CHAPTER XII.
Farewell to Lafayette, by the inhabitants of Baltimore: Journey from Baltimore to Washington: Entry of that city: Visit to the President: Description of Washington: Jesuits.
Our departure from Baltimore was as brilliant as our entry, but not like the latter enlivened by resounding acclamations of public joy. The troops paraded on the plain between the city and fort M’Henry, to perform some grand manœuvres in presence of general Lafayette, after which we were invited to a farewell dinner, under an immense tent, whence we could behold nearly all the points rendered illustrious by American valour during the war of 1814. Generals Smith, Stricker, and Harper, colonels Howard, Carrol, Bentalou and other veterans of liberty were present at this repast, during which a number of toasts were drank, among others was one paying to general Smith a tribute of eulogy and gratitude for his excellent conduct as commander-in-chief, during the late war. The modesty with which the veteran received this testimonial of esteem from his fellow-citizens, proved to us what generous sentiments are inspired by liberty and excellent institutions. He rose with vivacity, and in a short address replete with the fervour of feeling, reproached his friends for heaping their gratitude exclusively on him, while so many brave men had an equal claim to it.—“My plans and orders,” said he, “would have been unavailing, if my troops had not been freemen, and had I not been so ably aided by my worthy friend general Stricker. Cease then fellow-citizens to thank me exclusively, you cannot wish that a republican should appropriate to himself a victory common to all.”
Towards the conclusion of the entertainment a youngofficer requested permission to sing some verses of his own composition. They were filled with those generous sentiments which among Americans naturally arise at the magic names of liberty, Washington, and Lafayette. He sung them with an engaging expression, but as he drew near the conclusion, and was to pronounce the name of him he celebrated, his emotion overcame his voice, he could not complete his song, and falling upon the hand of Lafayette, he bathed it with tears, and rushed out to escape the praises merited by his feelings and intelligence.
The approach of the sun to the horizon warned us that no time was to be lost, if we wished to profit by his light in commencing our journey; we therefore quickly left the table to join our carriages, which waited for us at some distance; but, so great was the crowd surrounding them, that, notwithstanding the care of those who accompanied us, we were soon separated; the general and his son were literally carried in triumph by the citizens, and it was a long time before I could rejoin them.
Night closed in upon us while on our journey, and rendered the march very painful to our escort, which had been constantly mounted since morning. On this account, added to the general’s wish to enter Washington by daylight, the committee of arrangement determined to propose that he should sleep on the way. To this the general assented, and soon after we arrived in front of an hotel, at which we were to halt, but as we were about to alight, we heard a great tumult of confused voices pronouncing angrily the name ofWaterloo: at the same moment an officer of the escort came to the door and informed the general that the name of the house wasWaterloo, inquiring if it was agreeable to him to lodge there. The general replied that he would willingly go on, but that he feared to fatigue his escort. They however declared they had rather founder their horses than that he should remain in a house whose name might awaken unpleasant reflections; we therefore continued our journey. Our escort, enraged at the innkeeper, wished before we left the place to pull down his sign, and would have done it, if their officers had not prevented it by reminding them of the sacred right of property. We stopped for the night at an excellent inn two or threemiles distant, where we learned that an oldtoryof this country, still besotted by his love for the English, had rented the other house to a poor innkeeper, on condition that he named it “Waterloo.” Our informant added that every one despised him, and as no one goes to his tavern, he is obliged to indemnify the tenant; however he is rich and obstinate.
On the morning of the 12th of October, captainSpriggwas at the head of his beautiful volunteer cavalry, ready to escort general Lafayette to Washington. Captain Sprigg was not long since governor of Maryland, which office he discharged for several years in a manner that conciliated universal esteem and regard. In relinquishing his public office to return to private life, he did not think he had discharged all his duties towards his country. He organized, almost entirely at his own expense, a company of volunteer cavalry, gave them for instructor a brave Polish officer, colonel Leymanowski, who served for twenty years in the French army, and forgetting his previous elevation, did not think it beneath his dignity as ex-governor, to assume the modest uniform of a captain. One cannot avoid feeling a sentiment of profound respect on beholding this patriotic soldier surrounded by his cavalry, nearly all of whom are farmers residing in the county he lives in, continually employing himself with their military improvement and the perfection of their organization, and especially with the development of their patriotic sentiments, which his conversation and example daily augments. Captain Sprigg is also a tender parent, and an active and enlightened agriculturist.
