Part 7 (1/2)
All the vessels in the harbor but one were gayly decked with flags, and upon two of them parties of ladies and gentlemen sang gratulatory odes as the barge of the president approached. The exception was the Spanish man-of-war _Galveston_, which displayed no token of respect. A general feeling of indignation began to prevail, when in an instant, as the president's barge came abreast of her, her yards were manned as if by magic; every part of her rigging displayed flags of all nations, with the effect of an immense shrub bursting suddenly into gorgeous bloom; and the roar of thirteen cannon, discharged in quick succession, attested the reverence and respect of the Spanish admiral for the ill.u.s.trious Was.h.i.+ngton. The effect upon the mult.i.tude was electrical, and over bay and city a shout, long and loud, floated upon the noontide air.
Was.h.i.+ngton was received at the stairs of Murray's wharf by his old friend Governor Clinton; and his loved companion-in-arms, General Knox, was there to welcome him, with a host of others of the army of the Revolution, who had come, some of them long distances, to look once more upon the face of their beloved Chief, to feel the grasp of his hand, and to hear his voice.
A carriage was in waiting to convey the president to his lodgings in Osgood's house, in Cherry-street, and a carpet had been spread, from the wharf to the vehicle, for him to tread upon. But he preferred to walk. A long civic and military train followed. From the streets, windows, balconies, and roofs, he was greeted with shouts and the waving of handkerchiefs. All the bells in the city rang out a joyful welcome; and from Colonel Bauman's artillery heavy peals of cannon joined the chorus.
The president and a large company dined with Governor Clinton; and in the evening, the streets, though very wet after a warm shower, were filled with people to witness a general illumination of the houses.
While the name of Was.h.i.+ngton was spoken with reverence by every lip; while in the ears of senators were yet ringing the remarkable words of Vice-President Adams--”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 admiration of foreign nations and fellow-citizens with equal unanimity?”
while the occasion of his arrival ”arrested the public attention beyond all powers of description”--”the hand of industry was suspended, and the pleasures of the capital were centered in a single enjoyment,” that great man, exercised by a modest estimate of his own powers in a degree amounting almost to timidity, wrote in his diary:--
”The display of boats which attended and joined us on this occasion, some with vocal and some with instrumental music on board; the decorations of the s.h.i.+ps; the roar of cannon, and the loud acclamations of the people which rent the skies as I pa.s.sed along the wharves, filled my mind with sensations as painful (considering the reverse of this scene, which may be the case, after all my labors to do good) as they are pleasing.”
And a few days after his inauguration he wrote to Edward Rutledge:
”Though I flatter myself the world will do me the justice to believe that, at my time of life and in my circ.u.mstances, nothing but a conviction of duty could have induced me to depart from my resolution of remaining in retirement, yet I greatly apprehend that my countrymen will expect too much from me.... So much is expected, so many untoward circ.u.mstances may intervene, in such a new and critical situation, that I feel an insuperable diffidence in my own abilities. I feel, in the execution of the duties of my arduous office, how much I shall stand in need of the countenance and aid of every friend to myself, of every friend to the Revolution, and of every lover of good government.”
How n.o.bly, ay, and how sadly, do these feelings of Was.h.i.+ngton--his humiliating sense of the great responsibility laid upon him when he a.s.sumed the office of the chief magistrate of the republic--contrast with the eager aspirations of mere politicians to sit in the seat of that ill.u.s.trious and conscientious man! How the spectacle ill.u.s.trates the words of the poet:--
”Fools rush in where angels fear to tread!”
FOOTNOTES:
[11] ”The first number of the _Federalist_,” says J. C. Hamilton in his _History of the Republic of the United States_, ”was written by Hamilton, in the cabin of a sloop, as he was descending the Hudson, and was published on the 27th of October, 1787. After the publication of the seventh, it was announced: 'In order that the whole subject of the papers may be as soon as possible laid before the public, it is proposed to publish them four times a week.'” It was originally intended to comprise the series within twenty, or at most twenty-five numbers, but they extended to eighty-five. Of these Hamilton wrote sixty-five.
Concerning these papers, Was.h.i.+ngton wrote to Hamilton, at the close of August, 1788: ”I have read every performance which has been printed on one side and the other of the great question lately agitated, so far as I have been able to obtain them; and, without an unmeaning compliment, I will say, that I have seen no other [than _the Federalist_] so well calculated, in my judgment, to produce conviction in an unbia.s.sed mind, as the production of your _triumvirate_. When the transient circ.u.mstances and fugitive performances which attended this crisis shall have disappeared, that work will merit the notice of posterity, because in it are candidly and ably discussed the principles of freedom and the topics of government, which will be always interesting to mankind, so long as they shall be connected in civil society.”
