Part 10 (2/2)
”At the time when Admiral de Pondevez was lying with his fleet in the harbor of Boston, General Was.h.i.+ngton, the first president of the United States, who was making a tour East during the recess of Congress, arrived there. He was received with open arms and hearty cheers by the people. In his honor a triumphal arch was raised, with appropriate mottoes, near the old statehouse. Under this he pa.s.sed in great state. I stood at a window close by, and saw him enter the balcony of that building and show himself to the thousands who came from far and near to greet him. I saw all that pa.s.sed, heard the fine anthems that were composed for the occasion, and gazed with admiring eyes upon his majestic figure.
”The procession that had accompanied him from the entrance of the town took up its line of march again, after these ceremonies, and accompanied him to the house selected for his residence, which stood at the corner of Tremont and Court streets. It was a handsome brick building. A beautiful company of light-infantry served as a guard of honor, commanded by the well-known and greatly distinguished Harrison Gray Otis.
”Governor Hanc.o.c.k had prepared a great dinner at his house, to which he invited the French admiral, the officers of the fleet, and many of the princ.i.p.al citizens. A notion had got into Hanc.o.c.k's head, that the governor of a state was a kind of king or sovereign in his own territory, and that it would be derogatory to his station to pay the first visit to any one, even the president of the United States; and, acting always upon this rule, he sent an invitation to General Was.h.i.+ngton to dine with him, but excused himself from calling on him, alleging that sickness detained him at home; thus covering by a lame apology the resolution which he dared not openly exercise toward the president. Was.h.i.+ngton, who had received some hint of this absurd point of etiquette which sought to exalt the head of a part above the head of the whole, sent his aid-de-camp, Major William Jackson, with a message to his excellency, declining the invitation to dinner, and intimating that if his health permitted him to receive company, it would admit of his visiting him.
”My father dined at the governor's, and about sunset brought Admiral de Pondevez and several of his officers, who spent the evening with us. The dinner-party went off heavily, owing to the general disappointment in not meeting the president. Meantime the French s.h.i.+ps-of-war in the harbor were dressed in variegated lamps, and bonfires blazed in the streets. The ladies wore bandeaux, cestuses, and ribands, stamped and embroidered with the name of Was.h.i.+ngton; some in gold and silver letters, and some in pearls.
”About ten o'clock I accompanied the admiral to the wharf of embarkation for his s.h.i.+p. As we pa.s.sed the house where the president lodged, De Pondevez and his party expressed great surprise at the absence of all sort of parade or noise. 'What!'
said he, 'not even a sentinel? In Europe,' he added, 'a brigadier-general would have a guard; and here this great man, the chief of a nation, does not permit it!'
”The next day was Sunday, and immediately after morning service, Mr. Joseph Russell, an intimate friend of the governor, called at our house, and told my father that his excellency had swallowed the bitter pill, and was then on his way to visit the president--to which step he had been urged by a report that the people generally condemned his false pride.”
[22] The address from the town was accompanied by a request, in behalf of the ladies of Boston, that he would sit for his portrait, to be placed in Faneuil hall, that others might be copied from it for their respective families. On account of a want of time he was compelled to decline, but promised to have it painted for them after his return to New York.
[23] ”At half-after seven,” he says in his diary, ”I went to the a.s.sembly, where there were about seventy-five well-dressed, and many of them very handsome ladies, among whom (as was also the case at the Salem and Boston a.s.semblies) were a greater proportion with much blacker hair than are usually seen in the southern states.”
[24] Between Uxbridge and Pomfret, the president lodged at an inn kept by Mr. Taft, where he was so much pleased with the family, that on his arrival at Hartford he wrote the following letter to Mr. Taft:--
”HARTFORD, _8th November, 1789._
”SIR: Being informed that you have given my name to one of your sons, and called another after Mrs. Was.h.i.+ngton's family, and being moreover very 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. Was.h.i.+ngton, and who waited more upon us than Polly did, I send five guineas, with which she may buy herself any little ornament she may want, or she may dispose of them in any other manner more 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 at New York.' I wish you and your family well, and am your humble servant,
”GEO. WAs.h.i.+NGTON.”
CHAPTER XII.
FIRST ACT IN THE FRENCH REVOLUTION--LAFAYETTE'S PARTIc.i.p.aTION IN IT--AMERICAN SYMPATHY IN THE MOVEMENT--WAs.h.i.+NGTON'S EXPRESSION OF FEELINGS--OPENING OF THE SECOND SESSION OF CONGRESS--WAs.h.i.+NGTON'S MESSAGE--PRECEDENTS ESTABLISHED--HAMILTON'S REPORT ON THE PUBLIC DEBT AND PUBLIC CREDIT--HIS FINANCIAL SCHEME--THE PLAN BEFORE CONGRESS--a.s.sUMPTION OF STATE DEBTS--FINANCIAL MEASURES ADOPTED BY CONGRESS--EFFECTS OF THE DISCUSSION OF THE SUBJECT--WAs.h.i.+NGTON'S OPINIONS--HIS LETTER CONCERNING SECTIONAL JEALOUSIES.
During the summer of 1789 a revolution had broken out in France, and its influence was soon materially felt in the politics of the United States.
It was severe at the beginning and terrible in its subsequent course.
For a long time the enormous corruptions of state had been apparent, and an attempted cure by the most violent means appeared inevitable to the thoughtful and sagacious. The French monarch was a weak man and governed much by bad advisers; and he often refused to listen to the true friends of himself and France when they talked of political and social reforms.
Among these was the good, and brave, and generous Lafayette, who loved the king for his many virtues, but loved France and her true glory, based upon the welfare and prosperity of her people, far more.
Lafayette's princ.i.p.al a.s.sociates in the scheme of reform were the Duke de Rochefoucauld and M. Candorcet. These and one or two others were regarded as the leaders. They aimed to obtain for France a const.i.tution similar to that of England, which they regarded as the most perfect model of human government then known. They desired to retain the throne, but to diminish very materially the power of the monarch. They desired a house of peers, with legislative powers similar to that of England, but restricted in number to one hundred members. They desired a house of representatives, to be chosen by the great body of the people from among themselves, and to make the government a const.i.tutional monarchy upon a republican basis.
With this view Lafayette with his coadjutors had labored for several months, when, in the a.s.sembly of Notables in April, he boldly demanded a series of reforms, and among others a national a.s.sembly. ”What!”
exclaimed the Count d'Artois, one of Louis's bad advisers, ”do you make a motion for the states-general?”--”Yes, and even more than that,”
quickly responded Lafayette. That _more_ was a charter from the king, by which the public and individual liberty should be acknowledged and guarantied by the future states-general. The measure was carried, and early in May a session of the states-general was opened at Versailles.
Had the king now listened to the advice of his true friends, and made concessions, all would have been well. But he ordered the hall of the national a.s.sembly, or states-general, to be closed. He also allowed German troops from every quarter to gather around Paris, and when requested by the national a.s.sembly to send them away he refused. M.
Necker, the patriotic controller of the treasury, and other ministers who favored reform were dismissed, and the populace became greatly excited. For three days there were scenes of violence in the French capital that presaged the most terrible results. The national a.s.sembly decreed the establishment of an armed militia of forty-eight thousand men, when no less than two hundred and seventy thousand citizens enrolled themselves. Arms were seized, and the greatest exasperation appeared on every side. Again the removal of the troops around Paris was demanded. ”I alone,” replied the king, ”have the right to judge of the necessity, and in that respect I can make no change.”
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