VALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARV 3 9002 06447 2757 , ,-7 ,. ;"i >j. .^ - 1 , In hv ih.sc nreseinshppoint liim the said -.1 i-- - ^^" c-/.,.-.- :^f.";r to di.scharge tlic tliuy of thu patriotism, YaloiiTj fidelity artil abUitios I do bv llusc presents hppoi .1.-...- of the Militia ofthe District of CoUimbia ; He is therefore farelully antl ailigcn .^ . .,^ , in lending, ordering and exercising the Militia of said District and perlornting all the dunes appertau^ to his office as f^f.... ^^ And he is to observe artd lollow all st L-ders and directions front tinrc to tinre, as he .hall receive front the President ofthe Unt.ed States of Anter.ca lor , offices set over Wm, according to the latvs lor regnlating and disciplining the Mduia ol S' District. And I do str.etly charge and require .111 office, arrd soldiers under his' con.n>and. to be obedient to lus ord, force dining the pleasure of the President ofthe United Stales for tho time being. lime being, or other superior District. And I do sinetly c This commission to continue in t,ivr.» ii..d, r my hand at the Cay of V..>:a.'?:>>ai, this^> yuM of out I^r«-o«<.il»otn*iul fight huudK-a ;inj A and 'm tht iweiitj; /¦.-<..- v-#yf" '>' By the I'yc.Hdejit of the Unil« iwJ e^«cianetlt«..Mil.t&ot satd^t^^fflia Jji performing ""¦="" """^^ -y ~ ' ,^ ''^k^.fc-— - Ana!iei5to-. The day selected for the service was particularly appropriate, as the Bishop's first charge was All Saints' Church, of Calvert County, Maryland. Rev. John Hamilton Chew, a grandson of Bishop Claggett, was Rector of St. xVlbans for many years, and it seems but right that his grandfather should find a resting place there. Unfortunately, the life of Bishop Claggett is incomplete, most of his letters and papers having been destroyed by a fire which occurred at the time of the removal of Rev. Mr. Chew from his parish in Prince George's. The papers were placed in bags and left to be forwarded. Mrs. McPherson, a neighbor, had been requested to destroy any papers she might find scattered in the rectory. The night before she began to clear them out robbers broke in and emptied the contents of the bags on the floor, and the next morning she burned them all according to instruction. PRESIDENT ZACHARY TAYLOR Early Days of Washington. 139 The mitre worn by the Bishop at the time of his consecration has been kept for many years under a glass case and is in a wonderful state of preservation. It was made of pasteboard and covered with black cloth. Hon. Richard Gantt, the son of Susanna Mackall and Thomas Gantt, Jr., was born at White's Landing, the old homestead on the Patuxent River. He studied for the profes sion of law under the guidance of William Pinckney, the great statesman and orator. He made his home in South Carolina and married Sarah, the daughter of Sherwood Allen, of Virginia, a woman endowed with great personal gifts. During the progress of Washington through the Southern States, it is said that at a ball given in his honor in the city of Augusta, Georgia, he selected Sarah Gantt, the loveliest girl in the room, as his partner. Edward Reynolds, who was also a member of the Convention of 1774, was fortunate enough to secure the hand of Mary Mackall, the sister of Mrs. Gantt. James Heigh chose Elizabeth, and her sister, Sarah, married Mr. 140 Early Days of Washington. Grey. Ann became the wife of Walter Smith. She was the mother of Mrs. Zachary Taylor, wife of the President of the United States, and grandmother of the first wife of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America. Margaret Mackall Smith was introduced to Zachary Taylor about the year 1809, by Dr. Alexander Duke, of Calvert County, Mary land, while visiting her sister, Mrs. Samuel Chew, of Kentucky (nee Smith), sister of Mrs. Tiiomas Holland Chew. While Zachary Taylor was President he prevented his son-in- law, Jefferson Davis, then in the United States Senate, from fighting a duel. The President placed Jefferson Davis under arrest and sent his secretary to tlie ground to arrest Col. Bissell, his opponent. When arrested he was brought to the White House, where tiie President made the two shake hands. Col. Bissell was a member of the House at the time. About seven miles beyond Georgetown, in Montgomery County, Maryland, you will find one of the most picturesque spots in the country, known as Cabin John Bridge, the »f PRESIDENT JEFFERSON DAVIS CABIN JOHN BRIDGE Early Days of Washington. 145 arch of which is the longest stone span in the world. It was built by IMontgomery C. Meigs, while Franklin Pierce was President of the United States. The President witnessed the opening ceremony and after a shorf speech, took the first spade of earth. Jefferson Davis, the Secretary of War, was also present and took the second spade full. The Bridge was constructed under Mr. Davis' direction and his name was cut on the top stone of the arch, but was removed by some one during the Civil War. The removal of his name is causing much comment at the present day, and brings him more into notice than if it had been allowed to remain. The aqueduct was built to conduct the water from the Great Falls to Washington. The arch spans Cabin John's Run, and was named for the man through whose place the water ran. The new Washington and Great Falls Electric cars run to the hotel, which is a great pleasure resort. Margaret Mackall, one of the eight sisters, married on February 4, 1773, Major Rich ard Chew, eldest son of Richard and Sarah Lock Chew, who was born the loth of April, 146 Early Days of Washington. 1753. They left a son, Richard, who married Elizabeth Hollyday, daughter of Leonard Hollyday. Barbara Mackall, the last of the sisters, chose General Wilkerson for her hus band. Benjamin Mackall the first, married the widow of Thomas Holdsworth, nee Barbara Smith (daughter of Richard) ; when she vis ited England her intelligence and beauty made such an impression upon the Queen that she presented her witha "housewife" as a mark of her esteem ; it was made of the richest silk and is still in existence. Richard Smith was Attorney-General in 1655-1660, and greatly distinguished himself in the early settlement of Maryland. He received his ap pointment to office from Oliver Cromwell. His wife, Barbara Mackall, nee Morgan, a great grand-aunt of the eight sisters, was the daughter of Henry Morgan, and her letters published in Maryland history remain a wit ness to her ability. Benjamin Mackall's son, Benjamin the second, of Hallowing Point, was born the i6th of February, 1723, and married Rebecca Cov ington, another descendant of Leonard Holl)- MACKALL JAR Brought to this Country in 1635 Early Days of Washington. 149 day and of Sir Henry Bruce, Lord Mayor of London. On one occasion, when Mr. Mack all's daughter Rebecca was very ill, Dr. Brown, a prominent physician of Prince George's County, was called and remained at the house in constant attendance until all danger was passed. When the physician was about to depart Mr. Mackall sent his valet to him with a silver tray piled with gold pieces, requesting him to help himself Rebecca married her cousin, Leonard Cov ington, who distinguished himself under General Washington, and was acknowledged one of the bravest officers of the service. He was born in Aquasco, Prince George's County, Md., on the 30th of October, 1768. General Washington commissioned him lieutenant of dragoons in 1793, under Gen. Wayne. At Fort Recovery, his horse was shot frotn under him. At the battle of Miami he was honor ably mentioned in General Wayne's official reports, and promoted to the rank of captain by Washington. In 1794 he retired to his plantation. For many years he was a mem ber of the Maryland Legislature, and was elected a representative in Congress from the l50 Early Days of Washington. State from 1805 to 1807, and was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of a regiment of Cavalry, 1809, by President Jefferson. He was in command of Fort Adams, on the Mississippi, in 1810, and took possession of Baton Rouge and a portion of West Florida. He was ap pointed Brigadier General by President Madi son, and ordered to the northern frontier in 1813. He was mortally wounded while animating his men and leading them to charge at the battle of Williamsburg. He died the 13th of November, 1813, two days after his fall, at French Mills. His remains were removed to Sackett's Harbor, the 13th of August, 1820 ; the place of his burial is known as Covington. Three of James Mackall's descendants, John Mackall, Benjamin Mackall, and Benjamin Mackall 4th, were members of the Maryland Constitutional Convention of 1776, which adopted the Bill of Rights, the Constitution of the State and its form of government, and instructed the Maryland Delegation in the Continental Congress to sign the Declaration of Independence ; raised eight battalions of regular troops, the quota assigned to ]\Iary- MACKALL JAR Brought to this Country in 1635 Early Days of Washington. ii\ land by the Continental Congress, and im ported the necessar)- arms and ammunition. Col. Benjamin Mackall was a delegate to the general convention which assembled at An napolis, June 22d, 1774. He was selected by the Convention of 1776 to take command of the regiment of militia, from Calvert County, Md., and was afterwards appointed Lieutenant Commander and also chairman of the Cominittee of Safety and Observation. John Grahame Mackall, the grandson of John Mackall, owned large estates in Calvert County, Md., and so many slaves that he did not know them. One day, while riding out, he met a fine-looking yellow man and stopped to inquire to whom he belonged ; to his sur prise he found he was his own servant. His house, furniture, barn, servants' quarters, cattle, sheep, hogs, seven hundred bushels of wheat, and as much corn, were destroyed by fire by the British and were a total loss. The house was used as headquarters by Colonel Taney, then in command of the 31st Regiment of the Maryland Militia, in the month of June, 1814, at the time Commodore Barney's flotilla lay in St. Leonard's Creek. 154 Early Days of Washington. CHAPTER XIII. Benjamin Mackall the second owned large estates in Calvert and Prince George's Coun ties, Maryland ; his products being shipped to Georgetown market. Thus it happened that two of his sons, Benjamin and Leonard, met, fell in love with, and wedded two of Brooke Beall's daughters. Their father was an im portant shipping merchant of Georgetown, sending great quantities of grain and tobacco to England. Leonard chose Catherine, and Benjamin the third, Christiana Beall. To each of his daughters Mr. Beall gave a double square on Georgetown Heights ; to Benjamin Mackall's wife, part of the Rock of Dumbar ton, known as Mackall Square, where quite a large frame house was built, where the family resided in winter. One hundred years ago this building was removed to another portioii of the Beall estate on Congress Street, where it still stands in better condition than most m O z>7:s>o 7; S^ 'V) o2:>o2 .•«f- ? J>* <% -ill. Early Days of Washington. 159 modern houses. In its place on Mackall Square was built a handsome brick house of Colonial architecture, with large halls, and great square rooms on either side, lighted by four windows, situated on a high eminence overlooking- the city of Washington, which spreads like a broad panorama to view. The Potomac flows just below and in the sunlight appears like a great silver sheet, bordered on either side by the blue hills. In the distance the evening sun rests upon the dome of the new Congressional Library, and the many windows reflecting their golden light give the appearance of a city enveloped in flame. To the west the tall gra)- spires of the College stand out in bold relief against the clear sweep of the many-lined sky. This lovely old place is still in possession of the family, and ainong the many pieces of old historic furniture is a handsome Chippendale desk that belonged to the renowned Major- General and Polish statesman, Kosciusko. Mr. Mackall never gave up "Mattaponi," the countr)--seat of his forefathers in Prince George's, Maryland, and the family still own this old place, on which tremendous crops 160 Early Days of Washington. were raised. Many recollect the great droves of turkeys, three or four hundred in number, which passed througli Georgetown, driven all the way from the plantation, a distance of twenty miles or more ; one of these droves made a great impression upon the writer ; it had been raining, and their plumage was hanging in wet strings. The Mackalls were of a very retiring- dis position, loving their homes and satisfied to stay quietly there. They were noted for their delightful entertainments, and there still live those who delight to tell of the good old- fashioned times, delicious suppers, and the famous Maryland biscuits. The guests gathered from miles around, and after being refreshed, the belles and beaux would dance the stately minuet — for the German was unheard of in those days — and Uncle Sam would fiddle on till morn. Ah, those were happy days of yore. When merry voices rang from shore to shore, Benjamin Mackall the fourth, whose name appears as one of the signers of the Declara tion of Rights by the Freemen of Mar)-land '"' , ; , 'ff- KOSCIUSKO DESK wrr-'- - -y^-'- , '";*¦" ¦" %i f'i '' &-i. V. pwrVfr* ^ 'if PhHl^m *ta ¦ ^^^'* ^^'¦¦'* '• t-^ k.,^ JmBSHjI? •' fl' ' Ia^% * 't ' i^f' afcjnfll'^i - , '" i^ ^inlwx.' >k, * "'.. >, JUDGE BENJAMIN MACKALL 4TH Early Days of Washington. 165 Province, A. D. 1775, was also one of the five first judges of the Court of Appeals of Maryland. The other members of that court were Chief Judge Benjamin Rumsy, James Murray, Soloman Wright and Thomas Jones. Judge Mackall became judge in December, 1778, and sat for more than a quarter of a century. The winter of 1778 was one of the darkest periods in the history of our country. Few now realize the sad condition of America at that time. The finances were in a deplorable condition. The soldiers were without food and clothing, and compelled to sleep most of the time upon the frozen ground. Few had blankets and their foot-prints could be traced in blood upon the snow. They received no pay. During guard mounting and parade, half-naked men could be seen, holding their firearms with cold-stiffened hands. The officers were often protected from the weather by old, faded counterpanes, made by their wives and daughters. Their winter quarters at Valley Forge were miserable huts, cut in the side of a hill, scarcely large enough to crawl into. General Washington fared better 166 Early Days of Washington. than his men. His quarters were a substan tial gray-stone building, standing in quite a large inclosure, and to-day in one of the upper rooms they point out to you an old-fashioned warming pan, used by the General. He may even have had a feather bed. On Noveinber 17, 189 1, through the kind ness of Mrs. J. de B. Randolph Keim, and the courtesy of the Pennsylvania Railroad Com pany, the author and sixteen descendants of those brave heroes left Washington at nine o'clock in the morning, on the buffet car, for Valley Forge. Having arrived in Philadel phia, a special engine carried the party to Norristown, where the)- were met by Mrs. Ann M. Holstein, regent of the Centennial and Memorial Association of Valley Forge. Here carriages were taken and the party driven to King of Prussia Inn, founded in 1769 ; thence to Centerville, thence to the memorial stone, a small straight slab erected by the Society of the Sons of the Revolution, near the site of General Wayne's headquar ters ; thence to Fort Washington and Hunt ingdon, along the base of the hill created with Continental entrenchments, and passing Early Days of Washington. I69 General Knox's and Marquis Lafayette's headquarters, entered Old Valley Creek, passing the site of Valley Forge, built in 1759, and thence to the headquarters of General Washington, near where the Schuyl kill and Valley Creek meet, which flows very picturesquely within a few rods of the house. Here a delightful luncheon was served, through the kindness of Mrs. Holstein and Mrs. Hugh Mclnnes. With awe and rever ence we looked upon this hallowed spot, and followed the guide from room to room, and looked with eager curiosity upon the sliding panel in the wall and secret underground passage-way through which the officers could make their escape at any moment into the water, and wondered if some secret hiding- place might not yet reveal some long-forgotten record or treasure. The party consisted of Mr. and Mrs. J. de B. Randolph Keim and daughters. Miss Eugenia Washington, Miss Ella Loraine Dorsey, Dr. and Mrs. F. O. St. Clair, Chief of the Consular Bureau; Prof. and Mrs. Howard Clark, Curator of the His torical Collection, Smithsonian Museum; Col. Marshall McDonald, U. S. Commissioner of l70 Early Days of Washington. Fisheries; Mrs. Ella Hardin Walworth and daughter, Mrs. Blount, Mrs. Devereux, and Sally Somervell Mackall. On our return a special express was attached at Philadelphia and we arrived in Washington at 10.35 p. M. I believe that day will ever remain a bright spot in the memory of the entire party. ''BKfmim Early Days of Washington. 