance of your unfailing happiness.

R. W. GRISWOLD.
No. 22 WEST TWENTY-THIRD STREET,
NEW-YORK, October 20, 1854.

CONTENTS.

PAGH

PEACE . . ........ . 1

THE CONVENTION . . . . | . . ,-. . . . 37

THE YEAR OF SUSPENSE . ... . . .77

THE TRIUMPHAL PROGRESS . . . . . . 113

THE INAUGURATION , . ' . -.-.'.' . . . . . 137

NEW YORK METROPOLITAN . , . . .. ... 147

THE EASTERN TOUR . . . . . . . ... 183

THE SEASON OF EIGHTY-NINE AND NINETY . . . . 203

REMOVAL OF THE GOVERNMENT "... . . . 231

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA . . . . . . . 253

THE SOUTHERN TOUR . . . . ... . .329

DISCONTENT AND SEDITION . . . .4V. . ; . 341

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL ... -.. . . . . . 365

THE CONCLUSION , ^ -. ... . . . . .413

APPENDIX . , . . . - l . ... ... 427

INDEX 457

PORTRAITS.

PAINTED BY PAGR

MRS. WASHINGTON J. WOOLASTON 1

" THOS. LINDALL WIKTHROP GILBERT STUART 10

" WILLIAM DUER 27

" ALEXANDER HAMILTON R. EAELE 55

" JAMES MADISON GILBERT STUART 69

" WILLIAM S. SMITH JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY 91

" JOHN JAY ROBERT EDGE PINE 97

" RUFUS KING JOHN TRUMBULL. 113

" RALPH IZARD THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH 139

" JAMES BEEKMAN. 155

" JOHN ADAMS *. c. SCHESSELE 169

' HARRISON GRAY OTIS EDWARD G. MALBONE. 183

" RICHARD CATON ROBERT :LDGE PINE . . 209

- THOMAS M. RANDOLPH THOMAS SULLY 219

HENRY PHILLIPS 231

" WALTER STEWART c. w. PEALE 253

" WILLIAM BINGHAM GILBERT STUART 294

" WILLIAM JACKSON GILBERT STUART 302

" ROBERT MORRIS c. w. PEALE 308

" THEODORE SEDGWICK w. STUART 326

" EDMUND C. GENET 351

" LAWRENCE LEWIS GILBERT STUART. '. 369

THE MARCHIONESS D'YRUJO GILBERT STUART 388

MRS. CHAUNCEY GOODRICH 400

" CHARLES CARROLL.. . . .JOHN TRUMBULL. . .411

PEACE.

AT length the struggle was ended. Affcer eight years of san-
guinary and doubtful war, came peace, at last, with independence,
acknowledged Iby the chief masters of the world. On the nine-
teenth of April, 1TY5, the first blood of the revolution reddened
the field of Lexington : on the nineteenth of April, 1783, proclama-
tion was made of the treaty signed at Paris. On the second of
the following November, the veteran and victorious soldiers were
disbanded, by order of Congress, their illustrious Chief having the
previous day taken his final leave of them, invoking from their
grateful country and the God of battles " ample justice here and
the choicest of Heaven's favors both here and hereafter."

Eight years of desolating war, though crowned with a triumph
which only the most universal and profound patriotism, guided by
wisdom almost superhuman, could have accomplished, had brought
in their train so much suffering ; to so many households mourning
for fathers, brothers, husbands, sons ; and with their conclusion a
poverty so general and hopeless, that there was little of that tur-
bulence of joy which a more sudden and less costly victory would
have excited. He who, scarred and poorly clothed, laid aside his

X THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

arms, and turning toward the haunts of his childhood saw fields
which had blossomed as the rose half obscured with a new wilder-
ness, with perhaps a charred and silent ruin in the midst, must
have felt keenly what seems now to be so commonly forgotten,
the fearful price which had been paid for liberty. But then, lib-
erty was secured, and, thankful for this, nearly every one deter-
mined to carry content with his remaining energies into a labo-
rious private life.

On the eighteenth of November the British army retired from
New York, and the American troops, still in service, entered from
an opposite direction, General Washington and Governor Clinton
riding at the head of the procession. These events caused, of
course, a general joy in the city, and they were celebrated with the
utmost enthusiasm. Governor Clinton gave public dinners, first
to Washington and his companions in arms, and soon after to the
French ambassador, the Chevalier de la Luzerne. At the last
there were present more than one hundred gentlemen, besides the
Commander-in-Chief, with his general officers in the city, and the
principal persons connected with the state government; and in
the evening followed the most splendid display of fireworks, from
the Bowling Green, that had ever been seen in America. The next
day, the fourth of December, occurred the most sadly impressive
scene in Washington's history. At noon the officers of the army
assembled, according to his request, for a final parting, at Frauncis's
tavern, in Broad street. We have a touching description of the
scene, by an eye-witness. The Chief, with his customary punctual-
ity, entered the room where his brave associates for so many years
were assembled. His emotions were too strong to be concealed.
Filling a glass, he turned to them and said : " With a heart full of
love and gratitude, I now take leave of you. I most devoutly
vdsh that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as

PEACE. 3

your former ones have been glorious and honorable." Having
drank, he added, " I cannot come to each of you to take my leave,
but shall be obliged if each of you will come and take me by the
hand." General Knox, being nearest, turned to him. Incapable
of utterance, the Chief embraced him, with tears, and in the same
affectionate manner he bade farewell to each succeeding officer.
In every eye was the tear of dignified sensibility, and not a word
interrupted the eloquent silence. Leaving the room, Thatcher
continues, he passed through the corps of Light Infantry, and
walked to Whitehall, where a barge awaited to convey him to
Paulus Hook. The whole company followed in mute and solemn
procession, their melancholy countenances displaying emotions
which cannot be described. Having entered the barge, he turned
to his friends, who stood uncovered upon the shore, and waving
his hat, bade them a silent adieu.*

* There are some allusions to these scenes in an interesting letter, addressed to a friend at
Albany, by one of the officers who shared the last march of the revolutionary army. " I sup-
pose," says the writer, " Mrs. Denison told you the news, up to the time she left. You know all
about our marching in. There has been nothing done since but rejoice, so far as general appear-
ances go, and for my part, considering that we are finally free and independent, why, good God !
what should I care for the looks of the old house perfectly sacked, and in such a condition that
if the little paper in my exchequer were turned into specie, I should not be able to give it the com-
plexion it had when we quitted it. After all, since Henry was killed, it 's of no great consequent
what we have suffered in property. If he were with me and the girls, why, we could make thing
answer, in some way. Do n't suspect I think of placing these private troubles against the publio
good we have, and which will make up a thousand times to our children all we have lost ana
endured. Every body now sees what a great character General Washington is. I have heard
a good deal about the leave taking at Black Sam's. Happy as was the occasion, and prayed
for as it was by him and all patriots, when he might feel that there was not an enemy in
America, it brought with it its sorrows, and I could hardly speak when I turned from taking my
last look of him. It was extremely affecting. I do not think there ever were so many broken
hearts in New York as there were that night. That cursed captain carried off John^n's girl, after
alL He never would think of such a thing you know. He feels down, down. I am suspicious he
will never be the man he was. The Chief was told the story by General Knox, and he said he
sincerely sympathized with Johnson. That is like him. He was always touched by every body's
misfortunes. I saw him at the French minister's dinner. He looked considerably worn out, but
happy, though every now and then he seemed to be thinking what all this had cost, and regretting
that one friend or another who had stood the fire had not lived to see the glorious end. As to

4 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

On Friday, the seventeenth of December, he arrived at An
napolis. Two years before, on his way northward, he had been
received here with every honor in the gift of the city, and had
delighted the people by his amenity, at a public dinner, and at a
ball graced by the beauty and finest intelligence of the state.
He was now met several miles from the capital, by Generals
Gates and Smallwood, and a large concourse of distinguished citi-
zens, who escorted him to his hotel, amid discharges of cannon,
the display of banners, and every sign of popular respect and ad-
miration. On Monday, a dinner was given to him by the
members of Congress, at which more than two hundred persons
were present, and in the evening he attended a grand ball,* in the
state-house, which was brilliantly illuminated. In reply to a
speech by the Mayor, just before he retired, he remarked, " If my
conduct has merited the confidence of my fellow-citizens, and has
been instrumental in obtaining for my country the blessings of
peace and freedom, I owe it to that Supreme Being who guides
the hearts of all, who has so signally interposed his aid in every
stage of the contest, and who has graciously been pleased to be-

JohnsoL, he is not alone, by a vast many. These scamps could not conquer the men of this
country, but every where they have taken the women, almost without a trial, damn them !
But as you say, it 's the girls that ought to be damned, who could not hold out against a spruce
uniform, nor remember a brave heart. Well, it 's their weakness. But I 'm in the wrong if one
of them who has taken a British husband does not rue it, for which, certainly, I shall not care."

The unhappy influence of " spruce uniforms," so feelingly alluded to, was no mere fancy,
and the public interests were not unfrequently made to suffer as deeply as the feelings of indi-
viduals. In August, 1779, Governor Livingston wrote to his daughter Catherine, " The com-
plaisance with which we treat the British prisoners, considering how they treat us when in
captivity, of which you justly complain, is what the Congress can never answer to their con-
stituents, however palliated with the specious name of humanity. It is thus that we shall be at
last humanized out of our liberties. ... I know there are a number of flirts in Philadelphia,
squally famed for their want of modesty and their want of patriotism, who will triumph in our
over-complaisance to the red coat prisoners lately arrived in that metropolis. I hope none of my
connections will imitate them, in the dress of their heads, or in the Tory feelings of their hearts."

* The ball was opened by General Washington and Mrs. James Macubbin, one of the most
beautiful women of the time.

PEACE. 5

stow on me the greatest of earthly rewards, the approbation and
affection of a free people."

One more scene, among the most sublime in human history, and
not less impressive than that of his separation from his companions
in arms, awaited him before his retirement to private life. On the
twenty-third of December, according to a previous order, he was
admitted to a public audience by the Congress, and soon after he
was seated, the President, General Mifflin, informed him that that
body was prepared to receive his communications. In a brief and
appropriate speech he offered his congratulations on the termina-
tion of the war, and having alluded to his object in appearing thus
in that presence that he might resign into the hands of Congress
the trust committed to him, and claim the indulgence of retiring
from the public service he concluded : " I consider it an indispen-
sable duty to close this last act of my official life, by commending
the interests of our dearest country to the protection of Almighty
God, and those who have the superintendence of them to his holy
keeping. Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire
from the theatre of action, and bidding an affectionate farewell to
this august body, under whose orders I have so long acted, I here
offer my commission, and take my leave of all the employments of
public life." He then advanced and delivered into the hands of the
President his commission, with a copy of his address, and when he
had resumed his place, General Mifflin replied, reviewing in a few
words the great career thus brought to a close, and saying in
conclusion, " The glory of your virtues will not terminate with
your military command : it will continue to animate the remotest
ages. . . . We join with you in commending the interests of our
country to Almighty God, beseeching Him to dispose the hearts
and minds of its citizens to improve the opportunity afforded them
of becoming a happy and respectable nation. And for you, we

6 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

address to Him our warmest prayers, that a life so beloved
may be fostered with all Ms care, that your days may be as
happy as they have been illustrious, and that he will finally give
you that reward which this world cannot bestow." The editor of
the Maryland Gazette, a journal which in this period was printed
at Annapolis, remarks, after describing these affecting scenes : " Few
tragedies ever drew so many tears, from so many beautiful eyes,
as the moving manner in which his Excellency took his final leave
of Congress. The next morning he set out for Virginia, accom-
panied, as far as South Eiver, by Governor Paca, with the warmest
wishes of the city for his repose, health, and happiness. Long may
he live to enjoy them ! " He arrived at his home the same even-
ing, having been absent more than eight years and a half, during
which time he had never been at his own house, except inciden-
tally while on his way with Count Rochambeau to Yorktown,
and in returning from that expedition. Here, for a while, we
leave him, surrounded by his family, receiving every day some
new homage from his grateful countrymen and from the noblest
men of other nations, and occupied with those rural pursuits for
which he had longed so many years, that we may take a brief sur-
vey of the social condition of our principal cities after the termina-
tion of the revolution,

II.

TURNING from the most credulous study of the half fabulous
annals of ancient nations, to the history of our own country, for
the period which is embraced in the memories of many who are
still living, our reason falters in astonishment; we instinctively
regard with doubt and disbelief the unparalleled advance in popu-
lation, wealth, power, and all the elements of greatness, of those
feeble and exhausted colonies, which in 1<T 8 3 were acknowledged

PEACE. 7

to be independent states, and which now constitute one of the first
of the leading sovereignties of the world. Since Washington
resigned his sword, at Annapolis, our three millions of people
have increased to thirty millions, and New York, with its suburbs,
which since some of her present citizens arrived at the age of man-
hood had but thirty thousand inhabitants, is now the third city in
Christendom, likely at the next decennial census to have rank
nearest to London, and at no distant period to take from even that
great capital her long enjoyed supremacy, in numbers, riches, and
magnificence. Boston contained at the close of the war about thir-
teen thousand inhabitants, in 1Y86 fourteen thousand and two hun-
dred, and in 1789 eighteen thousand ; the population of New York
had increased, when the federal government was inaugurated, to
thirty-three thousand, of whom two thousand and three hundred
were slaves ; and that of Philadelphia to forty-two thousand, of
whom less than three hundred were slaves, and these probably for
the most part owned by temporary residents.

In each of these three cities, and indeed throughout the colonies,
there was at the commencement of the war as much refinement of
manners, with as generous a culture of the heart and the under-
standing, as could be found perhaps in any foreign society. Many
of the young men who were then coming forward had been edu-
cated at Eton, Oxford, Cambridge, and Edinburgh ; and our own
colleges of Harvard, Yale, Nassau Hall, and William and Mary,
and King's College in New York, were far more respectable for the
character and learning of their professors, the judicious thorough-
ness of their courses of instruction, and the gentlemanly discipline
maintained in them, than is commonly supposed. Schools for young
women also were very numerous, and some of them were widely
known and most liberally supported. The most celebrated of these
was the Moravian establishment at Bethlehem, in Pennsylvania,

8 THE EEPUBLICAN COURT.

where, in nun-like seclusion, were educated a large proportion of
the belles who gave the fashionable circles of New York and
Philadelphia their inspiration during the last twenty years of the
century.*

In Boston there was undoubtedly more real respectability than
in any other town of its population in the British empire. It was
the home of the families of Winthrop, variously illustrious from
the foundation of the colony, and of Gushing, Quincy, Bowdoin,
Dana, Prescott, and others of hereditary distinction; and here
lived the "silver tongued orator" Samuel Cooper, and Samuel
Adams, John Adams, Joseph Warren, James Otis, John Hancock,
John Singleton Copley, and a great number besides who became
honorably conspicuous in history. Except in letters, in which
the names of Dana and Prescott have reappeared with additional
splendors, Boston has never since, notwithstanding her growth
in numbers, magnificence, and means and displays of refinement,
presented a more remarkable array of dignified character and
eminent abilities.

We have some glimpses of the social life of Boston at the close
of the war, in the entertaining memoirs of the Marquis de Chas-
tellux, who went the round of fashionable gayeties here in 1 7 8 2. He
noticed the prevalence in society of a certain "ton of ease and
freedom," but thought the gentlemen awkward dancers, particularly
in the minuet. The women were well-dressed, but with less elegance
than those of Philadelphia. The assembly room was superb, in a
good style of architecture, well decorated and well lighted much
superior to that of the Philadelphia City Tavern. He drank tea

* " I have seen a remarkable institution for the education of young ladies, at Bethlehem. About
one hundred and twenty of them live together under the same roof; they sleep all together, in
the same garret ; I saw one hundred and twenty beds, in two long rows, in the same room ; the
beds and bedclothes were all of excellent quality, and extremely neat How should you like to
live in such a nunnery?" John Adams, to his daughter, March 17, 1777.

PEACE. 9

at Mr. Bowdoin's and was there with a supper party of twenty of
the select people of the city.* The next day, with the Marquis de
Vaudreuil, he dined at Mr. Breck's, where, among some thirty per-
sons, he encountered Mrs. Tudor, who knew French perfectly, and
was possessed of understanding, grace, and delicacy, and Mrs. Mor-
ton, who, besides speaking French, was a poetess of no mean cele-
brity. Soon after he attended the Tuesday evening Club, which
is still in existence, at the end of more than a century from . its
commencement ; and calling again at Mr. Bowdoin's, his admiration
was kindled at the sight of that gentleman's beautiful grand-daugh-
ter, the eldest child of Lady Temple, " an angel in the disguise of

* Francis Jean, Marquis de Chastellux, litterateur, philosopher, and soldier, was born of a
noble family in Paris in 1734. He was elected in 1775 one of the forty members of the French
Academy, and in 1780 came to America, with the rank of Major General, under the Count de
Rochambeau, and remained here between two and three years. He published De la Felicite
Publique, 1772; Voyage dans VAmerique Septentrionale, dans les annes 1780-81-82, in two vol-
umes, which were severely criticised by Brissot de Warville ; Essai sur V Union de la Poesie et de
la Musique; Discours sur lesAvantagvsetDesavantages qui resultant pour V Europe de la Decouvcrte
de CAmerique; Discours en Vers addresses aux ojficiers et soldats des differentes Armees Americaincs,
traduit de 1'Anglais de David Humphreys, and some other works, besides articles in the Ency-
clopedic, <fec. He died in 1788. It was but a short time before his death that the Marquis was
married, and he wrote to Washington advising him of the happy event. The Chief answered in
one of the few examples of written pleasantry we have from him. " I was," he says, " not less
delighted than surprised to meet the plain American words, 'my wife.' A wife! well, my dear
Marquis, I can scarcely refrain from smiling to find you caught at last. I saw by the eulogium
you often made on the happiness of domestic life in America that you had swallowed the bait,
and that you would as surely be taken, one day or another, as that you were a philosopher and
a soldier. So your day has at length come. I am glad of it, with all my heart. It is quite good
enough for you. Now you are well served for coming to fight in favor of the American rebels,
all the way across the Atlantic ocean, by catching that terrible contagion, domestic felicity,
which, like the small pox or the plague, a man can have only once in his life, because it com-
monly lasts him, (at least with us in America : I know not how you manage these matters in
France,) for his whole lifetime. And yet, after all, the worst wish which I can find it in my
heart to make against Madame de Chastellux and yourself is, that you may neither of you ever
get the better of this same domestic felicity, during the entire course of your mortal existence.
If so wonderful an event should have occasioned me, my dear Marquis, to write in a strange
style, you will understand me as clearly as if I had said, what in plain English is the simple
truth, ' Do me the justice to believe that I take a heartfelt interest in whatever concerns your
happiness.' And, in this view, I sincerely congratulate you on your auspicious matrimonial
connection."

10 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

a young girl." * M. de Chastellux discovered that the Americans
had the bad habit of eating too frequently, and they made him
play at whist, with English cards, much handsomer and dearer than
were used in Paris, and marked their points with louis'&ors. The
stakes however were easy to seftle, notwithstanding the addiction of
the people of this country to gambling, for the company was still
faithful to that voluntary law established in society which prohi-
bited playing for money during the war.

M. Jean Pierre Brissot de Warville followed in a few years, and
was not less pleased than the Marquis de Chastellux with the amia-
ble, affable, hospitable people of Boston. Were he to paint all the
estimable characters he met in that charming town, he tells us, his
portraits would never be finished. The Bostonians were even then
somewhat too philosophical in their religion, but they united sim-
plicity of morals with that French politeness and delicacy of man-
ners which rendered virtue most agreeable. They were true friends,
tender husbands, almost idolatrous parents, and kind masters. The
grim young republican heard in some houses the piano forte, and
exclaimed, " God grant that the Boston women may never, like those
of Paris, acquire la maladie of perfection in the art of music, which
is not to be attained but at the expense of the domestic virtues ! "
The " demoiselles here had the liberty enjoyed in Geneva, when
morals were there, in the time of the republic ; and they did not
abuse it. Their frank and tender hearts had nothing to fear from
the perfidy of men : the vows of love were believed ; " and wives,
to sum up all, were " occupied in rendering their husbands happy."

* Miss Temple, afterward Mrs. Winthrop, and the mother of the present Mr. Eobert C. Win-
throp, was brought up in Governor Bowdoin's family, and adopted by him as a daughter. With
him she lived during the whole period of the revolution, meeting at his house Franklin and La-
fayette, and all the French and American officers of distinction who visited the city. Lafayette
was a great admirer of hers, and called often to see her during his last visit to America. She
was long the reigning belle of Boston.

PEACE. 11

III.

PHILADELPHIA, it will be perceived, was still the largest town
in tlie country. By general consent it had been regarded as the
metropolis, except while occupied by the enemy, during the war.
The Chevalier de Beaujour, who described it a few years later,
denies its claim to be considered the most beautiful city in the
world, but admits that it was the most remarkable for the regu-
larity of its streets, and the cleanliness of its houses. " It is cut,"
he says, " like a chess-board, at right angles. All the streets and
houses resemble each other, and nothing is so gloomy as this
uniformity, unless it be the sadness of the inhabitants, the greater
part of whom are of Quaker or Puritan descent."

* Society here, in the middle of the last century, was divided into
two -classes of families, recognized as of family rank, though family
rank of very different kinds. One comprised the Logans, Shippens,
Pembertons, Morrises, Wains, Lloyds (of the ancient house of Do-
lobran), Hills, "Wynnes, Moores, Benezets, Norrises, Peningtons, and
a few others of Quaker antiquity, highly esteemed even beyond the
circle of their sect for substantial qualities and comfortable regard
for domestic ease, but bound, of course, by the essence of their faith,
to an abnegation of nearly every thing that belonged to the spirit
of the cavalier, and of every thing which illustrates itself in the
tastes or shows of life. This was the elder part of the provincial aris-
tocracy. Some of them or their ancestors had come on " The Wel-
come," along with William Penn himself, and whatever had been
their rank at home in many cases it was of unquestionable respect-
ability they formed in Pennsylvania a sort of " Battle Abbey Boll,"
and some time before the death of Penn had obtained a peacea-
ble possession from which the advent of a class more liberal, educated,
and accomplished, has never dispossessed their names.

12 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

The death of the founder of Pennsylvania in 1718, the increas*
ing wealth and civilization of the colony, and the return of the
proprietory descendants to the established church, "brought from
England at a later date, and generally about the middle of the last
century, a class of entirely different families. For the most part
they were in some connection with the proprietary offices, now
grown important. They were with few exceptions of the Church
of England, and of liberal education merchants trained in the
honorable principles of a large commerce, lawyers who had pursued
their studies at the Temple and it may be supposed were recog-
nized at home as people of liberal culture, of social refinement, and
" of orthodox principles, both in church and state." Such doubt-
less were the Aliens, Ashetons (though this family came earlier),
Lawrences, Chews, Tilghmans, Plumsteds, Hamiltons, Hackleys,
Inglises, Simses, Francises, Masters, Bonds, Peterses, Conynghams
of Conyngham, Chancellors, and Maddoxes. These last two, of
which the second is extinct in the male line, came in the beginning
of the century. Certain of the Shippens, likewise, originally of
Quaker affinities, had now in the third generation been so educated
in England as to belong more to this class than to the former one,
and several families from Scotland, who had arrived in Philadelphia
about 1 T40 to 1745, are also to be reckoned in it. These all constitut-
ed a secondary formation in the colonial stratification. At a later
date the men of the revolution, Bradford, McKean, Biddle, Mifflin,
and many, of rank, from other states, such as Major Pierce Butler,
Mr. Boudinot, Mr. Reed, and some others, whom public affairs
brought permanently to Philadelphia, were a third class, which
comprised a few and only a few of both the former classes : the
Quakers having been generally excluded as averse to war of any
kind, and many of the provincial gentry as averse to a war with
Great Britain. The small number of the older classes, principally of

PEACE.

the second, who supported the war, attracted to their new character
more than the natural influence of their former colonial standing.*

IV.

EMINENT among the English families of this second class were
the Willings, who for strong social connections and great weight

* The following document, never before published in a form likely to be preserved, is curious
and interesting. It is a copy of the original subscription list to the first city dancing assembly,
held in Philadelphia in the year 1748. It contains a record of most of the persons then in
Philadelphia belonging to the second class of which I have spoken. Some of the names, such
as those of Kidd, Mackimen, Sober, Wiseheart, Polyceen, Boyle, Godons, Cottenham, Maland,
and Cozzens, are, I believe, hardly now known even to antiquaries in that city. They were
probably strangers or temporary residents. A few, like those of Bond, Stedman, Franks, Inglis,
and Levy, are now represented in female lines. But notwithstanding the change often made upon
the structure and chances of our society by our transatlantic brethren, it will be obvious that
now, at the distance of one hundred and twenty-five years from its date a revolution having
occurred in the meantime, and a republican commonwealth having taken the place of a proprie-
tary and royal province many of the remaining names still subsist and are well known in the
identical form on which they appear on the original subscription list, made twenty-eight years
before the Declaration of Independence.

A list of subscribers for an Assembly, under the direction of John Inglis, LynfordLardnor, JoJmWallace, and
JoJin Swift: Each subscription forty shillings, to be paid to any of the directors on subscribing.

Alexander Hamilton,

T. Lawrence, sen.,

James Hamilton,

John Inglis,

James Polyceen,

T. Lawrence, jr.,

David Mcllvaine,

Eobert Mackimen,

E. Wiseheart,

William Franklin,

John Wallace,

John Wilcocks,

William Allen,

Abram Taylor,

Henry Harrison,

Phineas Bond,

Charles Steadman,

Archibald McCall,

James Trotter,

John Hewson,

Charles Willing,

John Kidd,

Joseph Turner,

Samson Levy,

Daniel Boyle,

Joseph Shippen,

William Bingham,

Thomas Hopkinson,

Lynford Lardnor,

Thomas White,

Samuel McCall, jr.,

Buckridge Sims,

Eichard Peters,

Eichard Hill, jr.,

John Lawrence,

George McCall,

John Swift,

Adam Thomson,

Benjamin Price,

Thomas Godons,

Edward Jones,

John Kearsley, jr.,

Alexander Steadman,

John Francis,

John Cottenham,

Samuel McCall, sen.,

William Plumsted,

Patrick Baird,

William Mcllvaine,

John Maland,

K. Conyingham,

Andrew Elliot,

John Sober,

William Humphreys,

William Cozzens.

Joseph Sims,

James Burd, ,

David Franks,

William Peters,

The above list is older than the one given by Mr. Watson, in his " Annals." That careful antiquary furnishes the
following catalogue of fashionable " belles and dames" for the ball of the City Assembly in 1757:

Mrs. Allen,

Mrs. Joseph Shippen,

Mrs. Alex. Steadman,

Miss Betty Plumsted,

Miss Nancy Willing,

Mrs. Taylor,

Mrs. Dolgreen,

Mrs. Hopkinson,

Miss Eebecca Davis,

Miss Dolly Willing,

Mrs. Hamilton,

Mrs. Phineas Bond,

Miss Patty Ellis,

Miss Jeany Greame,

Mrs. M'llvaine,

Mrs. Brotherson,

Mrs. Burd,

Mrs. Marks,

Miss Nelly M'Call,

Miss Betty Gryden,

Mrs. Inglis,

Mrs. Chas. Steadman,

Miss Molly Francis,

Miss Eandolph,

Miss Sally Fishbourn,

Mrs. Jeykell,

Mrs. Thomas White,

Miss Betty Francis,

Miss Sophia White,

Miss Furnell,

Mrs. Franks,

Mrs. Johnes,

Miss Osburn,

Mrs. Venables,

Miss Isabella Cairnie,

Mrs. Lydia M'Call,

Mrs. Warren,

Miss Sober,

Miss Hyatt,

Miss Pennyfaither,

Mrs. Sam'l M'Call, sen,

, Mrs. Oswald,

Miss Molly Lawrence,

Miss Betty Clifften,

Miss Jeany Eichardson.

Mrs. Sam'l M'Call, jr.,

Mrs. Thomas Bond,

Miss Kitty Lawrence,

Miss Molly Dick,

Mrs. Eeily,

Mrs. Swift,

Mrs. Davey,

Mrs. George Smith,

Miss Fanny Jeykell,

Mrs. Graydon,

Mrs. Sims,

Mrs. Wm. Humphreys, Miss Nancy Hickman,

Miss Fanny Marks,

Mrs. Eoss,

Mrs. Willcocks,

Mrs. Pennery,

Miss Sally Hunlock,

Miss Peggy Oswald,

Mrs. Peter Bard,

Mrs. Lawrence,

Mrs. Henry Harrison,

Miss Peggy Harding,

Miss Betty Oswald,

Mrs. Franklin,

Mrs. Greame,

Mrs. Bingham,

Miss Molly M'Call,

Miss Sally Woodrop,

Miss L. de Normandie,

Mrs. Eobertsou,

Mrs. Clymer,

Miss Peggy M'Call,

Miss Molly Oswald,

Miss Phebe Winecoop,

Mrs Francis,

Mrs. Wallace,

Mrs. Lardner,

Mrs. Willing,

Mrs. Harkly.

14 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

of both public and private character enjoyed an enviable dictino
tion. The name, though found in Germany, has become nearly ex-
tinct in England, where it originated, and in our own country has
hardly been known out of Philadelphia. The family has however
in later days given a member to the peerage of Great Britain,* and
the wife, first of a count and afterwards of a marquis, of France,f
while, without any title, a third has illustrated for a long time the
beauty of American women in the metropolis of Europe.

The first of this family of whom I have heard, although I be-
lieve it is traced much further, was Joseph Willing, of Gloucester-
shire, who married about two centuries since Ava Lowre, of that
county, the heiress of a good estate which had descended to her
through several generations of Saxon ancestors, and whose arms he
seems J to have assumed, on their marriage, in place of his own.
Their son Thomas married Anne Harrison, a grand-daughter in
the paternal line of Thomas Harrison, and in the maternal of
Simon Mayne. The former was a Major General in the Protector's
army and a member of the long Parliament ; the latter was also a
prominent actor in Cromwell's time ; and both were members of
the court which condemned Charles the First to death. Whether
he considered this part of his ancestral history a good title to con-
sideration in a country settled by puritans, in the " dissidence of
dissent," or whether he was attracted by the rising commercial glory
of this country, I am not sufficiently informed to say ; but having
visited America in 1720, and spent five years here, Mr. Thomas
Willing brought his son Charles over in 1728 and established him

* The present Lord Ashburton, great-grandson of Thomas Willing of Philadelphia.

f La Marquise de BlaiseL

\ " Sable a hand, couped at the -wrist, grasping three darts, one in pale and two in sallure,
argent."

The late President William Henry Harrison, was, I believe, a descendant of Major General
Harrison, of Cromwell's army. At the time of his death a copy of an original painting of the
Protector's friend was just completed for his gratification.

PEACE. 15

in commerce in Philadelphia, himself returning home. Charles, the
first who remained in the country, may therefore be considered the
founder of the American family. Few men in a private station
have any where enjoyed greater influence or attained to a more
dignified respectability. His house, still standing at the southwest
corner of Third street and Willing's alley, though now deprived
of its noble grounds, running back to Fourth street * and far onward
down to Spruce street, and shaded with oaks that might be regard-
ed as of the primeval forests,f is still remarked for its spacious
comfort and its old-fashioned repose. He pursued for a quarter of
a century with great success and with noble fidelity to its best prin-
ciples the profession of a merchant, in which he obtained the high-
est consideration, by the scope, vigor and forecast of his under-
standing, his great executive power, his unspotted integrity, and
the amenity of his disposition and manners. Toward the close of
his life he discharged with vigilance, dignity, and impartiality, the
important functions of the chief magistracy of the city, in which
he died, respected by the whole community, in November, IT 54
just one century ago at the early age of forty-four. His wife
was Anne, grand-daughter of Edward Shippen,J a person of com-

* The -west end of this lot, fronting on Fourth street, Mr. Thomas Willing, son of the person
here mentioned, surrendered to his son-in-law and nephew, Mr. Thomas Willing Francis, who
built upon it the beautiful mansion now occupied by Mr. Joseph R. Ingersoll. On the southern
part, Charles Willing himself built a residence, which has since given place to other buildings,
for his son-in-law, Colonel William Byrd, of Westover, in Virginia. General Washington for
some time had his head-quarters at Philadelphia in this house. It was afterwards the residence
of Chief Justice Chew.

j- The now venerable buttonwood, standing in front of the old mansion at the corner of Third
street and Willing's alley, was planted in 1749, and is therefore one hundred and five years old.

^ "William Shippen, of York, gentleman, had three sons, 1, Robert, rector of Stockport, in
Cheshire, and father of Robert, Principal of Brazen Nose, Oxford, 2, William, a leader in Parlia-
ment in Robert Walpole's time (the " downright Shippen" of Pope), 3, Edward, born in 1639,
who, having by the death of his brothers inherited their estates, came to America in 1672. In
1695 he wfv elected Speaker of the Assembly of Pennsylvania, and under the city charter ap-
pointed in 1701 the first mayor of Philadelphia. From 1702 to 1704 he was president of the
governor's council. He died in 1712, leaving a vast landed estate.

16 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

manding influence in the early history of Pennsylvania. His son
was Mr. Thomas Willing, a man whose virtues have been recorded
with a truth and eloquence which heighten the dignity of even
such a character as his.*

IN all civil wars men of hereditary rank and fortune are apt to
adhere to the established authority, and this was eminently true in
the war which led to American Independence. The loyalists were
in a large degree people of good condition, accomplished in man-
ners as well as in learning, and by their defection the country lost
many persons who at the end of the contest would have been
among her most useful citizens, and the brightest ornaments of her
domestic life. The Fairfaxes, Galloways, Dulaneys, Delanceys,
Robinsons, Penns, Phillipses, Whites, and others, if of the Whig
party would probably have been even more distinguished in society
than in affairs, though the military and civil abilities which some of
them displayed against us, or in foreign countries, showed that they
might have nobly served their fatherland in these capacities, and
participated with the most successful and most honored of her faithful
sons, in her affections and her grateful rewards. However strongly
influenced by considerations of justice, many of them must have
shared the feelings attributed by Freneau to Hugh Gaine, on dis-

* The following inscription, copied from a monument in Christ Church grounds, Philadelphia,
is understood to be from the pen of Mr. Horace Binney :

" In memory of Thomas Willing, Esquire, born nineteenth of December, 1731, O. S., died nineteenth of January,
1821, aged eighty-nine years and thirty days. This excellent man, in all the relations of private life, and in various
stations of high public trust, deserved and acquired the devoted affection of his family and friends, and the universal
respect of .his fellow-citizens. From 1754 to 1807 he successively held the offices of secretary to the Congress of Dele-
gates at Albany, mayor of the city of Philadelphia, her representative in the General Assembly, President of the Pro-
vincial Congress, delegate to the Congress of the Confederation, President of the first chartered Bank in America, and
President of the first Bank of the United States. With these public duties, he united the business of an active, en-
terprising, and successful merchant, in which pursuit, for sixty years, his life was rich in examples of the influence of
probity, fidelity, and perseverance upon the stability of commercial establishments, and upon that which was his dis-
tinguished reward upon earth, public consideration and esteem. His profound adoration of the Great Supreme, and
his deep sense of dependence on his mercy, in life and in death, gave him, at the close of his protracted years, the
bumble hope of a superior one in Heaven. 71

PEACE. 17

covering that lie had connected himself with the losing side. One,
a young gentleman of Maryland, who held a commission in the
British army, after the war was over addressed from London to
his sister, in this country, a poem on the subject, in which there
are some passages of generous feeling and considerable literary
merit, as will be seen from the following extracts, in which he
laments the mistake so fatal to his happiness. Eeferring to his
sister's portrait he says :

u Methinks now starting from my trembling hands,
Kissed into life, thy glowing image stands,
While vivid fancy lends me power to trace
The strong similitude of mind and face.
I see, enraptured, how thy features prove
Thy partial fondness, thy fraternal love.
Those languid eyes, all eloquent in tears,
Lament my absence, and attest thy fears
Those generous fears which have too plainly shown
A brother's sorrows are not all his own! ....

" Ah, what avails it that in early morn
Life's fragrant roses bloomed without a thorn 1
That on my youth propitious fortune smiled,
And Hope, illusive, every hour beguiled I
Ah, what avails it, but in me to show
How near are joined the extremes of bliss and woe 1 ....
Not twenty summers ha'd matured my prime
When civil Discord, nurse of every crime,
Inflamed by interest and by rage inspired,
To active life had every bosom fired.
Spurning at ease, impatient of control,
While jocund health beat vigorous in my soul,
To loyal arms with eager haste I flew,
And, in my sovereign's service, early drew
A faithful sword, that boldly dared oppose
The sons of Freedom then, I thought, her foes!

" Let duller mortals, sensibly discreet,
"Whose callous hearts with frigid caution beat,
Whose guarded conduct, cold Discretion guides,
While sober Prudence o'er each step presides,
With nice precision dubious currents weigh,
And, as the scale preponderates, obey.

18 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

From all my follies, all my faults, exempt,

Beneath my pity, as beneath contempt,

Let such exult ! .... In either war or love ,

No half-formed passions do my bosom move ;

But nobly daring, when the die was cast,

And war's decree within my country passed,

To fly from Pleasure's fascinating chains,

Nor waste my youth in dull inglorious scenes,

Unswayed by interest, unappalled by fear,

My actions open, and my purpose clear,

With frank avowal was that course pursued

Whose flattering prospects promised public good.

But had I thought that Britain bared her hand

To forge a fetter for my native land,

By all the sacred hosts of heaven I swear

My country's welfare should have been my care ! . . . .

Let those who know me best, my thoughts portray,

And flush my conduct in the face of day ;

Let those who hate me most with truth proclaim

If ever yet dishonor stamped my name."

The author of this rare and curious poem appears to have been of
the party of loyalists sent into Florida

" To guard the frontier from incursive foes
Where, through rich canes, the rapid Tensaw flows,
To waste whole weeks amid a savage band,
Wild as the woods and worthless as the sand ; "

and finally to have gone to London, where a course of dissipation
injured his constitution, and made indispensable for his repose the
gentle care which could be found only in the home he had forfeited
by his mistaken loyalty. Keviewing his gay career he exclaims :

" Ah, thoughtless, careless, in the transient scene,
When coming pain should dissipate the dream,
When Wisdom's slighted precepts in my breast
Should waken fears which buoyant youth supprest,
And sad Experience should this truth disclose,
That one may feel the thorn, yet not enjoy the

PEACE. 19

VI.

THE most celebrated fete ever given in Philadelphia was that
of the Meschianza, during the revolution. The famous Major Andre,
whom writers of sentimental verses and romances have represented,
with but little reason, as a very Bayard in character, left an interest-
ing account of it, which has frequently been published.

The next entertainment in the city, of which we have any
very minute history, was that given on the occasion of the birthday
of the Dauphin of France, by the French minister, after the close
of the war. Of this we have an ample description, by Dr. Rush,
who was present with his family. For weeks the city was amused
with preparations for the splendid fete. Hundreds thronged daily
to see the great building, erected on the grounds next to M. Lu-
zerne's house, for a dancing room. Its width upon the street was
sixty feet, and its roof was supported by loffcy pillars, painted
and festooned. The interior was finished with taste, and ornament-
ed with a profusion of banners and appropriate pictures, and the
surrounding garden, with groves and fountains, spacious walks and
numerous seats, invited guests from the crowd and heat of the
brilliant hall, to rest, or for pleasing conversation. For ten days
before the event nothing else was talked of in the city. The
shops were filled with customers ; hairdressers were retained ; and
tailors, milliners, and mantuamakers, seemed to have in their keep-
ing the happiness of all who belonged to the fashionable world.
The anxiously expected day at length arrived. At an early hour a
corps of hairdressers took possession of the room assigned to the
city watchmen, and so great was the demand on their attention,
that -many ladies were obliged to have their heads dressed between
four and six o'clock in the morning. At seven o'clock in the even-
ing, the hour appointed for the meeting of the company, it was

20 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

believed that the streets, in the immediate vicinity of the minis-
ter's house, contained more than ten thousand of the curious and
idle men, women, and children, of the city and adjacent country.

" At about eight o'clock," says Dr. Rush, " our family, consist-
ing of Mrs. Eush, our cousin, Susan Hall, our sister Sukey, and my-
self, with our good neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Henry, entered the
apartment provided for this splendid entertainment. We were
received through a wide gate, by the minister, and conducted by
one of his family to the dancing room. The scene now almost ex-
ceeded description. The numerous lights distributed through the
garden, the splendor of the room we were approaching, the size of
the company which was already collected, and which consisted of
about seven hundred persons, the brilliancy and variety of their
dresses, and the band of music, which had just begun to play, had
together an effect which resembled enchantment. Sukey Stockton
said, her mind was 4 carried beyond and out of itself.' Here were
ladies and gentlemen of the most ancient as well as of the most
modern families. Here were lawyers, doctors, and ministers of the
Gospel. Here were the learned faculty of the college, and among
them many who knew not whether Cicero plead in Latin or in
Greek, or whether Horace was a Koman or a Scotchman. Here
were painters and musicians, poets and philosophers, and men who
were never moved by beauty or harmony, or by rhyme or reason.
Here were the president and members of Congress, governors of
states, generals of armies, and the ministers of finance, war, and
foreign affairs. The company was mixed, but the mixture formed
the harmony of the evening. The whole assembly behaved to
each other as if they had been members of the same family. It
was impossible to partake of the joy without being struck with
the occasion of it : it was to celebrate the birth of a Dauphin of
France." The Doctor indulges in some agreeable reflections

PEACE 21

on the change of feeling toward France, induced by her recent
assistance against Great Britain, which this imposing festival illus-
trated and confirmed; and he then proceeds to describe the groups
into which the vast assembly naturally divided itself. " Here," he
says, "were to be seen heroes and patriots in close conversation
with each other; Washington and Dickinson held several dia-
logues together ; Rutledge and Walton, from the south, here con-
versed with Lincoln and Duane, from the east and the north ; and
Mifflin and Reed accosted each other, with all the kindness of
ancient friends." At half-past eight o'clock commenced the danc-
ing ; at nine, there was an exhibition of fire-works ; at twelve, in
three large tents, in the adjacent grounds, was served the supper ;
and before three in the morning, the whole company had separat-
ed and the lights were extinguished.

VII.

THE famous belle, Miss Vining,* in a letter to Governor Dickin-
son, in 1783, complains that Philadelphia had lost all its gayety

*Miss Vining, in 1783, was twenty-five years of age. Miss Montgomery, in her "Reminis-
cences of Wilmington," says her rare beauty and graceful form commanded admiration,' and her
intellectual endowments a mind stored with 'historical knowledge, and sparkling effusions of
wit entertained the literati and amused the gay. The singular fluency and elegance with
which she spoke the French language, with her vivacity, grace, and amiability, had made her
a general favorite with the French officers, who praised her in their home correspondence to such
a degree that her name became familiar in Paris, and the queen, Marie Antoinette, spoke of
her with enthusiasm, to Mr. T?fferson, expressing a wish that she might some time see her at the
Tuileries. The intimate friendships she formed during the Revolution were preserved after the
peace, by a large correspondence with distinguished men. Lafayette appears to have been very
much attached to her, and she wrote to him frequently until she died. Foreigners of rank
rarely visited Wilmington, after Miss Vining's retirement from the society of Philadelphia, with-
out soliciting an introduction to her. Among her guests were the Duke de Liancourt, the Dnke
of Orleans (Louis Philippe), and many others ; and it is related that General Miranda, passing
through the town in a mail-coach, at night, left his card for her at the post-office. The death of
her brother, a man of eminent abilities, who was chosen at an early age a member of Congress
from Delaware, was followed by a series of misfortunes, and retiring from the gay world, in the
maturity of her charms, she passed the closing years of her life in poverty and seclusion.

22 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

with the removal of Congress from the city, but adds, " You know
however, that here alone can be found a truly intellectual and
refined society, such as one naturally expects in the capital of a
great country." Miss Franks, who was not less celebrated, for
her wit, ajid the dashing gayety of her manners, agreed with Miss
Vining as to the superiority of the men and women of Philadel-
phia, and in an autograph letter of hers which is before me, written
while on Long Island, and addressed to her elder sister, the wife
of Andrew Hamilton, of " Woodlands," west of the Schuylkill, she
presents us with a graphic and amusing description of the higher
social life of New York, with the contrasts it offered to that in her
own city. This letter, though so long, is at the same time so
unique and piquant that I copy it nearly entire :

. . . . " You will think I have taken up my abode for the sum-
mer at Mrs. Van Home's, but on the contrary, this day I return
to the disagreeable, hot town, much against my will, and the in-
clination of the family. I cannot however bear papa's being so
much alone, and he will not be persuaded to quit the city, though
I am sure he can have no business to keep him there. Two nights
he staid with us, which is all I have seen of him since I left home.
I am quite angry with him. I have written you several times
these two weeks ; so you can have no cause to complain, unless it is
of being too often troubled with my nonsense.

" You ask a description of the Miss Van Home who was with
me Cornelia. She is in disposition as fine a girl as ever you saw,
with a great deal of good humor and good sense. Her person is
too large for a beauty, in my opinion, and yet I am not partial to
little women; her complexion, eyes, and teeth, are very good
and she has a great quantity of light brown hair (entre nous, the
girls of New York excel us Philadelphians in that particular, and
in their forms), a sweet countenance and an agreeable smile.

PEACE. 23

Her sister Kitty is the belle of the family, I think, though some
give the preference to Betsey. . . . Kitty's form is much in the style
of our admired Mrs. Galloway, but she is rather taller and larger
her complexion very fine, and the finest hair I ever saw. Her
teeth are beginning to decay, which is the case with most New
York girls, after eighteen. She has a great deal of elegance of
manners. By the bye, few ladies here know how to entertain com-
pany in their own houses, unless they introduce the card-table.
Except the Van Homes, who are remarkable for their good sense
and ease, I don't know a woman or girl who can chat above half
an hour, and that on the form of a cap, the color of a ribbon, or
the set of a hoop, stay, orjupon. I will do our ladies that is, the
Philadelphians the justice to say, that they have more cleverness
in the turn of an eye, than those of New York have in their whole
composition. With what ease have I seen a Chew, a Penn, an
Oswald, an Allen, and a thousand others, entertain a large circle
of both sexes, the conversation, without the aid of <jards, never
flagging nor seeming in the least strained or stupid. Here or,
more properly speaking, in New York you enter the room with a
formal, set curtsy, and after the how-dos, things are finished ; all 's
a dead calm till the cards are introduced, when you see pleasure
dancing in the eyes of all the matrons, and they seem to gain new
life. The maidens, if they have favorite swains, frequently decline
playing, for the pleasure of making love ; for to all appearance it is
the ladies, not the gentlemen, who nowadays show a preference.
It is here, I fancy, always leap-year. For my part, who am used
to quite another style of behavior, I cannot help showing surprise
perhaps they call it ignorance when I see a lady single out her
pet, and lean almost into his arms, at an assembly or a play-house,
(which I give my honor I have too often seen both with the mar-
ried and single), or hear one confess a partiality for a man, whom,

24 THE REPUBLICAN COUKT.

perhaps, she has not seen three times : Well ! I declare he is a
delightful creature, and I could love him for my husband ! ' One
exclaims, or, ' I could marry such a gentleman! Indeed scandal
says that, in the cases of most who have been married, the first
advances came from the lady's side, or she got a male friend to
introduce the intended victim and pass her off. This is really the
case, and with me ladies thus lose half their charms. I suspect
there would be more marriages were another mode adopted : they
have made the men so saucy, that I sincerely believe the lowest
ensign thinks he has but to ask, and have, that a red coat and
smart epaulette * is sufficient to secure a female heart.

" I was obliged to cut just as I finished the word heart ! Gen
eral Robertson, Commodore Afflick, and Major Murray made their
appearance, and as I was writing in the parlor quite en dishabille,
I was obliged to make the best of my way out. I am glad they
came, as it broke my ill-natured train of ideas ; I am quite ashamed
of it ; there is too much truth in what I have written, to be known,
and if it should be known, I '11 throw all the blame on you, as it was
owing to the questions you asked of this family, which, remember,
I again say are exc&pted in every particular, that I describe thus the
common run in New York society.

" I shall send a pattern of the newest bonnets : there is no crown,
but gauze is raised on wire, and pinched to a sugar loaf at the top,
the lighter the trimming the more fashionable and all quilling.
Nancy Van Home and myself employed yesterday morning in trying
to dress a rag baby in the fashion, but could not succeed ; it shall
go, however, as it will in some degree give you an opinion on the
subject. As to the jacket, and the pinning on of the handkerchief,
yours, you say, reaches to the arm. I know it, but it must be

* This was written before the evacuation of New York by the British, and Miss Franks was
herself already engaged to a distinguished British officer.

PEACE. 25

pinned up to the top of the shoulders, and quite under the arm, as
you would a girl's vandyke. The fuller it sets the handsomer it is
thought. Nobody ever sets a handkerchief out in the neck, and a
gauze handkerchief is always worn double, and the largest that can
be got ; it is pinned round the throat, as Mrs. Penn always did,
and made to set out before like the chitterling of a man's shirt.
The ladies here always wear either a pin or a brooch, as the men
do. Two more beaus ! Captain Afflick and and Mr. Biddulph, the
first frightful, and the other very genteel and clever.

" Lord ! if this letter is seen, I shall be killed ! or I must fly to
you, for protection. You may imagine what an indifferent I am,
to continue writing, with beaus in the room ; but so it 5s ! I am
not what I was.

"You 'beg to know' what my presents are: when they arrive
I'll tell you. They are on board Cooper and Miller's ship, which
Mr. Wier says I must not expect till September. How provoking !
Aunt Bicha writes me word by the last packet, or rather by Oliver
De Lancey, who is come in it, that by him I shall have a hand-
some dress cap, of Charlotte De Lancey's choosing, and two pairs
of shoes. The shoes came with her letter, and I sent- post-haste to
town for the cap, but did not' get it. Mr. De Lancey said she
talked of sending it by him, but afterwards thought it would be
.safer to come by the fleet; so that in September, and not before, I
shall \>sfine! The shoes, or rather the patterns for them, are, one
pair, dark maroon, embroidered with gold, and the other, white,
with pink. Charlotte says she hopes they '11 be wedlock shoes
which I much doubt. The dear good old lady seems in the fidgets
to have me married ; I wish she herself were younger ; I 'd cer-
tainly recommend him to her she seems so fond of him. . . .

" There is so much talking, I scarce know what I write ; it is to
a sister however, and I hope her partial eyes win not permit her to

26 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

see blunders, or if she should, that her kindness will find excuses foi
them. . . . The letter is so long that you must make the girls take a
share in it, as I have not time to write to them now, and there is
nothing new to tell them. Tell Peggy Ghew I hope she'll accept
the spangles and thread 't is the only return I can make for the
pleasure I receive from her very entertaining letters. Yesterday
the grenadiers had a race at the Flat Lands, and in the afternoon
this house swarmed with the beaus, and some very smart ones.
How the girls would have envied me, could they have peeped in
and seen how I was surrounded ! and yet, I should have been as
happy, if not much more so, if spending tKe afternoon with the
Thursday party at Woodlands. I am glad to hear you 're out
there, as the town must be dreadful this hot summer. New York
is bad enough, though I do not think it as warm as Philadelphia.
Your health, in punch ! The Van Homes join with me in begging
to be remembered, particularly to Mrs. Harleston and her mother :

I hope you'll visit them; do, if 'tis only on Harleston's account,
whose memory I ever shall respect. I have spent happier days with
him than I fear I ever shall experience again ! If you tell Billy
Hamilton I say so, he '11 swear I still retain a remainder of my for-
mer penchant ; but assure him 't is only a pure and lively friend-
ship. Letters, this moment, from you and Peggy Chew, and one
from Mrs. Arnold ! I must stop to read them. . . Tell Peggy I give
her leave to read all I write, if she '11 take the trouble. . I am
happy here ; tell "her 't is only for a visit ; I wish to be with you. . .
Love to every body."

This letter is very characteristic of its author. She was the
youngest of three daughters of David Franks, a wealthy Jewish
merchant of Philadelphia. The eldest sister, Phila, was married
to General Oliver De Lancey, who soon after the breaking out of
the revolution accepted a commission in the British army, having

PEACE. 27

previously commanded a New York regiment during the war -with
France. The second, Abigail, to whom the above letter was ad-
dressed, was ttie wife of Andrew Hamilton, who owned the finest
rural residence in Pennsylvania. Eebecca Franks, soon after the
war, was married to Lieutenant General Sir Henry Johnston, and
subsequently resided in England.*

VIII.

THE most ample and interesting description of the size and ap-
pearance of the city of New York, at the close of the war, is con-
tained in a discourse published a few years ago by William Alexan-
der Duer, LL. D., whose father, Colonel William Duer,. previously and
for many years afterward honorably distinguished in affairs, then
resumed his residence here. Colonel Duer had been married, at
Baskenridge, New Jersey, on the twenty-seventh of July, 1779,
to the beautiful Katherine Alexander, daughter of Lord Stirling,
and the two children referred to in the following extract are the
venerable author, who lately presided over Columbia College, and
the honorable John Duer, who continues to grace the bench of the
Superior Court.

" My first recollections of this city," says Dr. Duer, " relate to a
time when it was not much larger, or its population much greater,
than the additions now annually made to them. It was in the
month of November, 1783, close upon the evacuation of the city
by the British forces, and the entry of General Washington at the
head of the American army, that our family caravan followed, in
true patriarchal style, parents and children, (as yet there were but

* There are many allusions to Miss Franks in contemporary letters and memoirs. Her wit
was not particularly commendable for its delicacy, and she was sometimes worsted with
weapons like her own, as was the case in her celebrated encounter with General Charles Lee.
The reader may find a pleasant account of her in Littell's edition of the Memoirs of Alexandei
Qraydon

28 THE REPUBLICAN COURtf.

two of us,) man-servants and maid-servants, and a stranger that
Had been received within our gates. We had landed at the old
Albany Pier, near the foot of Whitehall street ; and as we pursued
our course upwards, the first objects that arrested my attention
were the dismounted cannon lying under the walls of the Old Fort,
or Upper Battery, over which they had apparently been toppled
by the British soldiery, in the wantonness or haste of their depar-
ture. The first view of these pieces of ordnance produced some
confusion in my infant mind. We had arrived from West Point,
where I had been accustomed to the sight of artillery in various
positions, and I sagely concluded that we had put back, and re-
landed at that post. But I was soon undeceived. Passing the
Bowling Green, with a somewhat triumphant glance at the pedes-
tal in its centre from which the leaden image of George the Third
had been dethroned, we found ourselves advancing into the JBv/rnt
District, in nearly the same, part of Broadway which was more
recently the. scene of a similar calamity. It extended in this quar-
ter to which, however, it was by no means confined up both
sides of Broadway, to Rector street,* with the exception of some
half dozen houses f left standing near the Lower or present Bat-

* The great fire of September 21, 1776, commenced at the Whitehall Slip ; and burned all the
houses on the east side of the slip, and the west side of Broad street to Beaver street, both sides
of which were destroyed. It then crossed Broadway to Beaver Lane, (now Morris street,) burn-
ing all the houses on both sides of Broadway to Rector street on the west, and some few houses
in New street on the east. Besides Trinity Church, (the one before the last,) this fire destroyed
a Lutheran church at the lower corner of Rector street, where Grace Church was afterwards
erected ; and then extending in the rear of Trinity Church along Lumber street, in which all the
houses were burned, as well as every thing in the rear of Broadway t6 Partition (now Fulton)
street, in which every house on both sides, and as far as Mortlike (now Barclay) street, and down
to the North River, were destroyed. The College Yard, and the vacant ground in its rear, put
an end to this conflagration, in which about five hundred houses were consumed. See Dunlap's
Hist. ii. 78. On the 7th of August, 1778, another fire broke out, in the night, in which about
three hundred houses in Great and Little Dock and the adjacent streets, were destroyed.

fFrom the present Nos. 1 to 11, then comprising the family residences of Captain Archibald
Kennedy, R. N., afterVards Earl of Cassilis ; John Watts, sen, ; Robert R. Livingston, sen. ; John
Stevens, sen. ; Augustus Van Cortland't, Henry White, &c,

PEACE. 29

tery. No visible attempts had been made since the fire for the re-
moval of the ruins ; and as the edifices destroyed were chiefly of
brick, the skeletons of the remaining walls cast their grim shadows
upon the pavement, imparting an unearthly aspect to the street.
The semicircular front of old Trinity still reared its ghastly head,
and seemed to deepen while it hallowed the solitude of the sur-
rounding graves. But before reaching it, the gloom was cheered
by another revival of my military impressions, at the sight of some
remaining pickets of a stockade in the lane opposite Verlentenberg
Hill, which once formed a portion of the old city wall, crossed
Broadway diagonally, passed down the opposite street, and gave to
it its name.

" Turning into this street we seemed, at last, to have entered a
city of the living. There stood the old Presbyterian meeting-
house : not that which lately crossed the ferry to Jersey City, but
its rough-hewn predecessor, in which "Whitfield had once poured
forth the torrent of his eloquence, and whose members had, in
after years, been refreshed by milder and more fertilizing streams
flowing from the lips of a Rodgers or a Miller. There it stood, in
solitary gloom, to which the turmoil of the carrying trade, now
driving at the same spot, affords the liveliest imaginable reverse.
Next, at the head of Broad street, we descried the City Hall, in
its primitive nakedness, forming a still stronger though not more
striking contrast to the Grecian temple which has succeeded it.
The old Hall, before its conversion to the use of the federal govern-
ment, stood upon open brick arches, under which you passed from
street to street in one direction, and in another, along the same
street in which we were travelling. Nearly opposite, was the mo-
dest dwelling of Alexander Hamilton, upon part of the present site
of the Mechanics' Bank. Beyond, at the intersection of Smith
(now William) street, we beheld the effigies of a more widely cele-

30 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

brated but not more illustrious man ; there, erect upon its pedes-
tal, was the statue of the elder Pitt, mutilated and defaced, in resent-
ment of his speech against the acknowledgment of our Indepen-
dence, in a manner more evincive of the patriotism than of the
good taste of the despoilers.

" Our family party now wheeled to the left, and passing up Smith-
street, till we came to the corner of King, now Pine street, we took
up our abode for the winter at the family mansion of the Phillipses,*
then kept as a lodging-house, by a respectable matron of the name
of Mercer, but afterwards, before its fall, more renownqd as the
Bank Coffee House, kept by the inimitable host Mblo. On the
next May-day that day devoted by our I>utch ancestors to uproar
and removal we resumed our peregrinations, nor stopped till we
arrived at the upper extremity of Broadway, at the utmost limit of
the city pavement, where we took possession of the house opposite
St. Paul's Chapel, now occupied by the Chemical Bank. There
was so little choice in regard to situation, that we were fain to con-
tent ourselves with this remote residence, especially as the house

* Removed within these few years, to make way for warehouses. At the corner immediately
opposite, was the residence of one branch of the Ludlows ; opposite to them, in Smith street, was
that of the Duyckincks. Proceeding northward, at the corner of Little Queen, now Cedar street,
was a family of Beekmans, directly opposite, John Alsop, a retired merchant, a delegate to the
first Continental Congress, and father-in-law of Rufus King, who afterwards occupied the house
for several years. It was removed some time since, upon the extension of Cedar street. At the
southwest corner of Crown, now Liberty street, was the famous retail hardware and fancy shop
as such establishments were then properly called of Francis Ogsbury, continued many years
afterwards by his sons and successors. Returning to King street, and proceeding southwardly,
across Wall, and down Smith street, we come to the entrance of Garden street, in which stood the
" little Dutch Church," the oldest in the city, and the farthest down town. At the upper corner
of Smith and Garden streets, was the fashionable haberdashery of Grove Bend ; at the lower cor-
ner, the residence formerly of the Clarksons, and afterwards of Colonel Sebastian Bauman, the post-
master, a revolutionary officer appointed to that station by General Washington ; there he kept
his office, as did his successor, General Bailey. Adjoining were the Kembles, and opposite the
Costers. Below, opposite Princess street, as that part of Beaver street was then called, was a
branch of the Van Homes, an din that and the small streets and lanes in the vicinity, including
that part of Store street, then called Duke street, and Mill street, in which was their synagogue
the houses were principally inhabited by the Jews.

PEACE. 31

itself was one of the best, as well as one of the few to be rented in
the city. It was, to be sure, not very convenient, in point of situ-
ation, for a town-house ; but then it rejoiced in some of the advan-
tages of a country retreat. The fields were open to the north, as
far as a line ranging eastwardly from Warren street, where the
prospect was bounded by those more useful than agreeable objects
the Bridewell, the Poor House, the Gaol and the Gallows. Towards
the west, however, there was nothing to obstruct the view of the
North Eiver, but two low houses at the corner of Vesey street, and
the College building, as yet unfurnished with wings, and unadorned
with stucco. The i fields,' as the area comprised in the Park was
then called, were green, but neither inclosed nor planted, and the
only trees in sight, besides the young, now old ones, in front of the
College, were the stripling growth that peered above the tea and
the mead and cake gardens, along the west side of the fields.

" Although the streets leading from Broadway to the river had
been laid out as high as Warren street, yet they were but partially
built upon, and that, for the most part, with houses of an inferior
description. None above Dey street had been regulated and f>aved ;
nor had the ridge, commencing near the Battery, and extending the
length of the island, been dug through as far even as Cortlandt-
street. Great Dock street, or that part of Pearl between White-
hall and Coenties Slip, with the other streets in the immediate
neighborhood of Fort George, within which was the colonial Go-
vernment-house, had long been considered the court-end of the
town ; * but, even before the Revolution, Wall street was regarded
as a rival seat of fashion ; f to which it established an exclusive

* Here were the residences of the Van Dams, De Lanceys, Livingstons, Bayards, Morrises,
Crugers, De Peysters, and some others of the provincial notabilities.

f In Wall-street were the Ver'plancks, Marstons, Ludlows, Winthrops, Whites, and others ,;
who being tories, remained in the city during the Revolution ; after which the Whig families of
Lamb, Denning, Buchanan, Van Home, &c., got in among them. Here too Daniel McCormick
kept his bachelor's hall, and open house, and Mrs. Daubeney her fashionable boarding-house, for

32 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

claim, and maintained it until superseded by Park Place,* or Kobin-
son street, as it had previously been called ; whose pretensions in
that respect have, in their turn, become nearly obsolete. Little
Dock street, now merged in Water street, and that part of the
original "Water street which lay adjacent to the Albany Pier, were
occupied by the river trade ; while the remainder of Water street,
and such parts of Front street as had already been recovered from
the river, formed the emporium of foreign commerce. This, in-
deed, was the case as far up as the Coffee House Slip, and gradu-
ally extended to Maiden Lane, at the foot of which were the Vly
Market, and the Brooklyn Ferry ; whilst at the head of it stood
the Oswego Market, fronting on Broadway. Above, on the East
River, as far as Dover street, the wharves were chiefly improved
by our eastern brethren with their cargoes of notions, or occupied
by our neighbors from Long Island, with their more substantial
freights of oysters, clams, and fine white sand. Beyond Dover-
street, the ship-yards commenced, extending, at first, no farther
than to the New, or, as it is now called, Pike Slip.

" Crossing from Dover to Great Queen, since Pearl street, an,d
pursuing the course of the latter beyond its intersection with Chat-
ham street,t and along that part of Pearl then called Magazine-
gentlemen only> and was generally filled with members of Congress during its sessions in this city.
Greenleaf, the republican printer, planted his batteries so as to command the strong hold of tory-
ism, at the corner of Pearl street under Kivington, of the Koyal Gazette in case the latter
should ever recommence his fire. But he took the oath of allegiance to the new government, and
was permitted to remain in his bookstore, (afterwards the auction rooms of the Messrs. Hone,) as
did his fellow-laborer and neighbor, Hugh Gaine, of the Bible and Crown, who after the di-
vorce of church and state on this side of the Atlantic, removed the royal emblems from his sign.

*In the mean time, Cortlandt street enjoyed an ephemeral reputation for fashion, from the
presence of Sir John Temple, Colonels Duer and Walker, Major Fairlie, and subsequently the
British Colonel Crawford, who had been Governor of the Bermudas, but, on a visit to New York,
married the widow of Robert Cambridge Livingston, and remained here till he died.

f Near the head of Dover street, and at the junction of Pearl and Cherry streets, stands the
old family mansion of Walter Franklin, a member of the society of Friends, and an eminent mer-
chant, whose wealth was indicated by the dimensions of his dwelling. The late Governor De
"Witt*Clinton married one of his daughters, and afterwards occupied his house. But it had pre-

PEACE. 33

street, we arrived at the Kolch, or Fresh Water Pond, whence,
through the 'Tea- water Pump,' in Chatham street, the city was
supplied with water for domestic use, distributed to the inhabitants
by means of carts surmounted by casks, similar to those now used
for mortaring the streets. Nor was this the only use made of the
4 Collect,' as it was called in English ; its southern and eastern banks
were lined with furnaces, potteries, breweries, tanneries, rope-walks,
and other manufactories ; all drawing their supplies of water from
the pond. Besides, it was rendered ornamental as well as useful,
It was the grand resort in winter of our youth for skating ; and no
person who has not beheld it, can realize the scene it then exhibited
in contrast to that part of the city under which it now lies buried.
The ground between the Collect and Broadway rose gradually
from its margin to the height of one hundred feet, and nothing can
exceed in brilliancy and animation the prospect it presented on a
fine winter day, when the icy surface was alive with skaters darting
in every direction with the swiftness of the wind, or bearing down
in a body in pursuit of the ball driven before them by their Jiur-
lies ; while the hill side was covered with spectators, rising as in
an amphitheatre, tier above tier, comprising as many of the fair
sex, as were sufficient to adorn, and necessary to refine the assem-
blage ; while their presence served to increase the emulation of the
skaters."

viously been rendered more illustrious as the first residence of General Washington in this city
after his election as President of the United States. It has since been altered, and the lower part
converted into shops, In the rear of this, in Pearl street, was the Quaker Meeting House ; and
this quarter of the city, as far as Chatham street, was principally inhabited by members of that
society. But the more wealthy ones had their establishments lower down, as far as Maiden Lane,
Here were the Pearsalls, the Pryors, the Embrees, the Effinghams, the Hickses, the Hawxhursts,
the Halletts, the Havilands, the Cornells, the Kenyons, the Townsends, the Tituses, the Willetts,
the Wrights, <fec. <fec. Interspersed, however, with their residences were others, equally substan-
tial, though not as plain, such as those of the "Waltons and Koosevelts. The Bank of New York
was first kept in the larger Walton House, and its first President, the elder Isaac Roosevelt, had
his dwelling nearly opposite.

34 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

IX,

WASHINGTON, meanwhile, surrounded by his family and friends,
was busy with his long neglected private affairs, and with great
plans for the improvement and extension of inland navigation, un-
til the meeting of the convention for forming the federal Constitu-
tion, of which he reluctantly consented to be a member. In the
beginning of 1784 he wrote to Lafayette, " At length, my dear Mar-
quis, I am become a private citizen on the banks of the Potomac ; and
under the shadow of my own vine and my own fig-tree, free from
the bustle of a camp, and the busy scenes of public life, I am solac-
ing myself with those tranquil enjoyments, of which the soldier,
who is ever in pursuit of fame, the statesman, whose watchful days
and sleepless nights are spent in devising schemes to promote the
welfare of his own, or perhaps the ruin of other countries, as if
this globe were insufficient for us all, and the courtier, who is al-
ways watching the countenance of his prince, in hopes of catch-
ing a gracious smile, can have very little conception. I have
not only retired from all public employments, but I am retiring
within myself, and shall be able to view the solitary walk, and
tread the paths of private life, with a heartfelt satisfaction. Envi-
ous of none, I am determined to be pleased with all ; and this, my
dear friend, being the order of my march, I will move gently down
the stream of life until I sleep with my fathers." In the following
August Lafayette revisited this country and passed two weeks with
the Chief at Mount Vernon ; and when he was gone Washington set
off on horseback to see his lands in the western country, travelling
in this way nearly seven hundred miles, along the routes of his
earlier military experiences, to the scene of Braddock's defeat, at
Fort Du Quesne. What a marvellous book, could they have been
recorded, would have been the hero's reveries and dreams, thus

PEACE. 35

wandering between his own great history and germinating empires
in which "the free spirit of mankind at length" should "throw
its fetters off." After his return he again saw Lafayette, who had
accomplished an extensive tour through the northern states, and
been every where greeted with fit public honors. "When at last
they turned from each other, at Annapolis, to which place Wash-
ington accompanied his departing friend, he writes : " I often asked
myself, as our carriages separated, whether that was the last sight
I should ever have of you ? and though I wished to say No, yet my
fears answered Yes. I called to mind the days of my youth, and
found they had long since fled, to return no more ; that I was now
descending the hill I had been fifty-two years climbing, and that,
though I was blest with a good constitution, I was of a short-lived
family, and might soon expect to be entombed in the mansion of
my fathers. These thoughts darkened the shades, and gave a gloom
to the picture, and consequently to my prospect of seeing you
again. But I will not repine ; I have had my day." It was indeed
the last meeting of Lafayette and Washington ; but the Chief had
not yet lived his day; stormy or dark or splendid, thus much of it
was but the morning, and now he was resting, not in its night, but
in its calm though clouded noon ; and new toils, different and not
less glorious, awaited him before the serenely magnificent setting
of his sun, and the completion of the vast proportions of his cha-
racter, so that it should stand not alone for the admiration but for
the loving and reverent amazement of the world.

With Governor Clinton, of New York, Washington proposed
buying the mineral springs, at Saratoga, but something prevent-
ed. His old companions in arms, in France, were very anxious
that he should spend a winter in Paris, but he declined. As of-
ten as he was called away from home the admiring and grateful
people greeted him with the firing of cannon and the ringing

36 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

of bells, but lie received all honors modestly, and all evidences of
affection gratefully. Houdon came from France to model his sta-
tue, and Pine from England to paint his portrait, and Mount Ver-
non was thronged with illustrious guests from many nations, eager
to become personally acquainted with the greatest of men, who
passed his days and nights without a thought or fancy of ambition,
in the cultivation of his farm the happiest of men as well as the
greatest. There is nothing in all history more respectable, more
dignified, or more wonderful, considering the common infirmities
of human nature, than those four years of Washington's retirement
and repose, between the revolution and the convention for forming
the federal Constitution, in which, as if it were a matter of course,
he was called to preside.

THE CONVENTION,
i.

now it becomes necessary to ask, What was the political
condition of the colonies when the struggle for independence at
last was over \ In the language of Washington, success had "but
afforded the United States " tJie opportunity of becoming a respect-
able nation? Feeble indeed had been the chain which had bound
them together as united states during the conflict; its strongest
links were an innate hatred of tyranny, and the external pressure
which forced them to coalesce. Not the least marvellous feature
in the story of the^ Revolution, is its ultimate triumph under a sys-
tem so weak and inadequate as that furnished by the old articles
of confederation. In other hands than those of Washington as
commander, and Morris as financier, it may well be doubted whe-
ther the hour of triumph would then have come. To the latter of
these patriots less than justice has been done by some of his own
countrymen, while the intelligent and observant foreigner who
has told, in Italian, the story of the struggle, with a true apprecia-
tion of his worth, has said, " the Americans certainly owed, and
still owe, as much acknowledgment to the financial operations of
Robert Morris, as to the negotiations of Benjamin Franklin, or
even to the arms of Washington."

38 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

"When the contest "began, it was at once seen that a recognized
union of some kind among the colonies was essential. From New
Hampshire to Georgia there was indeed the same proud spirit,
which refused to brook oppression; brave hearts were every where
roused to resistance, and strong arms were every where ready to
strike : but concentrated and harmonious purpose and action were
indispensable. The sagacious mind of Franklin saw this at once ;
nor was he now for the first time alive to this necessity. If he had
not originated, he had at least sketched a plan of union for the
colonies, in the convention of colonial delegates at Albany, in
1754; and this, as the historian has remarked, "was the first offi-
cial suggestion of what grew afterwards to be our present federal
Constitution." That plan was rejected by the colonies : the time
for it was not yet ; but at last the auspicious period had arrived
once more to propose a recognition of the great principle of confed-
erated unity.

As early, therefore, as the summer of 1775, Dr. Franklin sub-
mitted to Congress articles of confederation, and, in a certain con-
tingency, of perpetual union among the colonies : these were not
then finally acted on. Had they, however, been adopted, they
would have united the colonies in a simple league only, until the
terms of reconciliation proposed by the previous Congress, in a pe-
tition to the king, should be agreed to, until reparation should be
made for injuries done to Boston and Charlestown, until restraints
upon commerce and the fisheries should be removed, and until all
British troops should be withdrawn from America. In the event
of refusal by the crown in these particulars, the confederation
would have been perpetual, but not otherwise. In truth the feel-
ing of a majority of the colonists was to endure as long as possible,
before a final rupture ; and much the larger portion of the congress
itself would have rejoiced in an honorable reconciliation. Some,

THE CONTENTION. 39

however, there were, who deemed the hope of such an event en-
tirely delusive, and indulged in no visionary expectations of mag-
nanimity, forbearance or equity from the mother country.

The proposition for a confederacy remained unacted on until
June, 1776, when the pressure of events forced it into notice. Con-
gress had then reached the resolution of declaring America inde-
pendent, which was afterwards embodied in the memorable docu-
ment of the fourth of July, 1776. This resolution imposed upon
that body the necessity of such a compact, as well for mutual aid
as for obtaining foreign assistance.

On the eleventh of June, therefore, the very day that followed
the adoption of the resolution to declare independence, a commit-
tee was appointed to frame articles of confederation. The task
allotted them was one of delicacy and difficulty. On the twelfth
of July they reported a plan consisting of twenty articles. In that
day, the men to whom were intrusted the destinies of the country,
had no scruple, when they deemed it needful for the country's
good, to keep secret their doings, until the proper time for disclo-
sure came. They did not affect the dangerous liberalism of that
mad generosity which would transact all public business, even that
purely executive, with open doors ; and thus communicate, without
scruple, the most important matters of state to foreign powers, which,
in their negotiations with this country, take good care never to re-
ciprocate such uncalculating prodigality of communication. They
knew that there was a book which taught them there was a time
to be silent, as well as a time to speak. It did not shock the repub-
licanism of these early senators of our country, to print but eighty
copies of their plan of confederation, and to bind themselves, their
secretary, and their printer, alike, to an inviolable silence as to
the contents of the paper, and to lay all under an injunction to
furnish no person with a copy.

40 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

Had they pursued any other course, in all human probability
the effort at confederation would have failed entirely : for there
were conflicting interests to "be reconciled, so diverse from each
other, and habits of thought and action so very different, among
the men there assembled, from the north and from the south, that
these, added to the gloomy aspect of American affairs, would have
teen quite sufficient, had the public been invited to partake in the
discussion, effectually to close the door against the possibility of
calmly and wisely reconciling differences. As it was, though the
plan was submitted in July, 1^76, it was not until after repeated
deliberations that it was finally adopted, in November, 17 77.

And what was the plan ? It was a league of sovereign states,
and nothing more. We can but sketch an outline. It recognized
no national existence of the colonies, as one great country, united
under one permanent form of government. True, the thirteen states
took the style and title of " the United States of America," but it
was only to enter "into a firm league of friendship with each
other, for their defence, the security of their liberties, and their mu
tual and general welfare ; binding themselves to assist each other
against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of
them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pre-
tence whatever." And it was under no stronger bond than this
voluntary agreement, that our fathers went through the war of the
Revolution.

As to the details, or mode of operation under this agreement,
a few particulars will suffice. Each state expressly retained its
sovereignty, in all respects, where it had not expressly delegated it
to the Congress, and had its own chief magistrate and government.
Each state raised its own troops y and appointed all its regimental
officers, the whole to be clothed, armed and equipped, at the ex-
pense of the United States. And when the Congress had declared

THE CONVENTION 41

the proportions of taxes to be paid by the several states for prose-
cuting the war, each by its own legislature was to lay and 'levy
these taxes, thus merely declared by Congress, which possessed no
power of coercing their payment by distress or otherwise.

As to the Congress, each state might send its delegates, not less
than three nor more than seven, chosen annually, with a power of
recall, at any time, and the right to substitute others : each state
had one vote in the Congress.

The powers of Congress were such only as were necessary for
carrying on the contest. Thus, to this body belonged exclusively
the right to make war or peace, to receive ambassadors, to contract
foreign alliances, to make treaties, provided that no commercial
treaty should abridge the power of the state legislatures to im-
pose upon foreigners such imposts and duties as their own people
were subject to, or to enforce an absolute prohibition, if they saw
fit, of the import or export of any species whatever of goods and
commodities. They had power also to commission all field officers
above the rank of colonel, to determine what number of land
forces was necessary, and to make requisitions on each state for
its proportion ; and they might issue letters of marque, and build
and equip a navy.

There were other powers, but this enumeration will serve to
show the relative general position of the Congress and the states ;
and it will be seen that in the two great elements for prosecuting a
war, men and money, as to the first, Congress could do no more
than fix the quota of a state and make a requisition on its author-
ities, the disregard of which it could neither punish nor remedy ;
and as to the last, Congress could indeed say what was the propor-
tion of each state, but had no power to enforce its payment. The
utmost that it could do for the practical accomplishment of objects
the most important was to recommend and entreat.
6

42 THE REPUBLICAN COUKT.

However, -with such a system, independence was achieved, but
at such a cost of personal suffering, life, and individual pecuniary
ruin, as, while it almost staggers credulity, should enshrine in our
hearts' best affections, the memory of our patient and heroic
fathers. And beside this cost of life and property to individuals,
there was also a debt, due from the United States to creditors at
home and abroad, which may safely be stated at not much less
than fifty millions of dollars. The whole expense of the war had
been about one hundred and thirty-five millions.

Impoverished, however, as was the country, the first subject
that engaged the attention of the people, after emerging from the
war, was the restoration of national credit, and the payment of
this, to them, enormous debt. Congress did its part, in recom-
mending taxes, or duties, distributed in just proportion among all
the states, but it was utterly powerless to levy the taxes, or en-
force the payment of the duties. The insufficiency of the articles
of confederation, as a system of government, became every day
more and more apparent. There was no longer the pressure of a
common danger, and the oppressive hand of tyranny had been
shaken off; and these were the causes which had given strength to
the bonds of the federal union. The minds of the wisest and best
men were filled with gloomy apprehensions and sad forebodings.
The enemies of the Revolution, both at home and abroad, had pre-
dicted that the success of America would prove her ruin, for that
she was incapable of governing herself; and they were now se-
cretly rejoicing in the prospect of a speedy fulfilment of their pre-
dictions. Many true men almost despaired of the commonwealth.
Washington, in IT 84, wrote : " The disinclination of the individual
states to yield competent powers to Congress for the federal go-
vernment, their unreasonable jealousy of that body, and of one an-
other, and the disposition which seems to pervade each of being all-

THE CONVENTION. 43

wise and all-powerful within itself, will, if there be not a change in
the system, be our downfall as. a nation. ... I think we have oppos-
ed Great Britain, and have arrived at the present state of peace
and independency, to very little purpose, if we cannot conquer our
own prejudices." In 1786, that able and eminently pure man, John
Jay, thus expressed himself: "Our affairs seem to lead to some
crisis, some revolution, something that I cannot foresee or conjec-
ture. I am uneasy and apprehensive, more so them during the war.
Then we had a fixed object, and though the means and time of ob-
taining it were often problematical, yet I did firmly believe that
justice was with us. The case is now altered. We are going and
doing wrong, and, therefore I look forward to evils and calamities,
but without being able to guess at the instrument, nature, or mea-
sure of them." Still, his trust in Providence made Mr. Jay hope-
ful for his country. " That we shall again recover," he says, " and
things again go well, I have no doubt. Such a variety of circum-
stances would not, almost miraculously, have combined to liberate
and make us a nation, for transient and unimportant purposes. I
therefore believe we are yet to become a great and respectable peo-
ple ; but when, and how, only the spirit of prophecy can discern."
While the clouds thus thickened in the political atmosphere,
a gleam of light began to break through the darkness. It came
from Virginia, in the shape of a proposal, which her position
and her patriotism alike entitled her to make. In 1786 she ap-
pointed a number of gentlemen to meet such commissioners as
might be appointed by other states, to consider the subject of the
trade and commerce of the confederacy, and adopt some uniform
system which would tend to the common interest and permanent
harmony of all the states. Soon after her proposal, commissioners
met at Annapolis, from Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jer-
sey and New York. Delegates had also been appointed by New

44 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and North Carolina, but
they were not present. Nine states, however, had thus shown
their sense of the necessity of a convention the existence of a
conviction in the public mind, that some steps must necessarily
be taken, in concert, to avert the calamities which so obviously
threatened the country. The commissioners who were present
from the five states named above, were naturally unwilling to
engage in the consideration of the important subject confided to
them, with such a partial representation of the old confederacy,
and they therefore drew up a report and address to all the states,
recommending them to appoint commissioners, not merely to delib-
erate on the subject of commerce, but with enlarged powers, " to
take into consideration the situation of the United States, to devise
such further provisions as should appear to them necessary, to
render the constitution of the federal government adequate to the
exigencies of the Union." This led to the appointment of delegates
from every member of the old confederacy, except Rhode Island.
These are the historic facts connected with the meeting of that
august and dignified body of men who framed THE CONSTITUTION
OF THE UNITED STATES or AMEEICA.

II.

LEAVING now, for a time, the beaten path of historic narrative,
we digress to speak of the habits of the people, in that period,
and of the men who composed that memorable convention.

The whole number of members in the convention which formed
the constitution was fifty-five, and an assemblage more dignified
never convened to transact the business of the United States. It
embraced men who had distinguished themselves in the field, or in
the council, and, in some instances, in both. It embraced, too, all
those peculiarities of thought and manner which characterized the

THE CONVENTION. 45

different portions of the country, from which the members respec-
tively came. The impress of local manners was plainly visible, giv-
ing a fixed distinction to individuals. The man of New England,
with strong practical common sense as the basis of his character,
had the gravity and conscientiousness which had been a part of
his Puritan education; and these were not unmingled with the
shrewd worldly wisdom which had, of necessity, been acquired in
a country where the earth yielded, with reluctance, even a small
return to assiduous labor. Industry, and ingenuity in overcoming
natural difficulties, had been part of his training; and if he cau-
tiously considered before he made a contract, he was apt honestly
to fulfil it to the letter when it was made. Liberal studies had
never been neglected in the older portions of New England, and
therefore she could furnish men of high intellectual culture. ISTew
England too, at that day, like other parts of our country, recogniz-
ed grades in society now unrecognized and indeed unknown. She
had what might be called, in one sense, her acknowledged aristo-
cracy, marked by a stateliness of manner, and a conformity to the
rules of a prescribed courtesy in social intercourse. This aristocracy
was one of the remnants of the colonial relations from which she
had just emerged. Thus, taking Massachusetts as the most finished
type of contemporary manners, all who held office, all who possess-
ed wealth, all of the clerical order, and all who had family connec-
tions in England, were members of the gentry, or upper class of
society, in the towns of any note ; while the gentry of the interior
were those who owned large landed estates, held civil and military
offices, and were representatives in the General Court. Many
indeed of the classes here named had been driven from the colony
by the war, but many also remained and were among the tried
patriots of the Revolution.

The habits of life, polish of manners, and style of dress were

46 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

the badges of eminence by which the aristocracy of New England
asserted its outward superiority. If a gentleman went abroad, he
appeared in his wig, white stock, white satin embroidered vest,
black satin small clothes with white silk stockings, and fine broad-
cloth or velvet coat ; if at home, a velvet cap, sometimes with a
fine linen one beneath it, took the place of the wig ; while a gown,
frequently of colored damask, lined witfr silk, was substituted for
the coat, and the feet were covered with leather slippers of some
fancy color. Visitors were received with hospitality and graceful
courtesy. One custom prevailed, which, now, would greatly shock
the New England sense of propriety : in most genteel families, a
tankard of punch was prepared every morning, and visitors, during
the day, were invited to partake of it the master of the house
sometimes taking the vessel from the cooler in which it stood,
and after drinking from it himself, ' handing it in person to the
guests.

There was a great deal of social intercourse in the class we are
describing. The interchange of dinners and suppers was frequent;
at the first, the most fashionable hour for which was never later
than three, the table groaned under its weight of provisions ; after
the last, the customary evening amusement was cards. The law
expressly prohibited dramatic entertainments, but they had con-
certs, and at these, in Boston at least, private gentlemen sometimes
were the performers, both vocal and instrumental simply, how-
ever, for the entertainment of their friends. Dancing was not among
the things which the legislature had made mala prohibita, and
consequently there were assemblies for this recreation; but they
were conducted with such severe attention to propriety, that no-
thing short of the unanimous concert of the gentlemen subscribers
would authorize admission. One of these assemblies would make
an amusing spectacle at this time. The stately minuet, with all its

THE CONVENTION. 47

formal and high-bred courtesy, flourished in those days, and was
yaried only by the contre dance. Cotillions came in afterward, with
the French refugees from the "West Indies. The style of the dress,
too, for gentlemen, would at this day be likely to attract notice in
the saloons of fashion ; but coats (of velvet or cloth) were literally
of all colors, not even excluding red, and sometimes the collar, oi
velvet or cloth, was in studied contrast to that of the other parts.

Marriages and funerals were most ceremoniously conducted.
After the former, the newly married couple made no bridal tour;
and instead of the modern " at home" and the single call of respect
and congratulation, for four successive weeks the bride was expect
ed to receive daily the visits of her friends. Public notice was given
of funerals ; private invitations also were issued ; large attendance
was expected, and long processions followed the dead to their last
homes. If one turned from these scenes of private and social life
to look on public exhibitions, the same stately air of ceremonious
dignity was still visible. If you entered the Supreme Judicial
Court, in winter, there sat the judges, each in his robe of scarlet,
faced with black velvet, somewhat like the costume of an Oxford
doctor of laws ; and if it chanced to be summer, you found him in
a full black silk gown.

Leaving this hasty sketch, of the fashions of that age, for which
we are indebted to an eye-witness,* we pass on, if the friendly
reader will take us as a guide, to speak familiarly of some of these
New England men, whom we will imagine for the Convention's
sessions were not public to be seated before us in that body.
The place is not unfamiliar to some of the men thus assembled.
The names of seven of them appear as signatures to a document
by which they pledged their lives, fortunes and honor to the
support of a declaration of independence, which was issued from

* Sullivan : See his Familiar Letters on Public Characters.

45 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

this same chamber. It was a bold declaration, made at a hazard-
ous period, but the pledges of life, fortune, and honor, were nobly
redeemed. Eleven years have passed since, and now they have
once more come together in "Independence Hall" to deliberate
on a constitution for a nation which owes its existence to their
bravery and fidelity. Who can doubt that the spot awakens in
them many strong emotions and stirring associations ? Our space
forbids us to name all who are here, and we therefore beg that
our omissions may not be construed into invidious distinctions
which we have no design to make.

And first, who is that individual, of such uncommonly handsome
face and form, and, though seemingly but little more than thirty
years of age, possessed of such remarkable dignity and grace of
manner ? He has the appearance of one whom nature has stamped
as a gentleman. It is Rufus King, who has been sent here from
Newburyport, in Massachusetts. He displays great elevation, and
indeed seriousness of demeanor, the latter seeming hardly consistent
with his age, which is but thirty-three years. But he has other
qualities, which are in harmony with his gravity. He is a man
of much and severe thought, with an uncommonly vigorous mind,
highly cultivated by study. Young as he is, there is not an indi-
vidual here who will speak with more dignity, or utter more solid
sense. He is an orator, and his strong characteristics are concise-
ness and force. He presents, indeed, a rare combination of personal
and intellectual endowments. He is a lawyer, but has served his
country hi the field as well as in the forum. In 1778 he was one
of General Sullivan's aids, in the expedition to dislodge the British
from Rhode Island.

And who is that near him, of middling stature, and thin per-
son ? His manner is courteous toward those who address him, and
his whole appearance very gentlemanlike. That is Elbridge

THE CONVENTION 49

Gerry : lie also lias been sent here by Massachusetts. In all ques-
tions of commerce and finance his wisdom and experience will be
valued ; he has studied them carefully. He is one of those whose
names are signed to the Declaration of Independence.

But, mark that tall man, with the somewhat long visage, dark
complexion, and blue eyes. His hair is loose, and combed over his
forehead, and, as you may observe, has but little powder in it.
The expression of his countenance indicates gentleness and kind-
ness ; and he possesses both, yet is he also a man of inflexible firm-
ness and adherence to principle. He neither possesses nor affecta
the polish of city life ; but not a man in all this assembly has a
more unspotted private character ; and few, if any, have stronger
minds, or judgments more calm and dispassionate. He is a fine spe-
cimen of the old Puritan character, with its best traits. That is
Caleb Strong, also from Massachusetts.

Let us look for men from other parts of New England. Yon-
der is Langdon, from New Hampshire. He has not had, like the
Massachusetts representatives, the advantages of Harvard, nor has
he mingled much, if at all, in the Boston circle of fashion ; yet he is
worthy of the place assigned him here. John Langdon is the son
of a New Hampshire farmer, and having been bred to mercan-
tile life, was employed in commercial transactions, until the con-
test commenced with the mother country. At that period, he
was a merchant in Portsmouth, and it was he, who, in concert with
Sullivan, and under his leadership, in 1774 entered Fort William
and Mary, and carried off all the military stores of the British.
It was John Langdon, too, who in 1777 furnished means to call
out and sustain the New Hampshire militia under Stark, after our
loss of Ticonderoga. So we may thank him for the victory at Ben-
nington. He has also been in the field himself, at the head of his
Volunteers, in Vermont and Rhode Island. He is eminently prao
7

50 THE REPUBLICAN COUKT.

tical, with sterling good sense, is social in his habits, and in his
manners easy, unaffected, and pleasing. He was the agent in New
Hampshire of the Continental Congress, and contracted for build-
ing several public ships of war. Among all before us there is not
one more thoroughly republican in his feelings and tendencies than
John Langdon.

There is but one other portion of New England represented
here, for it is understood Rhode Island has sent no delegates. There
are the men from Connecticut, three in number : not far from the
Massachusetts delegation. First, we will speak of that remarkable
self-made statesman and jurist, Roger Sherman ; he is one of those
who fearlessly put their names to the Declaration of Independence,
after acting as members of the committee appointed to prepare it.
That tall, erect, well-proportioned gentleman is he. His complexion
is very fair, and his countenance manly and agreeable, though some-
what grave. Observe too his dress, remarkable for its plainness,
yet as remarkable for its neatness. He is consistently religious, and
has all the piety .of the best Puritan without any of the acerbity
which sometimes accompanies it. He is indeed an extraordinary
man, or he would not be where we now see him. He is th^B son of
a plain Massachusetts farmer, and never had any other advantages
of education, in his youth, than such as a common township school
could afford. He is a striking illustration of the truth that every
one must, in a great degree educate himself. He was a shoe-
maker, and worked at his trade, during several years ; but he was
scarce ever seated at his work unless with some book lying open
before him. His thirst for knowledge was intense. He never, pro-
bably, knew an idle hour. At the age of twenty-two he went to
Connecticut, carrying his tools on his back. He is now forty-six
years old, has been at the bar several years, is learned in his pro-
fession, and for some years has been a judge of the highest court in

THE CONVENTION. 51

Connecticut. He has done everything for himself, Hia reading
has been extensive and varied, and few, if any, here, are better in-
formed than he is. He is possessed in an eminent degree of two
striking characteristics: he has great practical wisdom, and a
knowledge of human nature that seems almost intuitive. He is no
orator, and yet not a speaker in the convention is more effective ;
the basis of his power is found, first, in the thorough conviction of
his integrity : his countrymen are satisfied that he is a good man,
a real patriot, with no little or sinister or personal ends in view ;
next, he addresses the reason, with arguments, logically arrayed, so
clear, so plain, so forcible, that, as they have convinced him, they
carry conviction to others who are dispassionate. One would
scarce believe, from such a description, that by nature he possesses
warm and excitable feelings; yet such is the fact; he has, however,
so learned to control his passions, that he is habitually calm, sedate,
and self-governed, mild and agreeable in society, and evinces an en-
larged benevolence towards all mankind. There is not here a
more remarkable nor a better man than Roger Sherman.

And near him you see Oliver Ellsworth. He, too, belongs to
the bar. His most striking qualities of mind are extraordinary
quickness of perception united to the close and clear reasoning of
an accomplished logician. He is ardent as a speaker and often elo-
quent. He possesses great purity of personal character, and in
private life no one is more beloved for his virtues. He is conspic-
uous too for a manly independence of thought, perfect fearlessness
in expressing what he thinks, and great firmness in maintaining it.
Remarkable for his frankness, he neither knows nor wishes to know
the arts of winning, that ready weapon of little minds. No man
is more accessible : easy and courteous in his manners, he exhibits
in his intercourse with all who approach him that best species of
good breeding, the natural courtesy of a man possessed of kindly

52 THE REPUBLICAN COUET

feelings and great good sense. He is one of the most unassuming
individuals here ; and in the simplicity of his dress, equipage, and
mode of living, he furnishes a good example of a virtuous and con-
sistent republican. But though an economist in personal expendi-
ture, he is a liberal and generous contributor to all useful and be-
nevolent plans to help his fellow men. In short, he is a Christian
gentleman. .

Are there any other New England men here ? a few ; but your
attention will be called to but one of them, William Samuel John-
son, also from Connecticut, and, with the exception of Eufus King,
probably the only New England Episcopalian in the house : for the
prevailing form of religion in New England is Congregationalism.
He is the eldest son of the Kev. Dr. Samuel Johnson who was the
first president of King's College, as it was called, in New York.
This gentleman, however, is not a divine, but a lawyer an emi-
nent one and an orator. But his attainments are not merely pro-
fessional; he is a man of science and literature. He resided in
England, as the agent of the colony of Connecticut, and was there
the associate and companion of the learned. Though differing in
his political views from the literary colossus, Dr. Samuel Johnson
' he is thoroughly an American,) yet he was intimate with his*
>rated namesake, and mingled in the literary circle of which
i the acknowledged chief. He is a highly accomplished, in-
;ent, and honorable man, and well worthy of a place in such
an assembly as this.
New

ew agud, ,,, , ess haa , here Km rf &f ^ rf ^
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THE CONVENTION. 5S

have proved themselves to be men, at home, -before this, or the
practical strong common sense of their countrymen would never
have placed them here ; the arts of the demagogue, the tricks of
unscrupulous political profligacy, and the senseless shouts of an ig-
norant and corrupt favoritism, had nothing to do with their elec-
tion. 'They are in this convention, simply because they were well
known by their every-day associates, to be " good men and true."
God grant it may ever be so with the servants of the Republic !

Now let us look to some of the delegates from the Middle
States. First, there stands, from New York, Alexander Hamilton.
That is he, with such a remarkably expressive face. His age is about
thirty. You observe that he is one of the smallest men here : in-
deed under the middle size, and thin in person, but remarkably
erect and dignified. His hair is turned back from his forehead, pow-
dered, and collected in a club behind. Mark the fairness of his
complexion and his rosy cheeks. Watch the play of his singularly
expressive countenance : in repose, it seems grave and thoughtful ;
but see him when spoken to, and instantly all is lighted up with
intelligent vivacity, and around his lips plays a smile of extraordi-
nary sweetness. It is impossible to look at his features and not see
that they are ineffaceably stamped by the divine hand with the im-
press of genius. His is indeed a mind of immense grasp, and un-
limited original resources. Whether he speaks or writes he is equal-
ly great. He can probably endure more unremitted and intense
mental labor than any man in this body. So rapid are his percep-
tions, and at the same time so clear, that he seems sometimes to
reach his conclusions by a species of intuition. He possesses in a
wonderful degree that most unfailing mark of the highest order of
intellect, the comprehensiveness of view which leads to accurate
generalization. He catches the principle involved in a discussion,
as if by instinct, and adheres rigidly to that, quite sure that there-

54 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

by, the details are certain to be right Another mark of eminent
genius is continually exhibiting itself in the striking originality
of his views. There is nothing commonplace about his mind.
Among great men, any where, Alexander Hamilton would be felt
to be great. As an individual, he is a frank, amiable, and high-
minded gentleman, who inspires his friends with the warmest per-
sonal attachment, while he rarely, if ever, fails to make his enemies
both hate and fear him. Perhaps, however, instead of this sketch,
it had been enough, in the beginning, simply to say that he once
lived with General Washington, and secured Tils affection and con-
fidence. He is married to a daughter of General Schuyler, and his
wife is one of the most agreeable women in the city.

New Jersey has a very able representative : it is that gen-
tleman, so plain and simple in his dress and manners William
Livingston. Not a man here abhors monarchical government
more than he. He is one of the most forcible and elegant* writers
'in this assembly, and his pen has been often used in vindicating
the rights of his countrymen ; indeed, it is said that the influence
of his writings did much to arouse the militia of New Jersey to the
feeling which caused them to rally, with such promptitude, when
any alarm called the people to array themselves against the enemy.
The British hated him most cordially,* and would have been de-

* On one occasion the twenty-eighth of February, 1779 an attempt was made to capture him
at his house. A party of British troops from New York landed at Elizabethtown Point, pro-
ceeded to Liberty Hall (as his residence was named), and breaking in its doors, at midnight, cried
out for the " damned Governor ! " Livingston had, however, left home several hours before, and
was at this time sleeping at a friend's house, several miles away. After ascertaining his absence,
the officer in command of the party demanded his papers. All his recent correspondence with
Washington, Congress, and the state officers, was in a small box, in the parlor. One of his
daughters, however, with great presence of mind appealed to the officer, as a gentleman and a
soldier, representing that the box contained her private property, and promising that if it were
protected she would show him what he wished. A guard being placed over it, the men were
led into the library, where they filled their foraging bags with old law papers, of no value.
After many menaces of violence, and of setting fire to the house, they finally departed, without
securing the only plunder which would have rewarded their efforts.

(77-

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THE CONVENTION. 55

lighted to get him in their clutches. He handled them so merci-
lessly in his essays, and cut them so sharply with his invective
and wit, that they would gladly have put him out of the way.
He has great powers of satire, and is very fearless. He is proba-
bly one of the best classical scholars in this body, and a very good
lawyer. His mind is strong and comprehensive, and, (an unusual
combination,) he adds to its strength a brilliant imagination. He
is a poet of no mean abilities, and his literary taste, generally, is
highly cultivated and refined. He is thoroughly republican in
politics.

As the place of meeting is her own metropolis, Pennsylvania has
more representatives here than any other of the states. She has
no less than eight: Virginia, next to her in numbers, has seven.
We . can only speak of a few of the Pennsylvania delegation.
There is the old philosopher, whom every body in Ehiladelphia
knows, Benjamin Franklin. He is now eighty-one years of age,
and, like Mr. Sherman, of Connecticut, is a self-made man. Like
Sherman, too, he has a most accurate knowledge of human nature.
His worldly wisdom is probably not surpassed by that of any man
in America. He is no speaker ; indeed, very seldom attempts to
speak, and when he does, disposes of the question before him with
wonderful brevity ; sometimes, in fact, by a single sentence. He
never wastes words. He has a most happy talent of illustrating, by
an allegory, or reasoning, by means of a story, the application of
which he leaves to his hearers. He is always cool and self-possess-
ed. The character of his mind, addicted to philosophical research,
and the incidents of his earlier life, have combined to make him
eminently an utilitarian. He considers all questions, whether of
philosophy or politics, with reference to their practical bearing and
effect. Hence his natural tendency is thought, by some, to lean too
much to considerations of mere expediency r , in his acts as a states-

56 THE EEPUBLICAN COURT.

man. But lie is by no means indifferent to great principles involv-
ed, and has shown, too, the firmness with which he can assert them,
regardless of all consequences. As a philosopher, he commands,
and justly, the admiration and respect of the whole world. What
a crowd of thoughts must this occasion bring to the old man's
mind! He first visited this city, a friendless printer's boy, with-
out an acquaintance or a dollar ; and now he is one of the great
and trusted sons of the commonwealth. His first visit to London,
where Sir William Keith let him go, at the age of eighteen, without
the promised letters of recommendation, and where, by the exer-
cise of his craft, he sustained himself, a poor and unknown Amer-
ican youth ; his subsequent visit as the agent of Pennsylvania ; his
scientific renown, to which he had fairly, and unaided, fought his
way, attested by the doctorate conferred upon him both in Edin-
burgh and Oxford; his examination at the bar of the House of
Commons, on the repeal of the Stamp Act ; and, above all, that
memorable period in 1^83, when, as one of the representatives of
the United States, he signed the definitive treaty of peace which
placed his country among the independent nations ! And, in this
hall, he must experience strange and mingled emotions. It was here
that, on the fourth of July, 1YT6, when all looked dark enough,
and his country had no ally but our Father in heaven, he put his
name to a document which, renouncing allegiance to the British
crown, perilled all he had, even life itself, upon the unknown issue ;
and now, in this same place, he has come to assist in the founda-
tion of a government which, eleven years ago, he solemnly declared
had a right to be free and independent. He is one of the oldest,
if not the oldest, of the members of this body ; he has passed
through more strange vicissitudes than any of his present asso-
ciates, and as he nears the grave, this must be, for him, a proud
and deeply interesting moment.

THE CONVENTION. 57

There also are Robert and Gouverneur Morris, both from Penn-
sylvania, though of different families. Robert Morris was "born in

England, and came to America at the age of thirteen. He was
bred to mercantile pursuits, and his financial ability contributed
very largely to the successful issue of the revolution. Indeed, it
may be doubted whether, but for him, we should have been able
to continue the struggle. He oftea pledged his personal credit,
which was great, to an almost incredible amount, for the purpose
of raising means to carry on the war. One instance and that an
important one, for it put an end to the war may suffice to illus-
trate this. General Washington, who had contemplated the cap-
ture of New York, was compelled by circumstances, suddenly and
unexpectedly, to change his plans entirely, and, secretly, to deter-
mine rapidly to turn his arms against Cornwallis, at the South.
He sent for Robert Morris, who candidly informed him that he had
no public money, but would be obliged to resort solely to his per-
sonal credit. Nearly every thing was supplied by Morris ; he fur-
nished from seventy to eighty pieces of battering cannon, and one
hundred of field artillery, with the necessary ammunition and other
appurtenances, and, by the end of three or four weeks from the
time of his interview with Washington, all had reached the gen-
eral. And this, with the expense of provision and the means of
paying the troops, was accomplished solely on the personal credit
of Robert Morris, who issued his own promissory notes for the
enormous amount of one million four hundred thousand dollars,
every cent of which was duly paid ; and thus was Washington en-
abled to force Cornwallis to a surrender at Yorktown. Morris's
financial abilities are of the very first order, and these, added to his
character for integrity, enabled him to render, services, which, if
less conspicuous tnan those of the brave men who were actually in
arms, were not less indispensable to the achievement of indepen-
8

58 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

dence. He, too, was one of those who, in this hall, eleven years
ago, put his name to the declaration of independence, so that, you
see, he is well entitled to be here.

Gouverneur Morris is the youngest son of Lewis Morris, and was
born near New York. He was an assistant to Robert Morris in
the superintendence of the finances, and, after the war, was asso-
ciated with him in commercial business. His knowledge is various,
his conversation copious and eloquent, and he will, doubtless, make
a useful member.

