RECOLLECTIONS 
 
 OF A RESIDENCE AT THE 
 
 ENGLISH AND FRENCH COURTS 
 
 BY 
 
 /W 
 
 RICHARD RUSH, 
 
 M 
 MINISTER FROM THE UNITED STATES: 
 
 AT THE FORMER FROM 1817 TO 1825 ; AT THE LATTER FROM 1847 TO 1849, 
 
 EDITED, WITH OCCASIONAL NOTES, BY HIS SON, 
 
 BENJAMIN RUSH, 
 
 SECRETARY OF THE LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES AT LONDON, 
 FROM 1837 TO 1841. 
 
 WITH AN ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 L. BOOTH, 307, REGENT STREET. 
 
 PARIS : A. W. GALIGNANI & CO., 224, RUE DE RIVOLI. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. 
 
 1872. 
 
 [All Rigltts reserved.] 
 
TO 
 
 CHAELES FKANCIS ADAMS, ESQ., 
 
 LATE MINISTER OF THE UNITED STATES AT THE 
 COURT OF LONDON. 
 
 DEAR MR. ADAMS, 
 
 The Author of this Work was recalled 
 from England in 1825, by your distinguished 
 Father, then President of The United States, 
 to the post of Secretary of the Treasury, in 
 his Cabinet. If, while Minister to England, 
 he had learned to appreciate the political wis 
 dom and rare statesmanship of Mr. Secretary 
 Adams, from whom, under President Monroe, 
 he derived his comprehensive and able instruc 
 tions, I well remember how that appreciation 
 was subsequently heightened at Washington, 
 during his four years of public service in the 
 Administration of President Adams. It was 
 then that the opportunities of almost daily 
 
 250168 a 2 
 
iv DEDICATION. 
 
 confidential intercourse enabled him tho 
 roughly to estimate the private, as well as 
 public, virtues, the purity of character, as 
 well as elevated patriotism, of one, whose un 
 ostentatious life, and unselfish public aims, I 
 have often heard him say, were a model for 
 his successors, as for all public men, and an 
 example to the youth of America. 
 
 When, at the expiration of his constitutional 
 term, the name of President Adams was spon 
 taneously submitted to the American People, 
 for re-election to the great office which his 
 talents and services adorned, that of his Se 
 cretary of the Treasury was submitted with 
 it as the Candidate for Vice-President of 
 the United States, and at the ensuing elec 
 tion each received the same number of elec 
 toral votes. Their names, thus connected 
 together in the performance of public duties, 
 and by manifestations of public confidence, 
 were further and more closely united by a 
 friendship which continued through life. 
 
 Prompted by these recollections and asso 
 ciations, may I now, without your knowledge, 
 
DEDICATION. V 
 
 dedicate to you the re-publication of a Work, 
 the greater part of which purports to record 
 some of the public and personal incidents, 
 more than half a century ago, of the Mission 
 which you so long and so recently occu 
 pied, in the third generation ; discharging 
 its duties, at an unexampled national crisis, 
 with the highest advantage to your country, 
 and in a manner to leave behind you durable 
 and most favourable impressions, as so many 
 of your countrymen know who have since 
 visited England. 
 
 I remain, 
 
 Dear Mr. Adams, 
 
 Very truly your friend, 
 BENJAMIN RUSH. 
 
 BUCKLAND S HOTEL, 
 
 BROOK STREET, LONDON, 
 Wth Hay, 1872. 
 
PKEFACE TO THIRD EDITION, 
 
 THE Author s " Residence at the Court of 
 London," now long out of print, has been 
 so often called for of late, and the opinion 
 expressed that its republication at this time 
 might do good, that it has been at length 
 determined to issue a new Edition in London, 
 where (and in Philadelphia, the Author s 
 home) it first appeared in 1833. Both there, 
 and in Philadelphia, it immediately went 
 through two Editions. A second series of 
 the work appeared, in 1845, in Philadelphia 
 and London, and was equally well received 
 by the British and American Public. 
 
 It is now nearly forty years since the first 
 publication, and more than a quarter of a 
 century since the second ; but it is more than 
 half a century since the date of the events 
 which the Author narrates in this volume, 
 beginning with his first arrival in England 
 as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Pleni 
 potentiary from the United States in 1817. 
 
 In that long period of time, more than one 
 generation of men has passed away ; arid 
 immense have been the changes in both 
 
Vlll PREFACE TO 
 
 countries, political, moral, material, and of 
 every description. Whether these changes 
 have been always in the right direction, time 
 will determine. But principles remain. These 
 never change, any more than the rules of uni 
 versal justice and good intercourse between 
 Nations and their representatives. If, so soon 
 after the short but fierce contest between the 
 United States and England in 1812, happily 
 the last (it is earnestly hoped to be the last), 
 the representatives of the two countries proved 
 themselves equal to the task of arranging 
 satisfactorily unsettled questions, and laying 
 the foundations of harmony, in the spirit 
 which this volume records, may it not be 
 hoped that a similar spirit will prevail in the 
 Councils of each of these great Nations, in the 
 adjustment of existing, and all future questions, 
 after an unbroken Peace of more than fifty 
 years ! Surely the statesmen, the philanthro 
 pists, and all the people, of both countries, 
 must respond to the hope. Most especially 
 must they respond to it at a moment when the 
 accumulated horrors of War have just deso 
 lated the fairest portions of Europe ; and when 
 the conviction forces itself upon the mind that 
 these might have been avoided, by the cultiva 
 tion of the same enlightened principles of 
 public policy, and the same liberal and just 
 sentiments on the part of rulers and people, 
 which have so long preserved friendship, and 
 
THIRD EDITION. IX 
 
 prevented collision, between the young, aspir 
 ing and spirited (and now mighty) Republic 
 of the Western World, soon to celebrate the 
 first century of its existence, and the proud 
 old Constitutional Monarchy of England. 
 
 44 President Jackson," says the Author, 
 " had always a sincere desire to be at peace 
 " with England;" and the latter goes on to 
 cite, in confirmation, a remarkable passage 
 from his Annual Message to Congress in 1832. 
 The " London Quarterly Review," eleven years 
 afterwards, alluding to President Jackson s 
 44 anxious desire and laudable ambition " to 
 settle the N.E. Boundary dispute by accept 
 ing the award of the King of Holland, although 
 the Senate was against it, said : 
 
 As Gen. Jackson " had in former days gal- 
 44 lantly defeated us in the field, he w r as stronger 
 44 in public opinion than any other statesman 
 44 would have been for doing us justice in the 
 44 Cabinet." All this will be found in the 
 44 Introductory Remarks " to the 2nd Series 
 of this Work. 
 
 In this connection a striking remark is 
 elsewhere referred to by the Author, as made 
 by the immediate predecessor of the late 
 Earl of Clarendon, with whom he was in 
 the most agreeable relations, viz., 44 that three 
 44 men, renowned for success in War, Washing- 
 44 ton, Jackson, and the Duke [of Wellington], 
 44 had each inculcated upon their respective 
 
X PREFACE TO 
 
 "nations the maxims of Peace; and each, 
 " within his sphere, endeavoured to maintain 
 "it!" 
 
 It would be unseemly in the writer to refer 
 to the many spontaneous favourable opinions 
 of the Work now republished, expressed to 
 him, from time to time, by enlightened English 
 men, during a year passed recently in England, 
 and while travelling since on the Continent. 
 Often they have been expressed under circum 
 stances, and in a manner, in a high degree 
 gratifying to filial ears. 
 
 Of two things the Author s descendants have 
 a right to feel proud. Never, that they are 
 aware, have any of his statements been called 
 in question ; and with all his appreciation of 
 England, her solid glory, the durable founda 
 tions of her greatness, and her historic renown, 
 together with his high estimate of her people, 
 amongst whom he lived so long, and mixed so 
 largely, never, for one moment, did he fail in 
 his superior duty to the land of his birth and 
 allegiance. Love and pride of Country, though 
 never improperly obtruded, were always upper 
 most ; and it was precisely because he was 
 known to be animated at all times by "so truly 
 " an American spirit," as was once said of him 
 by one of the great names of England, that the 
 high-spirited English themselves respected him 
 the more. If, in the end, he was able to 
 serve his Country more effectually, by aiming, 
 
THIRD EDITION. XI 
 
 throughout the seven years and a half of his 
 Mission, to render himself personally acceptable 
 to the Government and People of the great 
 Nation to which he was accredited, he showed 
 that he at least understood, and endeavoured 
 to practise, one of the first and highest duties 
 of a Foreign Minister. 
 
 To the descendants and connections of those 
 whose names are thickly scattered through 
 these pages,, many of them among the greatest 
 and most celebrated of England, the retrospect 
 here afforded may not be without interest now, 
 at the end of more than half a century. To 
 facilitate this retrospect, and assist readers 
 generally, an alphabetical Index has been, 
 for the first time, subjoined to this Edition. 
 
 BENJAMIN RUSH. 
 
 HOTEL COSTANZI, HOME, 
 MARCH 1871, 
 
ADDENDUM TO PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION, 
 
 THE foregoing was prepared at its date with a 
 view to the republication of the Author s 
 " Residence at the Court of London," more 
 than a year ago. It having been subsequently 
 determined to defer the publication till the 
 return of the writer through England to the 
 United States, the foregoing has been laid 
 aside till now. 
 
 Shortly after its date, a great advance was 
 made by the Treaty of Washington towards 
 the removal of all causes of disagreement be 
 tween the two Countries, and a basis laid, by 
 the patriotic and enlightened co-operation of 
 the able statesmen, on both sides, who nego 
 tiated that Treaty, for a permanent good under 
 standing, and the most friendly relations, be 
 tween England and the United States. It 
 would seem to be impossible, judging from the 
 almost universal feeling of all classes in both 
 countries, that any final obstacle should inter 
 fere to prevent the consummation of that Treaty. 
 It would be a lasting disgrace to the spirit of 
 the age the terms are not too strong should 
 the auspicious initial settlement at Washington 
 
ADDENDUM TO PREFACE. Xlll 
 
 be defeated by trivial causes, as it draws to a 
 close at Geneva. 
 
 Great, indeed, would be the responsibility to 
 both Countries, and to the World, of the men 
 instrumental in such result, if such be possible ; 
 for are not the reasonable hopes of the World 
 involved in the establishment of the great prin 
 ciple of Arbitration, provided for in that Instru 
 ment, for the settlement of international differ 
 ences ? It is not too much to say that such 
 result would be a shock to the deliberate 
 judgment, as well as enlightened and most 
 earnest wishes, of nearly all the calm-minded 
 and reflecting men both in America and 
 England. 
 
 Profuse and earnest have long been, and 
 still are, the constantly-recurring evidences of 
 mutual good-will between these two great 
 Nations. Let a very few be recalled. 
 
 The Heir-Apparent to the British Throne is 
 prostrated by an illness which carries conster 
 nation throughout the British dominions, and 
 his life hangs by a thread. The American 
 press re-echoes the wide-spread sympathy of 
 the American People, and Prayers are offered 
 up for his recovery in a great many of the 
 Churches of the United States. 
 
 The Queen of England proceeds in solemn 
 and gorgeous procession, in the Capital of her 
 dominions, to offer up in the most splendid 
 Protestant Cathedral in Europe, her humble 
 
XIV ADDENDUM TO PREFACE. 
 
 and heartfelt thanks for his restoration to 
 health. More than a million of her subjects, it 
 is estimated, line the way. Conspicuous along 
 the route, writes an eye-witness, appear " the 
 " American and English Flags, side by side." 
 
 On the 22nd of February last, the British 
 Flag is displayed from British ships in Ameri 
 can ports, in commemoration, and in honour, 
 of Washington s Birthday. 
 
 An insane attempt is made, more recently, 
 by a half-witted English or Irish boy in London, 
 to alarm the Queen by pointing a pistol at her, 
 at first thought to be loaded. The news is 
 flashed across the Atlantic, and the next morn 
 ing the American papers are filled with con 
 gratulations on the safety of the Queen. "An 
 " universal feeling of pleasure at Her Majesty s 
 " escape," says one, with an immense circula 
 tion, " will re-echo throughout the civilized 
 " world." 
 
 It is scarcely a month since the American 
 Minister in London pays a visit, without any 
 form or display, to the celebrated Blue-coat 
 School at Christ s Hospital. Immediately the 
 American Flag is run out from the top of the 
 building, and a full band plays the inspiring 
 national airs of the United States, in compli 
 ment to her Representative, in the heart of 
 the greatest City of modern times. Cordial 
 good wishes are expressed for the prosperity 
 of the two countries. 
 
ADDENDUM TO PREFACE. XV 
 
 A great and flourishing City of the United 
 States is suddenly destroyed by a conflagration. 
 The utmost sympathy is evinced throughout all 
 parts of England, and immense sums of money 
 pour into America as fast as steam can convey 
 them, contributed for the immediate relief of 
 the sufferers, by all classes of the generous 
 English People from the illustrious occu 
 pant of the Throne to the humblest of her 
 subjects. 
 
 But something else is remembered, a few 
 
 years further back. 
 
 / 
 
 The Heir to the Crown of Great Britain 
 pays a visit to the United States. Approaching 
 the Tomb of Washington, he stands, for some 
 time, uncovered and silent. His example is 
 followed by his entire suite, composed of some 
 of the proudest and most illustrious names in 
 English history. The incident makes a deep 
 impression upon the hearts of the American 
 People. 
 
 Shortly afterwards the Prince of Wales is 
 received at the " Academy of Music," a mag 
 nificent structure, in one of the largest and 
 most beautiful Cities of The Union the City 
 of Philadelphia scarcely inferior in size and 
 decorations to the handsomest of the kind in 
 Europe, where an operatic entertainment is 
 given in his honour. He had been previously 
 requested to select the Opera. At the moment 
 of his entrance, the entire audience, from pit to 
 
XVI ADDENDUM TO PREFACE. 
 
 dome (and there were distinguished men and 
 beautiful American women there that night), 
 rise to their feet to do him further honour, and 
 receive him standing, a compliment never 
 before paid to a Royal visitor in The United 
 States, while the National Anthem of England 
 resounds from a large and powerful orchestra, 
 and the Royal Standard is conspicuously dis 
 played. The Prince seems unprepared for it, 
 and gratified, and standing, with his distin 
 guished suite, repeatedly bows his acknow 
 ledgments. 
 
 Little more than a year elapses, and the 
 President of The United States falls by the 
 hand of an assassin. The event creates a thrill 
 of horror in every part of England, and pro 
 duces testimonials of heartfelt condolence with 
 the American People, from the Throne down, 
 from almost every city and town and village. 
 
 In the very Treaty of Washington, England 
 does not scruple to put on record an expression 
 of her regret at the unfortunate occurrences, on 
 her side, which caused a resort to the Treaty. 
 
 If these be trifles, they are certainly not 
 light as air. To men who reason correctly, 
 they will seem far more substantial and endur 
 ing. They help to form, and in the end create, 
 bonds of union between the People of these 
 two great Nations the illustrious Parent stock, 
 and giant offspring stronger than links of iron. 
 It is impossible that such bonds can be dissolved 
 
ADDENDUM TO PREFACE. 
 
 by trivial causes ; above all, by other trifles, 
 as nearly all reasonable men will regard them, 
 in the sense that extremes meet, dim, shadowy, 
 insubstantial, if such inference may be drawn 
 from that which in technical, official language, 
 is proclaimed to be "remote" and " indirect" 
 
 To many Englishmen who have visited The 
 United States, the words, as well as the inspiring 
 air, of the Star Spangled Banner, one of the 
 proudest of the national airs of The United 
 States, are perhaps not unfamiliar. Composed 
 in 1813 or 14, during the height of the un 
 fortunate contest of that period between the 
 two Countries, by an American whose name 
 has since become indelibly associated with that 
 patriotic air, it is scarcely, perhaps, to be won 
 dered at that the words are not, throughout, 
 the most complimentary to England. On hear 
 ing it, for the first time, years afterwards, 
 an enlightened and liberal Englishman com 
 posed, and handed to the writer, the follow 
 ing two additional stanzas. They appeared 
 in American newspapers long ago, were ex 
 tensively copied and highly commended, and 
 were recited a few years since at a large and 
 distinguished public dinner in London, amid 
 great applause, but have never before been pub 
 lished in any permanent form. Perhaps they 
 may now be reproduced here, not inappro 
 priately : 
 
 * Francis Key, Esq., of Baltimore. 
 
 i 
 
XV111 ADDENDUM TO PREFACE. 
 
 " But hush d be that strain they our foes are no longer, 
 
 Lo, Britain the right hand of friendship extends, 
 And Albion s fair Isle we behold with affection, 
 The land of our Fathers the land of our Friends ! 
 
 " Long, long may ye flourish, Columbia and Britain, 
 
 In amity still may your children be found, 
 And the Star- Spangled Banner and Bed Cross together, 
 Wave free and triumphant the wide world around." 
 
 And so will say millions of the dispassionate 
 and unprejudiced, over whom those Banners 
 wave, in either land, all transient causes, re 
 mote, indirect, or otherwise, to the contrary, 
 notwithstanding. 
 
 The volume closes with a Narrative, pub 
 lished now for the first time on this side of the 
 Atlantic of the Author s Residence as Envoy 
 Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of 
 The United States at the Court of Louis Phi 
 lippe, with a Glance at the French Revolution 
 of 1848, and a subsequent residence in the 
 same capacity at the Government of the Prince 
 President. The period embraces memorable 
 years in French history-- 1847, 1848, and 
 1849. The Narrative forms the concluding 
 article of a posthumous work of the Author, 
 heretofore published by his Executors only in 
 Philadelphia, in 1860, the year after his death, 
 entitled, " Occasional Productions, Political, 
 " Diplomatic, and Miscellaneous." From the 
 "Introduction" to that Work, there will be 
 found at the end of this Volume, an extract 
 
ADDENDUM TO PREFACE. XIX 
 
 from the Proceedings of the Historical Society 
 of Pennsylvania, under date of the 8th of 
 August, 1859, embodying a short biographical 
 memoir of the Author, by one of the Vice- 
 Presidents. 
 
 Should the present publication be received 
 with favour, a new edition of that Work may 
 possibly be issued here, as well as a new edition 
 of the Second Series of the Author s " Resi- 
 " .dence at the Court of London," originally 
 published in America and England in 1845. 
 
 " In many instances/ says the Author in his 
 remarks " To the Reader," at the commence 
 ment of his " Residence at the Court of 
 " London," under date of April, 1833, " I 
 " have been happy to render acknowledg- 
 " ments for the kindest hospitalities received 
 " in England. Should the work be continued, 
 " this list would be much enlarged by names 
 " not hitherto reached." And this would be 
 found to be the case in the Second Series. 
 
 B. E. 
 
 BUCKLAND S HOTEL, 
 
 BROOK STREET, LONDON. 
 MAY, 1872. 
 
TO THE READER. 
 
 WHEN I first took the pen to prepare the fol 
 lowing sheets for the press, it was with the 
 intention of going through the full term of my 
 mission ; but finding them run on to their pre 
 sent number in using the materials of little 
 more than a year, I have, for the present, given 
 over that intention. I am the more admonished 
 to this course, as negotiations with which I was 
 charged at later periods, were more elaborate 
 and full than any recorded in this volume. 
 Miss More, in noticing Pope s precept that 
 the greatest art in writing is " to blot" says 
 that there is still a greater the art to stop. 
 
 The contents of the chapters may startle at 
 first ; but I trust only at first. I am as deeply 
 sensible of the impropriety of making an ill 
 use of the incidents of private life, as it is pos 
 sible any one can be, and flatter myself that 
 what I have said in this connexion will be clear 
 of all exception. I would otherwise burn the 
 sheets. I would burn them, if I thought they 
 
XX11 TO THE READER. 
 
 contained a line or word to create a moment s 
 uneasiness in any one person whose name is 
 mentioned. In giving an account of conversa 
 tions other than official, I have drawn upon 
 my notes sparingly ; not that I heard things 
 improper, had all been told ; but that a thou 
 sand things pass in conversation, not adapted 
 to print, any more than intended for it. Reports 
 then or narratives, Driven under restraints from 
 which I never could be free, may be found 
 meagre ; and in such cases I am the one to 
 blame, desiring always to err on the side of 
 abstinence, where indulgence would be cri 
 minal. Doubtless also there has often been a 
 falling-off in my limited reports of what was 
 said by others, from the better manner in which 
 it was said by the persons themselves. Here> 
 too, I am the one responsible. In many in 
 stances I have been happy to render acknow 
 ledgments for the kindest hospitalities received 
 in England. Should the work be continued, 
 this list would be much enlarged by names not 
 hitherto reached. 
 
 There are questions involved in the negotia 
 tions I have recorded, of the deepest prospective 
 interest to both the United States and Great 
 Britain. If I have explained these so that 
 they may be rightly understood, and sent them 
 into the world under a companionship that may 
 
TO THE READER. XXI11 
 
 add to the chances of their being at all read in 
 both countries, I believe that I shall not have 
 written altogether in vain. When I say in loth, 
 I confess that I chiefly mean Britain; for with 
 all the power of intelligence and information in 
 that country upon public as all subjects, I am 
 satisfied that the American questions are less 
 generally inquired into than many others, and 
 less generally understood than in this country. 
 I have written in the spirit of good feeling to 
 wards Britain, which may be cherished by every 
 American compatibly with his superior love 
 for his own country, and which I believe few 
 Americans fail to cherish who stay there as long 
 as I did. A residence of nearly eight years 
 corrected many erroneous impressions I had 
 previously taken up ; as a residence of like 
 time in this country by Britons almost inva 
 riably imbues them with totally different feel 
 ings and opinions respecting the United States 
 from those adopted by their hasty, and too 
 often uninformed and uncandid travellers who 
 come among us. Enough has been written and 
 said on both sides to irritate. My desire is, 
 and such my effort, to soothe. President Jack 
 son, in his last annual message to Congress, 
 has spoken of the value of a good understand 
 ing between two countries " cemented by a 
 community of language, manners, and social 
 
TO THE READEK. 
 
 habits, and by the high obligations we owe to 
 our British ancestors for many of our most 
 valuable institutions, and for that system of 
 representative government which has enabled 
 us to preserve and improve them! 
 
 In publishing negotiations which I conducted 
 for my country, and other official communi 
 cations, it is proper I should say, that I violate 
 no duty. It is known to be as well the prac 
 tice as the principle of the Government of the 
 United States, to publish such documents for 
 general information : and in fact I publish 
 nothing that has not heretofore had publicity 
 in this manner, though piece-meal and at de 
 tached intervals. I know of no exception, 
 unless the cases of Arbuthnot and Ambrister. 
 These constitute a transaction too marked to 
 remain unknown in its diplomatic progress, 
 the result having long been known. My more 
 ample account of it all, at the time it arose, 
 was transmitted to the Department of State, 
 and rests in its archives. Even the European 
 rule sanctions the publication of negotiations 
 when no longer pending, and this is the case 
 with all I present. I have only given them in 
 connecting links, and under forms somewhat 
 different. Often I have omitted particulars 
 already published by the Government, whilst 
 sometimes I have brought to light what may 
 
TO THE READER. XXV 
 
 serve as new explanations. In this, as other 
 parts of the work, I venture to claim for it, 
 as the only title to an indulgent reception, 
 essential fidelity in its contents ; repeating, 
 that I am chargeable with all imperfections 
 merely verbal. 
 
 I might have thrown into separate works 
 the parts official and parts personal. But I 
 preferred their junction. No public man, what 
 ever the extent or magnitude of his duties, 
 leads a purely official life, detached from per 
 sonal scenes and feelings interwoven with it. 
 Some view of these may even serve on occasion 
 to elucidate better the true movement of offi 
 cial acts, by exhibiting the latter in a broader 
 connexion. I have also thought, that it might 
 not be wholly unacceptable to the American 
 community to know something of the personal 
 reception of their Minister in England in 
 virtue of the trust he bears ; not simply that 
 which awaits him in the common forms when 
 he first arrives, but more generally afterwards. 
 The same motive will open to his countrymen 
 some views, imperfect indeed and few, but still 
 some views, of the social tone prevailing in 
 classes amongst which his public trust neces 
 sarily, and, if his residence be protracted, 
 largely, throws him. 
 
 Brief reflections which I may now and then 
 
XXVI TO THE READER. 
 
 have hazarded on the institutions and charac 
 ter of England, are of little moment. They 
 will pass only for what they are worth, witli 
 those who may be at the trouble of reading 
 them. Far from my purpose has it been to 
 scan all her institutions and character (a 
 mighty task !) but rather to speak cursorily of 
 portions falling under my own immediate ob 
 servation in some among the many spheres of 
 her society and population. Other portions 
 have been abundantly described by her own 
 and foreign writers ; and here, portraits unlike 
 each other, may each be true to the original. 
 Even an individual in whom great qualities 
 meet, may often be described under different 
 colours, each being just according to the point 
 of sight whence he is beheld. Who then 
 shall undertake to concentrate in a single 
 picture, a great and mighty nation ? The 
 opinions in which I feel most confidence, and 
 which are most important, are those which 
 refer to the wealth and power of England, and 
 their steady augmentation. Those, of what 
 ever nature, in which I have indulged, have 
 reference, with scarcely any exceptions, to the 
 dates that belong to them. I am aware that 
 great political changes have taken place since; 
 but I do not, at my distance, believe that any 
 essential changes will yet have been produced 
 
TO THE READER. XXV11 
 
 by them, bearing upon the character or habits 
 of the nation. These, when the growth of 
 ages, alter slowly in any country. In England, 
 they will come about more slowly than in most 
 countries. 
 
 Of current politics I have said nothing. 
 Who looks for party spirit therefore in these 
 pages, will not find it. They are merely in 
 tended to be historical and descriptive, if, 
 in very humble ways, they may at all lay 
 claim to such characteristics. It will scarcely 
 be supposed that, even as far as they go, 
 they embody all the scenes, social or official, 
 of my mission. Of the first, there are only 
 occasional notices ; and of the second, only 
 such have been selected as are decidedly na 
 tional, and not all these. The whole business 
 of private claims, requiring appeals to the 
 British Government, I have of course passed 
 by ; with a great variety of incidental duties. 
 These are of constant recurrence in countries 
 between which there is so large and active a 
 commerce as the United States and Great 
 Britain. The Consuls take charge of many of 
 them in the first instance ; but the cases are 
 still numerous in which they find their way to 
 the Minister. 
 