173 CHAPTER XIV. Louis Mackall the first, son of Christiana Beall and Benjamin Mackall, was born at Mackall Square, Georgetown Heights, in 1802, and became a physician of high stand ing. His preparatory education was gained in Georgetown at the well-known school of Dr. Carnahan, who afterwards became Presi dent of Princeton College. In 1824 ^^^ grad uated in medicine from the University of Maryland, and at once began practice in Prince George's County, and until about 1840 was actively engaged in practice, when he retired to private life, having written ex tensively on nuinerous professional subjects and kindred themes. Prof Joseph Henry (who was Secretary of the Smithsonian Insti tution for many )-ears and a personal friend of the Doctor's), said his theories were a hun dred years in advance of the day. Some of his works are illustrated by steel engravings 174 Early Days of Washington. executed by William H. Dugal, of George town Heights. His first marriage took place in 1828 to Sarah Somervell Mackall, a daugh ter of Captain John Grahame Mackall, an officer of the war of 1812, and granddaughter of Captain James Somervell, a descendant of Lord Somervell. James Somervell was a patriot of the Revolution, who served seven years, and lost an arm in the battle of Camden, S. C. He was also a member of the Order of the Cincinnati, a society of Revolutionary offi cers, first founded by Gen. George Washington. Mrs. Louis Mackall died in 1831, leaving one child, a son. Louis Mackall the first mar ried in 1 85 1, as his second wife, Mary Bruce, daughter of Major Thomas Bruce, of Prince George's County, Maryland. Her grand father was William Bruce, a Revolutionary officer, and a member of the Order of the Cincinnati. The gold badge of the society was designed by Major Charles L' Enfant, the great French architect and civil engineer, who laid out the city of Washington. He was sent to France by the Society of the Cincin nati on one of the vessels of Robert Morris, to arrange for the engraving of the badge, and Early Days of Washington. \77 received the thanks of the Society in an elab orate paper, sealed with its seal, making him a draft for a sum of money, which he never drew. Major L' Enfant died in the spring of 1825, ^iid lies buried at "Green Hill," the home of William Dudley Diggs. About one mile beyond the quaint old vil lage of Bladensburg, in Prince George's County, Maryland, and just beyond the Dis trict of Columbia line, are the noted duelling grounds. On one occasion, as Dr. Mackall was returning to Washington from "Matta poni" (one of his country seats), he arrived there just as the fatal encounter took place between Jonathan Cilley, of Maine, who was thirty-five years of age, a Democrat and a Representative of the Thirty-fifth United States Congress, and William J. Graves, a Representative from Kentucky, who was of the Whig party. The fight took place a little distance from the regular grounds, in order to mislead those persons who might be in pursuit. The encounter occurred the 24th of February, 1838, and grew out of a political quarrel. It is said that Graves carried a challenge to Cilley from J. W. Webb, a 178 Early Days of Washington. journalist, whom Cilley had accused of taking a bribe. Cilley refused the challenge on the ground that Webb was no gentleman. Graves then challenged Cilley, who accepted. They fought with rifles at a distance of eighty yards. Cilley was mortally wounded after three shots were fired, and expired that same evening on the field in Dr. Mackall's arms, who had rendered all assistance possible, the physician who was supposed to be in attend ance having become flustered. Mr. Cilley was approached after each shot with a view to reconciliation, but would not recall his words. Gen. George W. Jones, a Senator from Iowa, was Mr. Cilley's second, and Mr. Henry A. Wise, of Virginia, stood for Mr. Graves. The seconds stepped off the distance, which was supposed to be eighty paces, but when measured afterwards proved to be ninety yards. After the duel. Graves returned to Washington on his gray inare, "Meg," to Miss Galvin's boarding house on C Street. The house was owned by Joseph Bradley. This event caused the duelling act to be passed, making it a crime, LOUIS MACKALL 2D -m MRS. LOUIS MACKALL Early Days of Washington. 183 with imprisonment not exceeding ten years, to carry or accept a challenge in the District of Columbia. Louis Mackall the second was born at "Mattaponi," the old country seat in Prince George's County, Maryland, April 10, 1831. In 1839 he was brought to Georgetown by his father and entered at Mr. Abbott's Academy. Afterwards he went to George town College, and in 1851 graduated at the Maryland Medical University. He returned immediately to Georgetown, where he ob tained a large practice, in which he is still actively engaged. He married in r85i Margaret McVean, daughter of Rev. James McVean. He was chosen as councilman and member of the board of health, and made a director of the Potomac Insurance Company of Georgetown. He was surgeon of a cavalry troop organized before the Civil War, and was selected from the battalion to guard Mr. Lincoln in safety to the Presidential Mansion on the occasion of his first inauguration. He was professor of clinics in the medical depart ment of Georgetown College, and united with his fellow-practitioners in membership of 184 Early Days of Washington. several societies organized for the advance ment of medical science, among them the Medical Society of the District of Columbia, the American Medical Association, the Med ical Association of the District of Columbia, and has held the ofifice of president of the two latter. He has been a frequent contributor to the medical magazines designed to promote a knowledge of therapeutics and the practice of medicine. Among these articles are his treatise on the use of permanganate of potash in diphtheria, published in Hayes'' Medical Jonrnal, and many other articles in various medical journals. Brooke Mackall, Sr. , a son of Leonard Mackall and Catherine Beall, owned one of -the most beautiful places in the District, situated on the Heights of Georgetown. 'J'he house was built by Mr. Beverly, and resided in by John C. Calhoun, for sixteen years, while Secretary of War. This same place was afterwards bought by Mr. Edward M. Linthicum, for eleven thousand dollars ; part of this property is now owned by Mr. Blount, and is known as "Monterey." The Washington Home for Incurables Early Days of Washington. 187 stands on part of the original tract. James Elvertson's beautiful grounds adjoining "Monterey," and known as "Clifton," was bought from Benjamin Mackall for three thousand dollars. 188 Early Days of IVashiHgtoH. CHAPTER XV. Francis Scott Ke}-, author of the "Star Spangled Banner," lived on Bridge Street not far from the Aqueduct Bridge, and the house is still standing. He was subsequently made District Attorne)'. Mr. Key was a vol unteer in the Light Artillery commanded by Major Peter. The conipany was composed of citizens of the District of Columbia, who had uniformed themselves and offered their services to the Government and were employed in active service from the time the British fleet appeared in the Patuxent, preparatory to the movement upon Washington. Mrs. Key was a sister of Mrs. Judge Nichelson. The chain of circumstances which led to the writing of the ' ' Star Spangled Banner ' ' began at a convivial dinner party in the quaint old town of Marlboro. The following- leaf from the history of the County seat of Prince George's County, Maryland, has been care- Early Days of Washington. I89 fully preserved by an old inhabitant of Marl boro: The day the British army passed Marlboro en route from Benedict to Washington, Dr. William Beanes, a prominent physician and citizen, was dining a party of his friends at his residence, among whom were Dr. William Hill and Mr, Philip Weems, Excitement in the neighborhood ran high, and a feeling of intense hostility was awakened against the soldiery, who, during their ascent of the Patuxent and their march across the country, had acted more like a party of marauders than a disciplined army. The main body of the army, on the day referred to, encamped at the "Wood Yard," about five miles from this place, and a party of stragglers roamed into Marlboro. Some of the convivial guests of Dr. Beanes', seeing the red-coats in town, suggested that the party go out and arrest them, and the suggestion was adopted and put into executioii without delay. When they were released they hastened to rejoin the army and reported the treatment they had received in Marlboro, and a squad was sent back to arrest the ring-leaders of the arresting party. Accordingly, Drs. Beanes, Hill and Mr. Weems were taken into custody and hurried off to Bristol, some miles from Marlboro, on the Patuxent, at which place Admiral Cochrane's flag-ship lay at anchor. As a special indignity. Dr. Beanes was forced to ride the entire distance on a bare-backed horse. When they were taken on ship-board and the case was reported to Admiral Cochrane, he was disposed at first to nse severe nieasures withthe prisoners, but better counsel prevailed, and when the ship reached Benedict, Dr. Hill and Mr. Weems were released. Dr. Beanes, however, did not fare so well. He 190 Early Days of Washington. was retained ou the ship and carried to the City of Balti more, which had been marked for destruction. At that time Francis Scott Key, a nephew of Dr. Beanes, was living in Georgetown, D. C, and was a prominent member ofthe Georgetown Glee Club, which was composed of the best musical talent of the place. Hearing of the arrest and detention of his uncle, Mr. Key hastened to the scene of the approaching conflict and went aboard the ship under cover of a fiag of truce to secure, if possible, his uncle's release, and there he was detained during the bombard ment of Fort McHenry. Out of the hopes and fears of this temporary iniprisonnieut were born the sentiments of that song that has made him famous. After the bombardment he was sent ashore, but Dr. Beanes was carried to Halifax, where he remained a pris oner for over a year. After Dr, Beanes' release he returned to his old home in Marlboro, where he died in 1828, aged eight)'-eight years. His grave may be seen at Marlboro to-day, on what is known as --Academy Hill," When Mr, Key returned to Georgetown, so the story runs, at the first meeting of his Glee Club thereafter, he related to his companions the thrilling experiences of his self-imposed confinement, and the suggestion was im mediately made that he commit the incident to verse. The suggestion was acted upon, and the "Star Spangled Banner " was read amid great applause at their next meeting. It was first sung by them to an air of an old Dutheraii hymn. Thus it will be seen that the circum stances from which came the soul-stirring words of our national song grew out ofa thoughtlessly precipitated in cident that occurred at Marlboro. Early Days of Washington. 19} Francis Scott Key and his wife are buried in ]\It. Olivet Cemetery, in Frederick Countv, Maryland, and not in the Key vault in old Christ Church Yard, in Chaptico, St. Mary's County, Maryland, where six generations of the Key family sleep, among the number Edmond Key, one of the judges of St. Mary's County Courts in 1813, whose wife was Margaret Mackall. This vault was injured by the British and the bodies of the dead desecrated by the soldiers, but it was repaired and is still used. The old church was built by Philip Key near the end of the seventeenth century. The bricks were brought from England. Queen Anne gave the bible, prayer-book, organ, communion service, font, and two tablets to the church. Some of these were destroyed in 1812 by the British. One of the tablets bears the name of her Royal Highness and on the other the date on which it was given. The font is one of the gifts that remain. The vestry house was used for a school for the poor. The money was given by Philip Key's wife, nee Barton, and supposed to be the first money given in Maryland to establish 194 Early Days of Washington. a free school. The first rector of the church was Rev. Mr. Wilkerson, whose descendants still live in the neighborhood. A RECEPTION TO GEN. JACKSON. In the month of February, 1829, Gen. Jackson started from his home for this city. His numerous friends were determined to give him a public reception upon his entrance into the District. They therefore watched his progress. Finally it was reported that he had arrived in Fredericktown, Maryland. Nothing further was heard from him, aud there was considerable doubt as to his movements. His friend, John H. Eaton, who was a Sen ator from Tennessee, learned that he would reach Rock ville on the 20th, and keeping his own counsel, he weut to that village in a private conveyance, and there meeting the General, quietly escorted him to this city. Some pieces of ordnance were stationed on the Heights of Georgetown to welcome the President-elect and to announce his arrival to the citizens. The streets were thronged with expectant citizens, but as the day wore on and he did not come there was great uncertainty. Gen. John P. Van Ness, the chairman ofthe central committee, mounted his horse and rode towards Georgetown to learn, if possi ble, something definite. When on Pennsylvania Avenue, near Georgetown, he met the carriage of Gen. Eaton and saw Gen. Jackson sitting by his side. The carriage had passed the men in charge of the guns without their knowing that it contained the President-elect, and so the salute was not fired. Gen. Van Ness rode along by the carriage and the entire party proceeded to the National Hotel, where thousands of the citizens repaired and Early Days of Washington. 197 offered their congratulations. Gen. Jackson was inaugurated on the following 4th of March on the eastern portico of the Capitol in the presence of 40,000 people. The President-elect walked from his quarters at the hotel to the Capitol, where he took the oath of office and read his inaugural address. He then mounted a horse and rode to the Executive Mansion, hat in hand, his head towering over the heads of the throng and the air resounding with shouts and plaudits from the multi tudes that lined the streets. 