Yonder you may see a gentleman, of the middle size, erect in
his person, and of fair complexion. His features are strongly marked
with intelligence and benevolence, but there may also be seen in
them resolution and firmness. That is George Clymer, who, on
behalf of Pennsylvania, was one of the immortal company of the
"signers." He is a man of warm feelings, very ardent in his af-
fections, and the delight of the social circle. He writes with great
care and accuracy, but seldom addresses a public assembly ; he is
too modest and diffident ; but on the occasions when a sense of duty
leads him to speak, he is listened to with great respect and atten-
tion. His speeches are always short and to the purpose. His friends
know and appreciate, far better than he does himself, the superior-
ity of his talents. He never has sought popularity, or courted pre-
ferment. There is a beautiful simplicity and frank honesty in his
character. He has some traits, which, it were to be wished, were
more general. George Clymer was never heard to speak ill of the
absent, nor will he endeavor to traduce men's characters ; and he
is most punctilious and exact in fulfilling any promise he makes,
whether in a great matter or a small one. He is an earnest pro-
moter of every scheme for the improvement of his country, in sci-
ence, agriculture, polite learning, the fine arts, or objects of mere
utility. He is a student and thinker, has a very pure heart, and no

THE CONVENTION. 59

man present is more ready to sacrifice himself and all he has, for
the sake of the country.

There is one other Pennsylvanian whom I must point out to
you. I mean Thomas Mifflin. He is of Quaker parentage, and his
ardor of feeling and patriotism, prompting him to engage person-
ally in the revolutionary struggle, led that peaceful society to
" read him out of meeting." On the organization of the continental
army in 1775, he took the office of quarter-master general, and thus
shut himself out of the society of " Friends." They but adhered
consistently enough to their avowed principles, and he adhered
with equal constancy to his. His temperament is warm, his dispo-
sition sanguine and his habits active. Hence it may be that he has
not always duly appreciated the coolness and caution of a calmer
temperament. Some have supposed that he once thought Wash-
ington did not move quite fast enough ; if he did, it probably re-
sulted from his own ardent temperament, and not from personal
ill-will to the Commander-in-Chief. He was the President of Con-
gress, at Annapolis, when "Washington resigned his office, and the
address he made in response to that of the General, did honor both
to his head and heart, and bore ample testimony to his sense of the
surpassing merits of the great man whom he was addressing. Like
most persons of impetuous feeling, he was probably taught by age,
in each successive year of its progress, more and more to appreciate
the sober calmness of deliberation before action. But no one
doubts the patriotism or courage of Major General Mifflin.

From Delaware, there is John Dickinson, a lawyer, a part of
whose professional training was in the Temple, in London. He is
an admirable writer, and his pen was employed in behalf of the
colonies as far back as 1765. He is the author of the celebrated
"Farmer's Letters," written in 1767 and 1768 ; and he wrote also
some of the most important state papers issued by the Congress of

60 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

and those immediately succeeding : the address to the inha-
bitants of Quebec, the first petition to the king, the address to
the armies, the second petition to the king, and the address to
the several states, are all from his pen. It may seem strange that,
having afforded such undoubted evidences of patriotism, he should
have opposed, in the Congress of 17 T 6, the Declaration of Indepen-
dence. It was simply however on the ground of its impolicy, at
that particular time. lie wished the terms of the confederation
to be settled, and foreign assistance to be certainly secured, before
the decisive step of a declaration should be made. But within a
few days after it was made, notwithstanding his private opinion of
its impolicy, he was found marching with the army to sustain it in
the field; and it is curious that he, who had openly in the Con-
gress of 1Y76 opposed the measure, was the only member of that
body who immediately marched to face the enemy. His constitu-
ents, nevertheless, were dissatisfied with his congressional vote, and
another was elected in his place. This, however, could not destroy
his patriotism, for in 1WT he was serving, as a private, under Cap-
tain Lewis, with his musket on his shoulder, in the movements
against the British who had then landed at the head of the Elk
Kiver. In 1Y 7 9 he was unanimously sent back to Congress. You
perceive that his person is commanding, and his countenance a
fine one. Of his abilities no one doubts: he has a highly culti-
vated mind, refined taste, a very large fund of general knowledge,
and an habitual eloquence, with polished elegance of manners.
He is a man who has ever been ready to make any sacrifice for his
country.

His colleague is that tall and carefully dressed gentleman,
George Kead, who, like Dickinson, thought the Declaration of In-
dependence premature, yet did not decline, when the Congress had
adopted it, to put his name to it. He too is a lawyer, and a true

THE CONVENTION. 61

patriot, of most estimable private character. No one more steadily
resisted than lie did the encroachments of tyranny.

III.

BEFOKE we call attention to individual southern members it
may be well, as with reference to New England, rapidly to advert
to some of the leading features which mark the state of society in
the southern states. The eastern, middle, and southern colonies,
though all for the most part settled by Englishmen, had still
distinctive features, by which each section, from the beginning, was
characterized. For the South, let Virginia and South Carolina
serve as illustrations ; with slight modifications the picture of the
first is that of Maryland, while that of the last is applicable to the
eastern part of North Carolina and to Georgia.

Virginia had long possessed an aristocracy. From an early pe-
riod of her settlement, circumstances had contributed to its 'creation,
and they were such as made its growth unavoidable. The early
emigrants who came to the colony, unlike those who settled in New
England, were prompted by no spirit of disaffection towards the
mother country. They not only brought with them all the feel-
ings and habits of England, but they clung to them, from a delibe-
rate preference. The monarchy and the church of England were
never objects of their dislike. The fertility and vast extent of the
lands lying upon the numerous streams of Virginia, necessarily
drew attention to agriculture, which, in the absence of roads, could
find no means of transport save by the watercourses. Hence the
original settlements were almost entirely agricultural; clearings
were made and plantations settled on the rivers, and no towns of
any importance were built. Nor was it difficult for the more
shrewd, who possessed even small means, to become large landed
proprietors. Every planter who, at his own charge, transported
one immigrant, could claim therefor fifty acres of land ; so that

b2 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

from an early period in her colonial history, Virginia possessed a
body of proprietors, owning very large tracts of land. This natu-
rally scattered the population over an extensive surface, and retard-
ed the growth of towns.

In the second or third generation, under the English law of de-
scent, these cultivated lands, passing from sire to eldest son, had
created a class of " first families," and the education of the country
was confined to this class. There were no schools for the masses
of the people ; indeed many of them were no better than serfs, for
at one period Virginia was made a penal colony : convicts were
sent over and sold, for a time, to the proprietors, and a regular sys-
tem of kidnapping prevailed in some of the ports of England,
which consigned to temporary servitude in America men who had
never been convicts at home. A broad line of distinction was
therefore early drawn between the large proprietors and the com-
mon people. The planter had his tenants and serfe, over whom he
presided with a species of modern feudal sovereignty. The emigra-
tion of the cavaliers, from England, in the days of Cromwell, did
not tend to diminish this landed aristocracy; and though, some-
times, men of strong natural abilities emerged from their position
in the inferior classes, and became perhaps proprietors themselves,
yet was the picture, for the most part, such as we have sketched,
of a community divided into two great classes at the extremes of
the civilized social state, with few or no intermediate or middle
men, to form a class between them. The offices of the country
were, of course, in the hands of the aristocracy, which took very
good care to retain them there, and the "peasantry," as they would
have been called in England, or working men, could do little else
but attach themselves, somewhat as retainers, to the fortunes of
their respective patrons. This indirect recognition of the aristo-
cracy, gave to it its chief element of strength ; for as the existence

- THE CONVENTION. 63

of an aristocratic class in society is purely conventional, having no
natural foundation, it is obvious that if the people do not choose
to recognize it, it cannot long exist at all. Perhaps in the then state
of the Virginia population, it was best that it should be so. The
proprietors possessed the intelligence necessary to manage affairs,
and treated their humbler dependants, (even when sold to them as
convicts,) with great kindness, and regard to their personal com-
fort. They by no means considered them as slaves, but as long as
the people left them in the undisputed possession of an acknowledg-
ed superiority and right to direct affairs, they in turn left them to
entertain, unchecked, such ideas of freedom and independence as
were likely to develope themselves in strong men, who at times lux-
uriated in the wild liberty of nature in the wilderness, untrammel-
led by the artificial restraints imposed by necessity in an older state
of society, and in the narrow limits of a densely crowded popula-
tion. There was, hence, both among the rich and poor, a deeply
seated love of freedom and a spirit of independence.

The spirit of hospitality, too, from the very beginning, has been
boundless in Virginia, and, indeed, throughout all the old southern
states. Necessity may be said to have contributed somewhat to
make it so: the settlements frequently were quite remote from
each other, and the traveller often could find no shelter at night,
unless he obtained it under the roof of the friendly planter, who
would have been pained at the suspicion that he either expected
or desired pecuniary remuneration.

It is quite easy to see how, under a system such as this, even
with all its unavoidable imperfections, some of the noblest traits of
human character would develope themselves. On the part of the
wealthy, generosity, kindness, guidance, and support, were constant-
ly called forth for the benefit of those below them in condition. Ac-
customed, too, to direct, and often to command, (for the legitimate

b4 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

power of the country was in their hands,) they grew up, genera-
tion after generation, with a proud spirit of personal independence,
on which was naturally engrafted a high sense of honor. A Vir-
ginian or Maryland gentleman of the olden time, seated on do-
mains that spread over hundreds of acres, and living in what was
very like a baronial state, and educated, perhaps, in Europe, pol-
ished in manners, hospitable, generous, cordial, manly, " with high
thoughts seated in a heart of courtesy," was a noble specimen of
men. When the revolution commenced, they to whom this de-
scription would apply, soon showed themselves.

If we turn further south, the picture, in many of its aspects, is
still the same. In the old towns at the east, and on the shores
of North Carolina, were men who in some instances were large pro-
prietors, many of them educated and trained to the learned profes-
sions abroad, filling all the important offices of the colony, as high-
toned and independent as any men on the continent. To these the
common people had long been used to look with deference and re-
spect ; and these swayed public opinion in the East. In a broad
belt, at the West, between the Catawba and Yadkin rivers, were a
sturdy and brave race of yeomen, known as the " Scotch Irish "
Presbyterians, lovers of liberty, from their very cradles, who looked
up to their spiritual teachers and the leading laymen of the coun-
try for direction. These leaders were men of cultivated minds.
Frankness and fearlessness were the characteristics of these brave
yeomen. When the revolution commenced, no men answered
more promptly at the first call of their leaders than the common
people of North Carolina ; no leaders sounded the alarm and ut-
tered the call sooner ; and nowhere, throughout the colonies, did
the leaders more completely possess the confidence of the people,
or more perfectly control and sway their actions.

In South Carolina, it was very much the custom to educate the

THE CONVENTION. 65

sons of the wealthy at the English universities ; and those who
filled the liberal professions had, in many instances, studied abrjad
The aristocracy was in some parts of South Carolina as clearly de-
fined as in Virginia. The same hospitality, generosity, and high
sense of honor were also found among the affluent and the educated.
In casting his eyes over the names belonging to this colony, one is
struck with the large number evidently French. These belong to
those who descended from the Huguenots, driven out of France by
the superlative folly of Louis XIV. in revoking the edict of Nantes.
Never was an act of greater madness committed by a bigoted ruler,
and never was there one which more effectually wrought its own
temporal punishment. The infuriated monarch enriched almost
every civilized state in Europe at his own expense, and impover-
ished France by the loss of millions in trade, and thousands of her
best population. Some came to America, and the largest body of
them found a home in South Carolina. Here, as in every other
land where they found an asylum, they more than repaid the bene-
volence which sheltered them, by their piety, their skill, and their
industry. The revolution shows many South Carolinian Huguenot
names. They were all patriots in that desperate struggle.

It will readily be seen from this sketch that, while the North
and South alike were ready to peril all for freedom, and while from
both regions there were many specimens of " nature's noblemen,"
who instinctively understood each other on a very brief acquaint-
ance, and whose sympathies were the same in thought and action ;
yet were there several particulars in which some differences of na-
tional or rather provincial character were perceptible in the respec-
tive inhabitants of these two regions. The northern man was
cool and cautious, the southern ardent and impulsive; both were
brave, but if, at any time, either was rash, it was more likely to be

the son of the South. The northern man parted freely with his
9

06 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

money for his country's good, but first required that he should be
specifically informed for what precise purpose it was needed, and
calculated exactly how much would suffice ; the southron, more
prodigal, gave to his country the sum that was named, and unless
his suspicions were aroused, asked no questions either as to its ap-
propriation or its amount. If the fate of war had reduced the colo-
nies to submission, it would have been but temporarily, either in the
North or South: but the latter would have been probably involv-
ed in frequent rebellions, while the former would have discreetly
kept quiet, until it had made all things ready and saw the favor-
able time arrive, and then would have rebelled in the hope and
expectation that it would be once for all.

The New England man thought but little of the gauds and va-
nities of the world : he was a sober Puritan ; the southron valued
the refinements of polished life, had no particular objection to a
certain amount of personal display, prided himself somewhat on
the graceful courtesy of his outward bearing, and, in his worship,
preferred the more imposing ceremonial of the English ritual. His
countrymen, in Maryland, Virginia, and both the Carolinas, had
known the Church of England as the established and prevailing
religion ; for the most part, they had been trained in it ; and di-
vesting it of its established character, they preferred to worship
according to its formularies.

But these hints must suffice to indicate the differences in char-
acter among the inhabitants of the different colonies. It was wisely
ordered that they should exist ; and in the general fusion of inter-
ests, feelings, and manners, they all perhaps proved beneficial.

Let us go back to the Convention.

We have from Maryland, Luther Martin, a lawyer of great and
commanding powers. And here too is John Mercer, a soldier of the
revolution, deservedly respected by his countrymen ; and McHenry

THE CONVENTION 67

is also here. But without meaning to detract from the merits of
these, we will pass on, to look at one to whom they are quite
willing, we may be sure, to yield precedence. There is George
"Washington, of Virginia. He is the central attractive figure, and
wields a mighty moral influence over these statesmen, not un-
like in its effects that which he exercised over the officers of his
army. He binds them into union. But to suppose that you re-
quire any sketch of either his person or his deeds, is to imply
a doubt of your being an American. G,eorge "Washington's
countrymen from the children upward, all know who he is, and
what he has done. His is a name in history, which good and
brave men, throughout the world, will not let die. A common
humanity will be too proud of it ever to let it perish. He is one
of the few whom God has made to be men for all time. We love
and honor him now ; he will be more honored, more venerated by
future generations. We are too near him to mark the admirable
and exquisitely adjusted features of his character ; posterity, stand-
ing at a greater distance, will see the harmonious and massive
grandeur of his magnificent and finely developed proportions. We
can only belittle him by praising him as we would another man.
It becomes an American to point merely to his deeds, and be silent.
The world will do the rest.

That middle-sized, venerable looking person, whom you see, is
George Wythe. < He is now sixty-one years old, and in many re-
spects a remarkable man. His father was a farmer. His mother
was a woman of great strength of mind, and of attainments very
unusual in her sex ; she was an excellent Latin scholar, and is said
even to have spoken that language fluently ; she taught it to her
son; but in several other respects his education was somewhat
neglected. He lost his parents before he was a man, and with the
thoughtlessness of youth, uncontrolled by authority, rushed madly

68 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

onward in a career of folly and dissipation. The force of his char
acter, however, may be appreciated from the fact that he did, at
last, what very few under similar circumstances would or could
have done. After nine years of dissipation, he reformed, and be-
came a man of exemplary sobriety and steadiness. Lamenting
most deeply the time irrecoverably lost by his folly and sin, and
deploring, at that late period, the want of that learning which he
might have acquired during those misspent years, he resolved to
redeem the future, and from that hour devoted himself with un-
tiring industry to study. He taught himself Greek, and choosing
the profession of jurisprudence, became profoundly versed in both
the common and civil law, and thoroughly learned in the statute
law of both Great Britain and Virginia. No longer a thoughtless,
dissipated youth, he was respected, as a wise, sedate, and upright
man, of marked ability, and eminently worthy of the confidence of
his countrymen ; nor was it long before he stood at the very head
of the Virginia bar. When the troubles with the mother coun-
try first began, he stood forth boldly, and encouraged, if indeed
he did not originate, the first movements of opposition in Virginia.
He was the fearless champion of liberty, and was among the earli-
est to enrol himself in the ranks of her volunteers. His influence
and example undoubtedly did very much to inspire the people.
Before the war actually commenced he was a member of the Vir-
ginia legislature, and speaker of that body. He was sent in 17 Y 5
to the Congress at Philadelphia, and was one of those who, in
17 7 6, put their names to the Declaration of Independence. He is
now Chancellor of Virginia, and it may be doubted whether, in this
house, there is a purer or a wiser man. His now long continued
habits of strict temperance and regularity of life have given him,
as you see, a healthy old age, and one cannot look without linger-
ing on his manly and expressive features.

THE CONVENTION. 09

He is perfectly unaffected and simple in his manners, as modest
as he is learned, and singularly disinterested. If you should hear
him speak, you would be struck by his logical arrangement, his
chaste language, and his easy elocution. He is also exceedingly
courteous in debate. He is not, however, what would be termed a
brilliant man. His mind indeed is of very high order, but not the
most rapid in seizing upon the prominent points of a subject. La-
bor has made him what he is. Allow him time for consideration,
and then will appear his profound penetration, his well-linked
jogic, and his demonstrated conclusion.

And here is another delegate from Virginia. I cannot speak
of all, but may not pass unnoticed James Madison. He is now
thirty-seven years old, and has been trained as a lawyer by Chan-
cellor "Wythe. He possesses fine talents, and is remarkable for his
close reasoning. Though younger than many here, he is, notwith-
standing, a worthy companion to them, for his views and attain-
ments are much in advance of his years. He was always a thinker,
and is a bold and forcible speaker. If there be any one here of
whom I would say, " he never was a boy? I think it would be Mr.
Madison. Virginia considers him one of her ornaments, and is
justly proud of him.

Let us see whom we have here from North Carolina. There
are two of that delegation of whom we will speak. First, there is
William Richardson Davie. Tall in person and well formed, he is
possessed, as you perceive, of features remarkably handsome, and
strikingly expressive of his manly nature. His voice is melodious,
his manner dignified, and he is a very accomplished orator. He
has been a hard student, and his influence is great in North Caro-
lina. He deserves all that he possesses, for he is one of the tried
patriots of that state, though not a native. He was born in Eng-
land, and brought to this country by his father at a very early age.

70 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

He had a maternal uncle, the Kev. "William Eichardson, who was
one of the Presbyterian clergy in that " Scotch Irish " settlement
of which we have spoken as existing in North Carolina. This un-
cle had no children, and adopted his nephew, who afterward inher-
ited his estate. He was prepared for college in North Carolina,
and afterwards finished his studies at Princeton. Here his patriot-
ism first "broke into action. He was one of that party of stu-
dents who left college, with the consent of its head, Dr. Wither-
spoon, and served as a volunteer, near New York, in the summer of
1776. In the.autumn of that year he took his bachelor's degree,
and returned home to study law. But the times were too stirring
to allow repose to such a temperament as his. In 1777 he joined
the army, and was ere long a major in PulaskTs legion of cavalry.
From this time onward he was in service until the close of the
war, and shared in most of the battles in the western part of the
Carolinas. "When, after the defeat of Gates, Cornwallis attempted
to overrun North Carolina, it was Davie, with his troops, who inter-
posed between the British and our retreating forces, and kept the
former at bay, compelling them at last to retreat to South Carolina.
Three times, at the village of Charlotte, in Mecklenburg County,
with an inferior force of mere militia, did he withstand the charge
of Tarleton's celebrated cavalry legion, and as often compel it to
retire in disorder. When Greene took the command, he besought
Davie to become commissary general ; he yielded to his entreaties
and did so ; and it is not saying too much to state that his personal
influence, and the pledge of his own credit, in this department,
contributed largely to save the South. After the war was over, he
entered on the practice of his profession, and is now one of the
most distinguished lawyers in the state.

The other representative to be named from North Carolina is
Dr. Hugh Williamson. He is now a little more than fifty years

THE CONVENTION. 71

old. He was originally designed for the ministry, and indeed has
preached, as a licentiate of the presbytery of Philadelphia. He
never, however, had charge of a congregation, for in early life his
health was delicate, and he had not strength for the duties of
the pulpit. He became, therefore, professor of mathematics in the
University of Pennsylvania, and in a few years went abroad to
pursue medical studies. He availed himself of the schools of Edin-
burgh, London, and Utrecht, in which last he received his degree,
and after making the tour of Europe, returned home, in improved
health, and practised as a physician, in Philadelphia, for several
years with success. His health, however, again failed him, and he
was obliged to relinquish' his business. He employed himself in
scientific studies, and, together with Rittenhouse, Ewing, and Smith,
acted on a committee of the American Philosophical Society to ob-
serve the transit of Venus, in June, and that of Mercury, in No-
vember, of the year 1769. ' He was with Dr. Ewing in Europe, in
17T4, IY'75, and 1T76, when the troubles with the mother country
began, and, in Holland, first heard the news of the Declaration of
Independence, when he hastened to return home. The medical
staff in the army was filled up before his arrival, but circumstances
ere long called him to Newbern, in North Carolina, and, while
there, he took occasion to inform the governor that he might com-
mand his services, if at any time, in the course of the war, he could
be useful. In 1Y80 the state raised several thousand men to
join the army for the relief of South Carolina, and placed them
under the command of the late governor, Caswell, who then
held the rank of major general. This gentleman immediately
claimed the fulfilment of the promise Dr. Williamson had made to
him, and he was placed at the head of the medical department
of the troops of North Carolina. Thus did he (though by birth a
Pennsylvanian,) become connected with that state. The climate

72 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

better suited his constitution, and he probably considered North
Carolina his home. He was sent as a member from one of the bo-
rough towns to the House of Commons, and was elected by the
legislature to the Continental Congress, where he served three
years, as long a time as the law allowed. You now see him here
He is a very worthy and excellent man, of much observation and
extensive attainments, and an undoubted patriot.

But let me call your attention to John Kutledge, of South
Carolina, an able and most accomplished gentleman. He is of Irish
descent on his father's side, though a native of the state which he
here represents. He studied law in the Temple, London, and
returning to Charleston, commenced practice, so far back as 1761.
He is very eloquent, and at once rose to the first rank in his pro-
fession. When Massachusetts, in IT 64, proposed to the other pro-
vinces to appoint committees to meet in a Congress, as one step
toward cementing an union, it was John Rutledge who induced the
assembly of South Carolina to agree to the proposal, and he, with
Christopher Gadsden and Thomas Lynch, were appointed the re-
presentatives. He was the youngest of the three, and probably
the youngest member of the Congress which met in New York in
IT 6 5. He was but some twenty-seven years old. The North, at
that time, knew but little of the South ; its inhabitants were sup-
posed to be indolent, and luxurious, and, at any rate, but little was
expected from such a. seeming stripling as John Rutledge; he
spoke, and sober and thoughtful old men were surprised into admi-
ration and respect by the eloquence of the young representative
from South Carolina. His power over his constituents is very great.
When news of the Boston port-bill reached Charleston, expresses
were sent over the state to call a general meeting of the inhabi-
tants. They came, and it was easy to induce them to appoint dele-
gates to a general Congress ; but then came propositions to instruct

THE CONVENTION. 73

them how far they might go in supporting the Bostonians. John
Rutledge rose in all his might ; his subject was, "No instructions to
the representatives," but full authority to exercise their discretion,
and a pledge, to the men of New England, that South Carolina
would, to the death, stand by all her delegates promised for her.
Some one in opposition asked what should be done if the delegates
made an improper use of this large grant of power ? With an
energy of manner which was in itself as forcible as an argument,
the clear sound of his voice rose above the listening auditory, and
rung out in his short words, full alike of decision and honesty,
"Hang them? The impression was irresistible, and the delegates
went without directions as to their conduct, ready to help Boston
to the full extent of their ability. John Rutledge was one of those
delegates. Washington cherished always the highest estimate of his
virtues, and he referred to him, while he was himself a member of
that body, as the greatest orator in the Continental Congress. He
has served his state in her highest offices ; she has unbounded con-
fidence in his patriotism, talents, decision, and firmness, and has
now sent him to assist in making a Constitution.

But here is another worthy son of South Carolina, Charles
Cotesworth Pinckney. He also is a lawyer, and was educated at
Westminster, Oxford, and the Temple. But he is a soldier too, and
has passed through all the vicissitudes of a soldier's life. When
his country needed him he relinquished law, and, girding on his
sword, took the field as a captain, and was soon promoted to a
colonelcy. The danger of invasion being over in. South Carolina,
he joined the northern army, and General Washington appointed
him one of his aids. He fought at Brandywine and Germantown,
and, returning to the South, was intrusted with the defence of the
fort on Sullivan's Island. The enemy passed without attacking it,
when he instantly hastened to Charleston to defend the lines.
10

74 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

Here lie was made a prisoner of war, and as his influence and en
ergy were well known, he was treated with unusual and unmanly
rigor, in order to crush his spirit, and intimidate others. Menaces
and promises were alike resorted to to corrupt his fidelity. He was
unmoved either by severity or temptations. He was true to his
country. General Washington has a very high opinion of him,
and he deserves it. He is a man of fine mind, and, as a scholar,
ranked with the most eminent at Westminster and Oxford.

There is yet another from South Carolina, of the same name
This is Charles Pinckney. He is a gentleman of great polish of
manners, remarkable colloquial powers, and fervid eloquence.
Throughout the revolutionary struggle he proved himself equally
sagacious, earnest, and unchangeable.

Only one more remains of whom we will speak ; not that the
remaining characters before us are undistinguished or uninteresting,
for there are several who might justly claim our notice ; but there
is danger of becoming wearisome. Here is Abraham Baldwin, a
Connecticut man, but now a representative from Georgia, in which
State he has resided, as a lawyer, for many years. He has been a
representative in the legislature of his adopted state ; and, with
the aid of Mr. Milledge, may be said to have induced that body to
found the university, at Athens. He has also been a delegate in
the Continental Congress ; and is a faithful, industrious man, of
excellent common sense.

We shall find that we have here no assemblage of common
men, but that the convention is composed almost entirely of those
who have had experience, and have distinguished themselves by
their talents and public services. In the very first assembly of the
colonies, held at Albany, in 1754, Dr. Franklin was a member ; in
the Stamp Act Congress, of 1765, Dickinson of Delaware, Johnson
of Connecticut, and Eutledge of South Carolina were members ; in

THE CONVENTION. 75

the Continental Congress, beginning in 1774, and continuing up to
1786, no less than eighteen of .those we have particularly pointed
out Washington, Franklin, King, Gerry, Langdon, Sherman,
Kobert Morris, Gouverneur Morris, Clymer, Livingston, Dickinson,
Read, Mercer, "Wythe, Madison, "Williamson, Rutledge "and Bald-
win sat at different periods. Of these, Franklin, Wythe, Sher-
man, Read, Gerry, Robert Morris, and Clymer, signed the Declara-
tion of Independence ; and so also did Wilson, who is here from
Pennsylvania as able and worthy as any of them, but of whom we
had not time to speak particularly. The fact is, there are but
twelve of the whole Convention who have not, at some time, sat
in the Continental Congress. The army is represented, too, for
here are Washington, Mifflin, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, and
Hamilton ; so that we may well call this an assembly of our most
able, most tried, and most patriotic countrymen.

Regarding the public characters who presided over our affairs
during the stormy period of the war, and those on whom is de-
volved the yet more difficult and even more important duty of cre-
ating a system of government for the republic they have conducted
to independence, we cannot refrain from a conviction that they
were specially called to their high mission by an all wise and all
beneficent Providence. The extraordinary intelligence and virtue
displayed in the Continental Congress, were recognized by saga-
cious and dispassionate observers throughout the world ; Mirabeau
spoke of it as a company of demigods ; and William Pitt, the great
Earl of Chatham, exclaimed, " I must declare that in all my read-
ing and observation and it has been my favorite study : I have
read Thucydides, and meditated the rise of the master states of the
world for solidity of reasoning, force of sagacity, and wisdom of
conclusion, under such a complication of difficult circumstances, no
body of men can stand before the national Congress of Philadel-

76 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

phia." Those who were greatest in the revolutionary congresses,
with many others, worthy to be associated with them, are in this
ever to be remembered convention, assembled to define for centu-
ries, perhaps for ever, the just limits of individual liberty and pub-
lic sovereignty. They will not fail to erect a monument which
shall separate distinctly all the Future from all the Past in human
historv.

THE TEAR OF SUSPENSE,
i.

THAT august assemblage in Philadelphia to which was confided,
in a larger degree than ever to any other body of men, the desti-
nies of nations, had closed its sittings and adjourned; the great
thinkers and the great actors of our recent history were at their
several homes waiting the decisions of the states, or busy with pa-
triotic passion and all the resources of reason, in advocating the
approval and adoption of the constitution. " A nation without a
national government is an awful spectacle," wrote Alexander Ham-
ilton; "the establishment of a constitution in time of profound
peace, by the voluntary consent of a whole people, is a prodigy, to
the completion of which I look forward with trembling anxiety."

The constitution was not entirely approved by any, but nearly
all were willing to say with the venerable Franklin, " The opinions
I have had of its errors, I sacrifice to the public good." "With the
masses, its best recommendation was that it bore the signature of
WASHINGTON, of whose transcendent wisdom and justice there was
a subtle, indefinable and almost universal appreciation and recog-
nition. The noble Chief shared largely of the common anxiety re-
specting the fate of the system of government formed by himself
and his friends, and felt a truer joy, we may believe, when at length

78 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

its triumph was decided, than ever had warmed his heart at any

victory in war.

IN the winter of 1785, the Continental Congress had adjourned
to 'New York, where all its subsequent sessions were held, until
the organization of the constitutional government. Mr. Jefferson
had been sent to fill the place of Franklin, at Paris ; Mr. Adams
was in London ; and many of our leading characters, in affairs or
in society, were in various parts of Europe, in the public service,
or in pursuits of business or pleasure.

John Quincy Adams was now eighteen years of age. He had
already commenced his diplomatic career, as Secretary to Mr.
Dana, our Minister at St. Petersburg. He had lately returned,
to complete his academical education at Harvard College, and
before visiting his friends in Boston he sent back to his sister, in
London, an account of his first impressions of society and politics
in New York. He called on Mr. Jay, the Secretary of Foreign
Affairs, and next on Mr. Theodore Sedgwick, Mr. Rufus King, Mr.
Nathan Dane, and other delegates in Congress from Massachusetts.
Mr. Gerry, he says, was glad to see him, on account of friendship
for his father ; and Mr. King was very polite. They went with
him to call on the President, Mr. Lee, who inquired with the kindest
particularity concerning the ambassador. He also waited on Go-
vernor Clinton, and the Spanish minister, Don Diego Gardoqui.
The next day President Lee, who met him at a breakfast party at
Mr. Gerry's, invited him to take an apartment in his house ; he en-
deavored to excuse himself, as well as he could, but the invitation
being renewed at dinner, he consented, rather reluctantly, being
doubtful whether his course would be altogether pleasing to his
father, whom he regarded as the real object of the attentions

THE YEAR OF SUSPENSE. 7S

offered to him. The President entertained three times a week, but
never invited ladies, "because there were none in his own house.
His health was not very good. " I "believe the duties of his office
weary him much," Adams writes ; " he is obliged, in this weather,
to sit in Congress from eleven in the morning until four in the after-
noon, the warmest and most disagreeable part of the day. It was
expected that Congress would adjourn during the dog-days, at
least, but they have so much business that a recess, however short,
would leave them behindhand." A portion of the young states-
man's gossip about men and women then most conspicuous in the
metropolis, we transcribe from his letters, which are more parti-
cular and more entertaining than any other notices of life in New
York during that summer.

"At tea, this afternoon, at Mr. Ramsay's," he writes on the
twentieth of July, "I met Mr. Gardoqui, and his secretary, Mr.
Rawdon, who is soon, if common report says truly, to marry Miss
M. His complexion and his looks show sufficiently from what
country he is. How happens it that revenge stares through the
eyes of every Spaniard ? Mr. Gardoqui was very polite, and en
quired much after my father, as did also Mr. Van Berckel, the Dutch
minister." Mr. Ramsay was the amiable and accomplished histo-
rian, and a representative from South Carolina.

On the twenty-third he dined with General Knox, the secretary
of war, who lived about four miles out of the city. The Virginia
and Massachusetts delegations, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Lady Duer,
daughter of Lord Stirling, Miss Sears, Mr. Church, Colonel Wads-
worth, and Mr. Osgood, formed the company. " Lady Duer is not
young, or handsome," he says ; but she would not have been thought
old, by a man over eighteen, and she had been, if she was not then,
one of the sweetest looking women in the city. " Miss Sears," he
continues, " has been ill, and looks pale ; but she is very pretty,

80 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

and has the reputation of being witty and sharp : I am sure she
does not look mechcmte? After a passage of more than twelve
weeks, from Amsterdam, the daughter of Mr. Van Berckel arrived
in Philadelphia, and the minister set out to meet her. Young
Adams had seen her in Holland, and does not appear to have
formed a very high estimate of her beauty. " The young ladies
here," he remarks, " are very impatient to see her, and I dare say
that when she comes reflections will not be spared on either side
The beauties of New York will triumph, but, I hope, with mode
ration."

Colonel William S. Smith, a native of New York, who had
served with considerable credit during the war, and was afterward
appointed Secretary of Legation at the Court of London, was at
this time engaged to Miss Adams. On the last day of July her
brother went with a Mr. Jarvis to visit the family, at Jamaica, Long
Island.

" The colonel's mother," he writes, " appeared to miss him very
much. All the family are in mourning for the old gentleman, who
died about nine months ago. There is one son here now ? and, if I
mistake not, six daughters. Sally strikes most at first sight : she
is tall, has a very fine shape, and a vast deal of vivacity in her
eyes, which are a light blue. She has the ease and elegance of the
French ladies, without their loquacity. Her conversation, I am told,
is as pleasing as her figure." This young lady was married in a few
years to Charles Adams, the writer's brother. He also mentions a
" celebrated beauty by the name of Miss Ogden," who then lived
on the Island. He thought she resembled the handsome Mrs.
Bingham, of Philadelphia, whom he had encountered abroad.

On Sunday, the seventh of August, he writes, "I attended
church this morning at St. Paul's : for we have a St. Paul's here as
well as you in London, though it is something like Alexander the

THE YEAR OF SUSPENSE. 81

Great and Alexander the coppersmith. It is, however, the largest
and most frequented church in New York. After church I left a
card with Miss Van Berckel ; she arrived here from Philadelphia
two days ago ; she complains of not understanding the language, as
bitterly as you did when you first arrived in France."

The next morning he went out with some company to a seat
called Content, two or three miles from town, to call on Lady
Wheate. " She is one of the most celebrated belles of the city.
About two years ago she married Sir Jacob Wheate, a British officer,
between sixty and seventy years old ; she was not sixteen ; Sir
Jacob, before he had been married a week, went to the West Indies,
and there died. He left her a handsome fortune, and it is said she
is soon to wed Sir Francis Cochrane, son of Lord Dundonald, a
Scotch nobleman. Miss Sally Smith was with Lady Wheate, and
has spent nearly a week with her. I am vastly pleased with this
lady; the contrast between her manners and those of Lady Wheate
is greatly in her favor, and very striking."

He made several excursions to places in the vicinity. One was
with Mr. Soderstrom, the Swedish consul, to Mr. Bayard, whose
seat was nearly a mile from the city. He had two daughters, who
ranked among the toasts, and one of them he thought very pretty.
Mr. Bayard had been a Tory, but the fact was now forgotten, or at
least not remembered against his charming family. On another
occasion he visited Monsieur de Marbois,* the French charg'e $af-

* Barbe Marbois, afterward the Marquis de Marbois, was born at Metz, in 1745. He came
to America in 1779, as secretary of legation under the Chevalier de la Luzerne, and when that
minister returned to France, in the spring of 1784, he became charge d'affaires, in which ca-
pacity he continued in this country until promoted to the place of Intendent of Hispaniola, in
1785 a period of six years. He was a great favorite in society while he resided in Philadel-
phia, and among the papers of Mr. Theodore Sedgwick's family I find some gossip respecting
his marriage with Miss Moore, of that city, in June, 1784. "The nuptials of M. de Marbois and
Miss Moore," says the writer, " were celebrated not long since ; the ceremony was performed in
the morning in the minister's chapel, by his abbe", and in the evening at Mr. Moore's, by Parson
White. It gave occasion for the circulation of a variety of reports, such as, that the lady had
11

82 THE REPUBLICAN COUKT.

^
faires, who had a summer house on Long Island. He describes

Madame de Marbois as a " spruce, pretty little woman," who spoke
French very well, and had none of the rigid principles of the Qua-
kers, among whom she was born. Among the eminent persons with
whom he dined, at one place or another, were Dr. Witherspoon,
Dr. Johnson, Baron Steuben, and Thomas Paine, who at this period
was sometimes admitted to the tables of respectable men.

III.

THE winter of 1787-88 is represented as having been more gay
than any since New York was first agitated with the discontents
leading to the revolution. The last session of the Continental Con-
gress was organized, on the second day of January, by the election of
Cyrus Griffin, of Virginia, as President ; and as the Constitutional
Convention, in Philadelphia, had adjourned in the previous Septem-
ber, the wisdom of the nation was largely assembled here, either in
official capacities, or to operate more effectively on public opinion
while the fate of the Constitution was still doubtful, or on account
of those social attractions which every country finds in its capital.

M. de Marbois had been superseded as charge d'affaires by M.

renounced her religion and embraced the Catholic being baptized, and receiving the sacra-
ment ; though, in fact, I believe nothing -was required of either party but toleration of each other"
Washington w;;ote to him on this occasion : " It was with very great pleasure I received from
your own pen an account of the agreeable and happy connection you were about to form with
Miss Moore. Though you have given many proofs of your predilection and attachment to this
country, yet this last may be considered not only as a great and tender one, but as the most
pleasing and lasting one. The accomplishments of the lady, and her connections, cannot fail to
make it so. On this joyous event, accept, I pray you, the congratulations of Mrs. Washington
and myself, who cannot fail to participate in whatever contributes to the felicity of yourself or
your amiable consort, with whom we both have the happiness of an acquaintance, and to whom
and the family we beg leave to present our compliments. With -very great esteem and regard,
and an earnest desire to approve myself worthy of your friendship, I have the honor to be," &c.,
Ac. M. de Marbois held many important offices under Napoleon, and he is known as an author,
in this country, by his History of Louisiana and a work on the Treason of Benedict Arnold. Hia
daughter, who was born in New York, was married to the Duke de Plaisance, son of Le Brun, one
of Napoleon's colleagues in the consulate.

THE YEAR OF SUSPENSE. 33

Louis "William Otto, who had resided here several years, and who
continued in his present office until the arrival of the Marquis de
Moustier,* at the end of the year 1*787, when he became secretary
of legation. For the previous ministers from France the American
people had justly entertained a most affectionate respect. When
Gerard was about to leave us Washington said to him, " You car-
ry with you the affections of a whole people, and leave behind you
a reputation which will have the peculiar fortune to be every where
admired by good men." When Luzerne retired, he wrote to him,
" When I say you have inspired me with sentiments of sincere re-
spect and attachment, I do not speak the language of my own heart
only : it is the universal voice." In the same manner he expressed
his regard for Marbois. And all these Frenchmen cherished for
Washington a profound admiration. The Count de Moustier was
less fortunate, in temper and abilities, and seemed more anxious
to win the admiration of the people than the confidence of the
government. One of his earliest communications to Washington,
was a complaint respecting some fancied neglect, in certain points
of etiquette. After making a tour through the country, however,
he seemed better pleased, and during his residence in New York
he contributed much to the gayety and happiness of its society.

Governor William Livingston, of New Jersey, in a letter of the
third of March, 1Y8Y, alludes to the fashionable life here, and in a
characteristic sentence reproves its extravagance and dissipation.
" My principal secretary of state, who is one of my daughters," he
says, " is gone to New York to shake her heels at the balls and

* Eleonor-Fran$ois Elie, Marquis de Moustier, Lieutenant General, <fcc., <fcc., was now thirty-
Beven years of age. He possessed a liberal fortune, and, though penurious, was fond of display :
none of the foreign ministers entertained more frequently or more ostentatiously. Brissot de
Warville says he heard him boast that he told Griffin, the President of Congress, in his own
house, that he was but a tavern-keeper ; " and the Americans had the complaisance not to demand
his recalll" M. de Moustier remained faithful to the Bourbons, and, during the ascendency of
Kapoleon, found refuge in England. He died in the beginning of 1817.

84 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

assemblies of a metropolis which might as well be more studious
of paying its taxes than of instituting expensive diversions."

IV.

THE country which watched our experience with the profoundest
interest was France. She was already heaving with passions which
derived their energy from our example ; and for many years the
most inquisitive and intelligent speculators on our resources, gov-
ernment, society and manners, were Frenchmen, in compulsory or
voluntary exile, or, commissioned for observation, applying their
best faculties to the solution of the new enigma in history. Among
the rest came Brissot de Warville, young, handsome, full of enthu-
siasm, but, said Washington, " intelligent, discreet, and disposed to
receive favorable impressions of America." Sullivan describes him
as a " brisk little Frenchman," and says he was well received here.
The fate of poor Brissot is well known: he reappeared in Paris
with the simple costume of a Quaker, and was the first to introduce
in his own country the fashion of wearing the hair without powder.
These things should have been sufficient to secure for him applause
as a " citizen," but he went further, and published his Nowveau
Voyage dans les Etats-Unis de VAmerique Septentrionale* with a
motto from Tacitus, to the effect that " A people without morals
may acquire liberty, but without morals cannot preserve it;"
truths which were presently to meet with fearfully striking illustra-
tions on a scale so extraordinary, one might think, as to make the
lesson sufficiently impressive for all time. He became a chief of the
Girondins, a party which would have governed by intelligence and

* His other works on America are: Examen du Voyage du Marquis de Chastellux dans
FAmerigue Septentrionale ; Le Philadelphien a Geneve; Memoire sur les Noirs de VAmerique
Septentrionale, lu d I'Assemblee de la Societe des Amis des Noirs; and De la France et des
Etats-Unis, ou de V Importance de la Revolution de VAmerique pour le J3onheur de la France;
and he wrote largely on American affairs in his journal, Le Patriot Frangais.

THE YEAR OF SUSPENSE. 85

respectability, and on the thirty-first of October, 1798, was exe-
cuted by the guillotine.*

It is not to be denied that Brissot de Warville was a more
partial observer of American society than some of his countrymen
who had written on the same subject, and he was betrayed into
controversies with M. de Moustier, the Marquis de Chastellux, and
others, who objected to' his authority on the ground of the short-
ness of his residence among us ; but he held that " the telescope of
reason was better than the microscope of office ; " and appealed
with equal tact and sagacity to the new instincts of the Parisians
for a decision against his adversaries. " The greater part of French-
men who travel and migrate," he says, "have little information, and
are not prepared for the art of observation ; presumptuous to ex-
cess, and admirers of their own customs and manners, they ridi-
cule those of other nations ; and ridicule gives them a double
pleasure : it feeds their own pride and humbles that of others. At
Philadelphia, for instance, the men are grave, the women serious :
no finical airs, no libertine wives, no coffee-houses, no agreeable
walks. My Frenchman finds every thing detestable at Philadel-
phia, because he could not strut upon a Boulevard, babble in a
coffee-house, or seduce a pretty woman by his important airs and
fine curls. He was almost offended that the women did not ad-
mire them, and that they did not speak French he lost so much
in not being able to show his wit ! If, then, a person of this caste
attempts to describe the Americans, he shows his own character,

* Lamartine, by whom Brissot de Warville has been treated with a severity wnich has
been denounced as entirely unjust, admits that he "nurtured in the depths of his soul these
virtues : an unshaken love for a young girl, whom he married in spite of his family; a love for
occupation ; and a courage against the difficulties of life, which he had afterward to display in
the face of death." Lafayette introduced him to Washington, saying in his letter: "He is very
clever, and wishes much to be presented to you; he intends to write the history of America,
and is, of course, desirous to have a peep into your papers, which appears to me a deserved con-
descension, as he is fond of America, writes pretty well, and will set matters in a proper light."

86 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

but not theirs. A people grave, serious, and reflecting, cannot
be judged of and appreciated but by a person of like qualities. "

With his friend, Claviere, M. Brissot landed at Boston, near the
close of July, 1788, and a few days afterward they set out for the
South, passed leisurely through Massachusetts and Connecticut, and
were delighted with every thing they saw, until their arrival in
JSTew York. The city was still confined to narrow limits ; Broad-
way extended but to Anthony street, then called Catharine street,
beyond which were hills, sloping on the east side to the Kolch,
and on the west to the lowlands of Lispenard's meadows. Beyond
Rutgers street, the bridge, at Canal street, and Harrison street,
along the several chief avenues from the Bowling Green were a few
country houses ; but the town, properly speaking, covered only
the districts since devoted exclusively to trade. One of the Lu-
theran churches was offered a plot of ground, containing six acres,
where Canal street now meets Broadway ; but the trustees of the
society decided that it was ^inexpedient to accept the gift as the
land was not worth fencing in." That the city must soon surpass
all others on the continent, however, was even then foreseen and
acknowledged, as a necessary consequence of her magnificent situ-
ation upon the whole, incomparably the finest occupied by any
great town in ancient or modern times.

In the course of the summer and autumn, M. Brissot had ample
opportunities for observation of the social characteristics of the
people, and he describes whatever arrested his attention in a very
graphic and spirited manner. "The presence of Congress, with the
diplomatic body, and the concourse of strangers," he says, " con-
tributes much to extend here the ravages of luxury. The inhabi-
tants "are far from complaining at it ; they prefer the splendor of
wealth, and the show of enjoyment, to a simplicity of manners,
and the pure pleasures resulting from it. The habit of smoking

THE YEAR OF SUSPENSE. 87

has not disappeared in this town, with the other customs of their
fathers, the Dutch. They use cigars, which come from the Span-
ish islands. These are leaves of tobacco, rolled in the form of a
tube, six inches long, and are smoked without the aid of any
instrument. This usage is revolting to the French. It must be
disagreeable to the women, by destroying the purity of the breath.
The philosopher condemns it, as it is a superfluous want. It has,
however, one advantage : it accustoms to meditation, and prevents
loquacity. The smoker is asked a question : the answer comes two
minutes after, and is well founded. The cigar renders to a man
the service that the philosopher drew from a glass of water, which
he drank when he was in anger.

" If there is a town on the American continent where English
luxury displays its follies, it is New York. You will find here the
English fashions. In the dress of the women you will see the most
brilliant silks, gauzes, hats, and borrowed hair. Equipages are
rare ; but they are elegant. The men have more simplicity in
their dress ; they disdain gewgaws, but they take their revenge in
the delicacies of the table. Luxury forms already in this town a
class of men very dangerous in society I mean bachelors: thf>
expense of women causes matrimony to be dreaded by men. Tea
forms, as in England, the basis of the principal entertainments.
Fruits, though much attended to in this state, are far from possess-
ing the beauty and excellence of those of Europe. I have seen trees,
in September, loaded at once with apples and with flowers. M. de
Crevecceur* is right in his description of the abundance and good

* The Chevalier Saint John de Crevecceur was at this time Consul of France for Connecticut,
New Jersey and New York, residing in the city of New York. He was born of a noble family
in Normandie, in 1731, and passed the larger part of his life in America, where he was very
much respected. He returned to France in the early part of this century, and was elected a
.member of the Institute. His principal writings are "Lettres (Tun Cultivaleur Americain?
Paris, second edition, 1787, three volumes, octavo ; and " Voyage dans la Haute- Pennsylvania
et dans Fetat de New York" Paris, 1801, three volumes, octavo. He died at Sarcelles, in 1818.

88 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

quality of provisions at New York, in vegetables, flesh, and espe-
cially in fish. It is difficult to unite so many advantages in one
place. Provisions are dearer at New York than in any other of
the northern or middle states. Many things, especially super-
fluities, are dearer here than in France. A hair-dresser asks
twenty shillings per month, and washing costs four shillings for
a dozen pieces.

" Strangers, who, having lived a long time in America, tax the
Americans with cheating, have declared to me that this accusation
must be confined to the towns, and that in the country you will
find them honest. The French are the most forward in making
these complaints, and they believe that the Americans are more
trickish with them than with the English. If this were a fact, I
should not be astonished at it. The French whom I have seen
are eternally opposing the manners and customs of the Americans,
decrying their institutions, exalting the favors rendered by the
French government to the Americans, and diminishing those of
Congress to the French.

" One of the greatest errors of travellers is to calculate prices of
provisions in a country, by the prices in taverns and boarding-
houses. It is a false basis : we should take, for the town, the price
at the market, and this is about half that which one pays at the
tavern. And this would be still false, if it were applied to the
country. There are many articles which are abundant in the
country, and are scarcely worth the trouble of collecting and
bringing to market. These reflections appear to me necessary to
put one on his guard against believing too readily in the prices
reported by hasty travellers. Other circumstances likewise influ-
ence prices : such, for example, as war, which M. Chastellux takes
no notice of in his exaggerated account of this matter. The
rates were about twice as high in New York during the war, as

THE YEAR OF SUSPENSE. 89

they are now. Boarding and lodging, by the week, is from four
to six dollars. The ' fees of lawyers are out of all proportion .
they are, as in England, excessive. Physicians have not the same
advantage in this respect as lawyers, the good health generally
enjoyed here rendering them little necessary; yet they are suffi-
ciently numerous."

The Frenchman proceeds with descriptions of several public
institutions, and of some of the most distinguished persons with
whom he became acquainted here. He introduces Jay, Madison,
Hamilton, Mifflin, Duer, and Rufus King, with expressions of
admiration. John Jay, the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, was
forty-three years of age, and it would be difficult to find in history
a character altogether more respectable. Mr. Madison was about
thirty-seven, though Brissot thought him but thirty-three; "he
had an air of fatigue, perhaps the effect of his immense labors, and
his looks announced a censor ; his conversation discovered a man of
learning, and his reserve was that of a man conscious of his talents
and his duties." He was still a bachelor, but he invited the travel-
ler to dine with him at his hotel. Hamilton, who had the finest
genius and one of the bravest tempers ever displayed in politics, is
praised, but not with such earnestness as would have shown a just
estimate of his extraordinary merits ; he was six years younger
than Madison, but was judged to be five years older ; " his counte-
nance was decided, his air open and martial," and his whole appear-
ance that of " a determined republican." Brissot dined at Hamil-
ton's also, and describes Mrs. Hamilton as a " charming woman, who
joined to the graces all the candor and simplicity of the American
wife." Eufus King, whom he met at the table of his friend, was
nearly thirty-three years old ; he " passed for the most eloquent
man in the United States," and what most struck Brissot in him

was "his modesty he appeared ignorant of his own worth."
12

yO THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

General Milllin, \vh<> u r as tliere also, "added to the vivacity of a
lYenehman every obli^in^ eharaeteristie ;" and Colonel l>uer,
Sivretarv l-o the Treasury Board, united to great a bill (us much
^oodness of heart. Soon after, the vonn^ student of democracy
was invited to a dinner party at the house of Cyrus ({rillin, the
President of Congress, and he gives us a glimpse of the toilettes of
the ladies, whereof, for a Par I- -inn, he seems to have been some-
what fastidiously critical :

" Mr. Griffin is a Virginian,* of very good abilities, of an agree-
able figure, affable and polite. I saw at his house, at dinner, seven
or rij;-hl. women, all dressed in i;Teat hats, plumes, A.V. It was \\ith
pain that I remarked much of pretension in some of these women;

one neted the^iddy, \i\aeious; another, the \\oman of sentiment.
This l;i-,i had many pruderies and grimaces. Two among them
had their bosoms very naked. I was scandalized at this indecency
.among republicans. A President of Congress is fivr from being

Mii-rounded with the splendor of Kuropeun monarch* ; and so much
the better, lie is not durable in his station; and so nuu-li the
better. Ho does not gi\e pompons dinners; lie ne\er forgets that

he is a simple citizen, and will soon return to the station of one ;
and so much the better. He has fewer parasites, and less means
of corruption. I remarked, that his table was freed from many
usages observed elsewhere : no fatiguing presentations, no toasts,

:imu\inj* iu a numerous ^viety. little wine was drank % after
the women had retired. These traits will give \ on an idea of the
tomperniuv of this eountrv temperanee, the leading \irtne of
republu'ans."

Among the houses at \vhieh M. Urissot dined, \\ ;> Mr. J.i\'s.

* M. tU NY *vv W* \v * \i;hil v miM rtk. -cUu \vw * Att?% T England, and oonnwtea

by \*rrl^ with *u auoiont JMU! uoU fkwUy of SeoUad; but he hd U%a ^M^lwui for
!> dToUo
*ml oooftdwitt of

MIES

/&&%&&

// / A

THE YEAR OF SUSPENSE. 91

We have before us the " dinner and supper list " kept by Mrs.
Jay during the years 1787 and 1788, from which we learn that the
guests for the second day of September, in the latter year, were Mr
and Mrs. Pintard, Mr. and Mrs. Kufus King, Mr. and Mrs. Montgom-
ery, Mr. and Miss Van Berckel, Mr. Otis, Mr. Dane, Mr. Gerry, Mr.
Sedgwick, Mr. Gilman, Mr. Wingate, Mr. Wadsworth, Mr. Hunt-
ington, M. Brissot de Warville, M. de la Valle, M. de Saussure.

WE shall dismiss M. de Warville a while, for other contempo-
rary writers on society and manners in the metropolis. The only
daughter of John Adams had been married in London, on the
12th of June, 1786, to Colonel William S. Smith, at that time our
Secretary of Legation ; and they returned to the United States in
the summer of 1788, arriving in New York on the thirteenth of
May. Mrs. Smith's letters are very much like those of John
Quincy Adams, which we have already quoted. On the twentieth
of May she wrote to her mother :

" Colonel Smith's friend, Mr. McCormick, came on board and
conducted us to his house, where I have been treated with great
kindness and attention. My mamma and Miss M. Smith came to
town on Friday, and on Sunday I went over to Long Island, to
visit the other part of the family ; it is a family where affection
and harmony prevail ; you would be charmed to see us altogether ;
our meeting was joyful and happy.

" My time, since my arrival, has been wholly occupied in re-
ceiving visits and accepting invitations. I have dined at General
Knox's. Mrs. Knox has improved much in her appearance. The
General is not half so fat as he was. Yesterday we dined at Mr.
Jay's, in company with the whole corps diplomatique; Mr. Jay is
a most pleasing man, plain in his dress and manners, but kind, af-

92 THE REPUBLICAN COUKT.

fectionate, and attentive ; benevolence is portrayed in every fea
ture. Mrs. Jay dresses gaily and showily, but is very pleasing
upon a slight acquaintance. The dinner was a la mode Franqaise,
and exhibited more of European taste than I expected to find
Mr. Gardoqui was as chatty and sociable as his countryman Del
Campo, Lady Temple civil, and Sir John more of the gentleman
than I ever saw him. The French minister is a handsome and
apparently polite man ; the marchioness, his sister, the oddest figure
eyes ever beheld : in short, there is so much said of and about her,
and so little of truth can be known, that I cannot pretend to form
any kind of judgment in what manner or form my attention would
be properly directed to her ; she speaks English a little, is very
much out of health, and was taken ill at Mr. Jay's, before we went
to dinner, and obliged to go home.

r " Congress are sitting ; but one hears little more of them than
if they were inhabitants of the new-discovered planet. The Pre-
sident is said to be a worthy man ; his wife is a Scotch woman,
with the title of Lady Christiana Griffin ; she is out of health, but
appears to be a friendly-disposed woman ; we are engaged to dine
there next Tuesday. Every one is kind and civil in his inquiries
respecting my father. Some persons expected he would have
taken New York in his way home; others expect he will make
them a visit in the course of the summer ; every body inquires if
he is not coming ; and it seems to be a very general idea that he
will come. He will judge for himself of the propriety of a visit to
this place. I need not say, that to see both my parents here,
would contribute greatly to my happiness. . . .

" I thought I had no local attachments, but I find I have a
strong penchant towards your city ; yet I do not give a preference,
lest I might be disappointed were I to visit Boston at this time
Our minds are strangely but happily flexible, and very soon we are

THE YEAR OF SUSPENSE. 95

assimilated to the situation in which we are placed, either by de-
sign or accident."

The marchioness referred to by Mrs. Smith was Madame de
Brehan, sister of the Count de Moustier, who, with her son, accom-
panied him on his mission to this country. She was a very clever
woman, wrote with spirit, and had some skill as an artist. She
made several portraits of Washington, one of which was presented
by him to Mrs. Bingham, and of another, which was engraved in
Paris, many copies were sent to Washington, and to her friends
here, after her return to France. She appears to have made her-
self more agreeable to Mr. Jefferson than to Mrs. Smith. In a let-
ter to her on her quitting Paris for the United States, he says,
" The imitations of European manners, which you will find in our
towns, will, I fear, be little pleasing ; I beseech you to practise still
your own, which will furnish them a model of what is perfect.
Should you be singular, it will be by excellence, and after a while
you will see the effect of your example." Very few of his contem-
poraries could approach women with more happy compliments
than Mr. Jefferson ; but it is proper to state that the language of
Mrs. Smith in regard to Madame de Brehan is justified in the de-
scriptions of her which we have from other hands. Among the
young men then in New York was John Armstrong, who says in
a letter to his friend General Gates : " We have a French minister
now with us, and if France had wished to destroy the little remem-
brance that is left of her and her exertions in our behalf, she would
have sent just such a minister : distant, haughty, penurious, and
entirely governed by the caprices of a little singular, whimsical,
hysterical old woman, whose delight is in playing with a negro
child, and caressing a monkey."

The business of the French legation was probably transacted
for the most part by M. Otto, who possessed the most agreeable

94 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

social qualities, and was connected by marriage with the families of
Livingston and Crevecoeur.*

Sir John Temple was the British Consul General. " He was a
native of Boston, and had inherited his title from his great grand-
father, who lived and died in England. His character has Ibeen
much discussed ; the translator of the Travels of the Marquis de
Chastellux, in several notes, refers to him as a person utterly des-
titute of honor, and charges him with such political duplicity during
his residence in Boston, as should have prevented his ever revisit-
ing this country. Mr. Robert 0. Winthrop,f on the other hand,
gives a very favorable view of his conduct, which he declares
evinced a steady and consistent attachment to America. Lady
Temple was a daughter of Governor Bowdoin, of Massachusetts,
and had probably been previously acquainted with the Adams
family. The Marquis de Chastellux said of her in 1782, "If I do
not place Mrs. Temple in the list of handsome women it is not from
want of respect, but because her figure is so distinguished as to
make it unnecessary to pronounce her truly beautiful."

On the fifteenth of June Mrs. Smith wrote again to her mother,
giving some further notices of the people she had met : " We are
treated here," she says, " with great civility and friendship. "We
were invited to dine with the Governor, which was a very particu-
lar favor. He and his family neither visit nor are visited by any
families, either in public or private life. He sees no company, and
is not much beloved or respected. His conduct in many points

* Louis Guillaume Otto, afterward Comte de Mosloy, was born in the Grand Duchy of Baden,
in 1754. He accompanied M. de la Luzerne to this country in 1779, and remained here till 1792.
In 1805 he was offered the post of Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States, but declined
it. His first wife, to whom he was married in 1782, was a Miss Livingston, " of one of the most
considerable families of the United States;" and in April, 1790, he was married again, in New
York, to Mile. Fanny de Crevecoaur, daughter of the French Consul. He died in Paris on the
ninth of November, 1817.

f In his Address before the Maine Historical Society, in 1849.

THE YEAR OF SUSPENSE. 95

is censured, perhaps unjustly ; he is particular, perhaps, with
others. That he is a man of undecided character, no one who
sees him will say. To me he appears one whose conduct and mo-
tives of action are not to Ibe seen through upon a slight examina-
tion. The part he has taken on the subject of the new Constitu-
tion is much condemned. What are his motives I do not pretend
to judge ; "but I do not believe that he acts or thinks without some
important reasons. Mrs. Clinton is not a showy but is a kind,
friendly woman. She has five daughters, and one son ; the second
daughter is about fourteen years old, and as smart and sensible a
girl as I ever knew : a zealous politician, and a high anti-Federalist.
The Governor does not conceal his sentiments, but I have not heard
that he has given any reasons for them. His family are all poli-
ticians. He set off, yesterday, for the Convention.

" General and Mrs. Knox have been very polite and attentive
to us. Mrs. Knox is much altered from the character she used to
have. She is neat in her dress, attentive to her family, and very
fond of her children. But her size is enormous ; I am frightened
when I look at her ; I verily believe that her waist is as large as
three of yours, at least.

" Sir John Temple has taken upon himself very singular airs re-
specting us. It has been his constant custom to visit every stran-
ger who came to town, upon his arrival. Lady Temple called
upon me, at a very late day after we arrived, but Sir John has
not visited Colonel Smith, and says to others that he does not
know in what manner to behave to him, because he does not
know how he took leave : whether it was a gracious audience that
he met with. I returned Lady Temple's visit by a card, without
asking for her, which she complains of. I respect Lady Temple,
and as it is probable we shall sometimes meet at a third place, I
wished to be upon civil terms with her, particularly as she has

96 THE REPUBLICAN COUKT.

often expressed a regard for me since she has been here Nor

will I exchange visits with any lady, where my husband is not re-
ceived with equal attention.

" I hear that my father is chosen a delegate to Congress for
next year. I hope he will accept, for, independent of my wish that
he should not retire from public business, I think his presence in
Congress would do a great deal towards reforming the wrong sen-
timents and opinions that many are biased by. Both precept and.
example are wanting here ; and his sentiments in politics are more
respected than those of many other persons. It is said he must come

and be President next year Every body is looking forward

to the establishment of the new Constitution, with great expecta-
tions of receiving advantage from it. To me, I confess, the conse-
quences are problematical; and should any one or more states
continue to oppose it, and refuse to adopt it, melancholy will be
the scenes which ensue, I fear."

On another occasion, she writes to Mrs. Adams : " We have
dined to-day at President Griffin's, with a company of twenty-two
perso&s, including many members of Congress, &c. Had you been
present you would have trembled for your country, to have seen,
heard and observed the men who are its rulers. Very different
they were, I believe, in times past. All now were high upon the
question before them ; some were for it, some against it ; and there
were very few whose behavior bore many marks of wisdom."

"You would not be much pleased with society here. It is
quite enough dissipated. Public dinners, public days, and private
parties, may take up a person's whole attention, if they attend to
them all. The President of Congress gives a dinner one or two or
more days every week, to twenty persons gentlemen and ladies.
Mr. Jay, I believe, gives a dinner almost every week, besides, one
to the corps diplomatique; on Tuesday evenings Miss Van Berckel

1.,2'vxxr GST oxr. J

THE YEAR OF SUSPENSE. 97

and Lady Temple see company ; on Thursdays, Mrs. Jay, and Mrs.
La Forest, the wife of the French Consul ; on Fridays, Lady Chris-
tiana, the Presidentess ; and on Saturdays, Mrs. Secretary .

Papa knows her, and, to be sure, she is a curiosity ! "

Mrs. Smith was decidedly ill-pleased with life in New York,
and was gratified, therefore, when Colonel Smith hired a small farm
on Long Island, where she could live quietly, without ever think-
ing of slights by Sir John and Lady Temple, the odd figure of
Madame de Brehan, the circumference of Mrs. Knox's waist, or any
of the thousand grievances which claimed her unwilling attention
in the city.

VI.

DURING the last sessions of the Continental Congress, and all
the period indeed in which Mr. Jay was Secretary for Foreign
Affairs, the first place in New York society was occupied by the
family of that pure-minded and most accomplished statesman. His
wife was admirably fitted by natural graces and knowledge of the
world for her distinguished position. She was a daughter of Gov-
ernor Livingston, and was named Sarah Van Brugh, after her
father's grandmother, who had been the guide and protectress of
his boyhood. Among her sisters were Susan, who married John
Cleve Symmes, Kitty, who married Matthew Ridley, and Judith,
who married John W. Watkins. She was very carefully educated,
and in April, 1774, being then in her eighteenth year, was mar-
ried at Elizabethtown to Mr. Jay, then about twenty-nine. Until
1779 she passed most of her time at the pleasant house of her
father, where she was visited by her husband as often as his vari-
ous important public duties would permit, and in that year she ac-
companied him to Spain, where he was the first American minister.

In 1782 they proceeded to Paris, where Mr. Jay was ordered to
13

98 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

arrange with the other commissioners the definitive treaty of peace
with England. During her residence in Paris she was a great fa-
vorite in society. Spain had been less agreeable to her ; but when
she passed the frontier into France, she wrote to her mother that
" the enchanting prospects and fertile fields which every where ar-
rested and engaged attention, the gayety and industry of the in-
habitants," and every thing indeed she saw or heard, reconciled
her to the lot of humanity, with which some scenes in the pre-
ceding part of the journey had almost disgusted her. In 1785,
writing from Paris, Miss Adams remarks, "Every person who
knew her when here bestows many encomiums on Mrs. Jay : Mad-
ame de Lafayette said she was well acquainted with her, and very
fond of her, adding, that Mrs. Jay and she thought alike, that
pleasure might be found abroad, but happiness only at home, in
the society of one's family and friends." "We have before us let-
ters from Madame de Lafayette to Mrs. Jay, which disclose the
very warm friendship she conceived for her. Declining the ap-
pointment of commissioner to England, Mr. Jay returned with his
family to New York, where he was welcomed with an enthusiastic
public reception, and he presently accepted the office of Secretary
for Foreign Affairs. This prominent position of her husband com-
pelled Mrs. Jay to intermit her domestic duties, and her " invitation
list" during the years 1787 and 1788, seems to indicate the circle of
New York society in that period, as well as the American states-
men and distinguished foreigners who met at her table.*

* As far as we can decipher the names, this list embraced Mr. Alsop, Mr. and Mrs. Allen,
General Armstrong, Mr. and Miss Van Berckel, Mrs. Bruce, Mr. Barclay, Miss Browne, Mr. Ben-
son, Mr. Bingham, Major Beckwith, Mr. Pierce Butler, Mrs. and the Misses Butler, Major Butler,
Colonel Burr, Mr. Bronson, Miss Bayard, Mr. Blount, Mr. Constable, Dr. and Mrs. Charlton,
Mr. and Mrs. A. Van Cortlandt, Miss Van Cortlandt, Mr. P. Van Cortlandt, Mr. and Mrs. Colden,
Miss Cuyler, Governor Clinton, General Clinton, Mr. Freeman Clarkson, Mr. Stratfield Clarkson,
Mr. Levinus Clarkson, Mr. Henry Cruger, Mr. Cadwallader, General Clarkson, Mr. Corbit, Colonel

THE YEAR OF SUSPENSE. 99

Few women in the city were more admired than Mrs. Rufus
King, though she possessed little of that fondness for display which
made others far more conspicuous. She was a daughter of John
Alsop, an opulent merchant, whose large abilities, patriotism, and
well-known integrity had secured his election to the Continental
Congress which declared the colonies independent. He had been
so conspicuous in his opposition to the British Government, that
when its troops took possession of New York in 1778, it was neces-
sary for him to seek another home, and he withdrew to Middle-
town, in Connecticut, where the girlhood of Mary Alsop was passed.
After the peace Mr. Alsop returned to New York, and there re-
mained until his death, in 1795. Mr. King was elected to the Con-
gress in 1784, and was annually reflected until 1789 ; he became
acquainted with Miss Alsop soon after his first arrival in the city,

Carrington, M. Chaumont, Mr. Duer, Lady Kitty Duer, Mr. Mrs. and Miss Duane, Mr. Dowse,
Mr. Dane, Mr. F. De Peyster, Miss De Peyster, Mr. Duane, Monsieur de la Forest, Colonel Few,
Mr. Franklin, Mr. Gardoqui, Mr. and Mrs. Grayson, Mr. Gouverneur, Mr. and Miss Gorham, Mr.
Gerry, Mr. Gansevoort, Mr. Gilman, Mr. Richard Harrison, Mr. Hindman, Colonel and Mrs.
Hamilton, Mr. Haring, Mr. Huger, Mr. Hawkins, Mr. and Mrs. Houston, Mr. Hobart, Mr. Izard,
General Irwin, Dr. William Samuel Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Jay, Mrs. James, Mr. S.
Jones, Chevalier Paul Jones, Mr. Kemble, General and Mrs. Knox, Mr. and Mrs. Kufus King, Mr.
Kean, Dr. and Mrs. Kissam, Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Ludlow, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis, Mrs. Judge Living-
ston, Mr. and Mrs. W. Livingston, Miss S. Livingston, Miss Maria Livingston, Miss Eliza Living-
ston, Mr. Philo Livingston, Chancellor Livingston, Mr. John Lawrence, ^r. Lee, Mr. and Mrs.
Ladron, Mr. C. Laidlaw, Mrs. Laidlaw, Major John Rowland Livingston, M. Lattiniere, Mr. and
Mrs. R. H. Lee, Mr. and Mrs. A. Lee, Miss Marshall, Mr. Meredith, Count de Moustier and Mad-
ame de Brehan, Mrs. Montgomery, Mr. Mitchell, Mr. and Mrs. Mason, Mr. Mason, Jr., Mr. and
Mrs. Moore, Mr. J. Marston, Mr. Matthews, General Morris, Mr. Gouverneur Morris, Mr. Madison,
Major North, Mr. Osgood, Monsieur and Madame Otto, Mr. and Mrs. Pintard, Miss Pintard, Mr.
and Mrs. Pierce, the President of Congress, Colonel Parker, Mr. Parker, Mr. Pinckney, Bishop
and Mrs. Provost, Mr. and Miss Pratt, Mr. John Rutherford, Mrs. Rutherford, Mr. Rondon, Mr.
Read, Miss Van Rensselaer, Mr. Rickets, Colonel Ross, Governor Rutledge, Mr. Remsen, Mr. Sears
and family, Mr. and Mrs. Melancthon Smith, M. de Saint Glain, Mr. Philip Schuyler, Baron Steu-
ben, Mrs. Swan, General Schuyler, Mrs. Symmes, Sir John and Lady Temple, Mr. Charles Thomp-
son, Mr. and Mrs. Turnbull, Mr. and Mrs. Van Home, Mr. C. Van Home, Miss Betsey A. Van
Home, Miss Cornelia Van Home, Colonel Varick and Mrs. Varick, Cornelius Verplanck, Mr. and
Mrs. Robert Watts, Mr. John Watts, Mr. and Lady Mary Watts, Mr. and Misses White, Dr. Wil-
liamson, Dr. Witherspoon, Colonel Wadsworth, Mr. Wingate, Judge Yates.

100 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

and was married to her on the thirteenth of March, 1786, when
she wan in her sixteenth year.

John Adams soon after wrote to him a letter of congratula-
tion. "I heard some time ago," he says, "of yonr marriage with
the daughter of my old friend Mr. Alsop, as well as of the mar-
riage of Mr. Gerry,* and of Loth with the more pleasure, probably,
as a good work of the same kind, for connecting Massachusetts and
New York in the bonds of love, was going on here. Last Sunday,
under the right reverend sanction of the Archbishop of Canter-
bury and the Bishop of St. Asaph, were married Mr. Smith and
Miss Adams. It will be unnatural if federal purposes are not an-
swered by these intermarriages.*

As all executive and legislative functions were at this time dis-
charged by Congress, its sessions were in some sense permanent,
for as the term of one Congress expired that of the next would
begin. Mr. King therefore rarely found time to visit his constitu-
ents, but resided habitually in the metropolis, with Mr. Alsop, who
had long been a widower, with no other child than his daughter
Mary. His house was number thirty-eight South street, as that part
of William street was then called which extended from Maiden Lane
to Old Slip. It was near the corner of Maiden Lane, to which there
was an opening through the yard, and when the name of William
was given to the whole street the number was changed to sixty-two.

Mrs. King was remarkable for personal beauty ; her face was
oval, with finely formed nose, mouth, and chin, blue eyes, a clear
brunette complexion, black hair, and fine teeth. Her movements
were at once graceful and gracious, and her voice musical. She

* Mr. Klbridge Gerry was elected to the Congress in 1784, and though then but forty year*
of age, was the oldest member of that body. He and Mr. King were married about the MOM
time. Mr. Gerry's wife was the daughter of Mr. James Thompson, and was a woman as distin-
guished by her beauty and personal worth as by her family and social connections. She sur
vived her husband many years, and died at a very advanced age, in Connecticut, in 1849.

THE YEAR OF SUSPENSE. 101

had been carefully educated, and her quick faculties seized advan-
tage from every opportunity of cultivation. All the indulgence of
a parent wholly devoted to her as an only child was lavished upon
her without spoiling her character.

General Armstrong in one of his letters refers to his own cir-
cumstances at this time, and to some of the leading characters in
society. u I am not yet married, nor likely to be so," he says, allu-
ding to a report on this subject which had reached General Gates ;
"the truth is, that I am too poor to marry a woman without some
fortune, and too proud to marry any woman I know who possesses
one. In this dilemma, till my circumstances change, or other ob-
jects present themselves, I must even keep along in the cheerless
solitary road I am in.

tt Colonel Smith has returned from St. James's. He brings with
him a wife and child the whole profit of his legation. He has
parted with some of his characteristical buckram, that is, Ms exter-
nal manner is more easy than it was, but I fear he has exchanged
it for a coxcombry of a worse sort that of the mind. He is now
a very profound politician, and indeed so much so that he is often
quite unintelligible. This I regret, for I think well of his honor
and principles. His wife, who is a daughter of Mr. Adams, is the
negative being described in Mrs. Shandy.

" The baron passed the winter at the same lodging-house with
me. To this he lias come at last. The ' Louvre ' is dismantled and
deserted, and lie is once more upon the justice and generosity
of the public. But the public has neither, and he has only to
choose between starving here and begging in Europe. This is
calamitous to him and disgraceful to us. He is now with North,
who, by the way, is married to Duane's daughter, and exiled to the
Mohawk."

The baron referred to by Armstrong was Steuben, who had

102 THE KEPUBLICAN COURT.

tired a house in the neighborhood of the city, named it " The
Louvre," and filled it with " books and charts, wines, brandies, and
cigars," for his own enjoyment and that of his old companions in
arms. Poverty had compelled the veteran to surrender it, and he
would not have felt a deeper mortification in yielding to an enemy
in the field *

The gayeties of New York society in 1Y87 and 1Y88 were
enhanced by a large number of weddings in the more fashionable
circles.f It was said that not less than a dozen of members of
Congress were united in these years to as many of the fascinating
young women of the city. Among them were Mr. John Vining,
of Delaware, who married Miss Seton ; Mr. John Page, of Virginia,
who married Miss Lowther ; Dr. Hugh Williamson, of North Caro-

* President Duer relates an amusing anecdote of the baron, connected with the famous
" Doctors' Mob," produced, a year or two before this tune, by the careless exposure of a " subject,"
from the dissecting-room of the hospital. It became necessary to call out the militia to put down
the rioters, and many of the principal citizens repaired to the assistance of the civil authority.
Some of them -were severely wounded ; Mr. Jay received a serious wound in the head, and the
Baron de Steuben was struck by a stone, which knocked him down, inflicted a flesh wound upon
his forehead, and wrought a sudden change in the compassionate feelings he had previously en-
tertained towards the rabble. At the moment of receiving it he was earnestly remonstrating
with Governor Clinton against ordering the militia to fire on "the people," but as soon as he was
hit his benevolence deserted him, and as he fell he lustily cried out, "Fire, Governor ! fire /" He
was carried into Mr. Duer's house, and there being no surgeon at hand, Lady Kitty stanched
his wound and bound up his head. After his departure Governor Clinton provoked the laughter
of the company by recalling these circumstances.

f Miss Montgomery, in her " Eeminiscences of Wilmington," recites an anecdote connected
with a wedding at the Rutgers mansion, which illustrates the topographical condition of the city
at this time. " On one of my grandfather's visits to Colonel Rutgers, a wealthy trader, whose
descendants now have large possessions there, he was, after the settlement of their accounts, in-
vited to dine, and, at the dinner, requested to be one of the guests at a bridal supper to be given
to Colonel Rutgers' daughter, on her return from a journey, that evening. As the vessel was to
sail at daylight the next morning, he wished to be excused. However, the invitation was so press-
ing that it was accepted, and he did not leave until after eleven o'clock, when a servant was of-
fered to conduct him through a huckleberry swamp on the way to his lodgings. As it was bright
moonlight, and he was familiar with the path, this civility was declined ; but when about half
the way was accomplished, the moon disappeared, and, losing his path, my grandfather wandered
amidst thorns and briers till day dawned, his clothes almost torn off. This swamp was long age
the centre of New York."

THE YEAR OF SUSPENSE. 103

lina, who married Miss Apthorp, and Mr. Joshua Leney, of Maryland,
who married Miss Nicholson. Another of these gentlemen, so un
faithful to their pledges, or to expectations which were cherished
among their fair constituents, was Colonel William Few, of Georgia,
who in the answer which he made to a letter on the subject, de-
clared that if the Georgians, when they saw how very fortunate he
had been, did not willingly excuse him, and admit that the best of
them would have yielded to the same temptation, he would resign
his seat in the Congress and retire to private life. Discussions
meanwhile were going on as to what place should become the seat
of government, and some humorist availed himself of that consider-
ation in drawing up the following

44 irfita 0f f 8 SMtrus.

" To the honorable the Delegates of the United States, in Congress assem-
bled : The petition of the Young Ladies of Portsmouth, Boston,
Newport, New London, Amboy, Newcastle, Williamslurgh, Wilming-
ton, Charleston and Savannah, most ardently sheweth,

" That your petitioners possess the qualities of youth, health,
and beauty, in an eminent degree; that, notwithstanding these
advantages, they see, with great pain, but little prospect of getting
good husbands, owing to the passion the beaus have of going
abroad and marrying in other countries, thereby leaving a great
disproportion between the sexes at home.

"That population is the true source of national wealth and
power ; that in all countries population increases in proportion
as marriages are frequent; that without marriage even the object
of the Almighty in creating man must be defeated, and his first
and great command disobeyed.

" That your petitioners have been informed of the many mar-
riages that have taken place in New York since your residence in

104 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

that city, and that even some of your own members have, to their
great honor, become husbands ; that delegates in Congress ought
to be all bachelors, and a new election ordered in consequence of
marriage domestic duty being a good excuse from public service ;
that, with due deference to their New York sisters, they cannot
allow them any just preference in the requisite qualities to make
the married state happy ; that, as the first motive for appointing a
Congress was to promote the welfare of humanity, they presume
the daughters as well as the sons of America have an equal right
to a participation of the blessings arising therefrom.

"That for these reasons your petitioners earnestly request you
annually to remove the seat of federal government into another
state, until, in due rotation, it shall have been in all the states,
leaving Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New York the three last upon
the list, you having already resided in each of their capitals.

" That if your petitioners' request be granted, they hope, from
the number of foreigners and other fine fellows who keep them-
selves in the sunshine of .preferment, as well as from your own
body, to have at least a chance of bringing their accomplishments
and good qualities into their destined use, and of thereby improv-
ing as well as augmenting society.

" And your petitioners, as by inclination prompted, will ever
wish," &c., &c., &c.

In this period Edward Livingston was married to Miss Mary
Mclvers, Nicholas Brevoort to Miss Blair, and Mr. Turnbull to Miss
Susan Van Home (described in preceding pages by Miss Rebecca
Franks) ; and in other parts of the country, Thomas H. Perkins
to Miss Sally Elliot, Charles Pinckney to Miss Mary Laurens, Rich-
ard Caton to Miss Polly Carroll, Dr. Casper Wistar to Miss Mar-
shall, Noah Webster to Miss Greenleaf, Sir Peyton Skipwith to

THE YEAR OF SUSPENSE. 105

Miss Millar, Peter S. Du Ponceau to Miss Anne Perry, Thomas
Lee, son of Richard Henry Lee, to Mildred, daughter of Augustine
Washington, and niece of George Washington, and Richard D.
Spaight, late member of the Federal Convention, from North Caro-
lina, to Miss Mary Leech, "a young lady," says the Columbian
Magazine for that year, "whose amiable character and beautiful
person, added to her extensive fortune, promise much felicity to
this truly worthy pair."

VIL

THE Year of Suspense drew near its close. Before the first of
July, 1788, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Con-
necticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hamp-
shire, and Virginia, in the order in which they are here named,
had ratified the Constitution, and the truly respectable portion of
the people, with almost entire unanimity, hailed the result with the
sincerest joy and the most sanguine anticipations as to its ultimate
influence. All the larger maritime towns saw in the organization
of a vigorous national government, with ample powers for the reg-
ulation of commerce, assurance of their prosperity, and they were
the first to celebrate the decision of the people, with every demon-
stration suitable to so grateful an occasion. Boston, Baltimore,*
and Charleston, led the way, and Philadelphia, New York, and
other cities, followed in quick succession.

* In the procession of the people of Baltimore was a ship called " The Federalist," which was,
after the celebration, presented to Washington, who, in a letter to the committee, dated at Mount
Vernon on the eighth of June, says : " Captain Barney has just arrived here in the miniature ship
called < The Federalist/ and has done me the honor to offer that beautiful work to me as a pres-
ent from you. I pray you, gentlemen, to accept the warmest expressions of my sensibility for
this specimen of American ingenuity, in which the exactitude of the proportions, the neatness of
the workmanship, and the elegance of the decorations (which make your present fit to be pre-
eerved in a cabinet of curiosities), while they exhibit the skill and taste of the artist, demonstrate
that the Americans are not inferior to any people whatever in the use of mechanical instruments
and the art of ship-building."

106 THE KEPUBLICAN COURT.

The celebration in Philadelphia was planned and directed in a
large degree by the celebrated wit, Francis Hopkinson, in whose
Works nearly a hundred pages are occupied with its description.
The day selected was the fourth of July. The rising sun was
saluted with the ringing of bells and the discharge of cannon.
Ten ships along the river in front of the city represented the ten
ratifying states, each gayly dressed in flags and streamers, with ap-
propriate inscriptions emblazoned in gold. At half after nine o'clock
the grand procession began to move. The Declaration of Indepen-
dence, the French Alliance, the Definitive Treaty of Peace, the Con-
vention of the States, the Constitution, the New Era, were repre
sented by some of the principal citizens, in emblematical costumes.
The Constitution was personified by a lofty monumental car, in the
form of an eagle, drawn by six horses. Chief Justice McKean,
with Judges Atlee and Rush, in their official robes, were seated in
this car, bearing the Constitution, framed and fixed upon a staff,
which was crowned with the cap of liberty, and bore as a legend,
" The People," in golden letters. A carriage drawn by ten white
horses, supported the model of a Federal Edifice, the "New Roof "
of which was upheld by thirteen columns, three, inscribed with the
names of the states which had not yet ratified the Constitution,
being unfinished. The pilots, ship carpenters, boat builders, and
other trades connected with navigation, surrounded the federal ship
Union, mounting twenty guns, and with a crew of twenty-five men.
A sheet of canvas, tacked along the water line, extended over a
light frame, and was painted to represent the sea, concealing the
carriage on which the vessel was drawn. The procession, including
all the trades, many of which were occupied with their appropriate
duties, the military, and the public functionaries, embraced more
than five thousand persons, and having traversed the city, it pro-
ceeded to Union Green, Bush Hill, where a crowd of more than

THE YEAR OF SUSPENSE. 107

seventeen thousand was collected to observe the remaining pro-
ceedings. While the procession was moving, the printers struck
off and distributed from their car among the people the following
ode, which was written by HopMnson :

Oh, for a muse of fire ! to mount the skies,

And to a listening world proclaim,
Behold ! behold an empire rise !
An era new, Time, as he flies

Hath entered in the book of Fame."
On Alleghany's towering head
Echo shall stand, the tidings spread,

And o'er the lakes and misty floods around

"An Era New" resound.

See, where Columbia sits alone,
And from her star-bespangled throne
Beholds the gay procession pass along,
And hears tho trumpet and the choral song !

She hears her sons rejoice,
Looks into future time, and sees
The numerous blessings Heaven decrees,

And with her plaudit joins the general voice.

" 'T is done ! J t is done ! my sons," she cries,

" In war are valiant and in council wise ;

Wisdom and valor shall my rights defend,

And o'er my vast domain these rights extend ;

Science shall flourish, genius stretch her wing,

In native strains Columbia's muses sing,

Wealth crown the arts, and Justice cleanse her scales.

Commerce her ponderous anchor weigh
Wide spread her sails

And in far distant seas her flag display." . . .

Hail to this festival ! all hail the day !
Columbia's standard on her roof display
And let the people's motto ever be
" United thus, and thus united, free ! "

At Union Green an oration was delivered from the Federal
Edifice by James Wilson, who had distinguished himself in the

108 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

convention for -Forming the constitution and afterwards in defend-
ing it before the convention of Pennsylvania. The entire proceed
ings were marked by the utmost decorum. The streets and the
windows and roofs of houses were crowded with spectators, but
there was not an accident or the slightest disturbance of any kind
during the day. " It was remarkable," writes a spectator to a friend
at Elizabethtown, New Jersey, " that every countenance wore an
air of dignity as well as of pleasure. Every tradesman's boy in
the procession seemed to consider himself as a principal in the busi-
ness. Rank for a while forgot its claims, and agriculture, com-
merce and manufactures, with the learned and mechanical profes-
sions, seemed to acknowledge, by united harmony and respect, that
they were all necessary to each other, and all useful in a cultivated
society. These circumstances distinguished this procession from the
processions in Europe, which are commonly instituted in honor of
single persons. The military alone partake of the pleasure of those
exhibitions. Farmers and tradesmen are either deemed unworthy
of such connections, or are introduced like horses or buildings, only
to add to the strength or length of the procession. Such is the
difference between the effects of republican and monarchical govern-
ment upon the minds of men."

The same writer mentions particularly that the clergy formed
a conspicuous part of the procession, manifesting by their attend-
ance a sense of the connection between good government and reli-
gion. There were seventeen, and they marched arm-in-arm to illus-
trate the general union. Care was taken to associate ministers of
the most dissimilar opinions with each other, to display the promo-
tion of Christian charity by free institutions. " The rabbi of the
Jews, with a minister of the gospel on each side, was a most delight-
ful sight." It exhibited the political equality, not only of Christian
denominations, but of worthy men of every belief.

THE YEAR OF SUSPENSE. 109

In New York the celebration was on the twenty-third of the
same month three weeks after. The state had not yet accepted
the Constitution, and its friends probably expected that this impos-
ing demonstration would have some effect upon the convention
which was debating the subject at Poughkeepsie. The proceedings
were arranged by Major PEnfant.* The morning was ushered in by
a federal salute of thirteen guns, from a ship moored off the Bowl-
ing Green. The procession was formed soon after in " The Fields,"
where stands the present City Hall, and marched down Whitehall
street to Great Dock street, thence through Hanover square, Queen
and Chatham streets, to the Bowery, and finally to a meadow near
the country residence of Nicholas Bayard, where Broadway now
intersects Grand street. Here a splendid pavilion, eight hundred
feet long and six hundred feet wide, had been erected, with a vast
dome, on the top of which stood Fame, with her trumpet, announ-
cing a new era, and displaying the standard of the United States,
and a roll of parchment on which were inscriptions in large char-
acters referring to the Declaration of Independence, the Alliance with
France, and the Definitive Treaty of Peace. By the side of Fame
was the American Eagle, with extended wings, and over six of the
principal pillars of the colonnade in the centre of the pavilion were
the arms of the several nations which had recognized our independ-
ence France, Spain, Sweden, Prussia, Holland, and Mexico and
above these their respective flags. "Within, from an elevated semi-
circular table, at which were seated the President and members of
Congress, the heads of departments in the federal and state govern-

* Major 1'Enfant was a native of France, who arrived in this country about th6 year 1780.
His first public employment after the war was the alteration of the old City Hall, on the. site
now occupied by the Custom House, into " Federal Hall," for the new government, in 1789.
He afterwards designed a magnificent residence for Robert Morris, in Philadelphia, in which,
before it was half finished, the great financier sunk all his fortune. He is best known now as
the author of the " Plan of the City of Washington," and the architect of some of its buildings.
He died about 1817

110 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

ments, foreign ministers, clergy, and other guests, radiated a large
number of tables, with plates for six thousand persons. In many
respects the procession resembled that in Philadelphia. Colonel
Richard Platt was chief marshal, and was assisted by Colonel Mor-
gan Lewis and Majors Nicholas Fish, William North and Aquila
Giles. The various trades appeared on cars, engaged with their
several occupations. The coopers were setting up and hooping a
huge cask, emblematical of the Constitution. The carpenters were
erecting the tenth column, inscribed " New York," of the federal
temple, and two prostrate columns represented other states which
had not yet accepted the Constitution. The upholsterers were pre-
paring a chair of state for the first President, and the coach mak-
ers were building him a superb chariot. The printers, preceded
by Hugh Gaine, immortalized in the satirical verses of Freneau,
were striking off and distributing patriotic songs, and a pro-
gramme of the day's proceedings. On the car of the brewers
were hogsheads and tuns, decorated with festoons of hop-vines,
and on the top of one of them, in a closely-fitting dress of flesh-
colored silk, a handsome boy, representing Bacchus, his head gar-
landed with grapes, hops, and barley. At the head of the law-
yers were John Lawrence, John Cozine, and Robert Troup. In
the Philological Society appeared Josiah Ogden Hoffman, its Presi-
dent, Noah Webster, its Secretary, and William Dunlap, who bore
its standard. With a large number of farmers, w^ere Nicholas
Cruger, driving six oxen, John Watts, holding a plough, and the
Baron Poelnitz, attending a threshing-machine. The most inter-
esting object of all was the federal ship Hamilton a thirty-two
gun frigate, thirty feet long and twelve feet wide, with every pro-
portion and appointment complete. She was manned by about
forty seamen and marines, with the usual complement of officers,
and commanded by the veteran Commodore Nicholson, who dis-

THE YEAK OF SUSPENSE. Ill

played at her mast-head the same broad pennant under which he
had fought victoriously upon the sea. After leaving " The Fields,"
in passing Liberty street she made a signal for a pilot, and re-
ceived one, and on arriving before Mr. Constable's house, at the
foot of Broadway, Mrs. Edgar came to a window and presented the
commodore a suit of rich silk colors, in acknowledgment of which
the yards were instantly manned and the crew gave three cheers.
When passing Old Slip a Spanish government ship saluted her with
thirteen guns, which she returned with as much promptness as if she
had been an actual man-of-war, sailing upon her proper element.
The Hamilton was drawn by ten white horses, and during the ad-
vance of the procession went through every nautical preparation
and movement for storms, calms, squalls, and sudden shiftings of
the wind. When she reached " Bayard's Farm " the crew took in
sail and anchored, and the officers "went on shore to'dine," while
ample messes were sent on board for the seamen and marines. At
four o'clock signal was made for unmooring, by a second salute of
thirteen guns, and she proceeded to the place whence she started,
opposite the Bowling Green, where she arrived at half past five
o'clock, amidst the acclamations of thousands. The decorations of
the societies, professions and trades in this immense procession were
in all cases rich, tasteful, and appropriate, and the general effect
probably surpassed that of any similar display ever made in New
York except that on the completion of the Erie Canal, nearly half
a century afterward. In the evening there was a display of fire-
works, under the direction of Colonel Bauman, post-master of the
city and commandant of the artillery, " whose constitutional irasci-
bility," says President Duer, " was exceedingly provoked by the
moon, which shone with pertinacious brilliancy, as if in mockery
of his feebler lights."

These proceedings were on Monday, and on the following Sat-

112 THE REPUBLICAN COUKT.

irday, about nine o'clock in the evening, news arrived in the city
of the acceptance of the new Constitution by the State Convention
at Poughkeepsie. " The bells," says a contemporary writer, " were
immediately set a-ringing, and from the fort and the federal ship
Hamilton, there were repeated discharges of artillery. The mer-
chants at the coffee-house testified their joy by huzzas, and a large
body of citizens, headed by a number of the first characters, went
to the houses of the city members of the Convention, and gave three
cheers, as a testimony of their approbation of the glorious event
brought about by their united, unremitted, and toilsome exertions.
In short, a general joy ran through the whole town, and several of
those who were of different sentiments drank freely of the federal
bowl, and declared they were now perfectly reconciled to the new
Constitution."

. . .:;-;:~" j

<tPZ/fe<P<!}(&. &&-t->tf'Sl''&-l('

THE TRIUMPHAL PROGRESS.

THE Congress in New York had been barely kept alive during
the winter of 1Y88-89. Sometimes not half a dozen members
remained in the city, and a quorum was rarely assembled. AH
thoughts and all hopes were centered in the new organization of
affairs, which the splendid genius of Hamilton, the calm and judi-
cial logic of Jay, and the invincible common sense of Madison, had
at length made triumphant. For with whatever power and ear-
nestness the claims of the Constitution had been asserted in differ-
ent parts of the country, it was not difficult 'to perceive that the
masterly expositions of the separate and common interests, in " The
Federalist," reprinted in many of the larger towns, and entering
into nearly all the spoken or written arguments for the Constitu-
tion, in every state, had been the great means of securing to the
nation what the abilities and patriotism of her most illustrious citi-
zens had conceived and evolved this unapproachable model of a
free and stable government.

As soon as the necessary majority of the states had transmitted

to Congress their acceptance of the Constitution, an act was passed

for the choice of a President and Vice President of the Republic ;

and Washington, who had commanded the army and presided in

114 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

the Convention, as if by the all-disposing election of the Sovereign
Euler of the world, was now, by the common sense, affection, and
reverence, made vital by the same Divine Influence, called to the
highest place in the completely organized nation. The sincerity
of his nature was so conspicuous that no one doubted his avowed
reluctance to be further engaged in affairs, though in the most hon-
orable, dignified, and responsible office that had ever been created
by a free people ; and it was felt that no addition could be made
to his glory, so that his acceptance of the Presidency must be a
consequence only of his self-sacrificing love of country ; but to this
the whole people appealed, and when he consented, notwithstand-
ing his advanced season of life, his increased fondness for agricul-
tural amusements, his growing love of retirement, and decided pre-
dilection for the character of a private citizen, to hazard his former

reputation, and encounter new fatigues and troubles, it was no

longer questioned that the sublimest revolution in human history
was successful ; that the institutions of liberty were firmly estab-
lished ; that a new and beneficent power was inaugurated which
would preserve for its authors, to the latest ages, such grateful re-
spect as is due to the benefactors of mankind.

II.

THE first Congress under the Constitution came together very
slowly. The day appointed for its meeting was the fourth of March,
1789, and at morning, noon and evening on that day there was fir-
ing of cannon and ringing of bells in the city ; but only eight sen-
ators and thirteen representatives, not enough for a quorum in either
house, made their appearance ; and though circulars were repeat-
edly sent to the absent members it was near the end of the month
before a sufficient number came in for one or the other branch to
organize. This was partly owing to the desultory habits in every-

THE TRIUMPHAL PROGRESS. 115

thing connected with federal affairs which had grown up under the
late administration, but more largely to the difficulties and uncer-
tainties of the means of travelling, not only in the more inaccessible
parts of the country but even in the most populous states and on
the chief routes connecting the larger towns.

The Rev. Jeremy Belknap, the well known author of the His-
tory of New Hampshire, and several other works, which secured to
him a high reputation among literary men in America at the close
of the last century, had apprenticed one of his sons to Robert Ait
kin, a printer of magazines and books, in Philadelphia. He sat
out from his home, in Dover, to visit his son, and see the world, and
the adventures he encountered illustrate in an interesting manner the
delays and vexations of travel at that time. From Boston, on the
twenty-seventh, he wrote back to his wife, " I am disappointed of
my intended journey to Providence, by the means of a set of Eng-
lish factors, or something else, who, after I had engaged a passage
for myself in the coach, went and hired the whole of it to them-
selves, and the base fellow of a coachman shut me out. Your
brother is vexed on the occasion as much as myself. Another
coach is expected in this evening, and I have laid in for a place in
it ; but as these stages do not go on any fixed day, but only as they
find company, I may be detained here till Thursday : however, I
have time enough before me the whole month of October at
the end of which I hope to see you again." As the worthy pastor
anticipated, or hoped rather, the stage-coach was again ready on
Thursday morning, and he took a place in it for Providence ; but
the illness of a " lady passenger " compelled them to pass the night
at Hatch's Tavern, in Attleborough, so that they did not reach
Providence till the next day. On the following Tuesday he sailed
in a packet for Newport, having been detained by squally weather,
and in that place was compelled to wait, for a favorable wind

116 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

and a " freight of passengers," till Friday. " But before we left the
harbor," he writes to Mrs. Belknap, " the wind came ahead, and we
beat to windward (a species of sailing I never before was acquainted
with, and never wish to be again*), till we found it impossible to
weather Point Judith, and then we returned to port. Saturday
morning, with three more passengers, seven in all, we sailed once
more, with a fair wind, and had a very pleasant passage up the
Sound, in a very swift sailing sloop, with every desirable accommo
dation for eating, drinking, and sleeping." Having passed four
days in New York, where he enjoyed himself very much, on the
afternoon of Thursday, the thirteenth of October, he crossed over
to Paulus Hook, about sunset, to be ready to start for Philadelphia
in the " New Flying Diligence " the next morning. " Between three
and four o'clock," he writes, " we set off in the stage, rode nine
miles, to Bergen Neck, and then crossed a ferry, which brought us
to Woodbridge. Just before we reached the second ferry, we per-
ceived the dawn of day, and when we had ridden two miles from
it, the sun rose, so that we had ridden sixteen miles and crossed two
ferries before sunrise, besides shifting horses twice. The third stage
brought us to Brunswick, where we breakfasted. We here crossed
the Raritan, in a scow, open at both ends, to receive and discharge
the carriage, without unharnessing or dismounting ; and the scow
was pulled across the river by a rope. We passed through Prince-
ton about noon, and got to Trenton to dinner ; then passed the
Delaware in another scow, which was navigated only by setting
poles ; drove thirty miles over a plain, level country, at a great rate,
and arrived at Philadelphia just at sunset." He adds, " I sent for
Josey to the inn where the stage put up, and the dear child was
overjoyed, and shed tears at seeing me ; they had heard of my ar-

* In another letter, referring to this " beating to windward," he says " it made me downright
aeasick."

THE TRIUMPHAL PROGRESS. 117

rival in New York, and the family talk had ever since been about
me ; a lodging was prepared for me at Mr. Aitken's, and I was re
ceived with all the cordiality of an intimate friend." This was
three and a half years before the meeting of the first Congress,
but facilities for travelling had not increased much in that period.*
Philip Freneau describes in a satire of three cantos the " Jour-
ney from Philadelphia to New York, by way of Burlington and
South Amboy ; " and M. Brissot de Warville presents a particular
account of his passage between the same cities, in " a kind of open
wagon, hung with double curtains, of leather and woollen" car-
riages " which keep up the idea of equality, the member of Congress
riding beside the shoemaker who elected him, in fraternity." He
also gives us in his amiable way a chapter of adventures from Bos-
ton to New York, both by the land route and the sea. He makes
the best of every thing, but does not show that he had a very com-
fortable time, in the wagons or in the boats. On one occasion he
says, " We left the place where we had slept at four o'clock in the
morning, in a carriage without springs. A Frenchman who was
with me began, at the first jolt, to curse the carriage, the driver,
and the country. ' Let us wait a little,' said I, i before we form a

* Public conveyances were almost unknown except between a few of the principal cities. The
Continental Congress had lately authorized the Postmaster General to contract for the transmis-
sion of the mail over the great route along the sea coast, by a line of stage-wagons, to carry pas-
sengers also ; but this scheme was as yet very imperfectly executed, so that members derived
from it but little advantage in their journeys to JSTew York To Philadelphia and Boston the
mails were sent three times a week in the summer, and twice a week in the winter. The " Bos-
ton, Albany, and Philadelphia General Stage Office," was kept by Samuel Fraunces more
famous in his day than even Niblo, half a century afterward, as an almost universal caterer for
the public entertainment in Cortlandt street; and stages for Boston started every Monday,
Wednesday, and Friday ; for Albany every Monday and Thursday ; and for Philadelphia, from
Paulus Hook, twice every day, except Saturdays and Sundays, when they left but once a day.
The fare, from Paulus Hook to Philadelphia, was two dollars a passenger (only half what is now
charged on the railroad!) or, by express, at eight miles an hour, one shilling per mile; or ten
miles an hour, eighteen pence per mile. At the early season of the year in which the Congress
was summoned to assemble, the roads in many places, and especially the fords of rivers, were
frequently made impassable by floods.

118 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

judgment; every custom has its cause: doubtless there is some
reason why this kind of carriage is preferred to one hung with
springs. 7 In fact, by the time we had run thirty miles, among the
rocks, we were convinced that a carriage with springs would very
soon have been overset and broken." In the same spirit he praises
the inns ; " you will not go into one," he says, " without meeting
with neatness, decency, and dignity. The table is served by a
maiden, well dressed, and pretty, by a pleasant mother whose age
has not effaced the agreeableness of her features, and by men who
have that air of respectability which is inspired by the idea of
equality, and are not ignoble and base, like the greater part of our
own tavern keepers." The Marquis de Chastellux, while travelling
in the same region, was not so well satisfied; he contradicts indeed
nothing which is advanced by M. de Warville, but avers that while
the tables of the sitting-rooms were covered with the writings of
Milton, Addison, and Richardson, the cellars contained "neither
brandy, nor wine, nor even rum." The neophyte of democracy was
every where attentive to the young women, and he finds the tedi-
ousness of the wagon beguiled by frequent sights, all through Mas-
sachusetts and Connecticut, of " fair girls, either driving a carriage,
or alone on horseback, galloping boldly, with an elegant hat on the
head, a white apron, and a calico gown : usages which prove at once
the early cultivation of their reason, (since they are trusted so
young to themselves,) the safety of the roads, and the general inno-
cence of manners." Coming to New York by water* he was de-

* " I ought to say one word of the packet boats of this part of America, and of the facilities
which they offer. Though, in my opinion, it is more advantageous and often less expensive to
go by iand, yet I owe some praises to the cleanliness and good order observable in these boats.
The one which I was in contained fourteen beds, ranged in two rows, one above the other, and
every one had its little window. The chamber was well aired, so that one did not breathe that
nauseous air which infects the packets of 'the English Channel. It was well varnished, and the
provisions were good. There is not a little town on all this coast which is without this kind of
ressels, going to New York. They have all the same neatness, the same embellishments, the

THE TRIUMPHAL PKOGKESS. 119

fcained by contrary winds, but assures us that the voyage from New-
port is not unfrequently performed in twenty hours, and that the
price of passage is but six dollars.

Miss Montgomery states that the journey from Wilmington to
New York was so great an undertaking that few persons attempt-
ed it, and they were regarded as " travellers." Her grandfather's
business often required his attention there, and on his return crowds
of villagers would come to hear the news and accounts of all the
wonders he had seen in that astonishing city.

III.

A SUFFICIENT number of members having appeared, the House
o*f Representatives at length on the thirtieth of March proceeded
to organize itself, and on the following week the Senate was also
ready for business. This first Congress under the Constitution em-
braced a large portion of the talents, experience and respectability
of the country. John Langdon, OHver Ellsworth, Charles Carroll,
Richard Henry Lee, and Ralph Jzard, were in the Senate, and
among the members of the House were Elbridge Gerry, Roger
Sherman, Jeremiah Wadsworth, Elias Boudinot, Frederick A. Muh-
lenberg, James Madison, and young Fisher Ames, soon to be ac-
knowledged the greatest of American orators.

The Continental Congress had sat in the old City Hall, at the
corner of Wall and Nassau streets, where now stands the Custom
House. This building had been erected nearly a century, and in
it had been held the sessions of the Provincial Assembly, the Su-
preme Court, the Admiralty Court, and the Mayor's Court. Here
too had been the city prison, and in Broad street, nearly opposite,
had stood the whipping post and the pillory. The City Hall, in-
same convenience. You may be assured there is nothing like them in the old countries." New
Travels in America, c. iv.

