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We interrupt this edition of The Patriot Papers news to bring you the nearly news-a collection of intimate historical glimpses into the past, captured in not-so-living color in The Pudding Papers. Our on-the-scene trusted correspondents include: Silas Silvertongue, our presidential reporter; Titus Blunt, our congressional correspondent; and our own Prudence Pudding, who provides social notes from all over. (We leave it for you to decide, dear reader, whether she is an upstart hussy or a man in disguise.) In the spirit of the freedom of the press guaranteed by our new Bill of Rights, we intend to act as a watchful eye and a listening ear, sometimes bringing a plate of gossip, but never a dish of scandal.
* Editor's note—We apologize in advance for any improprieties, insults,
or slanderous remarks on the part of our correspondents. They are, at times ill-mannered,
sometimes indiscreet, and, at all times, want of wit.
HE COMES! HE COMES! George Washington, President-elect of the United States,
has just set foot on the New York shore after an eight-day triumphal journey from
Mount Vernon. The excitement here is unbelievable. Thousands line the streets—all
you can see are heads standing as thick as ears of corn before the harvest. Ladies
are crowded in every window, anxious for a glimpse of the illustrious man. “I
have seen him!” we heard one young lady call out, “and though I had
been entirely ignorant that he was arrived in the city, I should have known at
a glance that it was General Washington: I never saw a human being that looked
so great and noble as he does. I could fall down on my knees before him.”
Washington, it can well be believed, is more popular than the new government he
is to head.
WHAT IS THE PRESIDENT TO BE CALLED? Debate, we are told, rages behind the closed
doors of the Senate over a proper title for the President. Vice President John
Adams and a number of the senators have insisted that a grand and high-sounding
name, such as “Elective Excellency” or “Elective Highness,”
is necessary to give respect to the office. Sources tell us that the committee
appointed to draw up a list of titles “of all the Princes of the Earth”
has recommended “His Highness the President of the United States of America,
and Protector of their Liberties.” But the House of Representatives refuses
to agree, and Mr. Washington will be simply called President of the United States.
As one member of Congress told us, no other title was necessary to add to the
respect the whole country had for General Washington.
THE PRESIDENT’S LADY. Mrs. Washington, who needed some time to prepare
for her journey, has now arrived in New York. The President’s lady will
give no interviews to the press, but this correspondent has talked to many of
her friends and acquaintances. Mrs. Adams, the Vice President’s lady, who
first met Mrs. Washington when she came to be with the general in Cambridge at
the beginning of the war, told The Patriot Papers that Mrs. Washington is a lady
of patience and prudence. “Her manners are modest and unassuming, dignified
and feminine, not the Tincture of ha’ture about her.”
WHERE IS THE CAPITAL TO BE? Ever since the old Congress left Philadelphia in
1783, arguments have raged over where the permanent seat of government should
be built. At last, the residence is decided. The government is to leave New York
and spend the next ten years in Philadelphia. The permanent capital will be a
new city created on the banks of the Potomac River, the exact location to be chosen
by President Washington. Some folks speculate that it will not be far from Mount
Vernon. New Yorkers, after they have gone to so much trouble and expense to accommodate
the government, feel betrayed and one angry letter to the editor speaks of the
President as the country’s “former favorite guardian and deliverer.”
POLITICAL PARTIES. Not a word about political parties in the Constitution,
but they are here and with a passion. Federalists, who are friends of the government,
and the Republicans, who find much to criticize, are at it tooth and nail. Most
folks say the parties started over the differences between Secretary of the Treasury
Alexander Hamilton and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. Hamilton, the friend
of business and manufacturers, has pushed for a strong federal government; Jefferson,
who wants to see America stay a land of farmers, is deeply suspicious of moneymen
and banks. But what has really stirred things up is the war between France and
England, with the Republicans being passionately on the side of France, which
has beheaded its king and become a republic, and the Federalists seeing the old
mother country as an important trading partner. The President, who wants to keep
both Hamilton and Jefferson in his cabinet and to steer a neutral course between
France and England, is beset by difficulties.
THE PRESIDENT ENRAGED. Sources tell us that the President lost his usually
well-controlled temper at a recent meeting of his cabinet. Shown a satiric piece
describing his head being chopped off by the guillotine, printed in Republican
editor Philip Freneau’s newspaper, the President went suddenly into a towering
rage, spoke bitterly of the newspaper abuse to which he had been subjected in
past months, and defied any critic to indicate one selfish act committed by him
in office. He said he would rather be a farmer than emperor of the world, and
yet that “rascal Freneau” insinuated that he would like to be a king.
To add insult to injury, Freneau sent three copies of every issue to the President’s
dwelling.
OUT AND ABOUT. The President of the United States, it is well known, is very
fond of the theater and has gone outside the city to Southwark, where plays are
performed. During an affecting moment leading to a happy ending, Washington was
observed to shed a tear. As the humorous scenes unfolded, those playing the parts
of Priscilla Tomboy and Young Cockney received the approving smiles of the old
hero. General Washington goes often to concerts but has been heard to say, “I
can neither play Musick nor sing Songs.”