198 Early Days of Washington. CHAPTER XVI. The Rev. James McVkan was born near Johnstown, New York, in 1796, and was a son of Duncan McVean and Grace Fraser, a descendant of Peter Fraser, who three times saved the life of Robert Bruce, and was knighted for bravery. (See Burk's peerage.) James McVean was a graduate of Union Col lege in 1813 and of Princeton College in 1819. He spoke seven languages with fluency. At Princeton College the chair of Greek was always open to him. Mr. Mc Vean came to Georgetown about 1820 and married Jane Mafifitt Whann, June 8, 1828. For twenty-five years he was superintendent of the Presbyterian Sabbath School and the Union Celebration of all denominations, which took place always on the Fourth of July of each )-ear. After weeks of prepara tion the scholars would assemble in the old Presbyterian Church, forra in line of four REV, JAMES McVEAN Early Days of Washington. 201 abreast, and walk to Parrot's Woods, singing as they went. The whole populace would turn out to witness the procession. There would be speech-making and prayer by prom inent persons, after which the children were allowed to amuse themselves as they pleased. These celebrations ceased soon after Mr. Mc- Vean's death. He died in Georgetown, Jul)- 8, 1847. I'^ 1848 Baker & Scribner, of New York, published a work entitled " Teaching a Science; the Teacher an Artist," in which was given a list of names of great men, be ginning with Socrates and ending with James McVean. As a testimonial of respect at the time of the death of Mr. McVean, the Board of Common Council and Aldermen of the corporation, of which he was a member, sus pended business for eight days and crape was worn on the arm for thirty days. The following is one of the many tributes pub lished at the time of his death in Washington, July 10, 1847 : PORTRAIT OF A TRUE MAN. The sudden decease of the Rev. James McVean, ot more than twenty years the excellent Principal of a classical seminary iu Georgetown, has produced sadness 202 Early Days of Washington. and grief among all classes of our community. Mr. Mc Vean was about fifty years of age, a native of Johnstown, N, Y,, a graduate of Union College and educated in his theological studies at Princeton, When the present ven erable President of Nassau Hall was called to the station he now occupies, Mr, McVean took charge of the high school which Dr, Carnahan then left, and has ever since conducted it with the most eminent ability and success. His fine manly frame and countenance, open and com manding, were symbolic of his mind and character, sim ple, undisguised, decided and firm. A gentleman (after the school of courtesy which an apostle would have com mended) ; a scholar of rare and critical knowledge in Latin and Greek ; an instructor who left the impression of his character on the hearts of his pupils ; a man in all relations sincere, just, generous and faithful ; a friend in capable of weakness, fear or dishonor; a Christian after the antique models, when godliness was thought gain, and faith was victory over all human opinions, and all the powers and passions of the soul ; — alas, not often, if ever, shall we look upon his like again. The great nuniber of citizens, and especially of his former scholars, who assembled in the Presbyterian Church in Georgetown yesterday, to express their respect to his memory and to accompany his remains to the tomb, bore testimony to the value of his character, a character based upon faith in the Word of God, and reared in all its fair proportions, loftiness and strength, by obedience to that word. As an elder in the Presbyterian church and president of many benevolent associations, as the friend and eloquentdefenderof the American Colonization Society, in the days of its unclouded honor and noblest contest for truth and justice, he will be long remembered with profound respect and affection. His natural abilities DAVID WHANN'S BACKGAMMON TABLE Early Days of Washington. 205 and eminent attainments as a scholar and his great talents for government well qualified him to preside over any of our colleges, but his modesty disposed him to rest in a quiet and retired station of usefulness, and rendered him little sensible to motives of pecuniary advantage or ambition. He well knew that greatness of character depends not on place, that it may be most impressive when retired from general observation, and be weakened and impaired by display. His sense of duty governed all his senti ments. He never feared the face of mau, nor had the world any motive or power which could obscure, disarm or turn from its course his integrity. This, in memory, of all who knew him, will remain a monument at once beautiful, imperishable and sublime, pointing to the God whom alone he worshiped, and the heaveii of which we doubt not he will share the perfection, the eternal life and glory, forever, G, An address made by the Rev. B. F. Bittinger, D. D. , November 20, 1895, at the Centennial Celebration of Presbyterianism at the National Capital, in which he states that Presbyterianism had full sway in Georgetown in early days : Rev. Dr. Wylie founded a classical seminary for young men ; he was succeeded bj- Rev. Dr, Carnahan, afterwards president of Princeton College, and then by Rev, James McVean, a graduate of Princeton College, in 1819, and one of the finest classical scholars in the world. He spoke seven languages with the greatest fluency. In the sem- 206 Early Days of Washington. inary taught by Rev. James McVean a large number of young men were prepared for college, while others re ceived that inslruction and religious training which fitted them for the ministry, for the learned professions, for business and for prominent positions under the National Government. Speaking of my personal knowledge, I may say that from this school went forth one of the earliest missionaries of our Foreign Board to China, Rev. John B. French; two who afterwards became generals in the United States Army, Gens. Getty and Pleasanton ; another who became an admiral in the United States Navy, Ad miral Semmes, and Francis M. Gunnell, Surgeon-General of the United States Navy, besides many others who became ministers of the gospel or adorned the medical and legal professions, or attained to distinction in offices of honor and trust underthe National Government. Even to-day I recall aniong the living a professor iu the Uni versity of Princeton, Henry C. Cameron, D. D. ; the Sec retary of our Board of Publication, Elijah R. Craven, D. D. ; Hon. William A. Butler, an eminent jurist of New York ; and learned judge of our District Court, Hon. Alex ander B. Hagner. Among the distinguished, and one of his boys, was his brother, Hon. Charles McVean, of New York, who was States Attorney and Surrogate Judge of New York, who was in the United States Congress when Van Buren was President ; the Rev. Sturdavant, of New York, and Mr, John D, McPherson, of Georgetown, a prominent lawyer, besides many others in various parts of the country, " History, Mr, President, is impartial and will not tolerate concealment or suppression of the truth, compelling one to say that, in addition to those just mentioned who went forth from this school of learn ing, conducted under Presbyterian auspices, was oue who in after years attained to the high and honorable position WHANN CHINA AND GLASS Early Days of Washington. 209 of stated Clerk of the Presbytery of Washington City, and is author of what some regard a valuable manual of Presbyterian Law and Usage," The following is taken from the George town Columbian, a paper published August 17, 1827, giving an account of one of Mr. McVean' s school celebrations that took place in the old Presbyterian Church, August 17 : Few colleges deserve equal praise with the recent ex hibition of Mr, McVean's seminary. The selections were extremely judicious, the elocution equal to that in our best colleges and the original productions specimens of much genious and taste. I have been favored by friends with a scheme of the exercise. They were iu the following order, interspersed with music : Prayer. An oration on Eloquence, by John Ott. Eulogy on Washington (original), by Grafton Tyler. Oration on the State of New York (original), by Geo. Clark. Oration ou the Character of Hannibal (original), by John Rittenhouse. Oration on South American Revolution (original), by Samuel Tyler. All the speakers acquitted themselves well, and some of them were listened to with universal interest and pleasure. The oration on Hannibal was delivered with great force and propriety, and the very spirit of Patrick Henry seemed to inspire the young orator who recited his speech. I am informed by an excellent judge on such 210 Early Days of Washington. a subject that the Greek orations are very correctly written, and we are willing to hazard our own opinion that the one on the mutual dependence of animal creatures was a fine specimen of Latin composition. Considering the very youthful character of its author, the Eulogy on Washington deserves great praise. The oration on the State of New York evinced very mature and comprehen sive views and the ideas were happily expressed. I can uot but wish that De Witt Clinton occupied the same place in the opinion of the public as in that of the writer of this oration. The last two performances were of very high character. The former was more replete, perhaps, with poetic imagery, and more abounded in the corrusca- tions of genius, but the latter was certainly one of the most manly, condensed and powerful specimens of elo quence to which I have ever listened at any of the exhibi tions of our literary institutions. [Grafton Tyler after wards became one of the leading physicians of the District of Columbia, and married Mary Bowie, J The speech of Mr, O'Connor in favor of the Catholics, by Thomas Jewell, Hannibal's Oration to his Army, by Barlow Mason, Character of Alfred, King of England (in Greek, and orig inal), by George Clark, Speech of Patrick Henry on the Necessity of the American War, by William Reniier. Oration on the Mutual Dependence of Animal Creatures (Latin, original), by John Rittenhouse, Pitt's speech on the American War, by Lewis Cop persmith, Oration on the Ohio and Chesapeake Canal (Greek, and original), by Samuel Tyler. Early Days of Washington. 211 ON THE DEATH OF MRS. McVEAN. .Ind is it sealed to peace ? On thy clear brow Never was care one fleeting shade to cast, .And thy calm days iu the brightness were to flow, .A holy stream, untroubled to the last. Mrs. Hemans. Gone is the soul ; and must this form so young, So loved, so fair, be hid from us for ever, \y\d slumber in the cold and lonely grave, To rise, to live no more ? 'T is even so. On this sweet face the spoiler. Death, has set His seal, and yet there 's nothing fearful here : That brow, though pale aud cold, is fair and calm ; No fear of death has left its impress there. Those eyes were closed in holy, heavenly peace ; In peace with man, in blessed peace with heaven. Her home, so happy once, is cheerless now. Her gentle voice is wanting there ; the light Of her loved face no more again will bless The cheerful hearth, the happy board, nor hour Of holy prayer. The kind, devoted wife. The faithful mother and constant friend Are here no more. She will be missed in all Our hearts, our homes. Her face was always welcome. Her presence gave delight, and had we known The hour of parting was so near, we then Had treasured up each social look, each word That came from those dear lips. Oh, brightly shone Her Christian life. How gentle, yet how firm ; How warm and yet how pure. 'T is for ourselves Alone we feel regret, for hers is now A brighter and a happier home, the home Of angels and of saints, the home of God, 212 Early Days of Washington. That far-off land beyond the distant skies. Farther than mortal ken. Perhaps 'ere now Her eyes have seen the little one whose loss She deeply mourned, redeemed, arrayed in robes Of Christ's own righteousness, ever to bless her sight. The Christian's endless rest is hers, A blessed, sinless life, so pure and frail No earthly pencil can portray its scenes. No human heart conceive its perfect joys. O. K. M. Georgetown, December ii, 183J. ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, GEORGETOWN Early Days of iVashington. 21 i CHAPTER XVII. In I794-'95, through the kindness of Rev. Stephen Bloomer Balch, and with the consent of the rector of St. Paul's, Rock Creek, of whose parish Georgetown was a part. Rev. Walter Addison, rector of Broad Creek Parish, Prince George's County, Maryland, was invited to hold the Episcopal service in the Presbyterian Church. In the summer of 1796 Mrs. Benjamin Mackall started a sub scription list, containing one hundred and twelve names, to build St. John's Church. The amount raised was fifteen hundred dollars. The church lot was considered out of the town limits at the time and was given by Mrs. Colonel William Deakins, nee Jane Johns, who was Mrs. Mackall's aunt. On Friday evening, January 28, 1803, another effort was made, in which Mr. William Dor sey and Mr. Plater took an active part. A meeting of the inhabitants of Georgetown 216 Early Days of Washington. was held at Mr. Semmes' Tavern, when Walter S. Chandler, Charles Worthington and Walter Smith were appointed to enquire into the finances of the church. There were only forty-five pews in the original building. In those days it was the fashion to have four square pews near the chancel, but there were ten in old St. John's, and it might be inter esting to read the names of the pew-holders as they appear on the records. They are as follows : Benjamin Mackall. William Steuart, Sr. John Tayloe, Walter Smith. Dr. Charles Worthington. Thomas Plater. P, B, Key, Jno, Threlkeld, Washington Bowie, Gen' Geo. Mason, The four first mentioned paid forty dollars rent, the remaining six thirty dollars, and the single pews were fifteen dollars. The minister's salary was one thousand dollars. Mr. Balch was one of the contributors to the church. REV. WALTER ADDISON, D. D. Early Days of Washington. 219 In April, 1804, Mr. Sayrs, of Port Tobacco Parish, was elected rector and entered upon his duties at once. He remained in charge until his death, which occurred in 1809. The epitaph in the church to Mr. Sayrs was written by Francis S. Key. The vestry in 1807 was composed of Benjamin Mackall (whose wife was Christiana Beall, a cousin of Mrs. Balch), Charles Worthington, Washing ton Bowie (whose wife was Margarett Crabb Johns), William Steuart, Sr. (whose wife was Margaret Beall, a sister of Mrs. Mackall), P. B. Key, Thomas Corcoran, J. Mason, and T. Plater. In January, 1809, the Rev. Walter Addison became pastor and remained until 1821, when Rev. Stephen S. Tyng succeeded him, after wards the celebrated rector of St. George's Parish, New York. In 1823 M^- Addison was recalled and continued in charge until 1827. Christ Church, at the Navy Yard, Washington, was the only Episcopal church building within the city limits, conse quently the church in Georgetown would be thronged with persons of the highest social position and wealth. Seats were so scarce 220 Early Days of Washington. that pews in the gallery were in great demand. During service on Sunday the church would be surrounded by a glittering array of carriages in the care of liveried servants. When the church was altered and enlarged, the plans were drawn by Franck de la Roche. Mr. Frank Loundes was register and resided on Bridge Street, near the old Bank of Columbia. This dwelling- was like many others in the neighborhood, and has only recently been pulled down. . Francis Loundes was one of the Common Council of Georgetown in 1840. In 1839 John Marbury, Sr. , was president of the Union Bank. Messrs. Marbury, Read and Linthicum were members of the Board of Common Council in 1839. Early Days of Washington. 