 I went to England again on a short visit 
 in 1829. An interval of but four years had 
 
XXV111 TO THE READER. 
 
 elapsed ; yet I was amazed at the increase 
 of London. The Regent s Park, which, when 
 I first knew the west-end of the town, dis 
 closed nothing but lawns and fields, was now 
 a city. You saw long rows of lofty buildings, 
 in their outward aspect magnificent. On this 
 whole space was set down a population of pro 
 bably not less than fifty or sixty thousand 
 souls. Another city, hardly smaller, seemed 
 to have sprung up in the neighbourhood of 
 St. Pancras Church and the London Univer 
 sity. Belgrave Square, in an opposite region, 
 broke upon me with like surprise. The road 
 from Westminster Bridge to Greenwich ex 
 hibited for several miles compact ranges of 
 new houses. Finchley Common, desolate in 
 1819, was covered with neat cottages, and 
 indeed villages. In whatever direction I 
 went, indications were similar. I say nothing 
 of Carlton Terrace, for Carlton House was 
 gone, or of the street, of two miles, from 
 that point to Park Crescent, surpassing any 
 other in London, or any that I saw in Europe. 
 To make room for this new and spacious 
 street, old ones had been pulled down, of 
 which no vestige remained. I could scarcely, 
 but for the evidence of the senses, have be 
 lieved it all. The historian of the Decline 
 and Fall of the Roman Empire remarks, that 
 
TO THE READER. XXIX 
 
 the description, composed in tlie Theodosian 
 age, of the many stately mansions in Rome, 
 might almost excuse the exaggeration of the 
 
 o o o 
 
 poet ; that Rome contained a multitude of 
 palaces, and that each palace was equal to 
 a city. Is the British metropolis advancing 
 to that destiny ? Manchester, Liverpool, Bir 
 mingham, and other provincial towns that I 
 visited, appeared, on their smaller scales, to 
 have increased as much. 
 
 In the midst of it all, nearly every news 
 paper that I opened rang the changes upon 
 the distress and poverty of England. Mr. 
 Peel s bill banishing bank-notes under five 
 pounds from circulation, had recently passed. 
 There was great clamour there is always 
 clamour at something among this people. 
 Prices had fallen trade was said to be 
 irrecoverably ruined, through the over-pro 
 duction of goods. I have since seen the state 
 of things at that epoch better described per 
 haps, as the result of an under-production of 
 money. Workmen in many places were out 
 of employ ; there were said to be fourteen 
 thousand of this description in Manchester. 
 I saw portions of them walking along the 
 streets. Most of this body had struck for 
 wages. I asked how they subsisted when 
 doing nothing. It was answered, that they 
 
XXX TO THE READER. 
 
 had laid up funds by joint contributions among 
 themselves whilst engaged in work. In no 
 part of Liverpool or its extensive environs 
 did I see pauperism ; the paupers for that 
 entire district being kept within the limits 
 of its poor-house ; in which receptacle I was 
 informed there were fifteen hundred. I passed 
 through the vale of Cheshire ; I saw in that 
 fertile district, in Lancashire, Staffordshire, 
 Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, 
 Worcestershire, appearances of wide-spread 
 prosperity, in the lands, houses, canals, roads, 
 public works, domestic animals, people in 
 everything that the eye of the merely transient 
 traveller took in. I stopped at Kenilworth, 
 and Warwick Castle ; enchanting spots, which 
 English literature has almost rendered classic. 
 I had invitations to Trentham Hall, Apthorpe, 
 Hagley, Ockham, Landgewin, Grange Park, 
 Digswell ; from going to which I was pre 
 vented by objects confining me to the me 
 tropolis. But I seize this opportunity of 
 marking my sense of the kindnesses intended 
 me by the proprietors of those beautiful seats. 
 Nor can I let it pass without comprehending 
 in my grateful acknowledgments my valued 
 American friends, George Marx and Joshua 
 Bates, Esquires, who with their amiable fami 
 lies, kept London from being a dull place to 
 
TO THE READER. XXXI 
 
 me during the autumn and part of the winter, 
 by their warm-hearted hospitalities. I have to 
 say the same of my friend of longer date, 
 Colonel Aspinwall, Consul of the United 
 States for London, then residing with his 
 amiable family at Highgate. 
 
 I cannot close these preliminary lines with 
 out the remark, that, since the volume was 
 written, events have transpired in our own 
 country calculated at first to give uneasiness 
 to those who dearly love it. But may we 
 not hope that all danger is past; and that 
 the UNION, which constituted and can alone 
 preserve us a Nation, will derive from them 
 new strength and glory?* 
 
 E. E. 
 
 SYDENHAM, NEAE PHILADELPHIA. 
 April, 1833. 
 
 * The Author refers here to what was known in America 
 as the " Nullification " dispute of 1832^ arising out of the 
 claim of a single State to " nullify," or set aside, an Act of 
 Congress. The dispute was soon put an end to, and the 
 question effectually settled, by the prompt energetic con 
 duct, and resolute firmness, of President Jackson. The 
 opinion prevails largely in the United States, that had Pre 
 sident Buchanan acted with like promptitude and energy, 
 and similar firmness in 1861, there would have been no 
 deplorable and prolonged Civil War in the United States. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Voyage, an d arrival at the Isle of Wight . Page 1 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 Landing at Portsmouth, and journey to London . . 11 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 First Interview with Lord Castlereagh. First appearances of 
 London . . . . . .25 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 Interview with Lord Castlereagh. Slaves carried away from 
 the United States contrary to the Treaty of Ghent. Equalization 
 of Tonnage duties. "West India trade. Members of the British 
 and American Cabinets . . . . .31 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 London East of Temple-Bar. London North of Oxford 
 Street . . . ... . .50 
 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 Dinner at Lord Castlereagh s. Members of the Diplomatic 
 Corps. The first visit. Dinner at Lord Westmoreland s . 58 
 
 CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 Interview with Lord Castlereagh. Slave Question under the 
 Treaty of Ghent. North-AVestcrn boundary between the United 
 States and British Possessions. Post at the mouth of Columbia 
 Bivcr -. 72 
 
XXXIV CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Eeceptiou by the Prince Eegent. The Levee. The Royal 
 Family ...... Page 81 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Attempt upon the life of the Duke of "Wellington. Old 
 customs about the Court. Dinner at the Danish Minister s. 
 Private audience of the Queen. The Drawing-room. Dinner at 
 Lord Castlereagh s . . 9G 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Emigration. Literary Institutions. Clubs. Booksellers 
 shops. St. James s Palace. Party at the Duchess of Cumber 
 land s. At the Russian Ambassador s. At the Marchioness of 
 Stafford s. At Lord Melville s. The Duke of Sussex. Dinner 
 at the Mansion House . . . .111 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Visit to Mr. West. Dinner at Mr. Lyttelton s. At Lord 
 Holland s. A day at Deptford and Greenwich. Dinner at the 
 Austrian Ambassador s. At Earl Bathurst s. Marriage of the 
 Princess Elizabeth. Dinner at Lord Bagot s . . 132 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Interview with Lord Castlereagh. General negotiation pro 
 posed on the West-India trade, Maritime questions, and Impress 
 ment. Nature of the last question. The Slave-trade. Offer of 
 British mediation in the affairs of the United States and Spain. 
 Dinner at Mr. Wilberforce s. At the Earl of Hardwicke s. 
 Almack s. Late hours. Covent-Garden theatre . . 159 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Wager of battle. Interview with Lord Castlereagh. Impress 
 ment. Course of Great Britain and the United States as between 
 Spain and her Colonies. Affairs between the United States and 
 Spain, Safety of diplomatic correspondence. The Drawing- 
 room. Birth-day dinner at Lord Castlereagh s . .181 
 
CONTENTS. XXXV 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The daily press. Annual exhibition at the Royal Academy. 
 Public Societies. Dinner at the Marquis of Lansdowne s. 
 Evening" entertainment at Carlton House. Dinner at Dr. 
 Pinckard s . . Page 198 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 The United States and Ionian Islands. Affairs between the 
 United States and Spain. Monument to Burns. British Institu 
 tion, Pall Mall. Dinner at Mr. Canning s. Lord Erskine 220 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Dissolution of Parliament. Revenue and resources of England. 
 Interview with Lord Castlereagh. Impressment. The Slave- 
 trade. Commercial Convention of 1815. Dinner at the Marquis 
 of Stafford s. Further interview with Lord Castlereagh on Im 
 pressment and the Slave-trade. The hustings at Covent Garden. 
 Dinner at the Chancellor of the Exchequer s . . 240 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Interview with Lord Castlereagh. General negotiation pro 
 posed. Commercial Convention of 1815. European mediation 
 between -Spain and her Colonies Dinner at Mr. Villiers s. The 
 Quarterly Review. Interview with Lord Castlereagh. Proposal 
 for a general negotiation accepted. Mr. Gallatin to take part in 
 it. Mr. Robinson and Mr. Goulburn, the British negotiators. 
 Commercial Convention of 1815. Dinner at Sir John Sinclair s. 
 -At Mr. Bentham s. At the French Ambassador s. Interview 
 with Lord Castlereagh. Course of Great Britain and the United 
 States towards Spain and her Colonies. Affair of Pensacola 270 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Interview with Lord Castlereagh. Impressment. Cases of 
 Arbuthnot and Ambrister. Mr. Gallatin arrives in London. 
 Preparatory Conference at North Cray, Kent, the seat of Lord 
 Castlereagh, where the Negotiators dine and pass the night. 
 Appearances of the country Opening of the negotiation: The 
 points recapitulated. Last interview with Lord Castlereagh on 
 Impressment, prior to his departure for Aix-la-Chapelle , 301 
 
XXXVI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The Euglish in the Autumn. Inauguration of the Lord Mayor. 
 Death of the Queen . Page 321 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Americans abroad. Cases of Arbutlmot and Ambrister. 
 Opening of Parliament. Royal Speech by Commission. Dinner 
 at Mr. Wellesley Pole s. Chesapeake and Shannon . 337 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 Containing a Eecapitulation of the Questions arranged between- 
 Great Britain and the United States, by the Negotiation of 1818, 
 with a Statement of those left unadjusted . . 363 
 
 A GLANCE at the Court and Government of Louis Philippe in 
 1817-49, and the French Revolution of 1848 . . . 393 
 
 The Character of Mr. Canning 5G9 
 
 Biographical Sketch of the Author * 573 
 
 Alphabetical Index 581 
 
A RESIDENCE 
 
 AT 
 
 THE COURT OF LONDON 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 VOYAGE, AND ARRIVAL AT THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 
 
 ON the 19th of November 1817, I em 
 barked at Annapolis, Maryland, in the 
 " Franklin" seventy-four, as Envoy Extra 
 ordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary from 
 the United States to the Court of London. 
 The ship was new, built at Philadelphia, and 
 ordered round to Annapolis to take me and 
 my family on board.* The anchors were 
 weighed to the sound of music. We were 
 three days in getting down the Chesapeake, 
 and on the 23rd found ourselves at sea. The 
 evening sun shone upon the lighthouse as we 
 
 * It was the same "Franklin" cut down to a Steam 
 Frigate, in which the late Admiral Farragut visited various 
 parts of Europe, a few years ago, and it is a coincidence 
 that Farragut was one of the midshipmen on board at this 
 time. 
 
;-.%- RESIDENCE AT THE 
 
 left the capes, which jut out towards each 
 other, looking, from the ocean, like a fine 
 natural gateway to the entrance of this part of 
 our country. 
 
 I will not stop to describe the minute oc 
 currences of the voyage, though a large man- 
 of-war abounds with them, as they strike upon 
 the observation of a person who has never 
 before been to sea. The crew consisted of 
 upwards of seven hundred men. The ship 
 was of two thousand tons, and, although rated 
 a seventy-four, mounted ninety guns. If silence 
 and cleanliness be proofs of discipline, the ship s 
 company was entitled to that praise. We had 
 one storm, a severe one ; so it seemed to a 
 landsman. As it was coming on, the sails 
 were taken in, and even whilst it raged, the 
 top-gallant yards sent down, and masts struck, 
 with a quickness that appeared wonderful. 
 " Call a hundred men aft" said the officer on 
 the quarter-deck to a midshipman, when some 
 thing urgent was to be done. In a moment, a 
 hundred men were there. Occasionally the 
 trumpet was used ; the straining of the voice 
 through which, amidst the roaring of the 
 winds, had a hideous sound. 
 
 When the storm began to abate, I had some 
 conversation with Commodore Stewart. We 
 were holding-on to one of the guns that had 
 
1817. COURT OF LONDON. 3 
 
 been run into the cabin. " Commodore," said 
 I, " this is a new scene to me; what could you 
 do if we were at war and an enemy of equal 
 force hove in sight?" " Chase him," he said, 
 gravely. "What then," I replied ; " youcould 
 not engage, I suppose ? for ten hours your 
 ship has been tempest-tost ; all your exertions 
 seem to have been required to resist the 
 storm." " True," he said, " but we could keep 
 the enemy in sight." " But certainly you 
 could not fight him," I again remarked. " We 
 could not," he rejoined, "now; but we should 
 watch each other, and go to it when the storm 
 was over" "What! all exhausted with the 
 labour it has cost, all dismantled as your ship 
 is !" "Yes, as quick as possible," he answered, 
 " there would be no time to lose ; the rigging 
 must go up faster than it came down" Such 
 is war. The elements cannot stop it. Their 
 very raging seems akin to it. This was no 
 vain boasting. The Commodore was a modest, 
 unassuming man ; but faithful to his duty in 
 the battle or storm. 
 
 An incident occurred that may be worth 
 mentioning from its possible bearing upon the 
 theory of the currents along our coast. We 
 left the capes of Chesapeake on a Sunday, 
 steering for England. On the following Fri 
 day, to the surprise of all on board, we saw 
 
 B 2 
 
4 RESIDENCE AT THE 1817. 
 
 land. It proved to be the Island of Bermuda. 
 But how came we there? Oar Captain had 
 no intention of running down to that latitude. 
 From the first few hours after leaving the 
 capes, the winds had been light, chiefly from 
 the north and north-west, and the weather 
 thick. No accurate observations could be 
 taken. We were aware that the ship had 
 fallen to the south before entering the gulf- 
 stream, but had counted upon its current, 
 which sweeps from south to north, bringing us 
 sufficiently back again. It happened that, 
 when we entered it, the wind freshened, and 
 carried us across very fast, dying away soon 
 afterwards. Thus the current had but little 
 time to act, in drifting us again to the north. 
 This seemed to be, in part, the way of account 
 ing for the situation of the ship. Yet the fact 
 was strange that she should be so far south, as 
 no very strong winds had blown from the north, 
 or any quarter. I am sensible that, to present 
 this fact properly, the precise state of the 
 winds, with the ship s reckoning for each day, 
 ought to be given, which I have not the means 
 of doing. Humboldt, who overlooked nothing 
 connected with the phenomena of nature, re 
 marks in his Personal Narrative upon the small 
 portion of knowledge which we possess of the 
 absolute position and breadth of the gulf- 
 
1817. COURT OF LONDON. 6 
 
 stream, as well as of its prolongation towards 
 the coasts of Europe and Africa; and as the 
 true knowledge of it would be of the highest 
 importance in shortening voyages, he hints 
 that it might be useful if vessels furnished with 
 the best instruments were instructed to cruise 
 in the gulf of Mexico, and in the Atlantic, 
 between the 30th and 54th degrees of north 
 latitude, expressly with a view to determine at 
 what distances, and in what precise directions, 
 the stream is found in different seasons and 
 under the influence of different winds. The 
 same navigators, he remarks, might have in 
 structions to examine whether this great cur 
 rent constantly skirts the southern bank of 
 Newfoundland ; and on what parallel between 
 32 and 40 degrees of west longitude the waters 
 which run from east to west, are nearest to 
 those which flow in an opposite direction. The 
 Commodore, who was considered by thosewho 
 knew him best, to be as skilful a navigator as 
 he was an accomplished officer, inclined to the 
 belief, I thought, that the currents of the 
 ocean, the theory of which we do not yet fully 
 understand, had exerted some agency in bring 
 ing the ship into the situation described. 
 
 On the evening of the 28th, after having 
 had Bermuda in view for a few hours, and 
 noticing some signals made to us, the wind 
 
6 RESIDENCE AT THE 1817. 
 
 springing up, we gladly bade it adieu, and 
 laid our course for England. It was on the 
 Sunday following that we had the storm. 
 From that time the ship went swiftly onward 
 under boisterous winds. On the 14th of De 
 cember we were in the Channel. The nights 
 were long and dark ; the days gloomy. We 
 could get no good observation from the sun or 
 stars. We spoke no vessels, saw none ; nor 
 any sign of a pilot. The New England pilot 
 boats and those of the Chesapeake, our offi 
 cers, said, would run out to sea twenty and 
 thirty miles to look for vessels ; but here, in 
 the English Channel, such a high-way for ves 
 sels, no pilots were to be seen, and at a season 
 when most wanted. It was somewhat remark 
 able, that neither the Commodore, who had 
 been twenty years in the navy, nor any of his 
 Lieutenants, though seven in number and 
 some like himself familiar with almost all seas, 
 had ever before been up the English Channel; 
 nor had the sailing-master, or mate. Cowes or 
 Portsmouth was the port we desired to make. 
 Our midshipmen, two, in particular, whose 
 names I remember, young Powell of Virginia 
 and Cooper of New York, would climb up to 
 the truck of the mainmast : but neither land, 
 nor light-house, nor pilot-boat, nor any thing 
 could be descried. All was a dreary waste. 
 
iSiy^ COURT OF LONDON. 7 
 
 Throughout the 14th and 15th the Commo 
 dore s anxiety was very great, especially by 
 night, for the weather was rough, and he be 
 lieved we were close by the coast. The ship 
 was chiefly steered by soundings ; her situa 
 tion being ascertained from the appearances of 
 the soil which the lead brought up ; a resource 
 when other guides of navigation fail, but tedi 
 ous and apt to prove deceptive. 
 
 At length, early in the morning of the 16th, 
 all uneasiness was dispelled. The first gleams 
 of light disclosed land. It was a long blue- 
 looking ridge rising out of the water. A gun 
 was fired, which brought a pilot. We learned, 
 as he stepped on board, that the land before us 
 was the Isle of Wight, and that we were near 
 Cowes. All eyes were upon him as he passed 
 along the deck. The first person that comes 
 on ship-board after a voyage seems like a new 
 link to human existence. When he took his 
 station at the helm, I heard the Commodore ask 
 how the Needles bore. " Ahead north," he 
 answered. " Do you take the ship through 
 them?" "Ay." " Does the wind set right, 
 and have you enough ?" " Ay." This closed 
 all dialogue, as far as I heard. He re 
 mained at his post, giving his laconic orders. 
 In good time we approached the Needles. The 
 spectacle was grand. Our officers gazed in 
 
8 EESIDENCE AT THE 1817. 
 
 admiration. The very men, who swarmed 
 upon the deck, made a pause to look upon 
 the giddy height. The most exact steering 
 seemed necessary to save the ship from the 
 sharp rocks that compress the waters into the 
 narrow strait below. But she passed easily 
 through. There is something imposing in en 
 tering England by this access. I afterwards 
 entered at Dover, in a packet, from Calais ; my 
 eye fixed upon the sentinels as they slowly 
 paced the heights. But those cliffs, bold as 
 they are, and immortalized by Shakspeare, did 
 not equal the passage through the Needles. 
 There was a breathless curiosity also in the 
 first approach augmenting its intrinsic gran 
 deur. 
 
 In a little while we anchored off Cowes. If 
 the Needles were a grand sight, the one now 
 before us was full of beauty. Castles, cottages, 
 villas, gardens, were scattered on all sides. 
 When we left our own country, the leaves had 
 fallen, and the grass lost its green ; but now, 
 although the season was more advanced and 
 we had got to a higher latitude, a general ver 
 dure was to be seen. This was doubtless the 
 effect in part of exquisite cultivation, and in 
 part of the natural moisture and mildness of 
 the climate of this part of England. As we 
 looked all round after so immediately emerging 
 
1817- COURT OF LONDON. 9 
 
 from the gloom of the ocean, it seemed like 
 enchantment. Boats came off from the shore 
 to look at our ship ; the persons in them, their 
 dress, countenances, the minutest thing, caught 
 our attention. Our Consul at Cowes came on 
 board, and some officers of the port. Three 
 pilots also came. Between these and our pilot 
 words were soon heard. The cause was re 
 markable. It turned out that our pilot was in 
 fact no pilot. He had been one, but his branch 
 was taken away for habitual drunkenness. 
 Continuing to own his boat, he sailed about 
 this part of the Channel at his pleasure, like 
 the old man of the sea. Hearing our gun, he 
 came on board, and, making the most of our 
 being a foreign ship, cunningly resorted to the 
 exercise of his old craft. The disappointed 
 pilots declared, and our Consul rather confirm 
 ed what they said, that at the moment of their 
 dispute he was in a state of intoxication ; so 
 that we were then first made acquainted with 
 the fact of having been brought through the 
 Needles by a drunken steersman ! It appeared 
 singular that such an occurrence should have 
 happened in the English Channel ; yet so it 
 was. It was hinted that he had so good a tact 
 in his business, and knew that part of the coast 
 so well, that he would generally steer right 
 even when drunk. Such was the lucky acci- 
 
10 RESIDENCE AT THE 1817. 
 
 dent in our case, and, being ignorant, we were 
 not uneasy. His drunkenness taking the form 
 of taciturnity, he escaped detection in the eyes 
 of strangers, though his sulkiness had not been 
 unnoticed. The others stoutly denied his 
 right to any fees ; but as the fact of service 
 performed was in his favour, and no one else 
 could claim on that ground, the Commodore 
 did not think it rested with him to settle 
 points of law. Our Palinurus certainly had 
 the advantage in alertness over the sleepy set 
 who would have robbed him of his reward. 
 
 " Cassio, I forgive thee ; 
 
 But never more be officer of mine." 
 
1817. COURT OF LONDON. 11 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 LANDING AT PORTSMOUTH AND JOURNEY TO LONDON. 
 
 I STAYED on ship-board two days waiting 
 the proper order from London, for which the 
 Consulhad written, tohave my baggage passed. 
 During this interval the surrounding scene 
 lost none of its interest : it was further enliven 
 ed by visitors coming on board the ship. We 
 got the London newspapers wet from the press. 
 It is a remark of Humboldt, that no language 
 can express the emotion that a European 
 naturalist feels when he touches for the first 
 time American land. May not the remark be 
 reversed by saying, that no language can 
 express the emotion which almost every 
 American feels when he first touches the 
 shores of Europe ? This feeling must have a 
 special increase, if it be the case of a citizen of 
 the United States going to England. Her 
 fame is constantly before him. He is accus 
 tomed to hear of her statesmen, her orators, 
 her scholars, her philosophers, her divines, 
 her patriots. In the nursery he learns her 
 
12 RESIDENCE AT THE 1817. 
 
 ballads. Her poets train his imagination. 
 Her language is his, with its whole intel 
 lectual riches, past, and for ever newly flow 
 ing ; a tie, to use Burke s figure, light as 
 air, and unseen ; but stronger than links 
 of iron. In spite of political differences, 
 her glory allures him. In spite of hostile col 
 lision, he clings to her lineage. After Captain 
 Decatur s capture of a British frigate, some one 
 asked him if his forefathers were not French. 
 " No, I beg pardon," he answered, " they were 
 English. 39 In that spirit would his country 
 men generally answer. Walking the deck 
 with two of our lieutenants, while sounding up 
 the Channel, " Think/ said one of them, " that 
 we may be in the track of the Armada ;" and 
 they talked of the heroine queen at Tilbury. 
 These are irrepressible feelings in an American. 
 His native patriotism takes a higher tone from 
 dwelling on the illustrious parent stock. 
 Places and incidents that Englishmen pass by 
 arrest his attention. He sees the past in con 
 junction wuth the present. Three thousand 
 miles, said Franklin, are as three thousand 
 years. Intervention* of space seems to kindle 
 enthusiasm, like intervention of time. Is it not 
 fit that two such nations should be friends ? 
 Let us hope so. It is the hope which every 
 minister from the United States should carry 
 
1817. COURT OF LONDON. 13 
 
 with him to England. It is the hope in which 
 every British minister of State should meet 
 him. If, nevertheless, rivalry is in the nature 
 of things, at least let it be generous ; never 
 paltry, never malignant. 
 
 The order for my baggage not arriving at 
 the time expected, I landed without it. Pre 
 ferring to land at Portsmouth, the boats were 
 prepared, and on the 19th I left the ship. The 
 Commodore and some of his officers accom 
 panied me. A salute was fired, as on embark 
 ing ; the usual ceremony when our ministers 
 are received on board, or landed from, the 
 national ships. Approaching Portsmouth, we 
 passed numerous vessels of war. Some were 
 lying in ordinary, some ready for sea. There 
 were docks, and arsenals, and store-houses, and 
 batteries, and fortifications. The day was fair ; 
 the wind fresh. This gave animation to the 
 harbour scene, swelling the sails of vessels in 
 motion, and streaming out the colours of those 
 at anchor. It was a fine naval panorama. Be 
 sides formidable rows of line of battle ships 
 and frigates, we saw transports crowded with 
 troops. I had before seen ports alive with the 
 bustle of trade ; but never one so frowning and 
 glistening with features and objects of war. 
 
 When we reached the shore, tide-waiters 
 advanced to take possession of my baggage. 
 
14 RESIDENCE AT THE 1817. 
 
 They were informed of my public character. 
 This did not turn them from their purpose. 
 The national ship from which I had debarked 
 was in view ; her colours flying. Still they 
 alleged, that having received no orders to the 
 contrary, they must inspect my baggage. I 
 said to Commodore Stewart that, strictly, they 
 were right, and directed my servant to deliver 
 it. There was but little, the principal part 
 having been left on board to await the permit 
 of exemption. It might have been supposed 
 that these guardians of the revenue would have 
 satisfied their sense of duty by a merely formal 
 examination of what was delivered so readily. 
 Not so ; every thing was ransacked ; the folds 
 of linen opened ; small portmanteaus peered 
 into, as if contraband lurked in every corner. 
 Nothing was overlooked. A few books brought 
 for amusement on the voyage were taken pos 
 session of, and I had to go on without them. 
 I should have been disposed to make complaint 
 of this mock official fidelity and subaltern folly, 
 but from an unwillingness to begin my public 
 career with a complaint. I remembered also to 
 have heard Mr. Adams say, that when the 
 Allied Sovereigns visited England after the 
 battle of Waterloo, their baggage was inspected 
 at Dover, the order for exemption having, by an 
 inadvertence, not been sent. There is no pri- 
 
1817. COURT OF LONDON. 15 
 
 vilege, by positive law, of a foreign minister s 
 effects from Custom-house examination ; but 
 by universal comity, it is forborne. The exer 
 cise of such a claim with the privity of a Go 
 vernment would become an affront. I must 
 add, that the order for the full delivery of all 
 mine, with every immunity, arrived at Cowes 
 soon after I left the ship. In the sequel the 
 unlucky books found their way back to me.* 
 
 I proceeded to the George Inn in Ports 
 mouth, where the Commodore and his officers 
 were to give me the favour of their company 
 at dinner. Arrived there, we had every atten 
 tion from the master, and his servants. Com 
 fortable apartments were promptly prepared, 
 and the ready-laid fires lighted. We found 
 that careful anticipation of our wants, and 
 orderly arrangement of every thing, for which 
 English inns were said to be remarkable. 
 
