Jefferson And The Rights Of Man Jefferson And His Time Volume Two by Dumas Malone

Author:Dumas Malone
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown And Company
Published: 1951-03-15T05:00:00+00:00

Courtesy of the Yale University Art Gallery

THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF

General George Washington at the Battle of Trenton: Portrait by John Trumbull, 1192

Photography by Pack Brothers

Courtesy of the Nczv York'Chamber of Commerce

HAMILTON AS A MAN OF ELEGANCE

Portrait by John Tnmbull, 1192

NEW YORK AND THE COURT OF GEORGE WASHINGTON 263

Washington was criticized for the stiffness of his bows, but he thought this could be better attributed to the infirmities of acre or the fault of his training than to pride of office. These were solemn affairs undoubtedly, and if Washington's secretary Tobias Lear was not pom-pous, his aide David Humphreys, whom Jefferson had befriended in Pans, assuredly was, but it would have taken a more rabid democrat than the Secretary of State to see much harm in this sort of social occasion at this time.

Having no lady to bring to Mrs. Washington's levees on Friday, Jefferson may have escaped these more pretentious affairs, but inevitably he dined at the mansion. The guests were so chosen that his first dinner there was in effect a welcoming party. His fellow Virginian, Attorney General Randolph, was out of town; but his two fellow secretaries, little Alexander Hamilton and huge Henry Knox, were there with their wives, along with the Schuylers, parents of Eliza Hamilton and his friend Angelica Church. The presence of the Jays was entirely appropriate since the former Secretary for Foreign Affairs was his predecessor, if anybody was; Madison and John Page, both members of the House, were his old and intimate friends; and a couple of unnamed senators were thrown in for good measure. If the Secretary of State sat next to Mrs. Washington, as he probably did, he must have liked that plump and amiable lady. The solemn President across the way may have drummed on the table with his knife or spoon between courses, as he did when William Maclay dined there with a senatorial party, but he was probably less bored on this occasion. Jefferson may have exchanged gossip about the Comte de Moustier and Madame de Brehan with charming Mrs. Jay, who was reputed to have her husband under such firm control; and he must have told Mrs. Schuyler or Mrs. Hamilton how much he regretted missing Angelica Church, who had recently gone back to England. Hamilton himself had a winning social manner, and the Knoxes added weight to the party if nothing else. The Secretary of War weighed some three hundred pounds and his consort did her best to match him. Admittedly they were the largest couple in New York.

Inevitably this was a bountiful dinner, for the presidential couple gave no other kind. Senator Maclay, who was frequently invited to the mansion, described one menu in detail. The soup was followed by roasted and boiled fish; then they had fowls and a variety of meats. For dessert there were pies, puddings, and ice creams; then they had a variety of fruits and nuts. The important business of eating was transacted with solemnity, scarcely a word being said until the cloth had been removed.

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