221 CHAPTER XVIII. For the following account I am indebted to the kindness of the Catholic World Maga zine : A REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNOR AND HIS FAMILY. Amidst a number of old letters, tender and practical, there is one which, in spite of torn parchment and faded ink, still exhales a breath of romance. The writer, after wards prominent socially and politically in the history of Maryland, then a youth scarcely more than twenty years of age, had nothing but his pleasing address and distin guished name to recommend him to the favor of Miss Mary Diggs, only child of Ignatious Diggs, Esq., of Mel- wood Park. Thomas Sim Lee was descended from a Norman family established in England at the Conquest. In America the Patriotism of Richard Henry Lee, Light- Horse Harry, and Robert Lee, of Arlington, is well known. In England the Lees ranked among the gentry. As early as 1192 Lionel Lee, with his company of gentlemen cavaliers, accompanied Richard Coeur de Lion in the third Crusade and was created Earl of Litchfield for his gallant conduct at the siege of Acre. The pioneer of the family 222 Early Days of Washington. in America was Richard Lee, a cavalier from Shropshire, who, some time in the reigii of Charles I, went over to the Colony of Virginia as secretary and one ofthe King's Privy Council. He and Sir William Berkeley kept the colony to its allegiance during the civil war between Charles I and Cromwell. While Charles II was at Breda, Richard Lee went over and had a private conference with him in regard to the colony. On his return he and Berkeley succeeded in having Charles II proclaimed King of England, France, Scotland, Ireland and Virginia. In gratitude for his loyalty, on the Restoration Charles ordered the armies of Virginia to be added to those of England. Philip Lee, the second son of this gentleman, crossed over into Maryland and became the founder of that branch of the family known as Maryland Lees. He was the grandfather of Thomas Sim Lee, the young aspirant to the hand of Miss Diggs and future Governor of ¦Maryland. Mr. Diggs, a wealthy proprietor of Prince George's County, Maryland, was owner of a superb estate and countless slaves and lived en-prince aniong the southern gentry of the period. His magnificent household was modeled upon those of England. Like the patrons of New Amsterdam, he was all powerful with his numerous dependents, to whom he administered justice. It is not surprising that young Lee, the favored lover of his "dear Mollie," without fortune or patrimony, should have been frowned upon by her father. To add to their difficulties Mr. Diggs was an ardent Catholic, a friend of Lord Baltimore and bitterh- opposed to the union of his daughter with one not of the same faith. He obtained from the young lady a promise not to Early Days of Washington. 223 marry without his consent ; there ensued, in consequence, a stormy and fruitless courtship. In the meantime, Sir Robert Eaton, Governor of the Colony of Maryland and guardian of Lee, died. The young fellow thereupon threw up the office (clerk of Frederick County) which he had inherited from his father and sailed for England in the hope of easing his heart and mending his fortunes. Of his career there is little known, save the fact that he played whist at Bath with my Lord Chesterfield. Through the influence of his uncle, Mr. Russell, an English merchant, he obtained a position in the East India Company, a guarantee of wealth in those days. The prospect of a still more distant separation from the object of his affection, however, made him hesitate, though the future appeared golden. He requested leave to defer his answer, and set sail for America, determined to try his fortune once more with Miss Diggs. To the consternation of the household, he arrived at Melwood and was again refused. In his perturbation, and some what appalled, no doubt, by the reproaches of the angry father, he was surprised into a falsehood of which he im mediately repents. The note is written from the county town of Melwood Park. The handwriting is firm and clear in spite of the mental excitement under which he must have written. He carefully reproduced his letter before dispatching it and added to his copy a memoran dum of the date of its deliverance. It is from this copy that we quote the following : "Upper Marlboro, August 3rd, 1771. " Sir : I have without design told you an untruth, and I think it incumbent on me to acknowledge it that things may be placed in a proper light. I want to take no advantage by deceiving you and I sincerely wish that 224 Early Days of Washington. all who have interested themselves in the affairs of your daughter and myself had the same candor. This blunder, which I made yesterday has given me a great deal of uneasiness, and I would have willingly have rectified it immediately, but for your refusing your consent for me to marry Miss Diggs, and the great hurry you were in to leave me actually threw me into such confusion that I was deprived of utterance. You may recollect that you told me Miss Diggs had made aud repeated a promise never to marry without your consent. Instead of my ob serving that she had told me of such a promise, I said I never asked her to marry me against your consent. I do now solemnly declare that I had no premeditated design of saying those words. No, its what my soul abhors. I hope this assertion of mine will gain credit with you when I ingeniously confess that I have applied and proposed your daughter to marry me without your consent ; in justice to her, I now inform you that she has re peatedly and determinedly refused. I am. Sir, yr. Hble. Servant, "Tho. Sim Lee." The original of this copy was sent to Mr. Diggs the 5th of August, 1771. Whether this ingenious confession or the force of true love finally overcame the father's heart, history saith not. Lee was sent for, and having declared "in the most sol emn and sacred manner, as soon as I shall be married to my dearest Mollie, I will make my will and order aud direct that in case of my death in the minority of my children, they shall be educated in the faith of their mother," the lovers were united. Mr. Diggs presented them to each other, saying: "Mary will not marry without my consent, I can not force her to marry another. Early Days of Washington. 227 therefore you may have her." The engagement was short. They were married on the 27th of October, 1771, just two months after the repentant letter. Many letters remain in the handwriting of Thomas Sim Lee, but there are only a few fragments of Mrs. Lee's. In one of these her mind appears to be divided between her children's wardrobe and replying to the reproaches of her husband for not writing more frequently during his enforced absence. " You that have no such object continually iu yr sight as a poor sick child, and nothing to doe but to dress yrself visit the ladies in the afternoons or Receive visits, ought not to think much of 2 or 3 Letters to any one, do n't get any Nankeen for Nancy (Ignatius), if you have any money left that you intend to Lay out for him. Let it be in Linen what his shirts was made of is so bad that they are all to pieces alredy." Lee was made Governor of Maryland in 1779, at the age of thirty-four, and was re-elected three times by the Legislature. He declined the last nomination, however, in compliance with his wife's wishes. The season at An napolis was a heavy drain upon their income, which was royally spent, despite the Lee Motto : JVofi incautus futuri . Their fortunes suffered by contact with politics, however, nous avons change tout cela. After the Revolution Governor Lee was unanimously elected to the Senate from Maryland. He declined this office, as he did the appointment of commissioner of the City of Washington, offered to him by the first President. He also subsequently refused to be one of the framers of the Constitution, and steadfastly declined all other o£&ces. He was greatly esteemed by General Washington, who placed in him the utmost confidence. At the opening of 228 Early Days of Washington. the war between the colonies and England Governor Lee embraced the cause of liberty with ardor. He proved an able, energetic officer during that trying time, and organ ized a fine band of militia to protect the State from the British, who were endeavoring to land from the Chesa peake. At the close of the war General Washington, in a very flattering letter expressing a " high sense ofthe powerful aid which I have received from the State ot Maryland, in complying with every request from the execution of it," informs Governor Lee of the surrender of Lord Cornwallis and consigns to his care half of the prisoners taken thereby. This letter is one ofthe several still in the possession of his descendants, Mrs. Lee also united in her husband's zeal for the cause. To her Gen eral Washington also wrote, acknowledging with his usual grace "the patriotic exertions of the ladies ot Maryland," "Passic Falls, Oct. iiih, lySo. " Madam : " I am honored with your letter of the 27th of Sept,, and can not forbear taking the earliest moment to express the high sense I entertain ofthe patriotic exertions ofthe ladies of Maryland in favor of the army. In auswer to your enquiry respecting the disposal of the gratuity I must take the liberty to observe that it appears to me the money which has beeu or may be collected, can uot be expended in so eligible aud beneficial a manner as in purchase of shirts aud stocks (black) for the use of the troops in the Southern army, "The polite offer you are pleased to make of your further assistance in the executioii of this liberal desigu and the generous disposition of the ladies insure me of its success, and can not fail to entitle both yourself and them Early Days of Washington. 229 to the warmest gratitude to those who are the objects of it. " I have the honor to be, madam, " With highest respect and regard, " Yr. most obdt. and H. Ser't, "Geo. Washington. " Mrs. Lee." The sympathy which Governor Lee felt for the colo nies for their struggle estranged from him many friends and relatives who remained loyal to King George. His uncle, Richard Lee, the owner of Blenheim, Maryland, rebuked him severely for his political sentiments. When the colonial success became more assured, however, Mr. Lee gladly availed himself of his distinguished nephew's influence and applied for a guard of soldiers to protect his estate, whither they were promptly dispatched. It is not surprising that the proprietor of Blenheim should have been anxious for the preservation of his manor. It has been described as one of the handsomest country seats of Maryland or Virginia. The bricks employed in its construction were imported from England, as were also the superbly carved staircase and wainscoting. The splendors of Blenheim drew visitors from far aud near, and the renowned woodwork suffered much from their mutilations. Unfortunately, this superb house was burned with all its treasures, A second mansion, which is said to be of interest, though not so beautiful as the former, was built upon the same site. It may be of interest to mention here that Blenheim, England, the country seat ofthe Duke of Marlborough, was formerly tenanted by Sir Henry Lee, He was the keeper of the royal domain of Woodstock during the time of Charles I, and his son whom the fair Alice Lee aided in his flight from the 230 Early Days of Washington. Round-Heads. Marlborough's palace of Blenheim has superseded the interesting old pile, the last of whose towers was destroyed by gun powder in obedience to the commands of his indefatigable duchess. A romantic story is told of Richard Lee's son, Philip Twee, who, during a sojourn in England, had unwittinglv won the heart of his cousin, Miss Russell, Unconscious ofthe young lady's affection, he started to make the con ventional " grand tour," and returned from his travels to find her dangerously ill. The physicians having explained that a return to health would be rapid had she the will to recover, her anxious parents entreated Philip to find out the secret tbat stood in the way of her convalescence. He according!)' catechised the sick girl gently and with much sympathy. At length he ventured to inquire if she were brooding over some love affair, the hero of which inight not be acceptable to her parents, assuring her warmly, that if such were the case he was convinced that it might be brought to a happy conclusion. Miss Russell blushed and replied that she was troubled by nothing of the kind. His questions soon pressed so closely that the poor girl, having no longer the strength to resist, ex claimed in despair, " If you will know the truth, Phil, then, to use the words of Nathan, ' Thou art the man,' " This revelation was somewhat startling to the eager inter locutor and the denouement natural. Miss Russell regained her health and spirits and became Mr.s. Philip Lee, of Blenheim, PORTION OF ROOM SHOWING PORTRAIT OF MRS, LOUIS MACKALL Early Days of IVashington. 2)3 CHAPTER XIX. Governor Lee, some years after his mar riage, moved to Western Maryland, where land was thought more fertile than on the Eastern Shore and was to be had at a much lower rate. In the depth of winter he set out to Frederick Town, drove in a sleigh thence with his little sons for fifteen miles until he reached Needwood Forest, the house of Parson Booth. According to a tradition in the family, the fences were entirely buried, and the whole landscape was one vast mantle of snow. Mr. Booth, a clergyman ofthe Church of England, afterwards called to the Protestant Episcopal Church, Maryland, owned some two thousand acres of forest land upon which he had built himself a small house. Little is known of this missionary priest of the Church except that he was of the family of Lord Delamere, and appeared .suddenly in the wilds of Maryland, leaving in England a wife and six sons, five 234 Early Days of Washington. of whom were afterwards drowned on their way to America. His household at Needwood consisted of two maiden ladies, some students, and an innumerable retinue of cats. Governor Lee, on his arrival, was greeted by the sight of this feline multitude dining luxuriousl)- from a horse trough filled with milk. Farmers long preserved their memory with gratitude, for during their reign of many years, barn rats were an unknown quantity. Mr. Booth had established a flourishing school at Needwood, which was for some time one of foremost places of instruction in the South. Southern gentlemen of the period who were not educated abroad, or by tutors, were sent to Needwood Forest. They came on horse back from the most remote districts. Mr. Allston, who married the charming and unfortunate daughter of Aaron Burr, studied here, having ridden all the way from Charleston ; Judge Purviance of Baltimore, Judge Bushrod Washington, nephew of Gen eral Washington, and many eminent men were educated by the English parson. Governor Lee purchased the entire prop erty, and Mr. Booth, moving still farther west. Early Days of Washington. 