[12] The several states ratified the const.i.tution in the following order:--
Delaware, December 7, 1787; Pennsylvania, December 12, 1787; New Jersey, December 18, 1787; Georgia, January 2, 1788; Connecticut, January 9, 1788; Ma.s.sachusetts, February 6, 1788; Maryland, April 28, 1788; South Carolina, May 23, 1788; New Hamps.h.i.+re, June 21, 1788; Virginia, June 26, 1788; New York, July 26, 1788; North Carolina, November 21, 1788; Rhode Island, May 29, 1790.
[13] Custis's _Recollections and Private Memoirs of Was.h.i.+ngton_, page 145.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE INAUGURATION OF WAs.h.i.+NGTON AS FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES--NEW YORK CROWDED WITH STRANGERS--PROCEEDINGS ON THE MORNING OF THE INAUGURATION--DIVINE SERVICES IN THE CHURCHES--MILITARY PROCESSION FORMED--WAs.h.i.+NGTON ESCORTED TO THE FEDERAL HALL--THE INAUGURAL CEREMONIES--CHANCELLOR LIVINGSTON--ACCLAMATIONS OF THE PEOPLE--THE PRESIDENT'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS--SERVICES IN ST. PAUL'S CHURCH--RESPONSES OF CONGRESS TO THE INAUGURAL ADDRESS--WAs.h.i.+NGTON'S REPLIES--GENERAL VIEW OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS--THE VAST LABORS BEFORE THE PRESIDENT--HIS COUNSELLORS.
Thursday, the thirtieth of April, was the appointed day for Was.h.i.+ngton to take the oath of office. For almost a fortnight, strangers from every part of the Union had been making their way to New York to partic.i.p.ate in the inaugural ceremonies; and every place of public entertainment, and many private houses, were filled to overflowing. ”We shall remain here,” wrote a young lady from Philadelphia to her friend, ”even if we have to sleep in tents, as so many will have to do. Mr. Williamson had promised to engage us rooms at Fraunces's, but that was jammed long ago, as was every other decent public house; and now, while we are waiting at Mr. Vandervoort's, in Maiden Lane, till after dinner, two of our beaux 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.”[14]
At dawn on the morning of the thirtieth, Colonel Bauman's artillery fired a national salute at the Bowling Green, and very soon afterward the streets were filled with citizens and strangers all dressed for a gala-day. At nine o'clock all the church bells of the city rang out a call for the people to a.s.semble in their respective places of public wors.h.i.+p, ”to implore the blessings of Heaven on the nation, its favor and protection to the president, and success and acceptance to his administration:” and when the throngs left the churches, martial music enlivened the town, for the military companies were forming into grand procession to escort Was.h.i.+ngton to the Federal hall in Wall street, at the head of Broad street, where the inaugural ceremonies were to be held.
At twelve o'clock the procession, under the general command of Colonel Morgan Lewis, began to form in Cherry street before the president's house; and at half-past twelve Was.h.i.+ngton entered his carriage, accompanied by Colonel Humphreys, his aid-de-camp, and Tobias Lear, his private secretary, and proceeded to the Federal hall, escorted by a large number of the military, and followed by heads of departments, members of Congress, foreign ministers, and other distinguished citizens and strangers.
When near the Federal hall, Was.h.i.+ngton and his attendants alighted from the carriages, and were conducted by a marshall to the senate-chamber, at the door of which the president was received by Vice-President Adams (who had been inaugurated some time before) and conducted to his seat.
In the presence of both houses of Congress then a.s.sembled, the vice-president, addressing Was.h.i.+ngton, said: ”Sir, the senate and house of representatives of the United States are ready to attend you to take the oath required by the const.i.tution, which will be administered by the chancellor of the state of New York.”
Was.h.i.+ngton responded: ”I am ready to proceed;” when the vice-president, senators, and chancellor, led the way to the open outside gallery at the front of the hall, in full view of the vast mult.i.tude that, with upturned faces and hushed voices, filled the streets. The scene that ensued was most solemn and momentous; and the immediate actors in it felt the weight of great responsibility resting upon them.
The entrance of the president upon the balcony ”was hailed by universal shouts,” says Was.h.i.+ngton Irving, who, though quite a young child, was present, and distinctly remembers the scene. ”He was evidently moved by this demonstration of public affection. Advancing to the front of the balcony, he laid his hand upon his heart, bowed several times, and then retreated to an arm-chair near the table. The populace appeared to understand that the scene had overcome him, and were hushed at once into profound silence.”[15]