120 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

deed, had been the centre of all important business, in legislation,
administration, and politics; it was also the principal resort of
the lovers of literature, as it contained the public library ; and it
served the purposes of the Athenian stose, for gossips, newsmongers,
and speculators. Anxious for the proper accommodation of the
various branches of the federal government, and not without ex-
pectations that a liberal course on her part might cause New York
to be made the permanent capital of the nation, several wealthy
citizens contributed thirty-two thousand dollars for the purpose of
remodeling, repairing and renovating this building, which, when
completed, received the new name of Federal Hall, and was placed
by the City Council at the disposal of Congress.

The appearance of Federal Hall was for that period very im-
posing, and its front, toward Broad street, was particularly admir-
ed. The basement story, was in the Tuscan style, with seven open-
ings, and four massive pillars in the centre supported heavy arches,
above which rose four Doric columns. The cornice was ingeni-
ously divided to admit thirteen stars in the metopes, which with
the eagle and other insignia in the pediment, and the sculptures of
thirteen arrows surrounded by olive branches over each window,
marked it as a building set apart for national purposes. The en-
trance on Broad street opened into a large and plainly furnished
room, to which every one had free access, and beyond this was the
vestibule, which led, in front, to the Hall of the Representatives, and
through arches on each side, by a public stairway on the right, and
a private one on the left, to the Senate chamber and the galleries.
The vestibule was paved with marble, and was very lofty, and
elegantly finished. The lower part was of a light rough stone, which
supported a handsome iron gallery, and the upper part, which was in
a less massive style, was lighted from a richly ornamented dome. The
Hall of the Representatives was sixty-one feet long, fifty-eight feet

THE TRIUMPHAL PKOGKESS. 121

wide, and thirty-six feet high, and had an arched ceiling, increasing
its height in the centre about ten feet more. Its form was slightly
octangular, and on its sides were niches for statues. The windows
were large, and placed sixteen feet from the floor, the space below
being finished with a plain wainscot, interrupted only by four fire-
places, above which were Ionic columns and pilasters. In the pan-
els between the windows were trophies, carved, .md the letters
U. S. in a cipher, surrounded with laurel. The speaker's chair
was on an elevated platform, opposite the principal entrance. Each
member had a separate chair and desk. There were two galleries
in front of the speaker's seat the lower one projecting fifteen feet,
and the upper one, less spacious both supported without pillars.
These were intended for the accommodation of the friends of the
members. The public were admitted only to an area on the floor
outside the bar. There were three small doors, for common use,
besides the larger and less convenient entrance. The curtains in
this room were of light blue damask, and the chairs of the mem-
bers were covered with the same material.

The Senate chamber was approached by the stairs on the east
side of the vestibule, through an ante-chamber, nineteen feet wide
and forty-eight feet long, finished with Tuscan pilasters, and com-
municating with the iron gallery already mentioned, as well as with
the galleries of the Hall of the Representatives. This room was
forty feet long, thirty feet wide, and twenty feet high, with an
arched ceiling ; it had three windows at each end, those toward
Wall street opening into an external gallery, twelve feet deep, and
guarded by an iron raffing. In this gallery the President of the
United States was expected to take his oath of office. The Senate
chamber was decorated with light and graceful pilasters, with capi-
tals, devised by the architect, Major 1'Enfant, composed of foliage,
in the midst of which appeared radiant stars, and below each was
16

122 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

a small medallion exhibiting the initials, U. S. The ceiling was of
a light blue, with a sun and thirteen stars in the centre. The fire-
places in both halls were of a highly polished variegated American
marble. The President's chair was elevated three feet above the
floor, and was under a rich canopy of crimson damask. The cur-
tains of the windows and the coverings of the chairs of the sena-
tors were of the same color. The chairs of the members in both
halls, were arranged in semicircles, and the floors in both were cov-
ered with handsome carpets. The capitol contained several smaller
rooms, for committees, a library, and other purposes.

Before the alteration of the building the room which had been
occupied by the old Congress contained full length portraits of the
King and Queen of France, presented to America by Louis the
Sixteenth. These are not mentioned among the decorations which
were now retained.

THE first business after the organization of the two houses, o*
the sixth of April, was the opening and counting of the votes for
President of the United States. It was found that Washington
had received sixty-nine, the whole number cast, but that the votes
for the second candidate were so scattered that there was barely a
majority for Mr. Adams, who, however, having next the highest
number, became Vice President. The same day Charles Thomp-
son, who had been perpetual Secretary to the Continental Congress,
was appointed to inform George Washington of his election to the
Presidency, and Sylvanus Bourne was at the same time selected to
convey to John Adams information of his being chosen Vice Pre-
sident. The following morning* they left New York, one for Vir-

* On the seventh of April, John Armstrong wrote to General Gates, from New York : "AH
the world here are busy in collecting flowers and sweets of every kind to amuse and delight the
President in his approach and on his arrival. Even Roger Sherman has set his head at work t

THE TRIUMPHAL PROGRESS. 123

ginia, and the other for Massachusetts ; and, on the fifteenth, a joint
committee of the two houses was chosen to make suitable arrange-
ments for the reception of the President and Vice President in the
metropolis.

ME. ADAMS was the first to receive official information of his elec-
tion, and the first to arrive in New York. At ten o'clock on the
morning of the twelfth of April, he left his residence in Braintree,
and was escorted to Boston by a troop of horse, from Roxbury. As he
approached the city the bells were rung, and amidst the shouts of an
immense crowd of people he was conducted to the house of Governor
Hancock, where he partook of a collation, with the principal ma-
gistrates and citizens. His arrival and departure were signalized
by federal salutes, which were repeated at all the chief places
through which he passed, with his numerous retinue, in Massachu-
setts and Connecticut. At Hartford the manufacturers gave him
a piece of broadcloth for a suit of clothes, and the corporation of
New Haven presented him with the freedom of the city. From
the Connecticut line he was attended by the Westchester Light
Horse, under Major Pintard, to King's Bridge, where he was met
by the heads of departments, a great number of members of Con-
gress, military officers, and private citizens, on horseback or in car-
riages, who conducted him, through a multitude of people to the
house of John Jay, in the lower part of the city.

devise some style of address more novel and dignified than " Excellency." Yet in the midst of
this admiration, there are skeptics who doubt its propriety, and wits who amuse themselves at
its extravagance. The first will grumble and the last will laugh, and the President should be
prepared to meet the attacks of both with firmness and good nature. A caricature has already
appeared called ' The Entry,' full of very disloyal and profane allusions. It represents the General
mounted on an ass, and in the arms of his man Billy Humphreys leading the Jack, and chant
ing hosannas and birth-day odes. The following couplet proceeds from the mouth of the devil

" ' The glorious time has come to pass
When David shall conduct an ass.' "

124 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

VI.

As it had been popularly known for several weeks before the
votes of the electors were officially canvassed that Washington was
unanimously chosen President, his preparations for entering upon
the duties of the office were all completed before the arrival of
Mr. Thompson at Mount Vernon, on the fourteenth of April. In
a letter to General Knox, referring to the delay of the certificate
of his election, he says, " As to myself this delay may be compared
to a reprieve, for in confidence I tell you, (with the world it would
obtain little credit,) that my movements to the seat of government
will be accompanied by feelings not unlike those of a culprit who
is going to the place of execution, so unwilling am I, in the even-
ing of life, nearly consumed in public cares, to quit a peaceful
abode for an ocean of, difficulties." He however informed Mr.
Thompson that at the end of two days he would be ready to ac-
company him, and in the mean time paid a last visit to his venera-
ble mother, in Fredericksburg. On coming into her presence he
said, " The people, madam, have been pleased, with the most flat-
tering unanimity, to elect me to the chief magistracy of the United
States ; but before I can assume the functions of that office I have
come to bid you an affectionate farewell. So soon as the public
business which must necessarily be encountered in arranging a new
government can be disposed of, I shall hasten to Virginia, and "
Here she interrupted him : " You will see me no more," she said ;
"my great age, and the disease that is rapidly approaching my
vitals, warn me that I shall not be long in this world. I trust in
God I am somewhat prepared for a better. But go, George, fulfil
the high destinies which Heaven appears to assign you; go, my
son, and may that* Heaven's and your mother's blessing be with
you always." He was deeply affected; his head rested on the

THE TRIUMPHAL PROGRESS. 125

shoulder of his aged parent, whose arm feebly yet fondly encircled
his neck. The scene was full of the most touching sublimity.
Both the mother and the son were dissolved in tears at the thought
that they were embracing each other for the last time. There is
no fame in the world more pure than that of the mother of Wash-
ington, and no woman since the Mother of Christ has left a better
claim to the affectionate reverence of mankind.

In his diary he wrote on the evening of the sixteenth: "About
ten o'clock I bade adieu to Mount Vernon, to private life, and to
domestic felicity, and with a mind oppressed with more anxious
and painful sensations than I have words to express, set out for
New York, with Mr. Thompson and Colonel Humphreys, with the
best disposition to render service to my country in obedience to its
call, but with less hope of answering its expectations."

He wished to proceed to New York in the most quiet manner,
but the irrepressible enthusiasm of the people all along the route
prevented ; and the homage he received could not have been un-
grateful to him, for he held it to be " a proof of false modesty or
an unworthy affectation of humility to appear altogether insensible
to the commendations of the virtuous and enlightened part of our
species; " and he added, "perhaps nothing can excite more perfect
harmony in the soul than to have this spring vibrate in unison with
the internal consciousness of rectitude in our intentions, and an
humble hope of approbation from the Supreme Disposer of all
things."

The first place at which he stopped was Alexandria, where
he was entertained at a public dinner by his neighbors and more
immediate personal friends. " The first and best of our citizens,"
said the Mayor, " must leave us ; our aged must lose their ornament,
our youth their model, our agriculture its improver, our commerce
its friend, our infant academy its protector, our poor their bene-

126 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

factor. . . . Farewell! Go, and make a grateful people happy: a
people who will be doulbly grateful when they contemplate this
new sacrifice for their interests." In his reply he said, " Just after
having bade adieu to my domestic connections, this tender proof of
your friendship is but too well calculated to awaken still further
my sensibility, and increase my regret at parting from the enjoy-
ments of private life. All that now remains for me is to commit
myself and you to the care of that beneficent Being, who, on a
former occasion, happily brought us together after a long and dis-
tressing separation. Perhaps the same gracious Providence will
again indulge me. But words fail me. Unutterable sensations
must, then, be left to more expressive silence, while from an aching
heart I bid all my affectionate friends and kind neighbors farewell."

He was welcomed to Maryland by a collection of citizens assem-
bled at Georgetown, and from all the principal places along his way
the leading inhabitants came out to meet him, and to welcome him
with the firing of cannon, the ringing of bells, and military dis-
plays. Every where men and women of all ages and conditions
watched to see him as he passed along the road. Old men shed-
ding tears as their enthusiasm was rekindled by his presence, and
mothers holding up their infant children that they might be able
to say when their lives should be near their ending that they had
looked with their own eyes upon the Father of his Country.

He arrived in Baltimore in the beginning of the evening, and
retired from the public supper at Grant's tavern a little after ten
o'clock. On the following morning he was in his carriage at half-
past five, and left the city under a discharge of cannon, and attend-
ed, as on his entrance, by a large cavalcade of citizens, who accom-
panied him seven miles, when, alighting, he would not permit them
to proceed any farther, but took leave, thanking them in an affec-
tionate manner for their politeness.

THE TRIUMPHAL PROGRESS. 127

. At the frontier of Pennsylvania, early on the morning of the
nineteenth, he was met by two troops of cavalry, and a large num-
ber of citizens, at the head of whom were Governor Mifflin and
Judge Eichard Peters. They had left Philadelphia the previous
day, and waited here all night for his approach. The military sa-
luted him on his appearance, and the procession moved on to Ches-
ter, where they stopped to breakfast. Perceiving that it was im-
possible to avoid a public reception in the city, the Chief now reluc-
tantly ordered his carriage into the rear of the line, and mounting
a superb white horse, in readiness for that purpose, and supported
on one side by the venerable messenger of Congress, and on the
other by his old aid-de-camp, Colonel Humphreys, took the position
assigned him in the cavalcade. They were now joined by an im-
mense number of citizens, led in the most perfect order by General
Arthur St. Clair, and by additional companies of cavalry from the
neighboring counties. At Gray's Ferry were erected on each side
of the river triumphal arches, covered with laurel branches, and
approached through long avenues of laurels which had been trans-
planted from the forests in the preceding night. As he passed
under the last arch a youth, concealed in the foliage, let down
with the aid of some ingenious machinery a beautifully ornamented
civic crown of laurel, and before the hero was aware, it embraced his
head, when tumultuous shouts arose from the immense multitude,
which every moment was increased by crowds from the town and
all the adjacent country. The procession advanced from the Schuyl-
kill to Philadelphia surrounded by not less than twenty thousand
people, lining the avenues and thronging every fence, tree, window,
or other elevation from which it was possible to obtain a glimpse
of the great man whom they almost worshipped. Passing through
the principal streets he was saluted at every step with cries of " Long
live George Washington ! " " Long live the father of his people ! "

128 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

until the procession arrived at the City Tavern, where a sump-
tuous banquet was provided, and the Executive Council, the Trus-
tees of the University, the Judges of the Supreme Court, the officers
of the Cincinnati, and the Mayor and Common Council of the city,
hastened to wait upon him with their respectful congratulations.
In his reply to the Mayor, he said: "When I contemplate the
interposition of Providence, as it was visibly manifested in guid-
ing us through the revolution, in preparing us for the reception of
the general government, and in conciliating the good- will of the
people of America toward one another after its adoption, I feel my-
self oppressed and almost overwhelmed with a sense of divine mu-
nificence. I feel that nothing is due to my personal agency in all
those wonderful and complicated events, except what can be attri-
buted to an honest zeal for the good of my country." The festivi-
ties of the day were continued by a magnificent display of fire-
works in the evening, and the general joy was manifested in vari-
ous ways until long after midnight.

In the morning the military paraded at ten o'clock to accom-
pany the chief to Trenton ; but being obliged on account of the
weather to proceed in his carriage he declined the intended honor,
for he could not, he said, think of riding under cover while his
friends were exposed to the rain on horseback. Ascending the left
bank of the Delaware, he arrived in the afternoon near the scene
where he had fought twelve years before, and the reception which
awaited him, if less imposing than that in some other places, was
singularly graceful and touching. The clouds had broken away as
the day wore on, and the sun shone pleasantly down on the smooth
river, which was lined with a vast crowd assembled to hail his ap-
proach. As he stepped on to the shore of New Jersey he was greet-
ed with three loud huzzas, and after salutes by the cavalry and in-
fantry the procession was formed for marching into Trenton. On

THE TRIUMPHAL PROGRESS. 129

the bridge across the Assumpink, which flows through the town
into the Delaware the same bridge across which he had retreated
before the army of Cornwallis on the eve of the battle of Prince-
ton a triumphal arch, twenty feet high, and supported by thir-
teen pillars, twined with evergreens and laurel, had been erected,
solely by the contributions and under the directions of the women
of the city. On the side toward the approaching hero was in-
scribed :

THE DEFENDER OF THE MOTHERS WILL BE THE PROTECTOR OF THE DAUGHTERS.

Over the centre of the arch was a cupola on which were the dates
of his glorious actions at Trenton, in letters of gold, wreathed with
flowers, and from its summit was displayed a large sunflower, to in-
dicate that it was to him alone these demonstrations were offered,
that the whole people were as one in their homage to his greatness.
A numerous train of mothers, leading their daughters, all dressed
in white, was assembled under and on each side of the arch, and as
he passed, thirteen young girls, wearing wreaths of flowers on their
heads, and holding baskets of flowers in their hands, sung the fol-
lowing little ode, written for the occasion, by Major Ho well, who
had been an officer under him during the war :

Welcome, mighty chief, once more
Welcome to this grateful shore ;
Now no mercenary foe
Aims again the fatal blow
Aims at thee the fatal blow.

Virgins fair and matrons grave,
Those thy conquering arm did save,
Build for thee triumphal bowers ;
Strew, ye fair, his way with flowers !
Strew your hero's way with flowers !

and suiting their action to the words, they threw their flowers in
17

130 THE EEPUBLICAN COURT.

the way before him. In the evening he acknowledged these ele-
gant compliments in a brief note, in which he said: "General
Washington cannot leave this place without expressing his ac-
knowledgments to the matrons and young ladies who received him
in so novel and grateful a manner at the Triumphal Arch, for the
exquisite sensations he experienced in that affecting moment. The
astonishing contrast between his former and his actual situation at
the same spot, the elegant taste with which it was adorned for the
present occasion, and the innocent appearance of the white-robed
choir who met him with the gratulatory song, have made such an
impression on his remembrance as, he assures them, will never be
effaced."

Having crossed New Jersey, "Washington was received at Eliza-
bethtown Point, early on the morning of the twenty-third, in ac-
cordance with a previous arrangement, by a committee of both
houses of Congress, with whom were the Chancellor of the State,
the Adjutant General, the Recorder of the City, and Mr. Jay, Sec-
retary for Foreign Affairs, General Knox, Secretary of War, Sam-
uel Osgood, Arthur Lee, and Walter Livingston, Commissioners of
the Treasury, and Ebenezer Hazard, Postmaster General these
heads of departments continuing to act until new arrangements
should be made under the constitutional government. A magni-
ficent barge had been constructed for the occasion, and was manned
by thirteen master pilots, in white uniforms, under Commodore
Nicholson, to convey the President and his suite to New York.
Two other barges had been fitted up for the Board of the Treasury,
the Secretaries, and other dignitaries. The passage from Eliza-
bethtown is graphically described in a hitherto unpublished letter
addressed to his wife the next day by Elias Boudinot, Chairman of
the Committee of Congress. " You must have observed," he writes,
'* with what a propitious gale we left the shore, and glided with

THE TRIUMPHAL PROGRESS. 131

steady motion across the Newark Bay, the very water seeming to
rejoice in bearing the precious burden over its placid bosom. The
appearance of the troops we had left behind, and their regular
firings, added much to our pleasure. "When we drew near to the
mouth of the Kills a number of boats, with various flags, came up
with us and dropped in our wake. Soon after we entered the bay
General Knox and several other officers, in a large barge, pre-
sented themselves, with their splendid colors. Boat after boat and
sloop after sloop, gayly dressed in all their naval ornaments, added
to our train, and made a most splendid appearance. Before we got
to Bedloe's Island a large sloop came, with full sail, on our star-
board bow, when there stood up about twenty gentlemen and ladies,
who, with most excellent voices, sung an elegant ode, prepared for
the purpose, to the tune of l God save the King,' welcoming their
great Chief to the seat of government. On its conclusion we
saluted them, with our hats, and then they, with the surrounding
boats, gave us three cheers. Soon after another boat came under
our stern and presented us with a number of copies of a second ode,
and immediately about a dozen gentlemen began to sing it, in parts,
as we passed along. Our worthy President was greatly affected
with these tokens of profound respect. As we approached the
harbor our train increased, and the huzzaing and shouts of joy
seemed to add life to this brilliant scene. At this moment a num-
ber of porpoises came playing amongst us, as if they had risen up
to know what was the cause of all this happiness. We now dis-
covered the shores to be crowded with thousands of people men,
women, and children nay, I may venture to say, tens of thou-
sands. From the fort to the place of landing, although near half
a mile, you could see little else along the shore, in the streets, and
on board every vessel, but heads standing as thick as ears of corn
before the harvest. The vessels in the harbor made a most superb

132 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

appearance indeed, dressed in all their pomp of attire. The Span-
ish ship of war, the Galveston, in a moment,* on a signal given,
discovered twenty-seven or twenty-eight different colors, of all na-
tions, on every part of the rigging, and paid us the compliment of
thirteen guns, with her yards all manned, as did also another ves-
sel in the harbor, the North Carolina, displaying colors in the same
manner. We had a like compliment from the battery, of eighteen
pounders. We soon arrived at the ferry stairs, where there were
many thousands of the citizens, waiting with all the eagerness of
expectation, to welcome our excellent patriot to that shore which
he regained from a powerful enemy by his valor and good conduct.
We found the stairs covered with carpeting and the rails hung with
crimson. The President, being preceded by the committee, was
received by the governor and the citizens in the most brilliant man-
ner. He was met on the wharf by many of his old and faithful
officers and fellow patriots, who had borne the heat and burthen
of the day with him, who like him had experienced every reverse
of fortune with fortitude and patience, and who now joined the
universal chorus of welcoming their great deliverer (under Provi-
dence) from all their fears. It was with difficulty a passage could
be made by the troops through the pressing crowds, who seemed
incapable of being satisfied with gazing at this man of the people.
You will see the particulars of the procession from the wharf to the
house appointed for his residence, in the newspapers.f The streets
were lined with the inhabitants as thick as they could stand, and

* "Every ship in the harbor," says Colonel Stone, "was gayly dressed for the occasion except
the Galveston, a Spanish man of-war, which lay at anchor displaying only her own proper colors.
The contrast which she presented, when compared with the splendid flags and streamers floating
from every other vessel in the bay, especially the government ship, the North Carolina, was
universally observed, and the neglect was beginning to occasion unpleasant remarks, when, as
the barge of the General came abreast, in an instant, as if by magic, the Spaniard exhibited
every flag and signal known among nations."

f On Washington's arrival at the stairs, prepared and ornamented, at Murray's Wharf, for

THE TRIUMPHAL PROGRESS. 133

it required all the exertions of a numerous train of city officers, with
their staves, to make a passage for the company. The houses were
filled with gentlemen and ladies the whole distance, being about
half a mile, and the windows, to the highest stories, were illumi-
nated by the sparkling eyes of innumerable companies of ladies,
who seemed to vie with each other in showing their joy on this
great occasion. It was half an hour before we could finish our com-
mission and convey the President to the house prepared for his re-
sidence. As soon as this was done, notwithstanding his great fa-
tigue of both body and mind, he had to receive the gentlemen and
officers, to a very large number, who wished to show their respect
in the most affectionate manner. When this was finished and the
people dispersed, we went, undressed, and dined with his Excellen-
cy Governor Clinton, who had provided an elegant dinner for us.
Thus ended our commission. The evening, though very wet, was
spent by all ranks in visiting the city, street after street being illu-
minated in a superb manner. I cannot help stating now how high-

hia landing, he was saluted by Colonel Bauman's artillery, and received and congratulated by
the Governor and the officers of the state and the city. From the wharf the procession moved
.n the following order :

Colonel Morgan Lewis, accompanied by Majors Morton and Van Home;

Troop of Dragoons, Captain Stakes ;

German Grenadiers, Captain Scriba;

Band of Music ;
Infantry of the Brigade, Captains Swartwout and Stediford;

Grenadiers, Captain Harsin ;
Regiment of Artillery, Colonel Bauman ;

Band of Music ;

General Malcom, and Aid ;

Officers of the Militia, two and two ;

Committee of Congress ;
The PRESIDENT; Governor CLINTON,

President's Suite ;
Mayor and Aldermen of New York ;

The Reverend Clergy;

Their Excellencies, the French and Spanish Ambassadors, in their carriages ;
The whole followed by an immense concourse of citizens.

134 THE E E PUBLIC AN COURT.

ly we were favored in the weather ; the whole procession had been
completely finished, and we had repaired to the Governor's, before
it began to rain. When the President was on the wharf an officer
came up and, addressing him, said he had the honor to command
his Guard, and that it was ready to obey his orders. The Presi-
dent answered that, as to the present arrangement, he should pro-
ceed as was directed, but that after that was over, he hoped he
would give himself no farther trouble, as the affection of his fellow-
citizens (turning to the crowd) was all the guard he wanted."

The house to which Washington was conducted, and which be-
came his official residence, was that which still exists at the corner
of Cherry street and Franklin square. It was owned by Mr. Os-
good, of the Treasury Board, and had been occupied by the pre-
sidents of the Continental Congress. As his domestic establishment
was not yet organized his table for a few days was supplied from
Fraunces's tavern, and on the evening of his arrival he was enter-
tained at dinner by Governor Clinton, with the Vice President,
the heads of departments, the committee of Congress appointed to
receive him, the foreign ambassadors, and several other eminent
persons. "The occasion of the President's first arrival at the
seat of government," says Fenno, " arrested the public attention be-
yond all powers of description ; the hand of industry was suspend-
ed, and the various pleasures of the capital were centered in a sin-
gle enjoyment." Some who were advanced in years, and hardly
expected to see him till they should meet in heaven, could with
difficulty " restrain their impatience at being in a measure deprived
of the high gratification, by the eagerness of the. multitude of chil-
dren and young people, who probably might long enjoy the bless-
ing ; and others were heard to say they should now die contented,
nothing having been wanted previous to this auspicious time but a
sight of the Saviour of his Country."

THE TKIUMPHAL PEOGKESS. 135

John Adams, in a speech to the senate on taking his place as
president of that body, two days before Washington's arrival in
the city, said of him, " Were I blessed with powers to do justice
to his character, it would be impossible to increase the confidence
and respect of his country, or make the smallest addition to his
glory. This can only be effected by a discharge of the present ex-
alted trust, on the same principles, with the same abilities and
virtues, which have uniformly appeared in all his former life,
public and private. May I, nevertheless, be indulged to inquire,
If we look over the catalogues of the first magistrates of nations,
whether they have been denominated presidents or consuls, kings
or princes, where shall we find one whose commanding talents and
virtues, whose overruling good fortune, have so completely united
all hearts and voices in his favor ; who enjoyed the esteem and ad-
miration of foreign nations and fellow citizens with equal unanimi-
ty? .... By these great qualities, and their benign effects, has
Providence marked out the head of this nation, with a hand so
distinctly visible, as to have been seen by all men and mistaken
by none."

Yet the modest estimate which the Chief entertained respect-
ing his own abilities brought a melancholy foreboding to mingle
with the patriotic joy awakened by all these recent triumphs. The
day after he thus entered New York he wrote in his private' jour-
nal : " The display of boats which attended and joined us on this oc-
casion, some with vocal and some with instrumental music on board,
the decorations of the ships, the roar of cannon, and the loud ac-
clamations of the people which rent the skies as I passed along
the wharves, filled my mind with sensations as painful (considering
the reverse of this scene, which may be the case, after all my la-
bors to do good,) as they are pleasing."

It is noted among the incidents of the day that the schoonei

136 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

Columbia, Captain Philip Freneau, eight days from Charleston,
came up the bay in time to take a part in the proceedings. Philip
Freneau, the bard of the revolution, was destined to act no unim-
portant part in the secret history of Washington's administration.

THE INAUGURATION.

AT length the important day arrived when the great leader who
had maintained our independence in the field with so much wis-
dom, prudence, energy, and indomitable perseverance, was to be
inaugurated the first chief magistrate of the united and consolidated
republic. For nearly a fortnight the taverns and boarding-houses
in the city had been thronged with visitors, and now every private
house was filled with guests, from all parts of the Union, assembled
to witness the imposing ceremonial which was to complete the or-
ganization of the government. " We shall remain here, even if we
have to sleep in tents, as so many will have to do," wrote Miss Ber-
tha Ingersoll to Miss McKean ; * " Mr. Williamson had promised
to engage us rooms at Frauncis's, but that was jammed long ago,
as was every other decent public house ; and now, while we are
waiting at Mrs. Vandervoort's, in Maiden Lane, till- after dinner,
two of our beaus are running about town, determined to obtain the
best places for us to stay at which can be opened for love, money,
or the most persuasive speeches." Another young woman, after
recounting the vicissitudes of a journey from Boston, and various
difficulties in finding agreeable accommodations in the metropolis,

* Afterward Marchioness d'Yrujo.

138 THE REPUBLICAN COUKT

adds in a postcript, "I "Lave seen him! and though I had been en
tirely ignorant that he was arrived in the city, I should have known
at a glance that it was General "Washington : I never saw a human
being that looked so great and noble as he does. I could fall down
on my kn'ees before him and bless him for all the good he has done
for this country."

II.

THE anxiously expected morning of Thursday, the thirtieth
of April, was greeted with a national salute from the Bowling
Green, and at an early hour the streets were filled with men and
women, in their holiday attire, while every moment arrived new
crowds from the adjoining country, by the road from King's Bridge,
by ferry boats from more distant places, or by packets which
had been all night on the Sound or coming down the Hudson. At
eight o'clock some clouds about the horizon caused apprehensions
of an unpleasant day; but when, at nine, the bells rung out a
merry peal, and presently with a slower and more solemn striking,
called from every steeple for the people to assemble in the churches
" to implore the blessing of Heaven on the nation, its favor and pro-
tection to the President, and success and acceptance to his adminis-
tration," the sun shone clearly down, as if commissioned to give as-
surance of the approbation of the Divine Ruler of the world.

As the people came out from the churches, where Livingston,
Mason, Provoost, Eodgers, and other clergymen,* had given passion-

* The list of clergymen, for the city, in 1789, comprised only fourteen names, as follows :
Presbyterian Church, Rev. Dr. John Eodgers ; Scotch Presbyterian Church, Rev. Dr. John Mason ;
Episcopal Church, Rev. Dr. Samuel Provoost, Bishop, and Rev. Mr. Beach and Rev. Benjamin
Moore ; United Lutheran Church, Rev. Dr. John Christopher Kunzie ; Methodist Church, Rev.
Mr. Morrill and Rev. Mr. Cloud ; Reformed Dutch Church, Rev. Dr. John H. Livingston and Rev.
Dr. "William Linn ; German Church, Rev. Mr. Gross ; Baptist Church, Rev. Mr. Foster ; Jewish
Synagogue, Rev. Gershom Seixas. While the ministry of peace exhibited this meagre catalogue,
that of contention the list of Supreme Court attorneys embraced one hundred and twenty-
two.

( WIIY*SfTY }
or

., 1&A&IPI5I IT ^ JIM ID) ,

THE INAUGURATION. 139

ately earnest and eloquent expression to that reverent and pro-
found desire which filled all hearts so universal was a religious
sense of the importance of the occasion the military began to
march from their respective quarters, with flaunting banners, and
the liveliest music. The principal companies were Captain Stakes's
troop of horse, equipped in the style of Lee's famous partisan le-
gion ; Captain Scriba's German Grenadiers, with blue coats, yellow
waistcoats and breeches, black gaiters, and towering cone-shaped
caps, faced with bear-skin ; Captain Harsin's New York Grenadiers,
composed, in imitation of the guard of the great Frederick, of only
the tallest and finest-looking young men of the city, dressed in blue
coats with red facings and gold lace broideries, cocked hats with
white feathers, and white waistcoats and breeches, and black spat-
terdashes, buttoned close from the shoe to the knee ; and the Scotch
Infantry, in full highland costume, with bagpipes.

Ealph Izard, Tristram Dalton, and Eichard Henry Lee, on the
part of the Senate, and Charles Carroll, Egbert Benson, and Fisher
Ames, on the part of the House of Representatives, had been ap-
pointed a joint committee of arrangements, and the procession
was formed under the immediate direction of Colonel Morgan
Lewis, in Cherry street, opposite the President's house, at twelve
o'clock. After the military came

The Sheriff of the City and County of New York,
The Committee of the Senate,

GEORGE WASHINGTON,

The Committee of the House of Representatives,
John Jay, Secretary for Foreign Affairs,

Henry Knox, Secretary of War,

Robert R. Livingston, Chancellor of the State of New York,
Distinguished Citizens.

The procession having marched through Queen, Great Dock, and
Broad streets, until opposite Federal Hall, the troops formed a line

140 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

on each side of the way, through which the President, with his at-
tendants, was conducted to the chamber of the Senate, where
the members of the House of Eepresentatives had a few minutes
before assembled, and at the door the Vice President received him
and waited upon him to the chair.

The Vice President then said, " Sir, the Senate and House of
Eepresentatives of the United States are ready to attend you to
take the oath required by the Constitution, which will be adminis
tered by the Chancellor of the State of New York."

The President answered, "I am ready to proceed."

The Vice President and the Senators led the way, and, accom-
panied by the Chancellor, and followed by the Eepresentatives, and
other public characters present, he then walked to the outside gallery,
from which Broad street and Wall street, each way, were perceived
to be filled, as with a sea of upturned faces, but as silent as if the
immense concourse had been of statues instead of living men.

The spectacle must have been in the highest degree interesting
and serious. In the centre, between two pillars, was seen the com-
manding figure of Washington, in a coat, waistcoat, and breeches,
of fine dark brown cloth, and white silk stockings, all of American
manufacture, plain silver buckles in his shoes, his head uncovered,
and his hair dressed in the prevailing fashion of the time. On one
side stood the Chancellor, in a full suit of black cloth, and on the
other the Vice President, dressed more showily, but like the Pre-
sident entirely in American fabrics. Between the President and
the Chancellor was Mr. Otis, Secretary of the Senate, a small short
man, holding an open Bible upon a rich crimson cushion, and con-
spicuous in the group were Eoger Sherman, General Knox, General
St. Clair, Baron Steuben, and others whose names were equally
dear and familiar to the people.

A gesture of the Chancellor arrested the attention of the im-

THE INAUGURATION. 141

mense assembly, and he pronounced slowly and distinctly the words
of the oath. The Bible was raised, and as the President bowed to
kiss its sacred pages, he said audibly, " I swear," and added, with
fervor, his eyes closed, that his whole soul might be absorbed in
the supplication, " So help me God ! "

Then the Chancellor said, " It is done," and, turning to the mul-
titude, waved his hand, and with a loud voice exclaimed, " Long
live George Washington, President of the United States ! "

Immediately the air was filled with acclamations and the roar
of cannon ; the President bowed, and again and again the welkin
rung with the plaudits of happy and grateful citizens, who felt that
Heaven had granted all their reasonable petitions, and that the
New Era dreamed of by sages and celebrated by orators and bards
was now completely inaugurated.

" The scene," writes one who was present to his correspondent
in Philadelphia, "was solemn and awful beyond description. It
would seem extraordinary that the administration of an oath, a
ceremony so very common and familiar, should in so great a de-
gree excite the public curiosity ; but the circumstances of the Pre-
sident's election, the impression of his past services, the concourse
of spectators, the devout fervency with which he repeated the oath,
and the reverential manner in which he bowed down and kissed the
sacred volume, all these conspired to render it one of the most au-
gust and interesting spectacles ever exhibited It seemed, from

the number of witnesses, to be a solemn appeal to Heaven and earth
at once. In regard to this great and good man I may perhaps be
an enthusiast, but I confess that I was under an awful and religious
persuasion, that the gracious Ruler of the Universe was looking
down at that moment with peculiar complacency on an act which
to a part of his creatures was so very important." Under this im-
pression, he proceeds to say that when the Chancellor proclaimed

142 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

Washington President, his sensibility was so excited that he could

do no more than wave his hat with the rest, without the power of
joining in the repeated acclamations which rent the air.

Few persons are now living who witnessed the induction of the
first President of the United States into his office ; but walking, not
many months ago, near the middle of a night of unusual beauty,
through Broadway at that hour scarcely disturbed by any voices
or footfalls except our own "Washington Irving related to Dr.
Francis and myself his recollections of these scenes, with that
graceful conversational eloquence of which he is one of the greatest
of living masters. He had watched the procession till the Presi-
dent entered Federal Hall, and from the corner of New street and
Wall street had observed the subsequent proceedings in the balcony.

III.

THE President, members of the Congress, and other dignitaries
and distinguished characters, having returned to the Senate cham-
ber and taken their seats, Washington arose and delivered a short
inaugural speech, alike remarkable as a display of modesty, dig-
nity, and wisdom. Among the vicissitudes of his life, he said, none
could have filled him with greater anxieties than his election to the
Presidency. " On the one hand I was summoned by my country,
whose voice I can never hear but with veneration and love, from a
retreat which I had chosen with the fondest predilection, and, in
my flattering hopes, with an immutable decision, as the asylum of
my declining years ; a retreat which was rendered every day more
necessary as well as more dear to me by the addition of habit to
inclination, and of frequent interruptions of my health to the grad-
ual waste committed on it by time. On the other hand, the mag-
nitude and difficulty of the trust to which the voice of my country
called me, being sufficient to awaken in the wisest .and most expe-

THE INAUGURATION. 143

rienced of her citizens a distrustful scrutiny into his qualifications;
could not Ibut overwhelm with despondence one who, inheriting
inferior endowments from nature, and unpractised in the duties of
civil administration, ought to be peculiarly conscious of his own
deficiences. In this conflict of emotions all I dare aver is, that it
has been my faithful study to collect my duty from a just apprecia-
tion of every circumstance by which it might be affected; all I
dare hope is, that if in accepting this task I have been too much
swayed by a grateful remembrance of former instances, or by an
affectionate sensibility to this transcendant proof of the confidence
of my fellow-citizens, and have thence too little consulted my inca-
pacity as well as disinclination for the weighty and untried cares
before me, my error will be palliated by the motives which misled
,me, and its consequences judged by my country with* some share
of the partiality in which they originated. Such being the impres-
sions under which I have in obedience to the public summons re-
paired to the present station, it would be peculiarly improper to
omit in this, my first official act, my fervent supplications to that
Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the
councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every
human defect, that his benediction may consecrate to the liberties
and happiness of the people of the United States a government
instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may ena-
ble every instrument employed in its administration to execute
with success the functions allotted to his charge. In tendering
this homage to the great Author of every public and private good,
I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my
own, nor those of our fellow-citizens at large less than either. No
people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible Hand
which conducts the affairs of men, more than the people of the
United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the

144 THE REPUBLICAN COUKT.

character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished
by some token of providential agency, and in the important revo-
lution just accomplished in the system of this united government,
the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct
communities, from which the event has resulted, cannot be com-
pared with the means by which most governments have been estab-
lished, without some return of pious gratitude, along with an hum-
ble anticipation of the future blessings which the past seem to pre-
sage. These reflections, arising out of the present crisis, have forced
themselves too strongly on my mind to be suppressed. You will
join with me, I trust, in thinking that there are none under the
influence of which the proceedings of a new and free government,
can more auspiciously commence." These are sentiments most
worthy of the greatest of men, and their perfect and profound
justice can never be questioned, except by the intellectually weak
or the morally depraved. Intimating briefly his unwillingness,
until he should become more familiar with the condition of public
affairs, to recommend any specific action to the representatives of
the people, and suggesting that he desired, as when holding his
former office of commander-in-chief of the army, no compensation
for his services, but only the repayment of his actual expenses, he
closed with renewed expressions of his devout gratitude to Heaven,
and supplications for further aid, protection, and direction.*

The President, Vice President, Senators, Representatives, Heads
of Departments, and many others, then proceeded to St. Paul's
Chapel in Broadway, where prayers suited to the occasion were
read by Dr. Provoost, recently elected Bishop of the Protestant

* The Senate, a few days afterwards, and soon after the House of Representatives, went in
long lines of carriages from Federal Hall to the President's house, to present their answers to the
inauguration speech. The members of the lower House, as we learn from a MS. letter of Elias
Boudinot, had a very unpleasant time of it, in consequence of the rain, but they were delighted
with their gracious reception.

THE INAUGURATION. 145

Episcopal Church in New York, who had been selected by the
Senate to be one of the chaplains of Congress. These services over,
the President was escorted back to his own house.

IV.

IN the evening the city was brilliantly illuminated, and there
was a display of fireworks, under Colonel Bauman, surpassing
any thing of the kind hitherto seen in New York. Between the
Bowling Green and the Fort, at the foot of Broadway, was a large
transparent painting, in the centre of which appeared a portrait of
Washington, under a figure of Fortitude, and the Senate and House
of Representatives were exhibited, one on the right, and the other
on the left, under the forms of Justice and "Wisdom. The ship
Carolina, off the Fort, seemed like a pyramid of stars. Federal
Hall presented in every window a sheet of light. The front of the
Theatre, in John street, was almost covered with transparencies, one
of which represented Fame, descending like an angel from Heaven,
and crowning Washington with the emblems of immortality. A
very large number of private residences were also illuminated, and
none more tastefully or brilliantly than those of the French and
Spanish ministers, the Count de Moustier and Don Diego Gardoqui,
which were both in Broadway, near the Bowling Green. The
doors and windows of M. de Moustier displayed borderings of
lamps, which shone upon numerous paintings, ingeniously sugges-
tive of the past, the present, and the future, in American history ;
and there were also over the front of the house large and striking
transparencies, which are described as having done great honor to
the taste and sentiment of the inventor, probably Madame de Bre-
han, the Count's sister, who was always industrious with her pencil
when not occupied with more immediate duties to society. The
Spanish minister's residence was still more elaborately and effect*
19

146 THE REPUBLICAN COUBT.

ively ornamented. In the principal transparency were seen figures
of the Graces, exceedingly well executed, among a pleasing variety
of patriotic emblems, and trees, flowers, arches, and fountains ; and
in the windows were moving pictures, so skilful in design and
accomplishment as to present the illusion of living panoramas, " the
whole," according to Fenno's Gazette, " affording a new, an ani-
mated, and an enchanting spectacle. 71

Mr. Lear mentions, in a diary which he kept at the time, that
in the beginning of the evening the President, Colonel Humphreys,
and himself went in a carriage to the houses of Chancellor Living*
ston and General Knox, where they had a full view of the fire-
works, and that they returned home at ten o'clock, on foot, the
throng of people in the streets being so great as not to permit a
carriage to pass.

TJifPEE these favorable auspices, surrounded and sustained by
the most able and eminent men of the country, and encouraged by
the most enthusiastic demonstrations of popular respect and affec-
tion, Washington entered upon that career of civil administration
in which the sagacious student of history recognizes as much
bravery of temper, solidity of understanding, and steady and
unselfish devotion to the common welfare, as had marked that
military conduct which caused Frederic, the hero of Prague, Eos-
bach, and lissa, to send him his sword, inscribed, "From the
oldest general in Europe to the greatest general in the world," and
Napoleon to hail him as " the Great Washington."

NEW TORE METROPOLITAN.

FOE several days after the inauguration Washington was occu-
pied nearly every moment with public "business, and the amount of
official labor which he performed seems almost incredible. His first
purpose was to acquaint himself intimately with the details of do-
mestic and foreign affairs, and with this view he instructed Mr. Jay,
General Knox, and the commissioners of the Treasury, (who con-
tinued to exercise their functions till Congress passed laws for the
reorganization and support of their respective departments,) to pre-
sent elaborate reports, which he read, and with his own hand re-
produced, in abstracts, the better to impress their contents on his
memory ; and that he might more perfectly understand our rela-
tions with other governments he studied, from beginning to end,
with pen in hand, all the correspondence which had accumulated
in the foreign secretary's office since the treaty of peace and the
termination of the war.

In the midst of these arduous avocations he found time, never-
theless, to arrange with Samuel Fraunces,* his steward, the details
of his household economy, and to attend to the more important

* " Black Sam," as Fraunces was familiarly called, must have been at this time not far from
sixty years of age. Washington had long been familiar with him as a popular host, and had em-
ployed his daughter as housekeeper, at Richmond Hill, while the head-quarters of the army wer

148 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

calls of ceremony, courtesy and curiosity, though in regard to these
he was relieved in a considerable degree by the serviceable inter-
ference of Colonel Humphrey, who instinctively understood what
parties were best entitled to an audience, and in what manner to
send away without offence those whom it was least necessary for
the President personally to receive.

in the city. It was by means of this daughter that an attempt to poison the Chief, during that
period, was frustrated. As early as 1761, Fraunees kept a tavern, and sold "portable soup,
catchup, bottled gooseberries, pickled walnuts, pickled or fryed oysters fit to go to the West
Indies, pickled mushrooms, currant jelly, marmalade," &c., at the "sign of the Mason's Arms,
near the Green." He afterward opened the Vauxhall Gardens, in Greenwich street, and in 1771
his celebrated City Tavern, in Broad street, where "Washington took leave of the officers of the
army, on the fourth of December, 1783. There were several clubs in New York previous to the
war; one, called "The Moot," and composed principally o'f lawyers, was organized in 1770, and
held its last meeting on the sixth of January, 1775. To this belonged William Livingston, Kob-
ert E. Livingston, John Jay, Stephen De Lancey, Gouverneur Morris, James Duane, and about a
dozen others, a majority of whom subsequently filled important public places. Another was the
Social Club, which " passed Saturday evenings at Sam, Fraunces's, corner of Broad and Dock streets,
in winter, and in summer at Kip's Bay, where they built a neat large room for a club house." This
club was broken up in December, 1775. The following biographical list of its members, written
by the John Moore whose name is at the end of it, is preserved in the library of the New York
Historical Society :

"John Jay, Disaffected Became Member of Congress, a Kesident Minister to Spain, Commissioner to make
Peace, Chief Justice, Minister to England, and on his return Governor of New York
a good and amiable man.

" Gouverneur Morris, " Member of Congress, Minister to France, &c.
"Eobt E. Livingston, " Minister to France, Chancellor of New York, &c.
" Egbert Benson, " District Judge, New York, and in the Legislature. A good man.

" Morgan Lewis, " Governor of New York, and a General in the war of 1812.

" Gulian Verplanck, " but in Europe until 1T8-3. President of the New York Bank.
" John Livingston and

his brother Henry, " but of no political importance.
" James Seagrove, " went to the southward as a merchant

" Francis Lewis, " but of no political importance.

"John Watts, Doubtful during the war Eecorder of New York.
" Leonard Lispenard and . , .

his brother Anthony, " but remained quiet at New York.
"Eich'd Harrison, Loyal but has since been Eecorder of New York.
"John Hay, " an officer in the British army. Killed in the "West Indies.

" Peter Van Schaack, " a lawyer, remained quiet at Kinderhook.
" Daniel Ludlow, " during the war. Since President of the Manhattan Bank.

" Dr. Samuel Bard, " though in 1775 doubtful, remained in New York. A good man.
" George Ludlow, " remained on Long Island in quiet A good man.

"William, his brother, " or supposed so remained on Long Island. Inoffensive man.
" William Iiulay, " at first but doubtful after 17T7.

" Edward Gould, " at New York all the war a merchant

"John Eeade Pro. and Con. Would have proved loyal, no doubt, had not his wife's family been otherwise.
"J. Stevens, Disaffected.

"Henry Kelly, Loyal went to England, and did not return.
"Stephen Eapelye turned out bad. Died in the New York Hospital.
"John Moore, Loyal in public life during all the war, and from the year 1765."

NEW YORK METROPOLITAN. 149

It soon became apparent, however, that particular rules must
be established for receiving visitors and entertaining company. The
first step taken was a public intimation, two or three days after the
inauguration, that he would receive visits on Tuesdays and Fri-
days, between the hours of two and three in the afternoon, and that
visits of compliment on other days, and particularly on Sundays,
would not be agreeable to him. He at the same time consulted
several of his more immediate friends on the subject, intimating

Washington's confidence in Fraunces's judgment had been illustrated in 1785, when he wrote
to Turn from Mount Vernon :

"As no person can judge better of the qualifications necessary to constitute a good housekeeper, or household
steward, than yourself, for a family which has a good deal of company, and wishes to entertain them in a plain but gen-
teel style, I take the liberty of asking you if there is any such one in your reach, .whom you think could be induced
to come to me on reasonable wages. I would rather have a man than a woman ; but either will do, if they can be
recommended for honesty, sobriety, and knowledge in their profession; which, in one word, is to relieve Mrs. "Wash-
ington from the drudgery of ordering, and seeing the table properly covered, and things economically used

The wages I now give to a man, who is about to leave me in order to get married, (under which circumstances he
would not suit me,) is about one hundred dollars per annum ; but for one who understands the business perfectly, and
stands fair in all other respects, I would go as far as one hundred and fifty dollars."

The first public appearance of Fraunces in his new capacity was in the following advertisement,
published in the newspapers :

" WHEREAS, all servants and others appointed to procure provisions or supplies for the household of THE PRESIDENT
of the UNITED STATES will be furnished with monies for these purposes : Notice is therefore given, That no accounts,
for the payment of which the public might be considered as responsible, are to be opened with any of them.

" May 4th, 1789. SAMUEL FRAUNCES, Steward of the Houseliold."

" We are happy to inform our readers, in addition to the preceding notification," says Fenno's
Gazette, "that the President is determined to pursue that system of regularity and economy in
his household which has always marked his public and private life. As a proof of this, we learn
that the steward is obliged, by his articles of agreement, to exhibit weekly a fair statement of
the receipts and expenditures of moneys by him, for and on account of the President's house-
hold, to such person as the President may appoint to inspect the same ; together with the several
bills and receipts of payment for those articles which may be purchased by him, where such
bills and receipts can be obtained. And it is likewise strongly inculcated on the steward to
guard against any waste or extravagance that might be committed by the servants of the family."

An anecdote illustrative of the President's personal economy refers to the following winter.
Fraunces, it is related, was always anxious to provide the first dainties of the season for his
table. On one occasion, making his purchases at the old Vly Market, he observed a fine shad,
the first of the season. He was not long in making a bargain, and the fish was sent home
with his other provisions. The next morning it was duly served, in the best style, for break-
fast, on sitting down to which Washington observed the fragrant delicacy, and asked what it
was ; the steward replied, that it was " a fine shad." " It is very early in the season for shad :
how much did you pay for it?" "Two dollars." "Two dollars! I can never encourage this
extravagance at my table, take it away I will not touch it." The shad was accordingly
removed, and Fraunces, who had no such economical scruples, made a hearty meal upon it in
his own room.

150 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

that it was his wish to adopt such a system, as, without overstep
ping the limits of republican simplicity, would best maintain the
dignity of the office, and secure to the President such a command
of his time as was necessary to the proper performance of his du-
ties. About a week after the inauguration, at his request, Mr.
Hamilton addressed to him a letter, embracing such suggestions as
he deemed appropriate, and these were in the main adopted. The
customs thus introduced have ever since governed the intercourse
of the executive with society. It was decided that the President
should return no visits, that invitations to dinner should be given only
to official characters and strangers of distinction, and that visits of
courtesy should be confined to the afternoon of Tuesday, in each week.
Foreign ministers and strangers were, however, received on other
days, and the President was always accessible to persons who wished
to see him on business. At a subsequent period his house was open
in the same manner on Fridays for visits to Mrs. Washington,
which were on a still more sociable footing, and at which the
Chief was always present.

Mr. Jefferson, in his "Anas," has this statement : " When the
President went to New York, he resisted for three weeks the efforts to
introduce levees. At length he yielded, and left it to Humphreys
and some others to settle the forms. Accordingly an ante-chamber
and presence-room were provided, and when those who were to pay
their court were assembled the President set out, preceded by Hum-
phreys. After passing through the ante-chamber, the door of the
inner room was thrown open, and Humphreys entered first, calling
out with a loud voice, ' The President of the United States ! ' The
President was so much disconcerted by it that he did not recover
in the whole time of the levee ; and when the company was gone,
he said to Humphreys, ' Well, you have taken me in once, but, by
God, you shall never take me in a second time.' "

NEW YOKK METROPOLITAN. 151

How entirely erroneous this is, in every particular, ' may be
seen from Washington's own statement respecting the institution
of the levees, as given in a letter to his relation, Dr. Stuart. " Be-
fore the custom was established," he says, " which now accommo-
dates foreign characters, strangers, and others, who from motives
of curiosity, respect to the chief magistrate, or any other cause, are
induced to call upon me, I was unable to attend to any business what-
ever ; for gentlemen, consulting their own convenience rather than
mine, were calling after the time I rose from breakfast, and often
before, until I sat down to dinner. This, as I resolved not to neg-
lect my public duties, reduced me to the choice of one of these
alternatives : either to refuse visits altogether, or to appropriate a
time for the reception of them. The first would, I knew, be dis-
gusting to many ; the latter, I expected, would undergo animadver-
sion from those who would find fault, with or without cause. I
therefore adopted that line of conduct which combined public ad
vantage with private convenience, and which in my judgment was
unexceptionable in itself. These visits are optional ; they are made
without invitation ; between the hours of three and four, every
Tuesday, I am prepared to receive them. Gentlemen, often in
great numbers, come and go ; chat with each other, and act as they
please. A porter shows them into the room, and they retire from
it when they choose, without ceremony. At their first entrance
they salute me, and I tliem, and as many as I can, I talk to. What
4 pomp ' there is in all this I am unable to discover."

On Sundays the President attended church, in the morning,
unless detained by indisposition, passed the afternoon in his own
apartment, at home, and in the evening remained with his family,
without company, though sometimes an old or intimate friend was
admitted for an hour or two. Every night it was his custom to
retire to his library at nine or ten o'clock, and to remain there an

152 THE EEPUBLICAN COURT.

hour before lie went to his chamber ; and he always rose before the
sun, and occupied himself in his library until called to breakfast.

II.

ANOTHER subject which caused much discussion in society as
well as in Congress was that of titles. We have already seen from
a letter by General Armstrong to General Gates, that " even Koger
Sherman had set his head at work to devise some style of address
to the President more novel and dignified than t Excellency,' " before
Washington arrived in the city. The first movement in Congress
in relation to this matter was on the twenty-third of April, when
committees were appointed in both houses to consider and report
what styles or titles it would be proper to annex to the offices of
President and Vice President of the United States, if any, other than
those given in the Constitution. On the fifth of May the Repre-
sentatives decided against all titles whatever. In the Senate, on
the seventh, the committee proposed that the President should be
addressed as "His Excellency," but this proposition was rejected,
and a new committee appointed, who, on the fourteenth, recom-
mended the style of " His Highness the President of the United
States of America, and Protector of their Liberties." The Repre-
sentatives, however, still refusing to sanction any title except that
indicated in the Constitution, the Senate finally passed a resolution
declaring that, " from a decent respect for the opinion and practice
of civilized nations, whether under monarchical or republican forms
of government, whose custom is to annex titles of respectability to
the offices of their chief magistrates, and that in intercourse with
foreign nations a due respect for the majesty of the people of the
United States might not be hazarded by an appearance of singular-
ity," it had been of opinion that it was expedient to make use of
some such distinction in addressing the head of the government ;

NEW YORK METROPOLITAN. 153

but that, desirous of preserving harmony with the House of Repre-
sentatives, it would conform to its practice, and adopt the simple
style, "To the President of the United States."

Before the meeting of Congress this, subject had been discussed
by some distinguished characters at a dinner table in Philadelphia.
The wife of Dr. Shippen was from Virginia, and in consequence of
this, probably, the doctor invited several members of the delega-
tion of that state, while in Philadelphia, on their way to New York,
to dine at his house ; and Mr. Madison, Mr. Page, Mr. Eichard Henry
Lee, and one or two others accepted, and met, from the city, Chief
Justice McKean, Mr. William Bingham, and Dr. Ashbel Green.
Soon after the company were assembled, the Chief Justice asked
Mr. Madison if he had thought of a title for the President. Mad-
ison answered that he had not, and added, that in his opinion no
title except that of President would be necessary or proper. " Yes,
sir," replied McKean, " he must have a title, and I have been examin-
ing the titles of the princes of Europe to discover one that has not
been appropriated; 'Most Serene Highness' is used, but Serene
Highness, without the word ' Most,' is not ; and I think it proper
thai our Chief magistrate should be known as His Serene High-
ness the President of the United States." An amicable controversy
ensued, Madison and his colleagues on one side, and McKean and
probably Bingham on the other.

General Muhlenberg states that Washington himself was in
favor of the style of " High Mightiness," used by the Stadtholder
of Holland, and that while the subject was under discussion in
Congress he dined with the President, and, by a jest about it, for a
time lost his friendship. Among the guests was Mr. Wynkoop, of
Pennsylvania, who was noticeable for his large and commanding
figure. The resolutions before the two houses being referred to,

the President, in his usual dignified manner, said, " Well, General
20

154 THE REPUBLICAN COUKT

Muhlenberg, what do you think of the title of High Mightiness?''
Muhlenberg answered, laughing, "Why, General, if we were
certain that the office would always be held by men as large as
yourself or my friend Wynkoop, it would be appropriate enough,
but if by chance a president as small as my opposite neighbor
should be elected, it would become ridiculous." This evasive reply
excited some merriment about the table, but the Chief looked
grave, and his evident displeasure was increased soon after by
Muhlenberg's vote, in the House of Representatives, against con-
ferring any title whatever upon the President.

Mr. Adams was understood to be decidedly in favor of titles,
and he had adopted in his equipage and manner of living a style
which seemed to him appropriate to the dignity of his official posi-
tion. At this many members of Congress, especially some from the
South, took offence, and Mr. Thomas Tudor Tucker, of South Caro-
lina, referred to him in a very marked manner in a speech on the sub-
ject of titles, saying, " This spirit of imitation, this apishness, will be
the ruin of our country, and instead of giving us dignity in the
eyes of foreigners will only expose us to be laughed at "

III.

SOME preparations had been made by the managers of the City
Assemblies for an Inauguration Ball, but as Mrs. Washington did
not accompany the President to New York the design was aban-
doned. A week after, however on the evening of Thursday, the
seventh of May a very splendid ball was given at the Assem-
bly Eooms, at which the President, the Vice President, a major-
ity of the members of both houses of Congress, the French Minis-
ter, the Spanish Minister, the Governor of New York, Chancellor
Livingston, Baron Steuben, General Knox, Mr. Jay, Mr. Ham-
ilton, and a great number of other distinguished persons, were

NEW YORK METROPOLITAN. 155

present. " Tlie collection of ladies," says a contemporary, " was
numerous and brilliant, and they were dressed with consummate
taste and elegance." * The Assembly Room was on the east side
of Broadway, a little above "Wall street, and it was decorated on
this occasion with tasteful and appropriate magnificence.

Among the most distinguished women at this ball were Lady
Stirling, and her two daughters, Lady Mary Watts and Lady

* The costume of the time is very well illustrated by the portraits in this volume, but some
readers may be interested in the remarks on the dresses of women which form a portion of
Colonel Stone's description of the ball above referred to. " Few jewels," he says, " were then
worn in the United States ; but in other respects, the dresses were rich and beautiful, according
to the fashions of the day. We are not quite sure that we can describe the full dress of a lady
of rank at the period under consideration, so as to render it intelligible. But we will make the
attempt. One favorite dress was a plain celestial blue satin gown, with a white satin petticoat.
On the neck was worn a very large Italian gauze handkerchief, with border stripes of satin. The
head-dress was a pouf of gauze, in the form of a globe, the creneaux or head-piece of which was
composed of white satin, having a double wing, in large plaits, and trimmed with a wreath of
artificial roses, falling from the left at the top to the right at the bottom, in front, and the reverse
behind. The hair was dressed all over in detached curls, four of which, in two ranks, fell on
each side of the neck, and were relieved behind by a floating chignon. Another beautiful dress
was a perriot, made of gray Indian taffeta, with dark stripes of the same color, having two
collars, the one yellow, and the other white, both trimmed with a blue silk fringe, and a reverse
trimmed in the same manner. Under the perriot they wore a yellow corset or boddice, with
large cross stripes of blue. Some of the ladies with this dress wore hats a I'Espagnole, of white
satin, with a band of the same material placed on the crown, like the wreath of flowers on the
head-dress above mentioned. This hat, which, with a plume, was a very popular article of dress,
was relieved on the left side, having two handsome cockades, one of which was at the top, and
the other at the bottom. On the neck was worn a very large plain gauze handkerchief, the ends
of which were hid under the boddice, after the manner represented in Trumbull's and Stuart's
portraits of Lady Washington. Round the bosom of the perriot a frill of gauze, a la Henri IV.,
was attached, cut in points around the edge. There was still another dress which was thought
to be very simple and pretty. It consisted of a perriot and petticoat, both composed of the same
description of gray striped silk, and trimmed round with gauze, cut in points at the edges in the
manner of herrisons. The herrisons were indeed nearly the sole trimmings used for the perriots,
caracos, and petticoats of fashionable ladies, made either of ribbons or Italian gauze. With this
dress they wore large gauze handkerchiefs upon their necks, with four satin stripes around the
border, two of which were narrow, and the others broad. The head-dress was a plain gauze
cap, after the form of the elders and ancients of a nunnery. The shoes were celestial blue, with
rose-colored rosettes. Such are descriptions of some of the principal costumes ; and although
varied in divers unimportant particulars, by the several ladies, according to their respective tastes
and fancies, yet, as with the peculiar fashions of all other times, there was a general correspond-
ence of the outlines, the tout ensemble was the same."

156 THE KEPUBLICAN COURT.

Kitty Duer ; Mrs. Peter Van Brugh Livingston, who was a sister
of the late Lord Stirling, Mrs. Montgomery, widow of the hero of
Quebec, Lady Christiana Griffin, Lady Temple, the Marchioness de
Brehan, Madame de la Forest, Mrs. Clinton, Mrs. Jay 7 Mrs. Hamil-
ton, Mrs. Provoost, wife of Bishop Provoost, Mrs. Duane, wife of
the Mayor, Mrs. Dalton, wife of a senator from Massachusetts. Mrs.
Langdon, wife of a senator from New Hampshire, Mrs. Dominick
Lynch, Mrs. Elbridge Gerry, Mrs. William S. Smith, Mrs. James
H. Maxwell, Mrs. Beekman, Mrs. Robinson, the Misses Living-
ston, the Misses Bayard, and Miss Van Zandt. The President
danced during the evening in the cotillion with Mrs. Peter Van
Brugh Livingston and Mrs. Maxwell, and with the latter in a
minuet. He had repeatedly danced with Mrs. Maxwell, then
Miss Van Zandt, while the headquarters of the army were at
Morristown.

On this occasion an agreeable surprise was prepared by the
managers for every woman who attended. A sufficient number
of fans had been made for the purpose in Paris, the ivory frames of
which displayed, as they were opened, between the hinges and the
elegant paper covering, an extremely well executed medallion por-
trait of Washington, in profile, and a page was appointed to pre-
sent one, with the compliments of the managers, as each couple
passed the receiver of the tickets.

Mr. Jefferson, to illustrate "the frenzy which prevailed in
New York on the opening of the new government," gives an ac-
count of this ball, on the authority of a " Mr. Brown." He says :
" At the first public ball which took place after the President's
arrival there, Colonel Humphreys, Colonel William S. Smith, and
Mrs. Knox, were to arrange the ceremonials. These arrangements
were as follows : a sofa at the head of the room, raised on several
steps, whereon the President and Mrs. Washington were to be

NEW YORK METROPOLITAN. 157

seated ; tiie gentlemen were to dance with, swords ; each one, when
going to dance, was to lead his partner to the foot of the sofa, make
a low obeisance to the President and his lady, then go and dance,
and, when done, bring his partner back again to the foot of the
sofa, for new obeisances, and finally retire to their chairs. It was
to be understood, too, that gentlemen should be dressed in bags.
Mrs. Knox contrived to come with the President, and to follow him
and Mrs. Washington to their destination, and she had the design
of forcing from the President an invitation to a seat on the sofa.
She mounted up the steps after them, unbidden, but unfortunately
the wicked sofa was so short, that, when the President and Mrs.
Washington were seated, there was not room for a third person, and
she was obliged, therefore, to descend, in the face of the company,
and to sit where she could. In other respects the ceremony was
conducted rigorously according to the arrangements, and the Presi-
dent made to pass an evening which was a very disagreeable one
to him." Several of these statements were adopted by the late
Colonel Stone, in an account which he published of the first ball
after the inauguration ; and Mr. Hildreth, I am surprised to per-
ceive, has repeated them in his History of the United States ; but
they are all utterly untrue. That the President occupied no such
stately position, on an elevated platform, is sufficiently apparent from
the fact that he danced at least in two cotillions and one minuet ;
as for Mrs Washington, she was not present, nor, for more than a
fortnight afterwards, in the city; and Mrs. Knox was at this time
in a situation which prevented her appearance in society.

On the following Thursday, the fourteenth of May, the Count
de Moustier gave a magnificent ball in honor of the President, at
his house in Broadway. It is described in a letter by one of the
young women present, to a friend in Philadelphia, as remarkable
for the good taste and elegance of all the appointments. " I heard

158 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

the Marchioness," she says, " declare she had exhausted every resource
to produce an entertainment worthy of France." Our alliance with
that country was celebrated by two sets of cotillion dancers in com-
plete military costume : one in that of France, and the other in
the American buff and blue. Elias Boudinot the next day wrote
to his wife : " Last evening we spent at the Count de Moustier's,
where was a most splendid ball indeed. After the President came,
a company of eight couple formed in the other room and entered,
two by two, and began a most curious dance, called En Ballet.
Four of the gentlemen were dressed in French regimentals, and
four in American uniforms ; four of the ladies with blue ribbons
round their heads and American flowers, and four with red roses and
flowers of France. These danced in a very curious manner, some-
times two and two, sometimes four couple and four couple^ and
then in a moment all together, which formed great entertainment
for the spectators, to show the happy union between the two na-
tions. Three rooms were filled, and the fourth was most elegantly
set off as a place for refreshment, A long table crossed this room,
in the middle, from wall to wall. The whole wall, inside, was cov-
ered with shelves, filled with cakes, oranges, apples, wines of all
sorts, ice creams, &c., and highly lighted up. A number of servants
from behind the table, supplied the guests with every thing they
wanted, from time to time, as they came in to refresh themselves,
which they did as often as a party had done dancing, and made
way for another. We retired about ten o'clock, in the height of
the jollity."

Besides attending these balls we find that Washington was pre-
sent also, on the sixth of May, at the annual commencement of Co-
lumbia College, with the Vice President, the Senate, the House of
Representatives, and the principal officers of the national and state
administrations. On the eleventh, with the Vice President, Gover-

NEW YORK METROPOLITAN. 159

nor Clinton, Count de Moustier, and many other citizens and foreign-
ers of distinction, he attended the theatre. And almost every day,
for several weeks, he was occupied more or less with receiving and
answering the addresses of legislative and other public bodies on
his accession to the presidency.

MES. WASHINGTON was now fifty-seven years of age. She had
been a very handsome woman, thirty years before, when she mar-
ried Colonel Washington, and in the admirable picture of her by
Woolaston,* painted about the same time, we see something of that
pleasing grace which is said to have been her distinction. Born of
a good family and heiress of a liberal fortune, Martha Dandridge

* Considering the great excellence of some of his works, it is astonishing that we know so
little of John Woolaston, a painter who was unquestionably of the first class in portraiture, and
whose colors, at the end of a century and a half, have the fresh brilliancy of their first display
on the canvas. The industrious Dunlap says, " a gentleman of this name painted in Philadelphia
in 1758, and in Maryland as early as 1759-60: I know nothing more of him." Several of his
works which I had seen interested me so much that I hunted through a dozen dictionaries of
painters for information respecting his history, and was despairing, when I saw in the (< Picture
Collector's Manual," by J. E. Hobbes, that "John Woolaston, born in London about 1672, painted
portraits whose only merit consisted in their being good likenesses." Horace Walpole says of the
same person that " he painted portraits at a very low rate, though they had the merit of strong
resemblance." The British Museum, we learn also from the " Anecdotes of Painters," contains a
remarkable portrait by him of Thomas Brittan, a celebrated character, with whom he was very
intimate, and at whose concerts he used to play on the violin and the flute. That he was in
Philadelphia as early as 1758 we know from a copy of verses addressed to him in that year by
Frances Hopkinson ; that he was in Virginia in the previous year appears from the date of his por-
trait of Mrs. Custis ; and he painted numerous pictures in Maryland, Virginia, and North and South
Carolina. If Lord Orford is right as to the date of his birth, he must have been at this period
not less than eighty-five years of age ; and if his chief merit was the faithfulness of his like-
nesses, Mrs. Custis might well conquer him who other whiles never moved except to victory.
But the portrait of Mrs. Washington, in her youth, which has been engraved for this volume,
from the original, at Arlington House, is deserving of praise for every good quality which can
enter into the composition of such a work ; and several other pictures by "Woolaston, particularly
a full length of Mrs. Smith, a sister of Mr. Eutledge, which I saw in Charleston, may be favor-
ably compared with the later and more celebrated works of Eeynolds and Lawrence. Mr. Custis,
who is himself a painter, writing to me from Arlington House last year, says : " I have three of
the works of "Woolaston, and they compare favorably with two magnificent pictures in my col
lection here by Vandyke and Sir Godfrey Kneller."

160 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

had troops of suitors before her first marriage, at seventeen ; and

when, a few years after, as the richest and handsomest widow in
Virginia, Mrs. Daniel Parke Custis attracted the tender regard of
the young soldier of Mount Vernon, there was, of course, abund-
ant competition ; but only the brave deserve the fair, and in this
case only the bravest could win tne fairest. It was certainly a love
match ; few, upon the whole, have been happier; and its only mis-
fortune was doubtless fortunate for the world, since greatness is
rarely transmissible, and any descendant of "Washington, however
respectable, would have seemed in history but a small satellite, too
frequently passing between us and his impressive and luminous
grandeur. During the revolution Mrs. Washington had remained
as much as possible with the Chief. At the close of each campaign
an aid-de-camp repaired to Mount Vernon, to escort her, and her
arrival in c.amp, in a plain chariot, with postillions in white and
scarlet liveries, was always an occasion of general happiness, and
a signal for the wives of other principal officers to join their hus-
bands. With the army, and all the successions of eminent and
curious strangers who visited the head-quarters, at Cambridge, Val-
ley Forge, Morristown, New Windsor, Newburgh, or elsewhere, she
was eminently popular. The gay Marquis de Chastellux, a grand-
son of the great d'Aguesseau, described her at the end of the con-
test as " one of the best women in the world, and beloved by all
about her."* In the six years from the peace till Washington was
chosen President, she dispensed the ample hospitalities of Mount
Vernon with a tact and graciousness which won the applause of her
numerous guests, many of whom left her praises in their correspon-
dence. " Every thing about the house," said Brissot de Warville,

* But there were no democrats in those days ; when this sort of people came into fashion,
during the French revolution, full grown, she cherished against them an intensity of dislike which
made it quite impossible for even the most amiable of that patriotic class to regard her with any
affection whatever.

NEW YORK METROPOLITAN. 16J

" has an air of ^simplicity ; the table is good, but not ostentatious,
and no deviation is seen from regularity and domestic economy ;
she superintends the whole, and joins to the qualities of an excel-
lent housewife the simple dignity which ought to characterize a
woman whose husband has acted the greatest part on the theatre
of human affairs, while possessing that amiability and manifesting
that attention to strangers which render hospitality so charming."

Mrs. Washington had not been ready 01 had not deemed it ex-
pedient to leave Mount Vernon with the General, on the sixteenth of
April ; but more than a month afterward, on the nineteenth of May,
with her grandchildren, Eleanor Custis and George Washington
Parke Custis, she set out for New York, in her private carriage,
with a small escort on horseback. Approaching Baltimore, the
same evening, she was met at Hammond's Ferry by several of the
most respectable citizens, and received with such other demonstra-
tions of affection and consideration as her brief stay admitted.
Fireworks were discharged before and after supper, and she was
serenaded by an excellent band of musicians, composed of gentle-
men of the city. " Like her illustrious husband," we learn from the
journals of the day, " she was clothed in the manufactures of our own
country, in which her native goodness and .patriotism appeared to
the greatest advantage."

Information having reached Philadelphia, by an express appoint-
ed for the purpose, that she would breakfast the next morning at
Chester, two troops of dragoons, under Captains Miles and Bing-
ham, left town at an early hour, with a numerous cavalcade. of citi-
zens, among whom were the President of the State and the Speaker
of the General Assembly ; and having arrived at a place about ten
miles distant they awaited there her appearance, which was presently
announced, when the military formed and proceeded to receive her
with the honors due to the commander-in-chief. The occasion re-
21

162 THE REPUBLICAN COUKT.

called those interesting scenes during the war, in whj,ch her presence
alleviated the care-oppressed hero's sufferings, and revived his
heart and quickened his brain for those terrible conflicts and that
profound policy which were destined to be crowned with so com-
plete a success in our independence. As the procession defiled on
either side for her carriage to pass, every countenance betrayed
feelings of the most grateful and affectionate consideration. At
Darby, a pleasant village seven miles south-west of Philadelphia,
she was met by a brilliant company of women, in carriages, who
attended her to Gray's Ferry, the favorite resort of pleasure-loving
people of the city, where she partook of a collation, hastily pre-
pared at the fashionable inn there,* for more than one hundred
persons. From Gray's Ferry Mrs. Eobert Morris occupied a seat
beside Mrs. Washington, who was to be her guest, resigning her
own carriage to young Custis, and at about two o'clock the proces-
sion entered High street, near her residence, greeted by the ring-
Jng of bells, the discharge of thirteen guns from the park of artil-
lery under Captain Fisher, and the cheering shouts of an immense

* " Gray's Ferry," says the Duke de la Rochefoucauld Liancourt, during Washington's ad-
ministration, " presents a most pleasing view : the toll-house, situated amid large points of rock
which here skirt the south bank of the Schuylkill, the trees scattered here and there amongst
them, and a considerable number of sailing vessels belonging to an adjoining inn, form altogether
a truly interesting scene. This inn is a place of general resort for parties of pleasure in the sum-
mer, and is frequently visited in the winter by the young people of Philadelphia, who travel
there in sledges, dine, and sometimes pass the night there in dancing." The banks of the Sohuyl-
kill, in a few years, were celebrated by Moore, who often resorted to these agreeable shades with
Dennie and Hopkinson ; but they were already familiar in song. Apostrophizing Gray's Ferry,
in IT 87, a bard informs us that:

" The Paphian queen and all her wingdd loves
For this have left their high Idalian groves,
Here, with the muses, passed their flowing hours,
Near the cool stream, or in the shady bowers,
While the sweet nine their golden harps have strung
And Waller's verse on Sacharissa sung.
Thus did Apollo for his choir prepare
A seat removed from public strife and care,
For which the muse, in gratitude, has brought
To Schuylkill's bank the Greek and Roman thought ;
There, to her Barlow, given the sounding string,
And first taught Smith, and Humphreys, how to sing."

NEW YORK METROPOLITAN. 163

concourse of joyous people. Here Mrs. Washington, taking leave
of her escort, thanked the troops and citizens in the most gracious
manner for their polite attention.

The next day she received many demonstrations of respectful
attachment, and recalled to Mrs. Morris, as her doors were con-
tinually thronged with distinguished visitors, the different temper
with which she had been received when on her way to join the
General, at Cambridge, soon after the commencement of the revo-
lution.* So prevalent was the disaffection at that time that but few
women called upon her, and a ball, to which she and Mrs. Hancock
had been invited, was postponed lest it should lead to a riot. She
left on Monday morning, her party increased by Mrs. Morris, who
attended her, in her own carriage. At an early hour the troops
paraded with an intention to escort her as far as Trenton, but the
weather proving rainy Mrs. "Washington requested them to return,
and they took a respectful leave of her, a few miles from the city.

At Trenton, where she slept on Monday night, and at Elizabeth-
town, where she and her party were guests of the venerable Living-
ston, Mrs. Washington was received with similar evidences of affec-
tionate respect.

* In Christopher Marshall's Diary, for the twenty-fourth of November, 1775, it is stated that
a committee was appointed to wait on Lady Washington, and express the great regard entertained
for her by the committee met at the Philosophical Hall (a sort of Committee of Safety), request-
ing her to accept of their grateful acknowledgments and respect, " due to her on account of her
near connection with our worthy and brave General, now exposed in the field of battle in de-
fence of our rights and liberties, and desire her not to grace that company to which, we are
informed, she has an invitation this evening," <fec. Major Bayard, one of the committee, the next
day reported that Lady Washington received them with great politeness, thanked them for their
kind regard in giving her such timely notice, and assured them of her ready agreement with
their wishes. Mr. William B. Eeed, in his Memoir of President Eeed, explains this state of feel-
ing at that time by saying, " Philadelphia, though the colonial metropolis, was of no great extent
or population ; village-like in its character, there were very well defined rules of society, such
as in a village are apt to be offensively distinct ; these social distinctions had been rather rudely
trampled down in the first disturbance of the revolution, and the conduct of those connected
with the proprietor-? or other pseudo-aristocratic connections, had not been such as to conciliate
popular regard "

164 THE KEPUBLICAN COURT.

On Wednesday morning, at five o'clock, the President departed
from New York, accompanied by Robert Morris and several other
distinguished persons, in his splendid barge manned, as on the
occasion of its presentation to him on his own arrival at Elizabeth-
town, by thirteen pilots, in handsome white dresses to meet his
wife and conduct her to her new home. As the beautiful vessel was
seen returning, great numbers gathered on the wharves ; as it ap-
proached the battery, it was saluted with thirteen guns ; and as its
distinguished passengers landed, they were greeted by crowds of
citizens, assembled to testify their participation in the happiness
which the Chief must feel at this reunion with his beloved family.

The principal women of the metropolis hastened to pay their
compliments to the wife of the President. Mrs. George Clinton,
Mrs. Montgomery, Lady Stirling, Lady Kitty Duer, Lady Mary
Watts, Lady Temple, Lady Christiana Griffin, the Marchioness de
Brehan, Madame de la Forest, Mrs. John Langdon, Mrs. Tristram
Dalton, Mrs. Knox, Mrs. Robert R. Livingston, Mrs. Livingston of
Clermont, the Misses Livingston, Mrs. Thompson, Mrs. Gerry, Mrs.
McComb, Mrs. Egdar, Mrs. Lynch, Mrs; Houston,'Mrs.Provoost, Mrs.
Beekman, the Misses Bayard, and many others, called on Thursday
morning.

Although it was the rule for the President to give no formal
invitations, yet the day after the arrival of Mrs. Washington,
Vice President Adams, Governor Clinton, the Count de Moustier,
Don Diego Gardoqui, Mr. Jay, General Arthur St. Clair, Sena-
tors Langdon, Wingate, Izard, and Few, and Mr. Muhlenberg,
Speaker of the House of Representatives, dined at his table en fa-
mille. Mr. Wingate has left us a description of this dinner. It
was the least showy, he says, of any he ever saw at the President's
table. As there was no clergyman present, Washington himself
said grace, on taking his seat. He dined on a boiled leg of mutton,

NEW YORK METEOPOLITAN. 165

It was his custom to eat of only one dish. After the dessert a sin*
gle glass of wine was offered to each of the guests, and when it was
drunk the President rose, all the company of course following his
example, and repaired to the drawing-room, whence every one
departed as he chose, without the least ceremony.

On the evening of Friday, the twenty-ninth of May, two days
after her arrival, Mrs. "Washington held her first levee, which was
attended by a numerous and most respectable company. The Pre-
sident continued to receive such persons as chose to call upon him,
every Tuesday afternoon, and from this time the drawing-rooms
of the presidential residence were opened from eight till ten o'clock
every Friday evening for visits to Mrs. Washington, at which the
Chief was always present. These assemblages were marked by as
little ostentation or restraint as the ordinary intercourse of respecta-
ble circles. They were accessible to persons connected with the
government and their families, to distinguished strangers, and in-
deed to all men and women whose social position entitled them to
a recognition in polite and cultivated society, while they furnished
opportunities for visits of civility and courtesy by the more inti-
mate friends of the President and his household.*

* Colonel Stone remarks very justly of these levees or receptions, that " they were numer-
ously attended by all that was fashionable, elegant, and refined in society ; but there were no
places for the intrusion of the rabble in crowds, or for the mere coarse and boisterous partisan
the vulgar electioneerer or the impudent place-hunter with boots, and frock-coats, or round
abouts, or with patched knees, and holes at both elbows. On the contrary, they were select, and
more courtly than have been given by any of his successors. Proud of her husband's exalted
fame, and jealous of the honors due, not only to his own lofty character, but to the dignified sta-
tion to which a grateful country had called him, Mrs. Washington was careful in her drawing-
rooms to exact those courtesies to which she knew he was entitled, as well on account of personal
merit, as of official consideration. Fortunately, moreover, democratic rudeness had not then so
far gained the ascendency as to banish good manners ; and the charms of social intercourse were
heightened by a reasonable attention, in the best circles, to those forms and usages which indi-
cate the well-bred assemblage, and fling around it an air of elegance and grace, which the envi-
ous only affect to decry, and the innately vulgar only ridicule and contemn. None, therefore,
were admitted to the levees, but those who had either a right by official station to be there, or were
entitled to the privilege by established merit and character; and full dress was required of all."

166 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

THE residence provided by Congress for the President, as has
already been mentioned, was number three Cherry street, now
known as the corner of Cherry street and Franklin square.* It was
regarded as " up town," and was a considerable distance from the
most fashionable quarter, which was in the neighborhood of Wall

* The residences of the President, Vice President, and Members of Congress, as put down in
the " Register for 1789," will be interesting, not only as indicating the persons thus connected
with the government, but as suggesting the limits of that part of the city which was occupied
by the better classes of society. The list is here copied in full: "GEORGE WASHINGTON,
Esquire, President of the United States, and Commander of the Army and Navy thereof when
in actual service, No. 3 Cherry street. JOHN ADAMS, Esquire, Vice President, Greenwich Road.
Senators of the United States : New Hampshire, John Langdon and Paine Wingate, 37 Broad
street; Massachusetts, Tristram Dal ton, 37 Broad street, Caleb Strong, 15 Great Dock street;
Connecticut, William Samuel Johnson, at the College, Oliver Ellsworth, 193 Water street;
New York, [senators not yet chosen] ; New Jersey, Jonathan Elmer, 48 Great Dock street, Wil-
liam Paterson, 51 Great Dock street; Pennsylvania, William Maclay, at Mr. Vandolsom's, near
the Bear Market, Robert Morris, 39 Great Dock street; Delaware, Richard Bassett and
George Read, 15 Wall street; Maryland, Charles Carroll, 52 Smith street, John Henry, 27
Queen street ; Virginia, William Grayson, 57 Maiden Lane, Richard Henry Lee, at Greenwich ;
South Carolina, Pierce Butler, 37 Great Dock street, Ralph Izard, Broadway, opposite the
French ambassador's; Georgia, William Few, 90 William street, James Gunn, 34 Broadway;
Samuel A. Otis, Secretary, 5 Wall street. Representatives of the United States : New Hampshire,
Nicholas Gilman, corner of Smith and Wall streets, Samuel Livermore, 37 Broad street, Ben-
jamin West, (absent); Massachusetts, Fisher Ames, George Leonard, George Partridge, and
Theodore Sedgwick, 15 Great Dock street, Elbridge Gerry, corner of Broadway and Thames
street, Benjamin Goodhue, Jonathan Grout, and George Thatcher, 47 Broad street ; Connecticut,
Benjamin Huntingdon and Roger Sherman, 59 Water street, Jonathan Sturges, 47 Broad street,
Jonathan Trumbull and Jeremiah Wadsworth, 195 Water street; New York, Egbert Benson,
corner of King and Nassau streets, William Floyd, 27 Queen street, John Hathorn and
Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, at Mr. Strong's, near the Albany pier, John Lawrence, 14 Wall street,
Peter Sylvester, 45 Maiden Lane; New Jersey, Elias Boudinot, 12 Wall street, Lambert Cad-
wallader, 15 Wall street, James Schureman and Thomas Sinnickson, 47 Little Dock street;
Pennsylvania, George Clymer and Thomas Fitzsimons, at Mr. Anderson's, Pearl street, Thomas
Hartley and Daniel Heister, 19 Maiden Lane, F. A. Muhlenberg, Speaker, and General Peter
Muhlenberg, Rev. Dr. Kunzie's, 24 Chatham Row, Thomas Scott, at Mr. Huck's, corner of Smith
and Wall streets, Henry Wynkoop, at Mr. Vandolsom's, near Bear Market; Delaware, John
Vining, 19 Wall street; Maryland, Daniel Carroll, William Smith, and George Gale, 52 Smith
street, Benjamin Contee, 15 Wall street, Joshua Seney and Michael Jenifer Stone, 15 Wall street,
Virginia, Theodoric Bland, Josiah Parker, and Isaac Coles, 57 Maiden Lane, John Brown,
Alexander White, John Page, and James Madison, Jim., 19 Maiden Lane, Samuel Griffin, at the

NEW YORK METROPOLITAN. 167

and Broad streets, though the houses of several of the more respec-
table families were in the vicinity. It was large, and its rooms gene-
rally of such ample dimensions as were necessary in the home of a
public character apt to be surrounded by numerous visitors. Be-
fore the arrival of Washington Mr. Osgood was requested, by a
resolution of Congress, to "put the house and the furniture thereof
in proper condition for the residence and use of the President of
the United States," and a part of the preparation thus authorized
was the removal of the partition between two of the large apart-
ments, to make a drawing-room sufficiently capacious for the Presi-
dent's receptions and public audiences. The furniture was ex-
tremely plain, but " in keeping and well disposed, and the whole
arrangements," according to a correspondent of Mr. Hancock, were
such as to " give promise of substantial comfort." Mrs. Washing-
ton had sent on by sea from Mount Vernon many articles of taste
and luxury, including a few pictures, vases, and other ornaments,
which had been presented to the General by his European friends.
The family plate was melted soon after it was brought to the city,
and reproduced in more elegant and harmonious forms. At the
house of Mr. Custis I was shown recently the silver tea service as
it was used at Mrs. Washington's private parties. Each piece dis-
plays the arms of the Washington family. The salver is massive,

White Conduit House, near the Hospital, Eichard Bland Lee and Andrew Moore, 15 Wall
street ; South Carolina, Edanus Burke, Daniel Huger and Thomas Tudor Tucker, at Mr. Huck's,
Wall street, William Smith, Broadway, next to the Spanish minister's, Thomas Sumter, 40
Wall street; Georgia, Abraham Baldwin, 193 Water street, James Jackson and George Mat-
thews, 63 Broadway, John Beckley, Clerk of the House of Representatives, 19 Maiden Lane,
Joseph Wheaton, Sergeant at Arms, 16 George street, Gifford Dally, door-keeper, back of the
Trinity Church, North River. [It was the intention of the editors to have here inserted the
names of all the public officers appointed under the new Constitution, but the different depart-
ments not being yet established, it is not in their power to insert them this year.] "

In the following year the President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of War, the Attor-
ney General, and the Chief Justice, occupied houses in the lower part of Broadway, the Secretary
of the Treasury a house on the corner of Wall and Broad streets, and the Postmaster Genera,
his house in Cherry street.

168 THE KEPUBLICAN COURT.

twenty-two and a half inches long and seventeen and a half wide,
of an oval shape, without any ornament except a small beading on
the edge of the rim. The state coach was the finest carriage in
the city. It was usually drawn by four horses, but when it con-
veyed the President to Federal Hall, always by six. The body was
of the shape of a hemisphere, and it was cream-colored, and orna-
mented with cupids, supporting festoons, and with borderings of
flowers around the panels.

The President afterwards removed to the commodious house
owned by Mr. McComb, since known as Bunker's Hotel, in Broad-
way, near the Bowling Green. The situation was more pleasant
and the house was larger and more convenient than that in Cherry
street. His office for the transaction of business was here on the
first floor, on the right hand of the hall, as it was entered from
the street, and the drawing-rooms were on the left. The rent of
the house in Broadway was regarded as extremely high ; it was
twenty-five hundred dollars a year.

The Vice President occupied Mrs. Jephson's beautiful rural re-
sidence at Richmond Hill. It was the most delightful place on the
island, and suited better than any other those ideas of official dis-
tinction which Mr. Adams was said to have acquired abroad. Early
in the revolution it was General Washington's head-quarters, and
he evinced a profound emotion when revisiting its chambers and
the venerable oaks about it, soon after it came into the Vice Pre-
sident's possession. Mrs. Adams describes it in a letter to her sis-
ter, Mrs. Shaw, as " a situation where the hand of nature has so
lavishly displayed her beauties, that she has left scarcely any thing
for her handmaid, art, to perform." " The house in which we re-
side," she says, " is situated upon a hill, the avenue to which is
interspersed with forest trees, under which a shrubbery, rather too
luxuriant and wild, has taken shelter, owing to its having been de-

EGIJB.'S

NEW YORK METROPOLITAN. 169

prived by death, some years since, of its original proprietor, who
kept it in perfect order. In front of the house the noble Hudson
rolls his majestic waves, bearing upon his bosom innumerable small
vessels, which are constantly forwarding the rich products of the
neighboring soil to the busy hand of a more extensive commerce.
Beyond the Hudson rises to our view the fertile country of the
Jerseys, covered with a golden harvest, and pouring forth plenty
like the cornucopia of Ceres. On the right hand, an extensive
plain presents us with a view of fields covered with verdure, and
pastures full of cattle. On the left, the city opens upon us, inter-
cepted only by clumps of trees, and some rising ground, which
serves to heighten the beauty of the scene, by appearing to conceal
a part. In the background, is a large flower-garden, inclosed with
a hedge and some very handsome trees. On one side of it, a grove
of pines and oaks fit for contemplation.

"'In this path

How long soe'er the wanderer royes, each step
Shall wake fresh beauties ; each last point present
A different picture, new, and yet the same.' "

In a letter to Thomas Brand-Hollis, she adds, " A lovely variety
of birds serenade me morning and evening, rejoicing in their liberty
and security ; for I have, as much as possible, prohibited the grounds
from invasion, and sometimes almost wished for game laws, when
my orders have not been sufficiently regarded. The partridge, the
woodcock, and the pigeon, are too great temptations to the sports-
men to withstand."

Mrs. Adams was one of the remarkable characters of her age.
She was not without tenderness and womanly grace, but her dis-
tinction was a masculine understanding, energy, and decision, fitting
her for the bravest or most delicate parts in affairs, and in an emi-
nent degree for that domestic relation which continued harmonious
22

170 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

through so many changeful years, herself unchanged always, and
making her own life a portion of her husband's in a manner that
illustrates the noblest ideas we have of marriage. In the long pe-
riods of necessary separation, during the war and the diplomatic
career of Mr. Adams in Europe, she managed his moderate estate
with a discretion which saved him from the mortification of such
poverty in his last days as embittered the closing years of some of
his illustrous contemporaries. At the age of forty, the definitive
treaty of peace having been signed, and public duties still detain-
ing her husband abroad, she left her modest and now quiet home
in Braintree to mingle in the shows of a magnificent court, where
intercourse was governed by set forms and the stateliest courtesy,
and it became her duty to sustain not only the dignified position
of the minister, but the social fame of her country. The daughter
of the village clergyman and the wife of the village lawyer for
it was in such capacities only that she had yet seen the world
thus suddenly translated into scenes so new, and so different a life,
found in her native abilities and habitual elevation, of feeling and
demeanor, ample compensation for all that aristocratical cultivation
which was illustrated in every thing about her, and commanded a
higher consideration for herself than for the rank she shared with
her husband. She remained in Paris and London four years, and
had but recently returned, as we have already seen, in the letters
of her daughter, when summoned to New York by the election of
Mr. Adams to the office of Vice President. She was now forty-five,
and still in the most perfect maturity of her presence and intelli-
gence. In coming to New York she had the happiness of being
reunited with her daughter, Mrs. Smith. The family appear to
have been all much attached to each other, all proud of each other,
and the circumstances of their only daughter were continually a
subject of the tenderest solicitude on the part of Mr. and Mrs. Ad-

NEW YORK METROPOLITAN. 171

ams, and not less so with their sons, especially with John Quincy
Adams, who made of his sister his most confidential friend and
correspondent.*

Mrs. Knox had been one of the heroines of the revolution, nearly
as well known in the camp as her husband, whom she had married
against the wishes of her family, who anticipated a more splendid
alliance than that love planned for her with the clever and dash-
ing bookseller, Captain Henry Knox, of the Boston Grenadiers,
who had not the slightest claim to an aristocratic lineage. But
Knox justified her preference, and gave her a prouder name than
was ever dreamed of by Mr. Secretary Fluckner, her father. As

* When John Quincy Adams, in 1837, had reached the full term of three score years and ten,
his affection for the memory of Mrs. Smith, his only sister, remained fresh and unabated. In the
winter of that year, while he was a member of the House of Representatives, a grand-daughter
of Mrs. Smith was on a visit at the metropolis, and requested of him some lines for her Scrap-
book. He immediately complied ; and from the autograph of the lines then written we copy
the following tender reference to that sister who had so long before departed:

"Thy mother, bless her ! is my niece ;
Her mother I no 1 till blood shall cease

"Within these veins to flow
No ! never, never from my heart
Her cherished image shall depart,
In pleasure, or in woe I

1 Though many a year has past away
Since she resigned her mortal clay

To slumber in the tomb,
Yet Memory brings her form to me
In vernal blossom, just like thee,
Unconscious of her doom!

* Her days were short and checkered o'er
With joy and sorrow's mingled store,

And fortune's treacherous game
But never since creation's hour,
Sent forth from Heaven's almighty power,

A purer spirit came !

* Cousin, forgive this falling tear:
She was my sister and how dear,

No language can express ;
And when upon thy blooming face,
Her lovely lineaments I trace,

I see thee, and I bless 1

* Yes! may the God of truth and love
His choicest blessings from above

Profuse around thee shed
And near the throne of Grace Divine,
My sister's voice unite with mine,

To shower them on thy head 1 "

172 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

has been mentioned in a previous chapter, Mrs. Knox was " enor
mously large ; " she and her husband were perhaps the largest couple
in the city ; and both were favorites, he for really brilliant conver-
sation and unfailing good humor, and she as a lively and meddlesome
but amiable leader of society, without whose cooperation it was
believed, by many besides herself, that nothing could be properly
done, in the drawing-room or the ball-room, or any place indeed
where fashionable men and women sought enjoyment. The house
of the Secretary of War was in Broadway, and it was the scene of
a liberal and genial hospitality.

Mrs. Izard, of South Carolina, had been famous for her beauty
and spirit, but was now passed her prime, though not older than
Mrs. Adams. She was the grand-daughter of Etienne de Lanci, a
Huguenot nobleman who came to this country in 1686. In 1767
she married Ealph Izard, of Charleston, a man of accomplishments
and liberal fortune, who had been educated at the University of
Cambridge, and after returning to America had passed his winters
in South Carolina and his summers in New York. Four years after
his marriage he went to London, where he lived several winters,
in a brilliant society. Displeased with the conduct of the minis-
try toward the colonies, he visited the Continent, but becoming
wearied of travel, went back to London, where he exerted his in-
fluence to avert the approaching war, without success, and in 1777
removed his family to Paris, and in a few months to Florence, be-
ing appointed Commissioner from Congress to the Grand Duke of
Tuscany. His subsequent diplomatic services, and his personal re-
lations with Franklin, Deane^ and others, cannot here be stated. He
was always accompanied by his wife, who was very handsome,
witty, and fond of adventure. In London her portrait was painted
by Gainsborough, and I was shown in Charleston, by her grandson,
Mr. Manigault, one of Copley's finest pictures, a very large " family

NEW YOKK METROPOLITAN. 173

piece" representing Mr. and Mrs. Izard in a Roman palace, with a win-
dow in the background looking out on one of the most interesting
parts of the Eternal City. Mr. Izard returned to Charleston in 1Y80,
and his wife and children three years afterward. On the forma-
tion of the new government he was chosen one of the senators of
South Carolina.

Of the men in the city, not immediately connected with the
government, the greatest beyond all comparison was Alexander
Hamilton. His extraordinary genius, knowledge, and activity,
would have made him illustrious in any society, but his character
was in some respects beyond the grasp of common minds, and it is
doubtful whether he was justly appreciated at this time by a very
large number, though "Washington knew him well, and regarded
him with the sincerest respect, affection, and admiration. It is true
that Hamilton was something of a roue, but his gallantries were
subject to a certain law of honorableness' which even in such affairs
is not altogether impossible ; and in his public conduct he was as
inflexibly just as he was unapproachably able. Doubtless in the
formation of our Constitution the profound sense of "Washington
was the deciding authority, but the suggesting intelligence was
Hamilton's, and he is to be regarded above all other men as the
creator of the institutions of modern liberty. His residence was
on the corner of "Wall and Broad streets, nearly opposite Federal
Hall, and with a party of his friends he had witnessed from his
balcony the inauguration of Washington. He had built, however,
a beautiful house which he called " The Grange," a few miles up the
island, which was his last home hi the world.

Aaron Burr, during this period, was at Albany much of the
time, busy with official duties, and in writing love-letters to his wife,
and instructions for the education of Theodosia, that marvellous
girl whose beauty, wit, and melancholy history constitute one of

174 THE REPUBLICAN- COURT.

the most romantic chapters in the history v of American private
life. Burr in Albany lived with a pretty and tidy widow, and
rarely dined or passed an evening abroad. Near the end of July
he finished important business which had detained him in the courts,
"received thanks, and twenty half joes," with promises of more of
both commodities, and returned to New York. He had been mar-
ried to Mrs. Prevost, a charming woman, the widow of a British
officer, in July, 1782. For several years he lived in the house at
Eichmond Hill, now occupied by the Vice President. His interest
made it necessary to reside more near the centre of business, and
he removed into the city. Mrs. Burr did not go into society. I
do not find her name in the lists of dinner parties, nor is she often
referred to in contemporary letters. She loved " My lord," as she
playfully addressed her husband, and was always perfectly content
in his presence, or inconsolable by the presence of others for his ab-
sence. Although his whole life from boyhood had been steeped in
profligacy,* and his amours were as well known as those of any
hero of scandalous history, he seems really to have loved her with
much of the tenderness she felt for him. While he was in Albany
he wrote to her, " Multiply your letters to me ; they are all my

* It is unnecessary to refer here to the extraordinary vicissitudes of Burr's subsequent life ;
but that it may not be suspected that his infirmities are too strongly stated, the following remarks
are transcribed from his memoirs, written by his most partial and most faithful friend, Mr. Davis :
" It is truly astonishing -how any individual could have become so eminent as a soldier, as a
statesman, and as a professional man, who devoted so much time to the other sex as was devoted
by Colonel Burr. For more than half a century of his life they seemed to absorb his whole
thoughts. His intrigues were without number ; his conduct most licentious ; the sacred bonds
of friendship were unhesitatingly violated when they operated as barriers to the indulgence of
his passions. For a long time he seemed to be gathering and carefully preserving every line
written to him by any female, whether with or without reputation, and when obtained they were
oast into one common receptacle the profligate and corrupt by the side of the thoughtless and
betrayed victim. All were held as trophies of victory, all esteemed alike valuable. How shock-
ing to the man of sensibility ! how mortifying and heart-sickening to the intellectual, the artless,
and the fallen fair ! Among these manuscripts were many the production of highly-cultivated

minds They were testimonials of the weakness of the weaker sex, even where genius and

learning would seem to be towering above his arts."

NEW YORK METROPOLITAN. 175

solace ; the last six are constantly within my reach ; I read them
once a day at least." And she, years after their marriage, was half
distracted every .time his duties or his pleasures called him away :
" I feel as if my guardian angel had forsaken me," she writes on
one occasion ; " tell me, why do I grow every day more tenacious
of your regard ? can my affection increase ? is it because each hour
proves you more deserving ? Heaven preserve the husband of my
heart ! and teach me to cherish his love, and deserve it." In 1789
Burr was thirty-three years old. He was small but well formed,
with a handsome face, by some described as striking, and eyes jet
black and uncommonly brilliant and piercing. In public, he had
an air of eminent authority, though in the drawing-room his man-
ner was singularly graceful, gentle, and fascinating.

The roll of attorneys of the Supreme Court at this time in the
city of New York consisted of one hundred and twenty-two names.
Among these were James Duane, admitted in August, 1754 ; Rich-
ard Nichols Harrison, in January, 1769 ; Burr, in January, 1782 ;
Hamilton, in July, 1782 ; Jay, in October, 1758 ; James Kent, in
January, 1785 ; Morgan Lewis, in October, 1782 ; Robert Troup,
in April, 1782 ; and Robert R. Livingston, Edward Livingston,
Egbert Benson, John "Watts, Gouverneur Morris, Richard Varick,
Josiah Ogden Hoffman and James Lansing, the dates of whose ad-
mission I do not discover. It may well be doubted whether the
city has ever since, notwithstanding its prodigious growth in every
thing else, embraced as much legal learning, eloquence, or dignity
of character, as in that year, when the " New York Directory "
was contained in ninety-six very small octodecimo pages.

Dr. John H. Livingston and Dr. William Linn were ministers of
the Reformed Dutch Church. Dr. Linn was a fine scholar and
a graceful and fervid orator ; an honorary member of the Cin-
cinnati, and one of the chaplains to Congress ; and his simple and

176 THE KEPUBLICAN COURT.

agreeable manners and pleasing conversation, enriched with unusual
stores of information, made him a favorite in the best society. His
son, John Blair Linn, who afterward became a celebrated preacher,
and whose " Valerian " and " Powers of Genius " display considerable
taste and skill in poetry, was at this period a law student in the
office of Mr. Hamilton, but much more fond of the theatre than the
court-rooms. Dr. Rodgers and Dr. John Mason occupied the two
Presbyterian churches. The greatest of American pulpit orators,
John M. Mason, had recently graduated at Columbia College, and
was now studying divinity with his father. The learned Dr. Kun-
zie* ministered in the German Lutheran Church. The " easy, good-
tempered, gentlemanly and scholarly Dr. Provoost,f" as President
Duer describes him, was bishop of the Episcopal Church, one of the
chaplains of Congress, and a welcome guest at the dinner tables
of all his friends.

* John Christopher Kunzie, D. D., was now about forty-five years of age. He had been,
before his removal to New York, fourteen years a preacher, in Philadelphia, and a professor in
the college in that city. In Columbia College he filled the chair of oriental languages. A
valuable collection of coins and medals which he owned is now preserved in the rooms of the
New York Historical Society. His house was in Chatham Row, and during the sessions of
Congress Mr. Speaker Muhlenberg and General Muhlenberg boarded with him.

\ Dr. J. W. Francis, in the only memoir we have of Bishop Pro voost, gives us a very pleasing
account of his character. " His philanthropy," says this learned writer, " was of the most ex-
tensive order, and his beneficence was called into almost daily exercise. His private charities
were often beyond what his actual means justified. As a patriot he was exceeded by none, and
his sensibility to the honor and interests of his country were of the liveliest nature. In the rela-
tions of husband and parent he exhibited all the kindly and endearing affections which ennoble
our species. As a scholar, he was deeply versed in classical lore, and in the records of ecclesias-
tical history and church polity; to a very exact knowledge of the Hebrew, he added a profound
acquaintance with the Greek, Latin, French, German, Italian, and other languages. It is affirmed
that as a literary recreation he made a new poetical version of Tasso. In a knowledge of the
natural and physical sciences he also made considerable progress. Of these, botany was his
favorite. He had attended, while at Cambridge, lectures on this branch of natural history, and
became conversant with the classification of plants, from Coasalpinus to Linnaeus, whose system
was then taught by the Cambridge professor. So great was his delight in botanical pursuits, that
he formed an extensive index to the elaborate Historia Plantarum of John Baushin, whom he
calls the prince of botanists, in a blank leaf of the work, the manuscript of which bears date
1766, with his name and distinctions, 'Sam. Provoost, D.D. St. Petr. Cantab, et Lugd. Bativ.' "

NEW YORK METROPOLITAN. 177

The popular physicians were Dr. Samuel Bard, Dr. John Bard,
Dr. "Wright Post, Dr. Bailey, Dr. Kissam, and Dr. Jones.

VI.

THE anniversary of the Declaration of Independence which suc-
ceeded the organization of the constitutional government was cele-
brated in all parts of the Union with remarkable enthusiasm. In
New York a committee of the Society of the Cincinnati waited up-
on the President, in the morning, and its chairman, Baron Steuben,
addressed him, saying, " The Society of the Cincinnati of the State
of New York have instructed this delegation to present to you,
sir, their sentiments of the profoundest respect. In common with
all good citizens of the United States of America, they join their
ardent wishes for the perservation of your life, health, and pros-
perity. In particular, they feel the highest satisfaction in contem-
plating the illustrious Chief of our armies, by the unanimous vote
of an independent people, elected to the highest station that a dig-
nified and enlightened country can bestow. Under your con-
duct, sir, this band of soldiers was led to glory and to conquest,
and we feel confident that under your administration our country
will speedily arrive at an enviable state of prosperity and happi-
ness." The Chief answered, " I beg you, gentlemen, to return my
most affectionate regards to the Society of the Cincinnati of the
State of New York, and to assure them that I received their con-
gratulations on this auspicious day with a mind constantly anxious
for the honor and welfare of our country, and can only say that
the force of my abilities, aided by an integrity of heart, shall be
studiously pointed to the support of its dignity and the promotion
of its prosperity and happiness."