235 crossed the mountains into Washington County. In addition to the estate of Parson Booth, Governor Lee bought other tracts of land in the same neighborhood from various Scotch and English syndicates, uniting them under the name of "Needwood Forest." Among his purchases was a little piece of land running to the Potomac, rejoicing in the name of "Maryland Tract." The origin of this title, according to popular theor}-, is due to the fact that the land once belonged to a merry set of people whose gay lives were thus deemed worthy of record. It is more probable, however, that the surveyors, whose fancy occasional])- ran riot in the bestowing of the names on the vast lands they surveyed, are accountable for the title. Another tract belonged to Governor Lee and still bears the name of "The Lost Pen and Ink." Thegentlenienofthesurvey having parted with their writing materials, chose thus to perpetuate the memory of their misfortunes. On the close of his official life, Governor Lee established his winter home in George town, where his home was for a long time the headquarters of the Federal part)-. He, how- 236 Early Days of Washington. ever, devoted the greater part of the year to his Needwood farm, returning to Georgetown late in the fall. His daughter says in a letter to Mrs. Quincy : "We shall not leave Need- wood until late in November. My father, who farms for revenue as well as amusement, finds it requisite to remain until he disposes of the fruits of his industry." Governor Lee tore down the house of Parson Booth and built himself a simple country house in the style of an English cottage. His estate lay at the foot of the Blue Ridge, in Middletown Valley, one of the most beautiful and fertile valleys of Maryland. The valley and the surrounding country, in addition to their beauty and fertility, have become famous since the late war. Harper's Ferry, noted alike for the grandeur of its scenery and of the capture of John Brown, is within a few miles of " Needwood," while to the north, at a short distance, is Crampton's Gap, a pass held by McClellan. The latter established his headquarters near the home of Governor Lee and was there frequently entertained during his occupation of the valley. Still Early Days of Washington. 239 the great mass of South Mountain, over which passes the western high-road disputed so fiercely by the troops of the rival armies until the bloody battle of Antietam was fought, about a mile from the summit of the mountain. For the purpose of social life, however, " Needwood " was but poorly equipped. Frederick, the nearest town, was fifteen miles away. Mr. Clerc-Lee, a gentle man greatly attached to the Governor, was the only person within several miles. He had bought land adjoining "Needwood" and built himself a house solely for the pur pose of being near Governor Lee. The fre quent and protracted absence of the latter, however, finally discouraged his friend, who, finding forest life rather dreary, returned with his family to the more inspiriting scenes of Charles County, then a fashionable part of Maryland. The departure of this family left Governor Lee and his household completely isolated. Governor Lee now turned his whole attention to farming, and took great pride in his lands, which became famous for their fertility. Writing to his daughter, Miss Eliza Lee, then married and living in 240 Early Days of Washington. Wilmington, he says : "Some ladies and gentlemen came from Baltimore yesterday to see ' Needwood Farm. ' Can you boast of one in Delaware that possesses such attrac tions ? My wheat stands higher than the fences, which, as you know, are not low, and iny crop has a beautiful health and a regular appearance which is probably not exceeded by any in the State." For years after Governor Lee's death *' Needwood" was still noted. We find in an old newspaper a letter from a correspond ent who had been stopping near there in which he remarks: "The descendants of Governor Lee form a circle as remarkable for their refinement and cultivation as their lauds are famous for productiveness and fertility." The politician had become so absorbed in the farmer that Governor Lee's heart was divided between patriotism and the fluctuations of the agricultural market. During the war of 1812 he appears to be depressed, but hastens to add : "The prospect of peace, or even a good market for flour and beef, would cheer me," and again, "We expect to hear of peace every day, and a high price for everything Early Days of Washington. 243 that should be high." He owned a fine body of -slaves, two hundred in all, the majority of whom were well-trained laborers. He was attached to many of them, though some " perplexed and plagued him." In a letter he described one Robin, who, after a long illness, "went off like a snuff of an exhausted candle." He never took a dose of physic during the course of a long life. "When I told him that a doctor should be called he warmly objected, declaring his belief that I knew as well as the doctor what was proper for him, from which we may clearly infer that he had not a greater reliance upon the skill of the faculty than Mr. Madison seems to have." Though no longer active in politics. Gov ernor Lee still followed with interest the movements of the Federal party, of which he had formerly been a prominent member. In the fall of 1812 he congratulates himself upon the prospect of the country becoming Federal : " A great meeting is soon to take place at which arrangements will be made, I presume, to make the wished-for change. Of two evils it seems best to take the least. Madison and 244 Early Days of Washington. the Jefferson crew ought in all events to be discarded, but Clinton, this DeWitt Clinton, I like not that Jacobinical fellow." Mrs. Lee died in 1805 and was sincerely mourned by her hu.sband. He has written the following inscription in a volume of Thomas A' Kempis, given to his wife by Prince Galtizin, the Russian convert to the Roman Catholic Church, known throughout this country by the humble name of Father Smith: "The gift of the Reverend Mr. Smith to Mary Lee, 1788, passed by the ever-to-be-lamented death of my beloved wife to me, her inconsolable husband, Thomas S. Lee." He had joined the Roman Catholic Church some years before his wife's death, having once made a vow to do so when she was dangerously ill. As a tribute to the memory of her who had been his intelligent and faithful companion during more than thirty years of married life, Gov ernor Lee built a church which he named St. Mary's, in "honor of my dearly beloved wife, your sainted mother." This building re mained in the possession of the family until 1829. The Roman Catholic bishops assem bled in Baltimore and there decided that the Early Days of Washington. 245 titles of all churches should be vested in the diocesan, on account of a great scandal caused by troubles in New Orleans. The owners of the cathedral there threatened to use it for other purposes, brought the matter before the courts, where the famous law suit was at length decided against them in 1842. After the marriage of the eldest daughter. Miss Eliza Lee, who had been his friend and companion always, but more particularly since the death of his wife. Governor Lee remained closely at "Needwood," which he was loath to leave even for short visits to his daughter and her family, urging in one letter as a suflficient regret, the uncomfortable and unsuitable fashions of the period. "Golden will make my clothes fashionable, do or say as I may, but I can not wear them high in the neck, short-waisted and flying off at the sides." Governor Lee died in 1819, at the age of seventy-four, lea-ving his estate to be divided equally between his children. There are now, March, 1898, four country seats within the radius of one mile bearing the name of "Needwood." Three of these belong to his descendants, who at present 246 Early Days of Washington. own about fifteen hundred acres of the original three thousand. The old homestead built by Governor Lee has passed into other hands. Unfortunately, there exists no por- - trait of him. It is thought that he had a great distaste to being painted. He is said to have been a remarkabl)- handsome man, standing six feet four inches, and magnifi cently proportioned. Frederick still pre serves the memory of his superb appearance as he inarched through the town at the head of the Maryland militia to assist the Governor of Pennsylvania to crush the Whiskey Rebel lion of 1794. His sons were all fine looking men, none of them being under six feet. In 1824 Peale, writing to John Lee, Esq., youngest son of Governor Lee, sa)-s that he has "an engagement to paint portraits of the governors elected in the State of Maryland since the change of Government. I am de sirous to know if there is a portrait in your family of Governor Lee and whether I may have the favor of making a copy." There being no portrait, the artist suggested that William Lee, the eldest son, should sit for the painting, which would be placed iu An- Early Days of Washington. 249 napolis as that of Thomas Sim Lee. Unlike an enterprising Marylander, however, who recently sat for all the portraits of his ances tors, male and female, William declined to personate his father. The estate of Melwood Park, which fell to the children of Governor Lee, was sold that the propert}- might be divided among the heirs. Governor Lee left six children, four sons and two daughters. His eldest son, William, lived the greater portion of his life at "Needwood," where he built himself a house, and where he was at one time the host of the charming Mrs. Lewis (Molly Custis). Archibald Lee, another son, was a charming aiid accomplished man of the world. He spent most of his time in England, where he was a great favorite. Among his papers there are a number of letters from eminent people whose autographs alone would make the correspondence interesting. Invitations to famous country houses, personal orders from Ponsonby and Sir John Sinclair for debates in the House of Lords, a note signed John Kemble, one requesting the pleasure of his company in a drive to Bath from Thomas 250 Early Days of Washington. Weld, Esq., letters of friendship from Lord Lansdowne, Henry David Erskine, son of the famous Baron Erskine, "the most con summate advocate of his age" ; several from William Pinckney, then minister to London, and two from Lucien Bonaparte. These are both written from Tlioniegrove, Worcester shire, where he was detained by the English, who treated him as a prisoner. In the one he expressed his great desire to reach America, ce pays dont la politique me tient '' kloigne * * -* J^ esperee qnelque jour que nous y rcT'en'ons et que nous benirons ensemble P heureuse terre oil on joiiit de la liberie civile et politique.'''' In another address to Archi bald Lee, citoyen American, he begs Mr. Lee to stop at Thorngrove on his way to London. Bonaparte wishes to discuss a project of send ing to Philadelphia some of his effects, whose value he places at fifty thousand pounds sterling, and which were then awaiting- em barkation at Civita Vecchia, from whence he had himself set sail to escape from the ex asperation of Napoleon, when he was captured by a British cruiser, "7,? ne doute Pasque tbt oil tard on ne me laisse continuer MRS. CHARLOTTE GRAHAME PATTERSON, nkk Nicols From a Painting by Sully about 1823 Early Days of Washington. 253 ma route vers la noitvelle patric que y ai adoptee et en attendant, je 7.>o?tdrais y envoyer ce qtii ni' appartieni, comme 7nalgit ma deten tion Je me regarde de Jit comme voire concitoyen. Je compte sur voire obligeance, ei je serais bien aise de causer avec 7jous de cet objet-Agreez, je vous prie, mes sahdations nmicales. ' ' Miss Eliza D. Lee, her father's eldest and much-loved daughter, presided over his estab lishment during eleven years after the death of her mother. As the head of her father's house in Georgetown, she came in contact with all the brilliant and distinguished men of the day. She was a great favorite with Mrs. Quincy, who, writing to a friend in Boston, says, " Eliza Lee, at the head of her father's establishment in Georgetown, has long commanded general admiration by her highly cultivated mind and graceful and at tractive inanner." We find the following passage on the admir ation which Miss Lee excited in a letter from a friend of hers : "You, I am told, have been the idol of the winter. The woman who has the power to draw Mr. Randolph away from 254 Early Days of Washington. Miss Caton must calculate on the hatred of her own sex and the admiration of the other." Mrs. Quincy, on her return North, where, as she expresses it, she is "at last in the midst of the paternal acres, and among shades and scenes consecrated by recollections full of gratitude and tenderness," writes to her dear Miss Lee, "InaU this restored happiness we think of you all, and charm our enquiring friends with the story of your worth and kind ness, " etc. Her signature occurs frequently in Miss Lee's correspondence, as also that of Josiah Quincy. In one place the latter writes re gretting that he may not accompany her on a riding expedition which they had planned together. I am denied after all the privilege of being your and Miss Teackle's cavalier to-morrow, as I promised myself; a lighter carriage than my own cauii-ot be obtained, and this requires my whole stock of cavalry and deprives me of my stud, which is a death-blow to my knightly preten sions. Will you convey my lamentations to Miss Teackle. Be assured that whether on the spur or the wheel, I am, very respectfully, Yr. Hble. S Josiah Quincy. I am supported in this disappointment by being in formed that you have a devoted cavalier at your com mand. MADAME JEROME BONAPARTE Early Days of Washington. 257 Among other writers are Mrs. Madison, John Randolph of Roanoke, Colonel Pick ering, etc. Mr. Randolph frequently invites Miss Lee's attention to various reviews, hop ing she " will not find them wholly devoid of interest." Colonel Pickering sends a sermon with the following words: "The enclosed sermon, on the signs of the times, which Col. Pickering received last night, and has just read, he presents to Miss Lee." An unusual present to a young lady, but uot the less ac ceptable to her serious and reflecting mind. Miss Lee married the Hon. Outerbridge Horsey, Senator from Delaware, Mr. Ran dolph officiating as groomsman. Mr. and Mrs. Horsey eventually settled upon the part of Governor Lee's estate which she inher ited, and which still bears the name of "Need- wood." The descendants of Governor Lee and Charles Carroll of Carrollton intermarried sev eral times, thus cementing by a more intimate connection the friendship of their ancestors. John Lee, the youngest son, for several )-ears Member of Congress from Maryland, married Harriet Carroll, granddaughter to the signer, while her brother. Colonel Carroll, married 258 Early Days of Washington. Mary Diggs Lee. The mother of Mrs. John Lee was Harriet Chew of Philadelphia, one of the beauties of her day. She is repre sented leaning upon the arm of General Washington in the famous painting of Martha Washington's. It is said that Mr. Carroll went to Phila delphia to address another lady, whose charms were, however, completely effaced by the sight of Miss Chew. He left the city an en gaged man, without having once thought of her for whose sake he had undertaken this trip. Colonel Carroll's wife (Miss Lee) had been intimately associated, before her mar riage, with the beautiful Misses Caton, about whom so much has been written. In a letter to oue of her relations Miss Lee speaks thus of the eldest of the sisters, who married, first, the brother of Madame Bonaparte (nee Patter son), and afterwards the Marquis of Wellesley. Madame Jerome Bonaparte was the niece of Mrs. Thomas Mackall (n^e Ann Grahame, a descendant ofthe Earl of Montrose : You can form no idea of the change that has taken place in Mrs. Patterson ; her whole soul is absorbed in religion. * * * I always went into the chapel (Doughre- JEROME BONAPARTE Early Days of Washington. 