Part 10 (1/2)
At tih it was always somewhat labored, as in the case of the Jack already cited ”Without a coinage,” he wrote, ”or unless a stop can be put to the cutting and clipping of money, our dollars, pistareens, &c, will be converted, as Teague says, into _five_ quarters” When the De stolen from the treasury, he wrote to a Cabinet official, ”and pray, ood sir, what part of the 800000 have coh in Office, I hope you did not disgrace yourself in the acceptance of a paltry bribe--a 100000 perhaps” He once even atte, ”our enterprise will be ruined, and we shall be stopped at the Laurel Hill this winter; but not to gather laurels, (except of the kind that covers the mountains)”
Probably the neatest turn was his course on one occasion with General Tryon, who sent hih your means, the officers and men under your coton pro the officers and men under my command,”
and enclosed to Tryon a lot of the counter-procla its contents, so far as it may be in your power, to the persons who are the objects of its operation The benevolent purpose it is intended to ansill I persuade myself, sufficiently recommend it to your candor”
To a poetess who had sent him some laudatory verses about himself he expressed his thanks, and added, ”Fiction is to be sure the very life and Soul of Poetry--all Poets and Poetesses have been indulged in the free and indisputable use of it, tie you to make such an excellent Poem on such a subject without any materials but those of simple reality, would be as cruel as the Edict of Pharoah which compelled the children of Israel to redients”
Twice he joked about his own death ”As I have heard,” he said after Braddock's defeat, ”since my arrival at this place, a circu speech, I take this early opportunity of contradicting the first, and of assuring you, that I have not as yet co a letter for his wife, he wrote,--
”I am now by desire of the General to add a feords on his behalf; which he desires , that is to say,--that despairing of hearing what o off in an apoplectic, or any other fit (for he thinks all fits that issue in death are worse than a love fit, a fit of laughter, and lad to hear _beforehand_ ill be said of hi extra will happen between _this_ and _then_ to e in his character for better, or for worse And besides, as he has entered into an engagementnot to quit _this_ world before the year 1800, it may be _relied upon_ that no breach of contract shall be laid to hi it about, re all his exertions to the contrary In that same, he shall hope they would do by him as he would do by theer of his thus giving thereater flow, notwithstanding, he adds, he is descending, and has almost reached the bottom of the hill; or in other words, the shades below For your particular good wishes on this occasion he charges ed, and that he reciprocates thereat cordiality”
Other social qualities of the man cannot be passed over A marked trait was his extredon's, and drank Tea there, with a large circle of Ladies;” ”in the afternoon drank Teawith about 20 ladies, who had been assembled for the occasion;”
”exercised between 5 & 7 o'clock in the& drank Tea with Mrs
Clinton (the Governor's Lady) in the afternoon;” ”Drank tea at the Chief Justice's of the U States;” ”Dined with the Citizens in public; and in the afternoon, was introduced to upwards of 50 ladies who had assembled (at a Tea party) on the occasion;” ”Dined and drank tea at Mr Binghareat splendor” Such are the entries in his diary whenever the was ”kettle-a-boiling-be” ithin reach Pickering's journal shows that tea served regularly at head-quarters, and at Mount Vernon it was drunk in su to Knox of his visit to Boston, Washi+ngton , and of how ”social and gay” they were
A fondness for picnics was another social liking ”Rid with fanny Bassett, Mr Taylor and Mr Shaw towhere we dined on a cold dinner brought fro home by Sun down or a little after it,” is noted in his diary on one occasion, and on another he wrote, ”Having for of the Vice-President, his lady, Son & Miss Smith; the Secretaries of State, Treasury & War, and the ladies of the two latter; with all the Gentlemen of my family, Mrs Lear & the two Children, we visited the old position of Fort Washi+ngton and afterwards dined on a dinner provided by Mr Mariner” Launchings, barbecues, clambakes, and turtle dinners were other forms of social dissipations