 Whilst seated round the fire, fatigued by the 
 excitements we had gone through, and waiting 
 the summons to dinner, we heard bells. It was 
 a fine chime to which all listened, my wife 
 especially. Sometimes the sound grew faint, 
 
 * The author refers to this incident with a proper for 
 bearance. Those who, even without the shield of a public 
 character, which here it seems was no shield, have been 
 exposed to the perpetually recurring annoyances of the 
 " douane" while travelling on the Continent, can best appre 
 ciate the extent of the forbearance. 
 
16 RESIDENCE AT THE I 8 I 7. 
 
 and then from a turn in the wind, came back 
 in peals. We knew not the cause. It passed 
 in our thoughts that the same bells might have 
 rung their hurras for the victories of Hawke 
 and Nelson ; " May be," said one of the party, 
 "for Sir Cloudesley Shovel s too." Thus musing, 
 an unexpected piece of intelligence found its 
 way to our circle. We were given to under 
 stand that they were ringing on the occasion 
 of my arrival ; a compliment to my station to 
 which I had not looked. We went in to our 
 first dinner under a continuation of their peals. 
 The cloth removed, we had a glass or two to 
 our country and friends, after which we left the 
 table. When all were re-assembled in the 
 sitting-room, I had an intimation the " Royal 
 Bell-ringers were in waiting in the hall, desirous 
 of seeing me." They did not ask admittance, 
 I was told, but at my pleasure. I directed 
 them to be shown in at once, beginning now to 
 understand the spring to the compliment. Eight 
 men with coats reaching down to their heels, 
 hereupon slowly entered. They ranged 
 themselves one after another, in a solemn 
 line along the wall. Every thing being ad 
 justed, the spokesman at their head broke 
 silence with the following intelligible address. 
 He said that they had come, " with their due 
 and customary respects, to wish me joy on my 
 
1817. COURT OF LONDON. 17 
 
 safe arrival in Old England as Ambassador Ex 
 traordinary from the United States, hoping to 
 receive from me the usual favour, such as they 
 had received from other ambassadors, for which 
 they had their book to show" Their book was 
 a curiosity. It looked like a venerable heir 
 loom of office. There were in it, the names of 
 I know not how many ambassadors, ministers, 
 and other functionaries, arriving from foreign 
 parts, throughout the lapse of I know not 
 how many ages, with the donations annexed to 
 each. Magna Charta itself was not a more im 
 portant document to the liberties of England, 
 than this book to the Royal Bell-ringers of 
 Portsmouth ! I cheerfully gave to the good- 
 humoured fraternity the gratuity which their 
 efforts in their vocation appeared to have drawn 
 from so many others under like circumstances. 
 So, and with other incidents, passed my first 
 day in England. 
 
 On the following morning, Admiral Thorn- 
 borough, the admiral in command at Ports 
 mouth, Sir James Yeo, captain in the British 
 navy, and Sir George Grey, chief commissioner 
 of the dock-yard, called upon me. They of 
 fered their congratulations on my arrival. The 
 Admiral said, that if Commodore Stewart re 
 quired any supplies for his ship, every facility 
 which the yard afforded would be at his com- 
 
18 RESIDENCE AT THE 1817. 
 
 mand. He added, that he would be happy in 
 the opportunity of showing him the hospitali 
 ties of the port. Sir George Grey expressed 
 his regrets that he had not known of my in 
 tention to land at Portsmouth, saying that he 
 would have sent the Admiralty Yacht to the 
 Franklin to bring me, my family, and suite, on 
 shore ; the more so, as the day was blustering, 
 and he feared we had suffered from exposure 
 in the ship s boats, the distance being several 
 miles from Cowes to Portsmouth. I made the 
 acknowledgments which these courtesies de 
 manded. If but the natural offspring of the 
 occasion, they tended to show, that whatever 
 had been the conduct of the subordinates of 
 the Custom-house, those who stood higher 
 were likely to be actuated by different feelings 
 towards an official stranger. I estimated pro 
 perly Sir George Grey s offer, but had a silent 
 feeling that would have made me prefer under 
 any circumstances the landing from the ship s 
 boats, with my country s flag at the stern.* 
 At noon I set out for London. My family 
 
 * Every American, who has been long absent from his 
 country, will estimate this feeling. How much more to be 
 estimated in a representative of the United States, upon 
 first landing on a foreign shore, while equally and properly 
 alive to the kindness here mentioned, and so often to be met 
 with among the English in public station. 
 
1 817. COURT OF LONDON. 19 
 
 Consisted of my wife, four small children, young 
 Mr. Tayloe,* of Washington, attached to my 
 legation, whose name I cannot mention without 
 an allusion to his amiable and gentlemanlike 
 qualities, and three servants. As the post- 
 chaises drew up, the master of the inn returned 
 me his thanks for my custom. The servants 
 also formed a line on each side of the hall, 
 thanking us as we passed along. I am aware 
 that this had all been paid for ; still there is a 
 charm in civility. Money owing, says the mo 
 ralist of Tusculanum, is not paid, and when 
 paid is not owing; but he who pays gratitude 
 possesses it, and he who possesses, pays it. So, 
 civility for the small things of life is a species 
 of gratitude which we like. We were soon out 
 of Portsmouth, and went as far as Godalming 
 that day, a distance of thirty-eight miles, over 
 roads like a floor. 
 
 I was surprised at the few houses along or 
 near the road side. I had been full of the idea 
 of the populousness of England, and although 
 I must needs have supposed that this could 
 not be the case in every spot, it had not oc 
 curred to me that along such a high road I 
 should find the first and so remarkable an 
 exception. We rarely met waggons, carriages, 
 
 * Son of Colonel Tayloe, of Mount Airy, Virginia, one of 
 the best specimens of an American gentleman. 
 
 c2 
 
20 RESIDENCE AT THE 1817. 
 
 or vehicles of any sort, except stage-coaches.. 
 We did not see a single person on horseback. 
 The stage-coaches illustrated what is said of 
 the excellence of that mode of travelling in 
 England. These, as they came swiftly down 
 the hills or were met in full trot upon the 
 level road, the horses fine, the harness bright, 
 inside and outside filled with passengers, not 
 only men but women crowding the top, had a 
 bold and picturesque appearance. The few 
 peasants whom we saw were fully and warmly 
 clad. They wore breeches, a heavy shoe, which, 
 lacing over the ankle, made the foot look 
 clumsy ; a linen frock over the coat, and stout 
 leather gloves, which they kept on while work 
 ing. They were generally robust men, short, 
 and of fair complexions. We passed a waggon 
 of great size. It had no pole, but double 
 shafts, with a horse in each, and a line of four 
 horses before each shaft horse, making ten in all, 
 of enormous size. Their tails were uncut, and 
 the long shaggy hair hung about their pasterns. 
 The waggon was loaded with bales pile upon 
 pile, higher than I had ever seen. Our posti 
 lions called it the Portsmouth heavy waggon. 
 We afterwards saw others of like size and con 
 struction, drawn by like horses, loaded with 
 the produce of agriculture. Whilst the draft- 
 horses were thus enormous and rough, and the 
 
1817- COURT OF LONDON. 21 
 
 stage-coach horses sleek and beautiful, our post- 
 horses were small, gaunt, and unsightly, but 
 with great capacity to go fast. I was looking 
 for a favourable change in their appearance 
 at every relay, without finding it. In good 
 time I discovered that the principle of sub 
 division applied to horses, with as much strict 
 ness as to every thing else in England, there 
 being every variety for work and luxury. 
 
 In regard to population, I had subsequent 
 opportunities of perceiving that there were 
 other parts of England, and of greater extent, 
 where it was much more thin than was gene 
 rally the case from Portsmouth to Godalming. 
 London, and a circuit of twenty miles round, 
 give more than two millions of inhabitants ; 
 Yorkshire gives one million, and Lancashire 
 about one million. Hence these three portions 
 of territory, so small when compared with all 
 England, embrace nearly one third of her 
 population. This concentration in particular 
 districts seems to have left others relatively 
 bare. It is difficult to believe under such 
 facts, whatever theories we meet with, that 
 England is at present overpeopled. Her soil, 
 it would seem, must be open to further melio 
 rations, which, with improved systems of policy 
 and agriculture, and further means of internal 
 communication, great as are already the latter, 
 
22 RESIDENCE AT THE 1817. 
 
 will in time not distant carry her population as 
 far above what it now is, as it now exceeds what 
 it was at the period of her early kings. If we 
 take Holland as an example of successful in 
 dustry and art, where a nation has been com 
 pelled to struggle against the disadvantages of 
 a stinted soil, there are great portions of terri 
 tory in England still like a desert, which after- 
 ages may behold productive. 
 
 At Godalming we lost our mocking-bird. 
 We had brought it as a mark of remembrance 
 from Mr. Crawford, formerly Minister of the 
 United States in France, to Lady Auckland, 
 of kindnesses received from her in England. 
 We nursed it with all care during the voyage. 
 It drooped, however, at sea, and the night 
 being cold at Godalming, it died. This 
 bird is small, and has no beauty of plumage. 
 Its notes are as melodious as the nightingale s, 
 and of more variety; but I doubt if they can 
 ever be drawn out in their full extent and 
 richness, except in its native climates. Fox, 
 as we learn in the introduction to his James II., 
 thought the notes of the nightingale sprightly 
 rather than plaintive, and refers to the " Floure 
 and Leafe" of Chaucer as showing him to 
 have been of that opinion, when he speaks 
 of its merry song. Fox even calls Theocritus 
 to his aid, who makes the yellow nightingale 
 
1817. COURT OF LONDON. 23 
 
 "trill her minstrelsy" in notes responsive to 
 the cheerful blackbird s. Could this British 
 statesman, who in the midst of his graver 
 pursuits was so alive to the beauties of poetry 
 and nature, have heard the American mock 
 ing-bird warbling its wood notes wild, he would 
 at one moment have been cheered by their 
 sprightliness ; the next, soothed by their melan 
 choly. 
 
 On the morning of the 21st we proceeded 
 on our journey. Every thing now began to 
 wear a different aspect. The change was more 
 decided after passing Guildford, the county 
 town of Surrey. We saw the traces of a more 
 abundant population, and advanced state of 
 husbandry. The season did not show the 
 country in its best dress ; but we were enabled 
 to see more of it by the very absence of the foli 
 age. Farms, and common dwellings, with fields 
 beautifully divided, and enclosed ; country 
 seats with lodges and stately gates of iron 
 marking the entrance to them ; lawns, fresh 
 and verdant, though it was the winter solstice ; 
 parks and pleasure-grounds munificently en 
 closed ; ancient trees in avenues, standing in 
 copses, or shooting up among the hedges, with 
 shrubbery tastefully arranged in gardens, and 
 vines and flowers clustering about the houses, 
 were among the objects that rose in succession 
 
24 RESIDENCE AT THE 1817. 
 
 as we passed along. We put frequent ques 
 tions to the postilions, but they could tell us 
 little. The eye was constantly occupied. None 
 of us had ever before been in Europe. As we 
 got nearer to London, indications multiplied of 
 what had been effected by time, to fill up its 
 vast environs. Unlike the approaches to Rome, 
 some of which are said to be at the present day 
 through partial desolation, all within our view 
 grew more and more instinct with life : until, 
 at length, evening coming on, at first village s, 
 then rows of buildings, and people, and twink 
 ling lights, and all kinds of sound, gave token 
 that the metropolis was close by. We entered 
 it by Hyde Park Corner, passing through 
 Piccadilly and Bond Street, beholding the 
 moving crowds which now the town lights re 
 vealed. Another turn brought us into Conduit 
 Street, where rooms had been engaged for our 
 accommodation. In a little while we proceeded 
 to the house of Ross Cuthbert, Esq., in Glouces 
 ter Place, a Canadian gentleman, married to 
 one of my sisters, at whose hospitable table we 
 dined : where also it was my fortune to meet 
 another sister, wife of Major Manners of the 
 British army. 
 
I 8 17. COURT OF LONDON. 26 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 FIRST INTERVIEW WITH LORD CASTLEREAGH. FIRST 
 APPEARANCES OF LONDON. 
 
 December 22, 1817. I addressed a note to 
 Lord Castlereagh, the English Secretary-of- 
 state for Foreign Affairs, informing him of 
 my arrival. I asked when I might have the 
 honour of calling on him. He immediately 
 replied that he would be happy to see me at 
 the Foreign-office, in Downing Street, on the 
 following day at four o clock. 
 
 December 23. Went to the Foreign-office. 
 A sentry was walking before the door. I was 
 admitted by a porter, and shown by a mes 
 senger into an ante-room. Another messenger 
 conducted me up-stairs to Lord Castlereagh s 
 apartment. First salutations being over, I said 
 that I should be happy to learn at what time I 
 might have the honour of delivering to his 
 Royal Highness the Prince Regent my letter 
 of credence from the President, constituting 
 
26 RESIDENCE AT THE 1817. 
 
 me Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Pleni 
 potentiary of the United States, at his Royal 
 Highness s court. I handed his Lordship a 
 copy of the letter. He replied, that the Prince 
 was at Brighton ; that he himself was going 
 there the next day, expecting to be absent a 
 week ; that he did not know precisely when 
 the Prince would leave Brighton, but was 
 sure he would appoint an early day for receiv 
 ing me, after he came to town. I said that 
 his Royal Highness s pleasure on the occasion 
 would be mine. His Lordship begged I would 
 consider myself free to call upon him, imme 
 diately after his own return to town ; remark 
 ing that he would consider my reception by 
 the Prince as having taken place, if there were 
 any subjects I desired to broach beforehand. 
 He added, that his wish would invariably be 
 to give every facility to the transaction of bu 
 siness between us, in the hope of results satis 
 factory to both countries; for all which I thanked 
 him. He also said that perhaps he might wish 
 to converse with me on matters of business, 
 before my formal reception. He made en 
 quiries for Mr. Adams, my immediate prede 
 cessor in the mission,* and President Monroe, 
 
 * John Quincy Adams, afterwards President of the United 
 States. 
 
1817. COURT OF LONDON. 27 
 
 whom he had also known in England. He 
 spoke of the prosperity of the United States, 
 \5fjiich he said he heard of with pleasure : re 
 marking that the prosperity of one commercial 
 nation contributed to that of others. His whole 
 reception of me was very conciliatory. There 
 was a simplicity in his manner, the best, and 
 most attractive characteristic of a first inter 
 view. It lasted about twenty minutes. 
 
 December 24. Go through several parts of 
 the town : Bond Street, Albemarle Street, 
 Berkeley Square, Piccadilly, St. James s Street 
 and Park, Pall Mall, St. James s Square, the 
 Strand, and a few others. Well-dressed per 
 sons, men and women, throng them. In the 
 dresses of both, black predominates. It is 
 nearly universal. This proceeds from the 
 general mourning for the Princess Charlotte, 
 late heiress apparent to the throne, who died 
 in November. The roll of chariots, and car 
 riages of all kinds, from two until past four, 
 was incessant. In all directions they were in 
 motion. It was like a show the horses, the 
 coachmen with triangular hats and tassels, the 
 footmen with cockades and canes it seemed 
 as if nothing could exceed it all. Yet I was 
 told that the sight in Hyde Park, any day in 
 May or June, was more striking ; and that if 
 it happened to be on the same day with the 
 
28 RESIDENCE AT THE 1817. 
 
 Epsom or Ascot races, which keep the roads 
 alive for ten miles with London carriages, a 
 stranger misses none from the Park.* Som^- 
 times with this glitter of private equipages, you 
 saw a stationary line of hacks, the worndown 
 horses eating out of nose-bags ; and sometimes, 
 at a slow, tugging walk, immense waggons, 
 filled with coals, in black sacks, drawn by 
 black horses, large, and shaggy, and fat, as 
 those in the Portsmouth waggon. I am dis 
 appointed in the general exterior of the dwel 
 ling-houses. I had anticipated something better 
 at the west end of the town ; more symmetry ; 
 buildings more by themselves, denoting the 
 residences of the richest people in the richest 
 city in Europe. But I do not yet see these. 
 I see haberdashers shops, poulterers shops, 
 the leaden stalls of fishmongers, and the 
 slaughtering blocks of butchers, in the near 
 vicinity of a nobleman s mansion and a king s 
 
 * This was true it seems more than half a century ago. 
 How true it is now, probably to a ten-fold degree, is well 
 known to all who have been much in London during " the 
 season/ and witnessed the display in Hyde Park on any fine 
 day in May, June, or July, when these beautiful equipages, 
 sometimes six and eight abreast, may be counted literally 
 by the thousand, all at a slow walk, and all under the 
 highest discipline. There is nothing like it any where on 
 the Continent of Europe. The display in the Bois de 
 Boulogne, in the height of the Paris season, striking as that 
 formerly was, could not be compared to it. 
 
1817- COURT OF LONDON. 29 
 
 palace. This may be necessary, or convenient, 
 for the supplies of a capital too large to admit 
 of one or more cencentrated markets ; but the 
 imagination at a distance pictures something 
 different. Perhaps it is to give a hint of Eng 
 lish liberty : if so, I will be the last to find 
 fault. Being the day before Christmas, there 
 was more display in the shops than usual. I 
 did not get back until candle-light. The whole 
 scene began to be illuminated. Altogether, 
 what a scene it was ! the shops in the Strand 
 and elsewhere, where every conceivable article 
 lay before you ; and all made in England, 
 which struck me the more, coming from a 
 country where few things are made, however 
 foreign commerce may send them to us ; then, 
 the open squares, and gardens ; the parks with 
 spacious walks ; the palisades of iron, or en 
 closures of solid wall, wherever enclosures were 
 requisite ; the people ; the countless number 
 of equipages, and fine horses ; the gigantic 
 draft horses ; what an aspect the whole ex 
 hibited ! what industry, what luxury, what 
 infinite particulars, what an aggregate ! The 
 men were taller and straighter than the 
 peasantry I had seen. The lineaments of a 
 race descend like their language. The people I 
 met, constantly reminded me of those of my 
 own country I caught the same expression 
 
30 RESIDENCE AT THE 1817. 
 
 often it glided by in complete identity my ear 
 took in accents to which it was native but I 
 knew no one. It was like coming to another 
 planet, familiar with voices and faces, yet 
 encircled by strangers. 
 
 December 31. The fog was so thick that 
 the shops in Bond Street had lights at noon. 
 I could not see people in the street from my 
 windows. I am tempted to ask, how the Eng 
 lish became great with so little daylight? It 
 seems not to come fully out until nine in the 
 morning, and immediately after four it is gone. 
 King Charles s saying of the English climate 
 is often brought up ; that it interrupts outdoor 
 labour fewer days in the year than any other. 
 Did he remember the fogs of London, and how 
 very short the day is, for labour, during a por 
 tion of the year ? 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 31 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 INTERVIEW WITH LORD CASTLEREAGH. SLAVES CAR 
 RIED AWAY FROM THE UNITED STATES CONTRARY TO 
 
 THE TREATY OF GHENT. EQUALIZATION OF TONNAGE 
 
 DUTIES. WEST INDIA TRADE. MEMBERS OF THE 
 BRITISH AND AMERICAN CABINETS. 
 
 January 3, 1818. Called on Lord Castle- 
 reagh at eleven in the morning, at his private 
 residence, St. James s Square. It was by his 
 request, in a note received yesterday. I was 
 shown into a room near the hall. Family por 
 traits were on one side, books on another, and 
 two white bull-dogs lying before the fire. 
 Contradicting their looks, they proved good- 
 natured. In a few minutes, a servant con 
 ducted me into a room adjoining, where I 
 found Lord Castlereagh. He received me 
 with his former courtesy, renewing his oblig 
 ing inquiries for the health of my family after 
 our winter s voyage, with the expression of a 
 hope that the fogs of London had not alarmed 
 us. 
 
32 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 He informed me that he had been to Brigh 
 ton, and delivered to the Prince Regent the 
 copy of my letter of credence, and that the 
 Prince would receive me as soon as he came to 
 town. In the mean time he had his Royal 
 Highness s commands to say, that I must look 
 upon myself as already, in effect, accredited. 
 
 He proceeded to say, that if there were any 
 subjects of business I desired to mention, he 
 would hear me, He remarked, that it had 
 been his habit to treat of business with the 
 foreign ministers in frank conversations ; a 
 course that saved time, and was in other ways 
 preferable, as a general one, to official notes. 
 He intimated his wash to do the same with me. 
 I replied, that nothing could be more agreeable 
 to me than to be placed upon that footing with 
 him. 
 
 The way being opened for business, I en 
 tered upon it. I said there were two subjects 
 that my Government had charged me to bring 
 to the notice of that of his Majesty without 
 delay. The first had reference to the slaves 
 carried off by English ships from the United 
 States at the close of the late war,* in con 
 travention, as we alleged, of the treaty of 
 Ghent. This subject, already discussed be- 
 
 * The War of 1812. 
 
1818. COURT OF LONDON. 33 
 
 tween the two Governments without prospect 
 of an agreement, was exciting, I remarked, an 
 interest in the United States, to be expected 
 where the property and rights of a large class 
 of its citizens were at stake. It had therefore 
 been made my earliest duty to renew the pro 
 position submitted by my Government, and 
 believed to point to the best if not only mode 
 of satisfactory settlement. The proposition 
 was, that the question be referred to a third 
 power to be chosen as umpire between the 
 parties. This course was recommended by the 
 example of provisions in the treaty of Ghent 
 as to other subjects on which differences of 
 opinion had existed between the two nations ; 
 my Government therefore had the hope that 
 Great Britain would accede to it in this in 
 stance also. 
 
 Lord Castlereagh said, that he had been 
 much on the Continent, whilst the discussions 
 on this subject were going forward, and in 
 quired if we had precise information as to the 
 number of slaves carried away. I replied, not 
 in hand, but that it would be afforded at the 
 proper time. He next asked, if their dispersed 
 situation would not be an impediment to resti 
 tution. This was met by saying, that the 
 owners would look to a pecuniary equivalent. 
 Conversation was continued on the general 
 
34 RESIDENCE AT THE 1 8 I 8 . 
 
 question. In conclusion, he promised to keep 
 it in mind. 
 
 The next subject grew out of the commer 
 cial convention between the two countries, of 
 the 3rd of July 1815. This convention had 
 established a reciprocity of duties and charges 
 of all kinds, upon the vessels of the two nations 
 in each other s ports. Its operation was, by 
 its terms, to begin from the day of its date. 
 The rule of reciprocity ought therefore to have 
 attached, practically, at that time ; instead of 
 which, each nation continued for a while to 
 levy the duties existing before the convention, 
 and Great Britain had not yet abolished them 
 all. My Government desired, I said, to carry 
 back the operation of the convention to the 
 day of its date, and was ready to give this rule 
 effect by retrospective measures, hoping to find 
 a corresponding disposition in his Majesty s 
 Government. 
 
 This subject being new to his Lordship, he 
 gave no opinion upon it, but promised, as in 
 the other case, to seek the necessary lights for 
 forming one. I may state that, in the end, 
 it was adjusted to the satisfaction of both 
 nations. 
 
 The foregoing being the only topics which 
 it fell within my purpose to bring to Lord 
 Castlereagh s notice at this time, he, in turn, 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 35 
 
 drew my attention to a subject on which he 
 desired information. 
 
 It related to the four articles submitted by 
 the British Government to my predecessor for 
 partially opening the West India trade to the 
 vessels of the United States. Lord Castle- 
 reagh wished to know, what probability there 
 was of my Government agreeing to them. 
 
 As this trade enters much into future nego- 
 
 25 
 
 tiations between the two countries, the first 
 mention of the subject calls for a succinct ex 
 planation of the general question. 
 
 It stands thus, according to the statement 
 on the side of the United States. They con- 
 
 */ 
 
 tend for a free intercourse in their vessels, 
 with the British West India Islands, and Bri 
 tish colonies on the continent of North Ame 
 rica, whenever the trade to either is opened at 
 all by Great Britain to their flag ; else, they 
 say, that, by navigation acts of their own, they 
 will be obliged to prohibit the trade altogether. 
 The steady policy of England has been, to 
 secure as large an employment as possible of 
 her own tonnage, in carrying on her commerce 
 with the rest of the world. Her celebrated 
 navigation acts, commenced in Cromwell s 
 time, and adhered to in principle ever since, 
 whatever occasional departures there may have 
 been from them in practice, have all had this 
 
 D 2 
 
30 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 end in view. They provided that the whole 
 trade between England and the continents of 
 Asia, Africa, and America, should be carried 
 on in English ships, manned by English 
 sailors. They also embraced regulations that 
 placed the trade between England and the 
 European nations upon nearly the same foot 
 ing. It was against the previous monopoly 
 of Dutch tonnage that these navigation acts 
 were levelled. What more natural, than that 
 other nations should be unwilling to witness 
 the same monopoly in the tonnage of England, 
 that she objected to in that of the Dutch ; 
 more especially since the foreign and colonial 
 dominions of the former, have swelled to an 
 extent that could scarcely have been conceived 
 in the time of Cromwell. The West India 
 Islands being part of the British Empire, her 
 right to interdict all trade between them and 
 any foreign country, could not be denied ; and 
 was not. As a general rule, she did interdict 
 it. I speak of time anterior to this inter 
 view. But there were junctures when, to 
 advance objects of her own, she would throw 
 the trade open to the United States. When 
 she did this, she confined it to her own ships, 
 manned, as by law they must be, by her own 
 sailors. What the United States claimed was, 
 that, whenever the trade existed at all, it should 
 be carried on in their vessels, manned by their 
 
l8l8. COURT OP LONDON. 37 
 
 sailors, just as much as in British vessels, 
 manned by British sailors. The trade once 
 opened, the United States were parties to it ; 
 and thence urged their right to a voice in its 
 regulation. This was their doctrine. It had 
 been maintained since the days of President 
 Washington. It contemplated no interference 
 with the colonial rights, or monopoly of 
 Britain. It left her at full liberty to prohibit 
 the importation into her colonies of whatever 
 articles she thought fit from the United States; 
 and in like manner to prohibit exportations. 
 It only asked, that the commercial intercourse, 
 of whatever nature it might be, that was once 
 opened for her benefit, or that of both coun 
 tries, should be placed upon a footing of 
 equality as to the vessels and sailors of both. 
 This had lately been done in the trade be 
 tween the United States and the European 
 dominions of Britain, by the convention of 
 July 1815. That convention itself, unless the 
 reciprocity were extended to the West Indies, 
 would give undue advantages to British vessels. 
 The latter could sail under its enactments, from 
 Liverpool to New York, for example, paying, 
 in New York, none other than American 
 duties. Thence, under the English colonial 
 system, they could sail to the English West 
 Indies, and back again to England ; making 
 
38 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 profit from this threefold operation. American 
 vessels, on the other hand, were confined to 
 the direct track between New York and 
 Liverpool. The British ship, as was well ex 
 pressed by a distinguished American senator, 
 could sail on three sides of the triangle ; the 
 American, only on one. 
 