261 ghan Manor) at half-past five in the morning, and inva riably would find her already there. She told me last month, in speaking of England, that she reflects with the greatest remorse upou her dissipation while there, and that no consideration would induce her to return again ¦ that her only wish now was to atone for the follies of her past life. Mrs. Patterson sho-wed me all her correspond ence with the Duke of Wellington, besides a variety of letters from other great people in England in which they spoke of her loss, not only to individuals, but to the na tion. After reading these letters, all of which were filled with compliments, she told me that she had not shown them to me out of vanit}-, but to prove to me that if she had loved the world too much, she had been more excus able than most women. The fascinations of England evidently tri umphed over Mrs. Patterson's religious deter mination to atone for the follies of her past life. After the death of her first husband, his fair widow yielded to the solicitations of her ad mirers and returned to England to console the nation for her loss. She niarried the Marquis of Wellesley, Viceroy of Ireland, an elder brother to the Dnke of Wellington, her great friend and admirer. Lady Wellesley then en tered upon a career of conquest, and, together with her beautiful sisters. Lady Strafford and the Duchess of Leeds, was for many years the reigning toast. 262 Early Days of Washington. CHAPTER XX. Among the early benefactors of George town Mr. Henry Foxhall, of Monmouthshire, England, deserves a place in history. His earliest American Home was in Philadelphia, where he was partner in the Eagle Iron Works of Robert Morris, the signer of the Declaration of Independence. Mr. Foxhall's home in Georgetown was on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, near the Aqueduct Bridge. His summer residence, known as "Spring Hill," which consisted of sixty or .seventy acres, situated just west of Georgetown Col lege, is still owned by his descendants. Five generations ago, Mr. Foxhall built an interest ing old home on Dumbarton Avenue, which he presented to his daughter, Mary Anne McKenney, as a wedding present, and which is now occupied by his granddaughter, the wife of Lieutenant Charles McCartney. The family have many rare and beautiful pieces ot Early Days of Washington. 263 old china and glass, and among other things a clock that belonged to Queen Marie Antoin ette. The greatest curiosity of all is dusky old Aunt Minta, who thought it wiser to feed the cats from Canton china, because "dem plates was so ole," rather than use the new. Among the things that deserve special men tion is an exquisite watch of rare workman ship, manufactured near the middle of the seventeenth century, which came into Mr. Foxhall's possession nearly a century back through a mysterious stranger, who left it as a token of gratitude and esteem for many benefits received, and stated that it was a family heirloom. The watch is exquisitely enameled and encircled with 278 brilliants. It is supposed that the donor was one of the exiled noblemen who fled to this country dur ing the reign of terror, and when one consid ers how costly even ordinary watches were in those days, and then note the extreme beauty and richness of this, sparkling with gems, one must conclude that the original owner was a person of distinction as well as of enormous wealth. Following the declaration of the war of 264 Early Days of Washington. 1812, Mr. Foxhall secured a contract for the manufacture of cannon and other munitions of war for the Government, and at the time of the invasion it was well understood that, be ing an Englishman, Mr. Foxhall was especially obnoxious to invaders and that his foundry (the only one south of Philadelphia) was included in their plan of destruction. At the time allotted for this purpose there came down upon the vicinity a cyclone of most destructive violence ; houses were unroofed, chimneys prostrated and new roadways were cut through the forests, marking distinctly the path of the turbulent visitor. On the subsi dence of the storm it was discovered that the enemy had retired, leaving the Foxhall family unmolested. Mr. Foxhall regarded the storm as a Providential intervention, and being a local elder of the M. E. Church of George town, on which many of the citizens of Wash ington were dependent for church privileges, he concluded to build a church that would not only meet the religious needs of such, but also remain an enduring expression of his gratitude to God for signal deliverance He had wrought out for him. To consummate Early Days of Washington. 265 this well-conceived plan, he selected the desirable lot at the corner of 14th and G Streets, northwest, and erected thereon a sub stantial brick church, 40 by 60 feet, after the most approved model for Methodist churches of that day, and although inherently opposed to pews in the house of God, he had the seat- ings in the southeast angle of the audience chamber fitted up with pew inclosures for the special use of the President and his family. The 15th of September, 1815, it was dedi cated. Rev. Nicholas Sheathen officiating. In due time Mr. Foxhall deeded the premises in fee to certain trustees "for the use of the Methodist Episcopal Church of the United States of Nortii America, and to be forever known and distinguished as the Foundry ¦Chapel." This noble gift was well timed and highly prized by its recipients, for at that time there was not a church in the City of Washington west of 15th Street, save the Friends' Meeting House and the First Baptist Church. 266 Early Days of Washington. CHAPTER XXI. Ah ! if the veil of time could only be lifted, that we might read more clearly the lives of our distinguished people ; but, alas, time rolls on, and the shadows grow fainter and fainter, until only tiny sparks remain where once bright lights shone. Dr. Heigh Blake, a prominent physician of the town, was born in Calvert County, Mary land, June II, 1768. He studied and gradu ated in medicine at the University of Penn sylvania in 1789 ; moved to Georgetown, and resided on the corner of Congress and Gay streets. He was for many years Mayor of Washington, and held that position in 1814, when the British invaded the Capital. Dr. Blake's sister Glorvina married William Gor don, Sr., who was descended from the old well-known Maryland family. William Gor don was a graduate of West Point Military Academy and for nearly fifty years a principal Early Days of Washington. 269 civil officer of the War Department. About this time Dr. Worthington came to George town and built a handsome home on Prospect Street, -which is now owned by Commodore Karney's family. The Worthingtons after wards moved to Georgetown Heights and bought Leonard Mackall's place, which is now owned by Mrs. Philip, nee Worthing ton. Dr. N. W. Worthington was elected Secretary of the National Medical Conven tion, which met in the City Hall, Washing ton, D. C. , in 1840. Dr. Sclioaf appeared on the scene about that time, and lived on First Street in the house now owned by the Barber heirs. The site of the New Observatory belonged to Ben jamin Mackall, who sold it to Mr. Cornelius Barber for five thousand dollars. This place brought sixty-one thousand when sold to the Observatory, and a part of the original tract was reserved. Dr. John Snyder, whose wife was Sophia Tayloe, of the Ogle family, about whom so much has been written, was another physi cian of the town. 270 Early Days of Washington. CHAPTER XXII. In those early days Messrs. Thomas I. Davis, Elisha Riggs, Francis Dodge, Darius Claggett, Alexander Ray, Edward Magruder Linthicum, William W. Corcoran and George Peabody were merchants of Georgetown who accumulated wealth. The last three men tioned left handsome gifts to the town. Mr. Peabody was born in Danvers, Mass. ; he came a poor boy, and clerked in a store in George town which still stands on the northwest corner of Thirty-second and M streets. He afterwards went to Baltimore, where the foundation of his enormous wealth was laid. In 1835 he went to London to negotiate the sale of $8,000,000 worth of bonds for the State of Maryland ; his commission of $200,000 he turned back into the State Treasury. Two years later he went to London and established a banking house. He gave largely of his wealth, and many have cause to revere his Early Days of Wasbington. 273 name. In 1867 Mr. Peabody put into the hands of Mr. Corcoran and Mr. Anthony Hyde the sum of fifteen thousand dollars, as a fund to start a free library for the town. The fund was allowed to accumulate until 1872, when a sum of fifty thousand dollars, given by Mr. Linthicum, for a free school, was added, and a handsome building erected. The trustees of the Linthicum fund were Dr. Joshua Riely, Josiah Dent, William L- Dunlop, William A. Gordon, Jr., and William Laird, Jr. (who was Cashier of the Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank for many years. Clement Smith was first president of this bank ; Robert Reed was president from 1850 until 1862, and was highly esteemed by everybody). Mr. Peabody gave largely to the second Grinnell Arctic expedition. His gifts for the establishment of lodging-houses for the poor of London amounted to $2,500,000. He gave $3,500,000 to promote education in the South. Libraries and art galleries in many places stand as memorials to his philanthropy. Gladstone said of him : " He taught the world how a man may be master of his fortune, and not its slave." He resided in London, and 274 Early Days of Washington. was noted for his handsome entertainments ; among the prominent people who were his guests was the Duke of Wellington. Mr. William Hunter, who was Assistant Secretary of State for many years, married Miss Smith, and lived in Smith Row on First Street. *The following is the description of a seal made by the tall, red-headed bean-stalk, Thomas Jefferson, as the Great Seal of the United States, when he was thirty-two years old. He said it was uot all original, but con tained also the ideas of Adams, and Franklin, the same as the Declaration of Independence did. You know how Jefferson could always use the ideas of other people as well as his own, and make them appear as fresh and bright as if jnst coined at the mint of his own brain. Jefferson was sixty-six years of age when he closed his Presidential term in 1809. He was elected President of the United States in 1801, died at Monticello, Va., July, 1826. At the time Jefferson was Secretary of State in 1792 under President Washington, he resided in Georgetown, on the street, called by his name. The house is situated on the east side of the street, directly south of the canal, *Froin Harpers^ Magazine, by permission. Early Days of Washington. 277 and can be seen to-day. Mr. Jefferson, when he was President of the United States, con tributed seventy-five dollars to an enlarge ment of the Presb\'terian Church in George town. He also subscribed to St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church, Georgetown, of which he was a member. Why the "White House" is so called: The Executive Mansion was built of Virginia free stone, obtained from the quarry at Aquia Creek, and originally was not white. During the year 1814, the British took the city of Washington, and burned a portion of it. The President's house was transformed from a splendid residence into a smoking ruin. It is true the walls were left standing, but they were blackened and greatly defaced by the fire and smoke. When the war closed the walls of the mansion were retained and in rebuilding, were painted white. It then took the name " White House " and has beeu known by that name from that time to the present day. The beautiful grounds on which the man- " sion stands were part of the estate of Colonel Thomas Johns, whose wife was Sarah Holly day. The old flat grave stones of the Holly day family, are to be found in a good state of preservation at Brookfield in lower Maryland. These stones were brought from England 278 Early Days of iVashington > many, many years ago ; and have the Armor ial Bearing of the family cut upon theni. Thomas Johns was the son of Richard Johns and Margaret Crabb. Early Days of Washington. 281 CHAPTER XXIII. Mrs. Adams' letter to her daughter, written from Washington, 27th November, 1800: The vessel which has my clothes and olher matters is not arrived. The ladies are impatient for a drawing-room, I have no looking-glasses but dwarfs for this house, nor a twentieth part lamps enough to light it, Manythings were stolen, mail}' w-ere broken, by the removal ; among the number my tea china is more than half missing. My rooms are very pleasant and warm whilst the doors ofthe hall are closed. You can scarce believe that here in this wilderness city I should find my time so occupied as it is. My visitors come, some of them, three and four miles. To return oue of them is the work of a day, Mrs, Otis, my nearest neighbor, is at lodgings almost a half a mile from me; Mrs, Senator Otis, two miles. We have all been very well as yet. If we can, by any means, get wood we shall not let our fires go out, but it is at a price indeed ; from four dollars it has risen to nine. Some say it will fall, but there must be more industry than is to be fonnd here to bring half enough to the market for the consumption of the in habitants. It is pleasant, at times, to give away to one's reminiscences, and suffer them to lead 282 Early Days of Washington. the mind back to by-gone days. The advent of a new Congress, under circumstances favor able to the progress of this great Nation, nat urally recalls to memory what the condition of our Federal city was, when, under the Con stitution and the law, it became the seat of the General Government. The wild and desolate face which the site of our infant metropolis then wore, compared with the smiling and cheerful looks in which it now welcomes its numerous visitors, presents a striking contrast, which, however, may be considered as but a type of the growth and improvement of the Republic. Not doubting that our readers will be willing to be relieved, for a brief moment, from the consideration of graver matters, that have already been presented from official sources to the consideration of the assembled wisdom of the Nation, we invite them to accompany us in viewing the very different circumstances under which the Congress of 1800 found them selves, when placed under the legal necessity of coining together in an unbuilt city, from those happier auspices under which they have now repaired to the same city in discharge of their official duties. Early Days of Washington. 2§3 For ten years anterior to the removal of the public offices to this place the City of Wash ington had already been designated, on the statute book, as the permanent seat of Gov ernment of the United States ; but it is tradi tionally known that the area of Washington then scarcely contained five hundred inhabi tants, most of the houses being mere cabins, erected for the temporary accommodation of laborers. It was not until the year 1800 that the Government was actually transferred from Philadelphia. In the June of that year Mr. Oliver Wolcott, then Secretary of the Treas ury, taking time by the forelock, came to "the city" that he might ascertain whether the building which had been erected for the accoramodation of his Department would suffice for that purpose. On the 4th of July he addressed a letter to Mrs. Wolcott in which he thus describes his first impressions of the city : I will write this letter in the building erected for the use ofthe Treasury Department in the city of Washington; and this being a day of leisure, I shall be able to give you some idea of this famous place, the permanent seat of American Government. 