The society afterwards marched in procession, attended by Col-
onel Bauman's artillery and a band of music, to St. Paul's church,
23

178 THE REPUBLICAN COUET.

where, in the presence of the members of Congress and a great
concourse of distinguished citizens and strangers, Alexander Ham-
ilton delivered an oration on the life and character of General Na-
thaniel Greene. The President was too unwell to leave his house,
but Mrs. Washington, Mrs. Adams, Mrs. Hamilton, Mrs. Jay, and
a great number of other women, were present, and made the assem-
blage one of the most brilliant ever seen in New York.

The military of the city paraded in the fields, and were review-
ed by several eminent officers. As they passed the house of the
President, he appeared at the door, in the uniform he had worn in
the revolution, to receive their salutations, but was not sufficiently
recovered to address them.

The Society of the Cincinnati dined at the old City Tavern in
Broad street, and the officers of the city troops at Fraunces's Hotel
in Cortlandt street ; and both parties paid to the name of Washing-
ton all possible honors.

VIL

THE health of the President was far from good when he arriv-
ed in New York, and the extraordinary labors which he astonished
those about him by performing so readily, so patiently, and so ad-
mirably, in the few weeks following his inauguration, brought on
at length a malady so serious that for several days his life was re-
garded as in imminent danger. His disease was anthrax, so malig-
nent as to threaten mortification. He was attended, night and day,
by Dr. Samuel Bard, a physician of the highest personal as well as
professional respectability, whose skilful treatment, and a naturally
strong constitution, enabled him to survive an illness the most pain-
ful and trying he had ever endured, but he never entirely recover-
ed from its effects. Dr. Bard relates that on one occasion, being
left alone with him, Washington looked steadily in his face and

NEW YORK METROPOLITAN. 179

asked his candid opinion as to the probable termination of the dis-
ease ; adding, with that placid firmness which marked his address,
" Do not flatter me with vain expectations : I am not afraid to die,
and, therefore, can bear the worst." The doctor expressed hopes of
his recovery, but acknowledged his fears. The patient then said,
" Whether to-night, or twenty years hence, makes no difference : I
know that I am in the hands of a good Providence." By the bless-
ing of that good Providence his life was spared to a country, which
never stood in greater need of his amazing wisdom and unparalleled
and as yet unresisted influence. Dr. Bard from this period was one
of his intimate friends.

On Tuesday, the twenty-eighth of July, he was well enough to
receive visits of compliment, but the papers intimated that until
his health should be more perfectly restored he would see his friends
but once a week. He had hardly gained strength to go abroad,
when he heard of the death of his mother, at Fredericksburg, on
the twenty-fifth of August, after a long and very painful illness.
She was eighty-two years of age, and had been forty-six years a
widow. " Though a pious tear of affection and esteem is due to
the memory of so revered a character," says a writer from Fred-
ericksburg, two days after her decease, "yet our grief must be
greatly lessened, from the consideration that she is relieved from
the pitiable infirmities attendant on an extreme old age. It is usual,
when virtuous and conspicuous persons quit this terrestrial abode,
to publish elaborate panegyrics on their characters, but suffice it to
say that she conducted herself through this transitory life with vir-
tue and prudence worthy the mother of the greatest hero that ever
adorned the annals of history." "Washington himself wrote on the
occasion to his only sister, Mrs. Lewis : " Awful and affecting as the
death of a parent is, there is consolation in knowing that Heaven
has spared ours to an age beyond which few attain, and favored her

180 THE REPUBLICAN COUKT.

with the full enjoyment of her mental faculties, and as much bodily
strength as usually falls to the lot of fourscore. Under these con-
siderations, and a hope that she is translated to a happier place, it
is the duty of her relatives to yield due submission to the decrees
of the Creator."

At the first public levee after the death of the President's mo-
ther was known in the city, several members of the two houses of
Congress, and other respectable persons, wore the customary signs
of mourning, and the event was alluded to with feeling and deli-
cacy in the principal pulpits on the following sabbath.

VIII.

ALL the details of administration had been left by the Consti-
tution for the decision of Congress, and the Senate and House of
Representatives at length agreed upon the creations of departments
and the limitations of their functions, and passed such other laws
as were necessary for the organization of affairs.

The formation of his cabinet was a matter of the deepest per-
sonal interest to the President. The secretaries were to be his
counsellors as well as the executors under his authority of the prin-
cipal business of the nation ; and on their selection, therefore, would
depend in a large degree the success of his government. For the
Department of State he chose Mr. Jefferson, who had already soli-
cited and obtained permission to return from France, where he had
filled the office of minister plenipotentiary, as the successor of Frank-
lin, with unquestionable ability, during all the period of the forma-
tion and adoption of the Constitution. Alexander Jlaroilton was ap-
pointed to the most laborious and difficult place, the Secretaryship
of the Treasury ; his extraordinary capacities were equal to any
position, and he had shown himself to be particularly qualified for the
management of the finances. General Knox was continued in the

NEW YORK METROPOLITAN. 181

war office, which he had occupied for several years, under the con-
federation. Edmund Randolph, who had been governor of Virgi-
nia, and a very successful lawyer, was made Attorney General, and
Samuel Osgood, of New York, Post Master General.

The President's opinion of Mr. Jay, induced him to ask his ac
ceptance of any place he might prefer, and he was gratified when
that illustrious character consented to become Chief Justice of the
United States. In communicating to him his appointment he said
" I have a full confidence that the love which you bear to our coun
try, and a desire to promote the general happiness, will not suffei
you to hesitate a moment to bring into action the talents, know-
ledge, and integrity, which are so necessary to be exercised at the
head of that department which must be considered the keystone
of our political fabric." For Mr. Jay's colleagues on the bench the
President selected William Gushing, at this time Chief Justice of
Massachusetts ; James Wilson, who had been conspicuous in the
affairs of Pennsylvania, and in the Convention had been chairman
of the committee which reported the Constitution ; Robert H. Har-
rison, Chief Justice of Maryland, who had been formerly one of
the confidential secretaries of the commander-in-chief ; John Blair,
one of the judges of the Virginia Court of Appeals; and John
Rutledge, the eloquent and brave spirited statesman of South Caro-
lina. Judge Harrison declined, and his place was conferred upon
James Iredell, of North Carolina.

On the twenty-sixth of September the first session of the first
Congress was brought to a close. Before their adjournment the
two houses appointed a joint committee to wait on the President
and " request that he would recommend to the people of the United
States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by
acknowledging, with grateful hearts, the many and signal favors
of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity

182 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

peacefully to establish a constitution of government for their safety
and happiness." The creators of the Constitution do not seeni ever
to have dreamed of the wretched demagoguism which has discov-
ered that it is unconstitutional for the government to recognize the
existence and kindness of the Deity. On the third day of October,
therefore, "Washington acceded to this request, and recommended
that the twenty-sixth of November " be. devoted by the people of
these states to the service of that great and glorious Being who is
the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will
be ; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere
and humble thanks for his kind care and protection of the people
of this country previous to their becoming a nation ; for the sig-
nal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of his
providence, in the course and conclusion of the late war ; for the
great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since
enjoyed ; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have
been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety
and happiness, and particularly the national one now recently insti-
tuted ; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed,
and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge ;
and, in general, for all the great and various favors which he has
been pleased to confer upon us."

THE EASTERN TOUE.

SOON after the adjournment of Congress Washington made ar-
rangements for a journey through New England. He anticipated
perhaps some pleasure from revisiting the earlier scenes of his com-
mand during the revolution,* but he was most anxious for the resto-
ration of his health, and to observe the condition and disposition
of the people of that part of the Union.

He set out from New York on Thursday morning, the fifteenth
of October, in his own chariot, drawn by four Virginia bays, and
accompanied by two of his secretaries, Tobias Lear and Major
Jackson, on horseback. The Chief Justice, the Secretary of the
Treasury, and the Secretary of War, escorted him as far as Eye,
where Mr. Jay had his country residence.

As he approached New Haven, in the forenoon of Saturday, he
was met by a deputation of members of the legislature of Con-
necticut, escorted by the guards of the Governor, who conducted
him, amid crowds of people, to his lodgings. Governor Hunting-
ton, soon after, presented to him a congratulatory address, and the

* As early as 1785 Washington had written to Mr. James Warren of Massachusetts: "It
would afford me great pleasure to go over those grounds in your state, with a mind more at ease
than when I travelled them in 1775 and 1776, and to unite in congratulation on the hai>7>y
change, with those characters who participated the anxious moments we passed in tnose days
and for whom I entertain a sincere regard."

184 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

Congregational ministers of the city Ezra Stiles, James Dana,
Jonathan Edwards, Samuel Wales, and Samuel Austin all men
of eminent reputations, also addressed him, saying, in reference tp
his recent illness, " We most sincerely rejoice in the kind and gra-
cious providence of God, who has been pleased to preserve your
life during your late dangerous sickness, and to restore you to such
a degree of health as gives us this opportunity to express our joy,
and affords us the most pleasing hopes that your strength may be
firmly reestablished." To the governor and to the clergy he made
appropriate replies, and to the latter observed : " The tender interest
you have taken in my personal happiness, and the obliging manner
in which you express yourselves on the restoration of my health, are
so forcibly impressed on my mind as to render language inadequate
to the utterance of my feelings. If it shall please the Great Dis-
poser of events to listen to the pious supplication which you have
presented in my behalf, I trust the remainder of my days will
evince the gratitude of a heart devoted to the advancement of
those objects which receive the approbation of Heaven, and pro-
mote the happiness of our fellow men. My prayers are offered at
the throne of Grace for your happiness and that of the congrega-
tions committed to your care." The next day he attended divine
service at Trinity Church in the morning, and at the Congregational
church of Dr. Edwards in the afternoon. The Governor, the
Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
the Treasurer, and Roger Sherman, dined with him.

Accompanied by a troop of cavalry, and a large number of
citizens on horseback, he left New Haven on Monday morning, and
the same evening arrived at Hartford, where he was received in an
appropriate manner by the public authorities and by the people.
On Tuesday he visited the manufacturing establishments of that
city, and on Wednesday proceeded on his journey.

THE EASTERN TOUR. 185

Information having reached Worcester, on Thursday evening,
that the President would be in that village early the next morn-
ing, about forty citizens assembled on horseback before sunrise, on
Friday, and proceeded as far as Leicester line to welcome him and
escort him into town. On notice being given of his approach, five
cannon were fired for the New England states three for those
which had accepted the Constitution, one for Vermont, which was
expected immediately to come into the Union, and " one as a call
for Rhode Island to be ready before it should be too late." When
he came in sight of the meeting-house eleven cannon were fired.
He viewed with attention the artillery, as he passed, and expressed
to the people his. sense of the honor conferred upon him. He
stopped at " The United States Arms " to breakfast, and, to gratify
the inhabitants, proceeded through the rest of the town on horse-
back. The Worcester Spy, in giving an account of these circum-
stances, refers to the President as " His Highness." The discussion
of the subject of titles was not yet ended ; Representatives were
called " Honorable," Senators and members of the Cabinet, " Most
Honorable," and in many of the journals it was insisted that the
President should be addressed by some distinctive and peculiar
designation. It was alleged in illustration of the necessity of such
a style as might distinguish him from other eminent persons, at
least when travelling, that, as he approached one of the villages
between ISTew Haven and Worcester, a messenger was sent forward
to inform the keeper of the inn where he intended to pass the
night, that " the President was near by, and wished to be accommo-
dated with a little necessary refreshment, and lodging." The host
was absent, but his wife, supposing it was Doctor Manning, Presi-
dent of Rhode Island College, who was an occasional visitor, gen-
erally having with him Mrs. Manning, whom she did not feel quite
well enough to entertain, sent word that " the President must go

24:

186 THE REPUBLICAN COURT

on to the next tavern." The landlady soon, but too late, found out
her error, and grievously lamented that she had not known it was
the illustrious Washington who intended to honor her house.
" Bless me ! " she exclaimed, " the sight of him would have cured
me of my illness, and the best in the house and in the town should
have been at his service."

A cavalcade from "Worcester attended the President to the line
of Marlborough, where he was met by a handsomely uniformed
company of horse, who escorted him to Williams's Tavern, where
he dined, and thence to Captain Flagg's, in Weston, where he
lodged and breakfasted. At the latter place he was met by.a courier
from Governor Hancock, inviting him with his suite to dine with
his Excellency the next day, and expressing regret that the Presi-
dent had declined a previous request to become his guest while
he should remain in Boston. Washington had written to him, from
Brookfield, that from a wish to avoid giving trouble in private
families he had determined on leaving New York to decline all such
invitations, and, that this rule might be observed, had caused lodg-
ings in Boston to be secured for him.,

On Saturday morning he was met, soon after he started, by a
troop of horse from Cambridge, and as he passed through Water-
town he was saluted by the artillery of that village. At Cambridge
he had occupied as his head-quarters, in IT T 5, a noble mansion*

* Now the residence of Mr. Longfellow, who, in a beautiful poem " To a Child," recalls its history :

"Once, ah, once, within these walls,
One whom memory oft recalls,
The Father of his Country dwelt ;
And yonder meadow, broad and damp,
The fires of the besieging camp
Encircled with a burning belt ;
Up and down these echoing stairs,
Heavy with the weight of cares,
Sounded his majestic tread ;
Yes, within this \ery room
Sat he in those hours of gloom,
"Weary both in heart and head."

"Washington's revisiting the house, under these circumstances, is a fine subject for the meditativi
and graceful muse of its present owner.

THE EASTERN TOUR. 187

about half a mile from the college, and lie now stopped an hour
to revisit its rooms and walk about its grounds.

From his old head-quarters the Chief proceeded on horseback,
leaving his chariot in the rear, and as he entered the village green
he was saluted with a discharge of artillery, under the direction of
General Brooks, who met him there at the head of about one thou-
sand uniformed militia.

II.

A disagreement had arisen between the governor and a com-
mittee of the selectmen, as to which party had the right to receive
the President at the boundary of the city. The committee con-
tended that as he was about to visit the town, it was the especial
office of the municipal authorities to bid him welcome, though it
would have been perfectly proper for the governor to have met
him on the frontier of the state. From this cause there was con-
siderable delay, during which the President, who had already ad-
vanced through Eoxbury, was exposed to a cold and damp wind,
extremely disagreeable and alarming to a valetudinarian. He in-
quired the reason of the difficulty, and when it was explained did
not conceal his impatience. Of one of his secretaries, Major Jack-
son, he asked whether there was not some other way into the city,
and was in the act of turning his horse when informed that the con-
troversy was over, and that he would be received by the delegates
of the corporation.

The people had assembled on the mall, at ten o'clock, where an
immense procession had been formed, which, preceded by the band
of the French squadron, then in the harbor, marched to the city
line, where the governor had previously ordered a parade of the
military. Halting here, their ranks were opened, so as to make
an avenue, all the way to the State House, bordered, it was sup-

188 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

posed, by twenty thousand persons. At one o'clock the approacn
of the President was announced by federal salutes from the Rox-
bury Artillery, the Dorchester Artillery, posted on the celebrated
Dorchester Heights, the Boston Artillery, at the town line, and
the garrison of Castle "William; a royal salute from His Most
Christian Majesty's squadron ; and the ringing of all the bells of
all the churches, which continued fifteen minutes.

The selectmen having expressed to the President the pleasure
the citizens enjoyed on his arrival, and given him a hearty welcome,
the marshals arranged the procession in the following order :

Five companies of the City Troops, under Colonel Bradford,

Officers of the Municipal Government,
Council and Lieutenant Governor of the State, in carriages,
United States Marshal, .

THE PRESIDENT

In his continental uniform, on a white horse, attended by Major Jackson and
Mr. Lear, his Secretaries, also on horseback,

The Yice President,
Distinguished Citizens, in carriages

Committee of Arrangements,
Clergymen, Lawyers, Physicians,

Civil Officers,

Officers of the Revolutionary Army,
&c. &c. &c.

followed by between forty and fifty societies, and bodies of mechanics
and tradesmen, carrying flags of white silk, upon which were embla-
zoned appropriate devices, legends and mottoes.

On arriving at the old brick meeting house a halt was ordered,
and the President was conducted through a Triumphal Arch, erected
under the direction of Judge Dawes, across Main street display-
ing on one side, " To the Man who Unites all Hearts," and on the
other, "To Columbia's Favorite Son" into the Senate Chamber,
by the east door of the State House, and thence to an outside gal

THE EASTERN TOUR. 189

lery, supported by thirteen columns, over the west door. His ap-
pearance here was greeted with prolonged acclamations, the streets
and every window and house-top, as far as could be seen, being
filled with people. He was accompanied to this gallery by Vice
President Adams, by the venerable patriot and scholar, James Bow-
doin, and by the Lieutenant Governor, the Council, his secretaries,
and. several other gentlemen; and as soon as he had acknowledged,
by gracefully bowing to all around, the enthusiasm with which he
was received, Daniel Rea, " the famous vocalist of that town," sup-
ported by a full chorus, began singing in a clear and loud voice,
from a canopy over the Triumphal Arch, an ode which had been
written for the occasion. When this was concluded the procession
defiled before the gallery, and soon after the military escorted the
President to his lodgings, at Mrs. Ingersoll's in Court street, where
he was visited by many distinguished characters, among whom were
Viscount de Ponteves Gien,* and the other officers of His Most
Christian Majesty's squadron.

In the evening the public buildings generally and many private
residences were brilliantly illuminated; the French frigates, the
Active and the Sensible, moored off the end of Long wharf, dis-
played each more than a thousand lanterns ; and from the ships, -
the mall, and the principal streets, there were exhibitions of fire-
works. .

The Governor had invited the President with his suite to take
a family dinner at Hancock House, and the invitation had been
accepted, but as the Governor had not come out to meet him, or to
call upon him after his arrival at Mrs. Ingersoll's, Washington

* The Viscount de Ponteves and the captains of the squadron under his command, declined
the invitation of the Committee of Arrangements to take a seat in the balcony erected at the
State House, as the ordinances of the king required them to be on board their ships -whenever
the chief magistrate of a nation arrived at the place at which they lay, to give him the customary
Bamtes.

190 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

avoided going near his residence. In some negotiations which fol-
lowed it was intimated on the part of Hancock, that as the repre-
sentative of the sovereignty of Massachusetts he thought he should
receive the first visit even from the President of the United States.
His friends, however, remonstrated with him, urging that a just
application of his own principle entitled the chief magistrate of
all the states to precedence, wherever he might be, within their
limits ; and he reluctantly assented to this view of the case, and the
next evening went in his coach, enveloped in red baize, to Washing-
ton's lodgings, and was borne in the arms of servants into the house.
The public were informed that this delay was in consequence of the
Governor's ill health.

On Sunday the President attended King's Chapel in the morn-
ing, and one of the Congregational churches in the afternoon, and
on Monday he rode about the city, accompanied by several leading
characters, returned the visit of the Governor, and received the
officers of the French squadron, to whom he expressed his intention
of going on board their ships the following day.

On Tuesday morning, soon after breakfast, he received the
clergy, who presented an appropriate address, which he answered
in his happiest manner. Among them was Dr. Belknap, to whom,
when he was introduced, he said, " I am indebted to you, sir, for
the History of New Hampshire, and it gave me great pleasure."
The amiable doctor records the circumstance with peculiar satisfac-
tion, in his diary, and it is mentioned that this was the only instance
in which he thus noticed the approbation bestowed upon his literary
labors. Soon after came the Society of the Cincinnati, accompa-
nied by the Viscount Ponteves, the Marquis de Traversay, and the
Chevalier de Braye, members of the society in France (the Mar-
quis de Galissoniere, who had also served in the revolution, being
detained on board his ship by indisposition), and received and an-

THE EASTEEN TOUR. 191

ewered their address. They said, " After the solemn and endear-
ing farewell on the banks of the Hudson, which our anxiety pre-
saged as final, most peculiarly pleasing is the present unexpected
meeting. On this occasion we cannot avoid the recollection of the
various scenes of toil and danger through which you conducted us,
and while we contemplate the trying periods of the war, and the
triumphs of peace, we rejoice to behold you, induced by the unani-
mous voice of your country, entering upon other trials, and other
services, alike important, and in some points of view, equally haz-
ardous. For the completion of the great purposes which a grate-
ful country has assigned you, long, very long, may your invaluable
life be preserved ; and as an admiring world, while considering
you as a soldier, have wanted a comparison, so may your virtues
and talents as a statesman, leave it without a parallel." He said in
his answer, " Dear indeed, is the occasion which restores an inter-
course with my faithful associates, in prosperous and adverse for-
tune ; and enhanced are the triumphs of peace, participated by
those whose virtue and valor so largely contributed to procure them.
To that virtue and valor your country has confessed her obligations ;
be mine the grateful task of adding the testimony of a connection,
which it was my pride to own, in the field, and it is now my hap-
piness to acknowledge, in the enjoyment of peace and freedom."
At one o'clock, he received and replied to an address from the
Governor and Council of the commonwealth. At four o'clock he
was entertained by the Lieutenant Governor and the Council (the
ill health of the Governor preventing his attendance) at a sump-
tuous dinner, given at Faneuil Hall, where Warren, Otis, and Adams,
had fanned into life the embers of the ^Revolution. Among the
guests were the Vice President, ex-governor Bowdoin, the judges of
the Supreme Court, the President of Harvard College, the clergy
of Boston, the admiral and captains of the French squadron, and

192 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

other civil and military officers, citizens, and strangers, to the num-
ber of one hundred and fifty.

On Wednesday, at eleven o'clock, he went on board the flag-
ship of His Most Christian Majesty's fleet, in a barge having at her
bow the flag of the United States and at her stern that of France,
steered by a major and rowed by midshipmen, all dressed in red.
He was received on deck with the homage offered to kings : a salute
was fired, and " the officers took off their shoes, and the crew all
appeared with their legs bared." Viscount Ponteves introduced
him to the officers, about thirty, who had fought in America dur-
ing the war, and afterwards to the other gentlemen of the fleet, of
which he visited two more ships, and then returned to the shore,
accompanied by the admiral. In the afternoon he dined with
Governor Bowdoin, and in the evening attended a brilliant assem-
bly at Concert Hall, at which were present Vice President Adams,
Mrs. Hancock,* Lieutenant Governor Samuel Adams and Mrs. Ad-
ams, the Viscount Ponteves, the Marquis and Marchioness de la Ga-
lissoniere, and a great number of other persons distinguished in af-
fairs or in society. The women of Boston wore as a sash, during the
President's visit, a broad white ribbon, with G. "W., in golden letters,
encircled with a laurel wreath, in front, and with the American eagle
on one end, and on the other the French flew de Us, embroidered.
The Marchioness de Traversay, besides a sash of this description,
wore on the present occasion, on the bandeau of her hat, the initials
G. W., and an eagle, set in brilliants on a ground of black velvet.

* Mrs. Hancock, nee Quincy, was a fine looking woman, high-bred, and high-spirited, and
generally dressed with great care and an ornate elegance. When Lafayette was last in this
country he made an early call upon her, and the once youthful chevalier and unrivalled belle
met as if only a summer had passed since their social interviews during the perils of the Revo-
lution. She was as attentive to taste in dress, in her very last days, as when in the circles of
fashion. She " would never forgive a young girl," she said, " who did not dress to please, nor
one who seemed pleased with her dress." There is a fine portrait of herj by Copley, in the pos-
session of Mrs. Gushing, who occupies the ancient mansion of Governor Wentworth, near Ports-
mouth.

THE EASTERN TOUR. 193

III

AT eight o'clock on the morning of Thursday, the thirtieth of
October, the President departed from Boston. His visit had been
upon the whole a very delightful one, but besides the little contro-
versy on a point of etiquette with Governor Hancock, he had been
subjected to some vexation by the imperfect arrangements for his
reception, and on leaving was obliged to set a noticeable example
of punctuality to the city troops, whose offer to accompany him
he had accepted the previous evening. At the very moment ap-
pointed for his departure his chariot started from Mr. Ingersoll's,
though the military escort had not yet made its appearance. A
large cavalcade, however, and many carriages, were in readiness, and
Major Gibbs's cavalry came up with them as they were passing the
bridge over the river Charles, which was finely decorated with the
flags of all nations. At this moment he was saluted with eleven
guns from Captain Colden's artillery, stationed on the Charlestown
Heights. At Cambridge he was received in the Philosophy Room*
of the college, by the president and corporation, who, in a formal
address, declared their gratitude for his revolutionary services and
his patriotism in consenting to preside over the new government.
Reminding him of the depressed state of the college when he first
took command of the army at Cambridge, " its members dispersed,
its literary treasures removed, and the muses fled from the din of
arms then heard within its walls,'' and comparing the danger with
which it had been surrounded with its present prosperous and

* The Philosophy Room at this period was hung on one side with full length portraits of four
eminent benefactors of the college, Thomas Hollis, Nicholas Boylston, Thomas Hancock, and
Ezekiel Hersey. In the centre of this group was a portrait of the late Earl of Chatham, and a
view of Mount Vesuvius, in eruption. The other sides were occupied with works of Copley,
and in one corner was deposited the celebrated Planetarium of Mr. Pope. The floor was covered
with a rich carpet, presented by Governor Hancock.

194 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

peaceful condition, they invoked the "blessings of Heaven on him
who had rendered such distinguished services to it and to their
country. The President, in reply, reciprocated their affectionate
sentiments and kind wishes, and expressed his hope that the muses
might "long enjoy a tranquil residence" within the walls of that
distinguished seat of learning.

Proceeding on his journey, he stopped a few minutes at Lynn,
where the gentlemen who had accompanied him from Boston took
their leave, and reached Marblehead in time to dine with General
Glover. On arriving at the boundary of Salem he was met by the
selectmen of the town, and their chairman, Mr. ISTorthey, a Quaker,
welcomed him in an address equally agreeable for its brevity and
apparent sincerity : " Friend Washington," he said, taking the Pre-
sident by the hand, " we are glad to see thee, and in behalf of the
inhabitants bid thee a hearty welcome to Salem." Salutes were
then fired from two parks of artillery, at different points, and the
President, quitting his carriage, mounted a beautiful white horse,
on which he proceeded to Main street, amid continued cheers and
the ringing of numerous bells. After reviewing several regiments,
in Main street, he was escorted by a company of infantry, followed
by the principal citizens, in procession, to the Court House, into the
balcony of which he was conducted by Mr. Goodhue, and immedi-
ately was greeted with huzzas by the great concourse of people,
and by an ode sung by a select choir from a temporary but richly
ornamented gallery, erected for the purpose. In the evening the
public buildings were illuminated, there was an exhibition of fire-
works, and the President attended a ball, at which a brilliant cir-
cle displayed the taste, elegance and beauty of the Salem women.

He left Salem at nine o'clock on Friday morning, escorted by
two troops of cavalry, and a large number of citizens riding on
horseback, to gratify the people, as far as Essex Bridge, which was

THE EASTERN TOUR. 195

ornamented with the flags of different countries. At Newburyport,
where he arrived about three o'clock, he was received with military
honors, an address was presented by the magistrates, and there
were displays of rockets in the evening. "The joy of the in-
habitants was extreme, and their hospitality equal to their joy ;
for all who came into the town on the occasion were provided for
without charge."

On Saturday morning he proceeded toward Portsmouth. The
Marine Society of Newburyport had prepared a handsome barge,
with rowers dressed in white, to convey him across the Merrimack
river, at Amesbury, and during the passage he received a royal salute
from the French ship Teneriffe, and was welcomed by the military
of the place with appropriate demonstrations. At ten o'clock the
cortege reached the line of Massachusetts, where the President dis-
mounted and took leave of the escort which had thus far attended
him. He was met here by General Sullivan, President of the State of
New Hampshire, with four troops of light-horse, and a numerous com-
pany of public and private characters, among whom were the mem-
bers of the Executive Council, senators Langdon and Wingate, and
the chiefs of the departments of the government of the common-
wealth, who accompanied him to Portsmouth. All the way the road
was lined with spectators, from the neighboring country, who cheered
him as he passed. At Greenland, where he stopped half an hour,
he mounted his horse and rode through the ranks of men, women,
and children, assembled to behold " the man whom God approves
and the people delight to honor." As he entered the metropolis
he was saluted with thirteen guns from Colonel Hacket's artillery
and by the same number from the Castle. The ships in the harbor
were gaily dressed, every door and window was thronged with wo-
men, and in the street all the trades were arranged, alphabetically,
in procession. The bells rung joyful peals all the while until he

196 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

reached the State House. Here he was conducted by the President
and Council through the Senate chamber into a balcony, where odes
were sung, and several companies of cavalry, infantry, and artillery,
under the command of General Cilley, denied before him, each offi-
cer saluting him as he passed ; after which he was conducted to his
lodgings.

IV.

POETSMOUTH at this period was the seat of a refined and gene-
rous hospitality, and few cities in America could boast of a more
cultivated or polite society. The situation of the town was ex-
tremely pleasant, and its commercial prosperity had bordered the
streets with beautiful houses, surrounded by every thing that evin-
ces comfort and refinement. Mrs. Lee informs us in the interesting
memoir of her father, the reverend Dr. Joseph Buckminster, who
was one of the ministers at the time of Washington's visit, that
there were more private carriages and livery servants in Ports-
mouth, in proportion to the number of inhabitants, than in any
other place in New England. " In the old meeting-house ancient
and venerable forms loomed out of the distant dimness, arrayed in
all the splendor of the dresses of the court of George the Third
immense wigs, white as snow, coats trimmed with gold lace, em-
broidered waistcoats, ruffles of delicate cambric, cocked hats, and
gold-headed canes costumes that would now be assumed for a
masquerade."

The President's arrival was on Saturday, and the next day he
attended religious services in two of the churches : in the morning
hearing Mr. Ogden, at Queen's Chapel, and in the afternoon Dr.
Buckminster, at the First Congregational Church. He was accom-
panied by Governor Sullivan, Senator Langdon, and his two secreta-
ries, and was escorted to his pew at Queen's Chapel by the marshal of

THE EASTERN TOUK. 197

the district and two church wardens, with their staves ; and a similar
ceremonial was preserved at Dr. Buckminster's. Both pastors re-
ferred, in their discourses, to the numerous virtues of the dignified
personage whose appearance had diffused such general joy and
awakened in every breast such grateful sensations, and felicitated
their numerous hearers on the happy occasion that called them to-
gether, to offer up their unfeigned thanks to the Father of Mercies
for his goodness, and to implore a continuance of his gracious bene-
diction on the head of the beloved Chief.

On Monday, accompanied by General Sullivan, Senator Lang-
don, and the United States Marshal, he made an excursion about
the harbor, in a barge, rowed by seamen dressed in white frocks.
Two other barges followed, one containing the French consul and
the President's secretaries, rowed by sailors in blue jackets, and
round hats, decorated with blue ribbons ; and the other a band,
who executed a variety of pieces of music. The President went
on shore for a few minutes at Kittery, in the Province of Maine,
and afterward landed at the beautiful seat of Colonel Wentworth,
whence, with his attendants, he returned to the city by land, and
was again saluted with discharges of artillery, from Church Hill.
The party dined, with several other distinguished persons, at Mr.
Langdon's.

The next day the President and Council of New Hampshire
gave to the President of the United States a public dinner, at which
were present one hundred persons, including the principal officers
of the state government, the clergy, the members of the bar, and
the most eminent private citizens. After the first toast, in honor
of the illustrious guest, he himself TOSG and offered, " The State
of New Hampshire," and both, of course, were drunk with every
sign of enthusiasm. In the evening he attended a ball, and was
introduced to more than seventy women. After he was seated a

198 THE REPUBLICAN COURT

song was sung, with accompaniments by the band, and the dane
ing followed till a late hour.

On the morning of Wednesday, the fifth of November, Wash-
ington left Portsmouth for New York. His route was through the
southern part of New Hampshire, and by way of Springfield, in
Massachusetts, to Hartford,* where he remained several days, to
rest from the fatigues of his journey. He reached New York a
little after noon, on Friday, the thirteenth, having been absent
twenty-nine days.

THIS journey was eminently agreeable and satisfactory to the
President. He was pleased with the apparent and general well-
being and happiness of the people, and could not have been unmoved
by the evidences of universal and profound respect and affection
with which he was greeted at every place through which he passed.
It was indeed a continuous triumphal march from its commencement
to its end, unparalleled in any history, for the spontaneous enthusiasm
which lined all his route with men, women, and children, of every
rank and condition, who almost worshipped him. Wherever he
moved he was surrounded by thousands, anxious to obtain a sight
of his person, or to greet him with acclamations of joy and praise.

* From Hartford he wrote, on the eighth of November, the following note to Mr. Taft, near
Uxbridge, Massachusetts : " Sir : Being informed that you have given my name to one of your
sons, and called another after Mrs. Washington's family, and being moreover much pleased with
the modest and innocent looks of your two daughters, Patty and Polly, I do for these reasons
send each of these girls a piece of chintz; and to Patty, who bears the name of Mrs. Wash-
ington, and who waited more upon us than Polly did, I send five guineas, with which she may
buy herself any little ornaments she may want, or she may dispose of them in any other manner
mors agreeable to herself. As I do not give these things with a view to have it talked of, or
even to its being known, the less there is said about the matter the better you will please me ;
but, that I may be sure the chintz and money have got safe to hand, let Patty, who I dare say
is equal to it, write me a line informing me thereof, directed to ' The President of the United
States, New York.' I wish you and your family well, and am your humble servant."

THE EASTERN TOUK. 199

Sometimes crowds would follow Mm for miles, so that in many in-
stances he stopped and entreated them to return to their homes
and occupations, lest their devotion to him should cause some incon-
venience or be injurious to their interests.

" The very trees bore men : and as the sun,
When from the portal of the East he dawns
Beholds a thousand birds upon the boughs
To welcome him with all their warbling throats, .
So did the people, in their gayest trim,
Upon the pendant branches speak his praise ;
Mothers, who covered all the banks beneath,
Did rob the crying infant of the breast, (

Pointing the hero out, to make them smile ;
And climbing boys stood on their father's shoulders,
Answering their shouting sires with tender cries,
To make the concert up of general joy."

If in some instances the praise he was constrained to hear, in the
addresses presented by the public authorities, religious societies,
literary institutions, or other bodies, seemed extravagant, and was
received by his modest spirit as undeserved, he never doubted or
had reason to doubt that it was as sincere as it was freely offered.
But above all other suggestions of happiness in this celebrated
journey, was the assurance, afforded by every day's observation, that
the country was in a great degree recovered from the ravages of
war, that federal principles, the constitution, and the administration
of the government, were generally approved, and that industry, en-
terprise, and confidence, under the existing condition of affairs, were
leading every community to a satisfying prosperity.

VI.

IT had been hoped by some of the President's friends that Mrs.
"Washington would accompany him to New England, but she did
not do so. During the war she had become personally acquainted
with Mrs. Mercy "Warren, a sister of James Otis, and a public

200 THE REPUBLICAN COUKT.

writer of considerable transient popularity ;* and to her, soon after
the President's return, she wrote the following letter, which Mr.
Sparks justly describes as " creditable to her understanding, her
heart, and her views of life : "

" Your very friendly letter, of last month, has afforded me much
more satisfaction than all the formal compliments and empty cere-
monies of mere etiquette could possibly have done. I am not apt to
forget the feelings which have been inspired by my former society
with good acquaintances, nor to be insensible to their expressions
of gratitude to the President ; for you know me well enough to do

* Mrs. Warren was now more than sixty years of age, and had little left of that beauty which
is seen in Copley's portrait of her. She was engaged in the composition of her " History of the
Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution," a work which was not published
until many years after, and had in press her " Poems, Dramatic and Miscellaneous," which
appeared in a few weeks after Washington was in Boston. Her contributions to periodicals
have never been collected, but she appears to have written much in this way. In the Massachu-
setts Magazine, for January, 1790, she has a criticism of Chesterfield, which some admiring
contemporary bard describes as follows :

"The learned Hunter's classic sense
'Gainst Dormer proved a weak defence;
In vain his pen with zealous rage
Attacked my lord's insidious page;
The man meant well, but Stanhope's wit
His character before had hit :
Smart Philip drew a scientific bear
Fops, fribbles, said, 't was Hunter, to a hair I
In vain did Mclmoth, more refined,
In Sedley's vices paint the mind
Ignoble Chesterfield possessed :
False coloring gave it such a zest
That brainless witlings cried l Pardi,
G^est bien outree the blind may see.'
But soon as WABKEN conned the book,
Her eagle eye, with piercing look,
At once unravelled simulation's maze,
And won the meed of universal praise."

In reply to some complimentary verses, addressed to her, in the same year, Mrs. Warren thua

Defers to her own history:

"Me 'fortune favors' not, though 'friends caress,'
'"With every wish' denied the 'power to bless.'
On 'pleasure's throne' my seat was never reared,
On 'life's gay theatre ' I ne'er appeared :
In sorrow's vale were passed my earliest years
There did I learn the luxury of tears ;
And now, deprived of health, no power I boast
Like a wrecked vessel on some desert coast,
Or a weak barque upon the ocean tossed,
Each cheering, social scene, to me is lost"

THE EASTERN TOUR. 201

me the justice to believe that I am fond only of what comes from
the heart. Under a conviction that the demonstrations of respect
and affection to him originate in that source, I cannot deny .that I
have taken some interest and pleasure in them. The difficulties
which presented themselves to view upon his first entering upon
the Presidency seem thus to be, in some measure, surmounted. It
is owing to the kindness of our numerous friends, in all quarters, that
my new and unwished-for situation is not indeed a burden to me.
When I was much younger, I should probably have enjoyed the
innocent gayeties of life as much as most persons of my age ; but
I had long since placed all the prospects of my future worldly hap-
piness in the still enjoyments of the fireside at Mount Vernon.

" I little thought when the war was finished, that any circum-
stances could possibly happen, which would call the General into
public life again. I had anticipated that, from that moment, we
should be suffered to grow old together, in solitude and tranquillity.
That was the first and dearest wish of my heart. I will not, how-
ever, contemplate, with too much regret, disappointments that
were inevitable ; though his feelings and my own were in perfect
unison with respect to our predilection for private life, yet I can-
not blame him for having acted according to his ideas of duty in
obeying the voice of his country. The consciousness of having
attempted to do all the good in his power, and the pleasure of find-
ing his fellow citizens so well satisfied with the disinterestedness of his
conduct, will doubtless be some compensation for the great sacrifices
which I know he has made. Indeed, on his journey from Mount
Vernon to this place, in his late tour through the Eastern States,
by every public and every private information which has come to
him, I am persuaded he has experienced nothing to make him re-
pent his having acted from what he conceives to be a sense of in-
dispensable duty. On the contrary, all his sensibility has been
26

202 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

awakened in receiving such repeated and unequivocal proofs of sin-
cere regard from his countrymen.

" "With respect to myself, I sometimes think the arrangement is
not quite as it ought to have been, that I, who had much rather
be at home, should occupy a place with which a great many younger
and gayer women would be extremely pleased. As my grand-chil-
dren and domestic connections make up a great portion of the feli-
city which I looked for in this world, I shall hardly be able to find
any substitute, that will indemnify me for the loss of such endear-
ing society. I do not say this because I feel dissatisfied with my
present station, for every body and every thing conspire to make
me as content as possible in it, yet I have learned too much of the
vanity of human affairs to expect felicity from the scenes of public
life. I am still determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever
situation I may be ; for I have also learned, from experience, that
the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispo-
sitions, and not on our circumstances. "We carry the seeds of the
one or the other about with us in our minds, wherever we go.

" I have two of my grand-children with me, who enjoy advan-
tages in point of education, and who, I trust, by the goodness of
Providence, will be a great blessing to me. My other two grand-
children are with their mother in Virginia."

THE SEASON OF EIGHTY-NINE AND NINETY.

THEEE was a great deal of social elegance in New York at the
close of the last century, though it must be confessed that in this
respect the city could not be favorably compared with Philadelphia.
Several families had held in the Province a sort of baronial suprem-
acy, and they were now eminent in private life or public service ;
but there were no women here exercising that sway over manners
and pleasures which was held in Philadelphia for many years by
Mrs. Bingham. The Livingstons, Clintons, Van Eensselaers, Beek-
mans, Courtlandts, Philipses, Jays, De Lanceys, Osgoods, and other
powerful families, many of whom were represented by manorial
lords, possessed the solid distinctions of great wealth and good
sense ; but the piquant comparative criticisms of society in New
York and Philadelphia, written by Miss Rebecca Franks, soon after
the close of the war, had still a certain truth, which was easily re-
cognized by persons familiar with the private life of both cities.

New York was the metropolis of the United States, under the
Constitution, less than two years, and this period embraced but
one winter. In the May and June following the inauguration there
were a few public balls, and probably many private ones, but the
ill health of the President, the death of his mother, and other cir-

204 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

cumstances, prevented him from attending any subsequent to that
given by the Count de Moustier, which has already been described
in these pages, until after his return from the tour through the
Eastern States, about the middle of November. Mrs. Washington
had little inclination for such amusements, and was never once pre-
sent at any ball in New York after the close of the revolution, not-
withstanding what Mr. Jefferson says on this subject.

II.

THE adjournment of Congress, on the twenty-sixth of Septem-
ber, had been followed by a general dispersion of the families at-
tracted to New York by the exigencies of the public business, and
but few of them returned before the latter part of Deceml)er. In
the mean time, however, there were several accessions to official
circles, and busy preparations for a gay winter season.

Of New England families perhaps not one had been more hon-
ored and trusted than that of Wolcott, and certainly no family in
all the continent had preserved through its American generations
a purer fame. Henry Wolcott emigrated from the mother country
in 1630, to escape religious persecution, and after a short residence
at Dorchester, in Massachusetts, settled in Windsor, Connecticut
His grandson, Eoger Wolcott, was distinguished for military and
civil services, and occupied in succession the most important offices
in the colony, ending with that of governor. His son Oliver en-
tered the army at twenty-one years of age, as a captain in the
New York forces, and served on the northern frontier until the
peace of Aix la Chapelle. He also became governor of Connecticut,
and was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. His son,
the second Oliver Wolcott, now between twenty-nine and thirty
years of age, was in the autumn of 1789 appointed auditor of the
Treasury, and we possess in his memoirs not only a mine of the

EIGHTY-NINE AND NINETY. 205

richest material for public history, but many very interesting
glimpses of society and the circumstances of common life in the
memorable period when the first President of the Eepublic was the
centre of the court, or most eminent circle, about the seat of gov-
ernment. Among his classmates had been Joel Barlow, Zephaniah
Swift, Uriah Tracy, and Noah Webster ; and after his admission
to the bar, and settlement in Hartford, he had been of that famous
company of " Connecticut wits,"* including Trumbull, the author of

* On the ninth of December, Trumbull wrote to Woleott, from Hartford, a characteristic let-
ter, in which he says, " Our circle of friends wants new recruits. Humphreys, Barlow, and you
are lost to us. Dr. Hopkins has an itch of running away to New York, but I trust his indolence
will prevent him. However if you should catch him in your city I desire you to take him up
and return him, or scare him so that we may have him again, for which you shall have sixpence
reward and all charges. Webster has returned and brought with him a very pretty wife. I
wish him success, but I doubt in the present decay of business in our profession, whether hia
profits will enable him to keep up the style he sets out with. I fear he will breakfast upon
Institutes, dine upon Dissertations, and go to bed supperless. I cannot conceive what Barlow is
doing. After being eighteen months abroad, you tell me he has got so far as to see favorable pros-
pects. If he should not effect something soon, I would advise him to write ' The Vision of Bar-
low,' as a sequel to those of Columbus and McFingal. Pray congratulate Colonel Humphreys, in
my name, on his late promotion in the diplomatic line. If I understand the matter rightly, he
holds the same post which Crispe promised George in the Vicar of Wakefield. You remember
Crispe told him there was an embassy talked of from the synod of Pennsylvania to the Ghicka-
saw Indians, and he would use his interest to get him appointed Secretary. Tell him not to be
discouraged too much at his want of success. The President has tried him on McGillivray first,
and he did not suit the skull of the savage, but we cannot argue from that circumstance that he
could not fit as easy as a full bottomed wig upon the fat-headed, sot-headed, and crazy-headed
sovereigns of Europe. Tell him this story also, for his comfort, and to encourage his hopes of
speedy employment : A king being angry with an ambassador, asked him whether his mastei
had no wise men at Court, and was therefore obliged to send him a fool? ' Sire,' said the other,
' my master has many wise men about his court, but he conceived me the most proper ambassa-
dor to your majesty.' Upon this principle I am in daily expectation of hearing that he is ap-
pointed minister plenipo. to George, Louis, or the Stadtholder. For is not his name Mumps?
You must know that at this present writing I am confined with this paltry influenza. I kept it
for six weeks at the stave's end, as Shakspeare's Malvolio did Beelzebub, but it has driven me
into close quarters at last. Indeed I could not expect to avoid it, for old Wronghead says it is a
Federal disorder, bred out of the new Constitution at New York, and communicated by infection
from Congress. I see the President has returned all fragrant with the odor of incense. It must
have given him satisfaction to find that the hearts of the people are united in his favor ; but the
blunt and acknowledged adulation of our addresses must often have wounded his feelings. We
have gone through all the popish grades of worship, at least up to the Hyperdoulia. This tour
has answered a good political purpose, and in a great measure stilled those who were clamoring
about the wages of Congress and -the salaries of officers." Gibbs's History, i. 25.

206 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

"McMngal," Dr. Lemuel Hopkins, author of " The Hypocrite's Hope "
and numerous political satires, Richard Alsop, one of the writers
of "The Echo" and "The Political Green House," Joel Barlow,
who was already celebrated for his " Vision of Columbus," Noah
Webster, Theodore Dwight, and others, whose intellectual displays
had won for that city a reputation altogether unique in the annals
of American intelligence.

Before Wolcott accepted the place to which he was invited he
wrote to Oliver Ellsworth to ascertain something of the cost of
living in New York, that he might decide whether the modest an-
nuity of fifteen hundred dollars would enable him to sustain those
outward appearances which he regarded as suitable for an officer of
such rank in the administration. Ellsworth made the necessary
inquiries and answered that a house with a stable would cost about
two hundred dollars a year, the best wood four dollars a cord, oak
wood two dollars and a half a cord, hay eight dollars a ton, and
marketing twenty-five per centum more than in Hartford ; conclud-
ing, that one thousand dollars a year would support him and his
family very well. This was encouraging, and he came down to the
city to complete his investigation, as to expenses, duties, and gene-
ralities, and consented to take the situation. "This," he wrote to
his wife, " on consultation with my friends, I think will be best for
us. If we are careful, we may save some property, more than I
can expect to in Connecticut, and by observation of the people in
public service, and other respectable families, I am confident that
no change in our habits of living will in any degree be necessary. . . .
The example of the President and his family will render parade
and expense improper and disreputable" That last sentence is
very significant, and has all the force it could receive from consider-
ations the most favorable for its honesty and justice, as an indica-
tion of the republican simplicity maintained by Washington in his

EIGHTY-NINE AND NINETY. 207

household, and in whatever was connected with his relations to
society. New York appears to have been envied and slandered by
nearly all the other cities, from the time when it was decided to
make it even the temporary seat of government. Soon after the
inauguration, the Boston Gazette congratulated with the country
upon the discovery that " our beloved President stands unmoved in
the vortex of folly and dissipation which New York presents."
Wolcott, a keen observer, educated to puritanical ideas, thought
better of it. After a residence of about three months he wrote
to his mother, "There appears to be great regularity here ; honesty
is as much in fashion as in Connecticut ; and I am persuaded that
there is a much greater attention to good morals than has been sup-
posed. So far as an attention to the Sabbath is a criterion of reli-
gion, a comparison between this city and many places in Connecti-
cut would be in favor of New York."

Another person, now for the first time connected with the ad-
ministration, was Edmund Eandolph, the Attorney General, whose
courtly manners and fine colloquial abilities had caused him to be de-
scribed as the " first gentleman of Virginia." His father, who had
held important situations in the colonial government, had proved
a Tory when the difficulties with England came to a crisis, and left
the country with Lord Dunmore. Edmund Eandolph had applied
himself to the law, and had risen to such popularity as to succeed
Patrick Henry in the governorship of Virginia, in 1^786. He was a
large man, finely formed, and always dressed with care and ele-
gance. His young kinsman, John Eandolph* of Eoanoke, had been

* Nothing could be more amusing than the correspondence which John Eandolph maintained
for some time about this period with Mrs. Morris. All the littleness, superciliousness, and puerile
jealousy, of his nature, were displayed in it, as amply as if these qualities were already in their
fullest development. Several years ago I read a copy of it, then in possession of my most loved
and honored but since most unfortunate friend, Charles Fenno Hoffman. It has never been
printed, but those who have read any of the manuscript copies of it will not easily forget the
dlever and dramatic management of Mrs. Morris, by which Eandolph was exposed and outwitted

208 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

in the city ever since the preceding April ; though but sixteen years
of age, and lank, awkward, and ill-dressed, he was known to every
body about town ; and it required little observation and insight to
perceive that he was a very extraordinary character. Thomas Tu-
dor Tucker was a brother of his father-in-law, Theodore Bland was
his uncle, Richard Bland Lee was his cousin, and he had several
other relatives in the two houses of Congress.

Charles Carroll,* senator from Maryland, is described by Sulli-
van as " rather a small and thin person, of very gracious and pol-

* " Charles Carroll's family," says Lord Brougham, " was settled in Maryland ever since the
reign of James II., and had during that period been possessed of the same ample property, tho
largest in the Union. It stood, therefore, at the head of the aristocracy of the country ; was
naturally in alliance with the government ; could gain nothing while it risked every thing by a
change of dynasty; and therefore, according to all the rules and the prejudices and the frailties
which are commonly found guiding the conduct of men in a crisis of affairs, Charles Carroll might
have been expected to take part against the revolt, certainly never to join in promoting it. Such,
however, was not this patriotic person. He was among the foremost to sign the celebrated
Declaration of Independence. All who did so were believed to have devoted themselves and
their families to the furies. As he set his hand to the instrument, the whisper ran round the hall
of Congress, ' There go some millions of property ! * And there being many of the same name,
when he heard it said, ' Nobody will know which Carroll it is,' as no one signed more than his
name; and one at his elbow, addressing him, remarked, 'You'll get clear there are several of
the name they will never know which to take,' he replied, 'Not so!' and instantly added his
residence, ' of Carrollton.' He was not only a man of firm mind and steadily-fixed principles ;
he was also a person of great accomplishments and excellent abilities. Educated in the study
of the civil law at one of the French colleges, he had resided long enough in Europe to perfect
his learning in all the ordinary branches of knowledge. On his return to America, he sided with
the people against the mother country, and was soon known and esteemed as among the ablest
writers of the Independent party. The confidence reposed in him soon after was so great that
he was joined with Franklin in the commission of three sent to obtain the concurrence of the
Canadians in the revolt. He was a member of Congress for the first two trying years, when that
body was only fourteen in number, and might rather be deemed a cabinet council for action
than any thing like a deliberative senate. He then belonged, during the rest of the war, to the
legislature of his native state, Maryland, until 1788, when he was elected one of the United States

Senate, and continued for three years to act in this capacity As no one had run so large a

risk by joining the revolt, so no one had adhered to the standard of freedom more firmly, in all
its fortunes, whether waving in triumph or over disaster and defeat. He never had despaired
of the commonwealth, nor ever had lent his ear to factious councils ; never had shrunk from
any sacrifice, nor ever had pressed himself forward to the exclusion of men better fitted to serve
the common cause. Thus it happened to him that no man was more universally respected and
beloved ; none had fewer enemies ; and, notwithstanding the ample share in which the gifts of
fortune were showered upon his house, no one grudged its prosperity. It would, however, be a

EIGHTY-NINE AND NINETY. 209

ished manners." He was accompanied in New York during the
second session of the first Congress by several members of his fa
mily, which was in a few years to be so largely represented among
the most dignified circles of the British aristocracy. His daughter,
Polly Carroll, had been married, in Baltimore, in November, 1786,
to Mr. Eichard Caton,** an English gentleman who came to this

very erroneous view of his merits and of the place which he filled in the eye of his country,
which should represent him as only respected for his patriotism and his virtues. He had talents
and acquirements which enabled him effectually to help the cause he espoused. His knowledge
was various, and his eloquence was of a high order. It was, like his character, mild and pleas-
ing : like his deportment, correct and faultless, flowing smoothly, and executing far more than it
seemed to aim at ; every one was charmed by it, and many were persuaded. His taste was pecu-
liarly chaste, for he was a scholar of extraordinary accomplishments, and few, if any, of the
speakers in the New World came nearer the models of the more refined oratory practised in the
parent state. Nature and ease, want of effort, gentleness, united with sufficient strength, are
noted as its enviable characteristics ; and as it thus approached the tone of conversation, so, long
after he ceased to appear in public, his private society is represented as displaying much of his
rhetorical powers, and has been compared, not unhappily, by a late writer, to the words of Nes-
tor, which fell like vernal snows as he spake to the people. In commotions, whether of the sen-
ate or the multitude, such a speaker, by his calmness and firmness joined, might well hope to
have the weight, and to exert the control and mediatory authority of him, pletate grams et men-
tis, who regit dictis animos et pectora mulcet."

* As early as 1809 two of the daughters of Mr. Caton were reigning belles of Baltimore and
Washington. The memoirs of the eldest would constitute a narrative of singular and romantic
interest. In the first flowering of womanly beauty she was married to Mr. Robert Patterson, an
accomplished and wealthy merchant of Baltimore, with whom she travelled in Europe, where
she attracted the attention of Sir Arthur Wellesley, afterwards Duke of Wellington, who fol-
lowed her over half the continent, and by his unguarded devotion incurred not a little scandal
Mrs. Patterson returned to Maryland, and her admirer for many months wrote a minute diary
of what occurred in the gay world abroad, which he transmitted in letters by every packet for
the United States. When she became a widow she revisited London ; but the future hero of
Waterloo was now himself married, and therefore unable to offer her his hand ; he however in-
troduced his elder brother, the Marquis of Wellesley, " that great statesman whose outset in life
was marked by a cordial support of American independence," and who was now Viceroy of
Ireland, and he soon after became her husband. Sir Arthur continued through all his splendid
career to be one of the warmest of her friends. The Marchioness of Wellesley died at Hampton
Court, on the seventeenth of December, 1853. One of her sisters was married to Colonel Her-
vey, an aid-de-camp to Lord Wellington in the battle of Waterloo, and, becoming a widow, was
subsequently united to the Marquis of Caermarthen, afterwards Duke of Leeds. Another sister
married Baron Stafford, and another Mr. McTavish, for many years British consul at Balti
more. Mrs. McTavish still survives, and is one of the most distinguished and respected women
of her native city.

210 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

country in the previous year. Mrs. Caton's amiable and graceful
manners made her a general favorite, and Washington, in particular,
was extremely partial to her.

Of the loyalist families remaining in the city perhaps none was
more conspicuous in society than that of Henry "White.* His
wife was a Van Courtlandt, and appears not to have accompa-
nied him to England. There were two Misses White who were
very much admired. They resided in Wall street, near Broadway.

In this period New York was without any foreign ministers of
much personal or social distinction. The Count de Moustier had
taken leave the day "before the President started upon his tour,
through the eastern states ; M. Otto and the Sieur de Crevecceur
were also in France, with their families ; and Don Diego Gardoqui
was now in Spain. Mr. Van Berckel, had, however, returned from

* Sabine says Henry White went to England in 1783, and that his widow died in New York,
at the age of ninety-nine, in 1836. One of her sons was Lieutenant General White, of the British
army ; another was Rear Admiral White, of the Royal Navy. One of her daughters was dowager
Lady Hayes, and widow of Peter Jay Monroe. " Madam White was a lady of great wealth, and
her recollections of New York society were curious." In 1787 we find that one " J. B." imitated
an epigram of Martial, in an address to Miss M. White, as follows :

" My lovely maid, I 've often thought
Whether thy name be just or not ;
Thy bosom is as cold as snow,
"Which we for matchless white may show ;
But when thy beauteous face is seen,
Thou'rt of brunettes the charming queen.
Kesolve our doubts : let it be known
Thou rather art inclined to Brown"

An ancient citizen, a few years ago, in a letter to General Morris, referring to the winter of 1789
and 1790, says : " You must remember the Misses White, so gay and fashionable, so charming

in conversation, with such elegant figures I remember going one night with Sir John

Temple and Henry Remsen to a party at their house. I was dressed in a light French blue coat,
with a high collar, broad lappels, and large gilt buttons, a double-breasted Marseilles vest,
Nankeen-colored cassimere breeches, with white silk stockings, shining pumps, and full ruffles
on my breast and at my wrists, together with a ponderous white cravat,. with a pudding in it,
as we then called it ; and I was considered the best-dressed gentleman in the room. I remember
to have walked a minuet with much grace, with my friend Mrs. Verplanck, who was dressed in
hoop and petticoats ; and, singularly enough, I caught cold that night from drinking hot Port
wine negus, and riding home in a sedan chair, with one of the glasses broken."

EIGHTY-NINE AND NINETY. 21l

a visit to Europe, and had been received by the President as the re-
presentative of their High Mightinesses, the States General of the
United Netherlands.

III.

THE President during the autumn labored with unfaltering assi-
duity, though frequently warned of the necessity of some relaxation of
his devotion to affairs ; " he does not look so well as I expected to see
him," wrote Mr. Harrison, the celebrated advocate, to Mr. Powell, of
Philadelphia, " and I have heard it said that he is disposed to be un-
social ; but this, I apprehend, is owing to the excessive anxiety he
has to discharge every duty in the very best manner, and I am
persuaded that there is hardly another man connected with the go-
vernment who performs as much really hard work." Though he
himself in several letters refers to his health as much improved, it
is evident that he never entirely recovered from the illness which
had prostrated him in the earlier part of the summer.

He sometimes, however, gratified the people by participating in
their public amusements ; on one occasion it is mentioned that, with
Mrs. Washington and other members of his family, he was " pleased
to honor with his company Mr. Bowen's exhibition of wax-work,
at number seventy-four Water street, and appeared well satisfied
with the late improvements made by the proprietor." Soon after,
with Governor Clinton, he attended a review and sham-fight, de-
vised by Colonel Bauman and others, of which it is said that it
" afforded the highest entertainment to a large concourse of respec-
table characters ; " and he now and then went to see a play.

The theatre had of course met with decided opposition in nearly
all the states. It is not probable that it will ever cease to be op-
posed, and it is quite certain that it will always exist, where there
is even a shadow of real civilization. The corruption of the drama

212 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

and the profligacy of actors are constantly asserted, but who is so
blind as not to see that the withdrawal of the religious and ser-
vilely formal and nominally virtuous, from an inevitable institution,
will pervert it, and deprave it, and make it injurious to society,
while a more kindly guardianship might render it a conservator of
morality and refinement, as well as a most delightful and rational
means of intellectual recreation ? The parent of innumerable su-
perstitions, and of all heresies ever in the churches the most injuri-
ous to true religion, is the belief that self-denial is in itself a virtue,
that Simeon Stylites, " from scalp to sole one slough and crust of
sin," deserved canonization for withdrawing from the pleasant path-
ways of the world to " chatter with the cold," and " drown the
whoopings of the owl with sound of pious hymns and psalms," upon
his , column. Undoubtedly we are never to consider our ease or
the satisfaction of our natural desires a moment in comparison with
the love and obedience we owe to God, or the affectionate justice
due to our fellow-men, or any exhibition of the attractive beauty
of holiness ; but the Creator and all his works continually urge
us to enjoy, all that is enjoyable in innocence, and denounce every
avoidance or interdiction of reasonable happiness as crime. 'No
means of pleasure has ever been devised more dignified and worthy
of a fine intelligence, than that of the fit exhibition on the stage
of the noblest and most universally appreciable productions of
genius ; and it is a valuable portion of the faultless example* of
Washington, which displays his approval of such exercise of our

* The President not only attended the theatre in John street, but he had " private theatricals"
in his own house. President Duer says, " I was not only frequently admitted to the presence of
this most august of men, in propria persona, but once had the honor of appearing before him as
one of the dramatis persona in the tragedy of Julius Caesar, enacted by a young 'American Com-
pany,' (the theatrical corps then performing in New York being called the ' Old American Com-
pany,') in the garret of the Presidential mansion, where, before the magnates of the land and the
elite of the city, I performed the part of Brutus to the Cassius of my old schoolfellow, Washing-
ton Custis, who still survives in the enjoyment of health, wealth, and the fame of his family
alliance, with any thing but the 'lean and hungry look* attributed to hi fictitious character."

EIGHTY-NINE AND NINETY. 213

capacities for art. A certain bishop of Worcester, declaring that
he had greater delight in Bacon than in Shakspeare, was compli-
mented on his addiction to philosophy, but confessed that the ba-
con he referred to was of no abstruse sort, and was purchasable by
the flitch rather than by the folio ; and there were in the days of
Washington not a few clergymen boastful of excellent cooks, or
ever ready to dine with approved epicures, to whose diseased per-
ceptions that high feeding of the mind provided by the histrions
was a soul-destroying poison ; nor is it impossible so inconsistent
is human nature that there were bishops too, in the same period,
whose distinction it was that they were more skilful than the best
instructed laymen in the composition of punches/ while they would
not have wandered with Thalia or Melpomene by Helicon even to
have secured a monopoly of its inspiring waters.

The subject of licensing theatres had been before the legisla-
ture of Pennsylvania in 1785, and Robert Morris and General An-
thony Wayne had successfully advocated their toleration. A theatre
was opened in Philadelphia, and another soon after in New York,
at which, on the evening of the sixth of April, 1786, was performed
Royal Tyler's comedy, in five acts, called "The Contrast" the
first American play ever brought out by a company of regular
comedians. Henry,* Hallam, and Wignell, were the popular actors
of that time, and they appear to have possessed decided and vari-
ous abilities for their profession. On the seventh of September,
1789, the second native comedy, "The Father, or American Shan-

* Henry was the only actor in America who kept a carriage. It was in the form of a coach,
but very small large enough only to carry himself and his wife to the theatre. It was drawn
by one horse, and driven by a black boy. Aware of the jealousy toward players, and that it
would be said " He keeps a coach," he had caused to be painted on the doors, as coats of arms
are painted, two crutches, in heraldic fashion, with the legend, " This or these." He suffered
much from gout, and it is remembered that he said, " I put this marked motto and device on my
carriage to prevent any impertinent observations on an actor keeping his coach : the wits would
have taken care to forget that the actor could not walk."

214 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

dyism," was produced at the Jolin street house with considerable
success. It was written by William Dunlap, who for two or three
years had painted portraits, for very moderate prices, at number
thirteen Queen street. A contemporary critic observes that " sen-
timent, wit, and comic humor, are happily blended in this ingenious
performance, nor is that due proportion of the pathetic, which inter-
ests the finest feelings of the human heart, omitted. The happy
allusions to characters and events in which every friend of our
country feels interested, and those traits of benevolence which are
brought to view under the most favorable circumstances, conspired
to engage, amuse, delight, and instruct, through five acts of alter-
nate anticipations and agreeable surprises." The reception of this
piece encouraged Dunlap to further efforts, and on the twenty-
fourth of November his " Darby's Eeturn " was acted, before a
very crowded house, to its " fullest satisfaction." When Washing-
ton came in, on this, as on other occasions, the audience rose and
received him with the warmest acclamations.

IV.

THE winter of 1789-90 was warmer than any which the oldest
inhabitants could remember. In the last week of December and
the first of January gardeners and farmers on the island of Man-
hattan were ploughing, and women appeared in the streets of the
city in their summer dresses. The pleasant custom of making New
Year's calls had long obtained in most of the countries of conti-
nental Europe, and it was brought to New York by both the Dutch
and the Huguenots, who had preserved it as one of their peculiar
institutions, which never could be naturalized in towns of a more
purely English origin and population. On Friday, the first of Jan-
uary, 1Y90, we are informed by the late venerable Mr. John Pin-
tard, who was then a young man of fashion, and a close observer,

EIGHTY-NINE AND NINETY. 215

the President was waited upon by the principal gentlemen of the
metropolis. The day was uncommonly mild and agreeable, even
for that year of perpetual verdure, and the great festival of friend-
ship was never kept more universally or with a livelier gratification.
The visitors of the President, after an interchange of the usual
salutations of the day, withdrew, delighted at his gracious manner.
It is not known, though Mr. Pintard assures us that a majority of
them were personally unacquainted with him, that there were any
to complain of such a stately bearing as about this time alarmed a
sagacious colonel from Virginia for the safety of the republic. This
colonel had travelled, and after attending one of the receptions of
the President, he declared, at the table of Governor Beverly Ean-
dolph, in Richmond, that " his bows were more distant and stiff"
than any he had seen at St. James's ! A correspondent informed
Washington of the fearful apprehensions thus awakened, and he
replied, " That I have not been able to make bows to the taste of

poor Colonel B , who, by the way, I believe never saw but one

of them, is to be regretted ; especially as, upon those occasions,
they were indiscriminately bestowed, and the best I was master of.
"Would it not have been better to throw the veil of charity over
them, ascribing their stiffness to the effects of age, or to the unskil-
fulness of my teacher, rather than to pride and dignity of office ? "
Mrs. Washington held her levee, as on other Friday evenings,
but on no previous occasion had one been graced with so much
respectability and elegance. The air was almost as gentle as it
should be in May, and the full moon shone so brightly that the
streets to a late hour were filled with a delicious twilight. It was
not the custom for visitors of the President to sit, but it appears
from Mr. Pintard's diary that, on this night at least, there were
chairs in the rooms where Mrs. Washington saw her guests, for
" after they were seated," tea and coffee, and plum and plain cake,

216 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

were dispensed by the attending servants. She remarked, while
speaking of the day's occurrences, that none of them had so pleased
the General (by which title she always designated her husband) as
the friendly greetings of the gentlemen who called upon him at noon.
To an inquiry, by the President, whether such observances were
casual or customary, it was answered, that New Year's visiting had
always been maintained in the city. He paused a moment, and
then observed, " The highly favored situation of ISTew York will,
in the process of years, attract numerous emigrants, who will gra-
dually change its ancient customs and manners ; but, whatever
changes take place, never forget the cordial and cheerful observance
of New Year's day." Mrs. Washington had stood by his side as
the visitors arrived and were presented, and when the clock in the
hall was heard striking nine, she advanced and with a complacent
smile said, " The General always retires at nine, and I usually pre-
cede him ; " upon which all arose, made their parting salutations,
and withdrew.

THE members came together very slowly for the second session
of Congress, which was to have been opened on the fourth of Jan-
uary, but a quorum not being then present, such senators and repre-
sentatives as were in town met every day and adjourned, until the
eighth, when, a sufficient number having arrived for the transaction
of business, the President came to Federal Hall, in his chariot, with
six horses, and, proceeding to the Senate chamber, was conducted
by the Vice President to his chair, and delivered his speech, of
which printed copies were immediately afterward laid upon the
several desks in both Houses. It was the practice of Washington
to communicate with Congress only by written messages, except at
the commencement of each session, when he met in person both

EIGHTY-NINE AND NINETY. 217

branches in joint assembly. He was dressed on this occasion in a
complete suit of fine cloth, manufactured in Hartford, " of that
beautiful changeable hue called crow color, which is remarked in
shades not quite black." After congratulating Congress on the
auspicious appearance of public affairs, the recent acceptance of the
Constitution by the state of North Carolina, and the general and
increasing goodwill manifested toward the government, he proceed-
ed to recommend such measures as he deemed most essential for
the public interests, and dwelt with particular emphasis upon the
consideration that nothing was more deserving of the patronage of
a free people than literature and institutions of learning.

A large number of public dinners are mentioned as having been
given in ~New York in the early part of the year 1790, and many
of the discussions of politics and affairs which occurred out of Con-
gress were at the tables of the leading public characters. The
President continued his Wednesday dinner parties to members of
Congress, ambassadors, and other eminent persons, and frequently
invited the secretaries to debate cabinet questions "over a bottle
of wine." On the sixth of February, the anniversary of the alli-
ance between France and the United States, the charge, $ affaires
of His Most Christian Majesty, entertained at his house the Vice
President, the heads of departments, the Senate, the Speaker of the
House of Eepresentatives, Chief Justice Jay, Governor Clinton,
Chancellor Livingston, and the diplomatic body and other foreigners
of distinction.

The birthday of the President was this year celebrated with
enthusiasm in Boston, Salem, Charleston, Richmond, Alexandria,
Philadelphia, Trenton, and most of the large towns throughout the
United States. In New York, the Tammany Society or Columbian
Order, then recently instituted " on the true principles of patriot-
sm, and having for its motives charity and brotherly lore," held a

28 ^ "

218 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

meeting at their wigwam, and resolved that for ever after it would
"commemorate the birthday of the illustrious George Washing-
ton."

YI.

ME. JEFEEKSOST, after a very pleasant passage, arrived at Norfolk
from France on the twenty-third of November, and proceeded soon
after to Monticello. His wife had been dead many years, but his
two daughters, whom he had educated very carefully in their native
country and in Europe, were now grown to womanhood, and the
eldest * of them had been awaiting his return to be married to Mr.

* Martha Jefferson was born on the twenty-seventh of September, 1772, and was therefore
now a little more than seventeen years of age. John Randolph said she was " the sweetest young
creature in Virginia ;" Mrs. Adams, to whose care she had been intrusted some time in Paris, re-
fers to her with the most affectionate expressions ; and Mrs. Smith, the daughter of Mrs. Adams,
says, " delicacy and sensibility are read in her every feature, and her manners are in unison with
all that is amiable and lovely." While Miss Jefferson, in 1783, was at school in Philadelphia,
boarding with Mrs. Trist, (grandmother of Mr. Nicholas P. Trist, who is now the husband of the
grand-daughter of Mr. Jefferson,) her father addressed to her the following letter, which has never
hitherto been published, and is very interesting as an illustration of his domestic character and
his views of the education of women: "Annapolis, November 28, 1783. My dear Patsy: After
four days' journey, I arrived here without any accident, and in as good health as when I left
Philadelphia. The conviction that you would be more improved in the situation where I have
placed you than if still with me, has solaced me on my parting with you, which my love for you
has rendered a difficult thing. The acquirements which I hope you will make under the tutors
I have. provided for you, will render you more worthy of my love ; and if they cannot increase
it, they will prevent its diminution. Consider the good lady who has taken you under her roof,
who has undertaken to see that you perform all your exercises, and to admonish you in all those
wanderings from what is right, or what is clever, to which your inexperience would expose you,
consider her, I eay, as your mother, as the only person to whom, since the loss with which Heaven
has been pleased to afflict you, you can now look up ; and that her displeasure or disapprobation,
on any occasion, will be an immense misfortune, which, should you be so unhappy as to incur by
any unguarded act, think no concession too much to regain her good wilL With respect to the
distribution of your time, the following is what I should approve : From 8 to 10, practise music.
From 10 to 1, dance one day and draw another. From 1 to 2, draw on the day you dance and
write a letter next day. From 3 to 4, read French. From 4 to 5, exercise yourself in music.
From 5 till bed-time read English, write, &c. Communicate this plan to Mrs. Hopkinson ; and,
if she approves of it, pursue it. As long as Mrs. Trist remains in Philadelphia, cultivate her
affections. She has been a valuable friend to you, and her good sense and good heart make her
valued by all who know her, and by nobody on earth more than me. I expect you will write to
me by every post. Inform me what books you read, what tunes you learn, and inclose me your
best copy of every lesson in drawing. Write also one letter every week, either to your Aunt

Mo IEJ\.MJD(D)1LIPIEI

EIGHTY. NINE AND NINET1. 219

Thomas Mann Randolph, of Tuckahoe, whom he describes as " a
young gentleman of genius, science, and honorable mind, who af-
terward filled a dignified station in the general government, and
the most dignified in his own state." On the first of March, he
left home for the seat of government, to asurne his duties as Secre-
tary of State. In Philadelphia, he writes to Madame la Comtesse
d'Houdetot, " I found our friend Dr. Franklin in his bed cheerful,
and free from pain, but still, in his bed. He took a lively interest
in the details I gave him of your revolution. I observed his face
often flushed in the course of it. He is much emaciated." It was in
this interview that Franklin confided to him the manuscript, now
lost, of one of the most important portions of his personal memoirs.
The fine weather of December and January had been succeeded
in the later winter by rains and blustery snows, and Mr. Jefferson
had an extremely tedious and disagreeable passage to 'New York,
which he described the week after its conclusion in a letter to his
son-in-law. " I arrived here," he says, " on the twenty-first instant,
after as laborious a journey, of a fortnight, from Richmond, as I
ever went through resting only one day at Alexandria, and an-
other at Baltimore. I found my carriage and horses at Alexandria ;
but a snow of eighteen inches deep falling the same night, I saw
the impossibility of getting on in my own carnage : so left it there,
to be sent to me by water, and had my horses led on to this place,

Eppes, your Aunt Skipwith, your Aunt Carr, or the little lady from whom I now enclose a letter,
and always put the letter you so write under cover to me. Take care that you never spell a
word wrong. Always, before you write a word, consider how it is spelt, and, if you do not re-
member it, turn to a dictionary. It produces great praise to a lady to spell well. I have placed
my happiness on seeing you good and accomplished ; and no distress which this world can now
bring on me would equal that of your disappointing my hopes. If you love me then, strive to
be good under every situation, and to all living creatures, and to acquire those accomplishments
which I have put in your power, and which will go far towards ensuring you the warmest love
of your affectionate father. TH. JEFFERSON.

" P. S. Keep my letters and read them at times, that you may always have present in your
aiind those things which will endear you to me."

220 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

taking my passage in the stage, though relieving myself a little
sometimes by mounting my horse. The roads, through the whole
way, were so bad that we could never go more than three miles an
hour, sometimes not more than two, and in the night but one. My
first object was to look out a house, in the Broadway, if possible,
as being in the centre of my business. Finding none there vacant,
for the present, I have taken a small one in Maiden lane, which may
give me time to look about me. Much business had been put by
for my arrival, so that I found myself all at once involved under
an accumulation of it. When this shall be got through I will be
able to judge whether the ordinary business of my department will
leave me any leisure. I fear there will be little."

Mr. Jefferson was not well pleased with the tone of political
society ; in his famous " Anas " he says, " I found a state of things
which of all I had ever contemplated I then least expected. I had
left France in the first year of her revolution, in the fervor of natu-
ral rights and zeal for reformation. My conscientious devotion to
these rights could not be heightened, but it had been roused and
excited by daily exercise. The President received me cordially,
and my colleagues and the circle of principal citizens, apparently
with welcome. The courtesies of dinner parties, given me as a
stranger newly arrived among them, placed me at once in their
familiar society. But I cannot describe the wonder with which
their table conversations filled me. Politics were their chief topic,
and a preference of kingly over republican government was evi-
dently the favorite sentiment. An apostate I could not be, nor yet
a hypocrite, and I found myself, for the most part, the only advo-
cate on the republican side of the question, unless among the guests
there chanced to be some member of that party from the legisla-
tive houses." He says much more in the same vein, and its value
may be inferred from what has been shown respecting his account

EIGHTY-NINE AND NINETY. 221

of the inauguration ball. There is not the slightest evidence except
Mr. Jefferson's assertions that there was a single person in the city
at that period, except foreign residents, who were any less partial
to republicanism than himself ; certainly General Washington, Gen-
eral Knox, Colonel Hamilton, Mr. Adams, and Mr. Jay, with whom
his official relations brought him into the most frequent intercourse,
never, on any occasion whatever, breathed or wrote a syllable to
authorize an imputation against them or any of them of a predilec-
tion for kingly or aristocratical institutions.

VII.

ON the seventeenth of April Benjamin Franklin died in Phila-
delphia, and though the event had been expected for many months,
it produced a profound sensation throughout the country.* This

* A contemporary journal thus announces the death of the philosopher and the circumstances
of his funeral : " On the seventeenth of April departed this life, at Philadelphia, the venerable
and celebrated philosopher and patriot, Benjamin Franklin, LL.D., aged eighty-five years. His
final sickness lasted fifteen days. He was interred with every mark of esteem and veneration.
The following was the order of procession :

All the Clergy of the City, before the Corpse.

The CORPSE, carried by Citizens.
The Pall, supported by the President of the State, the Chief Justice, the President of

the Bank, Samuel Powell, William Bingham, and David Eittenhouse, Esqs.

Mourners, consisting of the family of the deceased, with a number of particular friends.

The Secretary and Members of the Supreme Executive Council.

The Speaker and members of the General Assembly.
Judge of the Supreme Court, and other Officers of the Government

The Gentlemen of the Bar.

The Mayor and Corporation of the City of Philadelphia.

The Printers of the City, with their Journeymen and Apprentices.

The Philosophical Society.

The College of Physicians.

The Cincinnati. 9

The College of Philadelphia, and sundry other Societies.

" The concourse of spectators was greater than ever was known on a like occasion. It is
computed that not less than twenty thousand persons attended the funeral. The order and
silence which prevailed during the procession deeply evinced the heartfelt sense entertained by
all classes of citizens of the unparalleled virtues, talents, and services of the deceased."

22* THE REPUBLICAN COURT

illustrious man was admired and revered next to Washington, and
only for the death of "Washington could there have been a more
pervading sorrow. A few days after the intelligence reached New
York a resolution was moved by Mr. Madison, and unanimously
adopted, that "being informed of the decease of Benjamin Frank-
lin, a citizen whose native genius was not more an ornament to
human nature than his various exertions of it have been precious
to science, to freedom, and to his country as a mark of venera-
tion due to his memory, the members wear the customary badge
of mourning for one month." The Executive Council of Pennsyl-
vania passed a similar resolution ; the American Philosophical So-
ciety appointed one of their number, the Reverend Dr. William
Smith, to pronounce a discourse commemorative of his character ;
an homage of the same kind was offered in a Latin oration by the
Reverend Dr. Stiles, at Yale College ; and the societies of the Cin-
cinnati in the several states, the Tammany Society in New York,
and other public bodies, also wore insignia of mourning.

In France the honors paid to his memory were not less remark-
able. When the news reached Paris, Mirabeau ascended the tri-*
bune and before a silent and sympathetic audience said, " Frank-
lin is dead ! Returned into the bosom of the divinity is that gen-
ius which freed America, and rayed forth upon Europe torrents of
light. The sage whom the two worlds alike claim the man for
whom the history of science and the history of empires are disput-
ing held, beyond doubt, an elevated rank in the human species.
For long enough have political cabinets noticed the deaths of those
who were only great in their funeral orations; for long enough
has court-etiquette proclaimed hypocritical mourning. Nations
should only wear mourning for their benefactors. The representa-
tives of nations ought only to recommend to their homage the
heroes of humanity. The Congress has ordained, in the thirteen

EIGHTY-NINE AND NINETY. 223

states of the confederation, a mourning of two months for the de-
cease of Franklin ; and America is acquitting, at this very moment,
that tribute of veneration for one of the fathers of her constitu-
tion. Would it not be worthy of us, gentlemen, to join in that re-
ligious act; to participate in that homage, rendered, before the
face of the universe, both to the rights of man and to the philoso-
pher who has the most contributed to extend their acknowledg-
ment over all the world ? Antiquity would have raised altars to
that vast and powerful genius, who, for the advantage of mortals,
embracing in his aspirations heaven and the earth, knew how to tame
tyrants and their thunderbolts. France, enlightened and free, owes
at the least an expression of remembrance and regret for one of
the greatest men who have ever aided philosophy and liberty.
I propose that it be decreed that the National Assembly wear
mourning during three days for Benjamin Franklin." Lafayette
and Eochefoucauld seconded the motion ; it was adopted by accla-
mation ; and the Assembly afterwards decreed that they would go
into mourning for three days. The Abbe Sieyes, as President of
'the Assembly, addressed a letter to the President of the United
States on the loss which the human race had sustained in the death
of this apostle of freedom and philosophy: the Abbe Fauchet pro-
nounced an eulogy upon his life and genius in the presence of the
Commune of Paris ; Condorcet celebrated his virtues in an oration
before the Academy of Sciences ; and every where throughout the
kingdom there were demonstrations of reverence for his character
and regret for his death.

VIII.

THE most famous and troublesome leaders of the Indians, during
Washington's administration, were Brant, or Thayendanegea, chief
of the six nations, and Alexander McGillivray, a compound of

22* THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

Creek and Scotch, who became the head man of a powerful confed-
eracy on the frontiers of Georgia. They were both persons of
considerable education, and familiar with the habits and warlike
.customs of civilized society. McGillivray, after studying Latin at
Charleston, had been placed in a counting-house, but though shrewd
and not without a spirit of enterprise he had evinced a greater
fondness for books than for mercantile affairs. His father, a suc-
cessful Indian trader, had acquired large possessions in Georgia,
but for his opposition to the revolution they had been confiscated
and he himself banished, leaving the young Indian with little pro-
perty and no attachment to the Anglo-Americans. Taking refuge
with the Creeks, his abilities and knowledge soon enabled him to win
influence and distinction, and for several years he carried on a for-
midable war against the Georgians, in which he was supported by
the Spaniards of Florida. In the summer of 1789 Washington
had appointed General Lincoln, Colonel Humphreys, and David
Griffin, commissioners to treat for a settlement of the difficulties
with the Creek confederacy, but they were unsuccessful, and Colo-
nel Marinus "Willett had been sent on a second mission, which re-
sulted in his persuading McGillivray, with twenty-eight principal
chiefs and warriors of his nation, to proceed to the seat of govern-
ment, where negotiations might be carried on with less liability to
interruption or influence from local interests. The party was cor-
dially and ceremoniously received in Philadelphia, and in New
York, where they arrived on the twenty-first of July, and remained
several weeks, attracting even more attention than was given to
Black Hawk nearly half a century afterward. Arrayed in their
Indian dresses, the Tammany Society escorted them into the city,
and on the second of August entertained them at a public dinner,
at which the Tammany sachems sung songs, the Creek sachems
danced, and toasts were drank, and the orators of both sides made

EIGHTY-NINE AND NINETY. 225

speeches. General Knox, Governor Clinton, Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Jay,
and many other public characters were among the guests. The In-
dians were present also at a grand review of uniformed militia, by
the President and the Secretary of War, on the grounds of Colonel
Rutgers. A treaty having been concluded, by the Secretary of
War, it was ratified in Federal Hall on the thirteenth of August,
in the presence of a large assembly, including the principal officers
of the administration, members of Congress, and other distinguished
citizens. The President, with his suite, met the Creek chiefs at
twelve o'clock, and, the treaty having been read and interpreted,
addressed them in a speech in which its several provisions were ex-
plained, and received from each an audible and emphatic assent to
them. He then signed the treaty, and delivered a string of wam-
pum, as a memorial of amity, and a paper of tobacco, to smoke in
commemoration of it, to McGillivray, who made a short acknow-
ledgment, after which there was a general shaking of hands, and
in conclusion the chiefs and warriors sung a song of peace.

Colonel Trumbull, who had returned from Europe to obtain sub-
scribers for the engravings from his celebrated series of pictures
illustrative of the revolution, had just completed for the corporation
the large full length portrait of the President which now graces
the City Hall. Washington was curious to see the effect it would
produce on the minds of the savages, and therefore directed Trum-
bull to place it in an advantageous light, facing the entrance of the
painting room, and, having entertained several of the principal
chiefs at dinner, he invited them to walk with him, and led them
suddenly into the presence of his counterfeit. As the door was
opened they were startled at seeing another " Great Father," stand-
ing within, and for a time were mute with astonishment. At length
one of the chiefs advanced toward the picture, slowly reached out

his hand and touched it, and was still more astounded to feel but
29

226 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

a cold flat surface instead of the warm round figure it had seemed,
He exclaimed " Ugh ! " and each of the party with a grave surprise
not unmixed with fear carefully repeated his examination. Truinbull
had "been anxious to obtain portraits of some of these chiefs, whom
he describes as possessed of a dignity of manner, form, countenance,
and expression, worthy of Roman senators ; but after this he found
it impossible ; they were suspicious that there was magic in an art
which could impart to a piece of canvas the appearance of a great
soldier, dressed for battle, and standing beside his war-horse.

Since the inauguration of the new government the business of
New York had largely increased, and the erection of many hand-
some public and private edifices had added much to the attractive
appearance of the city. Trinity Church, completed in 1737, had
been destroyed in the great fire of September, 1776, and a new
one that which a few years ago gave place to the present beau-
tiful structure was now finished, and on the last Thursday in
March was consecrated by Bishop Provoost, in the presence of
"Washington, the members of the cabinet and other eminent pub-
he men, the resident clergy of different denominations, and an un-
usually large assemblage of fashion and beauty. The vestry ap-
propriated a richly-ornamented pew, with a canopy over it, to the
President of the United States, and other pews were assigned to
the Governor of the state and the members of Congress. A curi-
ous event occurred at this church a short time before the adjourn-
ment of Congress, in August. The Reverend Benjamin Blagrove,
of St. Peter's Parish, New Kent, Virginia, was permitted to give a
public concert there. He sung two long pieces of sacred music, ac-
companying himself on the organ, and his great reputation as a
vocalist secured a full house.

An extraordinary absurdity was committed by the mayor and
corporation, in the spring of 1790, which materially lessened the

EIGHTY-NINE AND NINETY. 227

beauty of the city, and gave rise to many indignant displays of
feeling on the part of newspaper poets and public meetings ; New
York was liberally ornamented with trees, and great pains had
been taken to plant them in a rich variety along the principal
streets ; but the authorities, doubtless for some supposed necessity
connected with the public health as Dr. Samuel Latham Mitchell,
about this time described as " a buckish young oracle, half dandy
and half philosopher," was accused at a dinner party at Fraunces's
tavern of having too much to do with the business ordered them
all to be cut down before the first of June.

IX.

DUEING his New England tour, in 1789, the President did not
pass through Rhode Island, as that state had not yet- accepted the
Constitution ; but on Saturday, the fourteenth of August, he sailed
for Newport, accompanied by Mr. Jefferson, Governor Clinton,
Judge Blair, Mr. Foster, Mr. Smith, of South Carolina, Mr. Gilman,
of New Hampshire, Colonel Humphreys, Major Jackson, and Mr.
Nelson. He arrived at Newport the following Tuesday morning,
and was welcomed by a salute of thirteen guns when the packet
passed Fort Washington, thirteen more from the same quarter on
his landing, and a like number from the shipping in the harbor.
The citizens received their distinguished guest with every suitable
mark of respect, and in procession escorted him to his lodgings.
At four o'clock a committee of the town authorities waited on him
to the State House, where he partook of an elegant dinner, after
which the federal complement of toasts was given, to the first
of which he responded, " The state we are in, and prosperity to
it ! " On "Wednesday morning he was addressed by the mayor,
the clergy, and the society of Free Masons, and having visited the
several parts of the town, he sailed for Providence, where his re-

228 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

ception was remarkably enthusiastic, and was followed by every
conceivable demonstration of respectful attachment. He returned
on the twenty-first, having been absent ten days, with his health
improved by the voyage.

THE second session of the first Congress the last ever held in
New York was closed on the twelfth of August, and on the
thirtieth the President set out for Virginia, where he proposed to
pass the remainder of the season. The excursion to Ehode Island
had caused a partial and temporary restoration of his strength, but
he was still suffering from disease, brought on by too constant ap-
plication to business, and he contemplated with delight the repose
and recreation he should find at Mount Vernon. " Within the last
twelve months," he wrote, "I have undergone more and severer
sickness than thirty preceding years afflicted me with. I have
abundant reason, however, to be thankful, that I am so well recov-
ered ; though I still feel the remains of the violent affection of my
lungs : the cough, pain in my breast, and shortness of breathing,
not having entirely left me." The day before his departure he
entertained the mayor and corporation, and Governor and Mrs.
Clinton, at his last public dinner. He recalled the many interest-
ing scenes with which he had been connected in the city and its
vicinity, and spoke with much emotion of the kindness which he
had received from the people during all his intercourse with them,
especially since the establishment of the federal government. It
was his intention to avoid all ceremony in leaving, but the execu-
tive officers of the United States, the governor and principal offi-
cers of the state, the mayor and corporation, the clergy, the mem-
bers of the society of the Cincinnati, and many other respectable
persons, attended and escorted him to the place where he was tc

EIGHTY- NINE AND NINETY. 229

embark, on the beautiful barge which had been presented to
on his arrival in the previous year. He left his residence at half
after ten o'clock, with Mrs. "Washington and the other members of
his family, and the moment they stepped from the wharf was an-
nounced by thirteen guns from the battery. The solemnity of this
parting scene* was singularly different from the tumultuous joy with
which the President had been received, a year and a half before.
He again expressed the sense he entertained of the disposition of
the citizens to render his residence among them agreeable; said
that, although circumstances had made his removal necessary, he
should never forget their generous attentions ; and wished them,
their state, and city, every prosperity. Governor Clinton, Chief
Justice Jay, General Knox, Colonel Hamilton, and the mayor, ac-
companied him as far as Paulus Hook.

Having landed in New Jersey, the President had no further use
for his barge, and he directed that it should be returned, with the
following letter, written just before starting, to Captain Thomas

* " As the General left the house, he took my hand, and I thought I never saw him look so
sad. We reached the appointed place of departure , I see the spot plainly before me : the crowd
was immense . . . . the eyes of the multitude were steadily bent upon him, but not a whisper
among the whole was audible. When arrived at the spot, he paused, and for a moment surveyed
the scene. I saw that his heart was too full for utterance, and his eyes seemed bursting with
suppressed tears ; still he calmly looked on all around ..... At length, when the last officer had
been embraced, the General seemed for a moment to gain a self possession, and with a firm step
turned towards the boat in waiting ; he stepped on board, and almost sunk upon the seat ; this
was but for an instant, for as the boat shoved off, he stood upright, and quickly raising his hat.
with that grace and dignity which seemed peculiarly to belong to him, he surveyed once mor,
his officers, and his friends, and after pausing a moment, he murmured with an emphasis I can
never forget, so full of mingled sorrow and affliction, so deep and earnest, so soulfelt in its ac-
cents, the single word ' Farewell ! ' and waving his hat, the fresh gushing tears prevented his
further action or utterance. At that moment a shout, such as I have never heard, before or
since one simultaneous shout burst from the shore, and so loud, and deep, and full, was it,
that it drowned the echo of the heavy guns, the large twenty-eight pounders, which at the
same moment were fired from a short distance above. A dull heavy noise was all I could
distinguish ; and as the acclaim of the multitude was wafted over the parting waves, and the
cannon's smoke rose upwards, the General once more waved his hand, and the boat shot rapidly
from the shore. This was the last time he ever saw New York." George Washington Parkc
Cu-;'is's " Recollections?

230 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

Randall, chairman of the committee of gentlemen through whom
he had received it.

"Sir: On the second of May, 1789, 1 wrote you, requesting that
my acknowledgments might be offered to the gentlemen who had
presented an elegant barge to me, on my arrival in this city. As I
am, at this moment, about commencing my journey to Virginia,
and consequently shall have no farther occasion for the use of the
barge, I must now desire that you will return it, in my name, and
with my best thanks, to the original proprietors: at the same time
I shall be much obliged if you will have the goodness to add, on
my part, that in accepting their beautiful present, I considered it
as a pledge of that real urbanity which, I am happy in declaring,
I have experienced on every occasion during my residence among
them ; that I ardently wish every species of prosperity may be the
constant portion of the respectable citizens of New York ; and that
I shall always retain a grateful remembrance of the polite attention
of the citizens in general, and of those in particular to whom the
contents of this note are addressed. I am, with sentiments of re-
gard and esteem, sir, your most obedient and very humble servant,

44 G. WASHINGTON"

SOPHIA Clf2-',7V.

REMOVAL OF THE GOVERNMENT.

THEKE was no subject "before the first Congress which produced
a deeper feeling or more warm debate than that of the permanent
establishment of the seat of government. On the twenty-first of
October, 1783, the old Congress, insulted at Philadelphia by a band
of mutineers whom the state authorities were unable to put down,
adjourned to Princeton, where it occupied the halls of the college,
and finally to New York, where it assembled in the beginning of
1785. The question continued in debate, not only in Congress, but
in the public journals and private correspondence of all parts of
the country, and was brought before the convention for forming
the Constitution, at Philadelphia, but by that body referred to the
federal legislature. It was justly considered that extraordinary
advantages would accrue to any city which might become the capi-
tal of the nation, and it is not surprising, therefore, that a sectional
controversy arose which for a time threatened the most disastrous
consequences. The eastern states would have been satisfied with
the retention of the public business in New York, but Pennsylvania
wished it to be conducted on the banks of the Delaware, and Mary-
land and Virginia, supported very generally by the more southern
states, were not less anxious that the legislative centre of the
republic should be on the Potomac.

232 THE KEPUBLICAN COURT.

Efforts were made to postpone the consideration of the subject
another year, but against this all the southern parties protested,
as New York in the mean time would be likely to strengthen her
influence, and it was contended that the danger of selecting any
large city was already apparent in the feeling manifested in favor
of the present metropolis by persons whose constituents were unani-
mously opposed to it. Dr. Rush, in a letter to General Muhlen-
berg, after the passage of a bill in the House of Representatives
for the establishment of the seat of government on the banks of
the Susquehanna, wrote, "I rejoice in the prospect of Congress
leaving New York ; it is a sink of political vice ; " and again, " Do
as you please, but tear Congress away from ISTew York in any way ;
do not rise without effecting this business." Other persons, whose
means of judging were much better than those of Dr. Rush, be-
lieved with Wolcott, that " honesty was in fashion " here, and Mr.
Page, a member from Virginia, sagacious, moral, and without local
interests except in his own state, declared that New York was supe-
rior to any place he knew " for the orderly and decent behavior
of its inhabitants." As to Philadelphia, the South Carolinians
found an objection in her Quakers, who, they said, " were eternally
dogging southern members with their schemes of emancipation."

There was another very exciting proposition at the same time be-
fore Congress, respecting which the supporting interests were in a
different direction ; the Carolinas, Georgia, and Virginia, were nearly
as much opposed to the assumption of the state debts, as New Eng-
land and New York were to establishing the seat of government
in such a position that nine of the thirteen states should be north
of it; and Mr. Hamilton, setting an example of compromises for
the germinating statesman of Kentucky, then a pupil of the vene-
rable Wythe, proposed an arrangement which resulted in the selec-
tion for federal purposes of Conogocheague, on the Potomac, now

REMOVAL OF THE GOVERNMENT. 233

known as the District of Columbia. Hamilton and Robert Morris,
both strong advocates for the financial measure, agreed that if some
of the southern members were gratified as to the location of the
national capital, they might be willing to yield the other point,
and two or three votes would be sufficient to change the majority
in the House of Representatives. Mr. Jefferson had not been long
in the city ; he was ignorant of the secrets of its diplomacy; and
complains that he was most innocently made to "hold the can-
dle " to this intrigue, " being duped into it," as he says, " by the
Secretary of the Treasury, and made a tool of for forwarding his
schemes, not then sufficiently understood." Congress had met and
adjourned, from day to day, without doing any thing. The mem-
bers were too much out of humor to do business together. As
Jefferson was on his way to the President's, one morning, he met in
the street Hamilton, who walked him backwards and forwards in
Broadway for half an hour, describing the temper of the legisla-
ture, the disgust of the creditor states, as they were called, and the
danger of disunion, ending with an appeal for his aid and coopera-
tion, as a member of the cabinet, in calming an excitement and set-
tling a question which threatened the very existence of the govern-
ment. Jefferson proposed that Hamilton should dine with him the
next evening, and promised to invite another friend or two, think-
ing it " impossible that reasonable men, consulting together coolly,
could fail, by some mutual sacrifices of opinion, to form a compro-
mise which was to save the Union." The meeting and the discus-
sion took place, and it was finally decided that two of the Virginia
members who had opposed that measure should support the assump-
tion bill, and that, to allay any excitement which might thus be
produced, Hamilton and Morris should bring sufficient influence
from the north to insure the permanent establishment of the gov-
ernment on the Potomac, after its continuance in Philadelphia for
30

234 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

ten years, during which period public buildings might be erected^
and such other preparation made as should be necessary for the
proper accommodation of persons engaged with public affairs.
Morris had hitherto strongly advocated the claims of Philadelphia
to be the permanent metropolis, and he now shrewdly concluded,
President Duer observes, that if the public offices were once opened
in that city they would continue there, as, but for the silent influ-
ence of the name of Washington, whose wishes on the subject were
known, would have been the case. Dr. Green mentions that some
person who was in company with the President during the discus-
sion, remarked, " I know very well where the federal city ought to
be." " Where, then, would you put it?" inquired Washington.
The fellow mentioned a place, and was asked, " Why are you sure
it should be there?" "For the most satisfactory of all reasons,"
he answered ; "because nearly the whole of my property lies there
and in the neighborhood." The insolent meaning was, of course,
that Washington favored the location of the capital in its present
site because it was near his estate. The people of New York were
disappointed and vexed at the result, and they exhibited their
spleen against Morris, to whom it was in a large degree attributed,
in a caricature print, in which the stout senator from Pennsylvania
was seen marching off with the Federal Hall upon his shoulders,
its windows crowded with members of both Houses, encouraging
or anathematizing this novel mode of deportation, while the devil,
from the roof of the Paulus Hook ferry-house, beckoned to him } in
a patronizing manner, crying, " This way, Bobby ! "

II.

CAPTAIN PHILIP FEENEAU had remained in New York ever
since the inauguration, and for the greater part of the time had
been employed by Childs and Swaine, printers of the Daily Ad-

REMOVAL OF THE GOVERNMENT. 235

vertiser, as their writing editor. Through Mr. Madison, with whom
he had been intimate while an undergraduate at Princeton college,
he became acquainted with Mr. Jefferson, who soon discovered his
useful qualities. During the agitation of the question of the re-
moval of the seat of government the papers abounded with vari-
ous articles for or against the several places proposed, and Freneau
wrote some pungent paragraphs in favor of New York ; but he
was always most successful in a certain kind of familiar satirical
verse, and among the effusions of his muse on this subject *vas the
following correspondence :

THE PHILADELPHIA HOUSE-MAID TO HER FRIEND IN NEW YORK. /

Six weeks my dear mistress has been in a fret,
And nothing but Congress will do for her yet
She says they must come, or her senses she J ll lose ;
From morning till night she is reading the news,
And loves the dear fellows that vote for our town
(Since no one can relish New York but a clown). . . ,
She tells us as how she has read in her books
That God gives them meat, but the devil sends cooks;
And Grumbleton told us (who often shoots flying)
That fish you have plenty but spoil them in frying;
That your streets are as crooked, as crooked can be,
Right forward, three perches, he never could see,
But his view was cut short with a house or a shop
That stood in his way and obliged him to stop.

Those speakers that wish for New York to decide
'T is a pity that talents are so misapplied !
My mistress declares she is vext to the heart
That genius should take such a pitiful part ;
For the question, indeed, she is daily distrest,
And Gerry, I think, she will ever detest,
Who did all he could, with his tongue and his pen,
To keep the dear Congress shut up in your den.

She insists, the expense of removing is small,
And that two or three thousands will answer it all 5
If that is too much, and we 're so very poor,
The passage by water is cheaper, be sure :
If people object the expense of a team,
Here J s Fitch, with his wherry, will bring them by steam j

236 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

And, Nabby ! if once he should take them on board.
The honor will be a sufficient reward.
But, as to myself, I vow and declare
I wish it would suit them to stay where they are ;
I plainly foresee, that if once they remove,
Throughout the long day, we shall drive, and be drove. . .
Such scouring will be as has never been seen,
We shall always be cleaning, and never be clean,
And threats in abundance will work on my fears,
Of blows on the back, and of cuffs on the ears.
Two trifles, at present, discourage her paw,
The fear of the Lord, and the fear of the law;
But if Congress arrive, she will have such a sway
That gospel and law will be both done away.
For the sake of a place I must bear all her din.
And if ever so angry, do nothing but grin ;
So Congress, I hope, in your town will remain,
And Nanny will thank them again and again.

THE NEW YORK HOUSE-MAID TO HER FRIEND IN PHILADELPHIA.

WELL, Nanny, I am sorry to find, since you writ us,
The Congress at last has determined to quit us;
You now may begin, with your dishcloths and brooms,
To be scouring your knockers and scrubbing your rooms ;
As for us, my dear Nanny, we 're much in a pet,
And hundreds of houses will be to be let ;
Our streets, that were just in a way to look clever,
Will now be neglected and nasty as ever ;
Again we must fret at the Dutchified gutters
And pebble -stone pavements, that wear out our trotters.
My master looks dull, and his spirits are sinking,
From morning till night he is smoking and thinking,
Laments the expense of destroying the fort,
And says, your great people are all of a sort ;
He hopes and he prays they may die in a stall,
If they leave us hi debt for the Federal Hall ;
Miss Letty, poor lady, is so in the pouts,
She values no longer our dances and routs,
And sits in a corner, dejected and pale,
As dull as a cat, and as lean as a rail !
Poor thing, I am certain she 's in a decay,
And all, because Congress resolve not to stay !
This Congress unsettled is, sure, a sad thing
Seven years, my dear Nanny, they 've been on the wing ;

REMOVAL OF THE GOVERNMENT* 237

My master would rather saw timber, or dig,
Than see them removing to Conogocheague
Where the houses and kitchens are yet to be framed,
The trees to be felled, and the streets to be named.

In a letter from Philadelphia, dated the tenth of August, it is
said, " Some of the blessings anticipated from the removal of Con-
gress to this city are already beginning to be apparent ; rents of
houses have risen, and I fear will continue to rise, shamefully ; even
in the outskirts they have lately been increased from fourteen, six-
teen, and eighteen pounds, to twenty-five, twenty-eight, and thirty.
This is oppressive. Our markets, it is expected, will also be dearer
than heretofore. Whether the advantages we shall enjoy from the
removal will be equivalent to these disadvantages, time alone will
determine. I am convinced, however, if things go on in this man-
ner, a very great majority of our citizens will have good reason to
wish the government settled at Conogocheague long before the ten
years are expired." On the seventh of September Oliver Wolcott
referred to this rise of rents, in a letter to his wife. " I have at length
been to Philadelphia," he says, " and with much difficulty have pro-
cured a house, in Third street, which is a respectable part of the
city. The rent is one hundred pounds, which is excessive, being
nearly double what would have been exacted before the matter of
residence was determined."

The appearance of Philadelphia was quite as monotonous then
as it is now ; but the city contained many fine private residences,
and Christ's church had for that time a cathedral air, and the Dutch
church was described as magnificent. The several edifices appro-
priated for the use of the federal government were inferior to those
in New York, but Independence Hall was endeared to the memories
of many of the senators and representatives, who had been mem-
bers of the Continental Congress, and ample if not elegant accom-
modations were promised for all departments of the public service.

238 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

u Philadelphia is a large and elegant city," writes "Wblcott, " but it
did not strike me with the astonishment which the citizens predict-
ed ; like the rest of mankind they judge favorably of their own
place of residence, and of themselves, and their representations are
to be admitted with some deduction." One attraction of Philadel-
phia, however, could not well be overpraised ; her markets were
perhaps the best in the world ; and we have the testimony of nu-
merous travellers to their extraordinary neatness, their order, and
the general moderation of their prices.

III.

THE private life of Washington was scarcely less remarkable
than his great career as founder of the republic ; indeed it is ques-
tionable whether such qualities as have made men eminent in pub-
lic affairs were ever "before or since illustrated to an equal extent
by their possessors in a domestic and household administration. It
has been said of Wellington that he would have made but an in-
different drill sergeant, but Washington would have been as excel-
lent in the lowest as he was in the highest offices, as exact in the
performance of humble duties as he was in the execution of great
designs upon which hung so much of the well-being of the human
race.