We soon after met the corporation of Washington, the troops and people who came to meet general Lafayette. We then left our carriages for open barouches, and in a short time entered the capital of the United States. We were already half an hour within the limits of the city, without finding a single habitation; the plan of Washington is so gigantic that it will require a century for its completion. It is only built up in the interval which separates the president’s house from the capitol, and this space at present forms a moderate town. Our march from the entrance of the city to the capitol, was marked by the firing of cannon, and frequently impeded by the crowd which pressed upon the procession. After passing under an arch of triumphLafayette entered the capital, where all the municipal authorities awaited him: he was conducted to an outer gallery where the mayor addressed him on behalf of the city, in presence of the people. Leaving the capital the procession moved slowly through the city to the president’s house. The way was thronged with the youth of the schools, and by numerous corps of militia. In this part of our progress we passed under the windows of several ambassadors of the holy alliance, to whom doubtless a triumph so excellent, so pure, and simple, must have been an incomprehensible phenomenon.
We arrived at the president’s mansion, which is a very simple building, but in good taste: it is constructed of very hard white stone, has but one story, and terminates by a platform in the Italian style. The first floor is somewhat raised from the ground, and an elegant peristyle leads to it. The yard in front of the house is surrounded by a handsome iron railing, having three gates, which are neither defended by guards, constables, nor insolent lackies. The crowd which accompanied the procession stopped in front of the railing, and none but the city authorities accompanied us into the house. A single domestic opened the principal door, and we were immediately introduced into the hall of audience, which is of considerable size, elliptical in shape, and decorated and carpeted with a remarkable correctness of taste. The president at the upper end of the room, was seated upon a chair not differing in form or elevation from the rest, and had near him the four secretaries of the cabinet, the officers of the army and navy; some senators and public officers were arranged in a semicircle on his right and left. Like the president, they were all dressed in plain blue, without lace, embroidery or decorations, without any of those puerile ornaments for which so many silly men dance attendance in the antichambers of European palaces. When general Lafayette entered, the whole assembly rose, the president advanced eagerly to meet him, embraced him with fraternal tenderness, then came to us and shook us kindly by the hand, after which he introduced us all three individually to the persons present. After this official introduction, the circle broke up, groups were formed, and particular conversations ensued on various points. During this time the president having drawn usthree near him, addressed the general thus:—“you are aware from my last letter how much I desired to have you in my house along with your two companions, during your stay in this city; but I am obliged to renounce this pleasure. The people of Washington claim you; they say that as the Nation’s Guest, none but the nation has a right to lodge you. I must yield to the public will, and the municipalty have prepared a hotel, provided a carriage, and in short, anticipated all your wants. You must accept their invitation, but I hope that this will not hinder you from considering my house as your own; you will always find your places ready at my table, and I wish whenever you have no engagement with the citizens, that you will dine with me. This evening, the municipalty expect you at a public banquet: to-morrow you will be present at a grand dinner which I give to the principal officers of government, but once these ceremonies are concluded, I will do every thing I can, that you may be as frequently as possible, a part of my family. This invitation was so cordial and pressing, that general Lafayette frankly accepted it, and retained our united thanks.”
The next day we went to dine with the president, and found there, all the ministers, the municipal, judiciary and military officers. Before taking our places at table, Mr. Monroe introduced us to his wife, two daughters, and his sons-in-law. We found throughout the family, the same cordiality and simplicity, which distinguished the president. Mrs. Monroe is a fine and very agreeable woman.