284 Early Days of Washington. The City of Washington, or at least some parts of it, is about forty miles from Baltimore. The situation is pleas ant, and indeed beautiful ; the prospects are equal to those which are called good ou Connecticut River. Thesoil here is called good, but I call it bad. It is au exceedingly stiff reddish clay, which becomes dust in dry and mortar in rainy weather. The President's house was built to be looked at by vis itors and strangers, and will render its occupant an object of ridicule with some, and of pity with others. It must be cold aud damp iu -winter, and cannot be kept in tolerable order without a regiment of servants. The Capitol is situated ou an eminence, which I should suppose, was near the center of the city. It is a mile and a half from the President's house. There is one good tavern about forty rods from the Capitol, and several other houses are built and erecting, but I do not perceive how the mem bers of Congress can possibly secure lodgings, unless they will consent to live like scholars iu a coUege or monks in a monastery, crowded ten or twenty in one house, aud utterly excluded from society. The only resource for such as wish to live comfortably -w-ill, I think, be found in Georgetown, three miles distant, over as bad a road in winter as the clay grounds near Hartford. I have made every exertion to secure good lodgings near the office, but shall be compelled to take them at the distance of more than a half a mile. There are, in fact, but few houses, at any one place, and most of them small miserable huts, which present an awful contrast to the public buildings. The people are poor, and as far as I can judge, they live like fishes, by eating each other. All of the ground for several miles around the city being, iu the opinion of the people, too valuable to be cultivated, remains unfeuced. There are Early Days of Wasbington. 285 but few enclosures even for gardens, and those are in bad order. You may look iu almost any direction, over an extent of ground nearly as large as the city of New York, without seeing a fence or an}' object except brick-kilns and temporary huts for laborers. Greeuleaf 's Point presents the appearance of a consid erable town which had been destroyed by some unusual calamity. There are at Greenleaf's Point fifty or sixty spacious houses, five or six of wliich are occupied by negroes and vagrants, and a few more decent working people, — but there are no fences, gardens, nor the least appearance of business. This place is about a mile and a half south of the Capitol, 286 Early Days of Washington. CHAPTER XXIV. President Adams (the elder) arrived here with his family in November of the same year. On the 25tli of the month Mrs. Adams wrote to her daughter, Mrs. Smith, as follows : Arrived here on Sunday last, and without meeting with any accident wortii noticing, except losing ourselves when we left Baltimore and going eight or nine miles on the Frederick road, by wliich means we were obliged to go the other eight through woods, where we wandered two hours without finding a guide or the path. Fortun ately, a straggling black came up with us and we engaged him as a guide to extricate us out of our difficulty ; but woods are all you see from Baltimore until you reach the city, wbich is only iu name. Here and there is a small hut, without a glass window, interspersed amongst the forests, throngh which you travel miles without seeing any human being. In the city there are buililiugs enough, if they were compact and finished, to accommodate Con gress and those attached to it, but as they are, I see no great comfort for them. The President's house is upon a grand and superb scale, requiring about thirty servants to attend aud keep Early Days of Washington. 289 the apartments in proper order and perform the ordinary business of the house and stables ; an establishment very well proportioned to the President's salary. The lighting the apartments, from the parlors to kitchen and chambers, is a tax indeed, and the fires we are obliged to keep up to secure us from daily agues, is another cheering comfort. To assist us in this great castle and render less attendance, necessary bells are wholly wanting, not one single one being hung through the whole house, and promises are all you can obtain. This is so great an inconvenience, that I know not what to do or how to do. The ladies from Georgetown and the City have many of them visited me. Yesterday I returned fifteen visits. If they put me up bells and let me have wood enough to keep fires I design to be pleased. But surrounded with forests, can you be lieve that wood is not to be had, because people can not be found to cut and cart it. We have indeed come into a new country. The house is made hospitable, and there is not a single apartment finished and all within side, ex cept the plastering, has been done since B, came. We have not the least fence, yard or convenience without, and the great unfinished audience-room I make a drying- room of, to hang up the clothes in. If the twelve years in which this place has been con sidered as the future seat of government had been im proved, as they would have been iu New England, very many of the present inconveniences would have been re moved. It is a beautiful spot, capable of any improvement, aud the more I view it the more I am delighted with it. An old friend near us, who was familiar with the city as far back as 1800, and for many years before, tells us that Pennsylvania 290 Early Days of Washington. Avenue, between the Capitol and the Presi dent's house, was at that time a perfect quag mire ; that this indeed was one of the princi pal inducements of the engineer, L' Enfant, to make it the great thoroughfare, believing that nothing but dire necessity would prompt the citizens of the Government to fill up and improve it. He assures us that he has seen Mrs. Adams' carriage, with four horses iu it, floundering for hours in the difficult attempt to make any way through the deep viscous mud of this road. Pedestrians had no such difficulty to encounter, for, even before the arrival of Congress, a path had been con structed on the south side of the Avenue of rough stones, raised about three feet above the mud and made just wide enough for two persons to pass each other. Along this foot way President Adams was to be seen every fair day taking his solitary walk and courte ously saluting ever)' person he met, gentle or simple. Among those whom Mrs. Wolcott called "decent-looking people" then residing at Greenleaf's Point, was William Cranch, a near relative of President Adams and one of Early Days of Washington. 291 the several judges appointed at the close of the session, and the only one, we believe, who still holds that appointment, at the end of fifty-three years. He had been a resident of the "future city" some years before that period and had acquired a respect and esteem which passing years have served to increase and confirm. In addition to the " one good tavern about forty rods from the Capitol " mentioned by Mr. Wolcott and then kept by Mr. Stelle, there was also a commodious and excellent boarding house a few rods further east, in a building erected by Mr. Sewall, and which a few years afterwards was occupied as a private dwelling by Mr. Gallatin while Secretary of the Treasury. An English traveller by the name of Weld, who passed through Washing ton about the time of the removal of the seat of Government from Philadelphia, on his re turn to England published an account of his travels through the United States, containing the following- passages touching the Federal City: On the original location ofthe ground now allotted for the seat ofthe Federal City, the identical spot on which 292 Early Days of Washington. the Capitol now stands was called Rome. This anecdote is related by many as a. certain prognostic of the future magnificence of this city, which is to be, as it were, a second Rome. To be under the necessity of going through a deep wood for one or two miles in order lo see a next door neighbor, and in the same city, is a curious, and I believe a novel circumstance. A well-known British bard introduces the first of these paragraphs in a note to the line, "Come, let me lead thee o'er this modern Rome," which occurs in his poetic epistle to Mr. Hume, dated "from the City of Wash ington." To the often-quoted line, "And what was Goose Creek once is Tiber now," the poet has the following note: "A little stream that runs through the city, which, with intolerable affectation they have styled Tiber. It was originally called "Goose Creek." Mr. Weld had said very truly that the original location of the ground was called Rome. His authority for saying so was, no doubt, an old chart or plot of ground, still ex tant, and of a date long anterior to the first dream of allotting it "for the seat of the Fed eral City." On the same ancient chart the "little stream that runs through the city " is very naturallv MRS. FANNIE FINCH The Three-fold Great-grandniece of Gen. George Washington and his nearest living relative — she was also a Three-fold relative of the General's Wife Early Days of Washington. 295 "styled the Tiber," the two names being almost inseparably associated in the minds of those at all acquainted with Roman history or with Shakespeare. So that if there was any "intolerable affectation" in using these two high-sounding names, it was chargeable to the original grantor of the land, and not to any individual connected with the Federal City. The only name changed was that of Rome to the far greater one of Washington. The Tiber was left as it was found. The second passage from Mr. Weld is given in a note to the following lines from the same epistle : " This fani'd metropolis, where fancy sees Squares in morasses, obelisks in trees ; Which travelling fools and gazetteers adorn With shrines unbuilt and heroes yet unborn ; Though nought but wood and wilderness they see Where streets should run and sages ought to be.'' To the passages already given from Mr. Weld's Travels the poet adds his own testi mony as follows : The Federal City (if it must be called a City) has not much increased since Mr. Weld visited it. Most of the public buildings which were then in some degree of for wardness, have since then been utterly suspended. The 296 Early Days of Washington . hotel is already a ruin ; a great part of its roof has fallen in, and the rooms are left to be occupied gratuitously by the miserable Scotch and Irish emigrants. The President's house, a very noble structure, is by uo means suited to the philosophical humility of its present possessor, who in habits but a corner ofthe mansion himself, and abandons the rest to a state of uncleanly desolation, which those who are not philosophers cannot look at without regret. This grand edifice is encircled by a very rude pale, through which a common rustic stile introduces the visitors of the first man in America, The private buildings exhibit the same characteristic display of arrogant speculation and premature ruin, and the few ranges of houses which were begun some years ago have remained so long a waste and unfinished that they are now for the most part dilapidated. This description of our city towards the close of 1803 can hardly be said to have been exaggerated. Whatever there may be in the poetry, there is no resort to the poetic license in the prose of the author. The hotel he speaks of was the large building situated where the General Post Oflfice now stands, then commonly known by the name of " Blodgett' s Hotel." It had been intended as one of the high prizes in what was called " Blodgett's Lottery" ; but the scheme failed, and the building remained unfinished. Even so late as 1807 it was occupied, as it had been in 1803, by the European employes on the Early Days of Washington. 297 public buildings. Every room in it, from attic to the cellars, was the home of a differ ent family. It was afterwards purchased by the Government and fitted up for the tempo rary accommodation of Congress after the burning of the Capitol, and before the larger and more convenient edifice put up by private enterprise on Capitol Hill could be made ready for their reception. Its future history need not be traced. The "rude pale " which encircled the Pres ident's House inight have been called, with out a pun, stylish when compared with the worm-fence which enclosed the Capitol then and for several years thereafter. We may fancy what the poet would have said of the " Sage of Monticello," if he had seen him, as we have often seen him, riding up unat tended to this fence, hitch his horse to one of the stakes, and either walk into the building to hold familiar chat with some of his many friends or amuse himself by looking at the slow progress of workmen sawing or trim ming the stone. The City Post-Office, at the early period of which we are speaking, was a small wooden 298 Early Days of Washington. structure of one story, consisting of a single room about ten by twelve feet, situated on the soutiiwest corner of the square opposite the eastern enclosure, as it now stands, of the Capitol. It was placed there for the conven ience of members of Congress, who constituted a large majority of those who held correspond ence with other parts of the Union. To ac commodate citizens, the greater part of whom lived at a distance varying from one to three miles from the Post-Office, a penny post was employed. The man performed the duty of delivery on horseback, and such was the fre quently miry state of the various streets or roads over which he was obliged to travel, that he was sometimes two days in accom plishing- the task. He made money enough by his office to build several good houses, which are still standing as monuments to his industry and economy. MISS LYDIA S. ENGLISH Early Days of Washington. }01 CHAPTER XXV. The account of Miss Lydia S. English's Seminary for Young Ladies will recall to many of my readers happy hours spent within the old historic walls. The seminary was founded in 1826, very much in opposition to her fat"her's wishes, who consequently declined to help her in any way. She was only sixteen years of age when she started this under taking. Miss English did not find it quite comfortable at home, her father having married the second time She therefore de termined to strike out for herself. The school opened with only three scholars. Their names were Jane Whann, Eliza Henderson and Miss Perry. Mr. Cassin was extremely kind in assisting Miss English. His son, William Cassin, afterwards became a prominent lawyer of the town and married Mittie Tyler, the daughter of Dr. Grafton Tyler. The school grew rapidly ; girls from the highest social 302 Early Days of Washington. position came from all parts of the United States, many of their fathers being Senators and Members of Congress. Daniel Webster's niece, the niece of Edmund Everett, the great American statesman and orator ; Miss Chisam of South Carolina, Miss Annan of Winchester, Mrs. Robert Peter, nee Johnston, a near relative of Governor Johnston of Frederick, Maryland, and a niece of Judge Dunlop of Georgetown ; Mrs. Dr. French, and Miss Por ter, sister of Commodore Porter, were among the teachers. There is in existence a list of Miss English's pupils containing about eighteen hundred names. The school used to be the delight of the young men of the town, who worried poor Miss English .very much, especially when she took the young ladies for a walk. Every year, on the first day of May, she would have a grand May festival and corona tion of three queens and three kings. Each queen would be preceded by two little crown bearers and attended by twenty-four maids of honor. The whole town would be invited to these celebrations, and there would be speeches by prominent men, and a whole band furnished Early Days of Washington. 