Some interesting exhibitions of his judgment, justice, and ex-
treme particularity, as the head of his family, are contained in the
letters which he addressed to Mr. Lear, one of his private secre-
taries, respecting the removal of his personal effects from New
York to Philadelphia, and the preparation of a new residence for
his occupation. Four days after he left New York he wrote
him from Philadelphia, "After a pleasant journey we arrived
in this city on Thursday last, and to-morrow we proceed (if Mrs.
Washington's health will permit, for she has been much indisposed

.REMOVAL OF THE GOVERNMENT.

239

Bince we came here) toward Mount Vernon. The house of Mr.
Robert Morris had, previous to my arrival, ."been taken by the cor-
poration for my residence. It is the best they could get. It is, I
believe, the best single house in the city. Yet without additions
it is inadequate to the commodious accommodation of my family.
These additions I believe will be made. The first floor contains
only two public rooms (except one for the upper servants). The
second floor will have two public (drawing) rooms, and with the
aid of one room, with a partition in it, in the back building, will
be sufficient for the use of Mrs. "Washington and the children, and
their maids, besides affording her a small place for a private study
and dressing room. The third story will furnish you and Mrs.
Lear with a good lodging room, a public office (for there is no room
below for one), and two rooms for the gentlemen of the family.
The garret has four good rooms, which must serve Mr. and Mrs.
Hyde,* unless they should prefer the room over the work-house,
William, and such servants as it may not be better to place in the
proposed additions to the back building. There is a room over the
stable which may serve the coachman and postillions, and there is
a smoke house, which may possibly be more valuable for the use of
servants than for the smoking of meats. The intention of the ad-
dition to the back building is to provide a servant's hall, and one
or two lodging rooms for the servants. There are good stables,
but for twelve horses only, and a coach house, which will hold all
my carriages. Speaking of carriages, I have left my coach to re-
ceive a thorough repair, by the time I return, which I expect will
be before the first of December."

The legislature about the same time appropriated for his occu-
pation a fine building in South Mnth street, on the grounds now
covered by the University. The industrious antiquary, Mr John

* Mr. Hyde was butler, or intendent of the kitchen, in New York.

240 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

F. Watson, is entirely wrong in supposing that the President de-
clined to accept this house because of " the great expense of fur-
nishing it on his own account." A principal cause of his refusal of
the offer of the state government was that he would on no consid-
eration live in a house which should not be hired and furnished
exclusively with his own means. The commonwealth and the muni-
cipality were both but too willing to relieve him of any drain upon
his private fortune for the support of his personal establishment,
still cherishing hopes that Philadelphia, notwithstanding the act of
Congress for the purchase of Conogocheague, might remain perma-
nently the seat of government ; and Washington could not fail of
regarding their generous offers for his domestic accommodation as
intended in some degree to influence his own judgment or action
on this subject. Another reason may be found in the determina-
tion of the President to live in a style of the utmost simplicity and
modesty that should seem compatible with the dignity of his offi-
cial position. Mi'. Morris's house was on the south side of High
street, near Fifth street. It was three stories high, and about thirty-
two feet wide, with a front displaying four windows in the second
as well as in the third story, and three in the first two on one side
of the hall and one on the other and a single door, approached by
three heavy steps of gray stone. On each side of the house were
vacant lots, used as a garden, and containing trees and shrubbery.

Washington directed Mr. Lear, repeatedly, to ascertain what
would be the rent, but to the middle of November the secretary had
been unsuccessful. He then wrote to him, " I am, I must confess,
exceedingly unwilling to go into any house without first knowing on
what terms I do it, and wish this sentiment could be again hinted
in delicate terms to the parties concerned with me. I cannot, if
there are no latent motives which govern this case, see any difficulty
ill the business. Mr. Morris has most assuredly formed an idea of

THE REMOVAL. 241

what ought in equity to be the rent of the tenement in the condi-
tion he left it ; and with this aid the committee ought, I conceive,
to be as little at a loss in determining what it should rent for, with
the additions and alterations which are about to be made, and
which ought to be done in a plain and neat and not by any means
in an extravagant style ; because the latter is not only contrary to
my wish, but would really be detrimental to my interest and con-
venience, principally because it would be the means of keeping me
out of the use and comforts of the house to a late period, and be-
cause the furniture and every thing else would require to be accor-
dant therewith ; besides making me pay an extravagant price, per-
haps, to accommodate the alterations to the taste of another, or
the exorbitant rates of the workman. I do not know nor do I be-
lieve that any thing unfair is intended by either Mr. Morris or the
committee ; but let us for a moment suppose that the rooms (the
new ones I mean) were to be hung with tapestry, or a very rich
and costly paper, neither of which would suit my present furniture ;
that costly ornaments for the bow windows, extravagant chimney-
pieces, and the like, were to be provided ; that workmen, from ex-
travagance of the times, for every twenty shillings' worth of work
would charge forty shillings ; and that advantage would be taken
of the occasion to newly paint every part of the house and build-
ings : would there be any propriety in adding ten or twelve-and-a-
half per cent, for all this to the rent of the house in its original
state, for the two years that I am to hold it ? If the solution of these
questions is in the negative, wherein lies the difficulty of determin-
ing that the houses arid lots when finished according to the pro-
posed plan ought to rent for so much ? When all is done that can
be done, the residence will not be so commodious as that I left in
New York, for there (and the want of it will be found a real in-
convenience at Mr. Morris's) my office was in the front room, be-
31

242 THE REPUBLICAN COUKT.

low, where persons on business immediately entered; whereas, in
the present case, they will have to ascend two pairs of stairs, and
to pass by the public rooms as well as the private chambers, to" get
to it. Notwithstanding which I am willing to allow as much as
was paid to Mr. McComb, and shall say nothing if more is demand-
ed, unless there is apparent extortion, or the policy of delay is to
see to what height rents will rise before mine is fixed. In either
of these cases I shall not be pleased ; and to occupy the premises
at the expense of any public body, I will not." The rent was ulti-
mately settled at three thousand dollars a year, and at this rate the
house was occupied until Washington ceased to be President.*

* In "A Sketch, in Part from Memory," embracing interesting reminiscences of Philadelphia
in the concluding years of the last century, and attributed to that accomplished statesman, Mr.
Richard Rush, I find the following sentences respecting this house : " Walking lately down Mar-
ket street, from the western part of the city," says the author, " I looked about, after passing
Sixth street, for the former residence of General Washington. I thought I had discovered it,
though greatly metamorphosed, in a house some half dozen doors below Sixth street, on the
south side, which still retained a little of the old fashion in front, with dentels pendant from the
cornice ; but, on inquiry, I found that it was not. The mansion of Washington stood by itself.
It was a large double house ; few, if any, equal to it, are at present in Philadelphia, the house built
by Mr. Bingham in Third street, near Spruce street, excepted, though that is much cut down
from its original size and appearance. The brick of the house in which Washington lived was,
even in his time, dark with age ; and two ancient lamp posts, furnished with large lamps, which
stood in front on the pavement near the street, marked it, in conjunction with the whole external
aspect, as the abode of opulence and respectability before he became its august tenant. No
market-house then stood in the street. To the east, a brick wall six or seven feet high ran well
on towards Fifth street, until it met other houses. The wall inclosed a garden which was shaded
by lofty old trees, and ran back to what is now Minor street, where the stables stood. All is now
gone. Not a trace is lefb of that once venerable and stately residence, for it had intrinsically
something of the latter characteristic by its detached situation, and the space left around it for
accommodation on all sides. To the west no building adjoined it, the nearest house in that di-
rection standing at a fair distance from it, at the corner of Sixth and Market streets, where lived
Robert Morris, one of the great men of the revolution, and the well known friend of Washington.
What hallowed recollections did not that neighborhood awaken ! The career of Washington, his
consummate wisdom, his transcendant services, his full-orbed glory, his spotless, matchless fame !
Let no future Plutarch, said one of his biographers, attempt a parallel ; let none among the dead
or living appear in the same picture with him. He stands alone. In the annals of time, it is
recorded as the single glory of republican America, to have given to the world such an example
of human perfection. History has consecrated it to the instruction of mankind ; and happy if
republican America shall cleave to the maxims which he bequeathed to her in a paper pronounced,
by an eminent English historian, to be unequalled by any composition of uninspired wisdom.

THE REMOVAL. 24S

In regard to servants, he had already written to Mr. Lear;
" The pressure of business under which I labored for several days
before I left New York allowed me no time, to inquire who of the
female servants it was proposed or thought advisable to remove

here, besides the wives of the footmen, James and Fidas With

respect to Mr. Hyde and his wife, if it is not stated on some paper
handed in by Mr. Hyde, it is nevertheless strong on my recollection,
that his wife's services were put down at one and his own services
at two hundred dollars per annum. I have no wish to part with
Mr. or Mrs. Hyde, first, because I do not like to be changing, and
second, because I do not know where or with whom to supply their
places. On the score of accounts, I can say nothing, having never
taken a comparative view of his and Fraunces's ; but I am exceed-
ingly mistaken if the expenses of the second table, at which Mr.
Hyde presides, have not greatly exceeded those of the tables kept by
Fraunces, for I strongly suspect (but in this I may be mistaken)
that nothing is brought to my table, of liquors, fruits, or other lux-
uries, that is not used as profusely at his. If my suspicions are un-
founded I shall be sorry for having entertained them, and if they
are not, it is at least questionable whether under his successor the
same things might not be done ; in which case, (if Hyde is honest
and careful, of which you are better able to judge than I am,) a
change without a benefit might take place, which is not desirable
if they are to be retained on proper terms. I say they, for if Mrs.
Hyde is necessary for the purposes enumerated in your letter, and
the cook is not competent to prepare the dessert, make cake, &c., I
do not see of what use Hyde will be, more than "William, without

Thrice favored Virginia, to have formed the early life of such a man to have rocked his cradle,
and to contain his ashes! In Holland there is still to be seen the building, small and shed- like
as it is, carefully kept in its original state, in which Peter the Great, of Kussia, lived whilst
working in the naval dock-yard at Sardam, in 1697 ; but I could find no vestige of the Phila-
delphia domicil of Washington, relatively recent as was the day when his living presence sanc-
tified it."

244 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

her. . . . Fraunces, besides being an excellent cook, knowing how to
provide genteel dinners, and giving aid in dressing them, prepared
the dessert, made the cake, and did every thing that is done by
Hyde and his wife together ; consequently the services of Hyde alone
are not to be compared with those of Fraunces ; and if his accounts
exceed those of Fraunces, in the same seasons, four or five pounds a
week, and at the same time appear fair, I shall have no scruple to ac-
knowledge that I have entertained much harder thoughts of him
than I ought to have done; although it is unaccountable to me
how other families, on twenty-five hundred or three thousand dol-
lars a year, should be enabled to entertain more company, or at
least entertain more frequently, than I could do for twenty-five
thousand dollars."

Of the style in which the presidential residence was furnished
an impression may be derived from some further extracts from the
same series of letters. The President writes soon after : " Mr. and
Mrs. Morris have insisted upon leaving the two large looking-glasses
which are in their best rooms because they have no place, they say,
proper to remove them to, and because they are unwilling to haz-
ard the taking of them down. You will, therefore, let them have
instead the choice of mine : the large ones I purchased of the French
minister they do not incline to take, but will be glad of some of
the others. They will also leave a large glass lamp in the entry or

hall, and will take one or more of my glass lamps in lieu of it

Mrs. Morris has a mangle (I think it is called) for ironing clothes,
which, as it is fixed in the place where it is commonly used, she
proposes to leave, and take mine. To this I have no objection, pro-
vided mine is equally good and convenient ; but if I should obtain
any advantages, besides that of its being up and ready for use, I
am not inclined to receive it.

" I have no particular direction to give respecting tne appropria

THE REMOVAL. 245

tion of the furniture. By means of the bow windows the back
rooms will become the largest, and of course will receive the fur-
niture of the largest dining and drawing rooms, and in that case,
though there are no closets in them, there are some in the steward's
room, directly opposite, which are not inconvenient. There is a
small room adjoining the kitchen, that might, if it is not essential
for other purposes, be appropriated for the Sevres china, and other
things of that sort, which are not in common use. Mrs. Morris,
who is a notable lady in family arrangements, can give you much
information on all the conveniences about the house and buildings,
and I dare say would rather consider it as a compliment to be con-
sulted in those matters, as she is so near, than a trouble to give her
opinion of them.

" I approve, at least till inconvenience or danger shall appear,
of the large table ornaments remaining on the sideboard, and of
the pagodas standing in the smallest drawing-room. Had I de-
livered my sentiments from here respecting this fixture, that is the
apartment I should have named for it. Whether the green, which
you have, or a new yellow curtain, should be appropriated to the
staircase above the hall, may depend on your getting an exact
match, in color and so forth, of the latter. For the sake of appear-
ances one would not, in instances of this kind, regard a small addi-
tional expense."

In other letters we have the same minuteness of detail as to the
proper modes of packing porcelain, glass, and other articles, and
such indications of taste as show that Washington perfectly under-
stood the proprieties of an effective arrangement of furniture, and
was careful that his own home should, in this respect at least, ap-
pear to the best advantage.

Washington has never been presented as an inventor, and his
name probably is not to be found in the Patent Office ; but in the

246 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

following extract lie appears as the author of the wine-coaster, an
article which for more than a quarter of a century was a necessity
on every dinner-table. " Enclosed," he writes to Mr. Lear, " I send
you a letter from Mr. Gouverneur Morris, with a bill of the cost
of the articles he .was to send me. The prices of the plated ware
exceed far exceed the utmost bounds of my calculation; but
as I am persuaded he has done what he conceives right, I am satis-
fied, and request you to make immediate payment to Mr. Consta-
ble, if you can raise the means As these coolers are designed for
warm weather, and will be, I presume, useless in cold, or in that in
which the liquors do not require cooling, quere, would not a stand
like that for castors, with four apertures for so many different kinds
of liquors, each aperture just sufficient to hold one of the cut de-
canters sent by Mr. Morris, be more convenient, for passing the bot-
tles from one to another, than the handing each bottle separately,
by which it often happens that one bottle moves, another stops, and
all are in confusion? Two of them one for each end of the
table, with a flat bottom, with or without feet, open at the side, but
with a raised rim, as castor stands have, and an upright, by way of
handle, in the middle could not cost a great deal even if made
wholly of silver. Talk to a silversmith and ascertain the cost, and
whether they could be immediately made, if required, in a hand-
some fashion. Perhaps the coolers sent by Mr. Morris may afford
ideas of taste ; perhaps, too, (if they prove not too heavy, when
examined,) they may supersede the necessity of such as I have de-
scribed, by answering the purpose themselves. Four double flint
bottles (such as I suspect Mr. Morris has sent) will weigh, I conjec-
ture, four pounds ; the wine in them when they are filled will be
eight pounds more, which, added to the weight of the coolers, will,
I fear, make these latter too unwieldy to pass, especially by ladies,
which induces me to think of a frame in the form of castors."

THE REMOVAL. 247

Though Mrs. Washington is said by some people who have
written descriptions or memoirs of her, to have been a very nota-
ble housewife, it does not appear from any correspondence or other
documents which have fallen under my observation that she ever
did much to relieve the General of the trouble of household affairs.
They evidently lived together on very excellent terms, though she
sometimes was disposed to quarrel with him about her grand-
children, who, he insisted, (and he always carried his point,) should
be under thorough disciplinarians as well as competent teachers,
when they were sent from home to be educated. On one occasion,
however, he writes to Mr. Lear in a manner that evinces his wish to
yield to her as much as possible : " As to a coachman," he says,
" Mrs. "Washington's predilection for Jacob is as strong as my pre-
judice and fears are great ; yet in your inquiries after one, ask some-
tiling concerning Jacob, who wanted much, it seems, to return to
us, while we were at Philadelphia." In the matter of coachmen
and postillions he does not appear to have been very fortunate.
He had written back to New York from Spurrier's, in Maryland,
when on his way to Mount Vernon: "With some difficulty (from
the most infamous roads that ever were seen) we have got to this
place, and are awaiting dinner, but have no expectation of reaching
Baltimore to-night. Dunn has given such proof of his want of
skill in driving, that I find myself under the necessity of looking
/ut for some one to take his place. Before we reached Elizabeth-
town we were obliged to take him from the coach and put him on
the wagon. This he turned over twice, and this morning he was
found much intoxicated. He has also got the horses into a habit
of stopping." And his attention to equipage is illustrated in a
communication as to the clothes of his footmen. " Upon examining
the caps of Giles and Paris," he says, " I find they (especially that
of Paris) are much worn, and will be unfit to appear in with de-

248 THE KEPUBLICAN COURT.

cency, after the journey from here is performed. I therefore re
quest that you will have two new ones made, with fuller and richer
tassels at the top than the old ones have. That the maker of them
may have some guide, as to the size, the inclosed dimensions of their
heads will, I presume, be sufficient."

Mrs. Washington is frequently referred to in his letters, when
absent, in a manner which evinces a constant thoughtfulness of her
happiness. On one occasion he writes to Mr. Lear, " Furnish Mrs.
Washington with what money she may want, and from time to
time ask her if she does want, as she is not fond of applying."
Again, " I send, with my best remembrances, a sermon for her. I
presume it is good, coming all the way from New Hampshire ; but
do not vouch for it, not having read a word of it."

No one can read these very curious and characteristic letters
and not recall with a feeling of indignation those charges of inor-
dinate and anti-republican state and splendor, which the impossi-
bility of detecting any fault in the administration of weightier
affairs caused the " democrats " of that time to bruit every where
against the great founder and chief of the federal party. No wis-
dom or discretion, though these qualities had been imparted in a
superhuman prodigality, nor any conduct, even if under the most
absolute control of the divine intelligence, could, however, have
averted those rabble assaults upon the stainless fame of Washing-
ton, which distracted his councils, and occasioned him so much un-
happiness. He himself says, in a letter to Catherine Macaulay,
" Our wishes were limited, and I think that our plan of living will
now be deemed reasonable, by the considerate part of our species.
Mrs. Washington's ideas coincide with my own, as to simplicity of
dress, and every thing which can tend to support propriety of
character, without partaking of the follies of luxury and ostenta-
tion." Byron, contemplating this spectacle, erred as greatly as the

THE REMOVAL. 249

simple-hearted hero, in estimating the malignant daring of the yet
feeble but rapidly growing opposition to the government. The
noble bard exclaims:

" Where may the wearied eye repose

"When gazing on the great,
Where neither guilty glory glows,

Nor despicable state ?
Yes one, the first, the last, the best,
The Cincinnatus of the West,

Whom Envy dared, not Tiate^
Bequeathed the name of Washington,
To make man blush there was but ONE ! "

VI.

THE removal of the household of the Vice President appears
to have been conducted under the immediate superintendence of
Mrs. Adams, who describes her new residence, called Bush Hill, in
a letter to her daughter. " Though there remains neither bush nor
shrub upon it, and very few trees, except the pine grove behind
it, yet Bush Hill," she says, " is a very beautiful place ; but the
grand and the sublime I left at Richmond Hill. The cultivation in
sight, and the prospect, are superior ; but the SchuylMll is no more
like the Hudson than I to Hercules. The house is better furnished
within ; but when you come to compare the conveniences for store-
room, kitchen, closets, and so forth, it has nothing like them. As
chance governs many actions of my life, when we arrived in the
<?ity we came directly here. By accident, the vessel with' our furni-
ture had arrived the day before, and Briesler was taking the first
load into a house all green-painted, the workmen being there with
brushes in hand. This was a cold comfort, where, I suppose, no fire
had been kindled in several years, except in a back kitchen ; but as
I expected many things of this kind I was not disappointed nor
discomfited. As no wood or fodder had been provided, we could
32

250 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

only turn about and go to the City Tavern for the night. The next
morning was pleasant, and I ventured to come up and take posses-
sion ; but what confusion ! boxes, barrels, chairs, tables, trunks,
every thing, to be arranged, and few hands to accomplish it for
Briesler^was obliged to be at the vessel. The first object was to
get fires ; the next to get up beds ; but the cold damp rooms, and
the new paint, proved almost too much for me. On Friday we
arrived here, and late on Saturday evening we got our furniture in.
On Sunday, Thomas was laid up with the rheumatism ; on Monday,
I was obliged to give Louisa an emetic ; on Tuesday, Mrs. Briesler
was taken with her old pain ; and, to complete the whole, on Thurs-
day, Polly was seized with a violent pleuritic fever. She has been
twice bled, had a blister on her side, and has not been out of bed
since, only as she is taken irp to have her bed made. And every
day, the stormy ones excepted, from eleven until three, the house
is filled with ladies and gentlemen. As all this is no more nor
worse than I expected, I bear it without repining, and feel thankful
that I have weathered it out without a relapse, though some days
I have not been able to sit up. Mrs. Bingham has been twice to
see me. I think she is more amiable and beautiful than ever. I
have seen many very fine women since I have been here. Our
Nancy Hamilton is the same unaffected and affable girl we formerly
knew her. She made many kind inquiries after you ; so did Mrs.
Bingham. I have not yet begun to return visits, as the ladies
expect to find me at home, and I have not been in a state of health
to do it ; nor am I yet in a very eligible state to receive their visits.
[ however endeavored to have one room decent, to receive them,
which, with my own chamber, is as much as I can at present boast
of having in tolerable order. The difficulty of getting workmen,
Mr. Hamilton pleads as an excuse for the house not being ready.
Mrs. Lear was in to see me yesterday, and assures me that I am

THE REMOVAL. 251

much better off than Mrs. Washington will be when she arrives,
for that their house is not likely to be completed this year. And,
when all is done, it will not be Broadway ! If New York wanted
any revenge for the removal, the citizens might be glutted if they
would come here, where every article has risen to almost double its
price, and where it is not possible for Congress and their appendages
for a long time to be half as well accommodated. One would sup-
pose that the people thought Mexico was before them, and that
the Congress were its possessors.

" We have had two severe storms ; the last was snow. Poor
Mrs. Knox is in great tribulation about her furniture. The vessel
sailed the day before the first storm, and had not been heard of on
Friday last. I had a great misfortune happen to my best trunk of
clothes. The vessel sprung a leak, and my trunk got wet, a foot
high, by which means I have several gowns spoiled; the one
you worked is the most damaged, and a black satin the blessed
effects of tumbling about the world."

During all the autumn the roads through New Jersey looked
like a street in New York on the first of May ; but the removal
was finally accomplished, and the furniture of the public offices and
private houses was transferred to the new metropolis. Among
women Philadelphia become popular, but the men, especially those
of the eastern states, were generally ill pleased with the change, and
perhaps little disposed to look upon it in an amiable way. Wol-
cott wrote : " The people of this state are very proud of their city,
their wealth, and their supposed knowledge. I have seen many of
their principal men, and discover nothing that tempts me to idola-
try ; I must see and examine before I say much, but I do not expect
that a more intimate acquaintance will furnish me with any self-
humiliating sensations." Mr. James Monroe, whose "good feeling"
was so proverbial, could not refrain from saying, " The city seems at

252 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

present to be mostly inhabited by sharpers ; " and Mr. Jeremiah
Smith, of New Hampshire, remarked in a letter to his brother,
"The accounts you have always had of this great and beautiful
city will blind the eyes of your understanding, as they did mine.
The Philadelphians are, from, the highest to the lowest, from the
parson in his black gown to the fille de joie, or girl of pleasure, a
set of beggars. You cannot turn round without paying a dollar."
But regrets for New York, and uncivil accusations against Philadel-
phians for making as much as they could, in an honest way, of their
victory over that now deserted city, gradually subsided and were
lost in the more agreeable excitement of preparing for the season
in the gay world.

or rwt

UNIVERSITY

MURiS

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA.
I

No just exhibition can be given of American society in the days
of Washington, which does not present in considerable fulness a
view of society in Philadelphia. The early career of Washington
was connected with this city. Here was assembled the Congress of
1776, and around it, as around a centre, are clustered many memo-
ries of the revolution. From Philadelphia the constitution was
given to the world. " Here, most of all," to use the language of
Mr. Everett, " was the home of Washington ; here he resided for
a longer term than he did in any other place, his own Virginia
alone excepted. Six most important years of his life were spent
in Philadelphia ; the house in which he lived is known ; his seat in
church is still pointed out ; persons yet survive who have felt the
touch of his hands upon their childish heads ; and this spot, we
may well believe, will be among the last where his memory will
cease to be revered, and the last where the love of that union
and that constitution which was so near to his great heart, will
ever be forgotten." In the present chapter I shall therefore de-
scribe with some particularity this former metropolis of our coun-
try, its territorial extent and progress, its families who were most
distinguished, its religious sects, its professions of divinity, law,

254 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

and medicine, and, so far as I can, " sitting," as Lord Bacon says,
u so far off," and with such, lights as I have, whatever made up its
social system.

The families whose names appear on the twelfth and thirteenth
pages of this volume, where, with other records, I have transcribed
the lists of the old " City Dancing Assembly," still remained the
principal people of Philadelphia when the revolution broke out.
A few adhered to the British cause, such as the Galloways, some
of the Aliens, the Penns, and, I think, several of the Lawrences and
Bonds, who returned to England. Others, apparently of Scottish
origin, whose allegiance to the house of Hanover was never very
strong, retired to their seats in the country. This, I presume, was
the case with the Graemes, who resided during the early part of
the war at Graeme Park. I am not able to state from any records
to which I have had access, to what extent the respectable family
of McCall supported the revolutionary cause. Mr. Wallace re-
tired to a seat of his called Ellerslie, in New Jersey, at which
place, or at Burlington, his family remained until his grandsons,
in 1797, went back to their residence in Philadelphia. There were
other families, such as that of Lardner, connected with the Pro-
prietaries, whose movements I have not been able to trace. The
return of peace brought some change, of course, in the social
structure. A successful revolution had been accomplished. Men
who before were but little known in the public or social sphere
had now become leaders in one, and aspired to be equals in the
other. An eccentric loyalist who had left the city in 1776, la-
ments pathetically on his return in 1791, that on looking over the
Directory he " scarce knew above three or four names in a hun-
dred," that his "native country appeared almost a desert," and
that " the upstarts made him feel too sensibly the difference be-
tween his present and former condition." That portion of the

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 255

provincial aristocracy which derived its importance from a connec-
tion with the crown, and had not supported the cause of the colo-
nies, had now, of course, lost all its political authority, and in the
great field which the acknowledgment of independence opened
for ambition and ability, men were "looking into the seeds of
time " to see " which grain would grow and which would not."
With all this, however, any one acquainted with the state of so-
ciety in Philadelphia after the revolution, will perceive that its
distinctions rested essentially on the old foundations. The old
names had still, as they have to-day, though associated with very
little merit of any kind in some who bear them, a prestige which
was socially of dominant influence. And on the whole it was well
deserved. On the conclusion of the peace the city was character-
ized by a style of life quite as elegant as any which has since pre-
vailed, and much more elegant and liberal than any which
prevails now. It was the elegance of dignity, moral worth, and
the consciousness of gentility. Its wealth, indeed, was chiefly
commercial, but its commerce was of a different kind from that
of the present age. The " infamous practice of stock jobbing,"
as it is justly called in the statutes of England, had not diffused
itself through the ramifications of trade, or been generally and
shamelessly indulged. Commerce, originating in its true spirit,
and pursued according to the rules of a high moral integrity, was
the vocation of the "Willings, the Francises, and the McCalls. It
brought not less generous nor less sure returns than that of
modern dealers ; but its wealth, less suddenly acquired and less
generally diffused, had that honorable source, that repose of
character, and that stability of endurance, which renders wealth
more valuable for the respectability it imparts than as a means of
material luxury.

It is true that the limits of the city, even as late as the period

256 THE REPUBLICAN COUKT.

of Washington's administration, were very narrow in comparison
with those which now bound its compactly built area. Front,
Second, Third, and Fourth streets, on the Delaware side, were its
principal avenues, and it did not from any point extend much
west of Sixth street.

The city began near where the navy yard is now, and gradually
extended north along the river. It is customary to speak of its
immense growth toward the north-west as modern. In the main
it is so. But Callowhill street, which was named by Penn after
his second wife, was one of its earliest thoroughfares, and some of
the oldest houses in the city are in this very northern district.
The extension towards the Schuylkill has been more recent. At
the close of the last century society and fashion were still upon
the Delaware. Just before the revolution, Chief Justice Allen's
residence was on the east side of "Water street, below Market.
Mr. Joseph Sims, a merchant of extensive business, who built at
a later date the noble residence now occupied by his niece, Mrs. E.
S. Burd, on the corner of Ninth and Chestnut, was living between
sixty and seventy years ago in Third below Pine. Mr. Alexander
J. Dallas, a dashing young lawyer who, without any property, had
come hither from the West Indies to try his fortune, was in Front
above Pine. The Stockers, Philipses, Barclays, and other mer-
chants of great respectability, though not of high fashion, were in
Front not far from. Pine ; Mr. Swan wick, for some years the part-
ner of Thomas Willing and of Robert Morris, lived, I think, in Penn
street ; Colonel Thomas Lloyd Moore, a military gentleman well
known in the gay world of that day, a son of William Moore,
President of Pennsylvania in Pine above Second ; some of the
older Binghams, I believe, not far from the same now busy region ;
the Reverend Doctor Blackwell, in the large house in Pine below
Third, still standing; Chief Justice McKean nearly opposite, at

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 257

the northeast corner of Pine and Third; Mr. Koss, a merchant
of eminence whom I mention elsewhere as proprietor of a beauti-
ful country seat called the Grange, had erected for his residence
the very large house at the corner of Second and Pine ; Mr. John
Beale Bordley, with his accomplished daughter, afterwards Mrs.
James Gibson, in Union, near Third ; the McCalls, in Second, near
Pine ; Mr. Phillips, an English gentleman, of social distinction, at
the southwest corner of Spruce and Third ; General "Walter Stew-
art, at one time, in the aristocratic mansion afterwards occupied by
Mr. Camac, and more recently by Mr. Peter, the British consul,
in Third, below Spruce ; Mrs. Bingham, Mrs. Powell, Chief Jus-
tice Chew, and Mr. Thomas Willing, in Third above Spruce ; Mrs.
Harrison (then lately Miss Sophia Francis), opposite ; Bell's British
Book Shop, the fashionable literary mart of the day, was in Third
near Pear ; Judge Wilson lived in " Wilson's House," or " Fort
Wilson," at the southwest corner of Third and Walnut, the
grounds extending far down Third ; Andrew Hamilton, who had
married Miss Franks, a Jewess of some celebrity, at the northwest
corner, opposite ; Doctor Rush was in Walnut, near Third ; Chief
Justice Shippen in Fourth below Walnut ; Doctor William Ship-
pen at the southwest corner of Fourth and Prime ; and Mr.
Charles Biddle, vice president of the state, and father of the late
accomplished Mr. Nicholas Biddle, in Chestnut above Fourth.
Louis Philippe d'Orleans lodged, at one period, at the northeast
corner of Front and Callowhill ; Talleyrand, for a short time, in
the same neighborhood, and, with the Duke de Liancourt, Volney,
and Moreau de St. Mery, was taught English by William Cobbett,
at the house of a French merchant in Front below Market. Cob-
bett himself resided in Callowhill above Second. The post office,
kept by Mr. Patten, was in Front near Chestnut, and the Treasury

of the United States, during Mr. Wolcot's time, in Chestnut above
33

258 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

Third. General Hamilton lived, I think, in Market above Third.
Doctor Franklin, as is well-known, owned nearly a square, in this
vicinity ; the entrance to his house being by a court, from Market
street, and his gardens running back all the way to Chestnut. In-
deed until 1793 Market street, from Third to Fourth, was yet open
ground. The University of Pennsylvania, from which Charles
Thompson, then a teacher there, had been summoned by the Con-
gress of 1776 to be the Secretary of that body, was in Fourth
above Market ; and here, about this time, in an upper room, Noah
"Webster, as a tutor of the college, was teaching with humble
fidelity the elements of English.

Quite in the lower part of the city, too, were all the places of
worship, and the courts of justice. Christ Church and St. Peter's >
now a Sabbath day's journey from the homes of those who still
cling to the places where their fathers worshipped, were then in
the centre of fashion. The church of the Presbyterian aristocracy
of that day, " Old Buttonwood," as it was commonly called, from
a range of ancient sycamores which grew along its front, was
in Market street near Second. The great German Lutheran
church, afterwards destroyed by fire, to which Mr. Muhlenberg,
Speaker of the House of Representatives, had given a noble organ,
(as the best means, it was alleged, of securing the votes of his
musical countrymen,) was in Fourth near Cherry. Of the Friends'
meeting houses I need say but little. Quite in the eastern part
of the town sixty years ago, they remain there still, or have dis-
appeared altogether. They have never at any time gone with
fashion. The first Baptist church, a secession from which gave to
the architecture of Philadelphia the circular edifice in which Doc-
tor Stoughton preached, in George street, still stands in a recess
from the southwest corner of Arch and Second, surrounded now
by lofty warehouses, and invisible from the streets : an enduring

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 259

though deserted monument of the liberality of the denomination.
The sect of Socinus, notwithstanding the eminence of Doctor
Priestley, had not in the days of Washington any considerable
distinction in Philadelphia.* The court house in which William
Bradford, Ingersoll, and the elder Sargeant, laid the foundations
of their professional fame, was over the market place at the cross-
ing of Market and Second streets. At the Third street extremity
of this square stood the pillory, in which, until the humane efforts
of the first named of these eminent persons had procured that
beneficent change in the criminal code of America which com-
mends his name to enduring gratitude, convicts stood to be pelted
by the populace with eggs, or whipped, with lashes on their naked
backs, every Wednesday and Saturday.

Mr. Stille, for many years the only considerable tailor of the
city, had been in Front street near Chestnut ; and although with
the arrival of Congress, and the influx of foreigners from the revo-
lutions in France and St. Domingo, style and fashion, which then
first made a strong invasion on the quaker cuts and colors of Phila-
delphia costume, introduced the well-known Charles C.Watson, an
artist of higher style, even he did not venture to advance further
west than Chestnut below Third. When he died there, a few

* The late Bishop White used, by way of showing the impolicy of religious persecution, to tell
this anecdote in regard to the rise and progress of Unitarianism in Philadelphia : The sect was
founded in Philadelphia so far hack as the time of Dr. Priestley, but never made much progress
beyond holding meetings in a small room in Cherry Alley. But Dr. Priestley being a man of mark,
one of the Trinitarian divines opened a long continued and severe attack upon the new association.
Many years after this the Unitarian body applied to the legislature for a charter. When the bill
came up in committee some member asked,

" Who are these Unitarians ? "

" They were an obscure sect," replied one of the persons interested in the passage of the bill,
* who used to hold forth in Cherry Alley ; and we should have been there yet but for the Rev-
erend Doctor ."

" Indeed," said the member, " is Dr. inclined that way ? I am surprised."

"He is not at all so," was the response, "but we were very poor, utterly unknown, and
making no converts, till he began to fulminate at us, when several members of his own parish
hunted us out, and, being pleased with us, never went back to him."

260 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

years ago, lie had long been left " high and dry " by the receding
tides of fashion, which had swept entirely past him toward the
Schuylkill. Oellers, who had converted the college of Philadel-
phia, in Chestnut just above Sixth, into the City Hotel, had gone
much further in the same direction for 1795, than the proprietors
of the La Pierre have since done in going nearly a mile beyond
him into Broad street.

In 1792 Mr. George Clymer had built the small but tasteful
residence in Chestnut street below Seventh, afterwards occupied
by Mrs. Sophia Harrison. The President and Mr. Robert Morris
had led the line of fashion into Market or High street ; and Mr.
Boudinot, recently appointed by Washington Director of the
Mint, (the office of which he had established in Seventh street
below Arch,) with his son-in-law, Mr. William Bradford, then a
judge of the Supreme Court, had gone so far in advance of every
thing as to begin the erection of his residence (afterwards occupied
by Mr. T. Cadwalader,) at the southeast corner of Arch and
Ninth. This however was the extreme west, and on his appoint-
ment to the Attorney Generalship, Mr. Bradford, I have under-
stood, found himself so remote from the daily walk of the public
that he was obliged to come back to Market below Sixth. Mr. J.
D. Sergeant, a lawyer of eminence, resided in a fine house which
he had built in Arch above Sixth, near the site of the present
Arch Street Theatre.

In 1793, and long after, Washington Square was the Potters 7
Field ; Independence Square was scarcely enclosed, and had at
least one wooden structure on the Walnut street side of it ; Chest-
nut street was not paved above Sixth, and from Sixth to Eighth,
and from Walnut to Chestnut, the lots were almost entirely va-
cant. Mr. Breck, in building about this time his house on the
north side of Market, near Eighth, had the whole square to

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA 261

Chestnut street open before him. And except a large structure
on the south side of Market, above Ninth, built by a Santa Cruz
merchant named Markoe, then so distant and lonely as to be
known only as " Markoe's house," the ultima tlnile of a fashionable
promenade, with another house, perhaps, built by Dunlap the
printer, on the southeast corner of Twelfth and Market streets,
this last-named street, which was then in advance of every street
running westward, had not a residence of any note whatever upon
it. In June, 1^95, Mr. Bradford, the attorney general, who, with
his brother-in-law, Mr. Wallace, then residing at Burlington, in
New Jersey, were the owners of large lots about Arch and Ninth
streets, writes to him in a letter which is among the papers of the
Historical Society, " I should be glad if you would leave your
classics and your greenhouse long enough to look after your
interests in this city. I am anxious to confer with you. The city
begins to make its way in this direction, but we own so much va
cant ground hereabouts that we fairly arrest its progress, to our
own injury. We must not hold too long, or we shall turn the tide
of improvement elsewhere." An ancient house still standing on
the east side of Eighth above Locust street, built in 1787, I
think by a son of the eccentric Mrs. Duncan, known as the foun-
dress of a votive church, and a yet finer structure which has long
since given way to the residence of Mr. Henry D. Gilpin, at the
southwest corner of Eleventh and Spruce, were in the city's
presidential era regarded almost as country places.

It is obvious from these details that Philadelphia, now grown
to such vast dimensions, covered in that period but a small surface.
With a few exceptions, its whole business, society and fashion was
east of Sixth street, and much or most of it east of Fourth street.
At the same time the style of the better houses was often more
elegant than that now prevailing. They were in better tasta

262 THE REPUBLICAN COURT

Their fronts were generally plain, and not made like so many of
the ornamented, overcharged and heavy facades of the present
day, only to show " how many tastes " their owners " wanted."
Their ground surface was generally much wider, the passage and
stairways far more imposing, the grounds behind and around them
nore spacious, free and airy, and the subject of much greater at-
tention than is possible with the style of domestic architecture now
prevalent ; with which, upon narrow lots, houses with ranges of
rear buildings exclude at once the vital elements of light and air,
and an enjoyment which, whenever attained, to a person of deli-
cate sense seems hardly less vital, the fragrance and beauty of fo-
liage and flowers. Any one who will look at the fine structures in
Front below Pine street, now converted into seamen's lodging
houses ; at those in Third from Spruce to Arch ; or at those in
Chestnut below Fifth, now occupied by the fashionable shopkeep-
ers, Bailey, Levy, Caldwell, and others, will see that in point of
size, solidity, comfort, and effect, the better houses of that day
were quite equal and in some cases much superior to the better
houses of this. And these ancient houses, it must be remembered,
we see in a decayed and disfigured condition, mutilated of much
of their embellishment, and, most of all, deprived by more recent
structures of the grounds, both on the sides and in the rear, which
once gave them peculiar dignity and elegance. These houses
looked less like the rows of tall, slight, narrow and uniform ware-
houses, in which commercial economy has attempted to unite the
greatest product of brick with the least outlay of money and the
exhibition of the most vicious taste. They told their own story
to every one who saw them, and appeared to be, as they were, the
homes of well-bred and unostentatious gentlemen, who planted
and built for themselves and their posterity.

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA 263

II.

IN that day there were no locomotives, and the whole world
did not in summer move in masses to the sea or mountain, there in
masses to remain, till in masses they returned. Kural or suburban
residences belonged to almost every man of any importance in
Philadelphia. Mr. Burke considered that much of the misgovern-
ment of France arose from the too hard work of the legislators.
"In England," he said, " we cannot work so hard as Frenchmen.
They who always labor can have no true judgment. You never
give yourselves time to cool. You can never plan the future by
the past. You never go into tlie country? Who that looks at
the mercantile life of Philadelphia or New York, doubts that the
constant " stoppages," by which mild name failures and bankrupt-
cies have come to be styled in the vocabulary which has usurped
the language of drawing-rooms, are because men " work too hard "
never give themselves "time to cool," never "go into the
country."

Philadelphia was a centre round which, on every side but that
of the Delaware, the rural seats of her merchants and gentry were
studded. And they were matters of the greatest pride with them.
On the north was the country house of one of the ancient judges
of the Common Pleas. It seems to have been among his dearest
earthly possessions. Hear how he speaks of it in his last will :
" Whereas the said place has been some employment to me, in
contriving, building and improvement thereon, and as the situation
seems to carry prospect of advancement, although as the circum-
stances of my family and estate stand at present, I cannot think it
convenient and proper to give it to any one of my sons, yet as
it would be a pleasure to me while living to think that any sober,
religious, and careful descendant of mine might enjoy it, I do

264 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

hereby direct my executors to give to any such, my descendant, the
preference, who may be desirous and able to purchase it."

The comfortable seat of Mr. Roberts, a quaker, on the Point
road, with its avenues of pine trees, the admiration of every one :
Rose Hill, the country residence of Mr. Boudinot, and the scene
of the country hospitality of his distinguished daughter, Mrs.
William Bradford ; Commodore Barry's, not far off, made interest-
ing and memorable as the summer house of General Hamilton, who
rented and occupied it during a part of his administrative life in
Philadelphia; Cliveden, further west, the rural home of Chief
Justice Chew, still in possession of his descendants; and Laurel
Hill, since converted by speculators into a cemetery, which con-
tinues to bear this name, but, at the time I am speaking of, the
hospitable retreat during the warmer months of Mr. Joseph Sims,
whose city life was illustrated with an elegance* never equalled in
Philadelphia except by that of Mrs. Bingham, were all known for
various charms to the more refined and distinguished society of the
town.

The beautiful place of Mr. Robert Morris was called The
Hills. Part of it remains known to this generation as Lemon
Hill, and part as Fairmount. It was laid out by Mr. Morris, who
built a very large house upon it, with approaches from the rear,
the principal front looking down upon the Schuylkill. It was
ornamented with extensive greenhouses, and a fish pond, stocked
with gold fish. It was from the breaking of the bank of this pond,
and the escape into the Schuylkill of the finny tribe who inhabited
it, that gold fish have since been so frequently found in this river,
and that we often hear it announced by their captors that the gold
fish is a native of Pennsylvania waters. It is a denizen, but not a

*I have understood from good authority that the value of Mr. Sims's silver plate exceeded twenty
thousand dollars. Is there any one in Philadelphia who now owns as much ?

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 265

native. The Hills became, in the conclusion of their public his-
tory, interesting as the scene of Mr. Morris's confinement, when
the barbarous laws which then allowed arrest and imprisonment
for debt drove him, on the termination of his affairs, to seek shel-
ter from ultimate proceedings in the privilege of the law which
declares that " every man's house is his castle." Mr. Morris never
spenf much time here in his prosperous days. His town house was
the scene of constant hospitalities. He withdrew to this country
resort in March, 1797, to avoid the final process from the preceding
judicial terms of September and December, 1796. The sheriff of
Philadelphia, Mr. Baker, was supposed to have committed himself,
and to have made his bail responsible, in allowing the defendant
to go at large when it would have been easy to arrest him ; and
some of those who had suffered most by Mr. Morris's transactions,
or who bore their losses with least equanimity, determined to press
their suit against this officer and his sureties. It therefore became
very important for him to confer with Mr. Morris as to the means
of his defence, and Mr. Morris, who with the feelings of an honor-
able man was desirous of relieving him from a responsibility which
humanity alone had imposed upon him, received Mr. Baker at The
Hills on condition that he would bring no process with him.
Here, on a stormy day in March, the sheriff of Philadelphia and
the great financier of the revolution were closeted together. Mr.
Baker was faithful to his engagement and attempted no arrest. It
is painful to add that Mr. Morris was finally apprehended by his
own bail, upon a " bail-piece," the privilege of a man's house not
being held to extend against bail.

On the other side of the Schuylkill, about seven miles from
town, was The Grange, the noble seat of Mr. Eoss, an opulent
merchant. Belmont, still known as Belmont Farm, and now a

principal dairy of Philadelphia, was the ancient and aristocratic
34

'2QQ THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

residence of Judge Peters, and the best representative of an old
fashioned English seat that ever existed near the city. Its noble
trees had been planted by an earlier generation of the family, and
even before the revolution were venerable for their age. This was
a frequent and favorite resort of Washington, who in its pleasing
shades and in the easy disposition and sprightly parts of its owner,
and especially in that gentleman's agricultural tastes, enjoyed with
a peculiar relish the little leisure which the affairs of state allowed
him. Lower down the river, and nearly opposite to Fairmount,
was Solitude, the quiet home of one of the John Penns. It was
a sweetly sequestered spot, the property of a very modest and
retiring bachelor, whose literary tastes were here indulged in effu-
sions which at a later period were given to the public, in London,
in two volumes from the press of Buhner. Their elegance of
paper, typography, and engraving, have not, however, saved them
from the fate which attends mediocrity of poetic genius. One of
these volumes contains an engraving of Solitude.

On the same side, further south, was Lansdowne, originally
owned by another John Penn, much better known to the society
of that day, and who, wiser than his celibitary kinsman, had hon-
ored one of the Misses Allen with the proprietary name. Lans-
downe was a fine estate in the time of Mr. Penn, who built upon
it a noble mansion ; but its pre-eminence belonged to the epoch of
Washington's administration, when, on Mr. Penn's retirement to
England, the entire property passed into the ownership of Mr.
Bingham. Extensive improvements of every kind were then made,
as well in the principal edifice as in the greenhouses, stables, and
other accessories. Lansdowne, while Philadelphia was the metrop-
olis, was owned by Mrs. Bingham, and in extent and variety ap-
proached more nearly to the seats of some of the English nobility
than any other place perhaps in the country.

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 267

The Woodlands, now, like Laurel Hill, converted into a resting
place for the dead, was a very charming spot. It extended down
to the edge of the river, and the landscape has been frequently
represented by artists. It belonged to the Hamiltons, who styled
themselves, somewhat pretentiously, though very appropriately, if
I am correct in supposing that their earlier history was obscure,
" The Hamilton family of the "Woodlands and Bush Hill." Mr.
William Hamilton, who built the house and decorated the grounds,
was a man of great taste in such matters, and embellished his
beautiful mansion with such paintings and other works of art as
were attainable in that day. HiB table was the frequent resort of
artists and l>on vivants of different kinds, of whom he entertained
a good many at dinner, usually selecting Sunday as his day of in-
dulgence.

Of Graeme Park, frequented by the educated gentry, a few
miles southwest of the city, I have written elsewhere,* in a me-
moir of its proprietress, Mrs. Ferguson. Willington, the country
residence of Mr. Thomas Willing, was upon what is now upper
Broad street. A part of it is still covered with the trees planted
there by its honored proprietor, and is the same property which,
under the name of the Gratz estate, it was proposed in 1854 to
convert into a public park. When, having named these places,
we refer to the comfortable domicil of the ancient and excellent
quaker family, the Pembertons, on the grounds now occupied by
the Marine Hospital of the United States ; to Andalusia, about
fourteen miles up the Delaware, thus named, in recognition of
his large and honorable success in Spanish commerce, by Mr.
Craig, its owner, from whom it passed to Mrs. Nicholas JBiddle, I
have mentioned the chief suburban residences of the time, though
not at all the numerous small and plainer places, like Mr. Lard-

* In my " Female Poets of America."

268 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

ner's, further down the river, Mr. Ball's, at Richmond, and many
others, of no historical importance. They all, however, contributed
to give a peculiar character to the society of that time.

III.

Some account should be given of the learned professions. At
the head of the clergy stood Dr. White, as he was commonly
called, the well known first bishop of the Episcopal church in
Pennsylvania. His ecclesiastical character has in recent times been
greatly mistaken by both the extreme high and the extreme low
divisions of his own denomination. He was what in England would
be called a low churchman, as distinguished from the ultra school
of Laud and Philpotts, but was very far removed from what have
been called low churchmen in this country. Even in his day, when
the Episcopal church was extremely feeble, and concessions, and
compromises with other denominations, were matters to which the
temptations were extreme, Bishop White defined what he regarded
as the just limits of both, with a distinctness and precision which
have made them their safest limits since. To him, and to his
moderate views and conciliatory temper, we must ascribe the fact
that while the ecclesiastical establishment of England, and the
very name of bishop, had -become odious in this country, the
Protestant Episcopal Church in America departed so very little in
form, while departing not at all in doctrine, from the established
church in England. As a preacher, he was earnest and persuasive,
but he seldom fulminated threats or judgments, and had very de-
cided views of the limits of clerical duty. He shrunk from no
proper responsibility, but he had too high a sense of courtesy, and
too just a regard for even the most delicate of rights, to invade
with freedom the atmosphere which every gentleman feels and ac-
knowledges as a proper circle for himself and others. He was the

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 269

man of his time for his position. His prudence saved what the
zeal of others would have lost, and in the midst of political and
ecclesiastical difficulties of the most discouraging kind, he founded,
that establishment which has grown to be one of the most majes-
tic structures of the religion of the republic. His character will
grow larger as the perspective becomes more truly fixed by time,
and if it were separated from religious parties, posterity would
probably place his name after only the names of "Washington,
Marshall, and Hamilton. He belonged to the same order of men,
differing but in the sphere of his action from either.

The chief associate of Bishop White in the ministry was Dr.
Robert Blackwell, a scholarly and sensible preacher of the English
university cast. His sermons, of the homiletical kind, were like
those of the higher class of the English clergy in the last century,
calculated for educated and thoughtful hearers more than to
arouse an indifferent or slumbering congregation. Possessing
family rank, most agreeable manners, and a very large fortune,
and being withal a man of unquestioned piety, and great propriety
of life, he maintained a dignified position, and was extensively de-
ferred to by an opulent and worldly class who would probably
have deferred to no one else, less blessed with adventitious in-
fluence.

Dr. James Abercrombie of a somewhat later date from 1794
made a conspicuous figure, and by many is still well remem-
bered. Educated for the liberal professions, he had been engaged
in commerce in Philadelphia ; and though in relinquishing a lucra-
tive business for " the order of poverty," as well as by the general
course of his life, he had given unquestionable proofs of his ear-
nestness, a certain fondness for convivial pleasure, and a high tone
both of ecclesiastical and political sentiment, caused his sincerity
to be sometimes doubted by persons who looked no deeper than

270 THE REPUBLICAN COUHT.

the surface of things. Following the occasional practice of the
English clergy of the last century an example which Bishop
White himself apparently did not disapprove he had once or
twice visited the theatre, on " the author's night," which caused
scandal among many who every day of their lives may have done
something much worse. Then his aversion to the infidel senti-
ments suspected to be held by Mr. Jefferson, made him at a later
period very reluctant to read the prayers for the President of the
United States, prescribed in the Episcopal ritual; and when in-
formed by his diocesan that it was not a matter in the least discre-
tionary with him, he comforted his federal friends with the
assurance that he had not "prayed," but only "read" them.
Not content with provoking the democrats, he had, on more than
one occasion, involved himself in trouble with the aristocracy of
his parish, by his strict and manly adherence to what he deemed
his duty, prescribed by the canons and rubrics of his church. His
celebration of the marriage of William Penn, an eccentric great-
grandson of the founder of Pennsylvania, attracted a great deal
of attention. This gentleman deemed it proper to address a
woman celebrated for her beauty, but whose course of life, not
less than her origin and associations, rendered it impossible for
his friends of either sex to recognize her as his wife. Almost any
other of the clergy would have refused, on grounds of prudential
regard to their own interests, to perform the marriage office, under
circumstances so peculiar ; but Dr. Abercrombie, having used in
vain all suitable endeavors to persuade Mr. Penn from so fatal a
connection, and finding that there was no legal or canonical im-
pediment, married them, considering himself bound as a Christian
minister to do so. The excitement however became so great, and
his popularity was so much in danger of being affected by it, that
he was obliged to defend himself in a pamphlet " Documents

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 271

relative to the Celebration of a late Marriage " to the principles
of which Bishop White gave his entire approval. There can be
no doubt, I think, that Dr. Abercrombie was right, and evinced
that a sense of duty was the controlling influence of his conduct ;
and the approval of what he had done, by Bishop "White, is a
fact worth recording, as the clergy are often called on to act in cases
like that here referred to, though not often in quite as strong ones.

The three divines I have named were ministers of the united
parishes of Christ church and St. Peter's, which were the aristo-
cratic churches and congregations of the time. At the former the
President with his aids attended with regularity on every Sunday
morning.*

At Christ church were the Aliens, Harrisons, Whites, McCalls,
Swifts, Cadwalladers, Cunninghams, Tilghmans, and others of simi-
lar consideration. St. Peter's, perhaps, as the newest parish, had
the most fashionable congregation of the time. Here the vestry
provided pews for two of the secretaries of departments, and here
the Binghams, Franceses, Blackwells, Willings, Powells, Chews,
and Peterses, were to be seen on fine Sunday mornings when the
time came to illustrate the newest fashions of the fall or spring.f

* The history of the pew occupied here by Washington has not been always correctly given. It
was larger than any which has since been in the church. Colonel White, the father of the bishop,
owned a pew here, which on his death went to the bishop, and Mrs. Robert Morris, his sister. When
the President came, the bishop and Mrs. Morris surrendered it, and went themselves to one which
belonged to Mrs. Harrison, the bishop's wife's mother, and one behind Colonel White's original pew
was included by the vestrymen, who placed the other pewholders each one pew lower down. This
was occupied by the president during Washington's time. After his retirement the pews were re-
stored to their former condition, and Bishop White resumed the one well known as his up to the
alteration of the church in 1836.

f I hope I am not uncharitable in my historic record. Bishop White used to recount a pleasant
anecdote about Judge Peters. The judge had an excellent pew in the middle aisle, nearly under the
organ, as that instrument had been originally placed, but he seldom occupied it, or went to church
at all Being a next door neighbor of the bishop's, and on terms of social familiarity with him, he
deemed it proper to explain to the head of the church the cause of this unbecoming omission
of his religious duties. " I should like, indeed," said the judge, " to go regularly to church, but
that confounded organ over my head gives me such a headache, that I can go only occasionally."

272 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

Among the other Episcopal clergy were Dr. William Smith,
provost of the University of Pennsylvania, a man of habits a lit-
tle open to observation, but of very fine literary and elocutionary
powers, who was generally called upon when any occasion not par-
ticularly religious required a sermon. His residence was at the
southwest corner of Fourth and Arch streets, a fine house, still
standing, of which the grounds ran southward to the college over
which he presided. Dr. Robert Andrews, a man of the purest
piety and reputation, was also at a later date provost of the Uni-

" Organ ? " said the bishop, " I don't think it will disturb you now : it was removed about three
years since, to the other end of the church." The Eev. Dr. Abercrombie was not quite so passive as
the bishop. A curious letter to him from the Eev. Henry Vandyke, dated the twenty-third of Feb-
ruary, 1796, presents but a melancholy picture of the piety of fashionable people in those times :
and as well on its historical account, as for its honorable record of Dr. Abercrombie's fearless and
faithful discharge of his clerical duty, I copy it nearly entire. It appears that Dr. Abercrombie had
given offence to one of his parishioners, Mrs. Blackwell, a sister of Mr. Bingham, and closely re-
lated to other influential persons in the parish, by some remarks he had made to Mrs. Blackwell on
the subject of Mr. Bingham's attendance at church ; and he now appeals to Mr. Vandyke, who had
been present, for his recollection of what was said; "The appeal you make to my recollection, re-
specting the conversation that passed at Dr. Blackwell's between Mrs. Blackwell and yourself,'' says
Mr. Vandyke, in reply, " I remember well, and as deeply lament. You will, I dare say, remember
the conversation that occurred between us upon our return from Dr. Blackwell's, when you so kindly
accompanied me on my way home to my lodgings, and that I was strongly apprehensive you had gone
too far with Mrs. Blackwell. You will remember that you justified the whole as being a point of duty,
in your clerical character. I will, however, give you my best recollection on that unhappy subject. I
call it unhappy, because, in its issue, I see it has given you pain. In the course of the evening, you
know, the conversation turned upon a sermon you had delivered a little before, in the church, which
was said to be pointed at certain characters. You replied that your intention was to be pointed, that
you designed it for the great ; that there were certain persons among them who belonged to the
Episcopal church, and who seldom or never attended there, for whom you had, for several weeks be-
fore the delivery of the sermon, carried it in your pocket ; that whenever a proper number should
appear you had determined to preach it ; that the sermon was not altogether so proper for the
Sunday on which it was preached, as the one you had intended for the day, but finding a group of
them, you could not pass it over, having so fair a shot. I do not by any means remember to have
heard the assertion you mention respecting your having ''got all the Willing family together like a
covey of partridges and determined to have a shot at them," in these very words recited; but you cer-
tainly named Mr. Bingham, General Knox, Mr. Willing and Mrs. Powell, as being those who com-
posed the group, and said that by their being at church on that day you had a fair shot at them ; at
least I really understood you so. Mrs. Blackwell, I confess, appeared very much hurt and affected
at her brother's being mentioned, and said they would all be offended, and that she should not be
surprised if they all left the two churches in which you officiated and went to St. Paul's ; that she
was sure Mrs. Powell, in particular, would feel herself injured. You replied, that what you had

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 273

versity. Dr. Samuel Pilmore was an evangelical churchman, of
some sort, who, with Dr. Samuel Magaw, vice provost of the uni-
versity, officiated at St. Paul's, of which the congregation appears
to have "begun in a schism from Christ Church and St. Peter's, ID
which I believe it still continues.

Dr. Ashbel Green, who, associated with Bishop White, was for
eight years, from 1792, one of the chaplains of Congress, was de
servedly regarded as the head of the Presbyterian church in the
metropolis. He was a man of commanding appearance, and, in
his best days, was an effective and splendid orator. His church,
the second Presbyterian, was at the northwest corner of Arch and
Second streets. Here the vice president, Mr. Adams, though a Uni-
tarian, regularly worshipped, occupying a seat in the pew of Mr.
Boudinot, a large square enclosure at the head of the central aisle,
Dr. Green's eminence and authority in the Presbyterian churdb
were almost as great as Bishop White's in the Episcopal. In com-
mon with the whole Presbyterian body throughout the country, he
had been a staunch whig during the revolution, and had himself
borne arms in the ranks, in one of the darkest periods of the war.
Subsequently he became very intimately acquainted with some of

done yon considered to be no more than what duty required of you ; that so far from Mrs. Blackwell'a
brother, Mr. Bingham, being offended, you had understood that he approbated the sermon ; and as
to Mrs. Powell, you had said full as much to her upon another occasion at her own house. You
then proceeded with firmness to say, that in consequence of open neglect by the great of our church
(including the persons you had before named), of the chief duties of our religion, the churches were
generally ill attended ; that they held pews which were seldom or ever occupied by them, by which
means many serious Christians, who could get no pews at all, were prevented from filling the churches;
that therefore it was that you had been so pointed ; and, to show that you really designed it in this
way, when you came to that part of the sermon which was most particularly applied to that purpose,
you had made a pause, and bowed towards them in their seats, so as that they might the more
readily take the force of your observations. But you hoped it would not finally produce the effect Mrs.
Blackwell suggested. If, however, even that should be the case, you did not doubt that others would
gladly take their pews, and that the Episcopal churches, like those of other denominations, would
more generally be filled. You forcibly observed that the churches of other denominations were well
attended by the great who belonged to their communions, whereas, to the reproach of the Episcopal
churches, those persons seldom or never attended at all."

274 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

the leading characters in the state, and in his church had at one
period almost a pontifical supremacy. His voice was heard in its
first General Assembly, in his old age he was conspicuous in what
is known as the New School controversy, and his name is honor-
ably identified with the leading measures which illustrated and
shaped the policy of the Presbyterians for more than half a century.
While he was chaplain, he noticed the thin attendance of mem-
bers of Congress at prayers. Not more than one third were com-
monly present. On one occasion he expressed to a member, who
was a professor of religion, his regret at this humiliating inatten-
tion, which he was inclined to attribute to the prevalence of free
thinking ; but he was confounded by his friend's reply : " "Will
you," said that gentleman, " tell me, on your veracity, whether our
attendance is not as good as that of the delegates to your synod
or General Assembly at the constituting prayer in the morning ?"
He was compelled to admit the justice of the inquiry. Dr. Green
resided in Chestnut street, in the house previously occupied by
Charles Thompson, secretary of the Congress of 1776.

When he first removed to Philadelphia it was to become the
colleague of Dr. James Sproat, a preacher highly esteemed in his
prime, but at this period affected by the infirmities of age.
During Washington's administration Dr. Green had successively
two assistants, one of whom was Dr. John 1ST. Abeel, afterward
distinguished in the Dutch church in New York, and the other,
Dr. Jacob J. Janeway.

At the " Old Buttonwood," or First Presbyterian church, Dr,
Ewing, a divine of eminence, and provost of the University of
Pennsylvania, was the minister of his day. Until he had some per-
sonal difficulty respecting his seminary, when he abandoned the
Presbyterian, and attached himself to the Episcopal church, Dr.
Benjamin Rush was the most celebrated member of his congrega-

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 275

tion, which included however Mr. J. D. Sargeant, Colonel Wil-
liams (the first superintendent of the West Point Academy), and
other most respectable persons. There was a third Presbyterian
church under the charge of Dr. Duffield.

Of the great German Lutheran church, in Cherry street, Dr.
Helmuth, professor of the German language and literature in the
university, was long the admired and popular minister.

Besides these, the most noted church associations of the metrop-
olis in that time, there was the Baptist church, of which I have
already spoken, and one German Calvinist, one Methodist, one
Moravian, and one Roman Catholic. In the Southern Liberties
was the Swedes' church, probably the oldest place of public wor-
ship in Pennsylvania. The Jews had a synagogue, and the ancient
Society of Friends was then perhaps stronger than it has been
since. The African church, now so prominent among the ecclesi-
astical bodies of the city, was of a somewhat later date.*

* Dr. Robert Blackwell, who has already been referred to, was originally of Blackwell's Island,
New York, which his great-grandfather had purchased, and had been a chaplain in the army.
Being a man of very large fortune, fine personal appearance, and singularly pleasant temper and
manners, he was a conspicuous character in society. Uniting to his other advantages, great dignity,
he was much sought for on the occurrence of fashionable weddings. Slavery then existed in Penn-
sylvania, and the blacks, who have always been observed to be extremely " aristocratic," hardly
considered that they were married at all, unless the Doctor or Bishop White celebrated their nup-
tials. Dr. Blackwell's registry of marriages and baptisms, which I have seen, beside the mar-
riage of Miss Margaret Allen to William Tilghman, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, and among the
alliances of the Willirigs, Francises, Chews, and others, records the marriages of Sylvia to Caesar,
Venus to Pompey, Dinah to Cuffe, and others, the humblest in the world, to whom as to the
greatest, the kingdom of heaven is promised. From the wide hall of his elegant house in Pine street
below Third, with its rich chairs and sofas, in which he would array them, the black company would
adjourn to his kitchen, where they were sure of some good wine and other hospitable cheer. In due
time, too, Sylvia, Dinah, and Venus, were blessed with increase, who would of course be brought to be
baptized at his house, and by nobody, of course, but the Doctor who had married their papas and
mammas. Notwithstanding his inexhaustible fund both of benignity and good-humor, this " black "
business grew a little onerous ; and as he began to observe, it had no relief from the increasing
nnmbers of the white clergy. The old gentleman bethought himself at last of a remedy, and
having a very respectable negro family servant, who had been brought up from a child in his house,
und was always piously disposed, he inquired of him how he would like to take " holy orders. 51

276 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

IV.

THE administration of justice the great standing interest of
society may generally be taken as an exponent of society itself.
In no country, at any time when the courts have been great,
and the bar great, has the nation been other than great also.
D'Aguesseau marks a splendid era in France, Eldon in England,
and Marshall in America.

The Declaration of Independence found just admitted at the
Philadelphia bar, or preparing for it, several young men of fine
parts and accomplishments. The older class, of the second " stra-
tification " of the colonial bar, John Eoss, Mr. Francis, Mr. Wil-
cocks, Mr. Galloway, and Andrew Allen, had either passed away
or was doing so, and Mr. Bradford, Mr. Shippen, Edward Tilgh-
man, Jared Ingersoll, and William Eawle, were rising or about
rising above the horizon. The last names, with those of William
Lewis and Mr. Sitgreaves, of Easton, are those which adorned
most brilliantly the bar of the capital during the first presidency.
Mr. Joseph Eeed had died in 1^85, and though his powers as an
advocate were very considerable, his passion was for political life,

Having considered the matter, the man felt convinced that as Dr. Blackwell had suggested it, he must
be " truly called ; " and, putting on a white cravat and green spectacles, he entered in due form upon
his divinity studies, for the uninterrupted pursuit of which ho was allowed a very comfortable room
over the coach-house. Bishop "White, whose offices were a great deal invoked in the same way,
highly approved of Dr. Blackwell's ingenuity, and the Reverend Absalom Jones was in good time
ordained by the bishop a regular member of the Apostolic ministry. Jones had so constantly been
present and assisting in a humbler capacity at his master's celebrations of marriage, that he was
found, on the first experiment, quite aufait ; and those who witnessed his performance of the cere-
mony, found it, in every respect, so " exactly like " Dr. Blackwell's own, that it was sometimes
appealed to as conclusive evidence of the equality of the races. From this time, whenever invited to
this duty by the blacks, Dr. Blackwell declined on the ground of professional etiquette. Jones, I
ought to add. gave fuller proof of his ministry than many of his white brethren have since done. He
was very useful among his people in Philadelphia, and is yet well remembered, as his memory
also is yet greatly respected, by both whites and blacks, as the first rector of St. Thomas's African
Episcopal church, in Fifth street below Walnut.

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. . 277

and his interests were drawn in the unprofitable direction of Penn-
sylvania local politics. Mr. Bradford undoubtedly occupied the
first position in his profession. I have referred to him in several
places in this book. I cannot mention him too often. In mere
law learning, he was probably surpassed by Mr. Edward Tilgh-
man, who was one of the most thorough "common lawyers" that
England or America ever produced ; and in what may be styled
sledge hammer force of logic, he may have been inferior to Mr.
Lewis ; but in Mr. Bradford there was a combination of powers,
virtues and accomplishments, seldom found in perfect proportion,
even when found in combination generally. There was an unusual
"completeness of man." On the professional side, full attain-
ments, fine intelligence, high natural eloquence, ready and patient
capacities for business, with excellent business habits, made him
distinguished. Great prudential qualities, liberal civic and social
dispositions, happy relations in domestic life, with delightful man-
ners, and an engaging figure, made a beautiful portrait, merely
personal. Expanded political views and sympathies, and the
known devotion of his father, his father-in-law, and himself, to the
cause of the people, from the beginning of the revolution, stopped
the lips which would otherwise have reproached his federal poli-
tics, and in the political sphere made him acceptable to all ; while
the known purity and fidelity which pervaded his whole nature,
and were conspicuous in all its elements, whether professional,
personal, or of the state, made him as perfect a character as the
history of any country presents. He seems never to have " made
a mistake " in any act, great or small, of his life ; and the poets
would have said that he " lived in the presence of all the gods."
In addition to every personal and professional distinction, Wash-
ington's appointment of him to the first law office of the govern-
ment gave him, of course, the highest confidence of the public.

278 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

Mr. Edward Tilglnnan lias been so well described by another
pen that I will not attempt to describe him with my own. His
family was an ancient English one and came to Pennsylvania from
Maryland. Mr. Tilghman' s own education in the law was chiefly
in the Temple, and in the years 1772 and 1773 we find him an as-
siduous attendant in the courts of Westminster Hall, taking notes
of the arguments in chancery before Lord Apsley, and of such
men as Wallace, Dunning, and Davenport, before Lord Mansfield
and the judges of the King's Bench.

" There are," says the writer of the memoir from which I get
most of these facts, " two very different methods of acquiring a
knowledge of the law of England, and by each of them men have
succeeded in public estimation to an almost equal extent. One of
them, which may be called the old way, is a methodical study of
the general system of law, and of its grounds and reasons, be-
ginning with the fundamental law of estates and tenures, and pur-
suing the derivative branches in logical succession, and the colla-
teral subjects in due order, by which the student acquires a knowl-
edge of principles that rule in all departments of science, and
learns to feel, as much as to know, what is in harmony with the
system, and what is not. The other is to get an outline of the
system by the aid of commentaries, and to fill it up by desultory
reading of treatises and reports, according to the bent of the stu-
dent, without much shape or certainty in the knowledge so ac-
quired, until it is given by investigations in the course of practice.
A good deal of law may be put together by a facile or flexible
man in the second of these modes, and the public are often satis-
fied with it ; but the profession itself knows the first, by its fruits,
to be the most effectual way of making a great lawyer. Edward
Tilghman took the old way, and acquired in it not only great
learning, but the most accurate legal judgment of any man of his

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 279

day, at the "bar of which he was a member Upon questions

which to most men are perplexing at first, and continue to be so
until they' have worked their way to a conclusion by elaborate
reasoning, he seemed to possess an instinct, which seized the true
result before he had taken time to prove it. This was no doubt
the fruit of severe and regular training, by which his mind be-
came so imbued with legal principles, that they unconsciously
governed his first impressions.

" In that branch of the law which demands the greatest sub-
tlety of intellect as well as familiarity with principles, the chapter
of contingent remainders and executory devises, he had probably
no superior any where. An eminent judge has said of him, c that
he never knew any man who had this branch of the law so much
at his finger ends. With all others with whom he had had pro-
fessional intercourse, it was the work of time and consideration to
comprehend ; but lie took in with one glance all the beauties of
the most obscure and difficult limitations. With him it was intui-
tive ; and he could untie the knots of a contingent remainder or
executory devise as familiarly as he could his garter.' When this
can be justly said of a lawyer and it was most justly of Edward
Tilghman nothing is wanting to convey to professional readers
an adequate notion of the extent of his learning, and the grasp
of his understanding ; for the doctrines upon these subjects are
the higher mathematics of the law, and the attainment of them
by any one implies that the whole domain lies at his feet. Mr.
Tilghman was also an advocate of great powers a master of
every question in his causes a wary tactician in the management
of them highly accomplished in language a faultless logi-
cian a man of the purest integrity and of the brightest honor
fluent without the least volubility concise to a degree that
left every one's patience and attention unimpaired and per-

280 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

spicuous to almost the lowest order of understandings, while he was
dealing with almost the highest topics, how could such qualities
as these fail to give him a ready acceptance with both courts and
juries, and to make him the bulwark of any cause which his judg-
ment approved ? An invincible aversion to authorship and to
public office, prevented this great lawyer from being known
as he ought to have been, beyond the limits of his own country.
He has probably left nothing professional behind him but his
opinions upon cases, now in various hands, and difficult to collect,
but which, if collected and published, would place him upon the
same elevation with Dulaney of Maryland, or Fearne, the author
of the work in which he most delighted. The Chief Justiceship
of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania was offered to him by
Governor McKean, upon the death of Chief Justice Shippen, but
he declined it, and recommended for the appointment his kinsman,
William Tilghman, who so much adorned that station by his
learning and virtues. It is instructive to record, that the stern
acquirements and labors of this eminent man never displaced the
smiles of benevolence from his countenance, nor put the least
weight upon his ever-buoyant spirit. His wit was as playful and
harmless, and almost as bright as heat lightning upon a summer's
evening. It always lit up the edges of the clouds of controversy
that surround the bar, and sometimes dispersed the darkest and
angriest. A more frank, honorable, and gentlemanly practitioner
of the law, and one more kind, communicative and condescending
to the young students and members of the bar, never lived."
Horace Binney, thirty years his junior, was willing to record of
himself, that he " regarded it as his greatest good fortune to have
been admitted to the familiar intimacy of Edward Tilghman, and
to have enjoyed not only instruction from his learning and wis-
dom, but an example of life in his cheerfulness and serenity, dur-

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 281

ring the vicissitudes of health and fortune which chequered his
declining years."

From the same pen we have a sketch of Mr. Ingersoll, who,
like Mr. Tilghman, had been, in part at least, educated in London,
and who after his return home enjoyed for many years an exten-
sive practice. " It may not be known to the present age," says
the eulogist of Mr. Ingersoll, " but it is an indisputable fact, he
had almost two distinct natures, of different qualities, though
both of them excellent : his nature in reflection, and his nature in
action. In reflection he was, or appeared to be, rather slow, uncer-
tain, deliberate poising and balancing thought against thought,
and authority against authority, as if he did not wish to approach
the conclusion ; and the consequence of it, I believe, was, that
while he was generally and for the most part right, if he ever was
otherwise, it was because the truth of .the conclusion was hurt by
the slowness of the process. This was one nature. But when he
came into action, he was the most clear, decided, bold, acute, far-
sighted man, whom I have ever seen in my life, as it regarded all
the purposes of his cstuse; and he sprang to his conclusion in-
stantly and fearlessly, as if he came to it by inspiration. In both
of these natures, however different in their character, he was a
fine example to the students in his office, whom he permitted to
know him, and to trace, as it were, the steps of his mind even in
its coldest operations ; and often did we hear him, through the
glass door of his office on the other side of the way, treading his
regular steps across the floor, and soliloquizing the points of an
opinion or a cause, for the purpose of giving himself the stimulus
which he felt that he required. "When he got before a jury, he
was the most dangerous adversary that any gentleman could meet.
In my perhaps partial opinion, he was the ablest advocate of the

bar before a jury, when he was in his prime and vigor, whether
36

282 THE KEPUBLICAN COURT

his cause was good or bad; and before the court also, if his cause
was good, or probably so."

Mr. John Dickenson Sergeant deserves notice for merits which
were all his own, and still more so as the father of a son who
added new and much greater honor to his name, the late Mr. John
Sergeant. The elder Mr. Sergeant did not belong to the Washing-
ton school of politicians ; he was what was known as an anti-fed-
eralist, or democrat. The party was then as respectable as it is
now, but it had not the advantage which it has had almost ever
since, of controlling all the offices of the country. It was then a
proscribed party. Few who had the manners and associations of
gentlemen belonged to it. Mr. Sergeant however was an honorable
man, and he was held in deserved esteem both for his abilities and
his integrity. He had been attorney general of the state. His
death, in 1793, was regarded as a loss to the city and to his pro-
fession.

Of Mr. Eawle we have no sufficient record, and as he well de-
served the best, it is to be regretted that we have not. In the
vigor of his powers and the height of his fame he approached, I
have often supposed, more nearly to Mr. Bradford than he did to
either of the other eminent lawyers I have described. He had
less genius than Mr. Bradford, and their characters were marked by
such important differences as would naturally be found in men, one
of whom had been largely bred in the camp, and the other in the
quietism of the community of Friends. But in the purity and
gentleness of their natures, in their instinctive delicacy and good-
ness, as well as in their habits of business, some resemblance might
perhaps be traced. Mr. Kawle's family was one of the best, in
most of its lines, in Pennsylvania, and was an ancient one in En-
gland. His own legal education had been chiefly in the Temple,
and on his return home in 1783 he rose by very fair degrees to

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 283

extensive engagements in the best description of commercial and
other practice. In July, 1791, he received from President Wash-
ington the office of District Attorney of Pennsylvania, and he
prosecuted in behalf of the country the offenders against the au-
thority of the federal government in 1794 and 1798. Though
having little taste for political life, he belonged to the party of
which Washington was the head, and was always a faithful adhe-
rent to its principles. He survived most or all of his professional
contemporaries, and near the close of his career, when he had with-
drawn almost entirely from connection with the courts, his excel-
lent legal judgment, his thorough acquaintance with both the
statutory and common law of England and Pennsylvania, is proved
by what is known in Pennsylvania as the Eevised Code, a work
for which, without disparagement of his coadjutors, it may proba-
bly be said that the state is chiefly indebted to his pen.

I have not mentioned Mr. Alexander James Dallas, although
in connection with his Reports his name belongs to the bar of this
period. His practice, I presume, was considerable, but he did not
belong to the school of Washington, nor to that of Washington's
friends. His life was so much engrossed with politics that his
character and position might be regarded more appropriately in
the exhibition of another class of persons.

Mr. Samuel Sitgreaves was of Easton, but practised at the bar
of Philadelphia, in which city he was compelled to pass much of
his time as a senator. I have not the means of estimating his pro-
fessional abilities, but they must have been of a high order. His
practice was considerable, and he enjoyed unequaled reputation in
the district in which he resided, the northeast of the state. He
was a man of elegant appearance and manners, and of very lofty
pretension and carriage. He had been much in foreign countries,
where he was admired for his presence and address. A few letters

284 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

of Ms which I have seen prove that his literary accomplishments

were highly respectable. He was, with Mr. James Ross, a leader
of the federal party, and the regard in which he was held by that
party, unequaled by any which has ever existed in any country for
the intelligence and purity of its principal characters is a sufficient
memorial of his name.

Of Mr. William Lewis I am unable to give many particulars.
He began the study of law late in life, and was probably never
learned in books. He was of that class of men who need but lit-
tle such education. He came, I think, from the country, and re-
tained throughout his life many habits and distinctions which,
though common at the bars of the cities in our own day, did not
then belong to the bar of Philadelphia. He had however great
abilities as a lawyer, and as a legal dialectician, I infer, was second
to none of his contemporaries.

In these short notices I have confined myself strictly to the bar
of the metropolis. But the finest legal intelligence of the country
was also displayed here. Hamilton, while residing in Philadel-
phia, argued some of his greatest cases here. The world knows
and admires him as a soldier, a financier, and a statesman, but those
best able to speak of him as a lawyer have declared that his fame
in this capacity was not less splendid than that to which he rose
in other spheres. " That accomplished lawyer," says Chancellor
Kent, " showed by his precepts and practice the value to be
placed on the decisions of Lord Mansfield. He was well ac-
quainted with the productions of Valin and Emerigon ; and if he
was not truly one of the founders of this state, he may at least be
considered as among the earliest of those who recommended these
authors to the notice of the profession, and rendered the study
and citation of them popular and familiar. His arguments on
commercial, as well as on other questions were remarkable for

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 285

freedom and energy, and he was eminently distinguished for ex-
hausting every sulbject which he discussed and leaving no argu-
ment or objection on the adverse side unnoticed and unanswered.
He traced doctrines to their source, or probed them to their foun-
dations, and at the same time paid the highest deference and re-
spect to sound authority. The reported cases do no kind of jus-
tice to his close and accurate logic ; to his powerful and compre-
hensive intellect ; to the extent of his knowledge, or the eloquence
of his illustrations. We may truly apply to the efforts of his
mind, the remark of Mr. Justice Buller, in reference to the judi-
cial opinions of another kindred genius, that 'principles were
stated, reasoned upon, enlarged and explained, until those who
heard him were lost in admiration at the strength and stretch of
the human understanding.' "

OF the prominent representatives of the medical profession in
the capital during the presidency of Washington, it is probable
that Dr. Kush will be expected to be first presented. His name
undoubtedly will have a historic and popular distinction when
others will have no fame beyond the halls of science, and in them
be confined, in part, to the region where they themselves were
known. Medical history also will revert to this era as the one in
which the principal evidences of Dr. Bush's zeal and abilities are
found : the eras of those terrible fevers which appeared, in inter-
vals, at the seat of government, near the close of the last century.
And his literary qualities were so excellent, his powers of narra-
tion and description so great, that his own records of those scenes
will long continue to give him fame, and to excite an interest in
whatever concerns his memory.

Although the chief medical theory that of the unity of hu-

286 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

man disease to winch his capacities were devoted, was, no doubt,
but a specious one, and is now exploded, and though his writings,
voluminous as they are, have little authority in medical science, it
is almost impossible to believe that his practice, in at least the mid-
dle years of his professional life, could have been essentially bad.
His manners were insinuating and delightful, his ingenuity unu-
sually great, his devotion to his classes and to all whom he could
enlist as the advocates of his fame, constant, polite, and adroit.
But no power of 'making the worse appear the better side, no ef-
forts for controlling those whose voices and whose activity are
used to create public opinion, could, I think, of themselves have
given to Dr. Rush the success in his profession which he unques-
tionably at one period enjoyed. His methods of treating the great
fevers of his time, as much as they were condemned by some prac-
titioners then, and as bad as they have been found by many prac-
titioners since, must have had a wide basis of truth and applica-
tion. That his favorite remedies were applied even then indis-
criminately and with too much reliance on their efficacy, that his
" heroic practice " may have sometimes killed when another's " ars
expectandi " might have saved, may be admitted without affect-
ing our main position. But, uninfluenced by the dogmas of the
schools, I cannot question that for his day, or for that part of his
day of which he bore the heat and burden, his practice was in
the main judicious. That he himself was fond of applying it
too long, and of over applying it, and so discredited it ; that he
maintained it too inflexibly wherein it was right, and too long
wherein it was erroneous, should not perhaps bring reproach of
his views. Those minds are rare in which, with deeply settled
convictions, such as become principles, much capacity exists for
receiving new impressions, or for applying doctrines to new con-
ditions. This was eminently true of Dr. Rush, from an origi-

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 287

nal love of theory, and from the strongest personal zeal and affec

*-
tion for every thing which originated with or concerned himself.

Much of Dr. Rush's fame which the world supposes to be pro-
fessional, arises from his connection with our great political actors
and actions. Though not a member of Congress on the fourth of
July, 1776, his name is found attached to the charter of our
independence, and he felt a profound interest in the conduct of the
revolution. He was conspicuous, also, in most other public affairs
which were agitated in Philadelphia, whether religious, literary,
or social ; and as a lecturer or popular writer he possessed a charm
of style rarely equaled. This, with his extensive relations with men
of learning, his great medical practice, his remarkable powers of
address and conversation, and the devotion he inspired from nearly
every one who was his friend at all, made him what he must be
confessed to have been, a marked character while Philadelphia
was the seat of government ; but it would be a violation of truth,
and an injustice to those men who were the friends of Washing-
ton, and of whom Washington was the friend, to include Dr. Rush
in the number. In war and peace he was one of the chief's ene-
mies, and after the twentieth of March, 1778, Washington had no
confidence whatever in his friendly professions. The fact of the
President's disregard of a man whose talents were so considerable
was noted by some observers in that day ; the reasons of it are
better understood in this.

William Shippen was now in the height of his professional
distinction. He had been for several years Director General of
the Medical Department of the army, and was endeared to the
President not only by trials which in the war they had shared to-
gether, but was especially so, it may be believed, by the fact that
in the darkest hour of the revolutionary struggle, that of Con-
way's cabal, he defended with success his professional reputation

288 THE REPUBLICAN COURT

against what Washington calls " charges of a very heinous nature,"
by the same individual who almost on the same day spoke of the
commander-in-chief as " no general," and quoted with admiration
the declaration of Conway that " a great and good God hath de-
creed America to be free, or the general, and weak counsellors,
would have ruined her long ago." Shippen's reputation was higher
as a surgeon than as a therapeutist. While in Europe, where he
spent five years, he had been a pupil of Sir John Hunter, and a
resident in his family, and almost an inhabitant of the theatre of
William Hunter, and his affinities therefore were naturally more
intimate with surgery than with medicine. Unlike Dr. Eush, he
wrote but little, and we have not much in the way of papers to
prove his abilities ; but we have ample traditionary evidence, and
the direct testimony of his associate, Dr. Wistar, the best of judges
and the best of witnesses, that they were very high. Shippen
was a man of fine appearance and fine manners ; his elocution was
admired by every body, when Duche and Whitfield had left the
impressions of models never since surpassed. His social connec-
tions were all influential, and he was regarded in the period of
Washington's administration with all the interest which could be-
long to one who had done a special honor to his country ; for Dr.
Morgan had died in 1789, and Shippen now remained the only
surviving founder of the medical school of Pennsylvania, the first
established medical college in America, of which he had been not
only a father, from 1765, the year of its creation, but one of the
most interested and efficient professors ; and by his fine powers as
a demonstrator, and his happy style as a lecturer, had led it from
a humble beginning, with ten pupils, to the eminence it occupied in
the closing ten years of the last century, when its benches were
crowded by students whose names were counted by hundreds.
Dr. Wistar was a character whom it is delightful to remember

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 289

It is praise enough to say of Mm that lie received the eulogies of
William Tilghman. The harmony of his parts, the placid and
benignant cast of his tempers, might lead us to suppose that Dr
Wistar's reputation was chiefly a moral one, and to doubt whethei
his scientific abilities and attainments had been of the best order
We know however "by most convincing proofs that they were so
He had been a thorough student in the foreign universities, where
he passed more than three years, and on his return to America had
filled with unusual credit the chair of the professorship of chem-
istry in the college of Philadelphia. He was a mineralogist also.
But it was as an anatomist that his fame was supreme. His trea-
tise on anatomy has been considered so complete and accurate a
work that it is still extensively used as a text book in the colleges,
and it has quite recently received new distinction in the editorial
labors of so fine an anatomist as Dr. Pancoast. Dr. Wistar was
not actively engaged in the revolution, but he had Ibeen on the
field of Germantown, and his humanity and skill were alike con-
spicuous in the hospitals there. He belonged by his connections
to the Society of Friends, though he never conformed strictly to
their discipline. This would have kept him from celebrity in the
fashionable world of that day ; but his reputation as a man of
science carried him into every sphere.

Dr. Wistar's social powers were eminent. On the Saturday
evening of each week his house was the resort, not of those mixed
crowds of men of every kind of rank, with all sorts and no sorts
of education, traders, physicians, lawyers, litterateurs, and bon
vivants who, at " Wistar Parties," originally established in his
honor, are now called together, to eat, drink, and go home ; but
of gentlemen of all the liberal professions, scholars, and such
strangers of distinction as happened at the time to be visitors or

temporary residents in the city. It was of meetings like these
37

290 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

that Chief Justice Tilghman says : " "Without intending it, our la
mented friend would take the lead, and so interesting were his
anecdotes, and so just his remarks, that, drawing close to the dying
embers we often forgot the lapse of time until warned by the un-
welcome clock that we had entered on another day."

Of Kuhn, Griffitts, Hutchinson, Dunlap, and other practition-
ers of the time we are describing, I need not speak at ]arge ; but
of Philip Syng Physic, who filled the most illustrious career in
medicine that this country has ever known, I may remark, that
while his full fame belongs to a later date, he had even in the time
of Washington begun to attract the attention of society, by dis-
plays of the promise which was afterwards so splendidly fulfilled.

Such was the medical distinction of our epoch. The college
of Philadelphia was in 1789 in the height of its renown. Dr.
Shippen was its professor of anatomy and surgery ; Rush was in
the chair of the theory and practice of medicine; Wistar was
filling its professorship of chemistry and the institutes of medi-
cine ; and Dr. Griffitts that of materia medica and pharmacy.
Indeed the course of instruction in that day was more complete
than it has been in ours, for it had a separate chair of botany and
natural history, of which the accomplished occupant was Dr. Bar-
ton, the first American who gave his country an elementary work
on the science of vegetable nature.

" This," says Professor Wood, the historian of that college,
"may be regarded as one of the most interesting eras in the his-
tory of the medical school. It was now that Dr. Rush took that
station which his genius and eloquence afterwards rendered so il-
lustrious. It was now that Barton found a field for the display of
acquirements unrivalled among his contemporary countrymen; it
was now moreover that Wistar entered within these walls, which
the fame of his talents as a teacher crowded with pupils, and

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 291

about which, his warm benevolence of heart and delightful ur-
banity of manners combined to throw a charm which, amidst all
subsequent changes, retained a strong influence over all who had
the good fortune to listen to his instructions."

Distinguished as Philadelphia has been for a hundred years as
the principal seat of medical science on this continent, was it ever
so distinguished, so justly honored, for illustrious men in this de-
partment, as it was in the era of the administration of "Wash-
ington ?

VI.

THE women of Philadelphia were already distinguished for those
attractions which have been celebrated so much and so justly in
more recent times. For beauty, grace, and intelligence, the witty
Duke de Lauzun confessed that he knew not where they were
surpassed ; and the gay Marquis de Chastellux became enthusiastic
when describing the dames and demoiselles who gave its life to
society there at the close of the war. At the end of seven years,
when Philadelphia was made again the centre of affairs, it was
found that her coteries had lost in the advance of material interests
none of their refinement or spirit, and that whatever rivalry was
threatened in commercial and industrial prosperity, none could be
apprehended in social elegance.

Preeminent at this period in rank and in whatever adds an em-
bellishment to the highest station, was Mrs. Anne Bingham, daugh-
ter of Mr. Thomas "Willing and wife of Mr. William Bingham, who
soon after was created one of the representatives of Pennsylvania
in the national senate. Distinguished among the women of the
presidential court, Mrs. Bingham was elevated in some respects
above them all, in being the centre of a court which was all her
own.. Her style, her beauty, her influence, the elegance of her
house, the taste and aristocratic distinction of the assemblages which

292 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

frequently adorned it, have become as household words in the city
which was the scene of them, and indeed are historical in the an-
nals of the higher social life of America. Considering that she
died before she was thirty-seven years of age, that she had passed
much of her married life abroad, and that the close of it was away
from home, and after illness had withdrawn her for some time from
the sphere in which she shone, we should under ordinary circum-
stances find it difficult to account for the great traditionary reputa-
tion of her distinction and influence, which is found in Philadelphia
as fresh almost at the end of half a century as it was at its begin-
ning. Her reputation was, in truth, the combined result of several
causes. Her beauty was splendid. Her figure, which was some-
what above the middle size, was well made. Her carriage was light
and elegant, while ever marked by dignity and air. Her manners
were a gifb. Sprightly, easy, winning, are terms which describe the
manners of many women, but while truly describing hers, they
would describe them imperfectly, unless they gave the idea that
they won from all who knew her a special measure of personal in-
terest and relation. Receiving neither service nor the promise of
it, every one who left her yet felt personally flattered and obliged ;
really exclusive in her associates, she gave to none the slightest
offence; with great social ambition at the basis of her charac-
ter, no aspirant for the eminence of fashion felt that she was
thwarting her aims ; and with advantages, personal, social, and ex-
ternal, such as hardly ever fail to excite envy from her sex, such
was her easy and happy turn of feeling, and such the fortunate
cast of her natural manners, that she seemed never to excite the sting
of unkindness nor so much as awaken its slumber or repose. Her
entertainments were distinguished not more for their superior style
and frequency than for the happy and discreet selection of her

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 293

guests, and her own costume abroad was always marked by that
propriety and grace which, while uniting costliness, rarity and an
exquisite refinement, subordinates the effect of them in a way which
never invites comparisons. In all this she had had the advantage
of a wise and courtly and "affectionate education. She owed much,
however, to the command of great wealth, and to a combination
of friendly and family advantages which her wealth enabled her
to illustrate and profit by.

In her father's house we may believe that Mrs. Bingham receiv-
ed the best instruction which the time and country afforded. Mr.
Willing had himself been carefully educated at Bath, in England,
and although contemplating probably the career of a merchant,
had been liberally trained in classical studies, and had pursued for
some time a regular course of legal reading as a student in the
Temple. From girlhood the beauty of this daughter had been con-
spicuous, and on the twenty-sixth of October, 1780, being then just
sixteen years old, she was married by the Reverend William White,
one of the chaplains to the Congress, and afterwards the first bishop
of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Pennsylvania, to- Mr. Wil-
liam Bingham, of Philadelphia, who possessed larger estates than
any other person in the colony. As a child she had been much at
home in the family of Washington. Mr. Willing and his associate
in commerce, Robert Morris, as well as his brother-in-law, Mr. Clymer,
were all members of the Congress of 17 7 6. To the great credit
and well known patriotism of the house of Willing and Morris the
country owed its extrication from those trying pecuniary embarrass-
ments so familiar to the readers of our revolutionary history. The
character of Mr. Willing was in many respects not unlike that of
Washington, and in the discretion of his conduct, the fidelity of his
professions, and the great influence, both private and public, which

294 THE REPUBLICAN COUKT.

belonged to him, the destined leader was certain to find the elements
of an affinity by which they would be united in the closest manner
During a part of the war the head-quarters of the General were
in a house built on Mr. Willing's estate for his son-in-law. Colo-
nel Byrd, of Westover, in Virginia, and only separated from his own
by the intervening grounds of his garden. In this way, as well as
from her domestic relations and immediate connections with the
families of Clymer, Francis, Powell, McCall, Shippen, and others,
forming in that day, with the Chews, Aliens, and two' or three
more, a large portion of the only societjjhdth which the Chief was
intimate, Miss Willing, even as a young girl, was very frequently
an object of Washington's notice and regard. Another intimate
friend of the family, from abroad, was John Jay, who at the time
of Miss Willing's marriage was in Spain, and who soon after wrote
to Mr. Bingham, to congratulate him on his happiness, " from the
most delicate of all connections, with one of the most lovely of her
sex. As I am always pleased to find those happy whom I think
deserve to be so," he says, "it gave me very sensible satisfaction to
hear that you had both made so judicious a choice, notwithstand-
ing the veil which that sweet fascinating passion often draws over
our eyes and understanding."

Soon after the conclusion of the war, that is, in 1784, Mrs. Bing-
ham with her husband went to Europe. She spent some time in
France, and was presented at the court of Louis XVI., where she
attracted particular attention The eyes of cavaliers might well
be turned to such a representative of a nation whose successful con-
test for independence had won the admiration of the world. Mr.
Adams and his family were then residing in Paris, and in the diary
of Miss Adams, for the twenty-sixth of October, 1Y 84, it is recorded
that the Adamses that day dined with the Binghams at the Hotel
Muscovy. " Mrs. Bingham," says the young lady, " gains my love

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//

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 295

and admiration more and more every time I see her ; she is possess*
ed of greater ease and politeness in her behavior than any person I
have met." Two or three months afterward, describing a dinner
of Lafyette's, Mrs. Bingham was again encountered : " She was, as
ever, engaging ; her dress was of black velvet, with pink satin sleeves
and stomacher, a pink satin petticoat, and over it a skirt of white
crape, spotted all over with gray fur the sides of the gown open
in front, and the bottom of the coat trimmed with paste. It was
superb, and the gracefulness of the person made it appear to pecu
liar advantage "

Her next sojourn was at the Hague, which was still an impor-
tant seat of diplomacy. From the Hague she passed into England,
where her elegance and beauty attracted more admiration than per
haps was willingly expressed by the old court of George HI.

That the American women surpass those of any other country
in beauty has long been conceded. Nothing struck the gallant
French noblemen, who came here during the war, so much as the
charms of the fairer sex, in almost every class of society. Young
John Quincy Adams, soon after his return from Russia, in 1785,
wrote to his sister, " Since I came home I am grown more indiffer-
ent to beauty than I ever was ; it is so common here that it loses
half its value." His mother very nearly agreed with him on this
subject. "Notwithstanding the English boast so much of their
beauties," she says, " I do not think they have really so much of it
as you will find amongst the same proportion of people in America.
It is true that their complexions are undoubtedly fairer than the
French, and in general their figures are good. Of this they make
the best ; but I have not seen a lady in England who can bear a
comparison with Mrs. Bingham, Mrs. Platt, or a Miss Hamilton,
who is a Philadelphia young lady. Among the most celebrated
of their beauties stands the Duchess of Devonshire, who is mascu-

296 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

line in her appearance. Lady Salisbury is small and genteel, but
her complexion is bad ; and Lady Talbot is not a Mrs. Bingham,
who, taken altogether, is the finest woman I ever saw. The intel-
ligence of her countenance, or rather, I ought to say, its animation,
the elegance of her form, and the affability of her manners, convert
you into admiration ; and one has only to lament too much dissipa-
tion and frivolity of amusement, which have weaned her from her
native country, and given her a passion and thirst after all the lux-
uries of Europe. The finest English woman I have seen is the
eldest daughter of Mr. Dana, brother to our Mr. Dana. He resides
in the country, but was in London, with two of his daughters, when
I first came here. I saw her first at Eanelagh. I was struck with
her appearance, and endeavored to find who she was ; for she ap-
peared like Calypso amongst her nymphs, delicate and modest.
She was easily known from the crowd, as a stranger. I had not
long admired her before she was brought by her father and intro-
duced to me, after which she made me a visit, with her sister, who
was much out of health. At the same time that she has the best
title of any English woman I have seen to the rank of a divinity,
I would not have it forgotten that her father is an American, and,
as he was remarkably handsome, no doubt she owes a large share
of her beauty to him."

In London the Adams family renewed their intimacy with the
Binghams, and Miss Adams frequently alludes to her Philadelphia
friend : " She is coming quite into fashion here, and is very much
admired," she says. " The hairdresser who dresses us on court days
inquired of mama whether she knew the lady 4 so much talked of
here from America, Mrs. Bingham.' He had heard of her from a
lady who had seen her at Lord Duncan's. At last, speaking of Miss
Hamilton, he said, with a twirl of his comb, " Well, it does not sig-
nify, but the American ladies do beat the English all to nothing ! "

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 207

On the twenty-fourth of June, 1^87, Miss Adams, now Mrs. Wil-
liam S. Smith, writes in her journal : " Mrs. Stewart is an agree-
able woman. I think from the observation I have made upon those
ladies from Philadelphia whom I have been acquainted with, that
they are more easy in their manners, and discover a greater desire
to render themselves acceptable, than the women of Boston, where
education appears to be better, and they seem to be sensible of
their consequence in society. I have seen some good specimens
of their brilliancy, first in Mrs. Bingham, and now in Mrs. Stewart."
Mrs. Bingham remained abroad about five years. She was
every where caressed, and the immense wealth at her command
enabled her to maintain a style of life without which beauty, ele-
gance, or worth, stands every where in Europe, but in England*
especially, only a slight chance of recognition. With her husband
she had contemplated, before leaving home, the building of a resi-
dence, on their return, which might illustrate their taste, wealth
and hospitality. The domestic architecture of London and Paris
was a subject of special study, and the mansion of the Duke of
Manchester, in Manchester Square, London, was selected as the
model of the contemplated structure in Philadelphia the dimen-
sions of the original being somewhat enlarged in the copy. Soon
after they came back to America they built their palatial edifice,
so well remembered by the present generation as " The Mansion
House," in Third street above Spruce, which was unhappily de-
stroyed a few years ago by fire. We have since had in New York
and Philadelphia a few larger houses, but in neither city, it may
be safely asserted, has there yet been any establishment distin-
guished every way by taste so truly elegant, and by so marked an

* The English sometimes refer in an tmamiable way to the influence of the " almighty dol-
lar" over our countrymen, as if not aware of the fact that in no other country is money so
u almighty" as in England itself.

298 THE REPUBLICAN COURT,

air of rank and opulence. Its width was spacious, its height not
extended above a third story, and it stood perhaps forty feet from
the ordinary line of the street, being approached by a circular car-
riage way of gravel, the access upon both ends .of which opened by
swinging gates of iron open tracery. A low wall, with an elegant
course of baluster upon it, defended the immediate front, and
connected the gates which gave admission. The grounds about
the house,, beautifully diversified with walks, statuary, shade, and
parterres, covered not less than three acres. They extended the
whole distance, three hundred and ninety-six feet, from Third to
Fourth street, and along Fourth street two hundred and ninety-two
feet from Spruce, to the lot subsequently bought, built upon, and
occupied by the late Mr. John Sergeant. On Third street the line
extended north toward the house of her father, as far as that of
her uncle, Mr. Powell, afterwards of the late Mr. "William Eawle ;
so that the whole square, from Willing's alley to Spruce street,
along Fourth filled now by fifty-four fine houses was occupied
only by the houses of her father, Mr. Thomas Willing, her aunt,
Mrs. William Byrd, of Westover, another aunt, Mrs. Powell, and
her own princely abode.*

* Among Mrs. Bingham's admirers, in her girlhood, while she remained abroad, and to the
end of her career, was Mr. Jefferson, who in one of his letters to her, written from Paris about a
year after her return to Philadelphia, gives in his peculiarly lively and agreeable style a con-
trast of foreign and American fashionable life. "I know, madam," he says, "that the twelve-
month is not yet expired ; but it will be, nearly, before this will have the honor of being put
into your hands. You are then engaged to tell me, truly and honestly, whether you do not find
the tranquil pleasures of America preferable to the empty bustle of Paris. For to what does
that bustle tend? At eleven o'clock it is day, chez madame. The curtains are drawn. Propped
on bolsters and pillows, and her head scratched into a little order, the bulletins of the sick are
read, and the billets of the well She writes to some of her acquaintance, and receives the visits
of others. If the morning is not very thronged, she is able to get out and hobble round the cage
of the Palais Royal ; but she must hobble quickly, for the coiffeur's turn is come ; and a tremen
dous turn it is 1 Happy, if he does not make her arrive when dinner is half over 1 The torpi
tude of digestions little passed, she flutters half an hour through the streets, by way of paying
nsits, and then to the spectacles. These finished, another half hour is devoted to dodging ir
and out of the doors of her very sincere friends, and away to supper. After supper, cards; and

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 299

I have said that Mrs. Bingliain in some sort maintained a court
of her own. Her family connection was numerous, of great influ-
ence, and located generally about her, the south-eastern part being
then the fashionable end of the town. The venerable abode of
her cousin, Chief Justice Shippen, was on Fourth street, opposite
to "Willing's alley ; the house of another cousin, Mrs. Harrison, was
also in Fourth street, opposite the Bingham mansion ; the seques-
tered and stately home of her more remote kinsman, Mr. Archibald
McCall, was at the north-east corner of Pine and Third streets ;
Mrs. Blackwell, her sister-in-law (the sister of her husband and the
wife of the Eeverend Dr. Eobert Blackwell, whose only daughter
her brother George had married), lived in Pine street, below Third ;
her connection, Colonel Thomas Lloyd Moore, a very elegant mili-
tary man of that time, whose only daughter another brother had
married, was not far below, and M. Barbe Marbois,* who had mar-
after cards, "bed; to rise at noon the next day, and to tread, like a mill-horse, the same trodden
circle over again. Thus the days of life are consumed, one by one, without an object beyond
the present moment ; ever flying from the ennui of that, yet carrying it with us ; eternally in
pursuit of happiness, which keeps eternally before us. If death or bankruptcy happen to trip
us out of the circle, it is matter for the buzz of the evening, and is completely forgotten by the
next morning. In America, on the other hand, the society of your husband, the fond cares for
the children, the arrangements of the house, the improvements of the grounds, fill every moment
with a healthy and an useful activity. Every exertion is encouraging, because to present amuse-
ment it joins the promise of some future good. The intervals of leisure are filled by the society
of real friends, whose affections are not thinned to cobweb by being spread over a thousand
objects. This is the picture, in the light it is presented to my mind ; now let me have it in yours.
If we do not concur this year, we shall the next ; or if not then, in a year or two more. You
see I am determined not to suppose myself mistaken. . . . The workmen of Paris are making
rapid strides towards English perfection. Would you believe, that in the course of the last two
years, they have learned even to surpass their London rivals in some articles ? Commission me
to have you a phaeton made, and if it is not as much handsomer than a London one as that is
than a fiacre, send it back to me. Shall I fill the box with caps, bonnets, <fec. ? Not of my own
choosing, but I was going to say, of Mademoiselle Bertin's, forgetting for the moment that she
too is bankrupt. They shall be chosen then by whom you please ; or, if you are altogether non-
plussed by her eclipse, we will call an Assemble des Notables, to help you out of the difficulty,
as is now the fashion. In short, honor me with your commands of any kind, and they shall be
faithfully executed"

* Ante, page 81 ; note.