A distinct weakness was dancing When on the frontier he sighed, ”the hours at present are entler conflict of A[ssembly] B[alls,] is in my choice” His diary shows him at balls and ”Routs” frequently; when he was President he was a constant attendant at the regular ”Dancing assemblies” in New York and Philadelphia, and when at Mount Vernon he frequently went ten miles to Alexandria to attend dances Of one of these Alexandria balls he has left an a description: ”Went to a ball at Alexandria, where Musick and dancing was the chief Entertainment, however in a convenient rooreat plenty of bread and butter, some biscuits, with tea and coffee, which the drinkers of could not distinguish from hot water sweet'ned--Be it remembered that pocket handkerchiefs servd the purposes of Table cloths & Napkins and that no apologies were uish this ball by the stile and title of the Bread & butter Ball”
During the Revolution, too, he killedWhen the ca over the French alliance, ”the celebration,” according to Thacher, ”was concluded by a splendid ball opened by his Excellency General Washi+ngton, having for his partner the lady of General Knox” Greene describes hoe had a little dance at s past His Excellency and Mrs Greene danced upwards of three hours without once sitting down” Knox, too, tells of ”a iven by self and officers” at which Washi+ngton danced ”Everybody allows it to be the first of the kind ever exhibited in this State at least We had above seventy ladies, all of the first ton in the State, and between three and four hundred gentle, fireworks, &c, were ave a ball, by request it was opened by Washi+ngton The dance selected by his partner was ”A Successful Cah favor, and the French officers took the instruments froure
[Illustration: AGREEMENT FOR DANCING assEMBLY]
While in winter quarters he subscribed four hundred dollars (paper et up a series of balls, of which Greene wrote, ”We have opened an asseht we must be in happy circumstances I wish it was so, but, alas, it is not Our provisions are in a azine to draw froet it We have been so poor in caht, that we could not forward the public dispatches, for want of cash to support the expresses” At the farewell ball given at Annapolis, when the coned his command, Tilton relates that ”the General danced in every set, that all the ladieswith hiet a touch of hie, but when invited to the Alexandria asseton and myself have been honored with your polite invitation to the assemblies of Alexandria this winter, and thank you for thisdays are no reeable and innocent an amusement all the pleasure the season will afford theed humble servant,
”GEO WAshi+NGTON”
VIII
TASTES AND AMUseton's character was his particularity about his clothes; there can be little question that he was early in life a good deal of a dandy, and that this liking for fine feathers never quite left him When he was about sixteen years old he wrote in his journal, ”Me Directions to be made a Frock with a Lapel Breast the Lapel to Contain on each side six button Holes and to be about 5 or 6 Inches wide all the way equal and to turn as the Breast on the Coat does to have it th to come down to or below the bent of the knee the Waist froer than from thence to the Bottom not to have more than one fold in the Skirt and the top to be made just to turn in and three button Holes the Lapel at the top to turn as the Cape of the Coat and Bottom to Come Parallel with the button Holes the Last button hole in the Breast to be right opposite to the button on the Hip”
In 1754 he bought ”a Superfine blue broad cloth Coat, with Silver Tris,” ”a fine Scarlet Waistcoat full Lac'd,” and a quantity of ”silver lace for a Hatt,” and from another source it is learned that at this time he was the possessor of ruffled shi+rts A little later he ordered from London ”As much of the best superfine blue Cotton Velvet as will make a Coat, Waistcoat and Breeches for a Tall Man, with a fine silk button to suit it, and all other necessary triarters for the Breeches,” and other orders at different ti waistcoat of superfine scarlet cloth and gold Lace,” ”2 prs of fashi+onable mix'd or marble Color'd Silk Hose,” ”1 piece of finest and fashi+onable Stock Tape,” ”1 Suit of the finest Cloth & fashi+onable colour,” ”a New Market Great Coat with a loose hood to it,to the present taste,” ”3 gold and scarlet sword-knots, 3 silver and blue do, 1 fashi+onable gold-laced hat”
As these orders indicated, the young fellow strove to be in the fashi+on
In 1755 he wrote his brother, ”as wearing boots is quite thethe favor of you to procure oods you ent, ”let theood of their several kinds” It was a great trial to him that his clothes did not fit him ”I should have enclosed you eneral way they are so badly taken here, that I am convinced that it would be of very little service” ”I have hitherto had my clothes made by one Charles Lawrence in Old Fish Street,” he wrote his English factor