305 the music. In the evening there would be a grand ball in a room built for that purpose adjoining the school ; later in the evening the guests would enjoy a handsome supper. It was astonishing what control Miss English exercised over the girls. The young ladies were required to write compositions at stated intervals. On one occasion, just before the close of the school for summer vacation, Jesse Benton (daughter of the United States Sen ator), who was noted for being a troublesome girl and not for beauty, became impatient waiting for the teacher and wrote a piece of poetry, which I do not care to repeat, but which is still fresh in the memory of many of the old scholars. The poetry was very derog atory to Miss English and was reported by the teacher, which caused great disturbance, and although the 3'oung lady's "trunk was packed and in the hall, waiting for the porter's call," she was made to remain at the school a week longer. Old Aunt Abby, a big, jolly, old-fashioned darkey, was a very important factor in the school, and always wore a uniform of bright blue linsey, with short sleeves, faced with 306 Early Days of Washington. broad bands of white, a kerchief, apron and turban of white, which she wore summer and winter, no matter how cold. One of her occupations was to sit behind the parlor door when the young ladies had gentlemen friends visiting them. Incidentally she would be found napping. I can see the picture of Miss English and Aunt Abby, with lighted candle, running about the building at night to scare away the young men ; but, notwithstanding their vigilance, occasionally a rope with a basket attached would be lowered from one of the third-story windows by the young ladies and filled with good things by the young men. On the corner diagonally across from the school stood an old pump, where the young men of the town were very fond of getting a drink, because they frequently saw the young ladies at the windows. One young man, who was very bashful, but very fond of watching the girls, used to drink and drink ; at last it became quite a joke. One day the girls de termined to see how long he would remain; they therefore took turns to watch, and the poor man pretended to be drinking the entire day. Early Days of Washington. 309 CHAPTER XXVI. A celebrated place on Georgetown Heights was "Evermay." Its name suits it well. Mr. Samuel Davidson, its former owner, evi dently was much opposed to the boys of the town having a good time at his expense, so he published an advertisement as follows : Evermay Proclaims, Take care, enter not here. For punishment is ever near. Whereas the height called Evermay, adjoining this towu, is now completely enclosed with a good stone wall in part and a good post and rail fence joining thereto — this is to forewarn at their peril, all persons, of whatever age, sex, color, or standing in society, from trespassing on the premises, in any manner, by day or by night ; particularly all thievish knaves and idle vagabonds ; all rambling parties; all assignation parties; all amorous bucks with their dorfies ; and all sporting bucks with their dogs and guns. My man, Edward, who resides on the premises, has my positive orders to protect the same from all trespassers as far as is in his power, with the aid ofthe following im plements, placed in his hands for that purpose, if neces- 310 Early Days of Washington. sary, viz, — Law, when the party is worthy ofthat attention and proper testimony can be had, a good cudgel tomahawk, cutlass, gun and blunderbuss, with powder, shot and bullets, steel traps and grass snakes. It is Edward's duty to obey ray lawful commands. In so doing on this occasion, I will defend him at all risques and hazards. For the information of those persons who may have real business on the premises, there is a good and convenient gate. But mark ! I do not admit mere curiosity an errand of business. Therefore, I beg and prey of all my neighbors to avoid Evermay as they would a den of devils ; or rattle snakes, and thereby save them selves and me much vexation and trouble. Samuel Davidson. fune 2, i8ro. This place is now owned by Mr. John D. McPherson's family. Mr. Charles Carroll, of " Belleview," owned the adjoining place to ' ' Evermay. ' ' Not many years after, Mr. Joseph Nourse bought this property, known as " Cedar Hill." When he built his stately old home on Tennallytown Road " Cedar Hill" went tothe Rittenhouse family, who were relatives of the great genius, David Rit tenhouse, the widely-known astronomer and mathematician. Early Days of IVashington. Mi CHAPTER XXVII. A LOVE STORY AND ROMANCE OF LONG AGO. Many of the readers will be interested in the marriage of the Russian Minister, M. de Bodisco, to Harriet Beall Williams, daugh ter of Brooke Williams, Sr. (of good old Revolutionary stock), the most brilliant wedding that has ever taken place in the District. In former days the foreign ministers pre ferred living in Georgetown, and did so until their governments required their represen tatives to reside in the Capital. When Mr. Bodisco first came to Georgetown to live, he gave a Christmas party to his nephews Waldainer and Boras Bodisco ; to this party all the boys and girls of the town were bidden ; great bonfires lighted the way, for there was no gas in those days. Enchant ing strains of music, flowers and lights were everywhere, and very happy was every boy and girl present. Among the guests was the 312 Early Days of Washington. beautiful Harriet Beall Williams, whom Mr. Bodisco saw there for the first time. Her charms completely fascinated the old gentle man ; the morniug after the ball he walked up the hill to meet her and escorted her to school. Thus started a love story that ended in a happy marriage, notwithstanding the disparagement of age. The bride was only sixteen and considered the beauty of America. (Indeed the entire Williams family were strik ingly handsome.) Mr. Bodisco was about fifty years of age. Her family were much opposed to the marriage, and at one time the engagement came near being broken. She told Mr. Bodisco that her grandmother and everybody else thought he was entirely too old and ugly. Mr. Bodisco's reply was that she might find some one younger and better looking, but no one that would love her more than he did. They were married in June, 1849, ^^ ^'^^^ o'clock in the afternoon, at her mother's home on Georgetown Heights. Only the im mediate relatives and the bridal party wit nessed the ceremony, after which there was a brilliant reception. The wedding party Early Days of Washington. 3I? formed a circle, and just back of them on a sofa sat a row of aged ladies in lace-trimmed caps, among them her grandmother Harriet Williams, and her three sisters, Mrs. Benja min Mackall, Mrs. Leonard Mackall, Mrs. William Stewart, Sr. , and their cousin, Mrs. Leonard Hollyday Johns, Sr. , all of whom were between seventy and eighty years of age. The marriage ceremony was performed by her cousin. Rev. Hollyday Johns the second. Her trousseau came from abroad, and her bridal robe was a marvel of rich white satin and costly lace, which fell in graceful folds around her ; the low-cut dress showed to perfection her lovely white shoulders and neck. On her fair brow and golden hair was worn a coronet of rarest pearls, the gift of the groom. The effect was wonderfully brilliant. As her father was not living, her hand was given in marriage by Henry Clay. The groom wore his court dress of velvet and lace. All the bridesmaids, seven in number, were beautiful girls about her own age. Their gowns were figured white satin, cut low in the neck with short sleeves, and 316 Early Days of IVashington. trimmed with blond lace ; their hair was simply dressed, without ornaments. The bridesmaids were her sister, Gennie Williams, Sarah Johns, Jessie Benton, Ellen Carter, Eliza Jane Wilson, Emily Nicholls, Mary Harry and Helen Morris, daughter of Commodore Morris. Each bridesmaid was presented with a ring set with her favorite stone. The groomsmen were Henry Fox, the British Minister, in scarlet court dress; Mr. Dunlop, Minister from Texas ; Mr. Martineau, Minister from the Netherlands ; Mr. Buchanan, who had been Minister to Russia, and was then Senator, and afterwards President of the United States ; Baron Saruyse, the Austrian Minister ; Mar tin Van Buren ; Mr. Kemble Paulding, whose father was Secretary of the Navy at that time ; Mr. Forsythe, whose father was Secretary of State. Each minister had his own carriage and attendants' dressed in livery. The house and grounds were thronged with noted guests, strolling amid sweet-scented flowers and lemon trees hanging- with rich golden fruit. The brilliant array of guests, the sparkling eyes and bright smiles of beautiful belles, formed a fairy scene, long to be remembered. MADAME BODISCO Early Days of Washington. 3 19 Among the distinguished guests were Pres ident Van Buren, Daniel Webster, who was Secretary of State, all the Diplomatic Corps, and a host of other notables. The bride was taken to her new home in Mr. Bodisco's private carriage drawn by four horses. The same afternoon Mr. Bodisco gave a dinner to just the bridal party. At nine o'clock of the same day he gave a general reception for the families of the attendants. The morning after the wedding the bridesmaids took break fast with the bride, and, girl-like, as soon as breakfast was over, went on an investigating tour. In her boudoir they found many beau tiful things, among them an old-fashioned secretary, with nuinerous drawers; one was filled with ten-dollar gold pieces, another with silver dollars, another with ten-cent pieces, another with the costliest of jewels, and still another with French candy. The next week Mr. Bodisco gave a grand ball, on which occasion Madame Bodisco wore her bridal robe. Shortly after the wedding. President Van Buren gave a handsome dinner at the White House in honor of Madame Bodisco and Mrs. Decantzo, another bride. To this 320 Early Days of Washington. dinner all the bridal party were invited. Madame Bodisco wore a black watered silk, trimmed with black thread lace, and pearl ornaments. President Van Buren sent his private carriage and his son, Martin, to escort Ellen Carter (an adopted daughter of Jeremiah Williams, who was an important shipping merchant of the town) to the dinner. The President thought Miss Carter like her Aunt Marrion Steuart of New York, to whom he was engaged while Governor of New York. At the dinner table he drank wine with her, and again in the reception room. Miss Carter afterwards married Paymaster Brenton Boggs of the U. S. Navy. On another occasion, at one of the diplomatic dinners given at the White House, Madame Bodisco wore a rich white watered silk, the sleeves, waist and skirt embroidered with pale pink rosebuds with tender green leaves. Her jewels were diamonds and emeralds. James Gordon Bennett, of the New York Herald, was also present at this wedding. " Baron Bodisco " was ugl)-, in fact pre eminently so, and some people went so far in their disapproval of the marriage as to refer Early Days of Washington. 323 to the old fairy tale, "Beauty and the Beast." "One seldom met the ill-matched couple without a sigh, which meant. Ah, the pity of it." Yet people said it was not an unhappy marriage. Wealth and position are potent comforters. A certain wise woman of the East once said, " There is a moral support in a good silk gown which neither philosophy nor religion can aflTord, and when the gown is of the best Lyons velvet, shot with gold, or sown thick with seed pearls, where does the pity come in ? " The following account is taken from a daily paper and relates the experience of a young man just making his entrance into " good society " in the City of Washington : *This was my first entrance into fashionable life at one of Madame Bodisco's birth-night balls. I was under the care of Senator . As we entered the house, two tall specimens of humanity, dressed very much like militia generals, in scarlet coats, trimmed with gold lace, and white trousers, met us at the door. Thinking them distinguished people, I bowed low and solemnly. They stared and bowed. The scene was impressive. " Go on," said my companion, the Senator before mentioned, "don't be so polite to those fellows, they are servants; give them your cloak." The information was useful, but unpleasant. I hurried on, pulling off my cloak as I * Harpers^ Magazine. 324 Early Days of Washington. went. Just within the first door of the drawing room stood a fat, oily, little gentleman, bowing also, but not so magnificently gotten up as my first acquaintances. Cer tain of my game now, I, in superb style, threw over him my cloak, and hurried on. Senator pulled me back, and to the astonished little fellow now struggling from under my broadcloth, I was presented. I had nearly smothered the Russian minister, who, however, laughed merrily at the mistake. My indorser, the Senator, became evidently alarmed. He hardly knew what I would accomplish next, aud left me, as soon as he possibly could, to my fate. I wandered about rather disconsolate. The lights, music, dancing, fun, and laughter, were all novelties and charm ing for a while, but I knew no one, and after an hour's looking on, hunted up my friend, the Senator, and begged him to introduce me to some of the young ladies. He hesitated a moment and then consented, and I was led up and presented to a magnificent creature I had long looked upon with silent admiration, Miss Gennie Williams, who was seated in an easy, nonchalant inanner, conversing with a circle of gentlemen, and favored me with a gracious nod. As I stood, wondering whether this was the end of my introduction, a moustached daiid}' came between us and said, " Miss Williams, permit me to relate the joke of the season." To my horror he began the story of the cloak. My first impulse was to knock him down, my second to run away, on my third I acted. Interrupting the exquisite, I said, " Begging your pardon. Sir, but Miss W. I am the only person who can do justice lo that joke," and continuing I related it, without in any way sparing myself. She laughed heartily, as did the circle, aud rising from her chair, took my arm, saying kindly, that I must be cared for or I should murder some one. With a grace and kindness I shall never forget, she placed me at ease. A tree grown from a seed of lemon used at Madame Bodisco's wedding The lemons were raised on Upton Beall's place in Rockville, Maryland Early Days of Washington. 32 7 The Russian Minister, Alexander deBodisco, was born in Moscow the 30th of October, 1786, and died at his residence in Georgetown on the 23d of January, 1854, having filled the post of Russian Envoy in the United States for about seventeen years. He was in Vienna in 1814, during the famous Congress which settled the affairs of the continent, and was afterwards Charge d' Affairs at Stockholm. He lies buried in Oak Hill cemetery, sur rounded by his wife's relatives, but not one of his own family. A handsome monument of Italian marble, with gold lettering, marks his resting place. Of his seven children only one, a son, survives; the others are all buried in different countries. His son, Costie, is now living in Russia, and one of the Imperial Guard. Madame Bodisco lies buried abroad. She married a second time, Captain Douglas Gordon Scott of the British Army. Baron de Bodisco's granddaughter. Miss Olga de Bodisco, only daughter of Costa de Bodisco, chamberlain to the Czar of Russia, has just received special honors from the wife as well as the mother of the Czar. 328 Early Days of Washington. Miss Bodisco made her d^but during the present season at St. Petersburg. On Easter Eve last, at seven o'clock, she was selected as first maid of honor to the Empress Marie Fer- dorovna and the Emperor's mother, Alex andra Ferdorovna. The badge of her office and the paper containing the royal appoint ment were giveii to her in a jewel box bear ing the imperial nionogram "M. A." beneath the crown of diamonds. This badge is worn on the left shoulder with a bow of blue ribbon, and entitles her to appear at court whenever she wishes during her lifetime. This honor is rarely bestowed upon a young girl during her first season; it is generally given when they are about to make a bril liant marriage. Miss Bodisco is only seven teen years of age, and must have inherited some of her grandmother's beauty, for she is universal]}- considered to be one of the most beautiful girls in St. Petersburg. The Emperor's mother is Miss Bodisco's god mother.