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