 Britain on her part alleged, that she had the 
 right to regulate her trade between her colo 
 nies and the rest of the world in all respects as 
 she saw fit. This she declared it was proper 
 she should do, not only as regarded the com 
 modities entering into the trade, but the 
 vessels carrying them. She said, that to as 
 sent to the basis of reciprocity in her trade 
 between these Islands and the United States, 
 would give to the latter inherent advantages, 
 owing to their proximity to the Islands. That 
 she maintained the Islands at great expense 
 for their civil governments and military estab 
 lishments, and that on these grounds, as well 
 as that of her general sovereignty over them, 
 not only had the right, but held it necessary 
 to her just interests, to employ, chiefly, if not 
 exclusively, her own vessels and seamen in 
 the trade whenever opened, no matter to what 
 extent, or on what inducements. Such, 
 briefly, was the British doctrine. It will 
 come into view again. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON, 39 
 
 I will subjoin a brief commentary upon the 
 original Navigation Act of England, as passed 
 by the Commonwealth Parliament in 1652. It 
 is by Jenkinson, from his work on treaties. 
 " Critics in commerce reason variously," says 
 he, " on the benefits or disadvantages of this 
 act. Those who argue in its disfavour, reason 
 on the general principle of its being an error 
 in politics to interrupt the free course of com 
 merce by any kind of prohibitions whatsoever ; 
 which is generally true, and would be always 
 so, could one be assured of constant universal 
 amity. But as that is very far from being the 
 case, the exception to the general rule in this 
 case holds good, since nothing is more clear 
 than that those who employ most ships will 
 have most seamen, and consequently be best 
 enabled to command the sea. It was but too 
 evident by this short war, [Cromwell s with 
 Holland,] how near a match for us the Dutch 
 were, and continued so for some years after ; 
 and had not this act been made, would very 
 probably before this time have been too potent 
 for us, as they would have had the gross of the 
 European seamen in their service ; so that the 
 act, notwithstanding some inconveniences it 
 might produce in point of commerce, was a very 
 happy thought in the making, and shows our 
 judgment in its being continued." 
 
 This celebrated act may be said to have 
 
40 RESIDENCE AT THE l8iS. 
 
 changed the maritime condition of the world. 
 It continues to this day to affect the legislation 
 of the United States. 
 
 The four articles of which Lord Castlereagh 
 spoke, reduced to their essence, may be de 
 scribed thus. The first extended to the United 
 States the provisions of certain Free Port acts, 
 as they were called, authorizing a trade in the 
 articles which they enumerated, between cer 
 tain specified ports of the British West Indies, 
 and the colonies of European nations, in ves 
 sels having only one deck. The second made 
 a special provision for the trade between the 
 United States and the Island of Bermuda, in a 
 larger list of articles, and without limiting the 
 size of the vessel. The third allowed cotton 
 and tobacco to be imported from the United 
 States in their own vessels to Turks Island, 
 and salt to be taken away from that island, also 
 in their vessels. The fourth aimed at regulating 
 the intercourse, though under many restrictions, 
 between the United States and the British 
 continental colonies in America, adjoining the 
 dominions of the former. 
 
 To Lord Castlereagh s inquiry as to the pro 
 bability of my Government agreeing to these 
 articles, I replied, "that the President, when I 
 left Washington, had them under considera 
 tion ; but I owed it to candour to say, that 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 41 
 
 there was little likelihood of their being accept 
 ed, so far did they fall short of the reciprocity 
 desired." He afterwards inquired of what na 
 ture w^ould be our counter projet, in the event 
 of their rejection. I said, one that would open 
 this trade fully, and above all give to British 
 vessels no privileges of any kind whatever, 
 direct or incidental, over the vessels of the 
 United States. The latter were ready to grant, 
 in their ports, to British vessels coming from 
 the islands, all the privileges which their own 
 vessels enjoyed ; and could not be content with 
 less to their vessels, in the ports of the is 
 lands. Lord Castlereagh here spoke generally 
 of the colonial system of Britain. He said it 
 was interwoven with her whole commercial 
 code, and code of navigation; and that she owed 
 it to interests which she believed to be important 
 in both connexions, to adhere to the system in 
 the main, however willing to submit to occa 
 sional or partial relaxations. I rejoined, that, 
 with whatever reluctance the United States 
 would adopt the policy of closing the trade al 
 together, in the continued absence of the reci 
 procity for which they contended, they would 
 at last be compelled to adopt it, in necessary 
 justice to their own commercial and navigating 
 interests. I referred him to some acts of Con 
 gress already passed with that intent. He 
 
42 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 wound up by remarking, that Britain, consi 
 dering the nature of her colonial system, had 
 no right to complain of measures of that cha 
 racter on the part of the United States, how 
 ever she might regret them ; nor would she 
 complain. She had maintained it so long, that 
 she would find it difficult on that as well as 
 other accounts, to change it. Such was the 
 general outline of what fell from him. 
 
 Before I came away, he said, that the Christ 
 mas holidays had scattered the members of the 
 cabinet ; they were chiefly in the country ; on 
 the return of some of them to town he would 
 avail himself of an early opportunity of ena 
 bling me to make their acquaintance by meet 
 ing them at dinner at his house. 
 
 I will here give the names of those who, at 
 that time, composed the British Cabinet. They 
 were as follow : The Earl of Liverpool, First 
 Lord of the Treasury, and Prime Minister ; 
 Lord Eldon, Lord Chancellor; the Earl of 
 Harrowby, Lord President of the Council ; the 
 Earl of Westmoreland, Lord Privy Seal ; Lord 
 Sidmouth, Secretary-of-state for the Home 
 department ; Viscount Castlereagh, Secretary- 
 of-state for Foreign Affairs; Earl Bathurst, 
 Secretary-of-state for the Colonial department ; 
 Mr. Vansittart, Chancellor of the Exchequer; 
 Lord Melville, First Lord of the Admiralty ; 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 43 
 
 the Earl of Mulgrave, Master-general of the 
 Ordnance; Mr. Canning, President of the 
 Board of Control for the Affairs of India ; Mr. 
 Wellesley Pole, Master of the Mint; and Mr. 
 C. B. Bathurst, Chancellor of the Duchy of 
 Lancaster. These comprehended the whole 
 list on my arrival in England. No other 
 officers of the Government, however high in 
 station, were then of the cabinet. The Secre- 
 tary-of-war was not, nor the Attorney-general. 
 The absence of the former I could not well 
 explain, although the Colonial Secretary acted 
 in the concerns of war at cabinet councils, see 
 ing that the navy had a stated representative 
 in those councils. Was not the army entitled 
 to equal consideration ? I could even less ex 
 plain the exclusion of the Attorney-general. 
 No acts of government, in a free country, are 
 independent of law. Hence, I should have 
 inferred, that this officer would have been one 
 of the primary advisers of the Crown. I was 
 aware of the high legal functions of the Lord 
 Chancellor; but in the complicated and daily 
 workings of the machine of free government 
 throughout a vast empire, I could still see 
 room for the Attorney-general in the cabinet. 
 
 During my residence of more than seven 
 years at the English court, this administration 
 remained unchanged. There were resignations 
 
44 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 that led to new appointments, and some trans 
 positions. The Duke of Wellington was made 
 Master-general of the Ordnance, on the resig 
 nation of Lord Mulgrave. Lord Sidmouth 
 retired from the Home department, and was 
 succeeded by Mr. Peel. Mr. Wellesley Pole 
 gave up the Mastership of the Mint for a situa 
 tion nearer the person of the King, and was 
 created Lord Maryborough. Mr, C. B. Ba- 
 thurst went out of the Chancellorship of the 
 Duchy of Lancaster, into which Mr. Vansittart 
 passed ; the latter being also called to the 
 peerage, under the title of Lord Bexley. Mr. 
 Robinson, afterwards Lord Goderich,* was ap 
 pointed to Mr. Vansittart s place. Mr. Can 
 ning became Secretary-of-state for Foreign Af 
 fairs, on the death of Lord Castlereagh, which 
 occurred soon after the latter succeeded to the 
 title of Marquis of Londonderry. Mr. C. W. 
 W. Wynn was made President of the Board 
 of Control in place of Mr. Canning. Mr. 
 Wallace, afterwards Lord Wallace, became 
 Master of the Mint ; and Mr. Huskisson, ap 
 pointed President of the Board of Trade, was 
 called to a seat in the cabinet, his office not 
 having before been of that rank. 
 
 * Father of the present Marquis of Ripon, so prominent 
 among the negotiators of the late Treaty of Washington, and 
 so favorably remembered in the United States. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 45 
 
 None of the new appointments were under 
 stood to have grown out of want of concord in 
 the body. The policy, as the premiership of 
 Lord Liverpool, was maintained. He was placed 
 in that post by the Prince Regent, in 1812. 
 The age and infirmities of the reigning monarch 
 had led Parliament two years before to establish 
 a regency in the person of the Prince of Wales. 
 The Regent found, and kept, Mr. Perceval at 
 the head of affairs, until he perished by assassi 
 nation. It was then that Lord Liverpool was 
 called to the helm. History will view his ad 
 ministration as one of renown to England. In 
 the exertions of Europe against Napoleon from 
 1812 to 1815, the part which she acted by her 
 arms and resources is before the world. Both 
 were directed by this ministry, until the achieve 
 ment at Waterloo closed the momentous strug 
 gle. It was there that the Duke of Wellington, 
 after numerous victories in India, in Portugal, 
 in Spain, that had earned for him the reiterated 
 thanks of Parliament and applauses of the na 
 tion, ascended to the pinnacle of military glory. 
 One of the English ministers, on entering the 
 House of Commons, bearing in his hand the 
 Treaties of Peace which the triumphant battles 
 of this great commander had done so much to 
 wards securing, was enthusiastically cheered by 
 all the members. It was a spontaneous burst 
 
4:6 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 of public joy. Party differences were forgotten 
 in deeds so overpowering. The same minister 
 it was Lord Castlereagh afterwards declared 
 in one of his speeches, that the "British empire 
 had twice dictated the Peace of Europe in the 
 capital of France" The fame of such deeds 
 naturally established in the confidence of the 
 British public, the ministry on whose banner 
 they were inscribed. 
 
 Lord Liverpool was not a person to lose 
 confidence so acquired. Splendour of genius 
 was not his characteristic ; but among his 
 talents was that of assembling able men around 
 him. His cabinet was already strong, when, as 
 we have seen, he enriched it with the names of 
 Wellington, and Peel, and Robinson, and Hus- 
 kisson ; lastly with that of Canning, whom he 
 brought into the Foreign office, vacant by the 
 sudden demise of a powerful incumbent. These, 
 though differing in important points among 
 each other, and from the Premier, remained in 
 harmony under him as leader. Each was made 
 efficient in his sphere, and the power of the 
 whole augmented. If Lord Liverpool was not 
 the ablest man of the body, he was essentially 
 its head. With a sound judgment improved 
 by public affairs, he was fitted for the business 
 of a nation. What he did not take in by 
 promptitude, he mastered by perseverance ; 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 47 
 
 not that he was deficient in the former, but 
 that he paused upon his first conclusions. 
 Systematic and grave, educated in maxims 
 which he conscientiously approved, however 
 others may have dissented from them ; cour 
 teous, yet inflexible ; with a personal character 
 eminently pure, and a high reputation for 
 official probity, his influence, as it rested upon 
 practical qualities, went on to increase ; so that, 
 during the whole term of my residence, I never 
 heard that a change of ministry was for one 
 moment seriously in contemplation. Such was 
 the Premier whom I found and left in power. 
 He enjoyed the entire confidence of his so 
 vereign ; and had the confidence of the coun 
 try to an extent that made him sure of his 
 measures in both Houses of Parliament. Such, 
 too, was the ministry with which I was to con 
 duct negotiations, and all other business of my 
 
 mission.* 
 
 It was with a full sense of responsibility that 
 I entered upon its duties. I was sustained by 
 remembering who were at the head of my own 
 Government. In President Monroe, his country 
 recognized a patriot arid sage. Time and long 
 service had consecrated his virtues and talents. 
 
 * It cannot but be interesting to the student of English 
 history, to look back now, at this distance of time, to so long 
 a continuance in power of any English Ministry. 
 
48 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 A chivalrous officer of the American Revolu 
 tion, his youthful blood had been poured out 
 on the plains of Trenton. To the careful 
 study of history and government, he added a 
 participation in the business of legislative halls, 
 and that of diplomacy, at home and abroad. 
 Perfectly acquainted with the foreign policy 
 of the United States as with their domestic 
 concerns; elevated in all his principles; just, 
 magnanimous, self-controlled, few countries 
 ever possessed a chief magistrate better quali 
 fied to administer its affairs with wisdom, or 
 more exempt from passions to mislead. First 
 of his cabinet, as regarded every thing foreign, 
 stood Mr. Secretary Adams ; a statesman of 
 profound and universal knowledge. He had 
 received the best education that Europe and 
 his own country could bestow, and from early 
 life been practised in public affairs. Minister 
 at several of the Courts of Europe, favourable 
 opportunities were before him of studying their 
 policy, and a superior capacity enabled him to 
 improve his opportunities. Thus gifted and 
 trained as a statesman, he was equally the ac 
 complished scholar, fervent patriot, and pure 
 and upright man. 
 
 For the remainder of the Cabinet of the 
 United States, there were Mr. Secretary Craw 
 ford of the Treasury department ; Mr. Secre- 
 
iSlS. COURT OF LONDON. 49 
 
 tary Calhoun of the War department ; Mr. 
 Secretary Thompson, and afterwards Mr. Secre 
 tary Southard, of the Navy department ; with 
 Mr. Attorney-general Wirt ; men whose well- 
 known abilities and experience gave further 
 assurance to those in the foreign service of the 
 country, that her interests would not be over 
 looked. Such were the counsels whence my 
 instructions were to flow. Of this cabinet I 
 may add, that two of its members have since 
 been called by the American People to the 
 high posts of President and Vice President 
 of the United States ; Mr. Secretary Adams 
 to the former, Mr. Secretary Calhoun to the 
 latter. 
 
 E 
 
50 EESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 LONDON EAST OF TEMPLE BAR. LONDON NORTH OF 
 OXFORD STREET. 
 
 January 7, 1818. Went through Temple 
 Bar into the city, in contradistinction to the 
 West-end of London, always called town. Pass 
 ed along Fleet Street, Ludgate Hill, St. Paul s, 
 Cheapside, the Poultry, Cornhill, and other 
 streets in the direction of the Tower. Saw 
 the Bank, Royal Exchange, Lord Mayor s 
 house, Guildhall, India House, the Excise 
 buildings. If I looked with any feeling of 
 wonder on the throngs at the West-end, more 
 cause is there for it here. The shops stand, 
 side by side, for entire miles. The accumu 
 lation of things is amazing. It would seem 
 impossible that there can be purchasers for 
 them all, until you consider what multitudes 
 there are to buy ; then, you are disposed to 
 ask how the buyers can be supplied. In the 
 middle of the streets, coal-waggons and others 
 as large, carts, trucks, vehicles of every sort, 
 loaded in every way, were passing. They were 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 51 
 
 in two close lines, reaching farther than the 
 eye could see, going reverse ways. The horses 
 come so near to the foot-pavement, which is 
 crowded with people, that their hoofs, and the 
 great wheels of the Waggons, are only a few 
 inches from them. In this manner the whole 
 procession is in movement, with its compli 
 cated noise. It confounds the senses to be 
 among it all. You would anticipate constant 
 accidents ; yet they seldom happen. The fear 
 of the law preserves order; moreover, the uni 
 versal sense of danger if order were violated, 
 prevents its violation. I am assured that these 
 streets present the same appearance every day 
 in the year, except Sundays, when solitude 
 reigns. I must notice as before the dress of 
 the people. A large proportion were of the 
 working classes ; yet all were whole in their 
 clothing : you could hardly see exceptions. 
 All looked healthy ; the more to be remarked 
 in parts of the city where they live in per 
 petual crowds by day, and sleep in confined 
 places. The Custom House, and black forest 
 of ships below London Bridge, I saw by a 
 glimpse : that was enough to show that the 
 Thames was choked up with vessels and boats 
 of every description, much after the manner 
 that I beheld Cheapside and Fleet Street to be 
 choked with vehicles that move on land. 
 
 E2 
 
52 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 I went into two shops. One a silversmith s, 
 that of Rundell and Bridge, on Ludgate Hill. 
 Outside it is plain; you might pass by without 
 noticing it; but on entering, the articles of 
 silver were piled in heapfc, even on the floor. 
 Going further into the building the masses in 
 creased. In a room up-stairs, there was part 
 of a dinner-service in course of manufacture. 
 The cost of an entire service varied from thirty 
 to fifty thousand pounds sterling, according to 
 the number of pieces, and workmanship; some 
 times it was much higher. A candelabra for 
 the middle of the table, had just been finished 
 for a customer, at fourteen hundred pounds. 
 A dress sword for another customer was shown ; 
 the cost was four thousand guineas. Other 
 specimens of luxury might be mentioned, in 
 cluding ambassadors snuff-boxes of gold and 
 diamonds. The proprietors were extremely 
 civil ; for I gave trouble only from curiosity. 
 If you purchase but a pin for a few shillings, 
 they return thanks ; if you do not incline to 
 take it away yourself, they readily send it home, 
 no matter how far off. The other shop was 
 Shepherd s, for cut-glass, near Charing Cross. 
 There too I had civility from the proprietor. 
 In place of speaking of his wares, I will relate 
 what he said of the Emperor Alexander. His 
 Imperial Majesty, it seems, when on his visit 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 53 
 
 to England with the Allied Sovereigns, ho 
 noured his shop with a call. Pleased with his 
 articles beyond any of the kind he had seen in 
 Europe, he gave an order for a magnificent 
 list for one of his palaces. The pieces arrived 
 in St. Petersburgh. Immediately, a ukase is 
 sued, prohibiting the future importation of cut 
 glass into Russia. Whether the Emperor most 
 desired to encourage the home manufacture of 
 so beautiful a ware, or enhance the gratifica 
 tion of his Imperial taste by keeping it ex 
 clusive, were questions that I had no right to 
 propound. 
 
 Of all the sights, the one in the middle of 
 the streets, bespoke to me most of causes and 
 effects. Being afterwards in Paris, I saw more 
 of architectural beauty, at first ; more of bril 
 liancy. The Boulevards, the Palais Royal, the 
 Rue de Rivoli, which looked into the Tuileries 
 through golden-tipped palisades, and a few 
 other places, were not to be matched by any 
 thing I saw in London. But their compass 
 was small, and soon exhausted. The space be 
 tween Northumberland House and Bishopsgate 
 disclosed more of transportation, more of the 
 operations that proclaim circulation of capital, 
 more of all that laid at the roots of commerce 
 at home and throughout the world, more of all 
 that went to the prolific sources of riches and 
 
54 KESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 power, than I was able to discover in going 
 about Paris, again and again, in every direction. 
 I am aware how much larger London is than 
 Paris ; but the bustle of business seemed to 
 abound in the English metropolis, in a propor 
 tion tenfold greater than its superior size. 
 
 January 19. I have taken a house. It is 
 situated in Marylebone parish, north of Ox 
 ford JKoad 9 as I hear the latter called by some, 
 probably from its having been an open road 
 within their recollection. Now, it is a street 
 fully built up, and among the longest and 
 widest in London. North of this street lies a 
 part of the town different from any I have 
 hitherto seen. The streets cross each other at 
 right angles. All are of good width : some a 
 hundred feet and more. Many of them, as 
 Harley Street, Wimpole Street, Baker Street, 
 Devonshire Place, Portland Place, and others, 
 present long ranges of houses built with uni 
 formity, which gives them a metropolitan as 
 pect. Through some, you look, as through a 
 vista, into the verdant scenery of the Regent s 
 Park. This commences almost at the point 
 where the buildings, which are lofty, end ; so 
 that you seem to step at once into the country. 
 An air of gloom hangs over these streets, from 
 the dark brick of which most of the houses are 
 built, or which coal smoke gives them ; the 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 55 
 
 case, I may add, more or less, with nearly every 
 part of London. This part is quite secluded, 
 if so I may speak of a town district of more 
 than a hundred thousand inhabitants. You 
 hear little noise beyond the rumble of equi 
 pages, beginning at two o clock, abating in 
 the evening, and returning at midnight. Its 
 quietness, and the number of ready-furnished 
 houses to be hired in it, are probably the in 
 ducements for its being much chosen by the 
 foreign ambassadors for their residence. I 
 found that the Russian, Austrian, and French 
 Ambassadors, had here fixed their domiciles. 
 Every house has its area enclosed with iron 
 palisades. The front door-steps are all of 
 brown stone, with iron railings topped with 
 spikes ; so that the eye traced in all directions 
 lines of this bristling iron-work. If you add, 
 that on the broad pavements of flag, you perhaps 
 saw nobody before noon, unless a straggling 
 servant in morning livery, or a butcher s boy 
 with tray in hand, issuing here and there from 
 an area, you have the main external character 
 istics of this region when first I beheld it. 
 There is another town district, a mile or two 
 east, made up of well-built streets about 
 Russell Square, that had an aspect somewhat 
 similar. It contained, I was told, another 
 one hundred thousand inhabitants, London 
 
50 KESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 dissected showing these various circles. " The 
 entire metropolis," says Gibbon, in his memoirs, 
 <c is an astonishing and perpetual spectacle to 
 the curious eye ; each taste, each sense, may 
 be gratified by the variety of objects which 
 will occur in the long circuit of a morning 
 walk." 
 
 Of the part I have been describing in its 
 external aspect, I must notice the complexion 
 within. A great many houses were to let, and 
 I went through them. From the basement to 
 the attics, everything had an air of comfort. 
 The supply of furniture was full. The stair 
 cases were of white stone. The windows and 
 beds in servants rooms had curtains. No 
 floor was without carpeting. In many in 
 stances libraries made part of the furniture to 
 be rented with the houses a beautiful part. 
 The rents varied from four hundred to a thou 
 sand guineas a year. In some of the squares 
 of the West-end, I learned, that the rent of 
 a furnished house was sixty and sometimes 
 eighty guineas a week. Houses of the first 
 class, with the sumptuous furniture to suit, are 
 not to be hired at all. These, belonging to the 
 nobility or other opulent proprietors, are left 
 in the care of servants when the owners are 
 away. The house I took was in Baker Street, 
 at a rent of four hundred and fifty guineas a- 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 57 
 
 year. The policy of my Government being to 
 give to its public servants small salaries, the 
 latter act but in unison with this policy, in 
 having their establishments small. It is not 
 for those honoured by being selected to serve 
 the Republic abroad, to complain. Nor, with 
 the English, do I believe, that the conside 
 ration attaching to foreign ministers, is depen 
 dent upon the salaries they receive. However 
 large these may be, and sometimes are, in the 
 persons of the representatives of the Imperial 
 and Royal governments of Europe, they are 
 still so much below the wealth of the home 
 circles of London, as to be no distinction, 
 supposing distinction to be sought on that 
 ground. The surpassing incomes in the home 
 circles, and habits of expenditure, with the 
 ample accommodations by which the many 
 who possess them live surrounded, incline 
 their possessors to regard such official strangers 
 as objects, rather than agents, of hospitality. 
 It may be otherwise in capitals on the Con 
 tinent ; but this is the general relationship 
 which the diplomatic corps holds to society in 
 London.* 
 
 * Since the period here spoken of the salaries of the 
 American diplomatic corps at most of the Courts of Europe, 
 and in most foreign countries, have been very much in 
 creased. 
 
58 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 DINNER AT LORD CASTLEREAGH ? S. MEMBERS OF THE 
 
 DIPLOMATIC CORPS. THE FIRST VISIT. DINNER AT 
 
 LORD WESTMORELAND S. 
 
 January 20, 1818. Dined with Mrs. Rush 
 at Lord Castlereagh s. The company con 
 sisted of Lord and Lady Castlereagh, the 
 Earl of Westmoreland, Lord Melville, Lord 
 Mulgrave, Mr. Wellesley Pole, the Duke of 
 Wellington, Lord Burghersh, the Ambassador 
 of France and his Marchioness, the Austrian 
 Ambassador, the Portuguese Ambassador and 
 his Countess, the Minister Plenipotentiary 
 from Bavaria, the Marquis Grimaldi of Sar 
 dinia, and a few others. Of the foregoing, 
 some were strangers, to whom, as to myself, it 
 was a first dinner. 
 
 The invitation was for seven o clock. Our 
 names were announced by servants in the hall, 
 and on the landings. The company had chiefly 
 assembled when we arrived. All were in full 
 black, under the court mourning for the Prin- 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 59 
 
 cess Charlotte. I am wrong one lady was in 
 white satin ! It would have been painfully 
 embarrassing, but that her union of ease and 
 dignity enabled her, after the first suffusion, 
 to turn her misfortune into a grace. Saluta 
 tions were in subdued tones, but cordial, and 
 the hand given. Introductions took place at 
 convenient moments. Before eight, dinner 
 was announced. The dining-room was on the 
 floor with the drawing-rooms. As we entered 
 it through a door-way surrounded by a hang 
 ing curtain that drew aside, the effect was 
 beautiful. A profusion of light fell upon the 
 cloth, and as everything else was of silver, the 
 dishes covered, and wines hidden in ranges of 
 silver coolers, the whole had an aspect of pure 
 white. Lord Castlereagh sat at the head. On 
 his right was the lady of the French Ambas 
 sador, with whom, in going in, he had led the 
 way. Lady Castlereagh was on the side, half 
 way down. On her left, was the Duke of Wel 
 lington, with whom she came in. Between the 
 Duke and the Earl of Westmoreland, was my 
 wife, who came in upon the arm of the latter. 
 Opposite, was the lady of the Portuguese Am 
 bassador. She entered with the French Am 
 bassador, and sat next to him. I was between 
 Lords Melville and Mulgrave. The former 
 gratified me by the manner in which he spoke 
 
60 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l 8. 
 
 of the United States; the latter by what he 
 said of President Monroe, who was Minister in 
 England when he was Secretary for Foreign 
 Affairs. He had ever found him, he said, con 
 ciliatory in business, while steadfast in his 
 duty. Being near to these two noblemen in 
 coming in, I paused to give place, having un 
 derstood that Cabinet Ministers preceded Mi 
 nisters Plenipotentiary on these occasions ; but 
 they declined it, and I went first ; Lord Mel 
 ville remarking, " We are at home." There 
 appeared to be at least a dozen servants ; the 
 superior ones not in livery. 
 