800 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

ried a sister of Colonel Moore, was in the immediate vicinity ; so
that Mrs. Bingham had only to issue her commands to her own cir-
cle of connections to have her halls filled with an assemblage every
way fit to grace them. I have already mentioned the access to the
house ; its entrance was not raised at all, as is the modern style, to
a kind of second story, but it brought the visitor by a single step
upon the wide pave of tesselated marble, which will be remem-
bered even in the more recent history of " The Mansion House."
Its self-supporting broad stairway of fine white marble the first
of that description, probably, ever known in America leading to
the second story, gave a truly Roman elegance to the passage. On
the left hand, as the visitor entered, were parlors ; on the right, a
room designed for a study ; and opposite, separated by a lateral
hall, a library. In the second story, on the south, were a drawing-
room and card-rooms, the windows of which, looking down on an
extensive conservatory, adjacent to the lower parlors on the same
side, revealed a delicious prospect. Various and extensive domestic
offices adjoined the house upon the west. Much of the furniture, in-
cluding the carpets, which were remarkable for their elegant rich-
ness, had been made in France. The halls were hung with pictures,
of which the greater number had been selected in Italy ;* and the
library was well filled with the best authors of the day. Many
remnants of this beautiful furniture are still preserved by Mrs.
Bingham's relatives, and are sometimes displayed as illustrations of
the truth that the taste of Philadelphia has not increased in propor-
tion to her wealth and population.

In addition to this town establishment Mrs. Bingham possessed
the elegant retreat of Lansdowne, on the west bank of the SchuyL
kill, formerly belonging to the Penns a place which she laid out

* A fine Magdalen, after Corregio, is no-w at Mayfield, near Philadelphia, the seat of Mr. G. H
Thomson, whose amiable and accomplished wife I believe is a niece of Mrs. Bingham's.

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 301

with great taste, and at which she passed her summers. At both
places, particularly at Lansdowne, Washington was a frequent visi-
tor. In both she lived with an elegant hospitality. Her youth,
beauty, rank, and wealth, with the frequency, variety, and tasteful
richness of her entertainments, made her acquaintance highly de-
sirable ; and her husband's public character, as a member of the
national Senate, her father's long and honorable career in the ser-
vice of the country, her connexion, Major Jackson's, intimate asso-
ciations as one of the private and confidential secretaries of the
President, and her own residence in France, England, and oth-
er parts of Europe, conspired to draw around her a circle of
men and women of the very first class, in rank, elegance, and ac-
complishment. Philadelphia was now the metropolis ; all that the
United States contained, illustrious in statesmanship, was assembled
there, and as the capital of the country it was the residence as well
of the several diplomatic representatives of Europe as of numerous
truly eminent persons whom choice or vicissitudes had brought to-
gether in the new empire, which was becoming a mystery and a
wonder and was shattering by its noble example of liberty all the
traditional despotisms of the world. I have dwelt thus long and
with such particularity upon the fame and circumstances of Mrs.
Bingham, because she was unquestionably at the head of American
society, because the style in which she lived illustrated the highest
refinement and splendor known in the country, and because its
striking contrast from the simple manner in which the President
lived showed the utter profligacy of those political agitators who
made the cry of an " anglo-monarchic aristocracy," composed of
" the executive, the judiciary,, and the officers of the government,"
a senseless, ridiculous and wicked means of organizing the elements
of vulgar baseness throughout the republic against the faultless ad-
ministration of Washington.

302 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

For wealth Mrs. Bingham was the most distinguished of her
family ; but her mother, Mrs. Thomas "Willing, was hardly less
remarkable for beauty than herself, and indeed so much resembled
her as to make it a question and almost a dispute among their
friends whether the mother or the daughter was the most beauti-
ful. A fine picture by Peale, yet in the possession of one of her
descendants, renders this very easy to believe. Other members of
the Willing family, in different generations, then all living, were
Mrs. Tench Francis, Mrs. Stirling, wife of Admiral Stirling, of
Scotland, Mrs. Powell, a lady of large fortune and some literary
pretensions, Mrs. Jackson, wife of Major William Jackson, Wash-
ington's secretary, Mrs. Dolly Willing Francis, Mrs. Eichard
Peters, whom as Miss Abby Willing Louis Philippe is said very
greatly to have admired, and Mrs. Clymer.

Among these, as more especially connected with the court of
Washington, it is proper to mention particularly Mrs. William Jack-
son. This elegant woman, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Wil-
ling, was the second daughter of Mr. Thomas Willing,- and a sister,
therefore, of Mrs*. Bingham. Though less beautiful than her elder
sister, her person and countenance were highly engaging, and she
was remarkable from girlhood for the sprightliness and grace of
both her mind and manners. In her earlier years she had of course
seen much of Washington at her father's house, and she had some-
times been a familiar guest at the table of Mrs. Bingham, where,
it is recorded in his diary, he sometimes dined " in great splen-
dor." But it is perhaps more in virtue of her husband's history and
position, than of her own, that she here deserves especial atten-
tion. Major William Jackson for many years held an intimate
personal relation to Washington, and was at all times regarded by
him with the utmost kindness and esteem. He was born of a good
family in Cumberland, England, and had entered the southern

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SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 303

department of the continental army in the very beginning of the
revolutionary struggle, that is, in June, 1775, when he was not
yet seventeen years of age. He served with honor in different en-
gagements, and in several commissions of important trust, and for
several years, under General Lincoln, filled the office of Assistant
Secretary of "War, which he resigned, greatly to General Lincoln's
regret, only when the peace of 1789 rendered it practicable for
him to retire from his post without injury to the public service.
After the organization of the federal government he was invited
iSj Washington to join him as aid-de-camp and private secretary,
and in this situation he remained until the year 1793, when he
sailed for Europe upon private business. He appears to have given
great satisfaction to Washington, who stated that " his deport-
ment had been regulated by principles of integrity and honor,"
and " the duties of his station executed with ability," and with
expressions of "sincere esteem and regard" embraced the oppor-
tunity to thank him for all his attentions, and for the services he
had rendered him ever since he had been a member of the presi-
dential family.

It was this near personal relation of Major Jackson to the
president which afterwards gave to the lady I am writing of her
marked distinction in the circle of the Republican Court. Wash-
ington was present at her marriage, in the venerable mansion of
Mr. Willing, which, having stood for one hundred and eleven
years, has just given way to the so called improvements of modern
times.* That whole region of a great city has long since changed

* While in Philadelphia last summer (1856), pursuing researches respecting the social history of
that city, with a view to render this edition of " The Republican Court " as complete and accurate
as possible in its delineation of the higher life of our first metropolis, during the administration
of our first president, the following paragraphs arrested my attention in The Evening Bulletin. I
have not been able to ascertain by whom they were written, but they are so pertinent to my pres-
ent subject that the reader will approve my transcribing them.

" One of the few survivors of the original first class buildings of Philadelphia is soon to be de-

304 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

its aspects. Elegance no longer reigns there, and the abodes of
rank and fashion are passing have passed indeed into the
money-getting uses of " men of enterprise." It was on a beauti-
ful afternoon in September, in the hours towards evening, which
business had left to repose and quiet, that, wending through some
of the ancient parts of the city, always interesting to me, my steps
were arrested by the venerable aspect of this house. It had just

molislied, and a successor more in accordance with the progress of the city and the demands of the
age wiL be erected upon its site. The Pennsylvania Eailroad Company have purchased the ' WU-
ling Mansion,' at the southwest corner of Third street and Willing's alley, and this relic of the sub-
stantial architecture of the Philadelphia of more than a century ago, will soon be torn down to make
way for a handsome building for the use of the company as an office. The old structure, although
so far behind the age, is still a fine specimen of a commodious and substantial dwelling. Its wide
front, and the spacious hall that runs through the middle of the building, are in striking contrast
with too many of the fashionable residences of the present day. The Willing Mansion was begun in
1745, and was finished the following year. It was built by Mr. John Palmer, who was well known
in his day as a bricklayer. It was he who built St. Peter's church and many others of the best
structures that were put up in Philadelphia about the middle of the last century. Mr. Palmer, the
builder, was the father of the late Mr. John B. Palmer, who was for many years the Secretary and
Treasurer of the Mutual Assurance Company. The old mansion was occupied for many years by
the Willing family, but for a considerable period, more recently, it has been used for a boarding
house. The building itself has been extensively modernized, but its vicinity has undergone still
greater changes. Half a century ago there were but four or five buildings upon the west sido of
Third street, between Willing's alley and Spruce street. Bingham's splendid mansion and grounds
occupied a large share of the southern portion of this space, while spacious gardens intervened be-
tween the Chew Mansion and the Willing Mansion at the corner of the alley. The Willing property
extended westward to Fourth street. At the mansion of Chief Justice Chew, just referred to, Wash-
ington had his head quarters at one time.

" We are informed by Mr. John F. Watson, the annalist, that the Willing Mansion was built
after the form and model of the homestead building f the family at Bristol, England. The door
posts and pediments which still occupy their original position in the front of the building are of Bath
stone ; they were imported from England all ready for putting up. Mr. Watson informs us that
when the mansion was built it was a kind of a country retirement, being beyond Dock creek, and
consequently at that period out of town ! To reach the house you went up hill along Walnut street,
from the creek, to Third street, and thence again by a narrow, deep-cut road up a greater hill to the
mansion. This neighborhood was called ' The Hill,' in old times, but the high ground that gave
it this distinction has long since been almost levelled down, while the line of the creek has been
filled up. Among the ancient landmark^ of the neighborhood is the old buttonwood tree that stfll
stands in front of the Willing Mansion. The writer of this article remembers when a boy, thirty
years ago, gathering ' buttonballs ' from beneath the wide-spread branches of this tree, and he
remembers, too, marvelling much at how the hitching post at the door had grown into the spreading
Dase of the tree, and how it was held there as firmly as though it was part and parcel of the living

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 305

been abandoned to the invader ; every inhabitant had departed ;
but the stroke of demolition had not yet fallen upon its walls. Its
fine doorway stood open, and I entered. It was a noble mansion,
and I could not but regret that the opulent proprietors of such
places as these in Philadelphia and JSTew York do not approve the
spirit which prevails in older lands, by defying trade and improve-
ment, in building up facades like that of Northumberland House,
which shuts off the whole world of London and its Charing Cross
from one " home of the Percies," leaving all behind at least to
an ancient and honorable possession. As I passed through its ex-
tensive halls and numerous apartments I could not refrain from
calling up many a spectacle of which this domus antiqua had been
the scene, in the course of that century and more, in which it had
been occupied by a family eminently social and long distinguished
in the ranks of gentility and fashion. It was in the very room,

timber. The base of the old tree had a habit of absorbing and growing around every object that
came in its way, and at some future day the bricks grown up into the heart of the trunk may do
damage to the saws or axes of those who attempt to convert it into plank or fire-wood. This vene-
rable tree, and the one that stood to the south of it, were planted in 1749 by Messrs. Thomas Wil-
ling and John Palmer. The southern one became much decayed, and was cut down several years
since ; but the other tree still stands green and erect, although it has been shorn of most of its
branches. "We presume the sturdy old trunk will soon have to share the fate of its fellow, and the
mansion they both shaded so long and so faithfully.

" The Willing family has for a century and a quarter stood in the front rank of Philadelphia
society. We find the name among the early merchants of the city, and it is conspicuous in the an-
cient records of the city government. In 1747 the name of Mr. Charles Willing first appears as
an alderman in the records of the City Council. A year later he was elected Mayor of the city,
and on his retirement from that office, after a term of one year, we find him presenting to the trea-
sury the one hundred pounds salary just voted him. This he returned to the treasury in lieu of the
entertainment usually given to the corporation by the retiring mayors. In 1754 Mr. Charles Wil-
ling was again elected mayor, and in 1763 Mr. Thomas Willing held the same office. Mr. Thomas
Willing, who died in 1821, aged 89 years, was probably better known in Philadelphia than any other
person of his name. This gentleman, from 1754 to 1807 successively held the offices of Secretary
to the Congress of Delegates at Albany, Mayor of the City of Philadelphia, her representative in
the General Assembly, President of the Provincial Congress, delegate to the Congress of the Con-
federation, President of the first chartered Bank in America, and President of the first Bank of the
United States. In addition to all these public duties, Mr. Thomas Willing was an active merchant
for a period of sixty years."

306 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

now deserted and dismantled, in which I was standing, that, sur-
rounded by as many " fair women and brave men " as ever graced
such an occasion, William Jackson, some sixty years before, had
given his hand to Elizabeth Willing. It was a November even-
ing, and that fine old house had been decorated and lighted for a
festive display. The venerable gentleman whom I have so often
referred to, its proprietor, and the partner of his honorable life,
were moved by all the feeling which attends the surrender of a
lovely child to the vicissitudes of a new condition. Washington
was there ; Robert Morris also ; and Hamilton, Lincoln, and Knox,
in full military dress, gratified with the opportunity to manifest
their interest in an event so important to one who had long been
their companion in arms. The elegant Count de JSToaiH.es was also
present. Mrs. Bingham never looked so magnificently beautiful
as on this occasion, when, endeavoring, with the confidence of one
more used to such circumstances, to lend support to her younger
sister, her own suffused cheeks bore witness of the gentle agitation
which moved her bosom. There too stood a circle of lovely girls,
sisters yet younger than she on whom all eyes were now turned.
President Chew, long an eminent representative of his country's
justice, looked on with pleased attention. The venerable White
and his friend Blackwell, associated pastor-s, sanctified the scene.

It required some effort to dissipate the reverie. In that ancient
house are no more brilliant or joyous assemblies ; " its lights are
fled, its garlands dead." One only of that bright assembly now
survives ; but that survivor is the bride. At the age of eighty-
eight the Elizabeth Willing of that evening still looks out upon
the city so dear to her for its marvellous and sweet associations,
but changed, even more than she herself is changed. Long known
as the widow of Major Jackson her eye as beaming, her form as
light, her step as quick, those who see her only now would say,

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 307

as they would ever have been in the bloom and grace of youthful
maturity her house the abode of order, taste, and elegant com-
petence, herself the object of affectionate interest and service from
her children and her friends. Mrs. Jackson is not only the sole sur-
vivor of the occasion I have recalled, but the only living repre-
sentative of the especial entourage of "Washington : of those ladies,
I mean, whose husbands held positions near the person of the
President. Mrs. Bradford, who survived Mrs. Hamilton, was the
last of those whose husbands were ^n his cabinet ; she was living
when the earlier editions of this work appeared, but has since been
united to those who went before her.*

* Mrs. Bradford died at her seat in Burlington, New Jersey, on the thirtieth of November, 1854,
at the age of ninety years. The rector of St. Mary's, in his address to the graduating class of
March, 1855, thus refers to her ; " There are two new graves in sweet St. Mary's Churchyard, to
which my heart must ever turn. I have stood at "both of them within four months. And there were
tears of mine mixed with the earth, in hoth. Pastoral tears. Love's tears. Tears of sorrow. But
not of one who ' sorrows as others, who have no hope.' Come with me, darlings, for a moment to
their graves. In the grave that we shall go to first, sleeps one who had seen ninety winters. Think
of that, my children ! Nineiy winters ! She was twelve years older than our nation. She was of
patriot blood. And was, herself, a patriot. Scarcely an earthly blessing, that was not mixed in her
full cup. Position ; influence ; wealth ; domestic happiness ; troops of friends ; good health, for
more than eighty years : what the world calls a prosperous fortune, was never more completely re-
alized. And, yet, they did not spoil her. They did not touch the substance of her soul She only
seemed to know them, as the motives for habitual thankfulness. She was the simplest, the humblest,
the gentlest, the least selfish, of women. She was the ' little child, of Jesus Christ. In the
world, she was not of the world. Or, only, of it, to be a blessing to it. The freest from faults, of
any one I ever knew ; she was the most penitential. With a hand that scattered bounties, like the
spring ; with a tongue that dropped blessings, like the dew ; with a heart which realized, as far as
human nature may, the apostolic portraiture of love ; kind, envying not, thinking no evil, believing
all things, hoping all things, enduring all things : she, yet, could find no word of David, strong
enough to bear the impression of her own unworthiness. In the habitual, lifelong, practice of
' whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are venerable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever
things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report ; if there be any
virtue, if there be any praise : ' the prayer which seemed to her the most expressive of her case and
character, was, GOD be merciful to me, the sinner I ' Thus moulded, and sustained by grace, the
purchase of the cross, through her long life ; her daily effort, to adorn the doctrine of GOD, her
Saviour, in all things ; the posture, which Mrs. BRADFORD chose, to die in. was that of His own lit-
tle, trusting, child : and, * Even so, come, Lord Jesus,' were the words, which bore her parting
spirit, to its resting-place, in Paradise."

308 THE REPUBLICAN COUKT.

VII.

NEXT, probably, in social importance and exhibition, to Mrs.
Bingham and the "Willings, was the establishment of Mrs. Robert
Morris. Her husband's partnership, through thirty-nine years, in
the' commercial house of the "Willings, had been the source of a
steady, honorable and liberal income, and when he retired from it
in 1793 it was with solid opulence, and only to engage in plans of
greater, but, as many supposed, not less certain wealth than he
had drawn from the India connections in which he had been so
long and prosperously engaged with Mr. "Willing. Of his public
reputation I have spoken elsewhere. It belongs to the history of
America ; and the elegant Botta has not in the least exaggerated
his services in saying that the country " owes as much to the finan-
cial operations of Eobert Morris as to the negotiations of Benja-
min Franklin." His patriotic services were well known and justly
estimated in his lifetime, He was high in the grateful regard of
Washington,* and of all those warriors and statesmen who had
participated in the private councils of the chief, and knew from
what impending ruin the fiscal achievements of Mr. Morris had at
times saved our armies. Undoubtedly he was a character of the

* The following incident of President Washington's last levee, on his retiring from the presidency,
was mentioned by the late Mr. John B. Wallace, who, as a youth, was present, with his father, then a
resident of Burlington in New Jersey, on that occasion, and a witness of it. Washington received
his guests, standing between the windows in his back drawing-room. The company, entering a front
room, and passing through an unfolding door, made their salutations to the President, and, turning
off, stood on one side. His manner was courteous, of course, hut always on these occasions some-
what reserved. He did not gke his hand, but merely bowed, which was the mode for that day.
Mr. Morris came in, and when the President saw him, entering the room, he advanced to meet him,
and shook him heartily by the hand : Mr. Morris, in allusion partly, perhaps, to the day, which may
have been cloudy, but more to the event, repeating as he came forward the lines

"The day is overcast, the morning lowers,
And heavily in clouds brings on the day
The great the important day."

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SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 309

first class, and being eminently insinuating and attractive in Ms
manners, and having a taste for social display, his public position
and his liberal fortune enabled him to indulge this disposition
with splendor, dignity, and effect. " An introduction to Mr. Mor-
ris," says a writer, in giving his reminiscences of the time, " was a
matter in course with all strangers who visited Philadelphia, either
on commercial, public, or private business. It largely depended
on him to do the honors of the city, and certainly no one was bet-
ter qualified or more willing to support them. His house was a
seat of elegant but unostentatious hospitality, and his domestic
affairs were managed with the same admirable order which had so
long and so proverbially distinguished his counting house, the office
of the secret committee of Congress, and that of finance."

His wife, Mary White, a daughter of Colonel Thomas White,
originally of England, and afterwards of Harford county, Mary-
land, was a sister of the well known and venerable Dr. White,
the first Protestant Episcopal Bishop of Pennsylvania. Though
not, like Mrs. Bingham, distinguished at this time for youth and
splendid beauty, Mrs. Morris was remarkable for her striking and
dignified appearance, as may be inferred from the accompanying
portrait of her, which has been copied from one by the elder
Peale, now adorning the Hall of Independence. So impressive
was her air and demeanor, that those who saw her once seldom
forgot her ; and it was an incident of General Lafayette's visit to
this country in 1824 that, when arriving in Philadelphia, where he
was publicly escorted through crowds of admiring and grateful citi-
zens who thronged every place to behold him, he instantly, in passing
before her door, recognized from his barouche among the thou-
sands who lined the streets and casements and housetops, to see
and to cheer him the tall and venerable person of Mrs. Morris,
then standing at her own window. At this time he had not seen

310 THE KEPUBLICAN COUKT.

her for nearly forty years,* and, rising to salute her, as lie turned
his manly and erected figure towards her house and bowed, with
the military grace of France, the plaudits of the people, who un-
derstood the incident, seemed as if they would never cease.

A proper respect for the sacred character and office of her
brother, Bishop White, and not less the dignity of her husband's
fame, would naturally have restrained Mrs. Morris from any unbe-
coming or excessive devotion to mere fashion, even if she had
been inclined to it. But she had a fine taste for the worldly dig-
nity of life, and in her house was found a steady exhibition of its
most solid forms. Mr. Morris had given up to the President a fine
mansion in which he had lived before Philadelphia became the
seat of government, and had taken for himself another, a little
above it, known to later times as the Schuylkill Bank, at the
southeast corner of Sixth and Market streets. Though it had not
a very striking appearance, it was a fine substantial structure, from
its angular position commanding abundance of light, and relieved
by extensive edifices in the rear. It was not comparable with Mrs.
Bingham's, in elegance of building, grounds, or furniture, but its
domestic appointments and the course of life within it were proba
bly not much less expensive. The convenient and democratic sys-
tem of overcrowded balls and receptions by which ladies and gen-
tlemen are now entertained by hundreds at a time, and a thousand
imperfect social obligations discharged as imperfectly about once
in a year, was unknown to the gentry of our early metropolis.
The " visiting list " enrolled a very much more extensive and a

* Among the public honors given by the citizens of Philadelphia to Lafayette on this visit to
America, was a public ball. Mrs. Morris was one of the few still surviving who belonged to
the colonial and revolutionary era. To grace and dignify the festival a committee of the citizens
specially invited her presence, but she declined the civility on account of her advanced years and
long formed habits of retirement. Repeated solicitations, however, induced a compliance, and she
went in the costume of her day. Being seated on a bench of eminence beside the Marquis, her
venerable figure and ancient style of dress made a feature of this brilliant spectacle.

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 311

very different class of names from the list for entertainments.
Neighborhood a near acquaintance from any cause a special
or even a general service of some casual kind with many other
causes easily conceived, might constitute a good title to a place in
the former, but to be included in the latter was a different thing.
The social rights and dispositions of the entertainer were justly
considered not to be the only ones concerned. It was rightly sup-
posed that those who were entertained had some rights also ; not
legal ones, indeed, but very delicate and important ones notwith-
standing ; social enjoyment had not become a " business matter;' 7
and to invite gentlemen and ladies only to meet all the clients of
the host, if a lawyer, or all his patients, if a physician, or to give
something like gentility to a grande democrate-socialiste melee,
where, once a year, people of every sort, without regard to class,
connection, or character to education, breeding, or social suita-
bility are herded promiscuously, merely to gratify a love the
hostess may happen to have for common notoriety, would have
been considered high treason against society, and destructive alike
of its interests, aims, and enjoyments. Dinner company, well
chosen, frequent, and elegant, was the style of the time. It was
in this style that the home of Mrs. Morris was distinguished. Be-
sides its essential household of table-servants, coachmen, footmen,
&c., her establishment had its housekeeper, butler, (a fine old
Frenchman named Constance,) its confectioner, and all the reti-
nue of a mansion in which dinner company is frequently and ele-
gantly entertained. Unlike most of the menial servants of that
day, in Philadelphia, Mrs. Morris's were all white, and they all
wore the Morris livery. As a fitting appendage to this town
residence, Mr. Morris had his well known country seat, The
Hills, which I describe more particularly in another part of this
chapter.

312 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

Though not a man distinguished by birth, nor, I believe, of
early liberal education, Mr. Morris possessed considerable taste
for the arts, and exerted himself to introduce them into our infant
republic. It was by his encouragement that Jardella, an Italian
sculptor very well known in Philadelphia, established himself in
America; and under his orders were made, among other things
by that artist, those two fine mezzo relievos which so long adorned
the window arches of the Chestnut street theatre one represent-
ing Comedy and Tragedy, and the other the Genius of Music.
Some of the most beautiful Gobelin tapestry ever brought from
France was imported by him during the revolution of 1792. He
was, however, unable to appropriate it, as he intended, to the de-
coration of the great mansion he commenced on Chestnut street, and
after his death it passed, about the year 1834, into the possession
of Mrs. Richard Alsop, in whose tasteful and elegant parlors it was
afterwards exceedingly admired. The reverses of fortune which
overtook Mr. Morris's large speculations in landed estates reached
their crisis, I think, in the winter of 1Y96, and after that date his
style of social life of course was changed. He retired to The
Hills in the beginning of 179Y, and at this delightful place re-
mained with his family in entire seclusion. His house in the city
passed to the occupancy of Mr. Penn.

The home of Mr. Morris was west of the presidential man-
sion, on the corner of Market and Sixth streets. East of it, near
the corner of Fifth street, resided General "Walter Stewart, with
whom and Mrs. Stewart the family of Washington were very in-
timate. General Stewart came to this country from Ireland, and
at an early period entered the revolutionary army, in which, on
several occasions, he very honorably distinguished himself. By a
resolution of Congress medals were ordered to be struck for Gene-
ral Wayne, Lieutenant Colonel Fleury, and Major Walter Stewart,

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 313

for their gallant conduct in the storming of Stony Point. As a
colonel, Stewart is a prominent figure in Trumbull's picture of the
surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. He was high in Washing-
ton's esteem and confidence, or his wife, splendid as was her beauty,
brilliant as was her conversation, and amiable and fascinating as
were her manners, would scarcely have become one of the most
conspicuous ladies of the republican court, from which her connec-
tions were so widely separated. She was the eldest daughter of
Blair McClenachan, a retired naturalized Irish merchant, of great
wealth, who once owned quite a celebrated place at Germantown,
whence, as his temper prompted, or his friends, Jefferson, Rush,
Dallas, and other democrats, deemed it expedient, he would ride
into town to assist in burning Jay's treaty, in giving a triumphal
reception to Genet, or any other act of hostility to the Washing-
ton party. General Stewart however remained faithful in feeling
and conduct to the chief, and was always proud of the considera-
tion in which he was held by him.

" Walter Stewart," writes Mr. Charles Jared Ingersoll, " was
one of the handsomest men of his day ; " and Deborah McClena-
chan was already famous for those personal attractions which after-
wards commanded so much homage, at home and abroad, when
they were married, by Dr. White, on the eleventh of April, 1781
Washington was unable to be present, but he sent from his head-
quarters, at New Windsor, a graceful letter of congratulation on
the occasion, and the next year became godfather to their son.
When they went to Europe, in ITS 5, he gave General Stewart let-
ters of introduction, and concluded the communication in which
they were enclosed, by saying, "Mrs. Washington joins me in
wishing you a good and prosperous voyage, and in compliments to
Mrs. Stewart. Tell her if she do n't think of me often, I shall not

easily forgive her, and will scold at, and beat her soundly too
40

314 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

at piquet, the next time I see her." This is one of the few exam
pies we have of the hero's playful humor ; it is as neatly delivered
as his celebrated letter inviting Mrs. Cochran to a camp dinner.
He presents his friend as "a gallant and deserving officer who
served through all the war with distinguished reputation ; " and
Robert Morris writes of him at the same time, that "his private
character is as amiable as his public one has been glorious."

From 1785 to 1787 General Stewart and Mrs. Stewart were
in London, Paris, and the resorts of fashion in Germany and It-
aly. Returning to Philadelphia, they lived in a style of liberality
and elegance suitable to their large income and cultivated taste.
Their house, during Washington's administration, was much fre-
quented by that portion of official and private society which was
most distinguished for its attachment to his person and policy.

About the time of his retirement from public life, the president
sent portraits* of himself of a size somewhat larger than com-
mon miniatures to three of the ladies with whom his intercourse
in Philadelphia had been the most unreserved and affectionate :
Mrs. Bingham, Mrs. Robert Morris, and Mrs. Walter Stewart. In
a note accompanying that to Mrs. Stewart, he begs her to regard
it " not so much for any merit of the original as for its excellence as
a work of art ; " and declares it " the production of a young lady."
The name of the fair artist is not given, but it is evident that he
does not refer to Madame de Brehan, whose pictures of him I have
mentioned elsewhere, as that distinguished personage was by no
means young, when in America, six or seven years before.

* These three portraits are probably by the same hand, and are to he reckoned among the origi-
nals known to exist of Washington. One of Stuart's finest pictures of the president was painted for
Mrs. Bingham. The one now sent to her was accompanied by the following note :

" In presenting the inclosed, with compliments, to Mrs. Bingham, the President fulfils a promise.
Not for the representation, not for the value, but as the production of a fair hand, the offering is
made, and the acceptance of it requested.

" Wednesday, 16th. March."

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 315

YIII.

THE family of Chief Justice Chew, being a numerous and very
amiable one, filled a considerable space in society. Mr. Chew had
been attorney general of the province, and also recorder of the
city, and he was the last chief justice of the crown. Belonging
to the old provincial party, it was hardly to be expected that he
would support the cause of the revolution, which deprived him of
the highest judicial office, and he was accordingly arrested as a
person, if not positively disaffected, at least but lukewarm in the
cause of American freedom, and sent during the war among the
exiles in Virginia. But his prudence was so considerable, his mild-
ness of disposition so pleasing, and his amenity and courtesy so
universally acceptable, that he was extremely popular with all
parties, and a personal friend and favorite with "Washington him-
self. After the peace he maintained a dignified social rank, and,
as president of the High Court of Errors and Appeals, was also a
distinguished public character. Having been twice married, in the
first place to Miss Galloway, and in the second to Miss Oswald, he
had a numerous family connection, and most of his immediate
descendants being daughters, who were eminent for the same
beauty which has graced the family in our own times, (Mrs.
Phillips, Mrs. Carroll, wife of Charles Carroll the younger, Mrs.
Alexander Wilcocks, Mrs. John Eagar Howard, Mrs. Mcklin, and
others,) his town house, a fine old structure in Third street*
built by Mr. Charles Willing for his son-in-law, Colonel Byrd of
Westover, and afterwards the head-quarters of General Washing-
ton not less than Cliveden, his country seat at Germantown, now
historic as " Chew's House," were the scenes of constant and re-
fined though not very ostentatious or costly entertainments.

316 THE REPUBLICAN COURT,

Judge Peters with his family must be prominent in my records.
His name had been long honorably known in both church and
state. The Reverend Richard Peters, a man of fortune, a scholar
and a divine, was for many years the rector as well as a liberal
benefactor of Christ church, and the possessor of one of the best
libraries ever brought to Philadelphia. Other members of his
family were connected with the proprietary offices : his father, I
think, though perhaps it was his uncle the clergyman, as secretary
of the Land Office. Judge Peters himself is known traditionally
more by his jests than by his decisions, for though the latter were
good, the former were brilliant.* His domestic attachments are
illustrated by an anecdote related by Mrs. Adams, in one of her
letters. While in London, in IT 86, he dined on one occasion
at the ambassador's. When he entered the drawing-room Mrs.
Adams gave into his hands several letters which had been received
for him. He carried them to the light, broke their seals, and

* Peters was in Congress when Burgoyne was captured, an event of which General Gates trans-
mitted the intelligence to that body by his aide, Lieutenant Wilkinson. Wilkinson, it appeared,
having staid a little too long on the way, to pay his homage to a lady whom he was courting, did
not reach Yorktown until after the intelligence of the capture had been received. Had the news
been less agreeabl> that body might not have been very amiably disposed ; the occasion, however,
was bland and exhilarating, and there was no disposition* to withhold from the messenger the ordi-
nary tokens of approbation. Mr. Peters took the initiative, and on the morning after Mr. Wilkin-
son's arrival, rising in his place, with an air of uncommon dignity, moved very gravely " that as a
mark of its sense of Mr. Wilkinson's service, there should be presented to him a pair of silver spurs."
Thomas McKean, of Pennsylvania, in a letter to John Adams, written in 1815, attributes this motion
to Samuel Adams, (Works of John Adams, x. 177,) but, according to common tradition, it was by
Peters, of whom it was characteristic. The judge was a great agriculturist, and very fond of ex-
hibiting at Belmont the fruits of his skill in that way. One summer day he had invited his friends
to partake of a rich water-melon ; but, being very large, his servant, in bringing it to the table,
happened to tumble. The melon rolled from the dish, and falling on a marble floor, broke to pieces
before the assembled guests. Looking at the fragments for a moment, " Never mind," said the host,
nothing disconcerted, " it is but a squash take it away." Advertising his place for sale, he mentioned
among its attractions a " fine stream of water ; " a gentleman who drove out to see the property was
Very well pleased with it, but thought there must be some mistake about any such " fine stream,"
as he discovered nothing in that way but a little rivulet so small that it could scarcely be seen
through the grass. " Well," asked the judge, with perfect sangfroid, " how could there be
stream than that ? "

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA 317

threw them on the table, exclaiming, " Not one from my wife ! I
have lost two letters from her. The devil ! I would rather have
found two lines from her than ten folios from any one else."
Washington, who placed him on the bench, was very fond of his
society, and frequently, as I have elsewhere mentioned, drove out
to Belmont, his country, house, to enjoy an unceremonious and
recreative intercourse with him, walking with him sometimes foi
hours under the dark grove of hemlocks which an earlier genera-
tion of the Peters family had planted there.

His ancestor, as I have said, was. a rector of Christ church,
and Mr. Peters was quite proud of his orthodoxy, though, like
Lord Eldon, he was rather one of the buttresses than the pillars
of the church giving his support from the outside. With Mr.
Powell, he was sent by the General Convention of the Protestant
Episcopal Church, soon after the organization of that body, in
1781, to confer with the English bishops, and to induce them, if
they would do so, to grant the episcopacy to the new states. The
English bishops, as it appeared, were very scrupulous ; and, afraid
lest the church in America might not be so well disposed as the
delegates believed, made a great many inquiries of them about
every point of discipline, doctrine, and condition. Mr. Peters,
who was probably the medium of communication, gave very pleas-
ant answers, but they were not always so exact and full on points
of nice divinity, as the bishops desired. " We found him," said
one of that body, " a delightful companion, a most well-bred gen-
tleman, an accomplished scholar, and extremely well informed on
every possible subject, except upon the one for which he came to
England."

The family of Shippen was rich and eminent. Possessed of no
remarkable spirituality, nor, perhaps, as a general rule, of the
highest order of intellect, its members were yet much and justly

318 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

respected. They were noticeable for those qualities which, though
insufficient in themselves to confer the best social distinction, may
be said to constitute an excellent element in the ordinary compo-
sition of good society. Easy, not apt to be excited, within proper
limits fond of property and of all the best things belonging to
this world, through a large connection indulging in a constant
round of sober -enjoyments, bestowing smiles on all and frowns
on few or none, they offended not at all, and were universally
agreeable. The well known medical professor, Dr. "William Ship-
pen, I suppose possessed the most genius. Of his rank among
men of science I have written elsewhere. His own family influence
was large, and his marriage with Alice Lee, daughter of Thomas
Lee, governor of Virginia, and sister of Richard Henry and Ar-
thur Lee, made his residence (the respectable mansion still stand-
ing on the southwest corner of Prune and Fourth streets, after-
wards distinguished as the home of Dr. Wistar) a centre and
resort of most of the Virginia aristocracy who were brought to
Philadelphia in consequence of its becoming the capital. The an-
cient family reputation, with Dr. Shippen's medical fame, and the
high judicial station of Edward Shippen, so long honorably known
as the chief justice of Pennsylvania, gave dignity to all this cir-
cle ; and with the inherited rank of the chief justice's wife, and
the beauty and charming manners in early life, and the affecting
history at a later period, of his daughter, Mrs. Arnold, and the
excellent social position of his other daughters, Mrs. Burd and
Mrs. Lee, were some of the causes which contributed to the unde-
niable elevation of the Shippens in the domain of fashion.

In some paragraphs respecting the clergy I have referred to
the distinction of Bishop "White in that profession ; but, with Dr.
Blackwell and one or two of his other clerical associates, he was
also a conspicuous figure in the higher society of the city. His

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 319

family was a good one. He received from his father, Colonel
Thomas White, an English gentleman who, as surveyor of Har-
ford county, Maryland, had made good purchases of land, a for-
tune which was then considered liberal ; and though the bishop
lost not less than thirty thousand dollars by being compelled to
receive in continental paper what his father had loaned in gold
and silver, he was still enabled to maintain an elegant style of
living. He inherited from his aunts in England an estate at
Twickenham, not far from that of the poet Pope, with which he
was perfectly familiar, and which he frequently described. His
town residence, a substantial building, erected by himself, and oc-
cupied by him till his death, yet stands in Walnut street, and is
familiar to this generation. His rural seat called Brookland, a
valuable farm of forty-eight acres, close to Philadelphia, upon Is-
lington lane, was variously beautiful, and the scene of such summer
hospitality as became a bishop and a gentleman. A sister of Mrs.
White had married Governor Paca of Maryland, and his own sis-
ter, as I have already mentioned, was the wife of Robert Morris.
He was in other ways connected with public characters, and his
position as one of the chaplains of Congress,* not less than his
high ecclesiastical office, and his well known patriotism, secured
for him a wide recognition as one of the leading men of his time
in this country.

* I do not know whether the following incident is recorded in any biography of Bishop White,
but it is one which I have from good authority. He was in Harford county, Maryland, visiting his
relations there, when he received intelligence of his appointment to the chaplaincy of Congress.
His brother-in-law, Governor Paca, who was at this time in Congress, in communicating it to him,
rather advised him, on prudential grounds, not to take it : urging for his consideration the fact that
if the revolution were successful his generally known approval of it would secure him a sufficient
measure of public favor, while, if the British arms triumphed, the fact that he, a clergyman of the
Church of England, and so very specially bound to the government, had joined a revolt, would bring
upon him a special measure of severity. But such considerations never weighed with Bishop White.
He set off at once for Yorktown, and the first answer Governor Paca received was from the bishop
in person, that he had come to fill his office !

320 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

The connection of the Harailtons gave a feature to the lighter
part of fashionable society. The founder of this family, I "believe,
was Andrew Hamilton, known, even in the middle of the last cen-
tury, as the ablest lawyer of Pennsylvania. A mystery is said to
have clouded his early history, and it was commonly rumored that
his true name was not Hamilton, but, if I am not mistaken, Trent.
The belief was that' he was sent in youth to Maryland, to oversee
some estates, but that having a strong intellect, and a turn more
liberal, he studied law. He came to Philadelphia from Maryland,
and soon rose to eminence in a profession which was concerned
much more with his abilities than his birth or history. He was an
associate of Franklin, and much of Franklin's way of thinking in
religion. His son was James Hamilton, for some time a governor
of the province. He, or the earliest of the Hamiltons, had taken
up large quantities of land across the Schuylkill, which, on the
death of the latter, passed, in part at least, to his nephew, William,
styling himself " of the Woodlands," around whom the younger
members of the family were principally grouped. From his youth,
he seems to have possessed a high degree of taste. On graduating,
in 1762, at the Academy of Philadelphia, he gave a fete at the
Woodlands to his college friends, among whom were young men
afterwards known as Judge Yeates, Judge Peters, Mr. Dickenson
Sergeant, the Keverend Doctor Andrews, Bishop White, and
others. The beautiful edifice for which his place has since been
celebrated was not then erected, and his entertainment was neces-
sarily spread in a temporary building ; but its decorations were so
elegant and appropriate as to induce a general admiration of it.
He afterwards lived in a manner more marked perhaps by ostenta-
tion than by dignity. His chariot and four, with postillion boys,
attracted wonder from some, and envy from others, but not having
in the character of its occupant any thing remarkable, to give

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 321

respectability to such display, it caused no general sentiment of
regard. He owned the large tract on which Hamilton village now
stands, and other land in the vicinity, running up to the perma-
nent bridge, which, on the advice of Mr. William Cramond, he
sold, to relieve himself from some pecuniary inconveniences which
his desire to retain landed possessions involved him in. One of
his nieces the daughters of his brother Andrew, who had mar-
ried a Jewess, Miss Franks, as I have stated elsewhere was dis-
tinguished by uncommon beauty of figure. Having been admired
by many of her own country, she bestowed her hand, at last,- very
suddenly, upon an Irish gentleman, of slender parts, and lived
abroad. She was afterwards separated from him. Another, also
distinguished for unusual loveliness, married Mr. Lisle, a broker,
who knew very well the art of acquiring wealth, but was thought
by some persons not to be worthy of so handsome a woman. But
before their marriage, as well in virtue of their expectations as of
their beauty, the Hamiltons gave brilliance and attraction to the
evening circle, and made a decided feature in the society merely
fashionable.

Major Pierce Butler, a representative from South Carolina to
the federal Congress, was deservedly conspicuous in the best
society of the city. He was a widower, but maintained an estab-
lishment suitable for a liberal-minded gentleman, both in South
Carolina and in his home in the metropolis. At his house were
to be found the most distinguished representatives of the southern
states. He professed to be a democrat, but democrats were seldom
seen in his parlor ; and the democracy of Lis day, especially the
democracy of his part of the country, far as it was removed from
the standards of federal bearing and dignity, was not less re-
moved from the democracy of later times. Whatever may have

been his political heresies, or his eccentricities, of which he pos-
41

322 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

sessed many, every account which I have heard or read of him
has represented him as a high bred gentleman and a man of
honor, and as such he was universally esteemed. From a sister of
his, who was a charming woman in her youth, as well as from the
late Mrs. Alexander Hamilton, with whom I had sometimes the
honor of walking through the city in which she had been a leader
of the polite world in the days of Washington, and otters, be-
longing to the distinguished society I attempt to describe, who
survived it to my own times, I have heard many agreeable remi-
niscences of that period, which enter in some form into the texture

of this work.

Mr. Elias Boudinot and Mrs. Boudinot, in a sphere not less
aristocratic, but somewhat different and more grave, were also emi-
nent persons. Mr. Boudinot was originally from New Jersey, the
federal politics of which state he controlled almost entirely so long
as federal politics prevailed at all. He had the distinction of pos-
sessing a large fortune, and those liberal social dispositions which
displayed it with advantage. His wife, before marriage Miss Stock-
ton, was a sister of Richard Stockton, the well-known signer of the
Declaration of Independence, and his own sister was the wife of
that gentleman. Mr. Boudinot had been in the continental con-
gress of 1776, and in 1782 was elected the president of that body.
During the war he had been commissary-general of prisoners, and
to him Washington had now intrusted the responsible office of
giving action and success to our federal mint. He had one child,
a daughter, who had been married to one of the most distinguished
and excellent men of his time, Mr. William Bradford, the attorney-
general, and friend of Washington : a man looked to by every one
for what he then was, and still more for the higher distinctions
and honors which seemed certainly awaiting him. In this dig-
nified circle happiness and virtue were ever united, and during

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 323

tlie residence of Washington in Philadelphia no social connection
presented greater charms. As at Dr. Shippen's was the centre of
the Virginia gentry, and at Major Butler's that of the Carolinas,
so at Mr. Boudinot's noble mansion, yet standing at the south-west
corner of Arch and Ninth streets, were constantly assembled, as
his friends or guests, the most eminent characters of his own state,
his own connections also the Stocktons, Daytons, Wallaces, Og-
dens perfectly known in the society of the metropolis, though
residing generally on their domains in New Jersey.

And with these families and persons, connected more or less
intimately with the fashionable world, Philadelphia had at the
same time her David Bittenhouse, John Bartram, Dominie Proud,
young Brockden Brown, and others variously famous.

IX.

THE addiction of American women to extravagance in dress has
always been remarked by foreigners and by our travelled country-
men. The Count de Kochambeau observed at the close of the war
that the wives of our merchants and bankers were " clad to the
tip of the French fashions, of which they were remarkably fond."
Brissot de Warville deplores it as a great misfortune that in repub-
lics women should sacrifice so much time to " trifles," and that re-
publican men should hold this habit in some estimation. He tells
us the women of Philadelphia wore hats and caps almost as varied
as those of Paris, and bestowed immense expenses in dressing their
heads, displaying " pretensions too affected to be pleasing."

The Quakers in Philadelphia were relatively much more numer-
ous in 1Y91 than now, and they lived very much retired among
themselves; but the Duke la Bochefoucauld Liancourt perceives
that " ribbons please young Quakeresses as well as others, and are
the great enemies of the sect."

324 THE REPUBLICAN COUKT.

Of these Quaker women Brissot says, " They are what they
should be, faithful to their husbands, tender to their children, vigi-
lant and economical in their households, and simple in their orna-
ments ; their characteristic is that, neglectful of the exterior, they
reserve all their accomplishments for the mind. Let us say it
let us not cease to repeat it it is where such manners obtain that
we are to look for happy families and public virtues. But we, mis-
erable wretches ! gangrened with our own civilization and polite-
ness, we have abjured these manners, and who among us is happy ? "
Nevertheless, the Frenchman confesses tjiat the young Quakeresses
curl their locks with great care and anxiety, which costs them as
much time as the most exquisite toilette, and wear hats covered
with silk and satin.* Such observations give him pain. " These
youthful creatures, whom nature has so well endowed, whose charms

* During the period in -which Philadelphia was the seat of government, on the arrival of the
spring and fall ships from England, the pavements, all along Front street, from Arch street to
Walnut street, were lumbered and scattered, before the doors of importers, with boxes and bales
of English drygoods the clerks, apprentices and subordinates of the merchants as busy as bees
in their several vocations, some with sharp knives and claw-hammers, ripping and breaking open
the packages and cases, and others within doors exhibiting the goods as salesmen altogethei
displaying a pleasant bustle of rivalship and competition. The retailers, principally women,
were hovering around, mingling with the men, and viewing with admiration the rich varieties
of foreign chintzes, muslins, and calicoes, of the latest fashions. All sums of money were com
puted in pounds, shillings, pence, and farthings dollars and cents being unused denominations
except in the reports of Mr. Hamilton. "The first brilliant retail fancy drygoods shop was
opened about this time," says a writer in Hazard's Register, " by a Mr. Whitesides, as it was
said, from London, in the true Bond street style, at number one hundred and thirty-four Market
street; and the uncommon size of the panes of glass, the fine mull-mull and jaconet muslins,
the chintzes and linens, suspended in whole pieces and entwined together in puffs and festoons,
and the shopmen behind the counter, bowing and smiling, created for a time some sensation."
Other shops, however, appear to have been more successful, after the novelty of the show-windows
of Mr. Whitesides was forgotten. Two of these were by a Mr. Guest and a Mrs. Holland. Mr.
Guest, of number thirty South Second street, with a pleasant and smiling countenance, was busy
in the mornings among the importers, picking up the choicest fabrics and the best bargains, while
the sales at home were conducted by his two sons, and two daughters handsome young women
of the class of " gay Quakers." Mrs. Holland, at number two North Front street, was a person
of extraordinary dimensions, and seemed quite too unwieldy for her vocation as principal sales-
woman, but she was popular for patient devotion to the varied wants and whims of her custom-
ers, and for the most unfailing and fascinating smiles upon purchasers of even the smallest amount.

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 325

have so little need of the aid of art, are remarkable for their choice
of the finest muslins and silks ; oriental luxury itself would not dis-
dain the linen they wear, and elegant fans play between their fin-
gers." He urges the maxim of Penn, that " modesty and mildness
are the finest ornaments of the soul," and warns them that their
choice of delicate linens and rich silks is regarded by others as
hypocritical luxury, ill disguised. Among Quakers of the braver
sex he discovers that there are some who dress more like men of
the world, who wear powder, silver buckles, and ruffles ; they are
called " wet Quakers ; " the others regard them as " a kind of
schismatics, or feeble men;" they admit them, indeed, to their
places of worship, on Sundays, but never to their monthly or quar-
terly meetings.

THE President and Mrs. "Washington arrived in Philadelphia
'from Mount Vernon on Saturday, the twenty-eighth of November,
and found that most of the public characters were already assem
bled, and that the city was filled with strangers anticipating a gay
and brilliant season in society.

The rules for receiving visitors and entertaining company con-
tinued to be very nearly the same as in New York. Eespectable
citizens and strangers, properly introduced, were seen by the Presi-
dent every other Tuesday, between the hours of three and four in
the afternoon. The receptions were in the dining-room, on the first
floor, in the back part of the house. At three o'clock, all the chairs
having been removed, the door was opened, and the President, usual-
ly surrounded by members of his cabinet or other distinguished
men, was seen by the approaching visitor standing before the fire-
place, his hair powdered and gathered behind in a silk bag, coat and
breeches of plain black velvet, white or pearl-colored vest, yellow

326 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

gloves, a cocked hat in his hand, silver knee and shoe-buckles, and
a long sword, with a finely wrought and glittering steel hilt, the coat
worn over it, and its scabbard of polished white leather. On these
occasions he never shook hands, even with his most intimate friends.
The name of every one was distinctly announced, and he rarely
forgot that of a person who had been once introduced to him. The
visitor was received with a dignified bow, and passed on to another
part of the room. At a quarter past three the door was closed, the
gentlemen present moved into a circle, and he proceeded, beginning
at his right hand, to exchange a few words with each. When the
circuit was completed he resumed his first position, and the visitors
approached him in succession, bowed, and retired.

At the levees of Mrs. Washington he dicl not consider any visits
made to himself, and he appeared as a private gentleman, with nei-
ther hat nor sword, conversing without restraint, generally with
women, who rarely had other opportunities of meeting him.

The first levee in Philadelphia was on the evening of Friday, the
twenty-fifth of December. Mrs. Adams went, attended by her son,
Mr. Charles Adams, and she mentions " the dazzling Mrs. Bingham
and her beautiful sisters, the Misses Allen, the Misses Chew, and,
in short, a constellation of beauties. 1 ' The eldest of these Aliens be-
came Mrs. Greenleaf, and according to tradition was one of the most
splendid beauties this country ever produced. Mrs. Theodore Sedg-
wick, in whom were combined the finest graces of the New Eng-
land matron, was conspicuous for a charming face, and an air and
manner of singular refinement and elegance ; the magnificent Miss
Wolcott, from Connecticut, was the boast of gentlemen from the
eastern states, who would not admit that even Mrs. Bingham was
her equal ; and Mrs. Knox, of course, was observed of all observ-
ers. Miss Sally McKean wrote to a Mend in JSTew York, " You
never could have had such a drawing-room ; it was brilliant beyond

JJ7VV ILvL/JJu. g

SOCIETY IN PHILADELPHIA. 327

any thing you can imagine ; and though there was a great deal of
extravagance, there was so much of Philadelphia taste in every
thing that it must have been confessed the most delightful occasion
of the kind ever known in this country."

THE winter presented a continual succession of balls, dinner-
parties, and other scenes of gayety and dissipation. The most sump-
tuous dinners were at Mr. Bingham's and Mr. Morris's. Mr. Morris
lived at the corner of Sixth and Market streets, near the President,
and his house was the abode of a noble hospitality. The great
financier who had so admirably managed the pecuniary affairs of
the nation, had not yet displayed that incapacity or thoughtlessness
in the administration of his own, which was soon to render imn a
bankrupt and an exile from those scenes of luxurious enjoyment
which were dignified by his simple and gracious manners, unfailing
generosity, and large intelligence. " I should spend a very dissi-
pated winter," writes Mrs. Adams, " if I were to accept one half
the invitations I receive, particularly to the routs or tea-and-cards."
Jeremiah Smith refers to the prevailing passion for gambling : he
did not think it had any tendency to add to the property or to in-
crease the happiness of its votaries, and therefore was 'of the com-
paratively small number who would not play; but he says it was
no uncommon thing in this winter to hear that a man or a woman
had lost three or four hundred dollars at a sitting. The dancing
at the assemblies, Mrs. Adams informs us, was very good, and the
company of the best kind; the room however was despicable, and
the etiquette " it was not to be found." She remembers that " it
was not so in New York," but is consoled by the fact that Phila-
delphia society is generally agreeable; " friendliness," she says, "is
kept up among the principal families, who appear to live in great

328 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

harmony, and we meet at all places nearly the same company." A
friend of Humphreys, who was now at Lisbon, writes to him, " You
have never seen any thing like the frenzy which has seized upon
the inhabitants here ; they have been half mad ever since this city
became the seat of government ; and there is no limit to their pro-
digality, and, Ellsworth might say, profligacy. The probability is
that some families will find they cannot support their dinners, sup-
pers, and losses at loo, a great while ; but generally I believe the
sharp citizens manage to make the temporary residents pay the bills,
one way or another. There have been a good many delightful par-
ties, and I have been at Chew's, McKean's, Clyrner's, Dallas's, Bing-
ham's, and a dozen other houses lately. Among your more particu-
lar friends there is more quiet and comfort, and it is not impossible
that the most truly respectable people are least heard of."

THE SOUTHERN TOUR.

'THE winter of 1790 and 1791 was one of continual and various
excitement at the seat of government. In the Congress it was
chiefly remarkable for a succession of stormy debates on the great
financial schemes of Hamilton, resulting in the establishment of a
national bank, and a tax on ardent spirits. It required no prophet to
foretell the irritation which would be produced by the last measure ;
it was an attack on the special interests of the enemies of the ad-
ministration, those interests which we may well believe were most
dear to them, and its consequences are a familiar part of history.

. " My health is now quite restored," the President wrote to La-
fayette on the nineteenth of March, " and I natter myself with the
hope of a long exemption from sickness ; on Monday next I shall
enter on your friendly prescription of exercise, intending at that
time to begin a long journey to the southward." To this tour he
had been invited by many of the leading characters of the south-
ern states, who promised him everywhere as sincerely cordial and
enthusiastic greetings as two years before had marked his triumphal
progress through New England.

The carriage in which he travelled was the one in which he usu-
ally appeared on public occasions in the city ; it was built by a Phil
adelphia mechanic, and is described as a " most satisfactory exhibi
42

330 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

tion of the progress of American manufactures." * It was drawn
by six horses, which had been carefully selected for their handsome
appearance and probable capacities for endurance. He started
from his residence, in Market street, at twelve o'clock, with Mr,
Jefferson and General Knox, who escorted him into Delaware, and
Major Jackson, one of his private secretaries, who was his compan-
ion until he returned to the metropolis.

At Annapolis, where he arrived on the morning of the twenty-
fifth of March, he remained two days. An accident on the Severn
caused a great deal of anxiety for a few hours. The vessel which
contained the President and his suite entered the river about ten
o'clock on a dark, rainy and windy night, and soon after struck on
a bar, where she remained until daylight. Frequent signals of dis-
tress were made, but it was found impossible to go to her relief.
On arriving in town in the morning he was met by the entire popu-
lation, and before his departure was entertained at public dinners
and a ball. The Governor of Maryland, on the twenty-seventh,
accompanied him on his way until he reached Georgetown.

He remained a week at Mount Vernon, and then proceeded on
his journey. At Fredericksburg he dined with his old friends and

* This carriage has been carefully preserved by an eminent citizen of Philadelphia, in a house
built expressly for its reception, in which it has remained half a century. Mr. Watson is mis-
taken in supposing it was removed to New Orleans, as mentioned in his "Annals," i. 581, and
also in the suggestion that it was a present from Louis XVI, or that it had been the property of
Governor Penn. The " state coach " used in New York was built in that city. In this he made
his journey through New England. The only other carriage for six horses which Washington
owned while President is the one above referred to, built by a Mr. Clark of Philadelphia.

Referring to the simplicity of the President's equipage and the modest style in which he
travelled, a contemporary journal quoted the following passage from M. Flechier's oration on the
great Marshal de Turenne : " He strives to conceal himself, but his reputation discovers him. He
marches without a train of attendants, whilst every man, in his own mind, places him upon a
triumphal car. As he passes by, the enemies he has conquered are reckoned, and not the ser-
vants who follow him. Alone as he is, we imagine him surrounded in all places with his virtues
and victories. There is something extremely noble in this elegant simplicity ; and the less haughty
he is, the more venerable he becomes."

THE SOUTHERN TOUR. 331

neighbors, whom lie was always happy to meet, and with whom,
Chancellor "Wythe informs us, he delighted to recall the scenes of
his youth and earlier manhood, which he contemplated, with their
associations, with feelings of the tenderest interest. He arrived in
Richmond at two o'clock on the afternoon of Monday, the eleventh
of April, and an immense assemblage of citizens greeted him with
acclamations as he passed along the streets, and the military signal
ized his presence with salutes of artillery. In the evening the city
was brilliantly illuminated, and the two days during which he re-
mained there were surrendered by all classes to a proud enjoyment ;
for the Virginians regarded Washington as their especial glory, and
exulted in all his triumphs as sharers of his greatness. At Peters-
burgh, and at Halifax, Newbern,* "Wilmington, and other places
in North Carolina, he was received with every possible demonstra-
tion of attachment by the authorities and the people. The military
companies of Wilmington met him ten miles from the city, and a
large proportion of the inhabitants went out between five and six
miles to join the procession which welcomed him to that ancient
town. The next day he accepted an invitation to a public dinner,
and in the evening attended a ball at which there was an unprece-
dented display of the fashion and beauty of the state. On his de-
parture he was rowed across the Cape Fear river in an elegantly
decorated barge by six masters of vessels.

* At Newbern the President attended a public dinner and a ball at the old palace of Gover-
nor Tryon, which was probably at that time the most splendid residence in America. An en-
graving of it appears in Mr. Lossing's " Field Book of the Revolution," from original drawings
made by Mr. John Hawks, the architect, in 1767, and preserved by his grandson, the Rev-
erend Francis L. Hawks, D.D., LL.D., of New York. On a tablet in the vestibule were some
lines in Latin, by Sir William Draper, which the late Governor Martin of North Carolina trans-
lated, not very gracefully, as follows :

" In the reign of a monarch who goodness disclosed,
A free, happy people, to dread tyrants opposed,
Have to virtue and merit erected this dome.
May the owner and household make this their loved home,
Where religion, the laws, and the arts, shall invite
Future ages to live in sweet peace and delight."

332 THE REPUBLICAN COURT

II.

CHAELESTON at this period was the seat of a refined and gener
ous hospitality, and in social elegance was far in advance of any other
city in the southern states.* Always conservative, her inhabitants
were slow to admit any innovations in manners, and the tasteful and
rich costumes of the middle of the century were still worn there-
fore by the more respectable classes, though numerous modifications
had been generally adopted in Boston, New York and Philadelphia.
Milliners and tailors corresponded directly with the inventors of
dresses in London and Paris, and had little regard for the taste of
our republican court. Women preferred the French fashions, and
often improved upon them, but Dr. Ramsay assures us that they
rarely had resolution enough to follow their own correct ideas in
originating styles entirely new. Gentlemen were partial to blue,
the product of their staple indigo, and most of them had at all
times at least one coat of that color. Pantaloons had been intro-
duced and were now worn by some of the younger men, but in a
few years they were entirely laid aside, and breeches again adopted,
notwithstanding the superior fitness of the more modern garment
for so warm a climate. A keen sensibility on points of personal
honor gave rise to frequent duels, so that more took place in South
Carolina than in all the nine states north of Maryland ; but it was
regarded as a consequence of this practice that there was a perva-
ding propriety and courtesy in society. Drunkenness, we have the

* Innkeepers, we learn from Dr. Kamsay, complained that this virtue was carried to such an
extent that their business was scarcely worth following. The doors of the citizens throughout
the state were opened to all decent travellers, and shut against none. The abundance of provi-
sions on plantations rendered the exercise of hospitality convenient, and the avidity of country
people for hearing news made them rather seek than shun the calls of strangers. The state
might be travelled over with very little expense by persons furnished with letters of introduc-
tion, or even without them, by calling at the plantations of private gentlemen on or near the
roads.

THE SOUTHERN TOUR. 333

authority of Dr. Ramsay for believing, " might be called an endemic
vice " there, and he finds for it an apology in the qualities of the
atmosphere. Periodical races, hunting and fishing, and luxurious
and protracted dinners, occupied the attention of old and young,
while in dancing and music there was a more common proficiency
than in any other part of the country. The Duke de la Rochefou-
cauld Liancourt observed that from the hour of four in the after-
noon the people of Charleston rarely thought of any thing but plea-
sure and amusement ; they had two gaming houses, and both were
constantly full ; many of the inhabitants, having been abroad, had
acquired a greater knowledge of European manners and a stronger
partiality to them than were found in the north, and foreign modes
of life were consequently more prevalent. The women were more
lively than he had seen elsewhere, and took a greater share in the
commerce of society, but without any lessening of modesty or delicate
propriety in their behavior. They were interesting and agreeable,
but perhaps not quite so handsome as those of Philadelphia.

III.

THE President arrived in Charleston on Monday the second day
of May. A twelve-oared barge, manned by thirteen captains of
American ships, conveyed him, with several of the most distinguish-
ed gentlemen of the state, from Hadrill's Point, and accompanying
barges, containing a band, with instruments, and singers, greeted him
with triumphal airs and songs, while a large procession of gaily
caparisoned boats gave to the river a brilliant and beautiful appear-
ance. On landing he was received by Governor Pinckney, the
intendant and wardens of the city, the society of the Cincinnati,
and the military of the district, all of whom attended him in pro-
cession, amid the ringing of bells, the firing of cannon, and the ac-
clamations of the people, first to the Exchange, where he was wel

334 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

corned in a formal address, and then to the house prepared for his
reception.

He remained in Charleston a week, and every day received
evidences of the affectionate admiration and respect of the people.
The merchants were foremost in rendering him honor. In their
address to him they said, " Were it possible for your fellow citizens
to omit doing justice to your merits, the testimony of other nations
would evince their neglect or ingratitude the whole world con-
curring in the same opinion of you Sensible of the numerous

blessings our country has derived from your wise and judicious ad-
ministration, we feel animated with the most lively sentiments of
gratitude towards you ; suffer us, then, to represent to you the feel-
ings with which we are impressed, by assuring you that we yield
to none in sincere respect and attachment to your person ; and we
earnestly implore the Almighty Father of the universe long to pre-
serve a life so valuable and dear to the people over whom you pre-
side." He answered, " Your congratulations on my arrival in South
Carolina, enhanced by the affectionate manner in which they are
offered, are received with the most grateful sensibility. Flattered
by the favorable sentiments you express of my endeavors to be use-
ful to our country, I desire to assure you of my constant solicitude
for its welfare, and of my particular satisfaction in observing the
advantages which accrue to the highly deserving citizens of this state
from the operations of the general government. I am not less in-
debted to you for your expressions of personal attachment and re-
spect: they receive my best thanks, and induce my most sincere
wishes for your professional prosperity, and your individual hap-
piness."

On "Wednesday evening he attended the corporation ball, at
which there were more than two hundred and fifty women, many
of whom wore sashes and ribbons emblazoned with his portrait and

THE SOUTHERN TOUR. 335

with appropriate inscriptions. He entered the room with Governor
Pinckney, Senators Izard and Butler, and several other public char-
acters, and after being seated a few moments arose, and passing round
the rapidly formed circle, saluted every lady, " which gave particu-
lar satisfaction, as every one was anxious to have a good view of
him." The City Hall was elegantly decorated for the occasion.
The pillars were entwined with laurels and flowers, and the walls
festooned with banners and adorned with pictures.*

On Thursday he dined with a large party at Governor Pinck-
ney's, and in the evening attended a concert by the Saint Cecilia

* While these sheets are passing through the press I am indebted to the courtesy of Mr. E. A.
Duyckinck for a volume of very interesting " Reminiscences of Charleston," just published by
the venerable and accomplished Mr. Charles Fraser, of that city, who at the time of Washington's
visit was a pupil in the Charleston College. I have had the happiness of some personal acquaint-
ance with Mr. Fraser, and with the dignified circle comprising the club before which his de-
lightful memoir was read, previous to its appearance in print. Charleston may well be proud
of such a " clarum et venerabile nomen," and may see preserved in this distinguished artist,
scholar, and gentleman, a type of her best society in her palmiest days. His present perform-
ance is very similar in its character to President Duer's " Discourse on ]S~ew York at the Close
of the Last Century." Describing the events mentioned in the text he says : " General Wash-
ington's visit to Charleston was made on the twenty-first of May, 1791, and amidst every recol-
lection that I have of that imposing occasion, the most prominent is of the person of the great
man, as he stood upon the steps of the Exchange, uncovered, amidst the enthusiastic acclamations
of the citizens. I remember that the place prepared for his accommodation was that large three-
story double house in Church street, a few doors north of Tradd street, then owned by Judge
Heyward, and said to be superbly furnished for the occasion. He remained here but one week,
but it was a week of continual rejoicing and festivity. Every attention that hospitality, public
and private, could devise, was shown him, and it must have been very gratifying to the citizens
of Charleston to receive from General Washington himself, on his departure, the warm acknowl-
edgments which those attentions had won from his heart. One of the civilities which he received
was a splendid concert and ball, given at the hall of the Exchange. On that occasion the ladies
wore fillets, or bandeaus, of white ribbon, interwoven in their head-dress, with the head of
Washington painted on them, and the words ' Long live the President,' in gilt letters. Every
hand that could hold a pencil, professional or amateur, was enlisted to furnish them. But that
which proved the most lasting memorial of his visit was the whole length portrait, for which the
city council requested him to sit to Colonel Trumbull, and which now adorns the City Hall." Mr.
Fraser, it will be perceived, makes a slight mistake in the date, and another in referring to the
concert and the ball as having occurred the same evening. Contemporary letters and journals
authorize different statements.

Some very interesting and carefully studied views of society in Charleston at the close of the
Revolution may be found in Dr. Simms's historical romance of Katherine Walton.

336 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

Society, at which there was even a greater display of beauty anu
elegance than at the corporation ball.

On Friday he dined with Major Pierce Butler, and on Saturday
was entertained with great splendor by the merchants at the Ex-
change. Among the invited guests were the Governor, the sena-
tors and representatives of the state in Congress, the intendant and
wardens of the city, resident officers of the national and state gov-
ernments, members of the South Carolina legislature for the Charles-
ton district, and the clergy of every denomination. The toast of
the President was, " The commercial interests of Charleston," and
after he retired the company drunk with great enthusiasm, " The
President of the United States : long may he live to enjoy the praises
of a grateful people ! " The President left the Exchange at eight
o'clock, and proceeded to the City Hall, to view the exhibition of
fire-works. He afterward rode with Mr. Izard to the houses of sev-
eral gentlemen, before returning to his lodgings.

On Sunday he attended divine service, in the morning and after-
noon, and dined in a private manner with General Moultrie.

IY.

THE President left Charleston at six o'clock on Monday morning,
the ninth of May, escorted to Ashley Ferry by a large cavalcade,
in which were the Governor, senators, members of the Cincinnati,
and many other distinguished citizens. At Perrysburg he was met
the next day by a committee from Savannah, and, with General
"Wayne, Major Butler, Mr. Baillie, and Major Jackson, was conduct-
ed on board a richly decorated boat in which the party were rowed
down the river, by nine sea captains, dressed in light blue silk jack-
ets, black satin breeches, white silk stockings, and round hats with
black ribbons, inscribed with "Long live the President," in golden
letters. Ten miles from the city they were met by other barges,

THE SOUTHERN TOUK 337

from one of which, a company of gentlemen sung the popular song,
" He comes, the hero comes ! " As they drew near the harbor every
vessel and all the shore were discovered to be thronged with peo-
ple. When the President stepped on the landing he was received
by General James Jackson, who introduced him to the Mayor and
aldermen, and he was soon after conducted in the midst of a proces-
sion through crowds of spectators to the house prepared for his ac-
commodation in St. James's Square. The same evening he dined
with the city authorities, and a large number of other gentlemen, at
Brown's Coffee House. Cannons were fired during the day, ^ind.at
night the streets and the shipping were brilliantly illuminated. On
Friday he dined with the Cincinnati of the state of Georgia, and
attended a ball. On Saturday, accompanied by General Mclntosh,
who had been second in command, under General Lincoln, in storm-
ing them, he examined the remaining traces of the lines constructed
by the British for the defence of Savannah in 17 79, and dined with
two hundred citizens and strangers under a beautiful arbor, sup-
ported by numerous columns and ornamented with laurels and bay
leaves, erected on an elevation which commanded a view of the
town and the harbor.

It has frequently been said of Washington that " no man in the
army had a better eye for a horse," and many of his letters show
that he was by no means indifferent as to the qualities or treatment
of his stud, during the war or afterwards. A tour of nineteen hun-
dred miles with the same animals was a severe test of their capaci-
ties, and before reaching Charleston he wrote to Mr. Lear that
though, all things considered, they had got on very well, yet his
horses were decidedly worsted, and if brought back would "not
cut capers as they did on setting out." On the thirteenth of May
he says in a letter to the same correspondent, " I shall leave this
place to-morrow; my horses, especially the two I bought just before
43

338 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

I left Philadelphia, and my old white horjse, are much worn down
and I have yet one hundred and fifty or two hundred miles of
heavy sand to pass before I fairly get into the upper and firmer
roads."

On the way to Augusta he stopped to dine with the widow of
his old friend and companion in arms, General Greene, at her seat
called Mulberry Grove. On "Wednesday, the eighteenth, Governor
Telfair and the principal officers of the stat eft the capital, with a
numerous train of citizens, and proceeded five miles toward Savan-
nah to meet him, and he was conducted to his lodgings accompa-
nied by thousands of people, who filled the air with joyous accla-
mations. That day he dined with a large party at the Grove, the
Governor's private residence, near Augusta, where Mrs. Telfair as-
sembled the ladies of the town to meet him at a ball in the evening ;
on Thursday he received and answered an address from the people,
attended a public dinner, and was present at another ball ; on Fri-
day he visited the academy and dined again with the Governor, and
on Saturday started on his return, Augusta being the farthest point
of his journey.

Coming again into South Carolina he was conducted to Co-
lumbia by General Winn, Colonel Wade Hampton, and a large
number of other citizens, and the next day dined with more than
two hundred of the principal men and women of the town and
neighboring country at the state house, and in the evening attend-
ed a ball.

On Wednesday, the twenty-fifth, he dined at Camden, and on
the following morning visited the grave of the Baron de Kalb, the
places where the British redoubts had been erected, Hobkirk Hill,
where General Greene was attacked by Lord Rawdon, and the
plains where General Gates was engaged by Lord Cornwallis in
IT 80. Passing through Charlotte, Salisbury, Salem, Guilford, and

THE SOUTHERN TOUR. 339

other towns, in all of which the love and reverence of the people
were exhibited in every variety of manner which taste and inge-
nuity could suggest, he arrived at Mount Vernon on the twelfth
of June.

He remained at his seat between three and four weeks, during
which he was occupied with his private affairs, and, with Major
L ? Enfant and others, with the location of the new seat of government,
on the banks of the Potomac. On Thursday, the last day of June,
he started for Philadelphia, by way of Frederick, York, and Lan-
caster, and arrived at the Presidential residence about noon on the
sixth of July, having been absent nearly three months, and during
that period performed a journey of eighteen hundred and eighty-
seven miles.

THIS tour was upon the whole very satisfactory to the President.
En letters written soon after his return he says it was accomplished
c without meeting with any interruption, by sickness, bad weather,
or any untoward accident. Indeed, so highly favored were we,
that we arrived at each place where I proposed to make my
halt, on the very day I fixed upon before we set out. I am much
pleased that I undertook this excursion, as it has enabled me to see
with my own eyes the situation of the country through which we
travelled, and to learn more accurately the disposition of the peo-
ple than I could from any information I have been highly gra-
tified in observing the good dispositions of the people. Industry
and economy are becoming fashionable in those parts, which were
formerly noted for the opposite qualities, and the labors of man are
assisted by the blessings of Providence. The attachment of all
classes of citizens to the general government seems to be a pleasing
presage of their future happiness and respectability."

340 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

VI.

WHILE the President was absent in the south, Mr. Jefferson and
Mr. Madison were making a tour in the north. Proceeding to New
York, and up the Hudson to Albany, they visited the principal
scenes of Burgoyne's misfortunes, the fields of Stillwater, Sara-
toga and Bennington, and forts William Henry, George, Ticonde-
roga, Crown Point, and other places memorable in our revolution-
ary history. Mr. Jefferson amused himself with his rod and gun,
and indulged those tastes for natural history which, if the condition
of the country had not made him a politician, would probably have
been his main distinction.

DISCONTENT AND SEDITION,
i.

As the period approached when electors of President and Vice
President were again to be appointed in the several states, Wash-
ington perceived with the deepest regret that it would be necessary
for him to allow his name to be used for a second term of four
years. Jefferson, Hamilton, and Edmund Eandolph, each address-
ed him letters entreating a continuance of his administration of
affairs. The sincere and earnest appeal of Hamilton was unanswer-
able. This illustrious person, who for the greatness of his abilities
and the importance of his public services 'has the highest place in
our history, next to his chief and friend, wrote to him, " The im-
pression is uniform that your declining would be deplorable as the
greatest evil that could befall the country at the present juncture,
and as critically hazardous to your own reputation that your con-
tinuance will be justified, in the mind of every friend to his country,
by the evident necessity for it. It is clear, says every one with
whom I have conversed, that the affairs of the national government
are not yet firmly established ; that its enemies, generally speaking,
are as inveterate as ever ; that their enmity has been sharpened by
its success, and by all the resentments which flow from disappointed
predictions and mortified vanity ; that a general and strenuous effort
is making, in every state, to place the administration of it in the

342 THE REPUBLICAN COUKT.

hands of its enemies, as if they were its safest guardians ; that the
period of the next House of Representatives is likely to prove the
crisis of its permanent character; that if you continue in office,
nothing materially mischievous is to Ibe apprehended, while if you
quit, much is to be dreaded ; that the same motives which induced
you to accept originally ought to decide you to continue till matters
have assumed a more determined aspect ; that it would have been
better, as it regards your own character, if you had never con-
sented to come forward, than now to leave the business unfinished
and in danger of being undone ; that in the event of storms arising,
there would be an imputation either of want of foresight or want
of firmness ; and, in fine, that on public and personal accounts, on
patriotic and prudential considerations, the clear path to be pursued
by you will be, again to obey the voice of your country, which it
is not doubted will be as earnest and as unanimous as ever. On this
last point, I have some suspicion that it will be insinuated to you,
and perhaps (God forgive me, if I judge hardly,) with design to
place before you a motive for declining, that there is danger of a
division among the electors, and of less unanimity in their suffrages
than heretofore. While your first election was depending, I had
no doubt that there would be characters among the electors, who,
if they durst follow their inclinations, would vote against you,
but that in all probability they would be restrained by an appre-
hension of public resentment ; that nevertheless it was possible a
few straggling votes might be found in opposition, from some head-
strong and fanatical individuals ; that a circumstance of this kind
would be in fact, and ought to be estimated by you, as of no impor-
tance, since there would be sufficient unanimity to witness the gen-
eral confidence and attachment towards you. My view of the fu-
ture accords exactly with what was my view of the past. I believe
the same motives will operate to produce the same result. The

DISCONTENT AND SEDITION. 343

dread of public indignation will be likely to restrain the indisposed
few. If they can calculate at all, they will naturally reflect that
they could not give a severer blow to their cause than by giving a
proof of hostility to you. But if a solitary vote or two should ap-
pear wanting to perfect unanimity, of what moment can it be ?
Will not the fewness of the exceptions be a confirmation of the de-
votion of the community to a character which has so generally
united its suffrages, after an administration of four years, at the head
of a new government, opposed in its first establishment by a large
proportion of its citizens, and obliged to run counter to many pre-
judices in devising the arduous arrangements requisite to public
credit and public order ? Will not those who may be the authors
of any such exceptions, manifest more their own perverseness and
malevolence than any diminution of the affection and confidence of
the nation ? I am persuaded that both these questions ought to be
answered in the affirmative, and that there is nothing to be looked
for, on the score of diversity of sentiment, which ought to weigh
for a moment. I trust, sir, and I pray God, that you will determine
to make a further sacrifice of your tranquillity and happiness to the
public good."

Washington's re-election was unanimous, and on the fourth of
March, 1793, he took the oath of office in the hall of the senate, in
the presence of the members of the cabinet, various public officers,
foreign ministers, and such other persons as could be accommodated.
In his speech to Congress he expressed the pleasing emotion with
which he received this renewed testimony of the approbation of the
people. While however it awakened his gratitude for all those in-
stances of affectionate partiality with which he had been honored
by his country, it could not prevent an earnest wish for that retire-
ment from which no private consideration could ever have torn
him ; " but," he continued, " influenced by the belief that my con-

344 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

duct would "be estimated according to its real motives, and that the
people would support exertions having nothing personal for their
objects, I have obeyed the suffrage which commanded me to resume
the executive power, and I humbly implore that Being on whose will
the fate of nations depends, to crown with success our mutual en-
deavors for the general happiness."

II.

PHILIP FKEKEATT had been an intimate friend of Mr. Madison
while they were classmates in the college of Princeton. We do not
know at what time he became acquainted with Mr. Jefferson, but
it was probably during the summer after the organization of the
government, and he appears from the beginning to have concurred
in his political ideas. Freneau was editor of the Daily Advertiser,
published in New York, when, on the seventeenth of August, 1791,
he was appointed translator of the French language for the state
department, and he soon after removed to Philadelphia. The place
is said to have been a sinecure, as other clerks in the office were
familiar with the French language, which was also spoken and writ-
ten with fluent elegance by Mr. Jefferson. But Freneau made
himself useful to the secretary, if not to the government, by estab-
lishing in the following October the National Gazette, a journal in
which were given the first examples of that partisan abuse which
has ever since been the shame of American politics. In it Mr. Jef-
ferson was continually referred to with expressions of fulsome adu-
lation, and the public and private characters of Washington, Ham-
ilton, Knox, Adams, and their associates, were vilified with unfalter-
ing industry and malignity. The late Reverend Doctor Timothy
D wight wrote to Oliver Wolcott, on this subject, soon after Wash-
ington's second inauguration, " The late impertinent attacks on the
chief magistrate are viewed with a general and marked indignation.

DISCONTENT AND SEDITION. 345

Freneau, your printer, linguist, and so forth, is regarded here as a
mere incendiary, or rather as a despicable tool of bigger incendia-
ries, and his paper as a public nuisance. Happily all the writers
of this side, whose productions I have seen, take effectual means to
disappoint themselves, for the violence of their prejudices, the weak-
ness of their arguments, and the indecency of their sentiments, alike
counteract the mischievousness of their designs." That the National
Gazette was entirely under Mr. Jefferson's control appears never to
have been doubted. In his old age Freneau marked a copy of it with
the names of the writers of the most noticeable articles, alleging that
he himself had never assailed in any manner the spotless fame of
the Father of his Country. To Dr. Francis, who became his physi-
cian, he said it was among his greatest griefs that he had seemed
to be an enemy of "Washington, but that Mr. Jefferson had writ-
ten or dictated whatever was reproachful or calumnious of that
exalted character in the Gazette. The pretences for the most vio-
lent attacks on the President were his reserved manners, which
were said to proceed from an affectation of royalty (he had not yet
learned to make "bows" in a manner satisfactory to the demo-
crats), and his failure to interest himself in support of some de-
mand of the army.

III.

THE French revolution was the most gigantic and appalling
illustration in history of the natural depravity of the human race.
It was a legitimate and inevitable result of that sham philosophy
which a profligate people were glad to accept in place of the stern
morality of the Christian religion, and was brought about by the
combined activity and determined will of many of the master in-
telligences of that age, made skeptical by the corruptions of the
church, and infidel by their own defiant pride. Harlequin atheists,
44

346 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

assuming the title of Christian teachers, and half educated and fee-
ble minded writers of literature, sensible of their incapacity to
acquire distinction in the competitions of excellence, are offering
among us, as novelties, those sometime obsolete mockeries that kin-
dled into a flame of passion the volatile and depraved nation which
surpassed all others, first in disobedience and next in contempt of
the divine law. Forgetful of the terribly literal fulfilment which
France presented of the prophecy that " the nations which forget
God shall be turned into hell," there are still found miserable crea-
tures willing enough to brave all penalties for the base satisfaction
of a transient notoriety. In the days of Washington this class was
comparatively much more numerous, and more dignified in talents
and position.

The French monarchy had been abolished ; whatever there was
of private worth and public respectability in Paris had followed
the king to the guillotine ; and it had been decreed by the conven-
tion that there is no God. The interest excited in America by the
commencement of the revolution became enthusiasm when our an-
cient ally assumed the name and form of a republic. A people
less honorable and sagacious might well have been carried away by
their grateful affections and political sympathies, and in the tumult
of conflicting opinion and storm of aggressive action, only the un-
erring judgment and indomitable will of "Washington, his defiance
of foreign and domestic enemies, his immovable disregard of public
clamor and private treachery, a sense and temper and justice which
seemed above the capacity of human nature, preserved our country
from anarchy and from becoming the fear instead of the hope of
the world. Less easily appreciable by the common mind than his
military conduct, the course which he pursued during this agitation
displays his loftiest heroism and constitutes his best claim to the
reverence of posterity.

DISCONTENT AND SEDITION. 347

"I persuade myself, " lie wrote to Patrick Henry, "it has not es-
caped your observation that a crisis is approaching which must, if
it cannot "be arrested, soon decide whether order and good govern-
ment shall be pMerved, or anarchy and confusion ensue. I most
religiously aver that I have no wish incompatible with the dignity,
happiness, and true interest of the people of this country. My
ardent desire is, and my aim has been, as far as depended upon the
executive department, to comply strictly with all our engagements,
foreign and domestic, but to keep the United States free from po-
litical connections with every other country, to see them indepen-
dent of all, and under the influence of none. In a word, I want
an American character, that the powers of Europe may be con-
vinced we act for ourselves, and not for others. This, in my judg-
ment, is the only way to be respected abroad, and happy at home."

But a large proportion of the people, incapable of understand-
ing how little the revolution in France resembled in principles our
own war for independence, and never pausing to consider whether
the inhabitants of that country were fit for self-government, did
not doubt the ultimate success of French republicanism, and were
easily led to regard all doubts in others as treason to the cause it-
self, and to stigmatize Washington, Hamilton, Adams, and all who
sympathized with them, as " anglomen " and " monarchists." The
history of politics affords no parallel of the impudent attempt to
persuade the citizens of the United States that a conspiracy had
been organized among them for the establishment of a kingly gov-
ernment. There was not the shadow of a shade of any suggestion
of such a conspiracy in all the conduct and conversation of the
parties alleged to be the conspirators, and no man of common sense
now believes that their slanderers were ever actuated for a moment
by any sincere suspicions or apprehensions on the subject.

With intelligence of the declaration of war by France against

34:8 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

Great Britain and Holland arrived M. Genet, the first minister of
the French republic. He landed at Charleston, his journey thence
to Philadelphia was a continual triumph, and his reception in that
city such as might have gratified a conquering hero. Instead of
receiving him with customary honors, it was resolved a fortnight
before his arrival that the republicans should meet him at a dis-
tance from the town and greet him with cheers. Citizen Peter S.
Duponceau, secretary of a secret society of Frenchmen, which met
at Barney McShane's, sign of the bunch of grapes, number twenty-
three North Third street, was particularly active in efforts to insure
a demonstration that should strike with terror the " cowardly con-
servatives, anglomen, and monarchists," led by the President. Citi-
zen Philip Freneau, translating clerk in the department of state, and
editor of the National Gazette, restrung his "Tyrtaean lyre" to
celebrate the glories of the Parisian regicides, and at his ofiice, two
hundred and nine Market street, received subscriptions for the
" French Patriotic Society." On the second day of May the French
frigate PAmbuscade came up the river, saluting with fifteen guns a
vast assemblage on the Market street wharf, and was answered with
gun for gun, amid deafening huzzas. A cap of liberty appeared
at her head, foremast, and stern ; her quarter galleries were deco-
rated with gilt anchors bearing the ~bonnet rouge ; from the* top of
her foremast floated, " Enemies of equality, reform or tremble ; "
from her mainmast, " Freemen, we are your friends and brethren ; "
and from the mizzenmast, " We are armed for the defence of the
rights of man." L' Ambuscade was a fit precursor of the ambas-
sador.

At length, soon after twelve o'clock, on the sixteenth of May,
three discharges of artillery from this ship announced the approach
of Genet, and a great concourse of people immediately started for
Gray's Ferry, where he was waiting for them. As he drew near,

DISCONTENT AND SEDITION. 349

the bells of Christ church were rung, though it could not have
been with Bishop White's consent. An address, prepared by citi-
zens Dallas, Eittenhouse, Duponceau, and others, was read amid
the acclamations of thousands. The minister was equally delighted
and astonished at so fraternal a welcome ; and when he read an ap-
proving history of all these proceedings in a journal edited by a
confidential clerk of the Secretary of State, it was but natural that
he anticipated only a slight opposition on the part of the govern-
ment to the so evident wishes of the people.*

On the same day, however, an address was presented to the
President, signed by three hundred of the principal merchants and
other men of substance and activity, residing in the city, declaring
that nothing was necessary to the happiness of the people of the
United States but a continuance of peace, that the highest sense
was entertained of the wisdom and goodness which dictated his
recent proclamation of neutrality, and that the signers would not

* In what degree Mr. Jefferson was responsible for the gross abuse of Washington in Freneau's
National Gazette, and for the vulgar and insolent hostility of that journal to the policy and
measures of Washington's administration, -we are sufficiently informed by himself. Freneau's
paper continually denied to Washington both capacity and integrity, and three copies of every
number were regularly sent to the Chief, who could not forbear speaking to Mr. Jefferson on this
abusive conduct of his clerk, and requesting him, as a member of his cabinet, to administer to
Freneau some rebuke. Mr. Jefferson tells us in his "Anas" what course he chose to pursue. At a
cabinet council, he says, Washington remarked that " That rascal, Freneau, sent him three copies
of his papers, every day, as if he thought he (Washington) would become the distributor of
them ; that he could see in this nothing but an impudent design to insult him : he ended in a
high tone." Again, speaking of the President, Mr. Jefferson says, " He adverted to a piece in
Freneau's paper of yesterday ; he said he despised all their attacks on him personally, but that
there had never been an act of the government, not meaning in the executive line only, but in
any line, which that paper had not abused. He was evidently sore and warm, and I took his
intention to be, that I should interpose in some way with Freneau, perhaps withdraw his ap-
pointment of translating clerk in my office. But I will not do it. His paper has saved our con-
stitution, which was galloping fast into monarchy, and has been checked by no one means so
powerfully as by that paper. It is well and universally known that it has been that paper which
has checked the career of the monocrats," <fec.

. Freneau at this period appears to have been living in very good condition; and at his "seat,
near the city," we read of his giving entertainments to large parties of democrats, at one of
which were the officers of a regiment, the governor of the state, &c.

350 THE REPUBLICAN COUKT.

only pay to it themselves tlie strictest regard, but discountenance
in the most pointed manner any contrary disposition in others.
Washington replied with his usual dignity and judgment, trusting
that the people would evince as much prudence in preserving peace
at that critical juncture as they had previously displayed valor in
vindicating their just rights.

On the eighteenth an address from the democrats was offered
to Genet, at the City Tavern, by Charles Biddle and others, with
tumultuous exhibitions of popular enthusiasm ; and on the twenty-
third a public dinner was given at Oeller's hotel, at which the min-
ister is said to have sung, " with great energy and effect, a song
adapted to the occasion and replete with truly patriotic and repub-
lican sentiments." Soon after, the bonnet rouge was placed on his
head, and subsequently, in turn, upon the head of each person at
the table, every one offering, while sensible of its inspiration, a
"patriotic sentiment." ~No such "frenzy," to use Mr. Jefferson's
favorite expression, has ever since been known in America.

Democratic societies were founded in imitation of Jacobin clubs ;
every thing that was respectable in society was denounced as aris-
tocratic ; politeness was looked upon as a sort of lese republicanisme ;
the common forms of expression in use by the sans culottes were
adopted by their American disciples ; the title citizen became as
common in Philadelphia as in Paris, and in the newspapers it was
the fashion to announce marriages as partnerships between citizen
Brown, Smith, or Jones, and the citess who had been wooed to such
an association. Entering the house of the President, citizen Genet
was astonished and indignant at perceiving in the vestibule a bust
of Louis XVI., whom his friends had beheaded, and he complained
of this " insult to France." At a dinner, at which Governor Mifflin
was present, a roasted pig received the name of the murdered king,
and the head, severed from the body, was carried round to each of

"*;

MAID)

DISCONTENT AND SEDITION. 351

the guests, who, after placing the liberty cap on his own head, pro-
nounced the word "Tyrant!" and proceeded to mangle with his
knife that of the luckless creature doomed to be served for so un-
worthy a company. One of the democratic taverns displayed as
a sign a revolting picture of the mutilated and bloody corpse of
Marie Antoinette.

The extraordinary conduct of Genet, crowned with his auda-
cious appeal from the government to the people, is fully detailed
in the best histories we have of those times. It was the adminis-
tration of Kobespierre, the Keign of Terror, which he represented,
and for which the democrats claimed the unhesitating and unques-
tioning support of this country. The President at length com-
plained of him, and he was recalled, but a change of factions hav-
ing occurred in the republic of homicides, he did not deem it
expedient to return, and, marrying Cornelia Tappan Clinton, a
daughter of the governor of New York, he selected a home in
that state, and ever afterwards resided there.*

* It is but justice to say that this celebrated person was possessed of eminent capacities and
accomplishments, and that his official conduct in this country has been defended with ability and
eloquence. He was a member of one of the first families of France, and his father was for the long
period of forty-five years connected with the ministry of foreign affairs. One of his sisters was
Madame Campan, so well known for her abilities and intimate relations with the royal family,
and another was the beautiful Madame Anguie, mother-in-law of Marshal Ney. The subject of
this note was born on the eighth of January, 1763, and such was his intellectual precocity that
when but twelve years of age he received a gold medal and a flattering letter from Gustavus
III. for a translation of the history of Eric XIV. into the Swedish language, with historical re-
marks by himself. He became a member of several of the most distinguished learned societies
of Europe, and from his boyhood was employed in honorable public offices, having when only
fourteen been appointed translating secretary to Monsieur, eldest brother of the king, and since
Louis XVHI. He was attached to the embassies of Berlin, Vienna, London, and St. Petersburg,
and remained in Russia five years as charge d'affaires. His indignant protest against an order by
the empress to leave her dominions, when Louis XVI. was dethroned, won for him a flattering
reception by the revolutionary government on his return to Paris, and he was made adjutant
general of the armies of the republic, and minister to Holland ; but a belief that he would be
more useful in America caused him to be sent to this country as Minister Plenipotentiary and
Consul General. With Mr. Jefferson he was very intimate, notwithstanding the position of that
eminent character in the cabinet of Washington, until circumstances rendered such an intimacy

352 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

During the remainder of his administration, Washington and his
friends were continually occupied in combating the influence of that
party which now for the first time "became capable of a formidable
opposition, and which declared through its journals that it would not
permit " the mushroom lordlings of the day, the enemies of Ameri-
can as well as of French liberty, to vilify with impunity the patri-
ots," Eobespierre, Danton, Marat, Hebert, Barere, Couthon, Fouquier
Tinville, Collot d'Herbois, and the rest of that abhorred company,
of whom the least infamous presented a spectacle more revolting
to human nature than any monster ever known in other history.

IV.

THE particulars of the French revolution from day to day filled
the journals and formed the subjects of conversation in drawing-
rooms and public and private assemblies of every description
throughout the country. More than even the distinctions of whig
and tory, patriot or loyalist, in the earlier days of the war of In-
dependence, feelings for or against the rabble of Paris became the
rule of friendship and of every sort of personal relation. What-
ever the inherited or acquired social rank, whatever the abilities,
education, or manners, of men or women, attaching themselves to
the Jacobin side, it would be absurd to say that they were not
essentially unworthy and base. The true respectability of the na-
tion was in the federal party, and it is a notorious and universally
received truth that it continued to be so until that party was over-
thrown. Of the federal party Washington was not simply a mem-
no longer useful to the secretary. Genet's charge that he had used to him " a language official
and a language confidential," suggests an explanation of what is most questionable in his own
conduct. M. Genet was twice married. His second wife was a daughter of Mr. Osgood, the
first Postmaster General under the Constitution. He was taken ill in consequence of riding
twelve miles to attend a meeting of an agricultural society of which he was president, and be-
fore which he was appointed to deliver an address, and died, at his place in Greenbush, near
Albany, on the fourteenth of July, 1834.

DISCONTENT AND SEDITION. 353

ber or a disciple, as has sometimes been alleged ; lie was its founder,
its head, its front, its very soul.

In the summer of 1T94 occurred the insurrection in the western
counties of Pennsylvania. The gradual growth of the spirit of
discontent, which here culminated in organized rebellion, had for
many months excited the most painful reflections and apprehensions
among wise and patriotic men, in the metropolis, and in all the
states. Washington wrote on the subject to Governor Henry Lee,
of Virginia, that he considered the insurrection a fruit of the ac-
tivity of the democratic societies, and congratulated with him on
the fact that as far as his information extended it was viewed with
indignation and abhorrence, except by those who had never missed
of an opportunity, by side blows or otherwise, to attack the admin-
istration. -When, by a course of action alike energetic and mas-
terly, the insurgents were put down, the Chief wrote to John Jay :
" That the self-created societies which have spread themselves over
this country have been laboring incessantly to sow the seeds of dis-
trust, jealousy, and discontent, thereby hoping to effect some revo-
lution of the government, is not unknown to you; that they have
been the fomenters of the western disturbances admits of no doubt
in the mind of any one who will examine their conduct ; but, for-
tunately, they precipitated a crisis for which they were not prepared,
and have unfolded views which I trust will effect their annihilation
sooner than it otherwise would have happened, at the same time
that it has afforded an occasion for the people to show their abhor-
rence of the result, and their attachment to the constitution and
laws ; for I believe that five times the number of militia that was
required, would have come forward, if it had been necessary, in
support of them."

To illustrate the feeling of the better class of people in this
crisis, he says, with a patriotic exultation, that " there are instances
45

354 THE REPUBLICAN COURT

of general officers going at the head of a single troop ; of field offi-
cers, when they came to places of rendezvous, and found no com-
mand for them in that grade, turning into the ranks and proceeding
as private soldiers, under their own captains ; and of numbers, pos-
sessing the first fortunes in the country, standing in the ranks as
private men, and marching day by day with their knapsacks and
haversacks at their backs, sleeping on straw, with a single blanket,
in a soldier's tent, during the frosty nights which we have had, by
way of example to others. Nay, more : many young Quakers, of the
first families, character, and property, not discouraged by the elders,
have turned into the ranks and are marching with the troops."

... i '.

ME. JEFFEKSON had retired from the secretaryship of state and
had no longer an official connection with public affairs. He was
succeeded by Mr. Edmund Randolph, whose place in the cabinet
was filled by William Bradford,* a young lawyer of spotless char-
acter and splendid talents, who had previously been Attorney Gen-
eral and a Judge of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

The result of the western insurrection had an important effect

* We linger with delight over a fame so beautiful and unsullied as that of William Bradford,
and recall with a sentiment of melancholy that he died just as "his greatness was a ripening."
From an interesting memoir of him by the late Horace Binney Wallace, we learn that he was
born in Philadelphia in 1755, graduated at Princeton in 1772, was admitted to the bar in 1779,
after having served some time in the army, with the rank of Colonel, and in 1780, when but
twenty-five years of age, was appointed Attorney General of Pennsylvania. From this position
he was promoted in August, 1791, to be one of the justices of the Supreme Court of the state;
" but the splendor of his abilities," says Mr. Wallace, "the fame of his devotion to business, of
his acute sagacity and sound judgment, and of his stainless integrity, had attracted the regard
of that great personage who then administered the national councils, and who had become per-
sonally well acquainted with him during the war of Independence ; and on the twenty-eighth
of January, 1794, Mr. Bradford, having previously resigned the office of judge, was commissioned

by President Washington Attorney General of the United States He shared in an especial

and marked degree the confidence of "Washington, who respected a character kindred to his own
in the purity of its purposes, and adorned with all the accomplishments that render merit
amiable."

DISCONTENT AND SEDITION. 355

on the tone if not on the purposes of the democrats, and the feder*
alists contemplated the wise and successful exercise of power on the
part of the executive with unhesitating and undisguised satisfaction,
not more as a vindication and support of law and a proof of the
self-sustaining capacity of the government, than as a signal rebuke
and humiliation of the intriguing faction which had hoped in a dif-
ferent conclusion of the matter to find the means of entirely de-
stroying the nation's confidence in Washington and his friends.
The feelings of the democrats were of course shared by Fauchet,
the new French minister, and in his despatches to the government
of the murderers, at Paris, he disclosed some secrets of their leaders
which excellently illustrate the quality of their patriotism. " Scarce
was the commotion known," says the minister, referring to this re-
bellion, " when the Secretary of State came to my house ; all his
countenance was grief; he requested of me a private conversation ;
4 It is all over,' he said to me ; i a civil war is about to ravage our
unhappy country ; four men, by their talents, their industry, their
influence, their energy, may save it ; but, debtors of English mer-
chants, they will be deprived of their liberty if they take the
slightest step ; could you lend them instantaneous funds sufficient
to shelter them from English persecution ? ' This inquiry astonished
me ; it was impossible for me to make a satisfactory answer ; you
know my want of power, and my defect of pecuniary means ; I
shall draw myself from the affair by some commonplace remarks,
and by throwing myself on the pure and disinterested principles
of the republic."

The reference to " the pure and disinterested principles of the
republic " must have struck Mr. Kandolph as an example of such
refined impudence as is rarely exhibited by the greatest adepts in
that sort of display; but the answer was probably conclusive as
to the chances of obtaining any money from Mr. Fauchet.

356 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

Before Mr. Randolph was appointed Secretary of State, Mr,
Jefferson informs us, in his "Anas," that he had a conversation with
the President as to his fitness for that office. The President said,
" I do not know what is thought of Mr. Randolph." The retiring
premier remarks, " I avoided noticing the last observation, and he
put the question to me directly. I then told him I went so little
into society as to be unable to answer it." Yet Mr. Jefferson con-
fesses in his account of this conversation : " I "knew that the embar-
rassments in his private affairs had obliged him to use expedients
which had injured him with the merchants and shop-keepers, and
affected his character for independence, and that these embarrass-
ments were serious, and were not likely soon to cease."

In the beginning of 1795 Mr. Hamilton, the leader and master
champion of the ideas of the respectable classes, resigned his office.
The confused and complicated facts of our financial condition, fur-
nished from a thousand different sources, had come from his hand
solidified and transparent ; and with consummate genius and judg-
ment he had so organized the treasury that but little was left for
his successors to do except to execute his simple and comprehensive
plans. The insufficiency of his salary for the support of a numer-
ous family was the immediate and perhaps principal reason for his
withdrawal from the administration. He was succeeded by Mr.
Wolcott. General Knox, for similar causes, had resigned a few
weeks before, and his place had been filled by Colonel Pickering.
The original cabinet was thus entirely changed, and the new one
consisted of Edmund Randolph, Secretary of State, Oliver Wol-
cott, of the Treasury, Timothy Pickering, of War, and William
Bradford, Attorney General.

DISCONTENT AND SEDITION. 357

VI.

THE relations of the United 'States with Great Britain were in
a very critical condition, and war with that country was ardently
desired by the franco-democratic party, and dreaded in an equal
degree by all those who intelligently endeavored to promote our
own best interests. The Jacobins were startled by the appointment
of John Jay to be Envoy Extraordinary to the Court of London ;
they denounced the opening of any negotiations with " our ancient
enemy," and were in a rage that the Chief Justice should have
been selected for such a duty. Mr. Jay sailed from New York in
April, 1794, and on the seventh of March, 1795, the treaty which
he had negotiated arrived in Philadelphia. The President, to pre-
vent the preoccupation of the public mind, did not allow its provi-
sions to be known by any person except Mr. Eandolph ; yet within
two days after, a series of papers was commenced in Bache's pa-
per, the new organ of the democrats, condemning it in the most
opprobrious terms. As it had not been published in England, and
the British minister had not received a copy of it, the President
was surprised at these attacks, but expressed no suspicion as to the
betrayal of his official confidence. When the treaty was submitted
to the Senate, Mr. Mason, a senator from Virginia, gave a copy of it
to the same journal, The Aurora, and the whole country was quickly
filled with its denunciation, and with abuse of the President, whom
the democratic writers declared to be without any of the qualifica-
tions of a statesman, or even of a soldier, and charged with being
the tool of England, and with having fraudulently drawn money
from the Treasury. "Will not the world be led to conclude,"
wrote one of these creatures, " that the mask of political hypoc-
risy has been worn alike by a Csesar, a Cromwell, and a Wash-
ington?"

358 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

The Chief was calm and unmoved amid the storm, and, guided
by a wisdom and discretion which now amaze the profoundest states-
men who contemplate the circumstances under which he acted
administering a novel system of government, without any prece-
dents to consult as to his constitutional powers and duties pur-
sued his course to the end, in a manner which was approved by his
sense and his conscience, and has since been applauded by the
unanimous voice of the nation.

VII.

ME. WOLCOTT was dining with Mr. Hammond, the British min-
ister, at his country house near the city, on Sunday, the twenty-
sixth of July. Mr. Hammond had recently married one of the
beautiful Misses Allen, daughters of Mr. Andrew Allen, and he
found that gentleman present, with one or two Englishmen, who
were in the ministers confidence. After dinner Mr. Hammond took
Mr. "Wolcott aside and informed him that he had just received de-
spatches from Lord Grenville, transmitting certain letters from M.
Fauchet to the French government, which had been thrown over-
board from the Jean Bart, a French packet, on the approach of an
English vessel of war, but recovered by an Englishman who plunged
into the water after them. Among these papers was the celebrated
" Letter to the Minister on Politics," embracing the " precious con-
fessions " of Mr. Kandolph, the American Secretary of State. It
disclosed the entire policy of the democrats for the ruin of Wash-
ington's administration. Referring to his previous despatch, in
which he had detailed Mr. Randolph's application to him for
money, just before the breaking out of the insurrection in Pennsyl-
vania, the minister exclaims, "Thus the consciences of the pretended
patriots of America already have their prices ! It is very true, that
the certainty of these conclusions, painful to be drawn, will forever

DISCONTENT AND SEDITION.

359

exist in our archives ! What will be the old age of this govern-
ment, if it is thus early decrepid ! "

Mr. Bradford, the Attorney General, was ill, at his house in the
country, where, on the twenty-ninth, Mr. Pickering and Mr. Wol-
cott waited upon him, and they there drew up a letter to the Presi-
dent, who was then at Mount Vernon, requesting his immediate
return to the capital. He arrived in Philadelphia on the eleventh
of August, and Mr. "Wolcott without delay communicated to him the
letter and the circumstances under which he received it.

The President concluded not to take any notice of this extraor-
dinary revelation until the treaty should be disposed of, and in the
mean time, as he could not consider Mr. Eandolph guilty unheard,
continued to treat him as if nothing had happened to lessen his
confidence in his integrity. At a meeting of the cabinet for the
consideration 1 of the treaty, Mr. Kandolph opposed its ratification ;
but his opposition no longer had any influence on the mind of the
President, who signed it on the fourteenth.

On the nineteenth, while Washington was in conversation with Mr.
Pickering and Mr. Wolcott, whom he had requested to be present,
Mr. Eandolph entered, and as he advanced into the room, he arose
and presented to him the intercepted letter, requesting him to read
it, and make such observations upon it as he thought proper. The
Secretary perused it silently and with composure until he arrived
at the passage which refers to his "precious confessions," when he
manifested embarrassment, but proceeded to read the rest of the
letter with careful attention. He made some desultory and un-
connected observations on the several paragraphs, but betrayed
no deep emotion. Perceiving however that he was confused, the
President requested him to step into another room and consider
what he had to say ; he did so, and after a few moments returned,
and said he would make his answer in writing. He immediately

860 THE REPUBLICAN COURT

resigned his office, promising the public an explanation of his
conduct.

M. Fauchet had been superseded by M. Adet, and had just gone
to Newport to embark for France. Mr. Randolph followed him,
and succeeded in obtaining a certificate of his innocence, but it was
not regarded by even his own friends as of any importance. Ilis
"Vindication" was a long time in making its appearance. In Octo-
ber he wrote to the President that it was only delayed for permis-
sion to publish one of his letters ; and he was answered that he was
at " liberty to publish any and every private and confidential letter
he had ever written him ; nay, more, every word he ever uttered
to him or in his presence, whence he could derive any advantage."
When at length the pamphlet came out, it was sarcastically de-
scribed as really a " vindication," not of his conduct, but of his
resignation.