MRS. WASHINGTON’S DRAWING ROOM. On Friday evening at eight, your humble
correspondent was among the ladies and gentlemen in attendance at Mrs. Washington’s
weekly reception. Mrs. Washington, plainly dressed, but in a gown of rich silk,
sat on a sofa by the fireplace and arose to greet her guests with a curtsy which
each lady returned. Each gentleman bowed low. Coffee, tea, and cake were served,
and had I come in the summer, I would have been offered lemonade and ice cream.
The ladies swish about, and as candlelight is a great improver of beauty, they
appear to great advantage. President Washington circulated among the crowd, chatting
agreeably with all the ladies. It is said that he keeps count of the numbers who
come to pay their respects to Mrs. Washington and was pleased to find the room
so crowded.
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"Death March and Monody," sheet music, circa 1799-1800.
Gift
of Charles Francis Adams. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
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NEW THEATER ON CHESTNUT STREET. We are informed that the President of the United
States intends visiting the theater this evening and has sent his carriage to
bring the Vice President and his family to join him. The play to be performed
is Columbus, or, A World Discovered, and it will display scenery, machinery, and
decorations, the likes of which have never been seen before. A representation
of a storm, an earthquake, a volcano eruption, as well as a procession of Indians,
await all who enter. Columbus will be followed by a farce called A Wife at Her
Wit’s End.
RICKETT’S AMPHITHEATRE. Word that the President and his family were to
attend a performance of Mr. John Bill Rickett’s dangerous feats on horseback
brought a large crowd this evening to what is called the Circus. The acrobatic
performance was held to raise money to buy firewood for the poor during the coming
winter. Mr. Ricketts, demonstrating his agility by drinking a glass of wine while
on horseback, raised his glass to the health of “The Man of the People.”
This produced an immediate clap of applause and a loud hurrah from every part
of the
Circus. Mr. Ricketts has expressed his agreement with those who call General Washington
the finest horseman of the age, saying “I delight to see the general ride,
and make it a point to fall in with him when I hear that he is abroad on horseback;
his seat is so firm, his management so easy and graceful, that I who am a professor
of horsemanship, would go to him and learn to ride.”
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Charles Willson Peale, self-portrait,
oil on canvas, circa 1791. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
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PEALE’S MUSEUM. A visit to Mr. Peale’s museum, Prudence Pudding
tells us, is well worth the admission fee of one fourth of a dollar, if only to
see the huge American Buffalo. Peale’s rooms are filled with monsters of
the earth and sea, a rich array of birds, and a great collection of the bones,
jaws, and teeth of tigers, sharks, and many other fearful animals. In one room
are rattle, black, and spotted snakes, confined in cases enclosed with wire and
glass. She was astonished to see Mr. Peale take out a black snake about four or
five feet long feet long, which he permitted to touch his cheek and twine itself
around his neck. In the yard and stable were eagles, owls, baboons, monkeys, and
a six-footed cow. Mr. Peale is also a painter, and there can be seen in his museum
more than a hundred portraits of the more noteworthy personages of our country,
including our illustrious Washington.
THE PRESIDENT ON TOUR. When he entered upon the duties of his office, George
Washington decided he would visit all parts of the United States to please the
citizens and to see how they felt about the new government. Silas Silvertongue,
who is with the President’s party, reports that they are nearing the end
of their two-month journey of 1,887 miles. Everywhere there has been a remarkable
outpouring of affection for the President, Silvertongue informs. Towns have been
in a bustle of preparation, and at every stop the citizens have come out to meet
him with addresses of welcome. Ladies, some rouged up to the ears, have bedecked
themselves with sashes and headbands painted with images of the President and
patriotic slogans. The festivities include the ringing of bells, bands of music,
cannon salutes, and some very bad poetry. (see Poet's
Corner)
Recently I, Mistress Goody, was privy to a most unusual glimpse into the future
regarding our fellow countrymen. It seems that on Sunday, February 3, 2002, a
rather unusual sporting event pitted a most honorable group of fellow Patriots
from my beloved New England against a rather brutish bunch of Rams from the remote
region of Missouri. It took place in a very large Bowl somewhere in the South.
Very large men wearing tight breeches and silk stockings bandied about the green
in a quest to capture a small oval pigskin. The poor pig was repeatedly thrown,
kicked, and spiked into the ground. And I’m afraid our fellow countrymen
grew rather violent as the afternoon progressed. Such pushing, shoving, shouting,
and spitting have never before, I assure you, been witnessed by Mistress Goody,
who prefers more refined entertainment. Several gentlemen grew so agitated as
to hurl themselves at their opponents; others, totally unruly, grabbed legs, arms,
and all accessible appendages, and flung their counterparts to the ground. Although
Mistress Goody certainly found it to be a most discourteous display, lacking in
all decorum and civility, it is fortunate that our beloved Patriots proved victorious.
Affectionately, Constance Goody—a former Bostonian
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