 The general topics related to France, and 
 French society. The foreigners spoke Eng 
 lish ; nevertheless, the conversation was nearly 
 all in French. This was not only the case 
 when the English addressed the foreigners, but 
 in speaking to each other. Before dinner, I 
 had observed in the drawing-room, books lying 
 about. As many as I glanced at were French. 
 I thought of the days of Charles II. when the 
 tastes of the English all ran upon the models 
 of France. Here, at the house of an English 
 minister of state, French literature, the French 
 language, French topics were all about me ; 
 I add, French entrees, French wines. I was 
 unwilling to believe that the parallel to the 
 days of Charles II. held throughout. By my 
 
l8iS. COURT OF LONDON. Gl 
 
 longer residence in England I discovered, that 
 the enlightened classes were more ready to 
 copy from the French what they thought good, 
 than the same classes in France to copy from 
 England. As regards language, the difference 
 is striking. There is scarcely a well-educated 
 person in England who does not speak French, 
 while thousands among the best educated in 
 France are ignorant of English. In the com 
 petition between these great nations, this gives 
 England an advantage. It is no answer that 
 French is the language of intercourse in Eu 
 rope : the Frenchman may repose upon this, 
 for not acquiring the English ; but it cannot 
 take from Englishmen the advantage of being 
 at home in both tongues. Equally have the 
 English the advantage in travel, They go in 
 great numbers to France; while few of the 
 French, comparatively speaking, visit England. 
 Soon after nine, the ladies left table. Before 
 ten, the gentlemen followed. The company 
 broke into knots, or loitered through the draw 
 ing-rooms. In one, was a full-length likeness 
 of the Prince Regent, by Lawrence; in ano 
 ther, the celebrated portrait of Charles I. by 
 Vandyck, presenting three views of his face ; 
 scattered about in all, were articles of vertu 
 or munificence. Of the latter, were vases of 
 massive porcelain and other memorials, sent as 
 
62 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 presents to Lord Castlereagh by the crowned 
 heads of Europe, after the treaties of Paris and 
 Vienna. I had now conversation for which 
 opportunities had not before offered. The 
 Austrian Ambassador told me, that his court 
 had appointed Baron Sturmer, Consul-General 
 to the United States. He said, that it was the 
 wish of his court to cultivate amicable relations 
 with the United States ; the more, as foreign 
 commerce had become an object with Austria. 
 I replied, that my Government would receive 
 the information with satisfaction. This was 
 the first public officer sent by Austria to the 
 United States, and laid the foundation of com 
 mercial relations that had not before subsisted 
 between the two nations. I remarked, that the 
 commerce of Austria appeared to be doing well 
 in the Black Sea. " For a beginning," he re 
 plied. I added a hope, that the flag of the 
 United States might find admittance into that 
 sea ; but it was a point on which he was not 
 prepared to speak. To Lord Castlereagh, I 
 expressed the pleasure I had derived from 
 making the acquaintance of his guests; amongst 
 them, the Duke of Wellington. He spoke of 
 the Duke. He said that his achievements in 
 war were known ; but that his ability in council, 
 his caution, his conciliation in dealing with the 
 complicated arrangements of the Continent 
 
1818. COURT OF LONDON. 63 
 
 that had followed his battles, were not so much 
 known ; these formed not less a part of his 
 character, and had gained for him, perhaps in 
 a higher degree than centered in any other 
 individual in Europe, the confidence of its 
 cabinets and sovereigns. 
 
 Before parting, his Lordship said, that the 
 Prince Regent would probably be in town by 
 the middle of February, and that I might then 
 expect my audience of reception. 
 
 At eleven, I came away. The servants were 
 at their stations, and passed the call for my 
 carriage, as when we were announced ; forms 
 observed towards all. 
 
 Having here, for the first time, met some of 
 the diplomatic corps, I will subjoin the names 
 of those who composed it, whilst I was in 
 England. There was entire cordiality in the 
 intercourse of its members. The period was 
 one of peace. No acts transpired among 
 nations, tending to abridge the harmony of 
 private life among their representatives. 
 
 From France, there was the Marquis D Os- 
 mond, among the best specimens of the old 
 French court. From Russia, Count, afterwards 
 Prince Lieven ; from Austria, Prince Ester- 
 hazy; from Prussia, Baron Humboldt, brother 
 and rival in genius to the celebrated traveller ; 
 from the Netherlands, Baron Fagel, a name 
 
64 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 known in his country s history ; from Spain, 
 the Duke of San Carlos; from Portugal, Count, 
 afterwards Marquis Palmella, maintaining un 
 der all vicissitudes, his reputation for abilities. 
 These were Ambassadors. The chief difference 
 between the ambassador and minister plenipo 
 tentiary, in common speech often confounded, 
 is, that the former is viewed as representing 
 the person of his sovereign. In that capacity, 
 he takes precedence in matters of form. He 
 has also exaltation, personally, in various ways. 
 For every national end, the attributes of the 
 minister plenipotentiary are the same.* 
 
 France changed her ambassador four times. 
 She sent, after the departure of the Marquis 
 D Osmond, the Marquis de la Tour Mauberg, 
 the Duke de Gazes, Viscount Chateaubriand, 
 and Prince Polignac. The first was the cele 
 brated cavalry officer, not more known by his 
 powers as a commander, than his gallant ex 
 ploits in battle, particularly at Leipsic, where 
 
 * This difference could hardly have been within the con 
 templation of the Constitution of the United States, wherein 
 the President is empowered to appoint, by and with the 
 advice and consent of the Senate, "Ambassadors, other 
 public Ministers and Consuls." There may be, and, perhaps, 
 are, reasons of expediency for not sending Ambassadors 
 from the United States, though they did it in the mightiest 
 days of the Eoman Eepublic again and again, but there is 
 nothing in the American Constitution to prevent it. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 65 
 
 he lost a leg. His manly form thus maimed, 
 was doubly interesting by his habitually ami 
 able manners. The second, was the distin 
 guished Minister of the Interior under Louis 
 XVIII. and at that time head of the French 
 administration. The third> was the brilliant 
 author of France/ an author admired by the 
 world ; who brings at all times to his page, the 
 most eloquent and touching reflections, whe 
 ther writing from the deep shades of American 
 forests, from classic Italy, or the sacred banks 
 of the Jordan ; who gives elevation to party 
 strife, investing with instructive and elegant 
 generalities, what in feebler hands degenerates 
 into common details or mere personality. The 
 fourth, was the same who was afterwards Pre 
 sident of the Council and Prime-minister under 
 Charles X. He was fatally conspicuous in the 
 revolution of July 1830; but to his personal 
 accomplishments and worth all bore testimony. 
 The Netherlands changed her s once, sending, 
 in place of Baron Fagel, called to the home 
 service, Mr. Falcke, whose activity in the cause 
 of Holland has been witnessed at dates more 
 recent. Prussia sent Baron Werter in place 
 of Baron Humboldt ; the latter also called to 
 the home service. Spain substituted the Duke 
 de Frias for the Duke of San Carlos ; and 
 afterwards sent Mr. Onis (as minister plenipo- 
 
 F 
 
66 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 tentiary) in the time of the constitutional 
 government of the Cortes. From Portugal, 
 Count Villa Real succeeded the Marquis Pal- 
 mella, Mr. Olivera interposing (as minister ple 
 nipotentiary) for a short interval, in the time of 
 the constitutional government of that country. 
 The Ministers Plenipotentiary were Count 
 Munster, from Hanover ; Mr. Bourke, from 
 Denmark ; Baron Stierneld, from Sweden ; 
 Baron Just, from Saxony ; Mr. Pfeffel, from 
 Bavaria; Count Ludolf, from Naples; Count 
 D Aglie, from Sardinia, The only change in 
 this order was from Denmark, in the person of 
 Count Moltke, for Mr. Bourke. The former 
 was accompanied by his Countess, an accession 
 to the English as to any Court. Italy had her 
 season of constitutional governments, as Spain 
 and Portugal ; but the Austrian troops over 
 turned them too rapidly to afford time to 
 Sardinia or Naples to new-model their diplo 
 macy. Prance marched her army across the 
 Bidassoa more slowly, but not less decisively. 
 She too overturned constitutional government 
 in Spain ; an attack upon national independ 
 ence, which Britain, in her state papers and 
 parliamentary speeches, officially disapproved, 
 without resisting, and which the friends of 
 freedom in both hemispheres joined in de 
 ploring. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 67 
 
 There were two Ministers Resident, an order 
 below Ministers Plenipotentiary: Baron Langs- 
 dorff, from Baden ; Mr. Haller, from Switzer 
 land. There was a Charge-d affaires from Wir- 
 temburg, Mr. Wagner ; who was succeeded by 
 Count Mandelsloh ; and one from Constanti 
 nople, Mr. Ramadani. The latter, on official 
 occasions, appeared in his robes and turban ; a 
 dress not more in contrast with all that sur 
 rounded him, than the institutions of his coun 
 try with those of Christendom. The creden 
 tials of diplomatic agents of this class are to 
 the Secretary of State for Foreign affairs, not 
 the Sovereign. When Mr. Canning became 
 Secretary for Foreign Affairs, in the fourth year 
 of my residence, plenipotentiaries arrived from 
 three of the new states of Spanish America; 
 Mr. Hurtado from Columbia ; General Mi- 
 chelena from Mexico, and Mr. Rividavia from 
 Buenos Ayres. 
 
 The embassies of the great powers were 
 amply provided with secretaries, and had per 
 sons attached to them in other capacities. The 
 entire ao T eo;ate made a large body. Not lar<re 
 
 / o 
 
 when compared with the embassies of other 
 times. Sully brought to England a retinue of 
 two hundred gentlemen. Bassompierre, still 
 earlier, speaks of an "equipage of four hundred 
 persons" returning with him to France. The 
 
 F 2 
 
68 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 former, on reaching London, was saluted with 
 three thousand guns from the Tower. So, D Es- 
 trades, ambassador to the States General from 
 Louis XIV. tells us, that he was met at Rys- 
 wick by the Deputies, with a train of threescore 
 coaches. Compliments so profuse have wisely 
 gone out of date. 
 
 But, in all affairs, forms prevail. Govern 
 ments never dispense with them. Having men 
 tioned the members of the diplomatic corps, I 
 will allude to some of the forms that regu 
 lated their intercourse. Once, the uncertainty 
 of these led to difficulties, even wars. The 
 congress of Vienna, in 1815, extirpated them 
 all, as far as questions of precedence w r ere con 
 cerned ; and these had been found the most 
 serious. It declared that every question of 
 that nature should be settled by the rule of 
 time. He who has been longest at a court or 
 government, is to be first. The relative power 
 of the nation he represents, is to count no 
 thing. This is a rule satisfactory to small 
 states. It is to the praise of large ones, that 
 they established it. It applies to all intercourse 
 where competition can arise, whether in busi 
 ness or ceremony ; and therefore regulates 
 visits. The member of the corps who has last 
 arrived pays the first. The rule does not over 
 leap classes, applying only to those of the same 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 69 
 
 class. Its propriety has commanded universal 
 assent. Under its operation, we shall hear no 
 more of personal rudenesses, no disturbances 
 of the public decorum, no cutting of traces that 
 one ambassador s coach may whip up before 
 another; none of the acts, ill-adapted to such 
 functionaries, of which we catch the glimmer 
 ings, sometimes the details, in Finett, Digges, 
 Melville, D Estrades, Wiquefort ; even in the 
 later pages of Segur, much as his own good 
 sense discountenanced them. The treaty of 
 Westphalia tried to put a stop to these con 
 tentions by fixing the relative rank of the prin 
 cipal powers of Europe ; but in vain. That of 
 Utrecht had the same aim, in introducing the 
 title of Minister Plenipotentiary, the conten 
 tions before being confined to ambassadors. 
 In vain also. It was reserved for the rule of 
 Vienna, aided by modern manners, at last to 
 get rid of what had so often proved a hin 
 drance to public business and injurious to in 
 dividual concord. Although the United States 
 had no agency in making that rule, their mi 
 nister shared its benefits.* 
 
 But, as far as visits are concerned, it has 
 turned out, that the certainty of the rule leads 
 
 * The aufclior remained so long at the British Court, nearly 
 eight years, as to become gradually invested with precedence, 
 under this rule, over all the other Ministers Plenipotentiary. 
 
70 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 to its being frequently disregarded. In obedi 
 ence to it I was prepared to pay the first visit to 
 *>11 the members of the corps who had arrived 
 before me. But, from several, I had the favour 
 of calls by anticipation, as was common in 
 other cases. Fortunate change ! when the 
 strife of courtesy has supplanted hostile strife. 
 
 The right of precedence in treaties is of a 
 different nature. These solemn instruments 
 are executed in double original. This gives 
 to each nation the opportunity of being named 
 first, and signing first, in the treaty to be de 
 posited in its own archives. Such is the rule 
 as between the United States and foreign pow 
 ers. Formerly it was not so. In the time of 
 President Madison, an occasion arising where 
 the representative of a monarchy questioned 
 the principle of coequality in the United States 
 on the asserted ground of Republics being of 
 secondary dignity, the rule was established and 
 has since been adhered to. 
 
 January 31. Dined at the Earl of AJFest- 
 moreland s, at his residence, Grosvenor Square. 
 Forms were as at Lord Castlereagh s. The 
 party was small Sir John and Lady Ann 
 Becket, Mr. and Mrs. Patterson of Baltimore, 
 the Danish Minister, and some of the members 
 of Lord Westmoreland s family. The cheer 
 ful manner of his lordship promoted conversa- 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 71 
 
 tion. Much of it related to England. Duel 
 ling was spoken of. Lord Westmoreland said, 
 that among private gentlemen in England it 
 was very rare ; that if a person from this class 
 had been engaged in a duel, and applied for 
 admission to a club, there would be .a scrutiny; 
 and unless it appeared that he was not quar 
 relsome, he would be in danger of rejection ; 
 but that if he had been engaged in two, he 
 believed he would be black-balled. His lord 
 ship did not condemn duelling. He only 
 meant that the occasions of it in private life 
 were so few in classes where proper restraints 
 existed, that he whose misfortune it was to 
 have had two duels on his hands, would find 
 gentlemen shy of him as an associate in such 
 institutions. It was upon this he grounded 
 his opinion. The urbanity of our courteous 
 host made the evening very pleasant. It was 
 not until a late hour that we got home. 
 
RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 CHAPTEH VII. 
 
 INTERVIEW WITH LORD CASTLEREAGII. SLAVE QUESTION 
 UNDER THE TREATY OF GHENT. NORTH-WESTERN 
 BOUNDARY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND BRITISH 
 POSSESSIONS. POST AT THE MOUTH OF COLUMBIA 
 RIVER. 
 
 February 1, 1818. Had an interview with 
 Lord Castlereag-h. 
 
 i^ 
 
 He began about the slaves ; expressing the 
 readiness he would ever feel in endeavouring 
 to bring to a satisfactory close all points in 
 dispute between the two countries. In this 
 spirit he had laid before the Cabinet my pro 
 posal of the 3rd of January upon this subject; 
 and had to inform me that it would be acceded 
 to* But, as the treaty of Ghent had led to 
 the proposal, the assent would be under the 
 rules which that treaty had fixed in relation 
 to other points. That to this end, he was 
 prepared to give effect, substantially, to my 
 proposal, by saying, that his Government was 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 73 
 
 willing that the question about the slaves 
 should also go before commissioners ; and in 
 the event of their not concurring, that resort 
 should be had to an umpire, as prescribed by 
 the fourth and subsequent articles of the treaty 
 in reference to territorial claims. That an 
 article between the two Governments, supple 
 mental to the treaty, might be requisite to give 
 the proper authority for this proceeding. That 
 as regarded the commissioners, his Government 
 had no objections to devolving the service upon 
 some of those already appointed under the 
 treaty, unless mine should wish new appoint 
 ments ; that, in short, the whole machinery of 
 that instrument should be adopted, in settling 
 the conflict of opinion about the slaves. 
 
 Finishing upon this point, he went to ano 
 ther. The present, he said, appeared to be a 
 favourable time for putting in train for settle 
 ment, claims to territory, other than those com 
 prehended in the treaty of Ghent. That it 
 belonged to forecast, to aim at extinguishing, 
 in a friendly way, seeds of future controversy, 
 while the subjects were of no great present 
 importance, but liable to become so in future. 
 Such considerations led him to hope that the 
 Government of the United States would not 
 be disinclined to measures having in view the 
 final settlement of that part of the North- 
 
74 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 western boundary line contemplated in the old 
 treaty between the two countries of 1783; he 
 meant, the line from the most North-western 
 point of the lake of the woods to the Missis 
 sippi. Accordingly, he had to say, that the adop 
 tion of measures for accomplishing this object 
 would be highly acceptable to the British Go 
 vernment. The treaty of Ghent, he thought, 
 would form a guide equally convenient for ful 
 filling the intentions of the parties in this in 
 stance also. Should his proposal be acquiesced 
 in, another supplemental article might be add 
 ed to the treaty, to give it effect, and new com 
 missioners be appointed; or, as before suggested, 
 those already appointed, perform the duty. 
 
 Lastly, he came to the affair of the post at 
 Columbia river. A despatch from Mr. Bagot, 
 he said, had informed the British Government 
 that the United States were about to take pos 
 session of that post, by sending out an armed 
 ship ; and he had to express the regret felt at 
 the measure. It was to have been wished, he 
 remarked, that, before the ship sailed, notice 
 had been given to his Majesty s Minister in 
 Washington of her destination, Great Britain 
 having a claim of dominion over that territory. 
 He proceeded to inform me, that Mr. Bagot 
 had sent in a remonstrance upon the occasion ; 
 to which, at the last dates, no answer had been 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 75 
 
 received. He closed by saying, that it was the 
 desire of his Government to submit a proposal 
 that the question of title to this territory 
 should, as in the two other cases, go before 
 commissioners, and be governed in all other 
 respects by the precedent of the treaty of 
 Ghent ; annexing to it a third supplemental 
 article as the groundwork of contingent arbi 
 tration before some friendly sovereign. 
 
 To his proposals and remarks I made such 
 replies as they seemed to call for ; arid first 
 as to the post on the Columbia. Nothing, I 
 told him, could exceed the concern I felt at 
 our act being viewed in the light presented by 
 him, and nothing could have been less expect 
 ed. The grounds upon which England claimed 
 dominion, were unknown to me ; but granting 
 that she had a claim, was the lawfulness of the 
 step taken by the United States to be ques 
 tioned? That the post was in their possession 
 before the war of 1812 was admitted ; and 
 also, that it had fallen by capture into the 
 hands of Britain during the war. How then 
 under a treaty of peace, the first article of 
 which stipulated the mutual restitution of all 
 places reduced by the arms of either party, 
 was our right to restitution to be impeached? 
 I mentioned the cases of Nootka Sound and 
 Falkland Islands. In these, Great Britain, 
 
76 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 under circumstances far less strong, had as 
 serted the principle of which we claimed the 
 benefit. 
 
 Lord Castlereagh admitted our right to resti 
 tution, and our claim to be in possession, when 
 negotiations for the title were going on. But 
 the manner of obtaining it, he said, was to be 
 lamented, from its possible tendency to inter 
 rupt the harmony subsisting between the two 
 countries. He sincerely hoped it would not 
 have that effect, and added, that to forestall all 
 risk as far as he could, he had addressed a note 
 to the Lords of the Admiralty, and one to 
 Lord Bathurst as charged with colonial affairs, 
 desiring that prompt orders might be issued 
 for preventing all hostile collision, either at 
 the post, or with British ships in its vicinity. 
 He took from his files, copies of these notes, 
 and read them to me. 
 
 I said, that although it was scarcely to be 
 expected that I could yet have received official 
 information respecting the measure, and al 
 though, in fact, none had reached me, I was 
 entirely confident that it had originated in no 
 unfriendly feeling. Nor was it believed that 
 any thing essentially due to Great Britain had 
 been omitted. It had so happened, I remark 
 ed, that I had some knowledge myself of the 
 intentions of my Government at the time the 
 
l8l8. "COURT OF LONDON. 77 
 
 measure was projected, which enabled me with 
 the less scruple to speak as I did. I left 
 Washington, it was true, before the departure 
 of the ship ; but felt sure that there could 
 have been no alteration in the views that had 
 suggested her voyage to those seas; and, above 
 all, I knew that the employment of force as a 
 means of reinstating ourselves under the treaty, 
 had in no wise been in contemplation. 
 
 These assurances appeared to have the pro 
 per influence in placing the transaction in its 
 true lights. The post came peaceably into our 
 possession, and the case was not subsequently 
 revived as one of complaint. 
 
 As regarded the North-western boundary 
 line, I remarked, that this subject had no place 
 in my instructions. An article to the effect of 
 his proposal, had once been inserted in a con 
 vention between the two Governments, but 
 expunged by that of the United States. The 
 ground of objection was, that the only line 
 that could be run in the direction proposed 
 under the treaty of 1783, would not, as had 
 been ascertained since the date of the treaty, 
 strike the Mississippi; and to run it lower down 
 would bring it through territory within the 
 limits of the United States. Great Britain 
 was free to renew the proposal ; all that I 
 could do, would be to transmit it to my Go- 
 
78 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 vernment, and it would be for his lordship to 
 judge how far the past rejection, with its un 
 changed ground, was discouraging to another 
 attempt. 
 
 Finally, as to the slaves. I said, that I had 
 no authority to assent to the proposal as mo 
 dified from that of my predecessor, which I 
 had done nothing more than renew. That 
 much anxiety continued to exist on this sub 
 ject in the United States, as might be inferred 
 from the late resolution in the Senate, sub 
 mitted by Mr. Troup, from Georgia ; and that 
 the fact of each Government having adhered to 
 its own construction of the treaty on this point, 
 afforded little presage of a concurrence in opi 
 nion by commissioners chosen by each. Still, 
 I had every reason to think that the President 
 would view as friendly, the principle of the 
 proposal ; for whilst it did hold out a prelimi 
 nary step of no very probable efficacy, it came 
 at last to our own overture. I would gladly 
 therefore transmit it for The President s con 
 sideration, assuming, as I did, that this subject 
 of compensation for slaves would be acted upon 
 by itself, in the event of obstacles being found 
 to lie in the way of the two others. 
 
 To this his lordship did not yield his assent. 
 He hoped that I presupposed an imaginary 
 case, abstaining in this way from a positive 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 79 
 
 refusal at first. He afterwards, in effect, em 
 bodied one in the remark, that as each Go 
 vernment had objects of its own in view, the 
 three propositions ought, in his opinion, to be 
 classed together, awaiting a common assent 
 or rejection. I combated this doctrine. The 
 carrying off of the slaves involved a case of 
 palpable injury, and, as we also contended, of 
 wrong; one that brought loss to all, and ruin 
 to some of the proprietors. The fundamental 
 laws of The Union guaranteed to our Southern 
 planters as sure a property in their slaves, as 
 in their houses and lands ; and as well might 
 the two last be taken from them as the first. 
 The two other propositions rested upon an 
 cient, undefined claims ; not pressing in their 
 nature, or any of their consequences. The 
 case of the slaves, moreover, sprang out of the 
 treaty of Ghent, and was peculiarly entitled to 
 the benefit of its equitable example in settling 
 controversies. The other two subjects were 
 wholly extrinsic. Whatever rights or expecta 
 tions might even justly be coupled with them 
 by Great Britain, it seemed proper that they 
 should stand upon independent ground. Such, 
 it seemed to me, were the distinctions involved. 
 But I perceived no change in what were at 
 least his lordship s first impressions, that the 
 three questions ought to be dealt with in the 
 
80 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 same way. The interview was extended to 
 much length, and closed by his saying, that as 
 all the proposals proceeded from his Govern 
 ment, they would be forwarded to Mr. Bagot 
 for the information of mine, in addition to the 
 communication of them made to me.* 
 
 * Now that Slavery lias ceased to exist in tlie United 
 States, it may seem strange to another generation, that the 
 very first subject which the American Minister was instructed 
 to bring to the notice of the British Government, on his 
 arrival in England in 1818, was a claim by American citizens 
 for compensation for slaves ! (See ante p. 32.) Yet such 
 are the changes which time produces. Proud as we are of 
 our English ancestry, our kindred English friends will do 
 us the justice to remember that the system, now at an end, 
 did not originate with us! It originated in 1620, in the early 
 colonial period of American history, more than a century and 
 and a half before the Declaration of American Independence, 
 during which time slaves in large numbers were imported 
 from Africa into the American Colonies. Nor was the im 
 portation confined to the Southern Colonies. Very soon after 
 the establishment of the United States as an Independent 
 Nation, the Convention which formed the Constitution of the 
 United States proceeded to the consideration of the slave 
 trade, against which further traffic, there had been loud 
 remonstrances in Virginia by the people in their primary 
 assemblies, whilst still colonists, with Washington at their 
 head. Finally the year 1808 was adopted by the Convention 
 as the period for the cessation of the trade. 
 
 See an interesting review of this portion of American History in an 
 address before the Society of the Alumni of the University of Vir 
 ginia, July 1, 1869, by William C. Bives, Jun., an address marked by 
 large information and liberal sentiments ; the more striking, from the 
 gratifying prospect exhibited of the returning prosperity of Virginia. 
 
iSlS. COURT OF LONDON. 81 
 
 GHAPTEE VIIL 
 
 RECEPTION BY THE PRINCE REGENT. THE LEVEE. 
 THE ROYAL FAMILY. 
 
 February 9, 1818. Received a note from 
 Lord Castlereagh informing me that the Prince 
 Regent had appointed Thursday the 12th, for 
 my reception, at Carlton House, at a quarter 
 past two, previous to the levee. 
 
 February 12. Had my reception. A com 
 petent knowledge of the world may guide any 
 one in the common walks of life ; more es 
 pecially if he carry with him the cardinal 
 maxim of good-breeding in all countries a 
 wish to please and unwillingness to offend. 
 But if, even in private society, there are rules 
 not to be known but by experience, and if 
 these differ in different places, I could not feel 
 insensible to the approach of an occasion so 
 new. My first desire was, not to fail in the 
 public duties of my mission. The next, to 
 pass properly through the scenes of official 
 and personal ceremony to which it exposed 
 
 G 
 
82 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 me. At the head of them, was my introduc 
 tion to the Sovereign. I desired to do all 
 that full respect required, but not more : yet 
 the external observances what were they ? 
 They defy exact definition beforehand, and I 
 had never seen them. From the restraints, 
 too, that prevail in these spheres, lapses, if 
 you fall into them, are little apt to be told to 
 you ; which increases your solicitude to avoid 
 them. I had, in some of my intercourse, 
 caught the impression, that simplicity was con 
 sidered best adapted to such an introduction ; 
 also, that the Prince Regent was not thought 
 to be fond of set speeches. This was all that 
 I could collect. But simplicity, all know, is 
 a relative idea. Often it is attainable, in the 
 right sense, only through the highest art. 
 