Edmund Randolph had been an object of Washington's kindly
interest from his youth ; his powerful influence had caused him to
be elected Governor of Virginia; he had appointed him succes-
sively Attorney General and Secretary of State ; and had treated
him in every way with unlimited confidence and almost parental
fondness. The vulgar and violent abuse with which he was assailed
in the disgraced minister's " Vindication," therefore incensed him
to an extraordinary degree ; the occasion was one of those in which
his feelings for a moment obtained a mastery over his habitual self-
control. We have from unquestionable authority an anecdote il-
lustrating this, which has not been hitherto published. Upon the
settlement of the boundary between Pennsylvania and Virginia,
some of Washington's lands fell within the former state, and the late
Mr. James Ross of Pittsburg, was his agent for the sale of them
He came to Philadelphia to settle his account, and sending word
to the President that he would wait upon him, at his pleasure, was

DISCONTENT AND SEDITION. 361

invited to breakfast the next morning. On arriving he found aL.
the ladies the Custises, Lewises, Mrs. Washington, and others
in the parlor, obviously in great alarm. Mr. Ross described them
as gathered together in the middle of the room, like a flock of par-
tridges in a field, when a hawk is in the neighborhood. Very soon
the President entered, and shook hands with Mr. Ross, but looked
dark and lowering. They went in to breakfast ; and after a little
while the Secretary of War came in, and said to Washington,
" Have you seen Mr. Randolph's pamphlet ? " "I have," said Wash-
ington, and raising his arm, and denouncing in terms of a strong
and most emphatic kind its truth, brought his fist down upon the
table with all his strength, and with a violence which made the
cups and plates start from their places. Ross said he felt infinitely
relieved ; for he had feared that something in his own conduct
had occasioned the blackness of the President's countenance. The
late Chief Justice Gibson had this from Ross himself; and he
mentioned it at the house of an intimate acquaintance in Philadel-
phia, as showing that, naturally, Washington was a man of extra-
ordinary passions and sensibilities, though they were seldom exhib-
ited with much vehemence.

vm.

IF it sometimes happened that Washington failed of that self-
control which is so difficult for a man of his intensely passionate
and excitable nature, his watchfulness and powerful will generally
enabled him to conceal his emotions and opinions from the most
acute and determined inquisition. While Jay's treaty was under
discussion, it was rumored in Philadelphia that a great mob in Lon-
don had set the government at defiance, destroyed the residence of
Mr. Pitt, and threatened the tower. The day this report reached
46

362 THE REPUBLICAN COUKT.

the city, the late Dr. Ashbel Green, who was one of the chaplains
of Congress, dined with the President. When he entered the
drawing-room he found the company all engaged in animated con-
versation on this subject, and Washington asked him if he had
seen any newspaper allusion to it, remarking that he himself had
not. Green replied, that as he was leaving his house, a few moments
before, he had picked up a paper, just thrown into his entry, and
hastily read an article in which the intelligence was recited. The
rumor was calculated to produce a profound sensation, and it was
of course discussed with much feeling at the table as well as in the
drawing-room, but although the President listened to the conversa
tion and joined in it with apparent freedom, neither Green nor any
one could discover whether he thought it true or false, or wished
it to be one way or the other. As little turbulence of soul was
betrayed in his manner or his countenance as if the debate had
been of some abstract question in philosophy.

The democrats, finding themselves unable to answer the argu-
ments of the federalists in support of the treaty, circulated a re-
port through the country that the printed speeches of that side
were known to be made by Englishmen, who had come over to
work in that way, some at five guineas a speech, and some at as
high as ten ; but that a speech could be written and printed by
them at almost any price.

The great speech upon the treaty, the greatest speech ever made
in the Congress of the United States before Daniel Webster came
into that body, was by Fisher Ames. Ames had written in a hu-
morous letter to Jeremiah Smith that his speeches should be com-
posed and delivered by some of the ingenious English gentlemen
engaged in that business, and Smith had answered that his silence
should be permitted, " by me, because any effort will injure your
health ; by my friend Harper, because he talks all the time him-

DISCONTENT AND SEDITION. 368

self; and by the Jacobins, because they never like your speaking."
He was so feeble that it seemed impossible for him to take any
active part in the business of the session, and it is doubtful whether
he intended, up to the morning of the day when his famous oration
was pronounced, to say more than a few words on the subject; but
the exhibitions of ignorance and dishonesty by the enemies of the
government compelled him to that sudden and splendid attempt
for the honor of his country, which, even in the imperfect and un-
worthy report of it which was written out from memory by two
of his friends, stands as a sufficient vindication of the traditional
fame of his eloquence. John Adams heard it, and gave a graphic
account of it in a letter to his wife. " Judge Iredell and I hap-
pened to sit together. Our feelings beat in unison. ' My God, how
great he is!' says Iredell; c how great he has been!' 'He has
been noble,' said I. After' some time Iredell breaks out, ' Bless my
stars, I never heard any thing so great since I was born ! ' ' It is
divine ! ' said I ; and thus we went on with our interjections, not to
say our tears, till the end. Tears enough were shed. Not a dry
eye, I believe, in the house, except of some of the jackasses who
had occasioned a necessity of the oratory. These attempted to
laugh, but their visages l grinned horribly ghastly smiles.' They
smiled like Foulon's son-in-law when they made him kiss his father's
dead and bleeding head. The situation of the man excited compas-
sion, and interested all hearts in his favor. The ladies wished his soul
had a better body."

The friends of the treaty were mobbed, and Mr. Jay himself
was burned in effigy in several cities. In Philadelphia the rabble,
led by some persons of respectable official or social positions, held
a meeting in one of the public squares, and passed demagogue reso-
lutions against it. The treaty was thrown from the select agitators
on a stage to the canaille, who placed it on a pole, and proceeded

364 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

with it to the house of the French minister, before which they per-
formed some ceremony, and then to the house of the British min
ister, before which they burned it, with huzzas and acclamations.
The same was done before the residences of Mr. Bond and Mr
Bingham, and the wretches broke some of the glass of the latter
gentleman's windows.

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL.

FEOM the note-book of the late Mr. Horace Binney Wallace,
of Philadelphia, I am permitted to transcribe a record of some
conversations with his mother, Mrs. Susan Wallace, in which that
lady so eminent for whatever is beautiful and noble in her sex
disclosed her recollections of Washington's habits, personal appear-
ance, and manners. On the removal of the government to Phila-
delphia, Mrs. Mary Binney, mother of Mrs. Wallace, resided in
Market street, opposite to General Washington's the door of her
house a few paces further east. It was the General's custom, fre-
quently, when the day was fine, to come out to walk, attended by
his secretaries, Mr. Lear and Major William Jackson one on each
side. He always crossed directly over from his own door to the
sunny side of the street, and walked down. He was dressed in
black, and all three wore cocked hats. She never observed them
conversing ; she often wondered and watched, as a child, to see if
any of the party spoke, but never could perceive that any thing
was said. It was understood that the aids were kept at regal dis-
tance. General Washington had a large family coach, a light car-
riage, and a chariot, all alike cream-colored, painted with three
enamelled figures on each panel and very handsome. He drove

366 THE REPUBLICAN COUKT.

in the coach, to Christ Church every Sunday morning, with two
horses; drove the carriage and four into the country to Lands-
downe, The Hills, and other places. In going to the Senate he
used the chariot, with six horses. All his servants were white, and
wore liveries of white cloth, trimmed with scarlet or orange. Mrs.
Wallace* saw General Washington frequently at public balls.
His manners there were very gracious and pleasant. She went
with Mrs. Oliver Wolcott to one of Mrs. Washington's drawing-
rooms. The General was present, and came up and bowed to
every lady after she was seated. Mrs. Binney visited Mrs. Wash-
ington frequently. It was Mrs. Washington's custom to return
visits on the third day : and she thus always returned Mrs. Bin-
ney's. A footman would run over, knock loudly, and announce
Mrs. Washington, who would then come over with Mr. Lear. Mrs.
Wallace met Mrs. Washington in her mother's parlor : her manners
were very easy, pleasant, and unceremonious, with the character-

* Mrs. Wallace, widow of Mr. John Bradford Wallace, and sister of Mr. Horace Binney, died
on the eighth of July, 1849. The Rev. Herman Hooker, D. D., in an eloquent and appropriate tri-
bute to her memory, says: "I cannot speak of her in terms suitable to my conceptions. No
praise befits the character or the taste of such a person but a truthful and grateful mention of
her virtues. These were so numerous and so marked that any just mention of them will seem
to border on exaggeration. She was a model of a woman. Her elevation was such, that seen
through the distance of a slight or formal acquaintance, it might be mistaken for pride or austerity
But there are many persons of even humble condition who can testify with what ease and readi
ness she could appreciate the feelings and merits of all. So various were her accomplishments,
so profound, ready, and discerning her mind, that whether approached by the most humble, the
most refined and fashionable, or the most intelligent and learned persons, she was never at a loss
to assume any manner, or join in any conversation, suitable to their taste and position. Her
mind was conversant with principles, and from these she could start out on any subject, detect
its nature, and define its limits. She was always entertaining and instructive. Nothing could
be said in her presence which she would fail tc appreciate justly. She was severely just
severely conscientious. She had all the impulsiveness of woman, all the sensibilities of a culti-
vated nature, yet all were under discipline and right control, and thus added grace, worth, and
certainty, to all the virtues of life." Mrs. Wallace was born on Washington's birth-day, 1778,
and was just entering society in the last years of his administration. Her husband was a nephew
of Mr. Bradford, the second Attorney General of the United States. He was described by
Daniel Webster as " one of the oldest, truest, and most valued of his friends."

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL.

367

istics of other Virginia ladies. When "Washington retired from
public life Mrs. Wallace was about nineteen years of age.

The recollections of Mr. Eichard Rush on this subject are in
agreement with those of Mrs. Wallace. That accomplished and
distinguished gentleman has communicated to me a very graphic
account of some interesting scenes, of which he was an observer,
about the close of Washington's first administration. Looking
upon the old Congress Hall, at the corner of Chestnut and Sixth
streets, a few years ago, he says, " I recalled a scene never, no,
never to be forgotten. It was, I think, in 1T94 or 1795, that as a
boy I was among the spectators congregated at this corner, and
parts close by, to witness a great public spectacle. Washington
was to open the session of Congress, by going in person, as was his
custom, to deliver a speech to both houses, assembled in the cham-
ber of the House of Representatives. The crowd was immense.
It filled the whole area in Chestnut street before the state house,
extended along the line of Chestnut street above Sixth street, and
spread north and south some distance along the latter. A way
kept open for carriages, in the middle of the street, was the only
space not closely packed with people. I had a stand on the steps
of one of the houses in Chestnut street, which, raising me above
the mass of human heads, enabled me to see to advantage. After
waiting long hours, as it seemed to a boy's impatience, the carriage
of the President at length slowly drove up, drawn by four beauti-
ful bay horses. It was white, with medallion ornaments on the pan-
els, and the livery of the servants, as well as I remember, was white
turned up with red: at any rate a glowing livery the entire dis-
play in equipages at that era, in our country generally, and in Phil-
adelphia in particular, while the seat of government, being more
rich and varied than now, though fewer in number. Washington
got out of his carriage, and, slowly crossing the pavement, ascended

368 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

the steps of the edifice, upon the upper platform of which he
paused, and, turning half round, looked in the direction of a car-
riage which had followed the lead of his own. Thus he stood for
a minute, distinctly seen by every body. He stood in all his civic
dignity and moral grandeur, erect, serene, majestic. His costume
was a full suit of black velvet ; his hair, in itself blanched by time,
powdered to snowy whiteness, a dress sword at his side, and his -hat
held in his hand. Thus he stood in silence ; and what moments
those were ! Throughout the dense crowd profound stillness
reigned. Not a word was heard, not a breath. Palpitations took
the place of sounds. It was a feeling infinitely beyond that which
vents itself in shouts. Every heart was full. In vain would any
tongue have spoken. All were gazing, in mute unutterable admi-
ration. Every eye was riveted on that form the greatest, purest,
most exalted of mortals. It might have seemed as if he stood in
that position to gratify the assembled thousands with a full view
of the father of their country. Not so. He had paused for his
secretary, then, I believe, Mr. Dandridge or Colonel Lear, who got
out of the other carriage, a chariot, decorated like his own. The
secretary, ascending the steps, handed him a paper probably a
copy of the speech he was to deliver when both entered the
building. Then it was, and not until then, that the crowd sent up
huzzas, loud, long, earnest, enthusiastic."

Of the simple manners of Washington and his family we have
an interesting account in the Travels of Mr. Henry Wansey, R S. A.,
an English manufacturer, who breakfasted with them on the morn-
ing of the eighth of June, 1Y94 " I confess," he says, " I was struck
with awe and veneration, when I recollected that I was now in the
presence of the great "Washington ; the noble and wise benefactor

of the world, as Mirabeau styles him When we look down

from this truly illustrious character, on other public servants, we

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 369

find a glowing contrast ; nor can we fix our attention on any other
great men, without discovering in them a vast and mortifying dis-
similarity. . . . The President seemed very thoughtful, and was slow
in delivering himself, which induced some to believe him reserved ;
but it was rather, I apprehend, the result of much reflection, for he
had to me an appearance of affability and accommodation. He was
at this time in his sixty-third year, but had very little the appear-
ance of age, having been all his life so exceedingly temperate.
There was a certain anxiety visible in his countenance, with marks
of extreme sensibility. . . . Mrs. Washington herself made tea and
coffee for us. On the table were two small plates of sliced tongue,
and dry toast, bread, and butter, but no broiled fish, as is the gen-
eral custom. Miss Eleanor Custis, her grand-daughter, a very
pleasing young lady of about sixteen, sat next to her, and next,
her grandson, George Washington Parke Custis, about two years
older. There were but slight indications of form, one servant only
attending, who had no livery ; and a silver urn for hot water was
the only expensive article on the table. Mrs. Washington struck me
as something older than the President, though I understand they
were both born the same year ; she was short in stature, rather ro
bust, extremely simple in her dress, and wore a very plain cap,
with her gray hair turned up under it." This description of Mrs.
Washington corresponds perfectly with that in her portrait by
Trumbull, painted the previous year, and now in the Trumbull
Gallery at New Haven.

Mr. Wansey says her drawing-rooms were objected to by the
democrats, " as tending to give her a supereminency, and as intro-
ductory to the paraphernalia of courts." With what feelings the
excellent woman regarded these democrats is shown in an anecdote
of the same period. She was a severe disciplinarian, and Nelly
Custis was not often permitted by her to be idle or to follow her
47

370 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

own caprices. The young girl was compelled to practise at the
harpsichord four or five hours every day, and one morning, when
she should have been playing, her grandmother entered the room,
remarking that she had not heard her music, and also that she had
observed some person going out, whose name she would much
like to know. Nelly was silent, and suddenly her attention was
arrested by a blemish on the wall, which had been newly painted
a delicate cream color. " Ah, it was no federalist ! " she exclaim-
ed, looking at the spot, just above a settee ; " none but a filthy
democrat would mark a place with his good-for-nothing head in
that manner ! "

The public business so entirely occupied his time that Wash-
ington had few opportunities of visiting Mount Vernon. In 1Y93
however he was there nearly three months, during the terrible pe-
riod of the prevalence of the yellow fever in Philadelphia.* The
disease broke out some time in August, but he continued at his
post until the tenth of September. He wished to stay longer, but
Mrs. "Washington was unwilling to leave him exposed in such dan-
ger, and he could not think of hazarding her life and the lives of
the children by remaining " the house in which we lived," he
says, "being in a manner blockaded by the disorder, which was
every day becoming more and more fatal." Two days after Wash-
ington left Mr. Wolcott wrote to his father, " The apprehensions
of the citizens cannot be increased ; business is in a great measure
abandoned ; the true character of man is disclosed, and he shows

* A striking picture of the pestilence in Philadelphia, in 1793, is contained in Brockden
Brown's novel of Arthur Mervyn. In the history of that period the names of Stephen Girard,
already a prosperous merchant, and Matthew Carey and Thomas Clarkson, are honorably con
spicuous. Freneau complains that the physicians of the city fled from the danger

" On prancing steed, with sponge at nose,

From town behold Sangrado fly ;
Camphor and tar, where'er he goes,

The infected shafts of death defy
Safe, in an atmosphere of scents,
He leaves us to our own defence."

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 371

himself a weak, timid, desponding, and selfish being The rav

ages of the dreadful sickness are extending, with added circum-
stances of terror and distress ; many now die without attendance.
The kind attentions, the tears of condolence and sympathy, which
alleviate pain, and in some degree reconcile the dying to their fate,
are frequently omitted by the nearest friends and relatives ; when
generously bestowed they are too often the price of life." Among
the public characters attacked by the fever were Mr. Willing and
Colonel Hamilton, but they recovered. The officers of government
were dispersed, and the President even deliberated on the propri-
ety of convening Congress elsewhere ; but the abatement of the
disease rendered this measure unnecessary, and near the close of
November the scattered inhabitants returned to their homes, and
Congress reassembled on the second of December.

In 1794, his official duties not permitting him to make more
than a flying visit to Mount Vernon, and Mrs. Washington decid-
ing against a summer residence in the city, the President took a
douse in Germantown, where, with his family, he remained during
the months of July and August.

II.

THE old theatre in Philadelphia is described by Mrs. Adams as
luite equal to most of the theatres out of France. It was fre-
quently visited by the families of the President and Vice President
during the seasons of 1791 and 1792. The new theatre, erected in
the latter year, was not opened, in consequence of the yellow fever,
until the seventeenth of February, 1794. The manager was Wig-
nel], who is famous in the annals of the American stage, and he
caused the house to be fitted up with a luxurious elegance hitherto
unknown in this country. The principal actors were Fennell,
Whitlock, Harwood, Moreton, Darley, Mrs. Oldmixon, Mrs. Whit-

372 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

lock, Mrs. Morris, and Mrs. Marshall. Fennell had won a bad fame
by his pecuniary extravagance, in Paris, and in Philadelphia he
seemed to be as ambitious of social as of professional distinction.*
Dunlap says " he was the idol of the literary youth of the city, and
for a time revelled in the luxury of stylish living." His height
was over six feet, and he had a remarkably handsome figure ; his
complexion was light, with a blush for every occasion in which a
blush could be graceful. He appeared in tragedy and genteel
comedy, but was most successful and appeared most natural, ac-
cording to Dunlap, in villains. Harwood was a very gentlemanly
person, and had married Miss Bache, a grand-daughter of Dr.
Franklin. Moreton was a native of New York, and had led a life
of singular vicissitudes. At one time he had been a cashier of the
Calcutta Bank, in India. He was an excellent actor. Mrs. Old-
mixon was the wife of Sir John Oldmixon, who had been celebrated
in England as " the Bath beau," the equal in his day of JSTash or

* In " An Apology for the Life of James Fennell, written by Himself," the actor illustrates
his own position in Philadelphia by the following anecdote : " While I was returning one morn-
ing from rehearsal at the theatre, where I had been detained beyond my usual time," he says,
" a gentleman, whom to my knowledge I had never seen before, called to me by name, ob-
served that he was incapable of overtaking me, as I walked so fast, and begged me to stop. I
did so till he came up. He then, in the most amiable manner, addressed me in these condescend-
ing words : ' Mr. Fennell, I have long wished to be introduced to you, but having had no oppor-
tunity, permit me to introduce myself. My name is Mifflin : they call me Governor Minim. All
I shall say to you at present is, that if you will come and dine with me at the Falls (Schuylkill)
on Sunday next, I shall be happy to entertain you.' I replied to him, that I would honor myself
by accepting the invitation, with the same frankness that made the offer so pleasing to my feel-
ings. I attended, and had the pleasure of dining with many of the heroes of the revolution. I
had the honor of entertaining five generals and other gentlemen at my house in the same even-
ing. We supped; all went well; and we parted about one in the morning, apparently pleased
with the amusement of the preceding hours. But the generous governor's feelings did not end
here ; from this day he honored me with intimate friendship. He requested me to breakfast
dine, or sup with him, whenever I should be disengaged, with the general privilege of declaring
when public business interfered. Our intimacy was founded upon the principle of the visitorV
asking, Are you at leisure ? and the visited saying, Yes, or No ; upon which answer each agreed
to enter the house or retire. Never did I acknowledge so cordial a reciprocity of sentiment, un
less I may be permitted to consider it as transferred to his amiable daughter and her no less
amiable associate."

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 373

BruinmelL In 1796 it was among the news paragraphs of a Lon
don journal, " Sir John Oldmixon, whose equipage was once the
gaze of Bond street, is now a gardener near Philadelphia ; he drives
his own cabbages to market, in his own cart ; and his wife, formerly
Miss George, sings at the theatre, and returns in the conveyance
which brought vegetables for sale from Germantown." The baro-
net had ceased to be a leader in the world of fashion, but it is said
that he still tapped and opened a snuff-box with a grace peculiarly
his own. Mrs. Whitlock was a sister of Mrs. Siddons. John Jay
writes to his wife on the thirteenth of April, IT 9 4,* "Two even*
ings ago I went to the theatre with Mrs. Robert Morris and her
family; 'The Gamester,' a deep tragedy, succeeded by a pretty
piece called ' The Guardian,' were played ; the theatre was well
filled, and the performers appeared to give satisfaction ; Mrs. "Whit-
lock was of the number; she is a favorite, and in some respects
with reason ; I do not think her equal to her sister ; it has been
insinuated that Mrs. Siddons was envious of her powers I doubt
it." The Chief Justice adds that the company " is said to be com-
posed of decent moral people." In various professional excellence
it must have been one of the finest companies ever in this country.
"Wansey, the English clothier, the evening after his breakfast
at the President's, went to see " Every one has his Fault," and " No
song, no Supper." He describes the theatre as "elegant and con-
venient, and as large as that of Covent Garden. To judge from

* This was just before Mr. Jay's appointment as Envoy Extraordinary to the Court of Lon-
don. In the letter quoted in the text he refers to some affection of Mrs. Jay's eyes, and says,
" Tell me whether they have regained their strength and become as bright as ever." This ad-
mirable woman's letters to her husband, during his absence, exhibit her careful management of
his domestic concerns, and her cordial attention to his frienda Mr. Jay, after the completion of
his English mission, was twice elected governor of the state of New' York, and Mrs. Jay presided
over the reunions at the executive mansion until her husband, in May, 1801, bade a final adieu
to public life, and retired to his estate at Bedford, where she found the quiet happiness for
which she had often sighed, but which she was not long to enjoy. She died in 1802, and was
ouried at the family burial-place at Rye.

374 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

the dress and appearance of the company around me, and the actors
and scenery," he says, " I should have thought myself still in Eng-
land; the ladies wore small bonnets of the same fashion as those I
saw in London some of chequered straw ; many had their hair
full dressed, without caps, as with us, and very few had it in the
French style ; the younger ladies appeared with their hair flowing
in ringlets on their shoulders. The gentlemen had round hats,
coats with high collars, cut quite in the English fashion, and many
coats of striped silk." The motto over the stage was, "The eagle
suffers little birds to sing," which "Wansey explains by saying that
u when it was in contemplation to build this theatre the Quakers
used all their influence with Congress to prevent it, as tending to
corrupt the manners of the people and increase too much the love
of pleasure, but they failed, and this motto from Shakspeare was
chosen, to celebrate the triumph of the players."

The theatre appears to have been prosperous under Wignelly
and it was fashionable, though the manager incurred the displeasure
of Mrs. Bingham, by refusing on any terms to sell her a private
box, and she and her set but rarely attended.*

* The venerable William B. Wood, now nearly eighty years of age, has just published an ex-
tremely interesting volume of " Personal Recollections of the Stage," in which the difficulty be-
tween Mrs. Bingham and Wignell is particularly stated. Mr. Wood has always merited and
enjoyed the fame of a well-mannered and high-minded gentleman, and no member of his profes-
sion perhaps ever maintained during a long life a more enviable position in society. Referring
to this subject he says, " The business of private boxes came to us with the very opening of the
theatre in 1793, when Mr. Wignell resisted it under circumstances very trying to him, and which
nothing but his sense of the indispensable necessity to the permanent interests of the theatre
would have induced him to do. Mrs. Bingham, in her day the chief leader in the fashion
of our city, the wife of an early and valued friend of Wignell himself, a lady of great social and
family influence, and very extensively connected, proposed for the purchase of a box, at any
price to be fixed by the manager. She had passed much of her early married life in France and
England, where she was uncommonly admired, and being a woman of exclusive and elegant
tastes, was desirous to have the privileges which were allowed in the theatres with which she
had been familiar abroad. She offered to furnish and decorate the box at her own expense ; but
*t was an absolute condition that the key should be kept by herself, and no admission to it allowed
*o any one except on her assent. Mr. WigneU had many strong inducements to accept this offer.

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL.

375

For a long time the theatre was rivalled by the "grand circus"
of a celebrated equestrian named Eicketts, who arrived in this
country from Dublin, in 1792. "Washington and his family went
several times to see the performances of the Eicketts company.
He was present on the evening of the thirteenth of July, IT 9 3,
when an incident occurred which Mr. Jefferson refers to in his
" Anas." According to Dunlap's Advertiser, Eicketts, being obliged
in the middle of the performance to drink a glass of wine, was re-
quired to give a toast, and instantly drank off a bumper "To the
Man of the People," which was received with general and loud ap-
plause. Mr. Jefferson says Lear told him, as an evidence that the
federalists were in the habit of writing in the character of their
adversaries, that the day after this little incident " Mrs. Washing-
ton was at Mrs. Powell's, who mentioned to her that when the

He was undertaking a new enterprise. He could name his own sum. It was a certainty. It
would gratify an early friend, whose large fortune might prove of great value to him. He knew
that it was probably the only condition on which he was likely to have either the presence, or
perhaps the very cordial wishes of a fair, elegant, and influential woman, whose house was the
rendezvous of the distinguished and really elegant foreigners whom the French revolution had
then brought here. Her voice in the small world of fashion which Philadelphia then acknowl-
edged, would be quite potential. He looked at the matter, however, with much more compre- .
hensive and philosophic regards. He knew that the theatre in a country like ours must depend
entirely for permanent success, not upon individuals, however powerful, not upon clubs, cliques,
factions, or parties, but upon the public alone. That in a country where the spirit of liberty is
so fierce as in ours, such a privilege would excite from an immense class a feeling of positive
hostility ; and it made no difference in his view that the expression of it might be suppressed,
which it was doubtful whether it would be, as the suspicion would be fatal He saw that it
must be a cardinal maxim of any American manager to act on the principles of his country's
government, and on the recognition of feelings deeply pervading the structure of its society; to
hold, in short, all men ' free ' to come into his house, and ' equal ' while they continued to be and
behave themselves in it. The country he well perceived has not, and cannot have any class
which, as a body, possess even the claims to exclusive privileges which exist abroad, and which
give a prestige impossible and unfit to be asserted or allowed for an aristocracy here ; an aris-
tocracy which, with occasional exceptions, must be one of money merely, the most despicable
and poorest of all grounds of distinction. He therefore with great address, and with many ex-
pressions of polite regret, declined the offers of his beautiful friend, and stuck steadily to his
wisely settled system. The result was just as he anticipated. The lady, though not capable of
resentment, and expressing her acq\iiescence in his view as a sound one, scarcely ever visited
the theatre again; but the theatre itself was filled by a constant and satisfied public."

376 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

toast was given there was a good deal of disapprobation manifested
by the audience, many of whom put on their hats and went out.*
On inquiry he had not found this to be true, yet it was put into
one of the papers, and written under the character of a republican,
though he is satisfied it is altogether a slander of the monocrats."
It is very easy to estimate the value of such a story. The state-
ment appeared in what Mr. Jefferson calls a "republican journal,"
and its editors would scarcely have been imposed upon under such
circumstances by a federalist.

* The art of puffing seems to have been as well understood by the showmen of that day as
it is by their successors of our own. In one of the journals appeared the following ingenious
account of one of the exhibitions of Mr. Ricketts : " Last Saturday there was at the circus a very
splendid company, who all retired highly delighted. Among the rest, two respectable traders
were observed to hold a very pleasant conversation. Mr. T. ' Well, neighbor, you have flattered
me to come here to throw away my half-dollar.' Mr. F. ' Have patience, friend, till the per-
formance begins.' Mr. Ricketts enters, riding a single horse. T. ' Why, I could do that myself.'
Mr. Ricketts stands on the saddle. F. ' Well, neighbor, could you do that ?' T. ' No : that may
be worth a five-penny-bit to see, but it is not worth my half-dollar.' Mr. Ricketts dances a horn-
pipe, in perfect time, to a band of music, the horse in a gallop. T. ' Oh, that 's better still I that's
worth eleven-pence.' Mr. Ricketts leaps very high, and always comes down on the saddle.
F. ' And is not that worth another eleven-pence ? ' T. ' Yes.' Mr. Ricketts rides two horses in
a gallop, and leaps over a whip backward and forward several times. T. ' That 's three five-
penny-bits my half-dollar is gone.' Mr. Ricketts throws up three oranges, and keeps them in
the air for several turns round the circus, still riding two horses, standing on the saddles, in full
gallop ; he then jumps round, with his face to the horses' tails, and performs the same feat.
F. 'Now I '11 begin to reckon: that's a quarter-dollar.' Mr. Ricketts throws an orange very
high, and receives it on the point of a small sword. F. 'Another quarter-dollar.' Mr. Ricketts
hangs by one leg to the saddle, and sweeps the ground with his hands and the plumes of his cap ;
then mounts on one foot, and stands on the saddle in an agreeable posture. F. ' That 's another
quarter-dollar.' Mr. Ricketts mounts and dismounts a horse in a great variety of modes, leaps
over the horse in every direction, in an astonishing manner. F. ' Four quarter-dollars is my
count.' Mr. Ricketts rides with his head on the saddle, and feet in the air, moving them to the
music, whilst the horse is at his speed. T. ' I must confess that is well worth a quarter-dollar.'
Mr. Ricketts gallops a horse, standing on the saddle, under a riband stretched from the music-box
to a pole erected in the centre of the circus, twelve feet high, that is, nearly eight feet higher than
the saddle.; he then leaps over the riband, and on the saddle, the horse in rapid motion. T. ' Oh !
I would have given a half-dollar to see that Another dollar is up of our count.' In short, Mr.
T. and Mr. F. at last lost their reckoning, and came away extremely well contented : ' For,' said
Mr. T., ' upon a fair statement of accounts with Mr. Ricketts, agreeably to my own valuation, I
have come off with three dollars clear profit, exclusive of all the feats I have seen performed of
which I did not make any cash estimate.' "

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 377

On the ninth of January, 1793, a Mr. Blanchard made the first
balloon ascension from the United States, and the President, with the
members of the cabinet, and an immense company of men and
women of all ages, assembled to witness the departure of the aero-
naut. It was in the midst of the French excitement, and a bard
of the Genet party addressed him in characteristic verses :

" Grand Blanchard lorsque tu voleras dans les airs,
Va annoncer aux pianettes de 1'universe j
Que les Francois ont vaincu leurs ennemis interieurs,
Leur intrepidite a expulce les exterieurs :
Pehetre dans 1'Olimpe, et dis a tous les dieux,
Que les Francois ont 6te les victorieux !
Prie Mars que les armes de la France,
Ne laisse aux tirans aucune esperance." *

Wansey says that at this period " Horrowgate Gardens, two
miles distant, on the New York road, and Gray's Gardens, on the
Schuylkill, were the two tea-drinking places for the city, like Bag-
nigge "Wells, and the Islington Spa, near London."

III.

THE United States were visited during the eight years of Wash-
ington's administration by many eminent foreigners, some in official
capacities, some to observe the working of our new institutions,
others in search of the picturesque, and a few perhaps who were
of the class whom Sterne describes as " simple travellers ; " but a
great majority of the most distinguished were driven to this coun-
try by the French revolution. The presence of these strangers
was advantageous in many respects ; among them were a consider-

* " Great Blanchard ! as you wing your way toward the heavens, announce to all the planets
of the universe, that Frenchmen have conquered their interior enemies, and that those without
have been repulsed by their intrepidity. Dart through Olympus, and tell the gods, that French-
men have been victorious. Implore the aid of Mars, that the arms of France may crush the
ambitious designs of tyrants for ever."

378 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

able number familiar with, the practical details of various govern
ments, and more were high-bred gentlemen ; they brought to us
the ideas and manners of a splendid though wrecked civilization,
and strange experiences, fruitful of wise suggestion ; to our forming
society they offered examples of courtly usages, and to the children
of our wealthier families, in several instances, princes and nobles for
teachers and associates. Upon our condition they embroidered much
of what was most deserving our acceptance in the higher and bet-
ter life of the older nations.

The earliest of the illustrious exiles from France who landed
upon our shores was Chateaubriand, a nephew of Malesherbes. He
arrived in New York in 1790, and after passing a few weeks here
and in Philadelphia, ascended the Hudson, and by the great lakes
pursued his way to the valley of the Mississippi, and finally to the
shores of the Pacific. To his wanderings among the grand and
gloomy forests of America the world is indebted for the most im-
pressive and beautiful displays of his intelligence. Here he wrote
"The Natchez," and conceived "The Genius of Christianity." He
returned to Europe in 1792.

Count Andriani, of Milan, also visited the United States in 1790.
He was the bearer of an ode addressed to "Washington by Alfieri.
Andriani afterward published an abusive account of American
politics and manners, which the President characterized in a letter
to Humphreys, as " an insult to the inhabitants of a country where
he received more attention and civility than he seems to merit."

On the sixth of May, 1793, in the ship which brought back to
his native city the celebrated preacher, Dr. Duche, came the Vis-
count de Noailles, a brother-in-law of Lafayette, and a brave and
sagacious soldier in our own revolution. The same evening he at-
tended Mrs. Washington's drawing-room, and it was stated in some
of the Jacobin papers that he remained closeted nearly all night

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL '379

with the President, as ambassador from the exiled princes at Co-
blentz ; but so far was this from being true that he retired to his
lodgings at a very early hour, and never saw his old commander
and friend except in public, so careful was the Chief not to furnish
any just ground of complaint against his conduct by the French
faction. With a countryman, M. Talon, the viscount bought lands
and projected a settlement, to be an asylum for the exiles, on the
Susquehanna ; but failing to receive expected funds from Europe,
the scheme was abandoned. His means became very limited, and
Mr. Bingham, with whom he had been intimate hi Paris, gave him
the use of some third story rooms in a building which stood at the
west end of his garden, having an entrance from Fourth street.
Here on one occasion he gave a dinner to several noblemen and
gentlemen, who, while the table was being laid, were obliged to sit
in his sleeping-room, using the bed for want of chairs. The viands
had been cooked in Mr. Bingham's kitchen, and the table was at-
tended by his servants.

In 1794 the three most remarkable Englishmen in America were
William Cobbett, Joseph Priestley, and Thomas Cooper. Public
opinion is still divided as to their comparative respectability, but
they were all able, ambitious, and persevering. Cobbett began
his career in Philadelphia as a writer of political pamphlets, under
the name of Peter Porcupine, and soon after became a bookseller,
at the same time publishing a daily newspaper under the title
of Porcupine's Gazette. His English was admirable for purity and
strength, and was used most successfully in invective, of which he
was a consummate master. He opposed the French interest, which
Priestley and Cooper supported. Dr. Priestley was disappointed at
his reception in this country. His fame as a philosopher, a fine
writer, and a political martyr, procured him only a few dinners, in
New York, where he landed, and in Philadelphia, to which city he

380 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

soon after proceeded. His son, who arrived in America some time
before him, had bought lands in Northumberland, on the Susque-
hanna, and as "it became necessary, even for the preservation of
his celebrity in Europe," says the Duke de Liancourt, " to withdraw
from a scene where his attempt to attract universal attention had
completely failed," he retired to that place, where he occupied him-
self with writing for the press, and an extensive correspondence,
now and then coming down to Philadelphia for a week's enjoyment
of society. Dr. Cooper, who had been one of Priestley's intimate
friends in England, and in France had been a partisan of Brissot,
also settled in Northumberland. Alexander Baring, afterward
Lord Ashburton, was in Philadelphia about the same time. He
married the eldest daughter of Mr. Bingham. The British minis-
ter at this period was Mr. George Hammond, who is described as
" a fine looking man, stout and rosy faced, wearing a full powdered
wig." Oliver Wolcott says he was " a weak, vain, and imprudent
character, very much in the company and under the influence of
sour and prejudiced tories, who wished to see the country dis-
graced." He married one of the Misses Allen, a girl of remark-
able beauty.

It was in the spring of 1794 that the exiled Bishop of Autun,
M. de Talleyrand, no longer safe in England, sought a refuge in the
United States. He brought a letter to Washington from the Mar-
quis of Lansdowne, who commended him for the manner in which ne
had conducted himself during his three years' residence in London.
Mrs. Church, a daughter of General Schuyler, and sister of Mrs.
Hamilton, gave him a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Breck, of Philadel-
phia. " I request," she writes, " that MM. de Talleyrand and de
Beaumet may be of the number of those admitted to the pleasure
of your acquaintance. Europe has seldom parted with persons of
more information, or more inclined to appreciate the merits and

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL, 381

manners of our countrymen." Washington wrote to Lord Lans-
downe at the end of August, " It is a matter of no small regret to
me that considerations of a public nature, which you will easily
conjecture, have not hitherto permitted me to manifest towards
that gentleman the sense I entertain of his personal character, and
of your lordship's recommendation ; but I am informed that the
reception he has met with, in general, has been such as to console
him, as far as the state of society here will admit of it, for what he
has relinquished in leaving Europe. Time must naturally be favor-
able to him every where, and may be expected to raise a man of
his merit above the temporary disadvantages which in revolutions
result from differences of political opinion." It has been suggested
that this extraordinary character was a native of Mount Desert, in
Maine, and some curious facts have been adduced in support of
such an opinion. It appears that he had not been long in the coun-
try before Mr. Edward Bobbins, afterward Lieutenant Governor
of Massachusetts, discovered him incog, at Mount Desert, wander-
ing about without any apparent motive. The older inhabitants
of that secluded place thought they recognized in him an illegiti-
mate son of the pretty daughter of a fisherman and the captain of
a French national ship which had been there about the year 1753.
The boy, they said, when twelve or thirteen years of age, his mother
being dead, had been taken away by a French gentleman, who
declared that' he was descended from a noble family in France
We may know about this in 1868, when the autobiography of the
prince, according to his last injunctions, will be published. He be-
came a citizen of the United States, and his certificate of naturali-
zation was for a long time in Peale's Museum. In Philadelphia he
lived at Oeller's hotel, and in New York at the house which had
been occupied by the President, at the foot of Broadway in 1794
a fashionable boarding-house. Though admired for his abilities he

382 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

was hated for the heartlessness which he displayed in regard to the
sufferings of his countrymen. One cold day he entered the draw-
ing-room, wearing, as was not unusual at that period, buckskin pan-
taloons, and took a position on the hearth, close to the fire. The heat
soon caused the leather to scorch and smoke, and the faces of the
company evinced the restraint of good breeding struggling against
a provocation of laughter. Talleyrand's quick eye penetrated the
mask without discovering its cause, until he seated himself, when
his sudden cry of pain compelled the women to flee to other rooms
where they might give vent to their merriment. His personal ap-
pearance was as remarkable as his character. He was very tall,
and had light hair, which he wore long and parted in front ; he had
expressive blue eyes, and a sallow complexion ; his mouth was wide
and coarse ; his body large and " protuberant in front ; " his legs were
singularly small, and his feet deformed. His manner was tranquil
and watchful, and in some respects extremely vulgar and repulsive.
A 'woman at whose house, in New York, he frequently dined, said
he would sometimes rest his elbows on the table, supporting his
face between his hands, and carry on a conversation with his mouth
so full that he could hardly speak ; and he would cut all the meat
on his plate into small pieces, pierce them with his fork, until its
prongs were full, then thrust them into his mouth, and, closing his
teeth, pull out the fork, leaving all its freight in his capacious jaws.
It is related by M. Brierre de Boismont that he came near losing
his life in this city by the hands of his friend Beaumet. In his
old age the conversation in his presence was one day turned to
those instantaneous warnings which some regard as communications
from the invisible world. "I can never forget," remarked the
prince, " that I was once gifted, for a moment, with an extraordi-
nary and inexplicable prescience, which was the means of saving
my life, Without that sudden and mysterious inspiration, I should

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 383

not be here to recount these curious details. I was intimately con-
nected with one of my countrymen, M. Beaumet. We had always
lived on the 'best terms, and in those stormy times, when the expres-
sion of friendship required almost a divine courage, something more
than friendship was needed to unite persons. I had no cause to
doubt his affection ; on the contrary, he had on several occasions
given the most devoted proofs of his attachment to my person and
interests. We had together quitted England to take refuge in
New York, and had hitherto lived in perfect harmony. Wishing
to increase our little capital, I had freighted a ship, half shares
with him, to try our fortune in the Indies. We were ready for our
departure, but waited for a favorable wind with the greatest impa-
tience. This state of uncertainty appeared to sour poor Beaumet
to a most extraordinary degree. Incapable of remaining quiet, he
roamed the city with a feverish activity, which, for the moment,
excited my surprise, for he was always remarkable for his calmness
and placidity. One day he entered the room, evidently under in-
tense excitement, although he used great efforts to restrain himself.
I was writing letters to Europe. Leaning over my shoulder, he said,
with a forced gayety, ' Why do you lose time in writing these let-
ters ? they will never reach their destination ; come with me, and
let us make the round of the Battery ; the wind may become favor-
able; perhaps we are nearer to our departure than we think!'
The day was magnificent, although the wind was high ; I allowed
myself to be persuaded. Beaumet, as I afterwards recollected,
showed extraordinary alacrity in closing my desk, arranging my
papers, and offering my hat and cane, which I attributed to the
need of incessant activity with which he had appeared overwhelmed
ever since our forced departure. We threaded the well-peopled
streets, and reached the Battery. He had offered me his arm, and
hurried on as if he were in haste to reach it. When we were on

384 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

the grand esplanade, lie hastened still more, until we reached the
edge. He spoke loudly and rapidly, and admired, in energetic
terms, the beauties of the scene. Suddenly he stopped, in the
midst of his disordered conversation. I had disengaged my arm
from his, and stood firmly before him. I fixed my eye upon him,
and he moved aside, as if intimidated and ashamed. c Beaumet ! '
cried I, i your intention is to "kill me ; you mean to throw me from
this height into the sea ! Deny it, monster, if you dare ! ' The
insane man looked at me intently with his haggard eyes for a mo-
ment ; but I was careful not to remove my gaze from him, and they
fell. He muttered some incoherent words, and endeavored to pass
me, but I spread my arms and prevented him. Casting a wild look
around, he threw himself on my neck, and burst into tears. i It is
true, it is true, my friend ! the thought has haunted me day and
night like an infernal flame. It was for that I brought you here ;
see, you are not a foot from the precipice ! another instant, the deed
would have been done ! ' The demon had abandoned him ; his eyes
were void of expression ; a white foam covered his parched lips ;
the crisis had passed. I conducted him home. Some days of rest,
bleeding, and dieting, entirely cured him, and, what is the most
singular circumstance of all, we never referred to the occurrence."
The old minister was persuaded that, on that day, his destiny would
have been decided, but for his sudden suspicion of Beaumet, and he
never spoke on the subject without the greatest emotion.

M. Jean Antoine Joseph Fauchet, afterward Baron Fauchet,
who succeeded M. Genet as minister from France, was thirty years
of age, and had won some applause in Paris as a political writer,
but was without any very marked social characteristics. John
Adams writes, in March, 1Y94: "He is not quite so unreserved as
his predecessor ; he seems to me to be in great distress ; he was re-
ceived by the galleries in the theatre with three cheers, but the

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 385

people have not addressed Mm or made much noise about Mm. At
the birth-night ball he was placed by the managers on the right
hand of the President, which gave great offence to the Spanish
commissioners ; and it is said Mr. Hammond has left the theatre,
offended and disgusted at some popular distinctions there." He is
remembered in this country chiefly in connection with his celebrated
despatches respecting Secretary Eandolph. He was superseded by
the appointment of M. Pierre Auguste Adet, who arrived in Phila-
delphia in the summer of 1795. M. Adet was of about the same
age ? and besides his successes in politics had won consideration as
a chemist. Wolcott wrote of him to his wife, " He appears to be
a mild-tempered and well-educated man, and no Jacobin. Dupont,
who, you know, was here two years ago, is secretary to the legation.
Both he and the minister have handsome wives, and this is a good
sign." Wolcott thought he would not be violent or troublesome in
his relations with the government, but he as well as others were in
this respect mistaken.

About the end of the year 1794 the Due de la Eochefoucauld
liancourt, after a residence of some fifteen months in England, ar-
rived in Philadelphia, with many letters of introduction, and pre-
ceded by an honorable and distinguished reputation. He was
about forty-five years of age, and Thiers describes him as having
been in the earlier days of the French revolution, when he was
President of the National Assembly, alike eminent for his virtues,
great talents, and liberal feelings. His immense estates had been
confiscated, but he possessed while in this country an income suffi-
cient for the satisfaction of Ms moderate desires. After remaining
in Philadelphia five months he set out on his travels, and in the
course of the next three years visited nearly every state in the
Union. The families with which he was most intimate in Phila-
delphia were those of General Knox and Judge Chew. After his
49

386 THE KEPUBLICAN COURT.

return to France lie published a work on the Prisons of Philadel
phia, and an account of his residence in the United States, in eight
volumes.

Louis Philippe d'Orleans, under an assumed name, had taught
geometry among the mountains of Switzerland, and, melancholy,
gentle, unassuming, and laborious, had been an object of affection-
ate interest to all his associates and pupils, none of whom knew his
rank or even his country. In 1796 Mr. Gouverneur Morris enabled
him to come to the United States, and wrote to his correspondents
in New York giving the young prince an unlimited credit while he
should reside or travel here. Louis Philippe however was too just
to avail himself in any unnecessary degree of Mr. Morris's gener
osity, and had been so familiar with misfortune as to experience
little difficulty in accommodating himself to an extremely modest
style of living. In Philadelphia he had a single room, over a bar-
ber's shop, where he lodged, and on one occasion gave a dinner, at
which were present, besides two or three exiles, Mr. Copley, after-
ward Lord Lyndhurst, and several Americans. He apologized for
seating one half his guests on the side of a bed : he " had himself
occupied less comfortable places, without the consolation of an
agreeable company." He was now about twenty-three years of
age, above the middle stature, and had a dark complexion, sunken
eyes, and a very dignified deportment. He was intimate with Mr.
Bingham's family, and offered himself to one of his daughters. The
senator declined the royal alliance : " Should you ever be restored
to your hereditary position," he said to the duke, "you will be
too great a match for her ; if not, she is too great a match for
you." In February, 179 7, he was joined by his two brothers, the
Duke de Montpensier and the Count de Beaujolais, and the three
princes, with a single servant, who had accompanied the Duke of
Orleans ever since he left Paris, set out on horseback to see the

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 387

interior of the United States. They visited Washington at Mount
Vernon, and after a tour through the south returned by way of
Niagara Falls to Philadelphia, where they were under a necessity
of remaining during the prevalence of the yellow fever in the sum-
mer of that year.

John Singleton Copley, son of John Singleton Copley the paint-
er, was born in Boston, and was carried to England when about
two years of age, before the revolution. He was now about twenty-
four, and was a tranquil and quiet gentleman, rather ta]l and thin,
with light complexion, blue eyes, and courteous manners. He was
reputed to be a good scholar, but evinced no such distinguished
abilities as would have justified a prophecy that he was to become
Lord Chancellor of England. The Duke of Kent, son of George
the Third, and father of Victoria, was here at the same time. The
British minister who succeeded Mr. Hammond was Mr. Liston.
He arrived in Philadelphia on the twelfth of May, 1796. His
last diplomatic service had been at Constantinople. Wolcott de-
scribes him as an " amiable, worthy man." He was a Scotchman,
of middling size, and wore a wig with side curls.

On the second of April, 1795, Mrs. Cushing,* wife of Judge
Gushing of the Supreme Court, writes from Philadelphia: ""We
dined to-day with the President and Mrs. Washington, in company
with Mr. and Mrs. Hammond, the Chevalier and Madame Frere (who
is truly an elegant woman), Don Philip Jaudennes and his lady,

* I am indebted to the venerable and excellent Madame Hammatt, of Bangor, in Maine a
niece of Mrs. Cushing for the interesting MS. diary of that distinguished lady, and her corres-
pondence with many of her dignified contemporaries. Mrs. Cushing always travelled with her
husband, on his official circuits, to take care of him. Mrs. Pinckney writes to her from Charles-
ton, under date of July 5, 1795: "Mr. Izard contrived to overset his chair and himself, on his
journey home, and dislocated his arm. He says the accident would not have happened if he had
had Mrs. Izard with him, and that it was in consequence of his thinking of politics instead of
the road. So you see, my dear madam, in what a variety of ways your travelling with Mr. Cushing
is beneficial to him."

388 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

Mr. and Mrs. Van Berckel, Mr. and Mrs. Randolph, Mr. and Mrs
Wolcott, Mr. and Mrs. Pinckney, and Mr. and Mrs. Coxe. Madame
Frere and Madame Jaudennes were brilliant with diamonds." The
Chevalier Frere was the Portuguese minister, and his wife became
very intimate with Mrs. Washington and Miss Custis. Jaudennes
was minister from Spain.

In June, 1 Y96, Don Carlos Martinez, Marquis d'Yrujo, succeeded
Jaudennes as Spanish minister. On his arrival in this country the
President was at Mount Vernon, and there the Marquis paid him a
visit. On the fourth of July Washington writes to Pickering,
"M. d'Yrujo spent two days with me, and is just gone. I caused
it to be intimated to him that, as I should be absent from the seat
of government until the middle or latter end of August, I was ready
to receive his letter of credentials at this place. He answered, as
I understood it, that his credentials were with his baggage on its
passage to Philadelphia, and that his reception at that place, at the
time mentioned, would be perfectly agreeable to himself. He is a
young man, very free and easy in his manners, professes to be well
disposed towards the United States, and as far as a judgment can
be formed on so slight an acquaintance, appears to be well in-
formed." He married Sally McKean, a daughter of the Chief Jus-
tice of Pennsylvania. , She was considered a great beauty. D'Yrujo
was afterward conspicuous in Spanish affairs, and his son, the Duke
of Sotomayer, born in Philadelphia, became Prime Minister. Phil-
adelphia furnished wives for the envoys of France, England and
Spain, during Washington's administration, and a large number of
foreign ministers have since been married to American women.

Volney, the infidel traveller and essayist, with the littleness,
malice, and insolence which have almost invariably marked the
class of thinkers to which he belonged, inflated by what he calls
the "splendid success" of his book on the East, and continually

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL.

389

piqued at the flattering accounts of the rising glory of America by
other writers, determined to apply his sagacity to their delusions,
and "reduce their exaggerated and glowing descriptions to the
standard of common sense." While he was in Philadelphia Stuart
painted his portrait. He had a peculiarly French physiognomy,
with high forehead, blue eyes, small mouth, invariably a querulous
and sneering expression, and was tall, straight, and well formed.
He asked Washington (of whose abilities he says, "they would not
have raised him above the rank of colonel in the French service,")
to give him letters of introduction, to be used on his excursions
through the states, and the Chief wrote, " C. Volney needs no recom-
mendation from George Washington."

Of Erick Bollmann John Adams wrote to his daughter, in 1796,
" Dr. Bollmann has called on me, and, with an extravagant character
for knowledge and capacity, he appears to be an adventurer, with
little judgment or solidity." Hamilton says of him in a letter to
Washington, after alluding to his attempt to liberate Lafayette,
" He appears to have been induced to think that he attempted a
service which would strongly recommend him to the favor of this
country, and as a consequence of it he hopes for some civil employ-
ment under our government. He seems to be a man of education,
speaks several languages, converses sensibly, is of polite manners,
and I dare say has the materials of future advancement."

Kosciusko, and his young friend and countryman the poet Mem-
cewicz, came to this country about the period of the end of Wash-
ington's administration. The Duke de Liancourt saw them at the
house of General Gates. "Simple and modest," says the duke,
" Kosciusko even shed tears of gratitude, and seems astonished at
the homage he receives. He sees a brother in every man who is .
the friend of liberty. Elevation of sentiment, grandeur, sweetness,
force goodness, all that commands respect and honor, appear to me

390 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

to be concentrated in this celebrated and interesting victim of mis-
fortune and despotism. And Niemcewicz is, from Ms noble senti-
ments, the agreeableness of his manners, and the extent of his
knowledge, a person peculiarly interesting."

IV.

No circumstances during his entire administration caused Wash-
ington more painful anxiety than the imprisonment of Lafayette,
for whom he felt a most fraternal affection and the sincerest respect.
With Prussia and Austria, in which countries his friend was succes-
sively a prisoner, the United States had then no diplomatic inter-
course, and it was not possible therefore for the President to exer-
cise in his behalf any more than a personal influence, and this was
found altogether unavailing. When, in 1795, the wife and daugh-
ters of Lafayette left France to join him at Olmutz, his son, George
Washington Lafayette, came to America, where he remained nearly
two years. With his tutor, M. Frestel, he arrived in Philadelphia
in April, 1796, and the President immediately afterward invited a
few friends to meet them at dinner. One of these, Mr. Adams,
availed himself of the opportunity to request them to come with
Mr. Lear the next morning and breakfast with him. Washington
heard of the invitation, in the evening, and sent Mr. Lear to advise
with the Vice President whether it would be proper for the youth,
in the existing circumstances of his father, mother, and whole fam-
ily, to mingle in society; and he was excused. It was, perhaps,
because a delicate sense of propriety induced him to withdraw his
ward as much as possible from an unbecoming publicity, that the
democratic journals assailed him with the calumny of inhospitality
toward the son of one to whom the nation was so greatly indebted.

Mr. Richard Rush relates a very interesting incident illustrative
of the feelings of Washington in regard to the misfortunes of his

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 391

old companion in arms. Mr. Bradford lived on the opposite side
of the street, next to Dr. Binney's, and the two families were united
by an affectionate intimacy. One evening when he happened to
be at the President's, and no one else was there except the family
circle, consisting of the General and Mrs. "Washington, one of the
private secretaries, and young Custis and his sisters, the conver-
sation reverted to the prisoner at Olmutz, and the Chief con-
trasted his present unhappy circumstances with his former splendid
career, dwelling upon his sufferings until the warmth of their an-
cient friendship was reawakened, and he became deeply affected, his
eyes suffused, his noble features discomposed, and his whole nature
shaken. Mr. Bradford saw it ; " and what a spectacle," says Mr.
Rush, " to be witnessed by a man whose own bosom was open to
the heavings of patriotism and every other generous impulse ! If
the great Conde, at the representation of one of Corneille's trage-
dies, shed tears at the part where Caesar is made to utter a fine sen-
timent, what was that, in its power to stir the soul, though Voltaire
has so emblazoned it, to tears shed by "Washington over the real
woes of Lafayette ! Washington, a nation's founder, and Lafay-
ette, his heroic Mend, who had crossed an ocean to fight the bat-
tles of liberty by his side ! Magnanimous tears they were, fit for
the first of heroes to have shed ! virtuous, honorable, sanctified ! "
Returning to his own house, profoundly moved by the scene he had
just witnessed, Mr. Bradford sat down and wrote the following
simple but touching verses, an impromptu effusion from the heart
of a man of sensibility and genius :

THE LAMENT OF WASHINGTON.
As beside his cheerful fire,
'Midst his happy family,
Sat a venerable sire,
Tears were starting in his eye ,
Selfish blessings were forgot,
Whilst he thought on Fayette's lot

392 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

Once so happy on our plains
Now in poverty and chains.

" Fayette," cried he " honored name 1
Dear to these far distant shores
Fayette, fired by freedom's flame,
Bled to make that freedom ours.
What, alas ! for this remains
What, but poverty and chains !

" Soldiers, in our fields of death
Was not Fayette foremost there ?
Cold and shivering on the heath,
Did you not his bounty share ?
What reward for this remains,
What, but poverty and chains !

1 Hapless Fayette ! 'midst thine error.
How my soul thy worth reveres !
Son of freedom, tyrant's terror,
Hero of both hemispheres !
What reward for all remains,
What, but poverty and chains !

K Born to honors, ease, and wealth,
See him sacrifice them all j
Sacrificing also health,
At his country's glorious call.
What for thee, my friend, remains,
What, but poverty and chains !

Thus, with laurels on his brow,
Belisarius begged for bread ;
Thus, from Carthage forced to go,
Hannibal an exile fled.
Alas ! Fayette at once sustains,
EXILE, POVERTY, and CHAINS ! "

Courage, child of Washington !
Though thy fate disastrous seems,
We have seen the setting sun
Rise and burn with brighter beams.
Thy country soon shall break thy chain,
And take thee to her arms again.

Thy country soon shall break thy chain,
And take thee to her arms again !

LIFEINTHECAPITAL. 393

These verses were not written for publication or criticism, and
are not to be received as an example of Mr. Bradford's poetical
abilities, but private copies of them were circulated, and they were
sometimes sung to a plaintive air composed on the execution of
Marie Antoinette, which was current in Philadelphia after that
melancholy tragedy.

AMONG the women most intimate with Mrs. "Washington, Mr.
Custis mentions in a recent letter to me, besides Mrs. Hamilton, Mrs.
Knox, Mrs. Stewart, Mrs. Morris, Mrs. Powell, and others who have
been frequently referred to in these pages, Mrs. Bradford, Mrs.
Otis, and Miss Boss. " Mrs. Knox," says the Duke de la Boche-
foucauld Liancourt, " is a lady of whom you conceive a still higher
opinion the longer you are acquainted with her. Seeing her in
Philadelphia you think of her only as a fortunate player at whist ;
at her house in the country you discover that she possesses spright-
liness, knowledge, a good heart, and an excellent understanding."
Of her daughter he tells us, that at their home in Maine " she lays
aside her excessive timidity, and you admire alike her beauty, wit,
and cheerfulness ; " and of the General, " he is one of the worthiest
men I have ever known lively, agreeable, valuable equally as
an excellent friend and as an engaging companion." Mrs. Otis was
the wife of the secretary of the senate, and mother of the great ora-
tor, Harrison Gray Otis, who was married in Boston on the fifteenth
of May, 1790, to Sally Foster, daughter of a merchant of that city,
at that time a few .weeks over twenty years of age. Mr. Otis was
not elected to Congress until the retirement of Fisher Ames, in
1797 ; but, with his youthful wife, remarkable for beauty and wit,
as well as for an intellectual vivacity, tempered always by an in-
describable grace, he was much in metropolitan society during the
50

394 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

entire period of Washington's administration. Mrs. Stewart was
the wife of General Walter Stewart, who lived in the house next to
the President's, toward Fifth street. Miss Ross was the Ibeautiful
daughter of Mr. James Ross of Pittsburg, one of the senators rep-
resenting the State of Pennsylvania. -Mrs. Bradford* was the only

* " The widow of Mr. Bradford," writes Mr. Richard Eush, " still lives in an ancient town on
the banks of the Delaware, a beautiful relict of the days here recalled ; her house the abode of
hospitality as abundant as it is cordial and elegant ; and fourscore years and more not having
impaired the courtesy, the grace, the habitual suavity and kindness, or even that disciplined
carriage of the person, all made part of her nature by her early intercourse and the school in
which she was reared ; for if Portia, speaking of herself as Cato's daughter and wife of Brutus,
could exclaim, 'Think you I am no stronger than my sex, being so fathered and so husbanded!'
it may be permitted us to say of this venerable relict, once of the Washington circle, and being
' fathered and husbanded ' as we have also seen, she could not be other than she is." The late
Mrs. Susan Wallace, whose husband, Mr. John Bradford Wallace, was a nephew of Mr. Bradford,
described her, many years after the events referred to in the text, in the following extract which
I am permitted to make from her diary : " Mrs. Bradford, one of my guests, is a remarkable
woman, one of the finest models of mild and courtly dignity this country, or any other indeed,
can exhibit. Accustomed from childhood to the best society the only child of most respectable
parents, of family rank offices of trust and honor were numerous and common to her intimate
connexions ; and her happy and much caressed girlhood was passed in an intercourse with per-
sons long since the boast of the brightest days of American refinement and patriotism. She in-
termarried with William Bradford, a man whose character combined almost every virtue, talent,
and accomplishment. With him she commanded a sphere of extensive influence, the just desert
of their united excellencies, and lived, as I have heard her say, for more than ten years in the
full possession of every earthly enjoyment. Well for them they lived as Christian persons ought
to live, in constant remembrance of their accountability to God 1 for in the height of eminent
distinction, of official station, of favor with the first men and women of the country, and in pos-
session of domestic joy and peace in the moment when they thought not of interruption or
disappointment their well-planned schemes of happiness were laid in the dust. A fever at-
tacked Mr. Bradford, and a few days terminated his life. His tender and devoted wife was over-
whelmed with the agonies of grief, and her kind parents long essayed in vain to restore her to
composure and to social intercourse. Time, at last, in connection with religious influences, did
its work in lessening the destructive ravages of sorrow, and for many years past Mrs. Bradford
has maintained a position of useful and elegant hospitality to her numerous relatives, and her
warm and affectionate friends. She is now in the vale of years, but it is neither rough nor dark.
Her beneficence, urbanity, and social sweetness, shed a temperate light over all her paths, and
are gently smoothing the downward road that is to be closed on life, and opened, I trust, to im-
mortal peace and joy. No one I believe can anticipate the near approach of death with calm-
ness but those who envelop themselves with the illusions of sensible imagery, or that small and
highly-privileged class, who, by repentance and faith, have made themselves acquainted with
the gracious promises of their blessed Saviour, and rest their anxious, trembling spirits on Hit
sverlasting arms."

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 395

child of Elias Boudinot, one of the most respectable characters of
the revolution, and she and Mrs. Hamilton and Mrs. Charles Carroll,
the younger, I believe are the only ladies of our Kepublican Court
now living. Mrs. Carroll was one of the daughters of Benjamin
Chew. She was not married until after Washington's final retire-
ment to Mount Vernon, but she and her sister, Mrs. Henry Philips,
were great favorites with the Chief, and were much in his society
as girls. The marriage of an elder sister, to Colonel John Eager
Howard, of Baltimore, was attended by him at Chew's baronial
house in Germantown during the sittings of the Federal Conven-
tion in 1787. Mrs. Howard came back to reside in Philadelphia
in 1796, when her husband entered Congress as a senator from
Maryland.

Dolly Payne, born in North Carolina, had been educated ac-
cording to the strictest rules of the Quakers, in Philadelphia, where
at an early age she married a young lawyer of this sect, named
Todd ; but becoming a widow she threw off drab silks and plain
laces, and was for several years one of the gayest and most fasci-
nating women of the city. She had many lovers, but she gave the
preference to Mr. Madison, and became his wife in 1794.

Among the accomplished and fashionable men who were at this
period in public life were Eobert Goodloe Harper, a son-in-law of
Charles Carroll the elder, and William Smith, of Charleston, who
married a sister of John Kutledge. They were conspicuous mem-
bers of the Federal party, and had great influence in Congress.
Aaron Burr, who was now a senator, lived in style, and gave ele-
gant entertainments, but his associates were chiefly politicians.
Adams mentions dining with him, and in another letter, written
about the same time, says : " Yesterday I dined at Mr. Morris's,
where hospitality is always precious. A company of venerable old
rakes, threescore years of age, or a little over or a little under, sat

396 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

smoking cigars, drinking Burgundy and Madeira, and talking poli-
tics, till almost eleven o'clock. This will do once in a great while ;
not often, for me."

Mr. Jefferson also kept a liberal table for his friends, and we
have an account of one of his dinners, from the pen of Colonel
Trumbull. The artist had been on terms of confidence with Mr. Jef
ferson, in Europe, and continued to be so for some time after his
return to America, so that, he says, " when the first mission to the
states of Barbary was determined on, it was through him offered to
me, and declined ; but as the French revolution advanced, my whole
soul revolted from its atrocities, while he approved of all, or apol-
ogized for all ; he opposed Washington ; I revered him ; and a
coldness gradually succeeded until, in 1^93, he invited me to dine.
A few days before, I had offended his friend, Mr. Giles, a senator
from Virginia, by rendering him ridiculous in the eyes of a lady *
to whose favorable opinion he aspired. On entering the drawing-
room at Mr. Jefferson's, on the day of the dinner, I found a part
of the company already assembled, among them Mr. Giles ; and I
was scarcely seated, when he began to rally me on the puritanical

* " Among many elegant families which at that time graced the society of Philadelphia, was
one particularly distinguished by the intellectual eminence and personal charms of several lovely
daughters ; to one of these Mr. Giles was disposed to recommend himself. At the same time I
was free of the tea-table, and calling one afternoon to beg a cup of tea, I found Mr. Giles in
earnest conversation with his favorite, and ridiculing the elder Mr. Adams, and his work, called
the Defence of the American Constitutions. A moment's attention convinced me that he was
talking at random, of a subject which he did not understand. I therefore watched an opportu-
nity to interrupt the conversation, by asking, ' Mr. Giles, is it possible that you can have taken
the trouble to read the long work of which you are speaking ? ' ' Certainly.' ' The first volume
perhaps?' 'To be sure.' 'And the second?' 'Yes.' 'You must have observed, then, that
these two volumes are little else than a concise epitome of the constitutions of preceding repub-
lics. He reserves his own opinions in a great measure for the third volume ; I presume you have
read that also ? ' Here Mr. Giles lost his patience, and exclaimed, ' Who could wade through such
a mass of stuff? ' I said no more; but the lady, with one of her sweetest smiles, said, 'I have
observed, Mr. Giles, that you have a habit of giving your opinions of men and things in pretty
etrong terms ; I hope you are careful always to be as accurately informed upon other subjects as
you appear to be upon this of Mr. Adams's book.' " TrumbulVs Memoirs

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 397

ancestry and character of New England. I saw there was no other
person from New England present, and therefore, although con-
scious that I was in no degree qualified to manage a religious dis-
cussion, I felt myself "bound to defend my country on this delicate
point as well as I could. Whether it had "been pre-arranged that
a debate on the Christian religion, in which it should be power-
fully ridiculed on the one side, and weakly defended on the other,
was to be brought forward, as promising amusement to a rather free-
thinking dinner party, I will not presume to say ; but it had that ap-
pearance, and Mr. Giles pushed his raillery, to my no small annoy-
ance, if not to my discomfiture, until dinner was announced. That,
I hoped, would relieve me, by giving a new turn to the conversa-
tion ; but the company was hardly seated at table, when he renewed
his assault with increased asperity,, and proceeded so far, at last, as
to ridicule the character, conduct and doctrines of the divine Founder
of our religion Mr. Jefferson, in the mean time, smiling and nod-
ding approbation on Mr. Giles, while the rest of the company si-
lently left me and my defence to our fate, until, at length, my Mend
David Franks took up the argument on my side. Thinking this a
fair opportunity for evading further conversation on the subject, I
turned to Mr. Jefferson and said, ' Sir, this is a strange situation in
which I find myself; in a country professing Christianity, and at a
table with Christians, as I supposed, I find my religion and myself
attacked with severe and almost irresistible wit and raillery, and
ot a person to aid in my defence, but my friend Mr. Franks, who
is himself a Jew.' For a moment this attempt to parry the discus-
sion appeared to have some effect ; but Giles soon returned to the
attack with renewed virulence, and burst out with, ' It is all misera-
ble delusion and priestcraft ; I do not believe one word of all they
say about a future state of existence, and retribution for actions
done here ; I do not believe one word of a Supreme Being who

398 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

takes cognizance of the paltry affairs of this world, and to whom
we are responsible for what we do.' I had never before heard, or
seen in writing, such a broad and unqualified avowal of atheism.
I was at first shocked, and remained a moment silent ; but soon
rallied and replied, 4 Mr. Giles, I admire your frankness, and it is
but just that I should be equally frank in avowing my sentiments.
Sir, in my opinion, the man who can with sincerity make the de-
claration which you have just made, is perfectly prepared for the
commission of any atrocious action by which he can promise him-
self the advancement of his own interest, or the gratification of
his impure passions, provided he can commit it secretly and with
a reasonable probability of escaping detection by his fellow men.
Sir, I would not trust such a man with the honor of a wife, a sis-
ter, or a daughter, with my own purse or reputation, or with any
thing which I thought valuable. Our acquaintance, sir, is at an
end.' I rose and left the company, and never after spoke to Mr.
Giles. I have thought it proper to relate this conversation, as help-
ing to elucidate the character of Mr. Jefferson, on the disputed point
of want of credulity, as he would call it. In nodding and smiling
assent to all the virulence of his friend, Mr. Giles, he appeared to
me to avow most distinctly his entire approbation. Prom this time
my acquaintance with Mr. Jefferson became cold and distant,"

AT the houses of the principal federalists connected with the
government there was a very different style of conversation ; re-
ligion was treated with reverence ; the instructions of the past were
received with humility, and visions of the future were seen through
the. softening light of experience. The New Englanders clustered
about the home of "Wolcott. The late Judge Hopkinson, as well
known for his " Hail Columbia ! " as the elder Judge Hopkinson, his

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 399

father, for the " Battle of the Kegs," was then a young man, and
in one of Ms later letters lie recalls the circle of Wolcotfs associ-
ates. " During his residence in Philadelphia," he says, " the division
of political parties in their social intercourse was more decided than
it has ever Ibeen since ; his associations therefore were almost exclu-
sively with the federal members of the administration and of Con-
gress, together with families residing in the city, of the same poli-
tics, which then certainly constituted the best society. In his parlor
of an evening you would meet more or less company of that de-
scription. Leading members of the Senate and House of Kepre-
sentatives, especially from New England, were habitually there, and
sometimes at my house. When I mention such names as Ellsworth,
Ames, Griswold, Goodrich, and Tracy, you may imagine what a rich
intellectual society it was. I will not say that we have no such
men now, l>ut I do not know where they are." Of the Secretary
of the Treasury himself, Hopkinson says, " He was a man of cheer-
ful and even of a playful disposition. His conversation was inter-
esting and earnest, but gay, unless the occasion was unfit for gayety.
He enjoyed a good joke, and his laugh was hearty and frequent.
He delighted in the discussion of literary subjects and the works
of distinguished authors, and was particularly fond of poetry. In-
deed in his younger days I have understood that he was a poet.
He had a good taste in literature with one exception, about which
we often disputed, and in which his New England attachments or
prejudices controlled his judgment ; he had an excessive admiration
of Dwight's ' Conquest of Canaan.' His domestic life was most ex-
emplary ; his greatest happiness was in his family, with the friends
who congregated at his residence. His devotion to the business
and duties of his office was severe and unremitting. He possessed
in a high degree a very rare qualification the capacity for con-
tinued hard work and was in everything systematic and orderly

400 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

His attachments to his friends were strong and lasting, never taxing
them with unreasonable exactions or subjecting them to unpleasant
caprices. He was open and direct in all his dealings, without du-
plicity or intrigue in any thing ; his sincerity was sure, he deceived
nobody." Wolcott's youngest sister I have already had occasion to
mention as one of the most distinguished beauties of her time. She
was afterward married to Chauncey Goodrich, a man of eminent
abilities and the highest character. His wife had less beauty, but
a countenance of much loveliness, and very graceful manners ; and
there were few women who could be compared with her for refined
cultivation and intelligence. An anecdote referring to her is re-
corded as an illustration of the wit of Mr. Tracy, one of the Con-
necticut senators. As she was moving with her accustomed ease and
dignity through a dance, her figure arrested the attention of Mr.
laston, the British minister, who exclaimed, turning to Tracy,
" Your countrywoman, Mrs. Wolcott, would be admired even at
St. James's." " Sir," replied the senator, " she is admired even on
LitchfieldHiU!"

On one occasion Dr. f) wight visited Philadelphia, and was for
several days a guest of the Wolcotts. In a letter to the secretary
he says, " I thank you, with much affection, for the uniform sincer-
ity and hospitality which I found at your house ; assure Mrs. Wol-
cott of the grateful sense I shall ever entertain of the very polite
and friendly manner in which she rendered my residence there pe-
culiarly agreeable."

Josiah Quincy, who still survives, one. of the brightest orna-
ments of a departed age, in the enjoyment of the reverent homage
of our own, was also among the visitors of this respectable circle.
Mrs. Adams, referring to his arrival in the city, writes, " This young
man is a rare instance of hereditary eloquence and ingenuity, in
the fourth generation. He' comes into life with every advantage

LIFEINTHECAPITAL. 401

of family, fortune, and education, and I wish him all the success
which such auguries naturally present to him in prospect. I yes-
terday, in the presence of half a dozen senators, laughingly ad-
vised him to go to the President and Mrs. Washington and ask
their leave to make 'his addresses to Nelly Custis, or her sister, at
Georgetown. The young gentleman blushed, and he may have
left his heart in Boston; but I think him the first match in the
United States."

An intimate friend of "Wolcott, Ames, Sedgwick, and other 'New
England statesmen, was Jeremiah Smith, then a member of Con-
gress, and afterward one of the justices of the Supreme Court, and
Chief Justice of New Hampshire. He dressed very carefully, had
an intelligent and handsome face, and was a great beau ;. but was
at the same time diligent in the performance of his duties, and "a
devourer of all good books." He had been in love so many times
that it would have tasked his patience to give a list of the girls he
had been inclined to woo, and every year some new one was the
fairest and the dearest. In 1793 he writes : "It seems to me now
that I never sincerely loved before. God grant that time and ab-
sence may have their usual effects? His prayer was granted, and
in 1795 he discloses another flame to his friend Fletcher. "Tell
Mrs. Fletcher," he says, " that I should have been very happy to
have made one of your little family party at Christmas, and that I
am confident she enjoyed far more pleasure, surrounded by her
children and friends, than Mrs. Dexter at Mr. Bingham's or Mr.
Morris's or even the President's sumptuous dinner. I was singularly
happy on that day myself; I dined with a number of my friends
at Mr. Wolcott's, and spent the evening in company with a divine
woman I have lately become acquainted with, and who is all that
woman can or ought to be ; but, heigh ho ! she is as good as mar-
ried. I am glad I was informed of that circumstance, else I should
51

402 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

have been over head and ears in love. Informed of my danger, 1
find it difficult to restrain my ardent affections. I am glad to find
that I am not dried up and congealed, but that my heart is as sus-
ceptible as ever. I would rather be a man, and feel as one, even if
I suffer by it, than one of your insensible devils." The divine wo-
man referred to was Miss Eliza Koss, of Bladensburg, in Maryland,
then on a visit to Philadelphia. The case was very serious, and
there were no hopes of the lover's recovery. He gave vent to his
feelings in verse, which was perfectly intelligible, though scarcely as
melodious as the songs of Anacreon Moore :

" To Adam paradise was given,
Blooming with all that charms the sense
Of fruits, one only was forbidden,
And that occasioned sore complaints.
How much severer is my fate
Than his ! Unjust ! how could he grieve ?
He was denied the precious fruit,
But I, alas ! deprived of EVE !
Nay*, more severer still my case
A double pain, without alloy
The fruit that I 'm forbid to taste,
Another freely may enjoy."

Women are changeable, and Miss Ross became Mrs. Smith, after
all. A few months passed, during which she returned to Bladens-
burg, and managed to quarrel with her old lover ; at least the en-
gagement was broken off; and in May, 1795, she was again in the
metropolis. On the departure of a sister for the country she ad-
dressed a note to her rejected admirer : " I have very few acquaint-
ances," she said, " and this is the time when the company of a friend
would be most agreeable. In you I expect that friend." She was
not disappointed. In due time the veteran gallant wrote to his
brother that he was a " happy man." On the way to the bride's
home he lost his wedding suit, and was obliged therefore to " stand

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 403

up " in Ms travelling clothes, which was a serious misfortune, as he
had "been very particular in his outfit.*

Elizur Goodrich writes to Wolcott in 1Y94, introducing Eh
Whitney, with his famous cotton gin. He describes him as "a
young gentleman who has occasionally resided in my family for
some years past, of very fair reputation in academic studies, and
perhaps inferior to none in an acquaintance with mechanic powers,
and those branches of mechanical philosophy which are applicable
to the commerce and manufactures of our country. He is on a
journey to Philadelphia to lodge a model and receive a patent for
a machine which he has invented for cleansing cotton from its seeds."

Another candidate for the honors of scientific discovery was
Dr. Benjamin Douglass Perkins, the hero of Fessenden's " Terrible
Tractoration." John Adams, in February, 1^96, thus notices his
advent in the city : u There is a Dr. somebody here from Connec-
ticut, who pretends, with an instrument made of some kind of me-
tal or composition of metals, by a sort of Mesmerian rubbing, or
stroking, or conjuration, to cure rheumatisms, headaches, pleurisies,
and I know not what. Ellsworth will not say that he believes in
it, but he states facts and tells stories. I expect the heads of all
the old women will be turned. They have got him into the Presi-
dent's house, among some of his servants, and Mrs. Washington

* Smith writes: "Three miles before I reached Bladensburg I had the misfortune to lose my
trunk, with all my clothes, of the value of two hundred dollars. The fastening untied, and
some very great knaves happening to live in the vicinity, picked it up before the stage-driver
returned to look for it, which was in less than fifteen minutes " A list of the articles constituting
the bridegroom's wardrobe is given by his biographer, Mr. Morrison, as follows : "A light-colored
broadcloth coat, with pearl buttons ; breeches of the same cloth ; ditto, black satin ; vest, swans-
down, buff, striped; ditto moleskin, chequer figure; ditto satin figured; ditto, Marseilles, white ;
ditto, muslinet, figured ; under vest, faced with red cassimere ; two ditto, flannel ; one pair of flan-
nel drawers; one ditto, cotton ditto; one pair black patent silk hose; one ditto white ditto ; one
ditto striped ditto ; ten or a dozen white silk hose ; three pair of cotton hose ; four pair of gauze
ditto ; a towel ; six shirts ; twelve neck-kerchiefs ; six pocket handkerchiefs, one of them a ban-
danna ; a chintz dressing-gown ; a pair of silk gloves ; ditto old kid ditto."

404 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

told ine a story on Tuesday, before a number of gentlemen, so in
effably ridiculous that I dare not repeat it. The venerable lady
laughed as immoderately as all the rest of us did." Perkins went
to London, and became famous and rich. His house was crowded
with bishops, lords, and men and women of every degree, thou-
sands of whom certified that they were cured of diseases by the
metallic tractors. The satire of Fessenden ended the delusion.

VII.

IT was among the offences of the President in which the demo-
cratic writers and orators discovered signs of treasonable conspiracy
and a determination to engraft upon our youthful republicanism the
forms at least of a monarchy, that he had "birth-day odes." It is
not stated that an appropriation from the treasury was ever de-
manded for the payment of a laureate, and perhaps it was all the
worse that so many were willing to sing the praises of Washington
without reward. The Chief himself however, we may readily be-
lieve, would have dispensed with such service to be relieved of the
necessity of reading the quires of poor but patriotic verses addressed
to him. Our poets of that day had no mean opinion of their own
abilities, and they were generous in each other's praise. Humphreys,
in a " Poem on the Happiness of America," written before the close
of the revolution, exclaims :

" Why sleep'st thou, Barlow, child of genius ? why
Seest thou, blest Dwight, our land in sadness lie ? '
And where is Trumbull, earliest boast of fame ?
'T is yours, ye bards > to wake the smothered flame
To you, my dearest friends, the task belongs,
To rouse your country with heroic songs."

And Barlow, in his " Vision of Columbus,"

" With keen-eyed glance through Nature's walks to pierce.
With all the powers and every charm of verse,

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 405

Each science opening in his ample mind,

His fancy glowing, and his taste refined,

See Trumbull lead the train. His skilful hand

Hurls the keen darts of satire through the land ;

Pride, knavery, dulness, feel his mortal stings,

And listening Virtue triumphs while he sings. . . .

On glory's wing to raise the ravished soul

Beyond the bounds of earth's benighted pole,

For daring Dwight the epic muse sublime

Hails her new empire in the western clime. . . .

Where Freedom's cause his patriot bosom warms,

In council sage, nor inexpert in arms,

See Humphreys, glorious from the field retire,

Sheath the glad sword and string the sounding lyre."

And besides this " mutual admiration society " of Connecticut, there
were Allen, Ladd, Freneau, Hopkinson, Livingston, Smith, Mar-
koe, and some half dozen others, who consoled themselves for con-
temporary neglect with dreams of posthumous fame.

Though Colonel Humphreys must be regarded as the poet lau-
reate of "Washington} as diligent in the performance of the duties
of his office as ever was bard expecting pipes of choicest wine for
votive songs, yet there was a u tuneful throng " of the other sex,
ever ready to celebrate the hero's virtues and his actions in effusions
sufficiently indicative of an anxiety to attract his favorable atten-
tion. Our most conspicuous poetesses of that day were Mrs. Fer-
guson, of whose unpublished writings there are still ^two large
quarto volumes in the Philadelphia Library; Mrs. Bleecker, of
Tomhannik; Mrs. Warren, the sister of James Otis; Mrs. Stock-
ton, wife of Eichard Stockton and sister of Elias Boudinot ; Phillis
Wheatley, from the Senegal, celebrated by Mr. Clarkson and the
Abbe Gregory as not inferior in literary excellence to the fairest
of her rivals ; and Mrs. Morton, wife of the Attorney General of
Massachusetts, to be named in whose verses, her critics said, was to
be immortalized. The Boston Mercury, in the spring of 1793, ad-
vised the world that "Fame, ever listening with delight to the lyre

406 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

of l Philenia,' had lately been assiduous in circulating the informa-
tion that this favorite of the muse was composing a poem, of the
epic nature, in which would be celebrated some of the most striking
features of the revolution in this country." This was the first an-
nouncement of Mrs. Morton's "Beacon Hill;" and a contemporary
bard, Eobert Treat Paine, warmed with the intelligence, addressed
to her a congratulatory epistle, in which he says

" Beacon shall live, the theme of future lays ;
Philenia bids ; obsequious Fame obeys j
Beacon shall live, embalmed in verse sublime.
The new Parnassus of a nobler clime.
No more the fount of Helicon shall boast
Its peerless waters or its suitor host. . . .
'T is here Philenia's muse begins her flight,
As Heaven elate, extensive as the light ;
Here, like this bird of Jove, she mounts the wind,
And leaves the clouds of vulgar bards behind ! n

And in conclusion he asks

" What hero's bosom would not wish to bleed
That you might sing, and raptured ages read ? "

Mrs. Morton was not ungrateful, and she returned Mr. Paine's
compliments in kind, amiably describing him as a poet

" Who now with Homer's strength can rise,
Then with the polished Ovid move ;
Now swift as rapid Pindar flieSj
Then soft as Sappho's breath of love."

After the publication of Gilford's satire, and Erskine's speech
In the case of Williams against Faulder, " Anthony Pasquin " was
driven from England by contempt, and " Delia Crusca " by derision,
and both found an asylum in the United States the profligate
libeller to become the editor of a democratic journal, and the sick-
ly sentimentalist to acquire an influence over our fledgling poets
not less apparent than that which Tennyson has exerted in later

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 407

years. Mrs. Morton, in some "lines addressed to the inimitable
author of the poems under the signature of 'Delia Crusca,' " greeted
him in a style worthy of the Florence Miscellany

" Across the vast Atlantic tide,
Down Appalachia's grassy side,
What echoing sounds the soul beguile,
And lend the lip of grief a smile !
T is Delia Crusca's heavenly song
Which floats the western breeze along,
Breathing as sweet, as soft a strain.
As kindness to the ear of pain j
Splendid as noon, as morning clear,
As chaste as evening's pearly tear."

Dr. Ladd, Mr. Paine, and nearly all our " female poets," in the
closing years of the last century, were servile imitators of Mr.
Merry, and the late Judge Story began his career as an author in
an elaborate performance not unworthy of such a master.

VIII.

IN painting the country was more fortunate. Woolaston, Cop-
ley, Blackburn, and some others, had produced a great number of
admirable portraits before the war, and subsequently there were
several artists here of remarkable excellence in the same line.
Washington was frequently painted, but there are not many good
pictures of him. In IT 8 5 he wrote to Judge Hopkinson, "I am
so hackneyed to the touches of the painter's pencil that I am now
altogether at their beck, and sit ' like Patience on a monument '
while they are delineating the lines of my face. It is a proof,
among many others, of what habit and custom may accomplish ;
at first I was as impatient at the request, and as restive under the
operation, as a colt is under the saddle ; the next time I submitted
very reluctantly, but with less flouncing ; now no dray-horse moves
more readily to his thill than I to the painter's chair." This was

408 THE KEPUBLICAN COURT.

written on the introduction of Eobert Edge Pine to him. Pine
had been a " painter to His Majesty," and among his sitters inLon
don had been Garrick and other famous wits. He came to Amer-
ica in 1783 to paint the chiefs of the revolution, for a series of
historical compositions, and accumulated a great number of heads
and other studies, but never finished any large work of that kind.
In a few years Trumbull occupied the field, and by his success per-
haps discouraged further attempts by him. He was an irritable
little gentleman, and his wife and daughters were also very small.
They painted portraits in Philadelphia and gave lessons in drawing
there, under the patronage of Robert Morris. Hopkinson men-
tions as a proof of our subsequent advancement in civilization that
Pine brought to this country a plaster cast of the Venus de Medici,
but kept it very privately, as the manners of the time would not
permit the public exhibition of such a figure : a fact which may
seem strange to those who remember that some of the celebrated
women of this period exposed their own finely-developed persons
in a manner to shock even young Frenchmen, fresh from the gayest
society of Paris ; but it was then the fashion, in London as well
as in New York and Philadelphia, to imitate the costume of pic-
tures painted in the most dissolute period of English morals.

M. Du Cimetiere, a Genevan, arrived in Philadelphia about the
year IT 60, and lived there nearly thirty years, practising his pro-
fession as a painter, and collecting specimens in natural history.
Washington says he drew many good likenesses, from the life, and
had them engraved in Paris, for sale ; and besides his own he men-
tions particularly those of General Gates and Baron Steuben.

Eobert Fulton painted a poor portrait of Washington in 1782,
who in the following year sat at Eocky Hill, ~New Jersey, to Wil-
liam Dunlap and Joseph Wright. Wright's picture was sent to
Europe as a present from the Chief to the Count de Solms.

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL.

409

M. Houdon arrived from France in 1785, in the same snip with
Dr. Franklin, and, proceeding to Mount Vernon, remained there two
weeks, in which time he modelled the head of the General for his
statue which had been ordered by the state of Virginia, and is
now in the capitol at Eichmond.

Soon after the inauguration, in New York, Edward Savage, a
miserable painter, copied the President's features as well as he
could, for Harvard College, and his portrait was engraved by
young Edwin, in a very creditable manner, though Savage took
the credit of its execution on the copper as well as on the canvas.
About the same time Madame de Brehan, sister of the French
minister, made two small portraits of him, one of which he present-
ed to Mrs. Bingham. The other was engraved in Paris.

Trumbull had painted a head of Washington, from memory, in
1780. In the fall of 1789 he returned from Europe, and soon after
executed the portrait which is in the New York City Hall ; and in
1792, in Philadelphia, that which is in the gallery at New Haven.
The city of Charleston had engaged him to paint a full-length of
the President, and he says " he undertook it con amore, meaning to
give his military character in the most sublime moment of its exer-
tion the evening previous to the battle of Princeton, when, viewing
the vast superiority of the approaching enemy, and the impossibility
of again crossing the Delaware or retreating down the river, he
conceived the plan of returning by a night march into the country
from which lie had just been driven, thus cutting off the enemy's
communication and destroying his stores at Brunswick." " I told
the President my object," he says; "he entered into it warmly,
and, as the work advanced, we talked of the scene, its dangers, its
almost desperation." He looked again as if animated by the feel-
ings of the conflict, and the artist pleased himself with a belief
that he had transferred to the canvas the lofty expression of the
52

410 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

hero's countenance. But this production did not give satisfaction ,
the people of Charleston desired a " matter-of-fact likeness, calm,
tranquil, peaceful," and Washington sat again, for such a picture.
In 1791 and 1792 Trumbull painted a great number of portraits,
among which were those of John Jay, Temple Franklin, Mrs. "Wash-
ington (with a full rosy face, and in a white dress, and cap very
matronly), Nelly Custis, Sophia Chew, Harriet Chew, Cornelia
Schuyler (a sister of Mrs. Hamilton, afterward married to Mr.
Van Rensselaer), Julia Seymour, who was a celebrated beauty, and
two daughters of Jeremiah Wadsworth.

In 1*791 Mr. Archibald Robertson, of Aberdeen, arrived in this
country, bearing from the Earl of Buchan an introductory letter to
Washington, and a box made from the oak tree which sheltered
Sir William Wallace, after the battle of Falkirk, which the Gold-
smith's Company of Edinburgh had previously presented to the
earl. Mr. Robertson painted a very good portrait of the President,
which was sent to Scotland, by Mr. Lear, in 1794, and he afterward
pursued his profession with success for many years in New York.

Giuseppe Ceracchi, one of the most eminent of contemporary
sculptors, had conceived in Rome a design for a monument of the
American revolution, and coming to Philadelphia, in 1791, he pre-
pared a model of it, which was much admired. It was to be of statu-
ary marble, one hundred feet high, and to cost but thirty thousand
dollars. This sum, however, could not be obtained, and Ceracchi re-
turned to Europe, and was subsequently put to death for an attempt
to assassinate Napoleon. While here he executed busts of Wash-
ington and many other distinguished characters. He invited Dr.
Hugh Williamson to sit for one, and that person made himself ap-
pear exceedingly ridiculous by the puerile manner in which he de-
clined the compliment.

In a collection which I have made of more than sixty engraved

So- (DMATEJLH &

x .X

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 411

portraits of Washington published during his life probably the
largest collection of the kind in existence I find three which pur-
port to be from paintings by Charles Wilson Peale. One, painted
at Mount Vernon in 1770, was engraved by K. Scott; another,
painted in 1780, was engraved in mezzotint by Peale himself; and
the third, from a picture dated 1783, was engraved the following
year in Paris. Mr. Peale painted fourteen portraits of Washington,
but probably not more than four or five of them were, from life.
His brother James painted two, and his son Rembrandt one.

It has frequently been stated that Mr. Wertmiiller, a German,
painted a portrait of Washington, from life, in 1783 ; but there is
no evidence that the President ever sat to him.

Gilbert Stuart, after a brilliant career in London, established
himself for a short time in New York. Soon after his arrival Judge
Gushing, who happened then to be in the city, invited him to tea, and
Mrs. Gushing refers to him in her diary as " an extraordinary limner,
said to excel by far any other in America." His reputation was so
high indeed that everybody who was rich enough to pay his price
was anxious to sit to him, and he produced with great rapidity a
large number of portraits. But a desire to paint Washington had
been one of the chief causes of his return to the United States, and
he was impatient to begin his work. His first picture was un-
successful, but the second was in every respect masterly, and the
artist and the subject were equally pleased with it. Only the head
was finished. From this he made more than twenty copies. Of

his four or five full-lengths, the first was sent by Mr. Bingham* as

* Before sitting for this picture Washington wrote to Stuart the following note : " Sir : I am
under promise to Mrs. Bingham to sit for you to-morrow at nine o'clock ; and wishing to know
if it is convenient to you that I should do so, and whether it shall be at your own house, (as she
talked of the state house,) I send this note to you to ask information. I am, sir, your obedient
servant, GEO. WASHINGTON. Monday evening, llth April, 1796." He sat at Stuart's own house,
and was accompanied several times by Harriet Chew, (afterwards Mrs. Carroll,) whose conver-
sation he said should give his face its most agreeable expression.

412 . THE REPUBLICAN COURT

a present to Lord Lansdowne, and the last is now in Fanueil Hall
in Boston.

A bust of Washington was modelled by a Mr. Gullagher, of
Boston, in 1Y89 ; a much better one was produced by -Mr. Eccles-
ton, of Virginia, in 1796. The last portrait of him was in crayon, by
Sharpless, drawn the same year.

Among the miniature painters of the time of Washington Ben-
jamin Trott held a conspicuous rank ; but no artist in this depart-
ment is deserving of comparison with Edward Malbone, for pro-
priety and grace, or the details of finished execution. " The Hours "
show what capacities he had for composition, but his vocation was
for portraiture, and notwithstanding the depreciation of this branch
of art by its professors or by others, "the power of animating and
dignifying the countenance, and impressing on it the appearance of
wisdom and virtue, requires," as Sir Joshua Reynolds well observes,
" a nobleness of conception which goes beyond any thing in the
mere exhibition of even the most perfect forms." When Mr. Mon-
roe was in London, on his way to France, as minister to that coun-
try, Mr. West said to him, " I have seen a picture painted by a
young man of the name of Malbone, which no man in England
could excel ; " and other critics, of authority as high as that of the
President of the. Eoyal Academy, have declared that there are
even now in the most famous collections no miniatures comparable
to those of our ingenious countryman, whose works continue to be
cherished among the choicest treasures of the few families who em-
ployed him at the close of the last and the beginning of the present
century. The beauties of the time of Washington were for the
most part somewhat faded before Malbone was fairly started in his
career ; but this volume is adorned by an engraving from one of
his works, alike remarkable for fidelity and a simple and chaste
elegance rarely displayed in such performances.

THE CONCLUSION.

As the second term of his administration drew near its end, many
of the friends of Washington urged him to continue for another
period of four years at the head of affairs ; but it was impossible
to change his purpose of retiring to private life. He was deeply
wounded by the profligacy of his enemies, and on the twelfth of
June, 1796, wrote to Colonel Humphreys, who was still in Portu-
gal : " The gazettes will give you a pretty good idea of the state
of politics and parties in this country, and will show you at the
same time, if Bache's Aurora is among them, in what manner I am
attacked for persevering steadily in measures which to me appear
necessary to preserve us, during the conflicts of belligerent powers,
in a state of tranquillity. But these attacks, unjust and unpleasant
as they are, will occasion no change in my conduct, nor will they
produce any other effect in my mind than to increase the solicitude
which long since has taken fast hold of my heart, to enjoy in the
shades of retirement the consolation of believing that I have ren-
dered to my country every service to which my abilities were com-
petent not from pecuniary or ambitious motives, nor from a
desire to provide for any men farther than their intrinsic merit en-
titled them, and surely not with a view of bringing my own rela-

414 THE KEPUBLICAN COUKT.

tions into office. Malignity therefore may dart its shafts, but nc
earthly power can deprive me of the satisfaction of knowing that
I have not in the whole course of my administration committed an
intentional error."

With Mr. Jefferson the President had maintained an occasional
and formal intercourse up to this period. On the sixth of July,
between three and four weeks after the above sentences were sent
to Colonel Humphreys, he addressed to the chief of the democratic'
party a final communication, in which he says : " Until within the
last year or two I had no conception that parties would or even
could go the length I have been witness to ; nor did I believe, un-
til lately, that it was within the bounds of probability, hardly
within those of possibility, that, while I was using my utmost ex-
ertions to establish a national character of our own, independent,
as far as our obligations and justice and truth would permit, of
every nation of the earth, and wished by steering a steady course
to preserve this country from the horrors of a desolating war, I
should be accused of being the enemy of one nation, and subject
to the influence of another ; and, to prove it, that every act of my
administration would be tortured, and the grossest and most insidi-
ous representations of them made, by giving one side only of a
subject, and that too in such exaggerated and indecent terms as
could scarcely be applied to a Nero, a notorious defaulter, or even
to a common pickpocket. But enough of this. I have already
gone further in the expression of my feelings than I intended."
This brought the correspondence of the founders and heads of the
rival parties to a final conclusion.

In the following September, nearly six months before the end
of his administration, he published his Farewell Address to the
People of the United States, the most dignified exhibition of polit-
ical wisdom that ever emanated from the mind of a statesman. It

THE CONCLUSION. 415

was generally received by the legislatures and the people with the
respect which was due to such a display of feeling and understand-
ing, from so exalted a character, and it has continued to be an in-
fluence and an authority, in the affairs of the nation, second only to
the Constitution itself.

In December the two houses of Congress came together, and
the President delivered, in person, as was his custom, his last mes-
sage, at the close of which he said, " The situation in which I now
stand, for the last time, in the midst of the representatives of the
people of the United States, naturally recalls the period when the
administration of the present form of government commenced ; and
I cannot omit the occasion to congratulate you and my country on
the success of the experiment, nor to repeat my fervent supplica-
tions to the Supreme Euler and Arbiter of nations, that his care
may still be extended to the United States; that the virtue and
happiness of the people may be preserved ; and that the govern-
ment which they have instituted for the protection of their liber-
ties may be perpetual."

II.

THE sixty-fifth anniversary of the birth-day of Washington was
celebrated with an unusual but a saddened enthusiasm. Every one
felt that it was the last occasion of the kind on which he would be
present in Philadelphia, and that the illustrious Chief would him-
self see but few returns of it any where. The ships in the harbor
displayed their gayest colors ; the bells of the churches every half
hour during the day rang merry peals ; and the members of Con-
gress and other official characters, with a great number of the most
respectable private citizens, waited on the President at his residence
to offer in person their homage and congratulations. In the even-
ing there was a splendid ball at the amphitheatre. The area usu-

416 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

ally occupied by the equestrians was floored over for dancing, and
the whole interior was tastefully and profusely ornamented with ever-
greens, the symbols of his fame, and with banners and inscriptions.
Upon an elevated platform was a sofa, with a canopy over it, for
the President and Mrs. Washington. He did not confine himself
to this, but moved about, conversing familiarly with the company,
consisting of the foreign ambassadors, members of the cabinet,
senators, representatives, and the most distinguished strangers and
inhabitants of the city. Jeremiah Smith, writing at eleven o'clock
the same evening, tells us that there were present five hundred
ladies, elegantly dressed, and a still greater number of gentlemen.
" The President and Mrs. Washington," he says, " were in very good
spirits, and, I am persuaded, have not spent so agreeable an even-
ing for a long time. Every countenance bespoke pleasure and ap-
probation ; even democrats forgot for a moment their enmity, and
seemed to join heartily in the festivity."

A few days before his final retirement the President held his
last formal levee. It was attended not only by the beauty and
fashion of the metropolis, but by a larger number of eminent men
than had ever been present on a similar occasion. The leading
democratic journal, " The Aurora," had a few days previously given
expression to the feelings of its party in a characteristic article, in
which it was alleged that " if ever a nation was debauched by a
man, the American nation has been debauched by Washington ; if
ever a nation was deceived by a man, the American nation has been
deceived by Washington ;" and the poor wretch, Thomas Paine,
had addressed a public letter to the President, in which he said,
u As to you, sir, treacherous in private friendship, and a hypocrite
in public life, the world will be puzzled to decide whether you are
an apostate or an impostor, whether you have abandoned good
principles, or whether you ever had any ; " and when a resolution

THE CONCLUSION. 417

was offered in the House of Eepresentatives, complimenting Mm on
his approaching release from the cares of government, Andrew Jack-
son, who had lately "become a member of Congress, with twenty
others, voted against it ; yet at this last levee the respectability of
the country was largely represented the men who were most emi-
nent for talents and for honorable actions came, in crowds, to offer
a reverence the most sincere and affectionate that ever was yielded
to human greatness.

On the second of March Washington wrote to his old friend
General Knox : " To the wearied traveller, who sees a resting-place,
and is bending his body to lean thereon, I now compare myself;
but for me to be suffered to do this in peace, is too much to be en-
dured by some ; to misrepresent my motives, to reprobate my poli-
tics, and to weaken the confidence which has been reposed in my
administration, are objects which cannot be relinquished by those
who will be satisfied with nothing short of a change in our politi-
cal system. The consolation, however, which results from conscious
rectitude, and the approving voice of my country, unequivocally
expressed by its representatives, deprives their sting of its poison,
and places in the same point of view both the weakness and the
malignity of their efforts. Although the prospect of retirement is
most grateful to my soul, and I have not a wish to mix again in
the great world, or to partake in its politics, yet I am not without
my regrets at parting with (perhaps never more to meet them) the
few intimates whom I love, and among these, be assured, you are
one. The account given by Mr. Bingham and others of your agree-
able situation and prospects, at St. George's, gave me infinite plea-
sure, and no one wishes more sincerely than I do that they may
increase with your years. The remainder of my life, which in the
course of nature cannot be long, will be occupied in rural amuse-
ments ; and though I shall seclude myself as much as possible from
53

418 THE REPUBLICAN COURT

the noisy and bustling crowd, none would more than myself be re-
galed by the company of those I esteem, at Mount Vernon more
than twenty miles from which, after I arrive there, it is not likely
that I shall ever be To-morrow, at dinner, I shall, as a servant
of the public, take my leave of the President elect, of the foreign
characters, the heads of departments, <fec., and the day following,
with pleasure, I shall witness the inauguration of my successor in
the chair of government."

To this dinner as many were invited as could be accommodated
at the President's table. Among them were Mr. and Mrs. Liston,
the Marquis and Marchioness d'Yrujo, and the other foreign minis-
ters, with their wives ; Mr. and Mrs. Pickering, Mr. and Mrs. Wol
cott, Mr. and Mrs. McHenry, Mr. and Mi's. Gushing, Mr. and Mrs.
Bingham,* Mr. Adams, Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Jefferson, and Bishop
White. " During the dinner," says the bishop, " much hilarity
prevailed ; but on the removal of the cloth it was put an end to by
the President certainly without design. Having filled his glass,
he addressed the company, with a smile on his countenance, saying,
4 Ladies and gentlemen, this is the last time I shall drink your
health, as a public man. I do it with sincerity, and wishing you

* The fate of Mrs. Bingham, so frequently mentioned in these pages, presents an affecting
example of the uncertainty of earthly honors and enjoyments. Returning from a party of plea-
sure, soon after the birth of her only son, exposure to the cold, in a sleigh, brought on a malady
which was soon perceived to be dangerous. A milder climate was recommended, and a vessel
fitted with great care for her transport to the Bermudas. Her departure, on a palanquin, from
her splendid mansion to this vessel, which, it was generally apprehended, would never restore
her to her friends, was an event which attracted the gaze of hundreds. Climate could produce
no benefit, and after some months of gradual but sure decline, she expired in those islands, on
the eleventh of May, 1801, at the age of thirty-seven. Her husband, overwhelmed with the
loss of such a wife, went afterwards to England, and died at Bath, about the year 1804. His
monument, in the abbey church there, attracts the notice of the American traveller. Mrs.
Bingham left three children. Her eldest daughter, Anne, who died in 1848, married Alexander
Baring, the late Lord Ashburton, and was the mother of the present peer. The second, Maria,
married, first, Alexandre, Comte de Tilly ; second, Henry Baring ; and, third, le Marquis de
Blaisel. She died, I believe, not long since.

THE CONCLUSION. 419

all possible happiness. 7 There was an end of all pleasantry.' 1 The
bishop chanced to turn his eyes toward the wife of the British
minister, and perceived that her cheeks were suffused with tears.
Doubtless there were many other such displays of feeling.

III.

THE next day, at an early hour, Chestnut street in the vicinity
of Congress Hall was filled with an immense concourse of people,
anxious to see once more the retiring President. At eleven o'clock
Mr. Jefferson took his oath as Vice President, in the presence of
the senate, and that body soon after proceeded to the chamber of
the representatives, which was densely crowded. Many of the mem-
bers had yielded their chairs to women, and every place on the
floor and in the gallery was occupied. At twelve o'clock Wash-
ington entered, and was greeted with enthusiastic cheers and the
waving of handkerchiefs. Mr. Adams followed, in a few moments,
and was received in the same manner. The Chief Justice, Oliver
Ellsworth, with his associates, Gushing, Wilson, and Iredell, was
seated at a table in front of the chair of the Speaker, and when he
had administered the oath of his office to the new President, the
inaugural speech was delivered, and was heard with a profound at-
tention. Mr. Adams referred to Washington, as a personage " who,
by a long course of great actions, regulated by prudence, justice,
temperance, and fortitude conducting a people inspired by the
same virtues, and animated with the same ardent patriotism and
love of liberty, to independence and peace, to increasing wealth and
unexampled prosperity had merited the gratitude of his fellow-
citizens, commanded the highest praises of foreign nations, and se-
cured immortal glory with posterity."