In sitting down to dinner I observed that but one place was distinguished from the rest, and this was for general Lafayette, whom the president caused to sit on his right. All the rest took seats without ceremony, but all with remarkable modesty. Every one appeared to try to make his rank forgotten. Accident placed me between the secretary of the navy, Mr. Southard, and major general Macomb. The latter speaks French fluently, and had the kindness to answer my numerous questions, as almost every thing I saw appeared strange to me. “You see here,” said he, “nearly all the principal officers of our government; that is, theupper servants of the people. They are not numerous, and consequently the easier to superintend. The people are so much the better served, and the expenseis trifling, for among all these officers there is not one who dreams of enriching himself. Their appointments are generally too small to excite cupidity; it is a fact that most of them are obliged to neglect their personal concerns, in order to attend to those of the public, and quit the administration poorer than when they enter it; but an ample recompense awaits their return to private life, in the esteem and gratitude of their fellow citizens, if they have faithfully performed their duties.”
I wished much to obtain some details concerning most of the persons who are here called public servants, but the conversation became general, and interrupted our particular observations. “On your return from Yorktown,” said general Macomb, “you will probably pass some time here, and you can then study the public characters and domestic habits of our statesmen at your ease. This study may prove very interesting to an European, and if I can aid you, you may command my services.” I accepted of his offer with eagerness, and promised myself much advantage from his good advice.
The three following days of our sojourn at Washington were employed by the general in visiting Georgetown, which is only separated from the capital of the United States by a small stream, where he met with a brilliant reception; in receiving daily a great number of citizens, and in passing a few moments with the family of his paternal friend, general Washington. This time I employed in examining the city and its public buildings, and in collecting some notes relative to the District of Columbia.
Some time after freedom, commerce, and industry had effaced the bloody traces of the revolutionary war, and rendered calm the great American family of the union, Congress thought justly that as every state required its entire independence, none of them could long be satisfied with the presence of the central government, which itself needed to be so situated as to be free from all local influence. In consequence a small portion of land, situated upon the borders of Maryland and Virginia, was purchased by government, which made it the seat of its operations in 1800. This territory is ten miles square, and is traversed by the river Potomac, and under the name of District of Columbia is subjected to the immediate administration ofCongress. The two most considerable cities of the District of Columbia are Georgetown and Alexandria, both much older than the formation of the district. The first is very prettily situated on the declivity of a hill between the Potomac and Rock Creek; its population is about 7,000 souls: it contains a foundery of cannon, of which I shall hereafter speak; but its commerce, although somewhat active, is much less than that of Alexandria, situated much lower down, on the right bank of the Potomac. The population of Alexandria amounts to 8,000 souls, and its exports, consisting principally of flour, annually amount to nearly 9,000,000 dollars. As to Washington city, it is upon too vast a scale to derive the aspect of a city from its 13,000 inhabitants. But for its public buildings, one might take it for an infant colony struggling against difficulties. In some parts of it, a quarter of an hour is necessary to walk from one dwelling to the next, and it is not rare to see on the way a plough heavily tracing a furrow which will probably bear harvests for another half century, instead of buildings. The projected streets are all large, straight, and parallel to each other, but the greatest error committed in tracing them was that of not preserving a row of trees on each side which would have better marked their direction, and have offered a shelter from the heat of the sun. The most beautiful building in Washington, beyond doubt, is the capitol. It contains two spacious and well arranged halls for the senate and house of representatives; another for the supreme court of the United States, and a third for the national library. The capitol was burned by the English in 1814, who behaved like Vandals when they took Washington; but it has risen from its ashes, more vast and splendid. The workmen were still engaged upon the capitol when I visited it. The navy yard, situated at a short distance from the capitol, is one of the richest and most beautiful establishments of this kind. All the works in wood and iron are effected by steam machinery. I saw there several large frigates building. The armoury appeared to be amply supplied. I was shown some repeating guns for defending entrenchments, consisting of several barrels, connected with one lock, firing fifty successive shots without being re-loaded. Commodore Tingey, who commanded the navy yard, and didthe honours with most laudable politeness, promised to show me one of these guns in operation, but not having time to witness it, I could not judge of its usefulness, which some American officers boast much of. In the centre of the principal court-yard, a rostral column is erected in honour of the Americans who fell before Tripoli. It is of white marble, and was surrounded with allegoric figures, skilfully executed; but in 1814, the British, basely jealous of all foreign glory, endeavoured to destroy it; it still bears numerous marks of sabre cuts with which it was struck in brutal rage. The Americans have effaced none of them, and have scarce complained against this act of Vandalism; but they have carved in large letters, on the base of the monument, this severe sentence, “Mutilated by the British in 1814.”