 I arrived before the hour appointed. My 
 carriage having the entree, or right to the pri 
 vate entrance, I went through St. James s 
 Park and got to Carlton House by the paved 
 way, through the gardens. Even this ap 
 proach was already filled. I was set down 
 at a side-door, where stood servants in the 
 Prince s livery. Gaining the hall, persons 
 were seen in different costumes. Among them 
 yeomen of the guard, with halberds. They 
 had hats of velvet, with wreaths round them, 
 and rosettes in their shoes. In the court- 
 
l8l8. COUET OF LONDON. 83 
 
 j-ard, which opened through the columns of 
 the portico, bands of music were heard. Car 
 riages, in a stream, were approaching by this 
 access, through the double gates that separate 
 the royal residence from the street. The 
 company arriving this way, entered through 
 the portico, and turned off to the right. I 
 went to the left, through a vestibule, leading 
 to other rooms, into which none went but 
 those having the entree. They consisted of 
 cabinet ministers, the diplomatic corps, per 
 sons in chief employment about the court, and 
 a few others, the privilege being in high es 
 teem. Knights of the Garter appeared to have 
 it, for I observed their insignium round the 
 knee of several. There was the Lord Steward 
 with his badge of office ; the Lord Chamber 
 lain with his ; also, gold stick, and silver stick. 
 The foreign ambassadors and ministers wore 
 their national costumes ; the cabinet ministers, 
 such as we see in old portraits, with bag and 
 sword. The Lord Chancellor, and other func 
 tionaries of the Lav/, had black silk gowns, 
 with full wigs. The bishops and dignitaries 
 of the Church, had aprons of black silk. The 
 walls were covered with paintings. If these 
 were historical, so were the rooms. As I 
 looked through them, I thought of the scenes 
 in Doddington ; of the Pelhams, the Boling- 
 
 G 2 
 
84 RESIDENCE AT THE 1818. 
 
 brokes, the Hillsboroughs. The Prince had 
 not left his apartment. Half-an-hour went by, 
 when Sir Robert Chester, Master of Ceremo 
 nies, said to me, that in a few minutes he 
 would conduct me to the Prince. The Spanish 
 Ambassador had gone in, and I was next in 
 turn. When he came out, the Master of the 
 Ceremonies advanced with me to the door. 
 
 Opening it, he left me. I entered alone. 
 The Prince was standing ; Lord Castlereagh 
 by him. No one else was in the room. Hold 
 ing in my hand the letter of credence, I ap 
 proached, as to a private gentleman, and said, 
 that it was " from the President of the United 
 " States, appointing me their Envoy Extraor- 
 " dinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the 
 " Court of his Royal Highness ; and that I 
 " had been directed by the President to say, 
 " that I could in no way better serve the Uni- 
 "ted States, or gain his approbation, than by 
 " using all my endeavours to strengthen and 
 "prolong the good understanding that happily 
 " subsisted between the two Countries." The 
 Prince took the letter, and handed it to Lord 
 Castlereagh. He then said, that he would 
 "ever be ready on his part to act upon the 
 " sentiments I had expressed ; that I might 
 " assure the President of this, for that he sin- 
 " cerely desired to kj?ep up and improve the 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 85 
 
 " friendly relations subsisting between the two 
 16 nations, which he regarded as so much to the 
 "advantage of both." I replied, that I would 
 not fail to do so. 
 
 The purpose of the interview seeming to be 
 accomplished, I had supposed it would here 
 end, and was about to withdraw ; but the 
 Prince prolonged it. He congratulated me on 
 my arrival. He inquired for the health of Mr. 
 Adams, and spoke of others who had preceded 
 me in the mission, going back as far as the first 
 Mr. Pinckney. Of him, and Mr. King, his 
 inquiries were minute. He made others, which 
 it gave me still more pleasure to answer he 
 asked if I knew the ladies from my country, 
 then in England, who had made such favour 
 able impressions, naming Mrs. Patterson, and 
 the Miss Catons, I replied that I did, and 
 responded to His Royal Highness s gratifying 
 notice of these my fair countrywomen. A few 
 more remarks on the climate of the two 
 countries closed the audience.* 
 
 * These three American ladies afterwards became tho 
 Duchess of Leeds, the Marchioness of Wellesley, and Lady 
 Stafford. They were all very attractive, and distinguished 
 for native dignified ease and grace. One was remarkably 
 handsome, and of the most winning manners. They were 
 the grand- daughters of the venerable Charles Carroll, of 
 Carrollton, his country scat in Maryland, who was one of 
 the Signers of the Declaration of American Independence^ 
 
86 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 It would be out of place in me to portray 
 the exterior qualities of this monarch. The 
 
 and who died in 1832,, at the age of past ninety, having long 
 been known in the United States by the distinguishing title 
 of "THE LAST SURVIVING SIGNER." 
 
 They grew up in Annapolis, the capital of Maryland, of 
 which place the author s wife (Miss Catherine Eliza Murray, 
 a descendant of the Elibank Family, of Scotland) who was 
 one of their early companions, was also a native. It may, 
 perhaps, be added that nowhere in the United States did 
 there prevail, at that time, a higher tone of sentiments and 
 manners, and nowhere was there a more attractive circle, 
 than at the seat of government of Maryland. 
 
 Perhaps an anecdote may here be mentioned which the 
 writer had from an authentic source. 
 
 At a small dinner many years afterwards at the King s 
 (then William IV.), a gentleman of the company was dis 
 posed to a little pleasantry with one of those accomplished 
 sisters, who was at table, on account of her nationality, and 
 
 at length said, Now do pray tell us, Lady , do you 
 
 <f come from that part of America where they guess, or where 
 " they calculate ?" " She comes from neither/ said the 
 King, slowly, immediately interrupting him, "she comes 
 (c from that part of America where they fascinate." 
 
 The graceful allusion by the Prince Kegent, to those 
 ladies, to a newly arrived American Minister, here recorded, 
 on the occasion of his first introduction to him, ladies so 
 descended, recalls the well known remark of George III. to 
 the elder Adams, on his first introduction to that monarch in a 
 similar capacity soon after the close of the American Eevo- 
 lutionary War, viz., that as he had been the last man in 
 his dominions to recognize the Independence of the United 
 States, so he was happy to be the first to welcome their 
 newly arrived Envoy. 
 
 The Adams Family has been hitherto, by far the most 
 distinguished, politically, of any in America, John, the 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 87 
 
 commanding union of them has often been a 
 theme in his own dominions. He was then in 
 his 56th year; but in fine health, and main 
 taining the erect, ambitious, carriage of early 
 life. TheEnvoy extraordinary and minister 
 plenipotentiary from Sicily and Naples, had 
 his reception immediately afterwards. 
 
 When the Prince came from his apartment, 
 called in the language of palaces his closet, into 
 the entree rooms, I presented to him Mr. John 
 Adams Smith, as public secretary of the lega 
 tion, and Mr. Ogle Tayloe, as attached to it 
 personally. Other special presentations took 
 place ; amongst them, that of the Prince of 
 Hesse Homberg, by Lord Stewart, both dis 
 tinguished in the then recent battles of the 
 Continent. The Prince Regent moved about 
 these rooms, until he had addressed every 
 body; all waiting his salutation. Doors hitherto 
 shut, now opened, when a new scene appeared. 
 
 <( Elder Adams/ and his son, John Quincy, the "Younger 
 Adams/ each known as such in American history, each 
 occupied successively the post of President of the United 
 States, the former having been also a Signer of the Declara 
 tion of Independence, and one of its most fearless and able 
 advocates. Each was also Minister from the United States 
 to England, as was, until recently, Charles Francis Adams, 
 son of John Quincy, one of the best fitted men, in every 
 respect, by whom the United States could have been repre 
 sented during the trying epoch, from 1861 to 1868, of his 
 residence at the British Court. 
 
88 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 You beheld in other rooms the company that 
 had turned off to the right. The opening of 
 the doors was the signal for the commence 
 ment of the general levee. I remained with 
 others to see it. All passed, one by one, 
 before the Prince, each receiving a momentary 
 salutation. To a few he addressed conversa 
 tion, but briefly ; as it stopped the line. All 
 were in rich costume. Men of genius and 
 science were there. The nobility were nume 
 rous ; so were the military. There were from 
 forty to fifty generals ; perhaps as many admi 
 rals, with throngs of officers of rank inferior. 
 I remarked upon the number of wounded. 
 Who is that, I asked, pallid but with a coun 
 tenance so animated ? " That s General 
 Walker" I was told, " he was pierced with 
 bayonets, leading on the assault at Badajos" 
 And he, close by, tall but limping? " Colonel 
 Ponsonby ; he was left for dead at Waterloo; 
 the cavalry it was thought had trampled upon 
 him." Then came one of like port, but deprived 
 of a leg, slowly moving ; and the whisper went, 
 " That s Lord Anglesea" A fourth had been 
 wounded at Seringapatam; a fifth at Talavera; 
 some had suffered in Egypt; some in America. 
 There were those who had received scars on 
 the deck with Nelson ; others who had carried 
 them from the days of Howe. One, yes one, 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 89 
 
 had fought at Saratoga.* It was so that my 
 inquiries were answered. Each " did his 
 duty ;" this was the favourite praise bestowed. 
 The great number of wounded was accounted 
 for by recollecting, that little more than two 
 years had elapsed since the armies and fleets 
 of Britain had been liberated from wars of 
 extraordinary fierceness and duration in all 
 parts of the globe. For, so it is, other nations 
 chiefly fight on or near their own territory ; 
 the English everywhere. 
 
 Taking the whole line, perhaps a thousand 
 must have passed. Its current flowed through 
 the entree rooms, got onward to the vestibule, 
 and was finally dispersed in the great hall. 
 Those who composed it, found themselves 
 there, by a course reverse to that of their 
 entrance ; and went away through the portico, 
 as their carriages came up. 
 . The whole ceremony lasted until past five. 
 When it was over, I called upon each member 
 of the Royal Family; a mark of respect omitted 
 by no foreign minister after being received by 
 the Sovereign. The call is made by inscribing 
 your name in books kept at their several re 
 sidences. The royal family were, of the male 
 
 * In the American Revolutionary War. Now a place of 
 great resort in the summer, by people from all parts of 
 America, on account of its celebrated springs. 
 
90 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 branches the Dukes of York, Clarence,* 
 Kent,-f Cumberland, Sussex, Cambridge, and 
 Gloucester. Of the female branches the 
 Duchess of Gloucester, the Princesses Augusta, 
 Elizabeth, Sophia, and Sophia Matilda. Prince 
 Leopold,^ husband of the late Princess Char 
 lotte, shared the same attentions ; as did the 
 Duchesses of York and Cumberland. How 
 far it may be necessary for a distant Republic, 
 whose genius is entirely different from the an 
 cient governments of Europe, to exchange 
 with them diplomatic representatives of the 
 higher class, may be a question ; but it can be 
 none whether, when once sent, they shall offer 
 all the appropriate marks of respect which the 
 usages of the world accord to sovereigns and 
 those in immediate connexion with them. To 
 withhold or stint them, would be in conflict 
 with the purposes of the diplomatic office. I 
 was in this feeling that, during my residence, 
 I thought it proper never to be absent from a 
 levee, or pretermit in any wise attentions to 
 the royal family paid by other foreign minis 
 ters ; and I will take occasion to add, that I 
 did not find an insensibility to the just motives 
 of such a course. 
 
 * Afterwards William IV. 
 
 t Father of Queen Victoria. 
 
 J Afterwards Leopold I. of Belgium. 
 
iSlS. COURT OF LONDON. 91 
 
 It Avill be in unison with my narrative to in 
 sert a copy of the letter of credence I deliver 
 ed to the Prince Regent. It followed the 
 established formulary, when the United States 
 send Ministers to foreign courts. An eminent 
 
 ^2 
 
 individual in England asked me what the form 
 was from republics to monarchies. The answer 
 is easy. The head of a republic, however ap 
 pointed or chosen, represents for the time 
 being, its collective power and dignity. To 
 foreign nations, he is the visible image of its 
 sovereignty, and speaks to monarchs clothed 
 with its attributes. The letter will afford at 
 the same time a specimen of the peculiar style 
 adopted by nations when speaking to each 
 other through the personality centring in their 
 executive heads. It is in these words : 
 
 "James Monroe, President of the United 
 States of America, to His Royal Highness 
 the Prince Regent of the United Kingdom 
 of Great Britain and Ireland : 
 
 " Great and good Friend : 
 I have made choice of Richard Eush, to 
 reside near your Royal Highness in quality of 
 Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipo 
 tentiary of the United States of America. He 
 is well informed of the relative interests of the 
 two countries, and of our sincere desire to cul- 
 
92 RESIDENCE AT THE iSlS. 
 
 tivate and strengthen the friendship and good 
 correspondence between us ; and from a know 
 ledge of his fidelity, probity, and good con 
 duct, I have entire confidence that he will 
 render himself acceptable to your Royal High 
 ness by his constant endeavours to preserve 
 and advance the interests and happiness of 
 both nations. I therefore request your Royal 
 Highness to receive him favourably, and to give 
 full credence to whatever he shall say on the 
 part of the United States, and most of all when 
 he shall assure you of their friendship, and 
 wishes for your prosperity; and I pray God to 
 have your Royal Highness in his safe and holy 
 keeping. Written at the city of Washington, 
 the thirty-first day of October anno Domini 
 one thousand eight hundred and seventeen. 
 By your good friend, 
 
 " JAMES MONROE/ 
 " John Quincy Adams, 
 <c Secretary of State." 
 
 The letter of credence from the King, or 
 Prince Regent, of England, on sending a 
 minister plenipotentiary to the United States, 
 is the same, mutatis mutandis, in its formal 
 commencement and conclusion; and substan 
 tially the same throughout.* 
 
 * To be entirely accurate, there were complimentary terms 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 93 
 
 My reception having established me in full 
 official standing, I left cards at the houses of 
 the cabinet ministers and diplomatic corps. 
 The former have precedence over the latter 
 (though in England they often wave it) be 
 cause, sharing the confidence and administer 
 ing the power of the Sovereign, they become 
 identified, so far, with his dignity. I visited 
 also the Lord High Steward, Lord Chamber 
 lain, the Master of the Horse, and a few others 
 personally attached to the royal household. 
 The only one of the cabinet upon whom I had 
 called previously was Lord Castlereagh. Ca 
 binet ministers in England are exempt from 
 returning the visits of foreign ministers, as of 
 all others ; nevertheless, the courtesy of Lord 
 Castlereagh had returned mine. 
 
 It was so that I aimed at going through the 
 obligations of ceremony, as I found them esta 
 blished at the English court. I may have 
 dwelled on them the longer because they were 
 new to me ; but not too long. I do not dis 
 cuss their importance. I give them as facts. 
 The philosopher may rail at them ; but, in his 
 philosophy, he may discover, if candid, matter 
 for raillery too. In the machinery of political 
 
 in the first line of the President s letter, immediately after 
 the name of the person of his choice ; but the Author has 
 not thought it necessary to insert them. 
 
94 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 as social life, the smallest parts are often those 
 that give impulse to the greatest movements. 
 If we visit a strange country, scan its general 
 population, enter its farm-houses, its cottages, 
 its work-shops, we are permitted to speak of 
 appearances and habits that on all sides arrest 
 the eye. May we not, with a guarded free 
 dom, do the same of the high places of the 
 world ? In the modes of life in each, are be 
 held component parts of the grand whole. If, 
 from the former, issue the springs of power, 
 it is in the latter, under monarchies, that its 
 agents dwell. Perhaps if the feelings that 
 exist in each could be better known to the 
 other, jealousies might be softened, more fre 
 quently than increased. 
 
 If may be thought that the forms I detail, 
 are the growth only of monarchical soils. 
 Their roots lie deeper. If none but republics 
 existed, other forms would arise, differing in 
 circumstance, but not in essence. In the 
 genius of the latter governments, there is a 
 sternness peculiarly opposed to giving up 
 claims to outward reverence. The Roman 
 Senate took more offence at Caesar s refusal to 
 rise on an occasion when they intended to do 
 him honour, than at his passing the Rubicon 
 or seizing upon the treasury. The title of 
 Majesty is modern, as applied to Kings. The 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 95 
 
 Romans used it with peculiar fondness, says 
 Dryden, in reference to the people MAJESTAS 
 POPULI ROMANI. The first treaty that Crom 
 well entered into with the United Provinces, 
 had a stipulation that their ships should strike 
 their flags in British seas, to the " REPUBLIC" of 
 England. We have seen, in our own day, with 
 how prompt a sensibility President Madison, 
 whose life has been a model of dignity as 
 of public and private virtue, stood upon the 
 point of form, when treaties were to be signed. 
 Nor was he less scrupulous, when compli 
 mentary salutes were to be exchanged with the 
 vessels or batteries of foreign powers. If the 
 individual of just pride respects himself whilst 
 he respects others, nations will ever be still 
 more quick to the same feeling, and to all its 
 external manifestations. 
 
96 RESIDENCE AT THE iSlS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ATTEMPT UPON THE LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLING 
 TON. OLD CUSTOMS ABOUT THE COURT. DINNER 
 
 AT THE DANISH MINISTER S. PRIVATE AUDIENCE 
 
 OF THE QUEEN. THE DRAWING-ROOM. DINNER 
 
 AT LORD CASTLEREAGH S. 
 
 February 16, 1818. The late attempt upon 
 the life of the Duke of Wellington in Paris is 
 a topic. He went there on business relating, 
 as is believed, to the evacuation of France by 
 the Army of Occupation, of which the English 
 forms a part. Returning to his hotel at mid 
 night, a pistol was fired at his carriage. One 
 of his aids was with him. Nobody was hurt. 
 The report collected people, and some gen 
 darmerie went in pursuit. The Duke made his 
 coachman stop, got out, and looked around. 
 Such is the account I hear. I learn that it 
 was transmitted by a special messenger from 
 the French King, to his ambassador at this 
 court. The ambassador repaired to Carlton 
 House, to express to the Prince Regent the 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 97 
 
 concern felt by his sovereign, with assurances 
 that all means would be used to discover the 
 offender, and bring him to proper punishment. 
 The ambassador afterwards went to Apsley 
 House, the residence of the Duke of Welling 
 ton, to express to his family appropriate senti 
 ments on the occasion. 
 
 February 21. Since my reception I have 
 had calls from servants of official persons for 
 "favours" I became acquainted with the term 
 at Portsmouth. They had no warrant from 
 their masters ; but came under ancient custom. 
 There have also been to me, fraternities, more 
 nearly allied to the Portsmouth bell-ringers ; 
 as the " Palace drums and fifes" the " Royal 
 waits and music " and a third, the derivation of 
 which I could not understand, and which no 
 external signs that I saw bespoke, the " King s 
 marrow-bones and cleavers" Each presented 
 me with a congratulatory address. Each had 
 their " book to show" They all have something 
 to do with out-door arrangements when levees 
 are held. These contributions upon the di 
 plomatic stranger, awakened at first my sur 
 prise. I afterwards heard what, perhaps, may 
 s^rve as explanatory. Ambassadors on leaving 
 England, receive from the Government a pre 
 sent of a thousand pounds ; and ministers ple 
 nipotentiary, five hundred. If then on their 
 
 H 
 
98 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 arrival, and afterwards, there are appeals to 
 their bounty by those in menial and sucli-like 
 situations about the Government, the latter, it 
 seems, pays back again ! I do not hint that it 
 does so in the light of an indemnification ; but 
 the customs harmonize. True, the minister 
 plenipotentiary of the United States never 
 takes the five hundred pounds : the consti 
 tution of his country forbidding it. But this 
 is a point which it may be presumed he does 
 not stop to expound to the servants of the 
 foreign secretary, or the " Royal waits and 
 music" It would doubtless be to them a 
 novel plea in bar for not putting his hand in 
 his pocket ! Whenever he pays for music, he 
 must consider himself as having an equivalent 
 in its " silver sounds." 
 
 If I had calls like these, I am bound to 
 mention others. A great number of persons 
 of the court and other circles paid me visits. 
 Their names I need not recount. Of the list, 
 were those whose acquaintance any one might 
 regard as a source of gratification. In me, the 
 feeling was heightened, as it marked the esti 
 mation in which my country was held. Inter 
 course to which the door thus opened in iqy 
 favour, was afterwards extended, leading to 
 hospitalities, that can neither pass from the 
 memory, nor grow cold upon the heart. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 99 
 
 February 23. At a dinner at the Danish 
 minister s we had half a dozen gentlemen ; 
 among them Sir Humphrey Davy. There were 
 also ladies. One of the latter spoke of Franklin; 
 he was a captivating writer so much nature 
 so much genius ; Mr. Jefferson had said that to 
 see the junction of two of our rivers where one 
 breaks through a mountain, was worth crossing 
 the Atlantic ; but she would think the voyage 
 better undertaken to see Franklin s old china 
 bowl and silver spoon his wife bought for him ; 
 she hoped both were kept ; it would be sacri 
 lege to let them perish. I was charmed at her 
 manner of saying all this. Sir Humphrey took 
 his share in the conversation. At the first 
 words of this great chemist and philosopher, I 
 was all attention. But he talked of neither 
 chemistry nor philosophy. He agreed to what 
 was said of Franklin. He spoke of the ex 
 pedition preparing for the North Pole ; it was 
 fitted up, he said, with every thing but a 
 philosopher; whether the sailors would have 
 no such non-descript on board, or none would 
 consent to go, he could not say ; the ocean 
 was a noble dominion for nations, but a bad 
 place for landsmen ; worst of all for philoso 
 phers. He spoke of the case about wager of 
 battle, pending in the King s Bench ; the very 
 argument was so like a burlesque, that, he 
 
 H2 
 
100 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 thought, the parties had better be allowed to 
 fight it out at once, the "fancy" forming a 
 ring, while parliament and the judges looked 
 on. His elocution was remarkably prompt and 
 smooth. In society he seems as pleasing, as 
 in the lecture-room he is profound. He told 
 me that the widow of Garrick was alive, at an 
 advanced age, and lived not far from the house 
 I had taken. Mr. Bourke,our kind host, had 
 been much among the courts of Europe. In 
 clination and opportunity had improved his 
 taste in the arts. In the drawing-rooms after 
 dinner, pictures were talked of, his walls show 
 ing some fine ones. He said that in distin 
 guishing the various productions of the different 
 masters, there was no more difficulty, where 
 the eye had been practised among large col 
 lections, than in distinguishing the faces and 
 handwriting of your living acquaintances. 
 
 February 25. Having brought from my Go 
 vernment a letter of credence to the Queen, I 
 was this day presented to her. It was called 
 a private presentation, and took place at Buck 
 ingham Palace. 
 
 I got to the palace before the hour fixed. 
 Servants were at the door, and in the hall. 
 Ascending an ample staircase, the master 
 of ceremonies received me in one of the 
 rooms of a suite, all open, but no one else in 
 
I8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 101 
 
 them? When five o clock came, he conducted 
 me to the audience-room, which I entered 
 alone. 
 
 Immediately before me was the Queen. On 
 her right was one of the Princesses, her daugh 
 ter ; on her left, another. Near them were 
 two ladies in waiting. All were in full court- 
 dresses ; and all standing. In another part of 
 the room were her Majesty s Chamberlain, and 
 the Duke of Montrose. These made up the 
 whole assemblage. All was silence. Ap 
 proaching the Queen, I said ; " Having been 
 accredited by his Royal Highness, the Prince 
 Regent, as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister 
 Plenipotentiary from the United States, I have 
 now the honour to present this letter to your 
 Majesty. In executing the duties of my mis 
 sion, I have it in charge from the President so 
 to bear myself as to give hope of gaining your 
 Majesty s esteem ; and this I beg to assure 
 your Majesty will be my constant ambition." 
 She received the letter. As she took it, she 
 said, that the sentiments I expressed were very 
 obliging, and entered into conversation. Learn 
 ing I was from Philadelphia she asked ques 
 tions about it, and others respecting the United 
 States, generally ; all put in a very kind spirit. 
 The interview lasted about fifteen minutes. 
 
 The Queen was then seventy-six. Her birth- 
 
102 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 day was the day following. As I entered the 
 room, and during the whole interview, there 
 was a benignity in her manner, which, in union 
 with her age and rank, was both attractive and 
 touching. The tones of her voice had a gen 
 tleness, the result, in part, of years ; but full as 
 much of intended suavity to a stranger. The 
 scene as it first broke upon me ; its novelty, its 
 quiet yet impressive stateliness, became, almost 
 immediately, by her manner, one of naturalness 
 and ease. My immediate predecessor, Mr. 
 Adams, when presented to her, made an allu 
 sion to qualities in her character, which, as I 
 came to learn through a good source that it 
 was advantageously remembered at the Eng 
 lish Court, I will repeat. His mission be 
 gan in 1815, immediately after the war between 
 the two countries. He said, that the political 
 relations between them had been subject to the 
 versatility that attended all human affairs ; that 
 dissensions had arisen, which however had been 
 removed, and, lie ardently hoped, permanently 
 removed ; but that the reverence commanded 
 by her Majesty s private virtues had been sub 
 ject to no such change; it had been invariably 
 felt by his Government, and he could utter no 
 wish more propitious to the happiness of both 
 countries, than that the future harmony between 
 them might be equally unalterable. The allu- 
 
1818. COURT OF LONDON. 103 
 
 sion was happy, because it was just. Through 
 out a long life, she had been uniformly distin 
 guished by her private virtues, and her efforts 
 to imprint them upon the times. I saw her 
 sinking below the horizon. But the serenity 
 that I saw, betokened, that as the splendours 
 of her day were setting, she had a conscious 
 ness that it was not for them alone she had 
 lived.* 
 
 * Mr. Adams was always very happy in his allusions on 
 such occasions. Who, that heard it, can forget his memo 
 rable parting address, while President, to General Lafayette, 
 in 1825, on behalf of the American People, while the U.S. 
 Frigate " Brandywine," that was to convey him home, lay at 
 anchor in the Potomac, almost within sight of the President s 
 House, where the address was delivered, as the President, 
 surrounded by his Cabinet, and high officers of Govern^, 
 ment, civil and military, stood face to face with the Nation s 
 Guest. The passage beginning, " Go, then, our beloved 
 Friend, return to that beautiful France, &c. &c.," was par 
 ticularly impressive. 
 
 And what right-minded American but would be willing 
 to trace a parallel to the reverence, here spoken of by Mr. 
 Adams as existing in America, for the private virtues of 
 Queen Charlotte, in the same feeling among his countrymen 
 for the domestic virtues of the present Female Occupant of 
 the British Throne., singularly exemplified throughont a 
 reign already long, and strikingly exhibited on more than 
 one recent memorable occasion. This feeling prevails 
 largely in the United States, and triumphing over tempo 
 rary "dissensions/ and the "versatility" belonging to 
 " political relations/ found vent in a wide-spread sympathy 
 for Queen Victoria on tho occasion of the late alarming 
 
104 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 February 27. Yesterday her Majesty held 
 a drawing-room. It was in celebration of her 
 birth-day. My wife w r as presented by Lady 
 Castlereagh. Besides being a birth-day cele 
 bration, it was the first drawing-room of the 
 season, and the first since the death of the 
 Princess Charlotte. The w r eather was fine, 
 with a brilliant sun. A permit had been sent 
 from the Board of Green Cloth for my carriage 
 to pass into St. James s Park, through the gate 
 on Constitution Hill. 
 