Dr. William Duer, lately President of Columbia College, was a
spectator of this scene,- " At the close of the ceremony," he says,

420 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

" as the venerable hero moved towards the door, there was a rush
from the gallery that threatened the lives of those who were most
eager to catch a last look of him who, among mortals, was the first
object of their veneration. Some of us effected an escape by slip-
ping down the pillars. I succeeded in making good my retreat
through the outer door, in time to see the retiring veteran, as he
waved his hat in return for the cheers of the multitude, while his
gray locks c streamed like a meteor to the wind. 7 Seldom as he
was known to smile, his face now beamed with radiance and be-
nignity. I followed him in the crowd to his own door, where, as he
turned to address the multitude, his countenance assumed a serious
and almost melancholy expression, his voice failed him, his eyes were
suffused with tears, and only by his gestures could he indicate his
thanks, and convey a farewell blessing to the people. This was
the last I saw of the most illustrious of mankind, and should I live
a thousand years, I ' ne'er shall look upon his like again.' " As soon
as Mr. Adams had returned to his residence Washington made him
a visit, cordially congratulated him, and expressed a wish that his
administration might be happy, successful, and honorable. In the
evening he attended an entertainment given by the principal inhab-
itants of the city, at the amphitheatre. The leading public charac-
ters, including the foreign ministers, were present, and the place was
decorated for the occasion with numerous paintings, referring to
Washington's life and services. One of them was a representation
of his home on the Potomac, and the surrounding scenery.

IV.

FIVE days after the inauguration of his successor Washington
set out for Mount Vernon. He was received at all the towns on
the way with the same enthusiasm which had been manifested du-
ring his triumphal journey to New York, eight years before. He

THE CONCLUSION. 42 1

was accompanied by Mrs. Washington, Miss Eleanor Custis, George
W. P. Custis, and the son of Lafayette, with his preceptor. The
other granddaughters of Mrs. Washington were married one to
Mr. Law, an English gentleman of considerable fortune, and the
other to Mr. Peters. Nelly Custis soon after became the wife of
Washington's nephew, Mr. Lawrence Lewis.

Of his daily life at Mount Vernon he has left us a pleasing de-
scription. " Having turned aside from the broad walks of political
into the narrow paths of private life, I shall leave it, for those whose
duty it is, to consider subjects of this sort, and, as every good citi-
zen ought to do, conform to whatsoever the ruling powers shall de-
cide. To make and sell a little flour, annually, to repair houses
(going fast to ruin), to build one, for the security of my papers of
a public nature, and to amuse myself in agricultural and other
rural pursuits, will constitute employment for the few years I have
to remain on this terrestrial globe. If, also, I could now and then
meet the friends I esteem, it would fill their measure and add zest to
my enjoyments ; but if this happens, it must be under my own vine
and fig-tree, as I do not think it probable that I shall go beyond
twenty miles from them." On the twenty-ninth of May he wrote,
" I begin my diurnal course with the sun ; " and having described
his preparations for the day's business, he proceeds, " by the time
I have accomplished these matters breakfast (a little after seven
o'clock) is ready; this being over, I mount my horse, and ride
round my farms, which employs me until it is time to dress for din-
ner, at which I rarely miss seeing strange faces, come, as they say,
out of respect for me. Pray, would not the word curiosity answer
as well ? And how different this from having a few social friends
at a cheerful board ! The usual time of sitting at table, a walk,
and tea, bring me within the dawn of candle-light, previous to
which, if not prevented by company, I resolve that as soon as the

422 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

glimmering taper supplies the place of the great luminary, I will
retire to my writing-table and acknowledge the letters I have
received ; but when the lights are brought, I feel tired, and disin-
clined to engage in this work, conceiving that the next night will
do as well. The next night comes, and with it the same causes of
postponement, and so on Having given you this history of a day,
it will serve for a year." In this way passed the closing period of
his life. When the outrageous conduct of the French Directory
made it necessary for our government to prepare for war, the aged
Chief, ever ready to sacrifice his private interests, his happiness,
and even his fame, for his country, accepted again the office of
commander of the armies of the United States ; but fortunately
peace was preserved, and he was not called from his retirement.

Every one is familiar with the history of the closing scene oi
his august career. Between ten and eleven o'clock, on the night oi
Saturday, the fourteenth of December, 1^99, he expired.

In this volume I have attempted in a desultory way to illustrate
the habits of society and the characteristics of eminent persons, in
an age the most important and extraordinary in our history. The
main design has been to exhibit the social rather than the political
aspects of that time ; but it will readily be perceived that it was
impossible to do one and not the other. The events which secured
to this country a popular constitution as a possession for ever, made
every American a member of the most responsible, difficult, and
dignified profession which the ability of man can illustrate the
profession of politics. By the fundamental law of the country we
are all hereditary statesmen ; we are all advisers and active directors
of the administration. " La vie du plus simple particulier dans une
republique," said the elder and the wiser of the Mirabeaus, " esfc

THE CONCLUSION. 423

plus compliquee que celle d'un liomme en place dans une monar-
chic." Of this calling of politics may be said what Augustus
Schlegel has said of authorship, that according to the spirit in
which it is pursued, it is an infamy, a pastime, a day-labor, a handi-
craft, an art, a science, a virtue. It is of the first importance to
society, and every one in it, that the character and tone of this
profession should be raised, and maintained at an elevation ; that
its members should be capable of dealing in it with competent
ability, and with that temper of confidence that rejects and de-
spises tricks and intrigue ; that they should be always feeling that
it involves principles, and not merely personalities; that it is a
great moral and intellectual science, in which passions and interests
must play in perpetual subordination to the permanent laws of wis-
dom and truth ; and that all its acts and all its contests stand in
such intimate relations with the lofty interests of human virtue and
human greatness, that the humblest efforts in its cause partake of
dignity, and its least rewards are truly honorable. Nothing would
have a more happy influence on the politics of this day, nothing
raise, expand and purify them, or give them higher significance
and greater weight, than a study of the private and public charac-
ters and actions of those who founded our constitution, and watched
over the earliest development of its principles. To comprehend the
distinction and the permanent relation between the great parties
which have divided and will always divide this country, it is indis-
pensable to resort to the conferences and the conduct of those who,
in the brighter and better time of the commonwealth, explored the
depths of that subject with the sagacity of philosophers, and illus-
trated its extent upon the largest scale of statesmanship.

" I am not fonder of simpletons in politics than other people
are," wrote M. Capfigue, " but for the honor of mankind I am
willing to believe that men may be clever and still retain perfect

424 THE REPUBLICAN COURT.

probity and good faith." This difficult art, to carry into public life
the morals and the sentiments that give grace to private character ;
to join sincerity and directness of personal deportment with effect-
iveness and force of political action ; to gain the outward with
neither soilure nor loss of a more sacred excellence within, seemed
to be the native inspiration of those extraordinary men who formed
the entourage of Washington. They were a band of " Happy
Warriors,"

" Whose high endeavors were an inward light
That made the path before them always bright,
More skilful in self-knowledge, even more pure,
As tempted more :

Who, in a 'state where men are tempted still
To evil, fbr a guard against worse ill,
And what in quality or act is best
Doth seldom on a right foundation rest,
Still fixed good on good alone, and owe
To virtue every triumph that they know."

It has not been attempted in this too hasty performance to dis-
cuss any of those important questions of policy which were sug-
gested or decided during the earlier Administrations. The histories
of affairs are sufficiently numerous and ample for the inquisitive
student who would examine the claims which the statesmanship of
Washington, Adams, Jay, Hamilton, Marshall, and their friends, on
the one side, and that of Jefferson, Randolph, Giles, Paine, Madison,
Monroe, and the rest of the opposition leaders, on the other, pre-
sents for our approval and imitation. But demeanor in the drawing-
room was then at the seat of government a reflection of temper in
the cabinet and the senate ; and styles of living and conversation
were continually referred to in public debates as evidences of po-
litical tendencies, and causes of apprehended political dangers. To
illustrate the personal qualities of the chief characters of that time,
by collecting these scant and fragmentary reminiscences of habit.

THE CONCLUSION. . 425

feeling, and social condition, was therefore a task not less worthy of
an inquirer respecting the rise of parties and opinions, than of a
historian of civility.

The founders and first administrators of our government were
intellectually and morally far above the ordinary examples of hu-
man greatness. A fame as pure and splendid as theirs is among
the rarest products of history. The central figure in that group of
eminent personages was the Father of his Country, and it is de-
lightful to turn from the humiliating page in which is recorded the
insults which he suffered for his virtues, to accounts which have
come down to us of the honors he received from those who more
justly appreciated his nature and his services. The select circle of
official and private characters with whom Washington was most
intimate, comprised an amount of respectability which perhaps was
never in any royal or imperial court surpassed, and of this circle
none ever appro ached -him without being either fascinated by his
grandeur or touched by his goodness.

The higher domestic life of that period, as revealed in all we
know of its refinement and elegance, its dignified courtesy and in-
flexible morality, can be contemplated with only a respectful admi-
ration. It was in keeping with the frankness and sincerity of as-
cendant politics. Women unhesitatingly evinced their sympathies
with whatever was generous and honorable in public conduct, but
rarely if ever in forgetfulness of the requirements of feminine pro-
priety. Though patriotic they were content to be women still, and
were anxious for the distinctions of delicacy and grace. They per-
ceived that it was their nobility not to be men, but to be women
worthy of men. In possession of every right with which they were
endowed by nature, they had no desire to exercise men's prerog-
atives. There were indeed some shameless females, not unwilling
to exhibit mortification at having been created of a sex whose finer

426 THE BEPUBLICAN COURT.

attributes were beyond their emulation, and all the poor stuff which
this class now displays in periodical offences against decency, was
spoken and written till it grew too stale even for derision ; but
these creatures were mot in society ; they were regarded only as
curious monsters. Such wives as those of Washington, Adams,
Jay, "Wolcott, Bradford, and King, had no desire, as Montaigne
expresses it, " to cover their beauties^ under others that were none
of theirs."

APPENDIX.

PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF WASHINGTON, AS DESCRIBED BY SOME
CONTEMPORARY FOREIGNERS.

THE surpassing greatness of Washington was seen and felt by every one who -was permitted
to come into his presence. The stature and air of other eminent characters have frequently dis-
appointed their expectations whose ideas had been formed by the fame of illustrious actions.
With those who saw Washington this was never the case. Every thing about him gave assurance
of a character altogether transcending the ordinary dimensions of humanity. We have des-
criptions of him by many foreigners who visited this country during his military or his po-
litical career, but unfortunately none by his most intimate, affectionate, and reverent friends,
Lafayette, Luzerne, and some others, in the army, or in the earlier diplomatic service of France.
From those that we have, however, a few are here transcribed.

In the expedition under the Marshal Count de Rochambeau, which arrived in America in
1780, were Lieutenant General Count Mathieu Dumas, and Major General the Marquis de Chas-
tellux, both of whom afterward attempted the portraiture of Washington in their Memoirs. DUMAS
introduces him as follows :

" GENERAL WASHINGTON, accompanied by the Marquis de Lafayette, repaired in person to the French head-
quarters. We had been impatient to see the hero of liberty. His dignified address, his simplicity of manners, and
mild gravity, surpassed our expectation, and won every heart. After having conferred with Count Rochambeau, as
he was leaving us to return to his head-quarters near West Point, I received the welcome order to accompany him aa
far as Providence. We arrived there at night; the whole of the population had assembled from the suburbs; we
were surrounded by a crowd of children carrying torches, reiterating tie acclamations of the citizens ; all were eager
to approach the person of him whom they called their father, and pressed so closely around us that they hindered us
from proceeding. General Washington was much affected, stopped a few moments, and pressing my hand, said, ' We
may be beaten by the English ; it is the chance of war ; but behold an army which they can never conquer. 1 " After-
wards the count conveyed to him some despatches, at Mount Vernon. " I recall the impressions which I received
during the short stay that I made in the family of the deliverer of America. The brilliant actions of great men can-
not fail to be recalled by history ; the anecdotes of their private life are equally worthy of being preserved, because
they often make us better acquainted with the principal traits of their character. The general gave me a most cor-
dial reception. He appeared to be highly satisfied with the despatches which I delivered to him, in the presence of
M. do Lafayette, Colonel Hamilton, his aid-de-carnp. and Colonel Humphreys, who performed the duties of cliief of
the staff. He withdrew to confer with them. Being invited to dinner, which was remarkably plain, I had leisure to
admire the perfect harmony of his noble and fine countenance, with the simplicity of his language and the justice and
depth of his observations. He generally sat long at table, and animated the conversation by unaffected cheerfulness.
Much was said of the treachery of Arnold, of the firmness and moderation with which the General had just suppressed
the insubordination of the troops of the state of Pennsylvania, and lastly of the situation of Virginia, of the maichel
and counter-marches of Lord Cornwallis. I was particularly struck with the marks of affection which the General
showed to his pupil, his adopted son the Marquis de Lafayette. Seated opposite to him, he looked at him with pleas
ore, and listened to him with manifest interest One of the company, (if I remember rightly it was Colonel Hamll.

428 APPENDIX.

ton, who was afterwards so unfortunately and so prematurely snatched from the hopes of his country,) related the
manner in which the General had received a despatch from Sir Henry Clinton, addressed to Mr. Washington. Taking
It from the hands of the flag of truce, and seeing the direction, 'This letter,' said he, 'is directed to a planter of the
state of Virginia. I shall have it delivered to him after the end of the war; till that time it shall not be opened.' A
second despatch was addressed to his Excellency General Washington."

The description of Washington by the Marquis de CHASTELLUX is endorsed by the anonymous
translator, who was himself familiar with the Chief's personal appearance. He confesses that it is
feebly rendered, but declares that " every feature, every tint, of the portrait, will stand the test
of the severest scrutiny."

"Here would be the proper place to give the portrait of General Washington; but what can my testimony add to
the idea already formed of him? The continent of North America, from Boston to Charleston, is a great volume,
every page of which presents his eulogium. I know, that having had the opportunity of a near inspection, and of
closely observing him, some more particular details may be expected from me ; but the strongest characteristic of this
respectable man, is the perfect union which reigns between the physical and moral qualities which compose the indi-
vidual ; one alone will enable you to judge of all the rest. If you are presented with medals of Caesar, of Trajan, or
Alexander, on examining their features, you will still be led to ask what was their stature, and the form of their per-
sons; but if you discover, in a heap of ruins, the head or the limb of an antique Apollo, be not curious about the other
parts, but rest assured that they all were conformable to those of a god. Let not this comparison be attributed to en-
thusiasm ! It is not my intention to exaggerate ; I wish only to express the impression General Washington has left
on my mind the idea of a perfect whole, which cannot be the product of enthusiasm, which rather would reject it,
since the effect of proportion is to diminish the idea of greatness. Brave without temerity, laborious without ambi-
tion, generous without prodigality, noble without pride, virtuous without severity, he seems always to have confined
himself within those limits, where the virtues, by clothing themselves in more lively but more changeable and doubt-
ful colors, may be mistaken for faults. This is the seventh year that he has commanded the army, and that he has
obeyed the Congress. More need not be said, especially in America, where they know how to appreciate all the merit
contained in this simple fact. Let it be repeated that Conde was inlrepid, Turenne prudent, Eugene adroit, and
Catinet disinterested. It is not thus that Washington will be characterized. It will be said of him, at the end of a
long civil war, he had nothing with which he could reproach himself. If any thing can be more marvellous than
such a character, it is the unanimity of the public suffrages in his favor. Soldier, magistrate, people, all love and ad-
mire him ; all speak of him in terms of tenderness and veneration. Does there then exist a virtue capable of restrain-
ing the injustice of mankind? or, are glory and happiness too recently established in America, for envy to have
deigned to pass the seas? In speaking of this perfect whole, of which General Washington furnishes the idea, I have
not excluded exterior form. His stature is noble and lofty ; he is well made and exactly proportioned ; his physiognomy
mild and agreeable, but such as renders it impossible to speak particularly of any of his features, -so that in quitting
him you have only the recollection of a fine face. He has neither a grave nor a familiar air. His brow is sometimes
marked with thought, but never with inquietude. Inspiring respect, he inspires confidence, and his smile is always
the smile of benevolence."

The Abbe EOBIN, a French priest attached to the army of Eochambeau as chaplain, and evi
dently a man of education, refinement, and liberality, gives us the following sketch of "Washing
ton in his Nouveau Voyage dans VAmerique Septentrionale, published in Paris in 1782.

"I have seen General Washington, that most singular man the soul and support of one of the greatest revolts
tions that has ever happened, or can happen. I fixed my eyes upon him with that keen attention which the sight of
a great man always inspires. We naturally entertain a secret hope of discovering in the features of such illustrious
persons some traces of that excellent genius which distinguishes them from, and elevates them above their fellow
mortals. Perhaps the exterior of no man was better calculated to gratify these expectations than that of General
Washington. He is of a tall and noble stature, well proportioned, a fine, cheerful, open countenance, a simple and
modest carriage ; and his whole mien has something in it that interests the French, the Americans, and even enemies
themselves in his favor. Placed in a military view, at the head of a nation where each individual has a share in the
supreme legislative authority, and where coercive laws are yet in a great degree destitute of vigor, where the climate
and manners can add but little to their energy, where the spirit of party, private interest, slowness and national indo-
lence, slacken, suspend and overthrow the best concerted measures ; although so situated, he has found out a method
of keeping his troops in the most absolute subordination : making them rivals in praising him ; fearing him even when
he is silent, and retaining their full confidence in him after defeats and disgrace. His reputation has, at length, arisen
to a most brilliant height; and he may now grasp at the most unbounded power, without provoking envy or exciting
suspicion. He has ever shown himself superior to fortune, and in the most trying adversity has discovered resources
till then unknown; and, as if his abilities only increased and dilated at the prospect of difficulty, he is never better
supplied than when he seems destitute of every thing, nor have his arms ever been so fatal to his enemies, as at the
very instant when they bad thought they had crushed him for ever. It is his to excite a spirit of heroism and enthu
eiasm in a people, who are by nature very little susceptible of it; to gain over the respect and homage of those whose
interest it is to refuse it, and to execute his plans and projects by means unknown even to those who are his instru-
ments; he is intrepid in dangers, yet never seeks them but when the good of his country demands it, preferring rather
to temporize and act upon the defensive, because he knows such a mode of conduct best suits the genius and circum-
stances of the nation, and that all he and they have to expect, depends upon time, fortitude, and patience : he is fruga?

APPENDIX. 42S

and sober in regard to himself, but profuse in the public cause ; like Peter the Great, he has by defeats conducted his
army to victory; and like Fabius, but with fewer resources and more difficulty, he has conquered without fighting,
and saved his country. Such are the ideas that arise in the mind, at the sight of this great man, in examining the
events in which he has had a share, or in listening to those whose duty obliges them to be near his person, and conse-
quently bsst display his true character. In all these extensive states they consider him in the light of a beneficent
God, dispensing peace and happiness around him. Old men, women, and children, press about him when he accident-
ally passes along, and think themselves happy, once in their lives, to have seen him they follow him through the
towns with torches, and celebrate his arrival by public illuminations. The Americans, that cool and sedate people,
who in the midst of their most trying difficulties, have attended only to the directions and impulses of plain method
and common reason, are roused, animated, and inflamed at the very mention of his name: and the first songs that
nentiment or gratitude has dictated, have been to celebrate General Washington."

JOSEPH MANDKILLON, a French merchant and man of letters, established at Amsterdam, whence
he made a voyage to this country, has the following in his Speciateur Americain, published in 1784:

"Why did I not receive from nature the genius and eloquence of the celebrated orators of Greece and Rome?
Oh that I could but for a moment snatch their pencils to trace rapidly the picture of the greatest man that America
has ever produced, and one of the most celebrated that ever existed ! With what energy, with what enthusiasm would I
not speak of his brilliant virtues! who is the man that would be jealous of the homage I pay him? who is the man
that would tax me with flattery ? We are no longer in those barbarous ages in whicli men offered incense to tyrants,
in which they dared to give the name of hero to men addicted to every vice, and whom they dreaded too much to
offend. We are no longer in those ages when cruel sovereigns had mercenary writers to palliate their crimes, and to
praise them for virtues they did not possess. Our more enlightened age presents to us in history sovereigns and men as
they really were ; truth is its character. The public veneration for General Washington is the precious fruit of the sever-
est examination of his conduct. Jealous of his glory and the approbation of his contemporaries, he enjoys them without
arrogance and without presumption ; and if he does himself the justice to believe that he merits his celebrity, he like-
wise knows that posterity, which raises and demolishes statues, will never injure the trophies erected to bis memory.
The hand of a barbarian only, who cannot read, or a savage ignorant of history, with the stroke of a hatchet would
break his statue, supposing it to be that of a despot. But when from the ruins of the inscription they shall collect
the name of Washington, the chief of these barbarians or savages, instructed by tradition of the American revolution,
will be avenged for the outrageous 1 attempt, and cause the monument to be repaired. On its base will be read, ignor-
ance had overthrown it, and justice again raised it up : mortals revere his memory ! Having been the soul aud sup-
port of one of the greatest events of the age, it is but just that Washington should pass his days without a cloud, in
the bosom of repose, of honor and public veneration. Nature sometimes places the soul of an hero in a feeble body ;
but when we speak of the brilliant actions of a man whose features and stature we are ignorant of, we are inclined to
paint him as endowed with every valuable gift of nature, and please ourselves with believing that his features bear
the image of that genius which elevates him above his fellow men. No person is better calculated to maintain this
opinion than Washington. A proper size, noble and well proportioned, an open countenance, soft and sedate, but
without any one striking feature, and when you depart from him, the remembrance only of a fine man will remain ;
a fine figure, an exterior plain and modest, a dignity insinuating, and firm without severity, a manly boldness, an un-
common penetration to seize the whole of things submitted to his judgment, arid a complete experience in war and
politics; equally useful in the cabinet and in the field of Mars, the idol of his country, the admiration of the enemy
he has fought and vanquished ; modest in victory, great in the reverse. Why do I say reverse ? very far from being
subdued he has made every misfortune contribute to his success. He knows to obey as well as to command, he never
made use of his power or the submission of his army to derogate from the authority of his country or to disobey its
commands. With a perfect knowledge of man, he knew how to govern freemen in peace, and by his example, his
activity, his energy, be taught them to love glory and danger, and to despise the inclemency of the climate and the
rigors of winter. The soldier, jealous of his praises, feared even his silence; never was general better served and
obeyed. More thoughtful of his country's glory tha*n his own, he never trusted to chance; his operations marked by
prudence, had always the preservation of his country for their sole object; he appeared unwilling to possess glory but
from her alone ; his maxim was always to gain time, to act on the defence, and without attacking his enemies in front,
he knew how to harass them, to exhaust their forces by excursions, by surprises of which a great man only can value
the utility. Like Camillus he forsook the charms of rural life and flew to the assistance of his country ; like Fabius
ne saved it by procrastinating; like Peter the Great he triumphed over his enemies by the experience acquired by
misfortune. There is not a man, not a monarch in Europe who would not envy the glory of having acted such a part
as Washington. It is said the king of Prussia sent him a sword with only this direction, The oldest general of the
old world to the greatest general of the new. If ever mortal fully enjoyed his reputation during his own lifetime, if
ever a citizen found in his own country a recompense for his services and abilities, it is this hero; every where en-
tertained, admired, caressed, he every where meets hearts eager to render him homage; if he enters a town, or
if he passes through a village, old and young men, women and children, all follow him with acclamations; all load
him with blessings ; in every heert he has a temple consecrated to respect and friendship. How I am delighted
with representing to myself the French general,* equally the idol and the hero of his army, saying at table as he sat
near Washington, that he had never known what true glory ;ras, nor a truly great man, until he became acquaint-
ed with him. When America, everthrown by the dreadful revolutions of nature, shall no longer exist, it will be
remembered of Washington, that he was the defender of liberty, the friend of man, and the avenger of an oppressed
i>eople."

* The Manhftl Count de Rochambeau,

430 APPENDIX.

The celebrated Italian poet, ALFIERI, in 1788 addressed his tragedy of The First Brutw " to
the most illustrious and free citizen, General Washington," as follows :

" The name of the deliverer of America alone can stand on the titls-page of the tragedy of the deliverer of Rome.
To you, excellent and most rare citizen, I therefore dedicate this, without first hinting at a part of the so many praises
due to yourself, which I now deem all comprehended in the sole mention of your name. Nor can this my slight al-
lusion to you appear to you contaminated by adulation, since, not knowing you in person, and living disjoined
from you by the immense ocean, we have but too emphatically nothing between us in common but the love of glory.
Happy are you, who have been able to build your glory on the sublime and eternal basis of love to your country,
demonstrated by actions ! I, though not born free, yet having abandoned in time my lares, and for no other reason
than that I might write loftily of liberty, hope by this means at least to have proved what might have been my love
for my country if I had indeed fortunately belonged to one that deserved the title. In this single respect, I do not
think myself wholly unworthy to mingle my name with yours."

CHARLES JAMES Fox said in the British Parliament on the thirty-first of January, 1794:

" Illustrious man ! deriving honor less from the splendor of his situation than from the dignity of his mind! before
whom all borrowed greatness sinks into insignificance ! . . . . I cannot, indeed, help admiring the wisdom and fortune
of this great man; by the phrase 'fortune 1 1 mean not in the slightest degree to derogate from his merit; but not-
withstanding his extraordinary talents and exalted integrity, it must be considered as singularly fortunate that he should
have experienced a lot which so seldom falls to the portion of humanity, and have passed through such a variety of
scenes without stain and without reproach. It must indeed create astonishment that, placed in circumstances so criti-
cal and filling for a series of years a station so conspicuous, his character should never once have been called in ques-
tion; that he should in no one instance have been accused either of improper insolence or of mean submission, in his
transactions with foreign nations. For him it has been reserved to run the race of glory without experiencing the
smallest interruption to the brilliancy of his career."

In 1795, Mr. ERSKINE, afterward Lord Erskine, called "Washington's attention to a passage in
the work he had then just written on the Causes and Consequences of the "War with France, in
a letter in which he says :

" I have taken the liberty to introduce your august and immortal name in a short sentence which will be found in
the book I send you. I have a large acquaintance among the most valuable and exalted classes of men ; but you are
the only human being for whom I ever felt an awful reverence. I sincerely pray God to grant you a long and serene
evening to a life so gloriously devoted to the universal happiness of the world."

II.

WASHINGTON'S "RULES OF CIVILITY AND DECENT BEHAVIOR IN COMPANY."

AMONG the earlier writings of "Washington Mr. Sparks preserves a series of directions as to per-
sonal conduct, and remarks, very justly, that whoever has studied the character of Washington
will be persuaded that some of its most prominent features took their shape from the rules which
he thus early selected and adopted as his guide.

1. Every action in company ought to be with some sign of respect to those present.

2. In the presence of others, sing not to yourself with a humming noise, nor drum with your fingers or feet
8. Speak not when others speak, sit not when others stand, and walk not when others stop.

4 Turn not your back to others, especially in speaking ; jog not the table or desk on which another reads or writes ,
lean not on any one.

5. Be no flatterer, neither play with any one that delights not to be played with.

6. Eead no letters, books, of papers in company; but when there is a necessity for doing it, you must ask leave.
Come not near the books or writings of any one so as to read them, unasked ; also, look not nigh when another ia
writing a letter.

7. Let your countenance be pleasant, but in serious matters somewhat grave.

8. Show not yourself glad at the misfortune of another, though he were your enemy.

9. They that are in dignity or office have in all places precedency ; but whilst they are young, they ought to respect
those that are their equals in birth or other qualities, though they have no public charge.

10. It is good manners to prefer them to whom we speak before ourselves, especially if they be above us, with
wtorn, in no sort, we ought to begin.

11. Let your discourse with men of business be short and comprehensive.

12. In visiting the sick, do not presently play the physician, if you be not knowing therein.

13. In writing or speaking, give to every person his due title, according to his degree and the custom of the place

14. Strive not with your superiors in argument, but always submit your judgment to others with modesty.

15. Undertake not to teach your equal in the art himself professes; it savors of arrogancy.

APPENDIX. 431

x6. "When a man does all he can, though it succeeds not well, blame not him that did It

17. Being to advise or reprehend any one, consider whether it ought to be in public or in private, presently or at
some other time, also in what terms to do it; and in reproving, show no signs of choler, but do it with sweetness and
mildness.

18. Mock not, nor jest at any thing of importance ; break no jests that are sharp or biting, and if you deliver any
.hing witty or pleasant, abstain from laughing thereat yourself.

19. Wherein you reprove another be unblamable yourself, for example is more prevalent than precept

20. Use no reproachful language against any one, neither curses nor rovilings.

21. Be not hasty to believe flying reports, to the disparagement of any one.

22. In your apparel be modest, and endeavor to accommodate nature rather than procure admiration. Keep to the
fashion of your equals, such as are civil and orderly with respect to time and place.

23. Play not the peacock, looking every where about you to see if you be well decked, if your shoes fit well, If
your stockings sit neatly, and clothes handsomely.

24. Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation, for it is better to be alone
than in bad company.

25. Let your conversation be without malice or envy, for it is a sign of a tractable and commendable nature, and
in all causes of passion admit reason to govern.

26. Be not immodest in urging your friend to discover a secret

2T. Utter not base and frivolous things amongst grown and learned men : nor very difficult questions or subjects
amongst the ignorant, nor things hard to be believed.

28. Speak not of doleful things in time of mirth, nor at the table : speak not of melancholy things, as death and
wounds, and if others mention them, change, if you can, the discourse. Tell not your dreams but to your intimate
friends.

29. Break not a jest where none take pleasure in mirth. Laugh not aloud, nor at all without occasion. Deride no
man's misfortune, though there seem to be some cause.

30. Speak not injurious words, neither in jest or earnest. Scoff at none, although they give occasion.

81. Be not forward, but friendly and courteous, the first to salute, hear and answer, and be not pensive when it Is a
time to converse.

32. Detract not from others, but neither be excessive in commending.

83. Go not thither, where you know not whether you shall be welcome or not Give not advice without being
asked, and when desired, do it briefly.

34. If two contend together, take not the part of either unconstrained, and be not obstinate in your opinion: in
things indifferent be of the major side.

85. Eeprehend not the imperfections of others, for that belongs to parents, masters, and superiors.

36. Gaze not on the marks or blemish.es of others, and ask not how they came. What you may speak in secret to
your friend, deliver not before others.

87. Speak not in an unknown tongue in company, but in your own language ; and that as those of quality do, and
not as the vulgar. Sublime matters treat seriously.

83. Think before you speak ; pronounce not imperfectly, nor bring out your words too hastily, but orderly and
distinctly.

89. When another speaks, be attentive yourself, and disturb not the audience. If any hesitate in his words, help
him not, nor prompt him without being desired ; interrupt him not, nor answer him till his speech be ended.

40. Treat with men at fit times about business, and whisper not in the company of others.

41. Make no comparisons, and if any of the company be commended for any brave act of virtue, commend not
another for the same.

42. Be not apt to relate news, if you know not the truth thereof. In discoursing of things you have heard, name
not your author always. A secret discover not.

43. Be not curious to know the affairs o* others, neither approach to those that speak in private.

44. Undertake not what you cannot perform ; but be careful to keep your promise.

45. When you deliver a matter, do it without passion and indiscretion, however mean the person may be yon
do it to.

46. When your superiors talk to any body, hear them, neither speak nor laugh.

47. In disputes, be not so desirous to overcome as not to give liberty to each one to deliver his opinion, and submit
to the judgment of the major part, especially if they are juclgers of the dispute.

48. Be not tedious in discourse, make not many digressions, nor repeat often the same matter of discourse.

49. Speak no evil of the absent, for it is unjust

50. Be not angry at table whatever happens, and if you have reason to be so, show it not, put on a cheerful coun-
tenance, especially if there be strangers, for good humor makes one dish a feast

51. Set not yourself at the upper end of the table, but if it be your due, or the master of the house will have 11
contend not lest you should trouble the company.

52. When you speak of God or his attributes, let it be seriously In reverence and honor, and >
parents.

58. Let your recreations be manful, not sinful.

64 Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience.

482 APPENDIX.

III.

EXTRACT FROM WASHINGTON'S DIARY, DURING THE FEDERAL CONVENTION.

WASHINGTON kept diaries during the greater part of his life. The following extract from that
which relates to the period of the Convention for forming the Constitution, discloses some of the
social intimacies of the Chief in Philadelphia.

May 9th, 1787. Crossed from Mount Vernon to Mr. Digges's a little after sunrise, and, pursuing the route ty the
way of Baltimore, dined at Mr. Eichard Henderson's in Bladensburg, and lodged at Major Snowden's, where, feeling
very severely a violent headache and sick stomach, I went to bed early.

10th. A very great appearance of rain in the morning, and a little falling, induced me, though well recovered, to
wait till about eight o'clock before I set off. At one o'clock I arrived at Baltimore; dined at the Fountain Inn, and
supped and lodged at Dr. McHenry's ; rain in the evening.

1.1th. Set off before breakfast; rode twelve miles to Skirrett's; baited there, and proceeded without halting
(weather threatening), to the ferry at Havre de Grace, where I dined, but could not cross, the wind being turbulent
and squally. Lodged there.

12th. With difficulty, on account of the wind, crossed the Susquehanna. Breakfasted at the ferry -house on the
east' side. Dined at the Head of Elk (Hollingsworth's tavern), and lodged at Wilmington. At the Head of Elk I was
overtaken by Mr. Francis Corbin, who took a seat in my carriage.

13th. About eight o'clock Mr. Corbin and myself set out, and dined at Chester (Mr. Wilky's), where I was met
by Generals Mifflin (now speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly). Knox, and Varnum, Colonels Humphreys and
Menges, and Majors Jackson and Nicholas, with whom I proceeded to Philadelphia. At Gray's Ferry the city light-
horse, commanded by Colonel Miles, met me, and escorted me in ; and the artillery officers, who stood arranged,
saluted me as I passed. Alighted through a crowd at Mr.' House's; but being again warmly and kindly pressed by
Mr. and Mrs. Eobert Morris to lodge with them, I did so, and had my baggage removed thither. Waited on the
president, Dr. Franklin,* as soon as I got to town. On my arrival the bells were chimed.

1.4th. This being the day appointed for the Convention to meet, such members as were in town assembled at the
State-house ; but only two states being represented, namely, Virginia and Pennsylvania, agreed to attend at the same
place at eleven o'clock to-morrow. Dined in a family way at Mr. Morris's.

1.5th. Eepaired at the hour appointed to the State-house ; but no more states being represented than yesterday,
though several more members had come in, we agreed to meet again to-morrow. Governor Eandolph from Virginia
came in to-day. Dined with the members of the general meeting of the Society of the Cincinnati.

IGth. No more than two states being yet represented, agreed, till a quorum of them should be formed, to alter
the hour of meeting at the State-house to one o'clock. Dined at the president Dr. Franklin's, and drank tea and spent
the evening at Mr. John Penn's.

11th. Mr. Eutledge from Charleston, and Mr. Charles Pinckney from Congress, having arrived, gave a represen-
tation to South Carolina ; and Colonel Mason, getting in this evening, placed all the delegates from Virginia on the
floor of the Convention. Dined at Mr. Powel's and drank tea there.

18th. The representation from New Tork appeared on the floor to-day. Dined at Gray's Ferry, and drank tea at
Mr. Morris's; after which accompanied Mrs. Morris and some other ladies to hear a Mrs. O Connell read. The lady,
being reduced in circumstances, had recourse to this expedient to obtain a little money. Her performance was tolera-
ble; at the College Hall.

l$th. No more states represented. Dined at Mr. Ingersoll's; spent the evening at my lodgings, and retired to my
room soon.

20th. Dined with Mr. and Mrs. Morris and other company at their farm, called the Hills ; returned in the after-
noon, and drank tea at Mr. Powel's.

21st. Delaware state was represented. Dined and drank tea at Mr. Bingham's in great splendor.

22d. The representation from North Carolina was completed, which made a representation for five states. Dined
and drank tea at Mr. Morris's.

23<2. No more states being represented, I rode to General Mifflin's to breakfast; after which, in company with
him, Mr. Madison, Mr. Eutledge, and others, I crossed the Schuylkill above the Falls ; visited Mr. Peters's, Mr. Penn's
Beat, and Mr. William Hamilton's. Dined at Mr. Chew's with the wedding guests (Colonel Howard of Baltimore
having married his daughter Peggy). Drank tea there in a very large circle of ladies.

24th. No more states represented. Dined and drank tea at Mr. John Boss's. One of my postillion boys (Paris)
being sick, requested Dr. Jones to attend him.

25th. Another delegate coming in from the state of New Jersey, gave it a representation, and increased the num-
ber to seven, which forming a quorum of the thirteen, the members present resolved to organize the body ; when, by
a unanimous vote, I was called up to the chair as president. Major William Jackson was appointed secretary; and a
committee was chosen, consisting of three members, to prepare rules and regulations for conducting the business;
and, after appointing door-keepers, the convention adjourned till Monday, to give time to the committee to report the
matter referred to them. Eeturned many visits to-day. Dined at Mr. Thomas Willing's, and spent the evening at
say lodgings.

* President of Pennsylvania.

APPENDIX. 433

SW/i. returned all ray visits this forenoon. Dined with a club at the City Tavern, and spent the evenin- at my
quarters writing letters.

Vlth. Went to the Eomish church to high mass. Dined, drank tea, and spent the evening at my lodgings.

28^. Met in convention at ten o'clock. Two states more, namely, Massachusetts and Connecticut, were on the
floor to-day. Established rules, agreeably to the pJan brought in by the committee for the government of the Con-
vention, and adjourned. Dined at home, and drank tea in a large circle at Mr. Francis's.

29^. Attended Convention, and dined at home ; after which accompanied Mrs. Morris to the benefit concert of a
Mr. Juhan.

SOW. Attended Convention ; dined with Mr. Vaughan; drank tea, and spent the evening at a Wednesday even-
ing's party at Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence's.

31st The state of Georgia came on the floor of the Convention to-day, which made a representation often states.
Dined at Mr. Francis's, and drank tea with Mrs. Meredith.

June \st. Attending in Convention ; and, nothing being suffered to transpire, no minutes of the proceedings have
been, or will be, inserted in this diary. Dined with Mr. John Penn, and spent the evening at a superb entertainment
at Bush Hill given by Mr. Hamilton, at which were more than a hundred guests.

2<Z. Major Jenifer coming in, with sufficient powers for the purpose, gave a representation to Maryland ; which
brought all the states in the Union into Convention, except Rhode Island, which had refused to send delegates. Dined
at the City Tavern with the club, and spent the evening at my own quarters.

IV.

FRENCH CRITICISMS OF AMERICAN MANNERS AT THE CLOSE OF THE LAST

CENTURY.

The Memoires of the Marshal Count de ROCHAMBEAU, so far as they relate to America, are for
the most part military, but he has left us a few paragraphs on society. He says :

"The first act of Congress was to exclude from political as well as civil assemblies all ecclesiastics without excep-
tion. The ministers were forced in many communes to abandon their churches, and it was not until peace that several
of them, having got themselves consecrated by the Lutheran bishops of Denmark and Sweden, were reinstated in
their livings; by these precautions, religion was prevented from taking a part in political deliberation ; every one pro-
fessed his own religion with exactitude ; the sanctity of the Lord's day was scrupulously observed. At all public
feasts the minister of religion held the first place; he blessed the repast; but his prerogatives in society extended no
further. Such preamble must naturally lead to pure and simple manners. Hospitality is the virtue the most generally
observed. Young women are free till their marriage. The first question addressed to a young woman is whether she
be married ; if she be, there the conversation rests. It is not uncommon that, at the age of womanhood, they accom-
pany their father and mother to church, although they have not yet made choice of any particular religion ; if you
ask them why, they say that they will follow the same religion as their husband. But when they have once entered
the state of matrimony, they give themselves up entirely to it, and you seldom see. particularly in the rural districts,
a woman of loose manners. Children are, generally speaking, kept extremely clean. A settler is, at home, neither a
lord of a manor nor a farmer; he is a proprietor in a full sense of the word, possessing the quantum sufficit of his
necessaries, and he lays out the overplus of his crops in the purchases of good and comfortable clothing, without any
of the exterior appendages of luxury. The same simplicity is observed with regard to his furniture, and unblemished
cleanliness is its principal merit ; but it is not without difficulty that the American settler arrives at this state.

" I will now explain in what manner these settlements were formed in the origin, and how they still continue to
be formed. Whereas there is much more land to be cleared than there are hands to cultivate it, laborers are in great
demand ; a cultivator or day laborer earned, in my time, a piaster of five livres ten sous per diem. It is not uncom-
mon that a laborer, who works assiduously for tbe space of six years on an average, can accumulate a sufficient sum
to purchase a piece of ground. They commence by firing the forests, which operation they call clearing. They next
sow in the furrows every kind of seed, which grows with great abundance on a layer of rotten leaves, reduced to a
vegetable soil formed at the expiration of many years. They then build their habitation with the round branches of
the trees, piled one upon another, and propped up by stakes. They enclose their fields with barriers, according to
their different destinations. They take care to reserve pens, covered over with leaves, to protect their cattle from the
rain and heavy dew, wherein the animals are enabled to pass the night at large. At the expiration of twenty or thirty
years, when they have succeeded in fully clearing the ground, they proceed to build more tidy and comfortable houses
with planks cleverly joined, and wrought with great art But little iron is used in these constructions ; the doors and
windows being made to fit with remarkable precision by their skilful carpenters. At length, twenty or thirty years
later, the family's circumstances become more easy, and they then remove to a brick house, the complement of their
architecture. The latter is composed of a kind of open hall or verandah, a neat drawing-room, which is not scantily
supplied with fuel during the colder months, and a kitchen next to it The family sit all the day in their drawing-
room ; they take four meals per day, interrupted only by moderate labor, and a little negro is incessantly occupied in
spreading and clearing away the cloth. The bedrooms, with very clean and comfortable bedding, are situated on the
first story, and their walls are whitewashed regularly every year. In the large towns, luxury has made more progress ;
rich merchants and bankers have provided their residence with costly English furniture; their ladies are clad to the
Jp of the French faahions, of which they are remarkably fond."

434 APPENDIX.

The Marquis de Chastellux, whose Voyage dans r Amerique has been frequently qutfted in the
preceding pages, has many observations on the peculiarities of American manners, some of which
are entertaining. Describing a dinner at the Chevalier de la Luzerne's, he says:

"The dinner was served in the American, or if you will, in the English fashion; consisting of two courses, one
iomprehending the entrees, the roast meat, and the warm side dishes; the other, the sweet pastry and confectionery.
When this is removed, the cloth is taken off, and apples, nuts, and chestnuts are served: it is then that healths are
drank ; the coffee Avhich comes afterwards serves as a signal to rise from table. These healths, or toasts, as I have
already observed, have no inconvenience, and only serve to prolong the conversation, which is always more animated
at the end of the repast; they oblige you to commit no excess, wherein they greatly differ from the German healths,
and from those \\e still give in our garrisons and provinces. But I find it an absurd and truly barbarous practice, the
first time you drink, and at the beginning of dinner, to call out successively to each individual, to let him know you
drink his health. The actor in this ridiculous comedy is sometimes ready to die with thirst, whilst he is obliged to
inquire the names, or catch the eyes of five and twenty or thirty persons, and the unhappy persons to whom he ad-
dresses himself, with impatience, for it is certainly not possible for them to bestow a very great attention to what they
re eating, and what is said to them, being incessantly called to on the right and left, or pulled by the sleeve by chari-
table neighbors, who are so kind as to acquaint them with the politeness they are receiving. The most civil of the
Americans are not content with this general call ; every time they drink they make partial ones, for example, four or
five persons at a time. Another custom completes the despair of poor foreigners, if they be ever so little absent, or
have good appetites : these general and partial attacks terminate in downright duels. They call to you from one end
of the table to the other : Sir, will you permit me to drink a glass of wine with you f This proposal always is ac-
cepted, and does not admit the excuse of the Great-Cousin, one does not drink without being acquainted. The
bottle is then passed to you, and you must look your enemy in the face, for I can give no other name to the man who
exercises such an empire over my will : you wait till he likewise has poured out his wine, and taken his glass ; you
then drink mournfully with him, as a recruit imitates the corporal in his exercise. But to do justice to the Ameri
cans, they themselves feel the ridicule of these customs borrowed from old England, and since laid aside by her.
They proposed to the Chevalier de la Luzerne to dispense with them, knowing that his example would have great
weight; but he thought proper to conform, and he did right. The more the French are known to be in possession of
giving their easterns to other nations, the more should they avoid the appearance of changing those of the Americans.
Happy our nation if her ambassadors and her travellers had always so correct an understanding, and if they never
lose sight of this observation, that of all men, the dancing-master should have the most negligent air ! "

Of dancing and music :

" Dancing is.said to be at once the emblem of gayety and of love; here it seems to be the emblem of legislation, and
of marriage ; of legislation, inasmuch as places are marked out, the country dances named, and every proceeding pro-
vided for, calculated, and submitted to regulation ; of marriage, as it furnishes each lady with a partner, with whom
she dances the whole evening, without being allowed to take another. It is true that every severe law requires miti-
gation, and that it often happens, that a young lady after dancing the two or three first dances with her partner, may
make a fresh choice, or accept of the invitation she has received ; but still the comparison holds good, for it is a mar-
riage in the European fashion. Strangers have generally the privilege of being complimented with the handsomest
women. The Comte de Dumas had Mrs. Biugham for his partner, and the Yicomte de Noailles, Miss Shippen. Both
of them, like true philosophers, testified a great respect for the manners of the country, by not quitting their hand-
some partners the whole evening; in other respects they were the admiration of all the assembly, from the grace and
nobleness with which they danced; I may even assert, to the honor of my country, that they surpassed a Chief Jus-
tice of Carolina (Mr. Pendleton) and two members of Congress, one of whom (Mr. Duane) passed however for being
by ten per cent, more lively than all the other dancers. The ball was suspended, towards midnight, by a supper,
served in the manner of coffee, on several different tables. On passing into the dining room, the Chevalier de la Lu-
zerne presented his hand to Mrs. Morris, and gave her the precedence, an honor pretty generally bestowed on her, as
she is the richest woman in the city, and all ranks here being equalj men follow their natural bent, by giving the

preference to riches When music and the fine arts come to prosper at Philadelphia; when society once becomes

easy and gay there, and they learn to accept of pleasure when it presents itself, without a formal invitation, then may
foreigners enjoy all the advantages peculiar to their manner and government, without envying any thing in Europe."

Of elegance in dress, and its influences :

" What I am about to say should only be whispered in your ear. I am going to handle a delicate subject ; I am ven-
turing, to touch the ark. But be assured, that during a three years residence in America, the progress of the women's
dress has not escaped me. If I have enjoyed this as a feeling man, if the results of this progress have not been viewed
by me with an indifferent eye, my time of life and character are a pledge to you that I have observed them as a phi-
losopher. "Well, it is in this capacity I undertake their defence, but so long only as things are not carried to an excess.
The virtue of the women, which is more productive of happiness, even for the men, than all the enjoyments of vice,
if there be any real pleasures arising from that source ; the virtue of the women, I say, has two bucklers of defence ;
one is retirement, and distance from all danger ; this is the hidden treasure mentioned by liochefoucaukl, which is un-
touched because it is undiscovered. The other is loftiness, a sentiment always noble in its relation to ourselves. Let
them learn to appreciate themselves; let them rise in their own estimation, and rely on that estimable pride for the
preservation of their virtue as well as of their fame. They who love only pleasure, corrupt the sex, whom they con-
cert only into an instrument of their voluptuousness ; they who lovj) women, render them better by rendering them

APPENDIX. 435

xiore amiable. But, you will say, is it by dress, and by exterior charms, that they must establish their empire ? Tea,
6ir, every woman ought to seek to please ; this is the weapon conferred on her by Nature to compensate the weakness
of her sex. Without this she is a slave, and can a slave have virtues ? Remember the word decus, of which we have
formed decency ; its original import is ornament. A filthy and negligent woman is not decent, she cannot inspire
respect 1 have already allowed myself to express my opinion by my wishes ; I desire, then, that all the American
women may be well dressed ; but I have no objection to seeing that dress simple. They arp not formed to represent
the severity of the legislation ; neither ought they to contrast with it, and convey a tacit insult on that severity. Gold,
silver, and diamonds, then, should be banished from American dress; what excuse can there be for a luxury which is
not becoming ? But this indulgence, which I have expressed for the toilet of the women, I am far from allowing to
the men. I am not afraid to Siiy, that I should have a very bad opinion of them, if in a country where there are nei-
ther etiquette nor titles, nor particular distinctions, they should ever give in to the luxury of dress; a luxury, which
even the French have laid aside, except on marriages and entertainments, and which no longer exists any where but
in Germany and Italy, where certainly you will not go in search of models."

PHILIP MAZZEI is now little known in this country except as one of the confidential correspond-
ents of Mr. Jefferson, lie was born in Tuscany in 1730, and,, after a career of various adven-
ture, came to America in 1773, with a small party of his countrymen, for the purpose of introducing
into Virginia the culture of the grape, the olive, and other fruits of Italy. In the revolution he
took an active part in support of our independence. In 1783 he returned to Europe; in 1785
he came a second time to America, and in 1788 he wrote in Paris his Recherches Historiques et
Politiques sur les Mats- Unis de VAmerique Septentrionale, in four volumes. This work has never
been translated. He was subsequently privy councillor of the king of Poland, <fec., and died in
1816. In his Recherches he presents some curious details of manners in Virginia, and, replying
to certain passages by the Marquis de Chastellux, says :

" The Marquis de Chastellux states that ' the wealthiest people give but a very moderate dower to their daugh-
ters; and that, in consequence, depending on her personal attractions to win a husband, a girl is often a coquette and
intriguer, and a married woman sad and moping.' It is true, as the marquis says, that dowers in America are quite
moderate. His mistake is in the consequences which he deduces from this fact In America, as indeed in every other
nation, the usages of society are peculiar to the country ; thus, among our own people, young men and women may
meet at any hour of the day: hence they have little opportunity to assume and sustain a disguise; in other countries,
where they pass but little time together, each one takes care to display his good qualities and to conceal his bad ones;
here, their object is to become acquainted with each other's character ; they marry only when they are mutually
suited, and are rarely doomed to disappointment in the sequel, there having been no effort on the part of either to
deceive. You never hear it remarked that such a man is attracted to a young woman merely because she is beauti-
ful, and it is not rare that a girl refuses a young man whose fine person and large estate are his only recommendations.
Coquetry, properly speaking, is not known here; the slightest practice of it would tarnish a young woman's reputa-
tion ; yet it is not surprising that our traveller has been deceived on this subject Any European visiting this coun-
try, without the means of forming an intimate acquaintance with the people in their own homes, would be liable to
fall into a similar error the first impressions which a stranger receives abroad are so greatly modified by his recollec-
tion of the peculiar habits of his own nation. In Am rica it would be deemed a great indelicacy in a woman to
show her legs two or three inches above her ankles. This would appear like affectation in many parts of Europe ;
in some of the Greek islands it would be ridiculous in a woman to have her skirts extend below her knees. In Eng-
land, even among the better class, one is not shocked t see a person cut his finger nails in company; any where else
such a liberty would be thought extremely indecorous. Among certain European communities a young woman is
obliged to be very reserved with the men, especially with young men. Once married she is no longer under the
slightest restraint In America, on the contrary, young women are affable with young men, and married women are
reserved, and their husbands are not as familiar with the girls as they were when bachelors. If a young man were
to take it into his head that his betrothed should not be free and gay in her social intercourse, he would run the risk
of being discarded, incur the reputation of jealousy, and would find it very difficult to get married. Yet if a single
woman were to play the coquette she would be regarded with contempt. As this innocent freedom between the
sexes diminishes in proportion as society loses its purity and simplicity of manners, as is the case in cities, I desire
sincerely that our good Virginia ladies may long retain their liberty entire.

In regard to married women, their household duties prevent them from spending much of their time in general
society, but their reserve has in it nothing of sadness, although a stranger might judge differently, especially if he
came from a country where women have their own way. Our women are free and affable in proportion to the ac-
quaintance which they have with the persons with whom they converse.

" Young women, whose position in life relieves them from any domestic duties, often get up parties of pleasure,
to ride on horseback, from one house to another, through woods and over rivers, stopping at different places to take
rest as they require it, and have a dance as often as they can. They go on, increasing their party by taking with them
girls from the different houses which they visit These excursions often extend to a hundred leagues or more, and
last several months. The managers endeavor to have as many young men with them as possible, and t,he gallant who
cannot himself be of the party imagines that his lady-love should give it up at once. Jealousy is regarded as a des-
picable vice, and no one exhibits it unless he has the best grounds for it In those things which depend entirely on
Custom, no nation has a right to criticise another.

486 APPENDIX.

It is not my purj) s? to analyze th- 'Travels of the Marquis de Chasteliux,' but simply to rectify some inaccu
racies which tend to give an erroneous idea, not only of the morals, but also of the manners, of the people of thit
country. I shall close with a single observation on what this author has said on the subject of precedence. In de-
scribing a ball at Philadelphia, he says, 'Tho Chevalier de la Luzerne gave his arm to Madam Morris, to lead her first
into the supper-room she being the richest woman in the city; for here, where there is no distinction in rank, pre-
cedence is generally given to wealth.' Now, precedence for men is regulated by the place which they occupy in the
state; in public, it is decided by law; in private, by custom. Women share the distinction of their husbands. An
American in reading this account by the marquis would not be deceived; from the precedence yielded to Mrs. Morris
he would understand that the wife of the President of Congress was not at the fete, nor yet the wife of the President
of Pennsylvania, nor the wife of the Speaker of the General Assembly."

The Abbe ROBIN, whose description of "Washington is quoted in a preceding page, gives us in
his Nouveau Voyage dans VAmerique, the following views of society :

" Piety is not the only motive which induces American women to be constant in their attendance at church. Hav-
ing no places of public amusement, no fashionable promenades, they go to church to display their fine dress. They
often appear there clothed in silks, and sometimes covered with superb ornaments. They wear their hair dressed very
high on the crown of the head, in imitation of the fashion which prevailed among our French women some years
since, or something after the style of the French women of the olden time. Instead of powder they use a kind of
eau de savon, to make the hair glossy. This is frequently not unbecoming, the hair being of a very pretty blonde.
The most recherchees however are beginning to adopt European fashions. They are tall and well proportioned ; their
features are generally regular; their complexion is very fair and without color; they have less ease and grace, but
a more noble bearing than French ladies ; indeed, I have noticed in many of them, something of the loftiness which
characterizes some of the chef-d'ceuvres of the old artists. The men are proportionably large, finely formed, and little
inclined to embonpoint. Their complexion is slightly pale. They are less fashionable in their dress than the women,
yet they are very neat At twenty years of age the women have no longer the freshness of youth. At thirty-five or
forty they are wrinkled and decrepit. The men are almost as premature. Hence I have presumed that the average
length of life must be less in this country than it is in Europe. With a view to ascertain if this supposition be correct,
I have visited all the church-yards of Boston, where it is customary to inscribe on the head-stone of each grave the
name and age of the deceased. I have found that the majority of those who arrived at manhood died under the age
of fifty. I have seen very few of sixty, scarcely any of seventy, and I have not met one beyond seventy.

" As we advance towards the south, we find a very sensible difference in the manners and customs of the people.
In Connecticut the houses are placed on the public roads, at small intervals, and barely large enough to accommodate
a single family, and are furnished in the most plain and simple manner; but here are spacious, isolated habitations,
consisting of several edifices, built in the centre of a plantation, and so remote from the public road as to be lost to
the view of travellers. These plantations are cultivated by negroes. . . . The furniture of the houses here, is of the
most costly wood, and the rarest marble, enriched and decorated by artists ; they have light and elegant carriages,
which are drawn by fine horses ; the coachmen are slaves, and are richly dressed. There appears to be more wealth
and luxury in Annapolis than in any other city which I have visited in this country. The extravagance of the women
here surpasses that of our own provinces; a French hair-dresser is a man of great importance; one lady here pays to
her coiffeur a salary of a thousand crowns. This little city, which is at the mouth of the Severn river, contains sev-
eral handsome edifices. The state-house is the finest in the country ; its front is ornamented with columns, and the
building surmounted by a dome. There is also a theatre here. Annapolis is a place of considerable shipping. The
climate is the most delightful in the world.

The Duke de la ROCHEFOUCAULD LIANCOTJRT, in the eighth volume of his Voyage dans les Etato
Uhis, presents a summary of his views of the social life of the Americans, as follows :

" If I have been severely exact in representing an excessive avidity of becoming rich, as the common characteristic
of the American people, and especially in the inhabitants of cities, I shall be as exactly just in adding that this dispo-
sition does not hurry them on to avarice. Without being profuse, or forgetting the interest of their families, they know
how to be at proper times expensive, even with ostentation, and they do not refuse to assist the unfortunate, when

proper opportunities for it occur Without becoming an extravagant enthusiast of the Quakers, it is impossible not

to remark, that in every place where any beneficent plan is formed for the good of humanity, there they are always
ready visitors. They are, perhaps, as is said of them, as much engaged in the occupation of amassing riches, as those
who do not belong to their society ; but granting it to be so, this does not prevent them from applying themselves.
upon every occasion, to acts of kindness and beneficence. Their tenets, their principles, and their laws, rigorously
prescribe this duty ; and their constant inspection over their societies inures them to it

"Though there be no distinctions acknowledged by the law in the United States, fortune and the nature of profes-
sions form different classes. The merchants, the lawyers, the land-owners, who do not cultivate their land themselves
(and the number, which is small from the state of Delaware to the north, is great in the states of the south), the phy-
sicians, and the clergy, form the first class. The inferior merchants, the farmers, and the artisans, may be included in
the second ; and the third class is composed of workmen, who let themselves by the day, by the month, &c. In balls,
concerts, and public amusements, these classes do not mix ; and yet, except the laborer in ports, and the common
Bailor, every one calls himself, and is called by others, a gentleman; a small fortune is sufficient for the assumption 01
this title, as it carries men from one class to another. They deceive themselves very much who think that pure re-
publican manners prevail in America. The white American, by a pride Avhich cannot be blamed, and which pro-
ceeds from the negroes being generally employed in the service, is ashamed of the situation of a domestic; so thai
there cannot bo reckoned throughout the whole extent of the United States, twenty native Americans in the state oi

APPENDIX. 437

domestic servants. The class of domestics in America is composed of poor priests, Germans, and of negroes and ran-
lattoes ; and as soon as the first have acquired a little money, they quit that station, regarded with a sort of contempt,
and establish themselves upon land, which they clear and till, or in a small trade. In short, they become independent
of a master. The prejudice which causes the men in America to have so great a repugnance to the state of domestic
servitude, does not influence the women in the same degree ; nothing is more common than to see young women of
good families, in the situation of servants, during the first years of their youth. Even their parents engage them in
this situation without shocking any ideas. I have been told by M. de Faubonne, a Frenchman, formerly a captain in
.he regiment of Auvergne (and whom the pride of independence induced to take up the business of a gardener for tho
support of his family, though he Was forty-six years of age), that he had had in his service, as maid-servant, the niece
rf the mayor of the city of New York, a young woman very honest, and well brought up. Similar examples are very
common.

" In a country which has belonged to England for a long time, of which the most numerous and nearest connections
are yet with England, and which carries on with England almost all its commerce, the manners of the people must
necessarily resemble, in a great degree, those of England. To the American manners particularly, those relative to
living are the same as in the provinces of England. As to the dress, the English fashions are as faithfully copied, as
the sending of merchandise from England, and the tradition of tailors and mantuamakers will admit of. The distri-
bution of the apartments in their houses is like that of England, the furniture is English, the town carriages are either
English, or in the English taste; and it is no small merit among the fashionable world to have a coach newly arrived
from London, and of the newest fashion. The cookery is English, and, as in England, after dinner, which is not very
long, the ladies withdraw, and give place to drinking of wine in full bumpers, the most prominent pleasure of the day,
and which it is, consequently, very natural to prolong as late as possible. There are great dinners, numerous tea par-
ties, invited a long time in advance, but no societies. So that these tea assemblies are every where a fund of amuse-
ment for the ladies. Balls and plays are much frequented. It is generally understood that these kinds of dissipation
belong only to the towns, and particularly to large cities. Luxury is very high there, especially at New York and
Philadelphia, and makes a dangerous progress every year; but easily to be conceived, since luxury is, in some degree,
the representation of riches, and that wealth there is the only distinction. There are some persons who surpass their
neighbors, already too far advanced, in luxury; these injure the manners of the country, but while the people censure,
they pursue these seductive paths ; and frequent and sumptuous dinners are held in as high consideration in the new
as in the old world ; and this custom has its advantages very often. It has been seen that this consideration has raised
to the place of temporary President of the Senate of the United States, a man who was not esteemed by any of those
who elected him, or by any other, either for his talents, his qualities, or for his character, but he entertained his friends
with sumptuous dinners. In the other towns, and especially in the country, luxury is less prevalent, but it continu-
ally increases, and often out of proportion with wealth.

"The women every where possess, in the highest degree, the domestic virtues, and all others; they have more
sweetness, more goodness, at least as much courage, but more sensibility, than the men. Good wives, and good
mothers, their husbands and their children engage their whole attention ; and their household affairs occupy all their
time and all their cares ; destined by the manners of their country to this domestic life, their education in other re-
spects is too much neglected. They are amiable by their qualities and their natural disposition, but there are very few
among them who are so from any acquired accomplishments. What they esteem to be virtue in wives is the virtue
of the wholo sex ; and if in the United States malice may throw out her suspicion upon twenty, there are certainly
not above ten of them who can be accused justly, and all the rest treat these with great rigor.

" The young women here enjoy a liberty, which to French manners would appear disorderly; they go out alone,
walk with young men, and depart with them from the rest of the company in large assemblies ; in short, they enjoy
the same degree of liberty which married women do in France, and which married women here do not take. But
they are far from abusing it; they endeavor to please, they desire to obtain husbands, and they know that they shall
not succeed if their conduct becomes suspected. Sometimes they are abused by the men, who deceive them, but
then they add not to the misfortune of having engaged their hearts to a cruel man tho regret of deserving it, which
might give them remorse. When they have obtained a husband, they love him, because he is their husband, and
because they have not an idea that they can do otherwise; they revere custom by a kind of state religion, which
never varies.

"The Americans marry yonng, especially in the country : the occasion which the young men, who generally estab-
lish themselves very early either in some new lands or in some trade, have for a wife to assist them in their laboa,
conduces to these early marriages as much as the purity of manners. In the villages, marriages are less frequent and
not so hasty, especially since the introduction of luxury renders an acquired fortune more necessary; and the young
men hardly feel the necessity of loving, with the project of marriage, till they have already satisfied, or are in the way
of satisfying, the more imperious necessity of gaining money. But however good the marriages may be, the wife
who dies is readily replaced by another. In the country she is, as in Europe, a necessary friend to the management
of domestic atfairs she is the soul of the family. In town she is so too. She is an indispensable resource for do-
mestic affairs, while her husband is engaged in his own affairs, as every one is in America; she is an assiduous com-
panion, and a society ever ready to be found in a country where there are no other but that of the family, and where
the children soon quit their paternal abode.

" An European coming into the new world, and bringing with him the need of the usage of the politer attentions
of that which he has quitted; he, above all, who brings with him the need of what we call in France the charms of
society, which we know so well how to appreciate, of which we know how to participate, and which affords us so
many moments of happiness, such a man will not find himself satisfied in America, and his recollections will be
continually sprinkling his life with melancholy. He cannot, if his heart has an occasion for a friend, hope to find
there the sweetness of a constant and avowed friendship. The inhabitants of the United States have been hitherto
too much engaged in their respective occupations for the enticements of polished society, to be able to withdraw their
attention from them ; they have not leisure to consecrate to friendship.

438 APPENDIX.

" Such an European ought to have for a long time forgotten Europe, in order to live quite happy in America,
But if he can readily lose the remembrance of it, or take with him there' the dearest objects of his affection, he will
lead in America a happy and tranquil life. He will there enjoy the blessing of liberty in the greatest extent which it
is possible to desire in any polished country. He will see himself with an active people, easy in their circumstances,
and happy. Every day will bring him to observe a new progress of this new country. He will see it every day take
a step towards that strength and greatness to which it is called ; towards that real independence which is for a nation
the result of having the means of satisfying itself."

TALLEYRAND'S descriptions of the American "Woodcutter and Fisherman are often quoted in the
original, as examples of the extraordinary mastery possessed by that celebrated wit and states-
man over the resources of his native tongue. Lord Brougham remarks that " writers of a less
severe school might envy their poetical effect, and learn from them, perhaps, how possible it is to
be pointed and epigrammatic without being affected, and sentimental without being mawkish ; "
and one of our own critics has characterized these celebrated portraits as, " in the language of
amateurs, rich and sparkling pure, brilliant, exquisite cabinet gems but wholly works of
fancy." They are from Talleyrand's Memoir concerning the Commercial Relations of the United
States with Great Britain :

" In many districts, the sea and woods have formed fishermen and woodcutters. Now such men, properly speak-
ing, have no country ; and their social morality is reduced within a very small compass. It has long ago been said,
that man is the disciple of that which surrounds him ; and it is true. Hence, he whose bounds are circumscribed by
nothing but deserts, cannot receive lessons with regard to the social comforts of life. The idea of the need which men
have one of another, does not exist in him ; and it is merely by decomposing the trade which he exercises, that one
can find out the principles of his affections, and the sum of his morality.

" The American woodcutter does not interest himself in any thing ; every sensible idea is remote from him. Thoso
branches so agreeably disposed by nature ; the beautiful foliage ; the bright color which enlivens one part of the wood ;
the darker green which gives a melancholy shade to another ; these things are nothing to him ; he pays them no atten-
tion ; the number of strokes of his axe required to fell a tree fills all his thoughts. He never planted ; he knows not
the pleasure of it. A tree of his own planting would be good for nothing in his estimation ; for it would never, during
his life, be large enough to fell. It is by destruction that he lives ; he is a destroyer wherever he goes. Thus every
place is equally good in his eyes ; he has no attachment to the spot on which he has spent his labor; for his labor is
only fatigue, and is unconnected with any idea of pleasure. In the effects of his toil he has not witnessed those gradu-
al increases of growth, so captivating to the planter; he regards not the destination of his productions ; he knows not
ths charms of new attempts ; and if, in quitting the abode of many years, he does not by chance forget his axe, he
leaves no regret behind him.

" The vocation of an American fisherman begets an apathy, almost equal to that of the woodcutter. His affections,
his interests, his life, are on the side of that society to which it is thought that he belongs. But it would be a preju-
dice to suppose that he is a very useful member of it. For we must not compare these fishermen to those of Europe,
and think that the fisheries here, are, like them, a nursery for seamen. In America, with the exception of the inhabi-
tants of Nantucket, who fish for whales, fishing is an idle employment. Two leagues from the coast, when they have
no dread of foul weather, a single mile when the weather is uncertain, is the sum of the courage which they display ; and
the line is the only instrument with whose use they are particularly acquainted. Thus their knowledge is but a trifling
trick; and their action, which consists in constantly hanging one arm over the side of the boat, is little short of idle-
ness. They are attached to no place ; their oniy connection with the land is by means of a wretched house which they
inhabit. It is the sea that affords them nourishment ; hence a few codfish, more or less, determine their country. If
the number of these seems to diminish in any particular quarter, they emigrate in search of another country, where
they are more abundant. "When it was remarked by some political writers, that fishing was a sort of agriculture, the
remark was brilliant but not solid. All the qualities, all the virtues, which are attached to agriculture, are wanting in
the man who lives by fishing. Agriculture produces a patriot in the truest acceptation of the word ; fishing alone can
succeed in forming a cosmopolite."

The Chevalier FELIX DE BEAUJOUR was Consul General here, and may have suffered in some
commercial transactions with Americans. He says :

"Although honesty is not tho favorite virtue of the American merchants, it is not, as is usually believed in Europe,
entirely banished from among them; and we still find, even amidst the corruption of their maritime cities, some per-
sons of great uprightness and rigid probity. In the country, and among tlie villagers embosomed in the woods, con-
siderable candor and good faith is to be met with, and, in general, good and upright characters are hardly less frequent
in the United States, than in other countries; but high spirited and lofty souls, generous and magnanimous hearts, in
a word, great and noble characters are there infinitely rarer than in other parts, and particularly than in the South of
Europe, where they shine amidst the universal depravity that surrounds them, like stars in the obscurity of night. If,
however, the Americans have none or but few of those eminent qualities which ennoble human nature and cause it to
be admired, they have others which, although more modest, are not less estimable, and which still contribute more to
the happiness of life ; such as the love of freedom, of industry, of order, and of cleanliness. The American peopl*
sincerely love liberty, and they deserve to enjoy it, by their regard and respect for the laws. The least arbitrary act,

APPENDIX.

439

In that country, would revolt the most dependent man; but he obeys the meanest bailiff who speaks in the namo of
the law, and he would deliver up a friend, a brother, who should seek to elude it Very few Americans are seen beg-
ging, and every one who is capable of working for his livelihood would be ashamed to live at the expense of another
The people of the United States are naturally orderly: and when one enters into a house, even of the lower classes]
the eye is agreeably pleased with the regularity and neatness that reigns throughout; but what most gratifies a for-
eigner who arrives in the United States, is that external cleanliness so remarkable every where, in the streets, in the
houses, as well as in the dress. Every body is there decently clad; the men with cloth coats, the women with linen
gowns, generally white; all in a neat and clean manner, and nobody ever appears in public with those offensive rags
which in other countries shock the eye. The houses, built of bricks or wood, are always freshly, and often agreeably
painted ; and though they are neither furnished nor decorated with luxury no requisite is wanting, and every thing is
kept tidy and clean. On entering them, it is impossible not to. admire the polish of the furniture, and even the ex-
treme cleanliness of the floors. The greatest part of the streets are ornamented with foot- ways for the convenience ot
passengers, and they are all carefully swept and watered in the hot season. In short, this taste for cleanliness, so gen-
eral in the Americans, is even remarkable in the places where they bury their dead. In no country are burying-
grounds so neat and ornamental to be met with ; the rich raise over their friends tombs of white marble, the middle
classes upright stones, and the poorest construct hillocks, which they cover with green turf. American cleanliness
must certainly have in it something attractive, since it engages every traveller ; not one on returning to his own coun-
try fails to wish he could there find that air of ease and cleanliness which had been so agreeable to his eye during his
residence in the United States.

"This systematic taste for cleanliness, in that country, as well as every where else, is accompanied by the most
happy effects; it is serviceable to health, diminishes the cause of sickness, favors the love of order and economy, and
diffuses among every class of the community, a sentiment of dignity which becomes blended with all the ideas of
propriety and decency. It even appears, that it favors, as much as food and climate, the display of the human form.
And thus, indeed, have the Americans nearly all a high stature, a good shape, a strong and well proportioned frame, a
fresh and ruddy complexion ; but, in general, they have little delicacy in their features, and little expression in their
physiognomy. Though few ugly men are to be found among them, still fewer really handsome ones are to be seen, I
mean of that towering and manly beauty sometimes remarked in the South of Europe, and which served as a model
to the finest statues of the ancients. They are, for the greatest part, of those tall forms, ruddy and soft, such as Taci-
tus describes the Germans, who frequently concealed under them no other than an obtuse mind and soul devoid of en-
ergy. It is, perhaps, to this vice in their physical constitutiou, more than to their geographical position, that the eter-
nal irresolution of their government is owing ; but it is to be presumed, that their temperament will improve with
their climate, and that the Americans will some day or other acquire more vivacity of mind and more vigor in their
character. The women have more of that delicate beauty which belongs to their sex, and, in general, have finer fea-
tures, and more expression in their physiognomy. Their stature is usually tall, and nearly all are possessed of a light
arid airy shape ; the breast high, a fine head, and their color of a dazzling whiteness. Let us imagine, under this bril-
liant form, the most modest demeanor, a chaste and virginal air, accompanied by those simple and unaffected graces
which flow from artless nature, and we may have an idea of their style of beauty ; but this beauty passes, and fades in
a moment. At the age of twenty-five their form changes, and at thirty, the whole of their charms have disappeared.
As long as they are unmarried they enjoy the greatest liberty, but as soon as they have entered the conjugal state
they bury themselves in the bosom of their families, and appear no longer to live, but for their husbands. If, how-
ever, they thus contribute less to the pleasures of society, they nevertheless increase those of wedlock, which makes
the American wives both thrifty and faithful, divested of the vices of their husbands, and possessing all their virtues.
" With this species of existence are the people of the United States destined to be more happy than those of Europe ?
This is not easy to decide, because this question, which is very simple under one head, becomes complicated under an
infinite number of others. In the first place, the Americans in domestic life have more means of happiness; but in
social life have less ; and if they almost live without pain, they also nearly live without pleasure. They do not know
the art of multiplying or varying their enjoyments, and the monotony of their existence resembles the silence of the
tombs.

"In Europe the equality that reigns between the inhabitants of the United States has been greatly blazoned forth;
but this equality is less real than apparent, because the manners have there established in society distinctions more
pointed than any where else; distinctions rendered the more odious from being founded on riches, without any regard
to talents or even to public functions. There the rich blockhead is more considered than the first magistrate, and tho
influence of gold is there counterbalanced by no illusion or reality. In that country there exists no other than an ex-
treme liberty or extreme dependence ; every one is there either master or servant, and scarcely any of those inter-
mediate classes are to be found, which, by their services, bind all the members of a great community to each other."

M. VOLNEY abstains from any general commentary on American manners, but has some sharp
observations on our dietetics, which he thinks demand the interference of the government :

"It is an important duty of the government to enlighten their people as to the consequences of that pernicious
diet, which they have borrowed from their ancestors, the Germans and English. We may venture to affirm, that if a
premium were offered for a regimen most destructive to the teeth, the stomach, and the health in general, none could
be devised more efficacious for these ends than that in use among this people. At breakfast they deluge the stomach
with a pint of hot water, slightly impregnated with tea, or slightly tinctured, or rather colored, with coffee ; and they
swallow, almost without mastication, hot bread, half baked, soaked in melted butter, with the grossest cheese, apd salt
or hung beef, pickled pork or fish, all which can with difficulty be dissolved. At dinner they devour boiled pastes,
called, absurdly, puddings, garnished with the most luscious sauces. Their turnips and other vegetables are floated In
lard or butter. Their pastry is nothing but a greasy paste, imperfectly baked. To digest these various substances,
they take tea, immediately after dinner, so strong that it is bitter to the taste, as well as utterly destructive of the

MO APPENDIX.

nervous system. Supper presently follows, with salt meat and shell fish in its train. Thus passes the whole day, in
heaping one indigestive mass upon another. To brace the exhausted stomach, wine, rum, gin, malt spirits, or beer,
are used with dreadful prodigality.

"These modes of diet are not unsuitable to the Tartarian tribes, from whom the people of the west of Europe were
originally descended, yet they employ none of these pernicious stimulants. Their wandering and equestrian life
makes them capable of digesting any thing; but when nations change their climate, or sink into the wealth, refine-
ment, and ease of a stationary people, the whole mass undergoes material alterations. The ploughmen of Germany
or England may copy their hardy ancestors without much inconvenience ; but not so those that dwell in cities, and
pass their time in a slothful or sedentary manner, and still less those who change the chills and damps of their native
climate for a torrid region like Georgia or the Carolinas. Habit itself, though almost omnipotent, cannot reconcile this
system to so repugnant a climate. Hence it is, that the English are the least able to contend with the evils of tropical
climates, of any people of Europe, and their American descendants must abjure the example, or they will incur the
same inconveniences. Eegimen has so much influence on health, and is of such moment in the yellow fever, that
this malady never appeared within the precincts of the Philadelphia prison, a circumstance no doubt owing to the rigid
temperance observed in this institution, by which the stomach is never overloaded, nor the fluids depraved, and to the
exclusion of spirituous liquors, for drunkenness is a vice as prevalent in the United States as among the savages
themselves.

" I am far from imagining that the manners of a nation, in these respects, can be easily or speedily changed. I
know too well the infatuation of mankind, and the obstinacy of general and long-established habits ; but I cannot help
thinking, that if half the pains were taken by governments to enlighten their subjects as are taken to mislead them, a
reformation might be wrought, such as the contemners of mankind have no conception of at present"

SOCIAL LIFE IN VIRGINIA AFTER THE REVOLUTION.

THE DUKE DE LA ROCHEFOUCAULD LIANCOURT, from whose Voyage dans Us Etats Unis some
general observations on the social life of this country during Washington's presidency have already
been quoted, has the following paragraphs especially referring to manners in Virginia at the
same period :

" The Yirginians generally enjoy a character for hospitality, which they truly deserve ; they are fond of com-
pany ; their hospitality is sincere, and may perhaps be the reason of their ooen^ing more than they should do ; for
in general they are not rich, especially in clear income. You find, therefore, very frequently, a table well served,
and covered with plate, in a room where half the windows have been broken for ten years past, and will probably
remain so ten years longer. But few houses are in a tolerable state of repair, and no part of their buildings is
kept better than the stables, because the Yirginians are fond of hunting, races, and, in short, of all pleasures and
amusements that render it necessary to take peculiar care of horses, which are the fashion of the day.

" The Yirginians are good husbands, and good fathers ; but, from a love of dissipation, they keep less at home
than the inhabitants of other states. I have heard ladies reproach them with being subject to jealousy. This
may be the case : in every country under the sun, dissipated husbands are jealous. The women are amiable, and
enjoy the reputation of fulfilling their duties with the same exactness as in other parts of America, where the hus-
bands pass more time with their wires. They are more sprightly and agreeable than in the eastern states, but
not so much so as in South Carolina ; nor are they so pretty as in Philadelphia. I have, however, seen Yirginian
ladies who are inferior to none in personal charms and graceful manners.

" In Virginia the lawyers usually insist on payment before they proceed in a suit ; and this custom is justified
by the general disposition of the inhabitants to pay as little and as seldom as possible. I have heard physicians
declare that they do not annually receive one-third of what is due them for professional services ; that they have
some of these" debts of five and twenty years' standing ; that their claims are frequently denied ; and that, in order
to recover payment, they are obliged to send writs, carry on lawsuits, etc.

" The derangement of affairs occasioned by expenses exceeding the bounds of income, and especially by gaming
and, above all, the want of delicacy, resulting from that derangement, and from the habit of thinking lightly of
debts are the causes of this immoral order of things ; and it is in some degree encouraged by the laws of the state,
which do not allow the seizure of lands or other immovable property for the payment of debts."

Another observant Frenchman, writing about the same time, presents a very similar descrip-
tion of the peculiarities of society in Virginia in the earlier years of American independence.

" The gentleman of fortune," he remarks, " rises about nine o'clock. He perhaps may make an exertion to
walk as far as his stables to see his horses, which are seldom more than fifty yards from his house. He returns be-
tween nine and ten to breakfast, which is generally of tea or coffee, bread and butter, and very thin slices of venison,
ham or hung beef. He then lies down on a pallet, on the floor, in the coolest room in the house, in his shirt and
trowsers only, with a negro at his head, and another at his feet, to fan him, and keep off the flies. Between twelve
and one, he takes a draught of bombo, or toddy, a liquor composed of water, sugar, rum, and nutmeg, which is
made weak, and kept cool. He dines between two and three, and at every table, whatever else there may be, a
ham, and greens, of cabbage, are always a standing dish. At dinner, he drinks cider, toddy, punch, port, claret,
or Madeira, which is generally excellent here. Having drank some few glasses of wine after dinner, he returns to
his pallet, with his two blacks to fan him, and continues to drink toddy or sangaree all the afternoon. He does
not always drink tea. Between nine and ten in the evening, he eats a light supper of milk and fruit, or wine,

r, and fruit, and almost immediately retires to bed, for the night : in which, if it be not furnished witk

APPENDIX. 441

mosketc .curtains, he is generally so molested with the heat, and harassed and tormented with these pernicious

insects that he receives very little refreshment from sleep. This is the general way of living in hi famST

il than do not WmpUXJ '' F d Ubt ' man7 differ from it - some in one res P e t, some in another : but more folio*

''The lower and many of the middling classes live very differently. A man of these classes rises in the morning

about szx o clock. He then drinks a julep, made of rum, water, and sugar, but very strong. Then he walks or

aore generally rides, round his plantation, views all his stock, and all his crop ; and breakfasts about ten o'clock,

n cold turkey, cold meat, fried homminy, toast and cider, ham, bread and butter, tea, coffee, or chocolate which

last, however, is seldom used by the women. The rest of the day he spends much in the manner above described

of a man of the first rank; only cider supplies the place of wine at dinner, and he eats no supper- they never

even think of it. The women very seldom drink tea in the afternoon ; the men never."

EDUCATION OF AMERICAN WOMEN DURING WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION.
FROM nothing can the real condition of society be inferred with more certainty than from the
education of its women. In contemporary memoirs and correspondence we have frequent refer-
ences to schools for girls in Boston, Newport, New- York, Philadelphia, and other cities, before and
during the revolution, and to the close of the last century, but by far the most popular as well aa
the best seminary of this description in America, from the peace to the retirement of the first
president, appears to have been that of the Moravians, at Bethlehem, in Pennsylvania. I have
quoted* some allusions to it by John Adams, written in 1777. Eighteen years later it was visited
by a woman of New York, who addressed to a friend the following characteristic and not unpleasing
account of it :

A JOUENEY TO BETHLEHEM, IN THE SUMMER OF 1795.

" I think I cannot do better than to present you a little sketch of our Bethlehem tour. "We were drawn thither
by the fame of the seminary, and, high as our expectations were raised, we found them greatly exceeded. Bethle-
hem is in the state of Pennsylvania, fifty-four miles north of Philadelphia ; it is a beautiful village, and without
the smallest degree of enthusiasm may be pronounced a terrestrial paradise. It is true, we do not wander hero
through orange and citron groves, but nature has shaped for us the most enchanting walks. Embowering shades,
meadows, hills and dales, every where strike the eye with agreeable variety. Parallel rivers pursue their glassy
courses, the margins of which are planted with the flourishing and highly perfumed locusts, cedars and chestnuts, and
with a variety of trees bearing the most delicious fruits. Upon an eminence is Bethlehem ; the cultivated scene is
displayed before us: a chain of verdant hills encircles it, and this little Eden is in the midst The town, with a
very few exceptions, is built of stone, and the dwellings are generally upon a large scale.

" The house of the brethren, that of the sisterhood, the asylum for widows, and the seminary for young ladies,
are uncommonly elevated and capacious, and there is an air of dignified simplicity through these several structures.
The greatest order and unanimity is preserved ; even the water-works are characteristic ; from one spring the in-
habitants are supplied ; a cistern conveys it to their kitchens ; by the aid of a pump, worked by a water machine,
the leaden pipes receive it, and the ready spout, at pleasure, discharges in every domicil the purifying stream.

" The town was originally planted by Germans ; many natives of Europe now reside here, and they preserve
their ancient customs with much exactness. A great variety of arts and manufactures are carried to high perfec-
tion, among which are those of the tanner, clothier, stocking- weaver, tin- worker, blacksmith, gold and silversmith,
saw and scythe maker, wheelwright, and chaise and harness maker; grist-mills also, upon the best plan, are found
here, and a brewery, after the English model; likewise printing and bookbinding, with all the common crafts.

" The religion of the people is a system of benevolence ; its foundation is true philanthropy, upon which basis
rises the superstructure of morality.

" I admire beyond expression the regularity conspicuous in every department. The virgin choir have all the
advantages which the cloistered fair one can boast, without her restraints. I enquired of one of the sisters if it
was in her power to quit her engagements ? ' Our doors, madam,' replied the charming recluse, ' are always open ;
but once relinquishing this retreat, a second entrance is found very diflicult.' This circle of amiable women dwell
together in perfect amity ; every one pursues her different vocation, and the profits make a common fat!; never
did I see all kinds of needle-work carried to greater excellence ; every flower, also, which prolific nature produces,
is imitated so exactly as to render it only not impossible to distinguish the copies from the models ; I never saw
them surpassed by any imported from Europe ; and with the beauty, richness, and exquisite shading of their em-
broidery, I was particularly pleased. As we passed through the apartments, the tambour, needle-work, flowers,
&c., were displayed for sale : I regretted that their cost was beyond my reach. Neither is the loom nor the distaff
neglected cloths of a superior kind being manufactured here ; and we were shown the art of spinning without
ft wheel.

" The sisterhood consists, at this present, of about one hundred maidens, who, after a night of such slumbera

* Ante, p. 8.

442 APPENDIX.

as health and innocence produce, assemble in an elegant apartment, which is consecrated their chapel. It is props?
ly fitted up, supplied with an organ and music books, and, in beautiful capitals, the folio wing inscriptions, on eithei
side, meet the eyes : " God hath appointed us to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that
whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him ; ' ' I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall
be joyful in my God, for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of
righteousness.' Here the choir, at early dawn and at closing eve, together hymn the praises of God, and, pros-
trating themselves in his presence, the most venerable among them present their petitions and thanksgivings at
the throne of grace. At one board they are every day seated. Persons selected for the purpose prepare theit
table. The wash-house, where the apparel of the sisterhood, the tutoresses, and their pupils, is made fit for use
in the best manner, is at a considerable distance.

" The establishment of the brethren is of a similar kind, and a like institution for widowed matrons is also
admirably completed. All that was wrong in their system they seem to have rectified. The males and females,
under the chaste auspices of Hymen, may now form for themselves the tender connection ; it is true that, on
doing so, they must quit their respective retirements, but, choosing a spot in Bethlehem, they may commence
housekeeping, continuing, if they please, their intercourse with, and attachment to, their former associates. This
privilege is denied to any but a Moravian ; for though you may sojourn or reside for a time in Bethlehem, yet, if.
of any other persuasion, you cannot become a freeholder there. Thus, married people are not, as heretofore, sep-
arated ; they live together much in the manner of the rest of the world ; nor are they, as I hinted, now arbitrarily
united by the whim or caprice of the brethren.

"Only one inn is allowed in Bethlehem, but this is upon an extensive plan, with- every thing in its
season, and in fine order ; eighteen double beds are furnished, and the emoluments accruing augment the com-
mon stock.

" But it is for its seminary of virtue, and every excellent quality of the heart, and almost every embellish-
ment of the understanding, that these Elysian Fields will chiefly interest an enlightened and judicious public.
Place your daughter at Bethlehem, and, for a very moderate consideration, she will be taught a perfect knowledge
of her mother tongue ; and with the utmost elegance, the French and German languages ; reading, writing, com-
position and arithmetic, will be given her in as much perfection as she is capable of attaining to ; music, painting,
and geography, with the rudiments of astronomy, she will acquire, and at the same time the strictest attention to
her health will be unremittedly paid. It is, however, in your choice to omit for her any of these branches of study.
An early habit of order and regularity, without which I sincerely believe no one important object was ever yet
compassed, will also be acquired. The young candidate for excellence is summoned by a bell from her pillow ; at
a certain hour she must rise, wash, and comb her hair ; next she is to attend prayers ; then comes breakfast ; after
which, in a regular succession, her several employments. By the way, at morning and evening prayers they play
on their guitars, which they join with their voices, chanting some divine poem to the praise of the Saviour
These devotional exercises are performed in the little consecrated chapel, which makes a part of the school build-
ing, into which no male ever enters. Six o'clock is the hour of rising, and eight of retiring to rest. A lamp con-
tinues burning through the night, and the girls are often lulled to sleep by the soft sounds of vocal and instruments
music. The school is divided into a number of apartments ; each apartment, according to its dimensions, contains
a smaller or larger number of pupils. Every division has its particular intendant or tutoress, and over
all there is a superior. The lodging-room is in a lofty situation, and accommodated with a ventilator ; the culinary
apartment is under the ground floor, and their diet is wholesome and sufficiently varied. Twice a year the young
ladies pass public examination, at which the reverend teacher of the Bethlehemite Society presides ; and every
Sunday collects the whole congregation, men, women and children, in the great or common chapel, which is orna-
mented with some very affecting Scripture pieces, and has an exceeding fine organ, that is accompanied by the
violin and bass-viol. Singing, you know, constitutes a very large part of the Moravian worship, and their music
is next to divine. Church service is performed alternately in English and German, and its matter is rational and
instructive. The maidens are much accustomed to walking, and with delightfully romantic promenades Bethlehem
abounds ; every fine evening, guarded by one or another of the governesses, without whom they never make an ex-_
cursion, they indulge in this pleasing and salutary exercise.

" From Elizabethtown, Lancaster and Philadelphia, regular stages to this seminary have lately been estab-
lished. These bring the children, who have friends in the towns from which the stages are sent out, or in those
through which they pass, upon a post evening, in the great roads. We were fortunate enough to accompany one
of these stage carriages to Bethlehem ; a happy concurrence of events brought us acquainted with its passengers,
who were three ladies coming hither for the purpose of taking home their daughters ; but to their design the
girls were strangers. Two miles from the town we met the smiling train ; it was indeed the most lovely group my
eyes ever beheld ; a very large proportion of the school was drawn out : the hope of bundles, messages, or
letters from their friends, had winged their feet. The girls whose parents the carriage contained, approached ; for
a complete year they had not seen them ; they catched a glimpse ; they looked again ; with rapture they clasped
their hands ; ' O my mamma ! my mamma ! ' The starting tears finished their exclamations, and they stood
wrapped in the charms of innocent, affectionate and joyful surprise ; yet mingled regrets soon balanced the plea-
sures of the moment, and they could not without emotion behold the near approach of the hour in which they
must quit a society where dwells chastised indulgence, serenity, and love. A lady of New York had placed her
only daughter in this seminary; after a twelvemonth's absence she visited her; stopping at the inn she sent for
her, but impatient to embrace her, she set out to meet the messenger. The child approached, but the growth she
had attained, and the alteration in her head-dress, prevented the parent from distinguishing her, until the de-
lighted creature, taking her hand, pressed it with duteous affection to her lips.

" Coercive measures are not adopted in the school ; hence it is articled, that if a child proves of an uncommonly
refractory disposition, she shall be returned to her parents. I asked a student if they had any punishments, and
if so what was their nature, and she informed mo that advice and gentle remonstrances generally answered every

APPENDIX. 443

purpose; if these were found ineffectual, the name of the incorrigible, with the nature of her offence, waa
recorded ; but in the Bethlehem annals, only one such event had hitherto occurred.

" Recommended to the superior, and introduced by the before-mentioned ladies, we had an opportunity of
making many observations. We passed through the several rooms, and examined the tambour work, embroidery,
&c., executed by the children. Never did I see any thing in that line equal to it. We attended to their compo-
sition and painting. Here it would be presumptuous in me to offer criticisms, but I was beyond expression
charmed. As they played, and sung, in concert, with singular pleasure we listened. A number of beautiful
girls chanted, 'Peace on earth, good- will to men;' 'Now with us our God is seen,' and 'Glory be to God
above, who is infinite in love.' Do you not think the tears gushed in the eyes of our M. ? Do you not think that
my heart swelled with transport ? Every thing was admirable. The exact order and harmony to which the pupils
are so accustomed, will probably have upon their future lives the finest effect. Not satisfied with designating the
hours, their clocks, striking even the quarters, regulate, with the utmost precision, their movements.

" Hitherto I have thought that, had heaven blessed me with a daughter, I never would have resigned her from
my own maternal watchfulness ; but I now own, that it would be the height of my ambition to place her at the
age of seven years at Bethlehem, and to keep her there till fourteen.

" Of this place it is amazing what erroneous conceptions are formed : even at New York I heard gentlemen
and men of letters exclaim, 'What ! immure your girls within the cloistered walls of Bethlehem ! surely then you
do not intend them for society ? ' Yet it is a truth, that there is no undue confinement or restraint here ; even
the sisterhood not seldom making excursions to the adjacent villages. I have heard much of the awkwardness
and mauvaise honte of those educated at Bethlehem, but could not trace it in a single instance ; and there is in
their manners an elegant ease and simplicity, which is beyond expression prepossessing: indeed, dwelling thus to-
gether, they are continually accustomed to society; and, moreover, Bethlehem is the resort of the most cultivated
strangers. It is true, dancing is not taught here, but, if it is thought proper, this may be easily afterwards ac-
quired ; and a young lady designed for the great world, may be very soon initiated into this or any other of its
customs. Meantime, at Bethlehem she may early lay a good foundation : the chastest system of morals, with a
fund of benevolence, a mind richly stored, and rendered fit to receive every embellishment.

" With regard to the dress of the school, an exact uniformity is required ; it is a request made of guardians and
parents that all excess may be avoided, and the sisterhood are fond of seeing their proteges in white ; the cap, how-
ever, is, if I may be allowed the expression, the insignia of their order ; all the young ladies put it on ; it is made
of cambric, receives a narrow border of lawn, sets close to the head, and is tied under the chin with a pink ribbon ;
it is of pure white, and though at first sight we are induced to think it could only suit a handsome face, yet how-
ever they managed it, there was not one of the girls to whom it did not add a charm. The cap of the inhabitants,
which, for more than a century, the Moravian women have not changed, sets also close to the head, but is of a dif-
ferent cut, and is not so becoming ; yet it is worn by every female of every description in Bethlehem : domestics
maids, wives, and widows the only distinction being that it is tied with pink or red ribbon by maids, with blue
by wives, and with white by widows ; -and this knot of ribbon is the only ornament worn in the place. I en-
quired if they did not wear black upon the demise of a friend. ' No,' replied an. old lady, who might have passed
for the sister of father Wright, ' we do not mourn for them, we believe they are happy, so do not put on black.'
In the Moravian manner of interring the dead, as observed in Bethlehem, and the ceremonies attendant, there is
something to me strikingly pleasing. As soon as the spirit is departed, from whatever choir, or in whatever part
of the town, the body is clothed in white linen, and, if a female, the cap receives the ribbon which designates the
order ; the body is then borne to a small stone chapel, consecrated for this purpose, where it is deposited till the
hour of interment. One of the brethren then mounts the top of the highest edifice, which commands the whole
village, and proclaims the event by means of a German instrument of music, the name of which I could not learn,
and he has a method of conveying the intelligence which discloses the sex and connection of the deceased. When
the hour of burial approaches, the brethren, the sisterhood, the children, are, by a number of French horns, sum-
moned to attend service in the great chapel ; an exhortation is then delivered, and the singing and praying pro- .
duce a solemn and proper effect : the body is next carried from the chapel, and placed upon a stand, on a beauti-
ful green, the males ranging themselves on one side and the females on the other ; it is covered with a snow-white
pa.ll, ornamented with red, blue, or white ribbon, according to the character of the departed. Upon the green, a
divine anthem is performed, when the body is conveyed to the sepulchre, the instruments of music all the time
playing, and the whole village ranging themseves in decent and beautiful order in the procession. At one of these
funerals we attended, ana we entered the burial ground with a raised, chastised and solemn kind of satisfaction.
At the grave some religious exercises were performed which, being in German, we could not understand. After-
wards vocal and instrumental music, again in soft and solemn strains resounding, were continued during the inter-
ment, and until the assembly had quitted the graveyard.

" There is something peculiarly pleasing even in the burial-ground at Bethlehem. It is a spacious, oval plain,
decently walled in ; it is exactly divided ; on one side are ranged the males, and on the other the females ; upon a
straight line the graves are laid out, and you can walk between every one with as much ease as you could pursue
your way along the gravel walks of a parterre. The grave-stone is not raised, as with us, but forms a modest table
which is generally shaded by the verdant grass, and, bearing a concise inscription, we receive the necessary infor-
mation of the dead. Thus these denizens of tranquillity live, and thus is marked their passage out of time.

"But to return from a digression, which I assure myself will not displease, I have further to say, that I was
particularly charmed with the governantes of the Bethlehem seminary. There is in their manners a decent pro-
priety which I have seldom seen equalled; their very gestures are eminently expressive. Their instructress in
the French tongue has not a word of English, yet there is a kind of language in her every movement. There is
Bomethin" romantic in her history: of an ancient and noble family in France, she made one in the suite of the
Princess Louisa; her education, of course, was of the highest kind, and, influenced by the example of her
royal mistress she took the veil. For twelve years she continued an acquiescing sister ; but, possessing a superior

444 APPENDIX.

mind, and being a woman of information, reflection originated doubts. In the cloister she had been Invested
with some dignities. She questioned those whom she supposed capable of instructing her ; but her difficulties,
during a residence of some added years, increased ; at length, after encountering a series of misfortunes, she es-
caped, and relinquishing her amily, and her religious name, she took that of a rivulet, over which she passed
Fontaine ; and, finding means to transport herself to Holland, the transition to Germany was easy. In Germany,
embracing the Moravian faith, she heard an account of the Bethlehem society, obtained strong recommendations
to the brethren, and crossing the Atlantic, was by them received as a valuable acquisition, and is now a principal
ornament of their school. By such a character, thus qualified, you will conclude that the French language is taught
in its utmost elegance. I think she has been in Bethlehem two years."

VI.

WATERING PLACES IN AMERICA, SEVENTY YEARS AGO.

BEFORE the revolution the springs of Virginia had every summer been resorted to by a con-
siderable number of invalids and lovers of pleasure, and, at a later day, Bristol, in Pennsylvania,
and Lebanon and Saratoga, had acquired not a little popularity by the virtues of their waters ;
but, upon the whole, no place appears to have been more fashionable as a summer retreat during
the first administration than Rockaway, on Long Island. A gentleman who resided there in the
Bummer of 1789, for the benefit of his health, gives the following sketch of it in Swords's "New
York Magazine," for 1790 :

" Let the valetudinarian from the southern states and the TVest Indian islands, never fail to visit Eockaway,
and reside there some weeks during the summer season. The distance from New York is little more than twenty
miles, through a level country, and along a good road. The town of Jamaica, which stands about half way, is a
convenient stage for refreshment.

" The house in which you lodge is situated high, and on a gravelly soil. An extensive beach lies in front, on
which the surf is continually beating ; and, beyond the shoals and breakers, the noble prospect of the Atlantic
ocean is terminated only by the rotundity of the globe. From your windows you may see whatever vessels ply
along the coast, and count them, whether inward or outward bound, as they pass the lighthouse on Sandy Hook.
The Neversink hills, in New Jersey, can- also be seen, and in the early part of the year whales are to be viewed,
sporting and spouting, at no great distance from the shore. "What sights can be more grand than these ! Animals,
to which Behemoth and Leviathan, famed of old, were but as pigmies ; ships, those unequalled contrivances of man,
that, transporting the produce of one country to another, beautifully display their sails and colors as they ride
majestic over the billows ; hills, that defy the violence of th,e waves which ever since the creation have assailed
their foundations ; an ocean, that rolls over the face of our planet beyond the regions explored by Cook and
Phipps, almost from pole to pole.

" Sea-breezes, which regularly blow every day during the summer season, abate, in the most refreshing degree,
the sultriness of July and August ; and they bring with them not only coolness to the inhabitant, but I know not
what of wholesome and restorative power from the saline element. Asthmatic, consumptive 'and emaciated
patients have experienced their benefits, and without the expense and danger of a sea-voyage, so much recom-
mended and so fashionable nowadays, have enjoyed, to their comfort, a marine air, and a water prospect.

"Exercise, that is absolutely necessary to health, and difficult to be obtained in cities, can here be procured in
perfection. The country, for several miles around, is delightfully even ; the highways are kept in excellent repair,
and for a long distance you find not a stone to obstruct your carriage wheels. You either make an excursion inland,
and divert yourself with the simple life and rural manners of the people, or proceed along the beach, at low water,
on the milk-white sand, compacted almost as hard as a pavement, where the wide-rolling foaming surges tumble
with fury to the shore.

"But to the effects of air and exercise, you may join, in the most convenient manner, the influences of sea-
bathing. This cleanses, invigorates, and braces the body, in many disorders of debility, more than other known
remedies. Ladies, especially, who are brought to weakness and languor by peculiar ailments, find their strength
return, their beauty revive, and their ability to relish the joys and pleasures of life renewed, by a proper continu-
ance of this salutary practice. The saltness, purity and coolness of the water, by their combined agency, render
the bath truly medicinal and efficacious, insomuch as to exceed, in many respects, the celebrated fountains of
Lebanon and Saratoga.

" In these several particulars, it cannot be supposed there is any exaggeration in asserting that Eockaway
fully equals Scarborough and Margate, noted places of resort in England, and is superior to Tusculum, Pnenesto,
and Gaieta, celebrated by the classic penmen of Italy, as the pleasant retreats of the Eomans from the sweltering
heat and sickly atmosphere of the town.

" Yet it is not to be understood that Eockaway should be recommended merely as a place of rendezvous for
the diseased ; for this place is undoubtedly as well calculated to amuse the healthy as to restore the sick. Hero
the fowler, within an hundred rods of his lodgings, shoots snipes, curlews, and other birds, in plenty ; or riding
north half a dozen miles, to Hempstead Plain, which is itself a great curiosity, draws a trigger at the plover; or
proceeding eastward a few leagues further, to Suffolk, tries his dexterity in the pursuit of heath hens and wood-
iocks. Hence, too, the angler launches his small boat, rows down the bay to the anchoring ground, and tells or

APPENDIX. 445

his return how the number and size of the fishes he caught rendered the sport of pulling them on board border
rather too much on fatigue. The sportsman has also a chance of diverting himself in the chace of foxes, which are
very troublesome to the poultry of the neighborhood.

" Animal and vegetable productions, in great abundance and variety hereabout, afford the naturalist an oppor-
tunity of enlarging his knowledge of the Creator's works ; he may, with botanical diligence, range the fields and
woods in quest of new herbs and blossoms, or in his zoological enquiries, explore the creeks and inlets to find
among the natives of the water something rare and interesting. Forgetful awhile of the smaller operations of man,
the philosopher may learn lessons of wisdom from contemplating the politics of nature.

" How charming is it to retire to the shade of the trees and peruse one's favorite books ! Here, beneath the
oaks, may the admirer of pastoral composition peruse the Idylls of Theocritus and Gessner; here sympathize with
Sterne on the piteous case of Maria; here, in a solitude well fitting the subject, read again and again the Deserted
Village of Goldsmith."

THE following letter by Charles Brockden Brown, then just entering upon his career as a man
of letters, and temporarily residing in New York, describes a visit which he made to Rockaway
in 1792 :

" What possible amusement can you expect from my recital of a jaunt to Eockaway ? I cannot dignify trifles,
or give to vulgar sights a novelty, by making them pass through my fancy. That fancy, you well know, has no
particle of kindred to that of poet or painter, and nobody should pretend to describe, who does not look through
the optics of either painter or poet. Besides, my ignorance circumscribes my curiosity. I have few objects of re-
membrance with which to compare the objects that I meet with. Hence, as the carriage whirls along, faces, fences,
houses, barns, cultivated fields, pass rapidly across my eye, without leaving a vestige behind them. You will
of course ask me, how are the fields inclosed ? how are they planted ? what portion is tilled ? what is wood,
and what is waste ? of what number, materials, dimensions, and form, are the dwellings, the granaries, the
churches, the bridges, the carriages ? what the countenances, the dress, the deportment of the passengers ? and
so forth, through an endless catalogue of interrogatories.

"Now I cannot answer a word to all these questions. Your attention, on the contrary, during such a journey
would be incessantly alive : you would take exact note of all these particulars, and draw from them a thousand
inferences as to the nature of the soil, the state of agricultu