Next to the capitol, the most remarkable building is the mansion of the president. The four large buildings which surround it, and are occupied by the departments of state, are commodiously and solidly built, but are by no means remarkable for their architecture. The town house is not yet finished, and is so little advanced, that one can form no idea of its effect as a public building. As to the theatre, it is a trifling little house, in which three or four hundred spectators can hardly venture without danger of suffocation.
Columbian college, founded but a short time since, at present contains but a small number of pupils. The choice of the trustees and president promise a brilliant futurity to the institution, but it has a formidable disadvantage in the proximity of Georgetown college. This institution, which we visited on the morning after our arrival at Washington, and in which general Lafayette was received with great evidences of gratitude and patriotism, is under the direction of the Jesuits. I could not avoid feeling a painful sensation when I saw the reverend fathers in the costume of their order. All the mischief with which the Jesuits are reproached in Europe, presented themselves in a crowd to my alarmed imagination, and I deplored the blindness of the Americans who confide the education of their children to a sect so inimical to liberty. On returning to Washington, I could not avoid mentioning my reflexions and fears to Mr. C——, a senator, with whom I passed the evening.He listened, at first smiling, but when he heard me express the wish that the Jesuits in all countries should not be allowed to interfere in public instruction, he shook his head with an air of disapprobation. “Such a measure,” said he, “will never be adopted in our country, I hope at least; it would, in my opinion, be contrary to the spirit of liberty which animates us, and unjust towards the Jesuits, against whom we have no cause of complaint. Nor do I know of any power in our society which has a right to prescribe such a measure.” “It is possible,” I replied, “that you have nothing to complain of, because they are here few in number, and have not yet attained power; but patience—see what happens in Europe and tremble.” “What happens in Europe can never occur here, so long as we are wise enough to continue our present institutions; so long as we have neitherking,state religion, normonopoly, we have nothing to fear from the intrigues nor the influence of anyassociation. With whom will the Jesuits intrigue here? with the government? the people are the government. I can well conceive how the Jesuits of Europe by force of intrigue possess themselves of the king’s ear, and fill his mind with religious terrors, by the aid of which they gain from him riches, honour, power, &c.; but really do you believe that with all the trick and address that you attribute to them, that your Jesuits will ever be able to persuade a whole free and enlightened nation to plunder themselves on their account, and to deliver themselves up shackled hand and foot? Never. And in what way are they to accomplish this? By public instruction? In order that this instruction should be an efficacious instrument, they must have a monopoly of it; but thanks to our institutions we have no monopolies of any kind. We do not groan as you do in Europe under the yoke of a privileged university. Here every parent is the sole judge of the manner in which his children shall be instructed and educated. Hence the concurrence among all those who wish to devote themselves to the exercise of public instruction, a concurrence which is only supported by a sincere attachment to our institutions, a profound respect for the laws which are our work, and the practice of all the virtues which make a good citizen. The Jesuits themselves are obliged to fulfil these conditions in order to obtain publicconfidence, and they do obtain it; so long as they continue to deserve it, I see no pretext for depriving them of a right common to all, and should they ever become unworthy of confidence, public opinion will render them justice.” “Alas!” continued I, “public opinion can do them justice with us also, but can neither drive them from the councils of the prince, nor from the university, nor the rich establishments they have founded, nor the offices they have secured.” “Then,” coolly replied the senator, “have none of these things, and your Jesuits will be as harmless as ours.”