 Going through Hyde Park, I found the 
 whole way from Tyburn to Piccadilly (about 
 a mile) filled with private carriages, standing 
 still. Persons were in them who had adopted 
 this mode of seeing those who went to court. 
 Tenfold the number went by other approaches, 
 and every approach, I was told, was thronged 
 with double rows of equipages, filled with 
 spectators. I was to be set down with the rest 
 of the diplomatic corps, and others having the 
 entree, at a door assigned, within the court- 
 illness of her eldest son, the Heir Apparent to the British 
 Crown. Of this feeling the English People are not unaware. 
 It is not many weeks since one of the leading Journals of 
 England, in referring to the late insane attempt to alarm the 
 Queen by pointing a pistol at her, spoke of Queen Victoria 
 as " the best and most beloved of Sovereigns not only best 
 " beloved by her own subjects, but by the great and kindred 
 " race from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans." 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 105 
 
 yard of the palace. Arrived in its vicinity, 
 my carriage was stopped by those before it. 
 Here we saw, through the trees and avenues 
 of the Park, other carriages rapidly coming 
 up, in two regular lines from the Horse Guards 
 and St. James s. Another line, that had been 
 up, was turning slowly off, towards the Bird 
 cage Walk. Foreigners agreed, that the united 
 capitals of Europe could not match the sight. 
 The horses were all in the highest condition ; 
 and, under heavy emblazoned harness, seemed, 
 like war-horses, to move proudly. Trumpets 
 were sounding, and the Park and Tower guns 
 firing. There were ranks of cavalry in scarlet., 
 with their bright helmets, and jet black horses; 
 the same we were told, men^and horses, that 
 had been at Waterloo. 
 
 We were soon set down, and entered the 
 great hall. What a contrast ! The day before, 
 I had gone up the staircase alone. Now, what 
 did I see? We were not out of time, for, by 
 appointment, my carriage reached the palace 
 with Lord Castlereagh s ; but whilst hundreds 
 were still arriving, hundreds were endeavouring 
 to come away. The staircase branched off at 
 the first landing, into two arms. It was wide 
 enough to admit a partition, whicli was let in. 
 The company ascending, took one channel ; 
 those descending, the other ; and both were 
 
106 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 full. The whole group stood motionless. The 
 openings through the carved balusters, brought 
 all under view at once, whilst the paintings on 
 the walls heightened the effect. The hoop 
 dresses of the ladies, sparkling with lama; their 
 plumes ; their lappets ; the fanciful attitudes 
 which the hoops occasioned, some getting out 
 of position as when in Addison s time they 
 were adjusted to shoot a door ; the various 
 costumes of the gentlemen as they stood pi 
 nioning their elbows, and holding in their 
 swords ; the common hilarity, from the com 
 mon dilemma ; the bland recognitions passing 
 between those above and below, made up, al 
 together, an exhibition so picturesque, that a 
 painter might give it as illustrative, so far, of 
 the court of that sera. Without pausing to 
 describe the incidents during our progress 
 upwards, it may be sufficient to say, that the 
 party to which I was attached, and of which 
 Lady Castlereagh, towering in her bloom, was 
 the pioneer, reached the summit of the stair 
 case in about three quarters of an hour. 
 
 Four rooms were allotted to the ceremony. 
 In the second was the Queen. She sat on a 
 velvet chair and cushion, a little raised up. 
 Near her were the Princesses, and ladies in 
 waiting. The general company, as they reached 
 the corridor by one arm of the staircase, passed 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 107 
 
 on to the Queen. Bowing to her, they re 
 gained it, after passing through all the rooms, 
 by an outlet that led to the other arm ; which 
 they descended. When my wife was presented, 
 her Majesty addressed some conversation to 
 her, as a stranger. This she could not do to 
 all, time not permitting. The Regent was 
 there, and the Royal Family ; cabinet ministers 
 and their ladies ; foreign ambassadors and mi 
 nisters with theirs. These, having the entree 
 remained, if they chose, in the room with the 
 Queen. A numerous portion of the nobility 
 were present, their wives and daughters ; with 
 others distinguished in life, though bearing 
 neither title nor station. Conversation you 
 got as you could, in so great and rich a 
 throng. 
 
 If the scene in the hall was picturesque, the 
 one upstairs transcended it. The doors of the 
 rooms were all open. You saw in them a 
 thousand ladies richly dressedr All the co 
 lours of nature were mingling their rays toge 
 ther. It was the first occasion of laying by 
 mourning for the Princess Charlotte ; so that 
 it was like the bursting out of spring. No lady 
 was without her plume. The whole was a 
 waving field of feathers. Some were blue, 
 like the sky; some tinged with red ; here you 
 saw violet and yellow ; there, shades of green. 
 
108 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8 
 
 But the most were like tufts of snow. The 
 diamonds encircling them, caught the sun 
 through the windows, and threw dazzling 
 beams around. Then the hoops ! I cannot 
 describe these. They should be seen. To see 
 one is nothing. But to see a thousand and 
 their thousand wearers ! I afterwards sat in 
 the Ambassadors box at a coronation. That 
 sight faded before this.* Each lady seemed to 
 rise out of a gilded little barricade ; or one of 
 silvery texture. This, topped by her plume, 
 and the " face divine" interposing, gave to the 
 whole an effect so unique, so fraught with fe 
 minine grace and grandeur, that it seemed as 
 if a curtain had risen to show a pageant in 
 another sphere. It was brilliant and joyous. 
 Those to whom it was not new, stood at gaze 
 as I did. Canning for one. His fine eye took 
 it all in. You saw admiration in the gravest 
 statesmen; Lord Liverpool, Huskisson, the 
 Lord Chancellor, everybody. I had already 
 seen in England signs enough of opulence and 
 power. Now I saw, radiating on all sides, 
 British beauty. My own country I believed 
 
 * The Coronation of George IY. To one who many years 
 afterwards had the good fortune to occupy a seat in the 
 Ambassadors box at the Coronation of Queen Victoria, and 
 to be present at many of her Drawing Rooms, a similar 
 thought readily suggests itself. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 109 
 
 was destined to a just measure of the two first ; 
 and I had the inward assurance that my coun 
 trywomen were the inheritresses of the last. 
 Matre pulchra filia pulchrior. So appeared 
 to me the drawing-room of Queen Charlotte. 
 
 The ceremonies of the day being ended, as 
 far as myself and suite were concerned, we 
 sought the corridor to come away. In good 
 time we reached the head of the descending 
 channel. Will it be believed ? both channels 
 were full as ever of hoops and plumes. There 
 was something in the spectacle from this po 
 sition that presented a new image. Positively, 
 it came over the eye like beautiful architec 
 ture ; the hoops the base, the plume the pin 
 nacle ! The parts of this dress may have been 
 incongruous ; but the whole was harmony. 
 Like Old English buildings, and Shakspeare, 
 it carried the feelings with it. It triumphed 
 over criticism. We got down stairs in about 
 the same time it took to get up. As we 
 waited in the hall for our carriage, military 
 bands were playing in the court-yard, some 
 mounted, some on foot ; amidst the strains of 
 which we drove off. 
 
 In the evening I dined at Lord Castlereagh s. 
 It was a dinner in honour of the birth-day. 
 All were in official costume. The foreign 
 ambassadors and ministers, and several of the 
 
110 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 English ambassadors at European courts, at 
 home on leave, were at it. Among the topics 
 was the beautiful scene of the morning. All 
 gave their voice to its attractiveness. I will 
 say no more of the dinner. Lord Castlereagh, 
 anxious for the pleasure of his guests, diffused 
 his attentions in ways to promote it. We sat 
 down at eight, and rose at ten. By eleven the 
 company dispersed. 
 
1 8 1 8 . COURT OF LONDON. Ill 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 EMIGRATION. LITERARY INSTITUTIONS. CLUBS. 
 
 BOOKSELLERS SHOPS. ST. JAMES S PALACE. PARTY 
 
 AT THE DUCHESS OF CUMBERLAND^. AT THE RUS 
 SIAN AMBASSADOR S. AT THE MARCHIONESS OF 
 STAFFORD S. AT LORD MELVILLE S THE DUKE OF 
 SUSSEX. DINNER AT THE MANSION HOUSE. 
 
 March 1, 1818. I RECEIVE many letters 
 from persons in England, on emigrating to the 
 United States. The writers seek information 
 and advice. I afford neither. The bad sub 
 jects of Britain we do not want ; the good, it 
 is no part of my province to be instrumental in 
 drawing away. If the majority of the appli 
 cants be what they profess, they would prove 
 an acquisition to any new country , where, land 
 being abundant and labour dear, men are the 
 best imports. One, a farmer, represents him 
 self to have six thousand pounds. Two of the 
 same class say, that they each would carry over 
 about half as much. I learn that another of 
 the applicants, a manufacturer, is reputed to 
 
112 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 be worth thirty thousand pounds. The natu 
 ralization laws of the United States give less 
 encouragement to emigrants than is generally 
 supposed ; less than some of their citizens 
 think wise. For one, I regard them as injudi 
 cious. They do not confer citizenship upon 
 terms at all as favourable as Russia and Hol 
 land have formerly done, and are believed to 
 do still; as England did, for ages, when she 
 even offered bounties to certain classes of 
 foreigners on coming to her shores ; and as 
 France has done at periods when her popula 
 tion, in proportion to her soil, was far greater 
 than that of the United States. The latter re 
 quire a full residence of five years, with regu 
 lations that put further clogs upon the pri 
 vilege. 
 
 I should fill many pages were I to detail ap 
 plications of another description ; I mean from 
 the authors of new projects. One has an im 
 proved plan for making rockets; another thinks 
 he has discovered a mode of building ships 
 that will all sail alike; a third has a model of a 
 gun-carriage, by which a 64-pounder can be 
 worked like a swivel ; a fourth a fire-machine 
 to explode under water, with more destruction 
 to every thing above than Fulton s torpedo. 
 The projectors all desire patronage from the 
 Government of the United States, and will go 
 
1818. COURT OF LONDON. 113 
 
 over, on proper encouragement from me, It 
 will be inferred, that if I leave farmers and 
 manufacturers to think and act for themselves, 
 I abstain from all interference in the cases of 
 these ingenious persons. In truth, we want 
 them less. Most of their inventions are for 
 destroying life ; as if means enough were not 
 known already. 
 
 March 2. Visited the Royal Institution in 
 Albemarle Street. Its objects are scientific 
 and literary. A lecture-room, with apparatus, 
 is annexed, where Sir Humphrey Davy, and 
 Professors Brande and Milligan, deliver lec 
 tures. It has a large library, and is furnished 
 with the current periodical publications. I 
 note it merely as one, though of much repute, 
 among numerous establishments of the kind in 
 London. Another was mentioned to me the 
 London Institution in Moorfields founded a 
 few years back, at an expense of upwards of 
 fifty thousand guineas, obtained by subscrip 
 tion among private individuals in that range of 
 the city. The Clubs also have libraries, and 
 the periodical works. It is so at the Alfred, 
 which is near the Royal Institution. The 
 Club Houses appear to be among the largest 
 in town, judging from those in St. James s 
 Street. Let me here relate what I heard of 
 one of them White s the great Tory Club, in 
 
 i 
 
114 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8- 
 
 St. James s. Somebody spoke of the lights 
 kept burning there all night: "Yes," said a 
 member, "they have not been out, I should think, 
 since the reign of Charles II! The London 
 Clubs of the higher order are not associations 
 for mere conviviality, but for intercourse upon 
 a far broader scale ; political, literary, scien 
 tific, dramatic, and objects more diversified. 
 At a subsequent day I visited several, and had 
 the freedom of some bestowed upon me. I 
 was honoured with that of the United Service 
 Club, the Travellers , and the Alfred.* The 
 first, for extent and completeness, I may almost 
 add splendour, surpassed any that came under 
 my observation, though all were more or less 
 striking. None of its members are below the 
 rank of field-officers in the army, or captains 
 in the navy. Through the good offices of Sir 
 Humphrey Davy, I had the privilege of re 
 sorting to the library and reading-rooms of the 
 Royal Institution. My gratitude is due for 
 the facilities accorded to me at all times for 
 reading and consulting books there, and at 
 tending lectures. 
 
 * To one of these beautiful and celebrated Clubs, the 
 * Travellers/ the writer avails himself of this occasion to record 
 his acknowledgments for repeated opportunities, through the 
 obliging courtesy of its Committee, of participating in its 
 advantages and agreeable intercourse, not only while U.S. 
 Secretary of Legation in London, but long afterwards. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 115 
 
 I have been to several of the great book 
 sellers shops; that of Payne and Foss in Pall 
 Mall, whose collection is said to be very choice; 
 some in Paternoster Row, and Lackington s, 
 corner of Finsbury Square. A bird s-eye view 
 of them shows the amount of capital employed 
 in this great branch of business, the more im 
 posing as it gives the idea of intellectual as 
 well as moneyed capital. The mere external 
 arrangement at Lackington s seemed to be the 
 best, and I should have inferred, but perhaps 
 erroneously, as I did not see the whole extent 
 of some in Paternoster Row, that their collec 
 tion was largest. One of the firm told me, 
 that the number of volumes in two descrip 
 tions of books, Shakspeare and the periodical 
 writers, amounted, as nearly as he could say, 
 to about one hundred thousand. I should have 
 conjectured that the entire collection could 
 scarcely have fallen short of a million of volumes. 
 Opening cursorily some of the catalogues, Lack 
 ington s appeared to contain the greatest num 
 ber of works on America ; especially on the 
 early colonial history of the United States. 
 The catalogues are made out with great care, 
 and give the prices. They formed well-sized 
 octavo volumes. Lackington s ran on to a 
 thousand pages. 
 
 Of books, we expect catalogues. But it 
 
 i 2 
 
116 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 is much the habit of English shopkeepers 
 generally to have printed lists of their articles. 
 Stepping into a large ironmonger s-shop, the 
 proprietor handed me a stout pamphlet which 
 presented his whole assortment in print, with 
 the prices annexed to each item, no matter 
 how minute. Haberdashers send out their 
 inventories in print* and the dealers in a thou 
 sand other things theirs. Their packets come 
 to my house in I know not what quantity ; to 
 the advantage of the paper-maker, job-printer, 
 and other handicrafts in the system of sub 
 division. 
 
 March 4. Went the evening before last, to 
 a party at the Duchess of Cumberland s, St. 
 James s Palace. 
 
 This is among the oldest buildings in Lon 
 don. It presents on the street, a fortress-like 
 appearance. To what order it belongs would 
 be hard to say. The whole is an irregular 
 pile. But the very confusion in its plan, with 
 its antiquity, and the sentinels pacing day and 
 night about it, minister to the fancy, making 
 amends for its w r ant of good architecture. So 
 says one, who, unaccustomed to the sight of 
 edifices that go far back into time, finds this 
 the ingredient which seizes most upon his first 
 feelings. 
 
 We drove under a gatehouse leading to a 
 
l8i8. COURT OF LONDON. 117 
 
 paved court-yard. Here we were set down 
 at the entrance to the Duke of Cumberland s 
 apartments. Directed by servants who lined 
 the way, we passed up to the rooms of en 
 tertainment. The company was not very large. 
 In a rich arm-chair, sat the Prince Regent ; 
 on one side of him the Duchess of Cumber 
 land, on the other the Marchioness of Hert 
 ford. The rest of the company stood. When 
 we entered, all were listening to music. Mem 
 bers of the royal family, cabinet ministers, the 
 foreign ambassadors, with their respective 
 ladies, and others, formed the groups. I ob 
 served among them the Lord Chancellor, Sir 
 William Scott, and Mr. Canning. On a pause 
 in the music, there was conversation. The 
 Duchess of Cumberland spoke kindly of my 
 country, and individuals belonging to it ; par 
 ticularly Mr. and Mrs. Adams, whom she had 
 known at the court of Berlin. The Duke 
 talked to me of the United States, embracing 
 in his inquiries, language ; with a desire to 
 learn how far, if at all, we fell into changes in 
 idiom or pronunciation from the parent stock. 
 I had introductions to several persons. 
 Whilst in conversation with the Earl of Hard- 
 wicke, a gentleman stood within a few paces. 
 I did not know him. On separating from 
 Lord Hardwicke, lie advanced towards me, 
 
118 RESIDENCE AT THE 1818. 
 
 saying, " I m going to bring a bill into Par 
 liament, making it indictable in any stranger, 
 whether ambassador from a republic, kingdom, 
 or popedom, ever to leave his card without his 
 address upon it : how do you do, Mr. Rush, 
 how do you do ? I ve been trying to find you 
 everywhere I m Lord Erskine." In this 
 manner commenced my acquaintance with this 
 gifted man. There was no one in England of 
 whose fame I had oftener heard, or whom I 
 more desired to know. He continued " I 
 had a letter for you from my brother, the Earl 
 of Buchan, but you made me carry it so long 
 in my pocket that I lost it ; it had no secrets ; 
 it was only to congratulate you on your ar 
 rival ; he was long a correspondent and friend 
 of your father s, and wants to transfer his feel 
 ings to you, that s all ; so you can write to him 
 as if you had received it." I assured him of 
 my gratification at meeting him, and made the 
 due apologies for the omission on my card. 
 He inquired for President Monroe, Mr. Pink- 
 ney, and others ; said he had always loved the 
 United States, and hoped to visit them yet, as he 
 was an old sailor and cared nothing for storms. 
 Such was his sprightly strain. He must have 
 been seventy, or near it ; but, as Sir Francis 
 Burdett said, he illustrated the fable of youth 
 peeping through the mask of age. It was a 
 
1818. COURT OF LONDON. 119 
 
 treat to see so much genius with so much play 
 fulness ; such a social flow from one whose 
 powerful eloquence had been felt by the Eng 
 lish nation, and helped to change, on some 
 fundamental points, the English law. He saun 
 tered about with me and looked at the paint 
 ings. There was a full-length likeness of 
 George II. another of George III. and one 
 of Mary of Scots ; a " Royal jade," he feared, 
 " but very pretty." We ended in a room at 
 the extremity of the suite, where was a table 
 set out with golden urns for tea, and other 
 light refreshments ; to which those went who 
 were inclined. At one o clock we came away. 
 The music was by professional performers. 
 Not only are the first musical talents of Eng 
 land engaged for private entertainments at 
 houses of distinction, but the best from Italy, 
 France, and other parts of the continent ; the 
 Fodors, the Pastas, the Ambrogettis, the Cata- 
 lanis, who may always be Been in London. 
 
 March 10. Dined at the Russian Ambassa 
 dor s. This distinguished diplomatist is under 
 stood to enjoy in a high, degree the good-will 
 of his sovereign, and by all other titles is pro 
 minent in official and court circles. To the 
 social assemblages of each the Princess Lieven, 
 his wife, brings dignity, intelligence, and grace. 
 From the embassy, we experienced at all times 
 the kindness in unison with the good relations 
 
120 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 subsisting between the United States and 
 Russia. The guests consisted of the diplo 
 matic corps, their wives, and some other 
 foreigners. General conversation was kept up 
 at table, and revived in smaller circles in the 
 drawing-rooms afterwards. 
 
 I had some with the Minister Plenipotentiary 
 from Naples. He directed it to the affairs of 
 the United States. Of their commerce and 
 marine he had been observant, particularly in 
 the Mediterranean. With the interests of the 
 countries on this sea, he seemed familiar. He 
 had been minister at Constantinople ; his 
 father had been in the same post before him, 
 and now, it was filled by his son. He asked if 
 my Government did not contemplate opening 
 diplomatic intercourse with the Porte, which 
 led us to talk of the commerce of the Black 
 Sea. He doubted if we could derive benefit 
 from it, unless as carriers, should we even be 
 admitted there. All that we desired, I said, 
 was the opportunity. The nations to whom it 
 was open were, he said, Russia, Austria, Eng 
 land, and France. Naples enjoyed it not ; she 
 was unwilling to pay what the court of Con 
 stantinople asked.* 
 
 * The United States and Turkey have long since ex 
 changed diplomatic representatives, and are represented at 
 this moment at the Government of each. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 
 
 Prince Lieven expressed to me his hope, 
 that the late appointment by the Emperor of 
 Mr. Poletica as Minister Plenipotentiary to 
 the United States, would improve the friend 
 ship between our two countries. I joined in 
 the hope ; the more, as Mr. Poletica had been 
 favourably known in the United States since 
 the days of Count Pahlen s mission. He 
 spoke of Mr. Adams and the respect in which 
 he was held when minister in Russia. I said, 
 that his titles to respect at home had been in 
 creased by his correspondence whilst at St. 
 Petersburgh. Here I stated, that in 1811 and 
 1812 his despatches relating to the great 
 movements in Europe, were frequent and full; 
 that he proved himself master of them all, 
 anticipating the political combinations, and 
 military results of that era, with remarkable 
 precision; above all, confidently predicting 
 the failure of Napoleon s grand expedition to 
 Moscow, from the roused and warlike patriot 
 ism of Russia, and her abundant resources. 
 Such had been the uniform tenor of his com 
 munications. They were on the archives of 
 the American government, as monuments of 
 the writer s capacity to handle public affairs of 
 magnitude, with judgment and forecast. The 
 Ambassador heard with satisfaction my nar 
 rative. 
 
122 EESIDENCE AT THE 1818. 
 
 March 12. Last night we were at the Mar 
 chioness of Stafford s. The rooms were full. 
 The Prince Regent, Royal family, many of the 
 nobility, and others thronged them. It was 
 past eleven when we arrived ; yet fresh names 
 were every moment announced. All were in 
 black under an order for a new Court mourn 
 ing for the late King of Sweden, Charles XIII.; 
 who however did not die king, Bernadotte 
 the remnant of Napoleon s royal creations 
 occupying the Swedish throne. The rooms 
 abounded in ornamental articles. The paint 
 ings commanded admiration. Under light 
 judiciously disposed, they made a magnificent 
 appearance. There is said to be no such 
 private collection in Europe. It comprehends 
 the productions of the first masters of the dif 
 ferent schools. A considerable number are 
 from the Orleans collection, procured in France 
 by the late Duke of Bridgewater, from whom 
 the estates of the Marquis of Stafford in part 
 descend. These works of genius glowing from 
 every part of the walls, formed of themselves 
 a high attraction had the evening afforded no 
 
 o ~ 
 
 others. 
 
 It was the beginning of many hospitalities 
 we had from this family. The Marquis is 
 known to his country by the public character 
 his peerage gives him, and the posts he has 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 123 
 
 filled. The Marchioness is not less known by 
 her rank ; for she is of the oldest of the realm. 
 But this is adventitious. She is known by her 
 cultivated mind, her taste in the arts, her 
 benevolence to her tenantry, by virtues unos 
 tentatious and refined, that commend her to 
 the love of domestic and social circles, and 
 endear her name to strangers.* 
 
 March 17. Dined at Lord Melville s. Lord 
 and Lady Melville, Lord and Lady Mulgrave, 
 Lord Keith, the Ambassador of the Nether 
 lands, the Danish Minister and Lady, Mr. 
 Barrow, and a few more, made the party. 
 
 The Polar expedition was talked of. The 
 prevailing opinion was against its success, but 
 Mr. Barrow stood up for it. For every doubt, 
 man of genius like, he had a solution, often in 
 veins of pleasantry. I learned that he was the 
 author of the article on this subject in the 
 thirty-fifth number of the Quarterly Review, 
 which everybody had read with pleasure, at 
 least. Lord Melville said, that nothing would 
 be omitted by the Admiralty to ensure success 
 to the expedition, as far as equipment was con- 
 
 * One who knew her long afterwards as Duchess Countess 
 of Sutherland, and recalls the recollection of some of these 
 traits, with kindnesses always so acceptable to a stranger, is 
 prompted here to respond to this just tribute. 
 
124 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 cerned ; but I saw that he was not sanguine as 
 to results. 
 
 I commended some delicious oranges on the 
 table. His lordship asked if we had them in 
 the United States. In the southern parts, I 
 replied ; in other parts we got them from the 
 West Indies. Copying Mr. Barrow s good 
 vein I said, that those from the English Islands 
 would have a better relish if his Majesty s Go 
 vernment would allow us to bring them in our 
 own ships ! In the same spirit his lordship 
 answered, that, for one, he would be most 
 happy to contribute to our enjoyments ; but 
 must hear what Lord Castlereagh had to say ! 
 
 In the dining-room hung the original paint 
 ings of the places seen by Cook in his voyages. 
 In the hall was one of Duncan s victory over 
 the Dutch off Camperdown. I asked if there 
 was no collection in England representing, in 
 historical series, the victories of the nation 
 gained in fleets, beginning with those in Crom 
 well s time. His lordship said, none. 
 
 In the drawing-room was a large vase of 
 alabaster about eight feet high, and of the 
 finest proportions. It stood before a mirror. 
 On the exterior surface, the whole story of 
 Lucretia was represented in figures of demi- 
 relievo. The work was exquisite. The vase 
 was illuminated inside, and cast softened 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 125 
 
 shades through the room. By the reflections 
 of the mirror, all the figures, though on a 
 spherical surface, came under the eye at once. 
 This classic and beautiful ornament, which the 
 size of the room displayed to the best advan 
 tage, had been imported from Florence. Eng 
 land, though carrying the manufacturing arts 
 to so high a pitch, is filled with the costly 
 productions of other parts of the world ; the 
 porcelain, the silk damasks, the or-molu, of 
 France ; the finest works in marble from Italy; 
 the table-linen of Holland and Saxony ; the 
 lace of Flanders ; the gems, the cashmeres, of 
 India. No amount of duty shuts out such 
 articles from her opulent classes. Their very 
 costliness brings them into demand. 
 
 March 18. The Duke of Sussex visited me. 
 He had called when I was out. Seeing the 
 Secretary of Legation at Almack s, he fixed 
 to-day for calling again. I stayed at home to 
 receive him. 
 
 An ardour for constitutional liberty pervaded 
 his conversation. It rose sometimes to an elo 
 quent boldness. I had not been prepared for 
 quite as much in a prince of the blood, and 
 prized it the more. Passing in review some 
 of the speakers in parliament, he specially 
 commended Lords Grey, Holland, Lansdowne, 
 Grenville, and Erskine ; and, of the House 
 
126 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 of Commons, -- Sir Samuel Romilly, Mr. 
 Brougham, and Sir James Macintosh.* 
 
 Gibbon was mentioned. He thought highly 
 of his historical research, but preferred Addi- 
 son s style. The latter never tired. It was 
 adapted to all subjects. He spoke of Mr. 
 Adams, called him his friend, said he had 
 known him on the Continent, where, as in 
 England, he was esteemed by all to whom 
 he was known. In paying a tribute to his 
 talents, he mentioned his knowledge of lan 
 guages. 
 
 The French was spoken of as the language 
 of conversation in Europe. His Royal High 
 ness said, that he would not perhaps object to 
 
 * A member of the House of Peers, at the close of a 
 protracted debate, many years afterwards, in which. Lord 
 Brougham had electrified his audience by his marvellous 
 eloquence, was heard to say, (( There has been nothing 
 like this since the days of Chatham/ At the period in 
 question, Brougham was in his zenith, winning nightly 
 triumphs in the field in which he was such a consummate and 
 acknowledged master. There are those who have stood for 
 hours, in the House of Lords, in the space allotted to stran 
 gers, without being in the slightest degree sensible of fatigue, 
 listening to, and carried away, by his resistless oratory. Sir 
 Kobert Peel and Lord Stanley (the late Earl of Derby,) con 
 tributed their powerful share in the other House to the 
 English Parliamentary renown of those days, sometimes 
 making it difficult to decide to which House to give the 
 preference for an evening s intellectual treat, but Brougham 
 was primus inter pares. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 127 
 
 this, as it was established ; but when used as 
 the language of state papers and treaties, he 
 was disposed to make a qusere. The French 
 was acquired by foreigners with sufficient pre 
 cision for conversation, and general purposes 
 of literature ; but in drawing up treaties, where 
 the employment of words in their nicest shades 
 of meaning was often of national moment, he 
 who wrote in his native language had an ad 
 vantage ; and however slight, it was enough to 
 lay the practice open to objection. He would 
 suggest as a remedy, that treaties and other 
 solemn papers, to which two or more nations 
 were parties, should be drawn up in Latin. 
 This would put modern nations upon a par. 
 Each would stand upon the scholarship of their 
 public men. It was to this effect he spoke. I 
 thought it in the natural feeling of an English 
 prince. 
 
 The language of France has been diffused 
 by her social manners, the merit of her writers, 
 the exile of her protestants, and the power of 
 her monarchy. Some of these influences are 
 past. Others are shared by contemporary 
 nations. Is it right that the monopoly of her 
 language should last for ever ? I would be 
 much inclined to his Royal Highness s remedy, 
 if there were no other, though open to diffi 
 culty, perhaps, from modern terms of art. But 
 
128 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8- 
 
 I venture upon the suggestion of another. Let 
 the language most likely to be predominant 
 throughout Christendom, be the common ve 
 hicle of Christendom. If a living language is 
 to be adopted at all, this would be the fairest 
 test. The European dominions of Britain 
 have a population of upwards of twenty-two 
 millions ; the United States count more than 
 twelve, to take no notice of the rapid increase 
 of the latter, or numerous colonies of the former. 
 Here is enough to authorize the belief, that, 
 already, there are more persons to whom Eng 
 lish is the vernacular tongue than French ; and 
 that it is destined to gain, not only upon the 
 French, but German, Spanish, and all others. 
 There is another fact more applicable. The 
 foreign commerce of Britain and that of the 
 United States conjointly, exceed that of all 
 Europe. This serves, at the present day, to 
 send forth the English tongue more extensively 
 to all parts of the globe, than the French, or 
 any of Christendom. Malherbe asserted the 
 rights of his native language so strenuously 
 against all foreign usurpation, that he gained 
 at the French court the appellation of u tyrant 
 of words and syllables" Very well, in a 
 Frenchman ! But if treaties and all other 
 international papers are always to be written 
 in French words and syllables, what becomes 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. - 129 
 
 of the equal independence of English words 
 and syllables? The French are too just to dis 
 parage the language of Milton, and Newton, 
 and Locke ; and why should they insist upon 
 the perpetual preference of their own ; or 
 rather why should England acquiesce ?* 
 
 His Royal Highness, it must be added, is 
 himself an excellent linguist. To his know 
 ledge of the classics, he adds German, Italian, 
 French, Hebrew, and it may be others, of 
 which I am not informed. 
 
 March 23. Dined at the Lord Mayor s. It 
 was not Lord Mayor s Day, but a city enter 
 tainment always given on Easter Monday, at 
 the Mansion-house. This edifice is sometimes 
 called the City palace. In size, it resembles 
 one, and in some points of architecture ; but 
 
 * If it were true in 1818 that the English language was 
 more spoken throughout the globe, than any other, how 
 much more true now ? The Author s suggestion that " the 
 language most likely to be predominant throughout Christen 
 dom, should be the common vehicle of Christendom/ de 
 serves to be thought of. Why indeed, it is well asked, 
 should other Nations acquiesce in the claim to monopoly set 
 up by France in this respect ? Prince Bismark has already 
 set an example which it is hoped may be followed, and 
 already a change is perceptible to ordinary travellers. On 
 a late tour through parts of Germany (before the War) it 
 was remarked that Germans spoke English more frequently 
 than French. At times, it became rare to hear the latter, 
 while the former was not rare. 
 
 K 
 
130 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 is badly situated, close to the Bank and Royal 
 Exchange. The streets are so narrow, you 
 can see it but in part, and it is with difficulty 
 that carriages approach it at all. Through the 
 courtesy of the Lord Mayor, the diplomatic 
 corps are annually invited to this entertain 
 ment. It is a gratifying one to them, for they 
 see at it, the image of a powerful class in the 
 empire ; the commercial class. 
 
 The Royal Dukes, some of the nobility, and 
 persons in station, were present. These, with 
 the diplomatic corps, occupied seats in a half 
 circle at the upper extremity of the room, on 
 an elevation or dais. The tables in the area 
 below, were filled with the opulent citizens of 
 London. It was a fine sight. They might be 
 taken as a representative body from the great 
 ocean of mercantile wealth between Temple- 
 bar and London-bridge. The room was the 
 Egyptian hall, of ample dimensions and bril 
 liantly lighted. A band played as we entered. 
 The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress were 
 side by side in the centre of the half circle, at 
 the top of the dais ; the latter in a full court- 
 dress. By her position she faced the whole 
 company ; a trying situation, which she bore 
 with grace. After all the courses were over, 
 toasts were given, the first I had heard in 
 England. Music was kept up, the song rose, 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 131 
 
 and every thing ministered to thefestive feeling. 
 On one side of me was Sir Benjamin Bloom- 
 field. At intervals we conversed. *It was 
 principally of the United States. He spoke 
 in a very friendly spirit ; urging the benefit to 
 both countries of mutual good-will and good 
 offices. I listened the more, as he was Private 
 Secretary to the Prince Regent. 
 
 The entertainment closed with a ball in 
 another part of the building. Throughout the 
 rooms, were insignia of the commerce and 
 riches of London from an ancient day. The 
 nation that commands the trade of the world, 
 said Sir Walter Raleigh, commands its riches, 
 and consequently the world itself. Whether 
 the saying be true or not, the policy, the laws, 
 the whole conduct of the English, attest that 
 they never forget it. 
 
132 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 VISIT TO MR. WEST. DINNER AT MR. LYTTELTOtt s AT 
 LORD HOLLAND S. A DAY AT DEPTFORD AND GREEN 
 WICH. DINNER AT THE AUSTRIAN AMBASSADOR^ 
 
 AT EARL BATHURST S. MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCESS 
 ELIZABETH. DINNER AT LORD BAGOT^S. 
 
 March 26, 1818. Visited Mr. West, Presi 
 dent of the Royal Academy. I found him 
 with his pencil in his hand. 
 
 The most curious piece in his collection, 
 was one painted when he was eight years old. 
 It was small, and very imperfect, he said ; but 
 added, that the primary colours, blue, red, and 
 yellow, were so justly blended that he could 
 not improve that part of the work. On ask 
 ing if he had any previous instruction that en 
 abled him to go right in so important a par 
 ticular, he replied, no ; he could no more say 
 how his judgment had been formed to it, than 
 how he learned his mother teugue. 
 
 The piece to which he pointed with most 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 133 
 
 interest, was the " Continence of Scipio." It 
 had been instrumental in bringing him into 
 notice, forty years before. George III. sent 
 for it, and kept it for some time at his palace. 
 At his Majesty s request, he had painted a 
 series of historical pieces, from the New Testa 
 ment. They were at Windsor to be put up 
 in a chapel the King contemplated building. 
 
 The number of pieces in his rooms was very 
 great. He had been computing the dimen 
 sions of a gallery, to contain all he had ever 
 painted. He found that it would require one 
 four hundred feet long, fifty broad, and forty 
 high. The piece from Lear, in the Academy 
 of Arts at Philadelphia, was, he said, among 
 those with the execution of which he had been 
 best satisfied. I spoke of his " Christ healing 
 the sick," in the* hospital at Philadelphia, re 
 marking how highly it was prized; all the town 
 had flocked to see it. He spoke of a criticism 
 upon it in Philadelphia, that had come under 
 his notice ; said it was written in a scholar- 
 like manner, and with a perfect knowledge of 
 the subject. He knew not the author, nor 
 could I inform him. 
 
 This eminent and venerable artist was then 
 near eighty. A native American, born near 
 Philadelphia, he adverted to scenes of his early 
 life. I was enabled to understand some of 
 
134 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 his local allusions. His patriarchal look and 
 character gave me something of the filial feel 
 ing. What am I to do, I asked, as our con 
 versation proceeded, to be able to judge of 
 paintings ? Wherever I go, I meet with them; 
 in palaces, private houses, everywhere ; en 
 gravings rest in portfolios ; I see nothing but 
 the works of your art, and all persons appear 
 to have a knowledge of them ; I the rather 
 ask, as there is a growing taste for the arts in 
 the United States ; Republics have been cele 
 brated for them ; we cherish the hope that it 
 may be our lot. He replied that he believed 
 he could not do better, than name to me the 
 discourses of Sir Joshua Reynolds. Those 
 productions, I said, but increased my despair; 
 we knew them in Philadelphia ; they were in 
 genious, profound ; but what a universe they 
 opened! wider than the poet s in Rasselas ; 
 it was boundless ; all kind of knowledge was 
 necessary to the painter; and could we, with 
 less, and without superadding the practice of 
 the eye, become judges of painting ? He 
 agreed that the art was boundless ; said that 
 he every day saw something to learn in it ; 
 told the anecdote of the clergyman who 
 preached one of Sir Joshua s discourses from 
 the pulpit, omitting technical words, as a proof 
 of its foundation in the principles of man s 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 135 
 
 general nature, and admitted that it could 
 only be successfully studied in conjunction 
 with practice ; in other words, that the eye 
 could not gain a quick or sure perception of 
 beauties and defects, but by familiarity with 
 the best models. I said, it was this which gave 
 to the English their facilities ; foreign travel 
 was so common with them, that they saw the 
 best models abroad, and then kept the eye in 
 practice at home ; the Vatican, the Louvre, 
 the Museum at the Hague, the galleries of 
 Sans Souci, the collections in the Low Coun 
 tries and Spain, persons whom you met every 
 day, had more or less seen. It was somewhat 
 the same with books of travels. If you alluded 
 to the latest in France, a gentleman by your 
 side had been over the ground, and knew more 
 than the book ; if you spoke of the Coliseum 
 or St. Peter s, half the company had been at 
 Rome ; and so of other places. He replied 
 that it was true. Englishmen travelled a great 
 deal ; all did not bring back useful information 
 in the arts, but so many went abroad, that 
 the number was still great who did ; hence 
 there were more good judges of painting in 
 England, than good painters ; it was rare to 
 meet with a person of leisure and fortune who 
 had not visited Italy and France, if not more 
 countries ; England also contained more paint- 
 
136 RESIDENCE AT THE iSlS. 
 
 ings than any other country, not in public de 
 positories, for there were none worth speaking 
 of, but in private houses ; the rich bought up 
 the best upon the Continent, wherever to be 
 had ; he would be glad to point out the private 
 collections ; those of Lord Stafford and Lord 
 Grosvenor stood at the head, but there were 
 others scattered about town, and all over the 
 country. He invited me to call, whenever I 
 had an hour to throw away, and saunter through 
 his own collection, for all that it might be 
 worth to me, saying that he would saunter 
 with me, being always at home. It was thus 
 that he received and talked to me. Once there 
 was a tear, that the early recollections of his 
 native land seemed to have drawn down. I 
 felt in his fame the interest of a countryman. 
 In his whole manner there was a cordiality 
 which also inspired personal attachment even 
 in a first interview. As often as I saw him 
 afterwards, it was with renewed pleasure and 
 advantage ; but it was not long, before I was 
 summoned to bear his pall. 
 
 March 27. We were entertained at dinner 
 by Mr. and Lady Sarah Lyttelton. Mr. Lyt- 
 telton is in Parliament, and heir presumptive 
 to Hagley, \vith the title of its possessor. I 
 spoke of the letters in the name of one of his 
 family, lie said it was an admitted point that 
 
I8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 137 
 
 they had not been written by Lord Lyttelton. 
 Sir Humphrey Davy was at table. The news 
 men had been blowing horns on a false rumour 
 of Bonaparte s death. " When that happens," 
 said Sir Humphrey, " Europe will fly up, 
 compression being off." We had also Lady 
 Davy, Miss Fanshawe, Earl Spencer, Lord 
 Folkstone, and Mr. Luttrell. There was a flow 
 of conversation that gives charm to a dinner 
 party ; our reception having been as friendly 
 as courteous by this accomplished pair. 
 
 March 29. Dined at Lord Holland s. His 
 Lordship and Lady Holland, the Marquis of 
 Lansdowne, Lord Morpeth, Lord Maitland, 
 Sir James Macintosh, and Mr. Tierney, were 
 of the company. 
 
 Lord Holland spoke of the institutions of 
 the United States. Our system, he said, ap 
 peared suited to our circumstances ; he hoped 
 we would not put it to risk by a fondness for 
 war ; was there no fear that the excitements 
 apt to arise under popular forms, and the cou 
 rage that springs from freedom, might make 
 us prone to war ? I replied, that our reliance 
 was in the checks which our constitution raised 
 up, and chiefly, that the people, who must suf 
 fer from war, were the power who alone, by 
 their representatives, could declare it. He 
 bore testimony to the merit of President 
 
138 RESIDENCE AT THE 1818. 
 
 Monroe, whom he had known in personal and 
 official relations, saying that in such hands 
 our Republic, as far as depended on the chief 
 magistrate, might always be considered safe. 
 
 I asked Sir James Macintosh, when we were 
 to be favoured with the history the public had 
 been led to hope he was preparing. He spoke 
 doubtfully. Hume was mentioned. He could 
 not always agree with him, he said, but com 
 mended the general spirit of his history ; the 
 whole, indeed, was masterly ; the best portion, 
 that which comprised the reigns of the Tudors, 
 particularly Elizabeth s. He spoke of Robert 
 son and Gibbon ; both were careful inquirers 
 into facts ; Gibbon s research was profound, 
 but he saw objections to his style. He spoke 
 of Franklin s style with nothing but praise. It 
 was more than pure ; it was classic. It was 
 neither the style of Addison nor Swift; it had 
 the simplicity of theirs, but an original and 
 graceful playfulness not carried too far, which 
 neither of the others had in so great a degree. 
 Lord Holland asked if it could be true that 
 his works, and especially his style, were not 
 popular in the United States ; he had seen late 
 publications seeming to point that way. My 
 own knowledge and observation, I said, would 
 lead me to a different conclusion as to the 
 opinions of my countrymen. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 139 
 
 Holland House, where we dined, four miles 
 from London, is a venerable building. Among 
 other associations that go with it, is the name 
 of Addison. He lived here, after his marriage 
 to the Countess of Warwick. After dinner we 
 went into the room that had been his library. 
 It is now Lord Holland s. It is very long. 
 Addison was not happy in his marriage ; and 
 the jocose tradition is, that he kept his bottle 
 at each end of the room, so that in his walks 
 backwards and forwards he might take a glass 
 at each ! It was in this room he wrote his 
 despatches when Secretary of State. The Spec 
 tator being mentioned, Sir James said, that it 
 had lost its value as a book of instruction, but 
 as a standard of style would always last. I 
 listened with interest to these and other re 
 marks from him. His speeches and writings, 
 read on the banks of the Delaware as those of 
 the Thames, had taught me to regard his mind 
 as kindred to Burke s ; the same elementary 
 power ; the same application of the philosophy 
 of politics and jurisprudence to practical oc 
 currences ; the same use of history never hea 
 vily but always happily brought in ; the same 
 aptitude for embellishment, not so gorgeous, 
 but always chaste ; the same universal wisdom. 
 
 I resumed the topic of his history. I said, 
 that when he got to the American revolution 
 
140 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 we should, on our side of the Atlantic, open 
 his pages with peculiar interest. That we 
 believed the full and proper account of it had 
 not yet gone forth to the world ; that among 
 us were still left a few who were contemporary 
 with it; their minds were the repositories of 
 facts and reflections which, if not rescued in 
 time, would perish. I instanced particularly, 
 Mr. Jefferson and the elder Adams. The life 
 of each hung by a thread ; but their faculties 
 were unimpaired. If he thought it worth 
 while to embark in a correspondence with these 
 fathers of our country, who, like himself, could 
 have no object but truth, I would be happy to 
 be the medium of its commencement. Some 
 light he might hope to gleam ; and if, examin 
 ing also for himself, he should find it the light 
 of truth, would it not be worthy of both na 
 tions to establish this part of their common 
 history, on a basis that both might approve ? 
 He caught at the suggestion, and followed it 
 up with inquiries, saying he would avail him 
 self of it. But it was not acted upon. I do 
 not believe the omission arose from any di 
 minished sense of the value of the aid he would 
 probably have derived; but other causes. His 
 parliamentary engagements took up much of 
 his time; those at the India College had their 
 claims ; and shall I add, as another and natural 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 141 
 
 hindrance, the claims of daily society upon him 
 in the highest spheres, uniting as he did, the 
 ease of the man of the world, to intellectual 
 stores attractive and inexhaustible. Such men 
 grow into favourites in these spheres in Lon 
 don. Chains are thrown round them, not easy 
 to break.* 
 
 The conversation from which I have mi 
 nuted a small part, took place after we had 
 risen from dinner, and were in the library. At 
 table it was suited to the moment, and with 
 the moment passing away. Of hospitality as 
 dispensed by Lord Holland I had heard ; of 
 its kindness, its elegance. His standing as a 
 peer is known. Not less, the many attain 
 ments which he makes subservient to the plea 
 sures of society and friendship. In his house, 
 opulence and refinement seem to lend their 
 aids to invest letters with glory. The room in 
 which we dined was richly ornamented. I un- 
 
 * Few things are more striking in England than the way 
 in which Statesmen, the busiest and most distinguished, and 
 men of affairs, contrive to unite these claims of society, 
 with all other engrossing claims upon their time, but they 
 do manage it. Of course it can only be by great industry 
 and activity, combined with subdivision and metJwdj for 
 which latter the present Premier of England is said to be 
 remarkable. Nowhere is economy of time better understood 
 and more successfully practised than among the classes here 
 referred to. 
 
142 RESIDENCE AT THE l8i8. 
 
 derstood that it had been painted and gilded 
 as I saw, by one of Lord Holland s ancestors 
 in the time of Charles I. on the occasion of a 
 fete given to Henrietta his Queen, when she 
 came over from France. 
 
 I must mention an incident at one of the 
 Holland House dinners, though I was not pre 
 sent. Scott s novels became a topic, a new one 
 being out. One or two of the company ex 
 pressed preferences among them. Before opi 
 nion had gone farther, Lady Holland proposed 
 that each person should write down the name 
 of the novel liked best. Paper and pencil were 
 passed, and a slip torn off as each wrote. Nine 
 were handed to her, and each had the name of 
 a different novel ! a happy illustration of the 
 various merit of this fascinating writer. 
 
 April 1. Went to Deptford with Sir Hum 
 phrey Davy. His carriage was at the door 
 when I drove up at an early hour to his house. 
 An accident happening to it, he took a seat in 
 mine. Our conversation was chiefly about 
 the United States, he leading it by his rapid, 
 intelligent inquiries. One subject of our ex 
 cursion was, to see the ships fitting out for the 
 Polar voyage. We went on board the Isa 
 bella. Outside she looked like any common 
 merchant-vessel equipped for boisterous seas. 
 There was double planking round her bow 
 
1818. COURT OF LONDON. 143 
 
 and sides to resist ice. The interior arrange 
 ments embraced whatever science could devise 
 and mechanical skill effect to promote the ob 
 jects of the expedition and comfort of the 
 officers and men. Flues for diffusing heated 
 air through the ship, nautical and philoso 
 phical instruments, with a library that seemed 
 to contain the accounts of all former voyages 
 of discovery were to be seen. Parliament, to 
 increase the zeal of the officers, had included 
 them within the promise of reward to those 
 who ascertained most nearly the longitude. 
 After going through nearly all parts of the 
 ship, we went into the Naval Dockyard, and 
 afterwards to Greenwich to see the Hospital. 
 
 Deptford is the smallest of the English dock 
 yards. We saw but few ships-of-war. Only 
 one of the line, and three frigates were build 
 ing. There were docks for repairing as well 
 as building. We saw several royal yachts ; 
 among them, a very old one, the same that had 
 conveyed Caroline Matilda, sister of George 
 III. to Denmark, on the occasion of her mar 
 riage to the king of that country. The Danes 
 sent it back to England ; refusing to keep it 
 after the attack upon their capital, and capture 
 of their fleet by Britain, in 1801. Although 
 this is the smallest of the yards, it is not with 
 out importance, from being so near London. 
 
144 RESIDENCE AT THE t8l8. 
 
 The business of supplying the navy with pro 
 visions is, or until lately was, carried on from 
 a depot adjoining it. Sir Humphrey spoke of 
 their excellent quality, remarking how much 
 the strength and courage of seamen depended 
 upon food. They got, he said, bread and beef 
 of the best quality, and in full quantity ; an 
 ample allowance of malt liquor ; wine and 
 cocoa, with all other things proper for the sea 
 ration. In the timber piled up in the yard, I 
 observed mahogany. The Commissioner said, 
 it was used, not merely for decks, as in the 
 royal yachts, but with advantage, as knees and 
 beams in heavy ships. The timber of all kinds 
 on hand in the yard, generally amounted to a 
 supply for three years. It consisted of English 
 oak chiefly; but they also got supplies of foreign 
 timber. A quantity was soon expected from 
 the forests of Croatia and Dalmatia, under 
 contracts with the Government of Vienna. 
 They also obtained it from the Baltic. This 
 they thought good when cut from the southern 
 shores. From their North American posses 
 sions they did not get much, except for large 
 masts. The attachments of George III. to the 
 navy were spoken of, his feelings as monarch 
 being seconded, as was said, by a personal 
 fondness for naval architecture and affairs of 
 the sea. He had first evinced them in pro- 
 
ItSlS. COURT OF LONDON. 145 
 
 motingrthe voyages of Byron and Cook, as 
 soon as he got to the throne. It was added, 
 that at Buckingham Palace, he was furnished 
 with models of the dock-yards, and, occasion 
 ally, of the vessels building ; which he took an 
 interest in examining. These modes of exert 
 ing a superintendence over the navy, seem 
 better in themselves, and, it must be owned, 
 more befitted a sovereign, than if he had turned 
 ship-carpenter, like Peter of Russia. The 
 yard at Deptford was one of those in which 
 that eccentric monarch worked. 
 
 Commissioner Cunningham received us very 
 kindly at his house within the yard. He 
 would not allow us to depart without par 
 taking of a collation. 
 
 We proceeded on towards Greenwich. Go 
 ing through the streets, and stopping a mo 
 ment, an incident arrested my attention. A 
 woman stood at the door of a house where 
 cheap refreshments were sold. Some common 
 people passing, she called to ask if they would 
 take tea. It was about one o clock. Houses 
 of this kind, I understood, were not uncom 
 mon in London. I had myself observed tea 
 sold in the streets near Charing Cross, by 
 huckster women, who obtained the boiling- 
 water by means of coals in a pan, or lamp. 
 In a country where the light wines are not 
 produced, the first step into temperance is 
 small beer ; the next tea. The national schools 
 
 L 
 
146 RESIDENCE AT THE iSiS. 
 
 in England have done much towards Ameliora 
 ting the condition of her people. The use of 
 tea has co-operated, by doing more of late years, 
 probably, than any other physical cause, to 
 wards lessening the appetite for ardent spirits. 
 It acts not so much by reclaiming old drunk 
 ards, as diminishing the stock of new. What 
 a sight to see this woman beckoning labouring 
 men to tea, instead of drains ! The use of tea 
 in England is universal. It is the breakfast 
 of the wealthy, as of the poorer classes. On 
 rising from the sumptuous dinner, coffee is first 
 handed ; but black tea comes afterwards. A 
 general of the Duke of Wellington s army told 
 me, that when worn down with fatigue, there 
 was nothing for which the officers in the Pen 
 insular Avar used to call so eagerly, as tea. 
 Servants in London take it twice a day, some 
 times oftener, and the occurrence at Greenwich 
 shows the taste for it to be spreading among 
 labouring classes at all hours. 
 
 We soon got near the Hospital. The day 
 was fine. I saw, as we approached, men in 
 uniform. They had a blue coat, full in front, 
 flapped waistcoat, with breeches and stockings. 
 
 All had three-cornered hats. Until we <rot 
 
 i 
 
 near, a stranger might have taken them for an 
 assemblage of old admirals. They were the 
 pensioners common seamen. Some were sun 
 ning themselves in seats. Others moved slowly 
 about. I heard no talking from any. Al- 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 147 
 
 together, they had a venerable appearance. 
 Arrived within the high palisades of iron, I 
 was struck with the extent and grandeur of 
 the building. Domes ; single and double rows 
 of columns; flights of solid steps; Corinthian 
 porticoes met the eye on all sides. The 
 whole was of Portland stone, and on a terrace 
 fronting the Thames. I had heard that Eng 
 lish hospitals, were like palaces. The one 
 before me far exceeded any palace I had be 
 held. The interior corresponded with the 
 outside. There was space, neatness, universal 
 order. The number of pensioners drawing 
 the funds of the institution was more than 
 thirty thousand. Those accommodated within 
 the building, amounted to about three thou 
 sand. A Naval Asylum for minors is annexed, 
 where are eight hundred boys, and two hundred 
 girls, children of British seamen. These are 
 educated, and otherwise provided for. Some 
 of the apartments of the Hospital, as the chapel 
 and great hall, are superbly ornamented. In 
 the first is the Shipwreck of St. Paul, a large 
 painting by West. It fills the space over the 
 altar, to which you ascend by a range of black 
 marble steps. There are representations of 
 Christ stilling the tempest and walking upon 
 the waves, with various other costly emblems 
 from the pencil and chisel, having relation to 
 the sea. In the great hall, the ceiling ex 
 hibits paintings which years of labouring art 
 
 L2 
 
148 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 had been necessary to perfect. They portray, 
 under appropriate allegories, astronomical and 
 nautical science, intermingled with insignia of 
 the naval glory of England. Probably no 
 age or nation can show a charity more 
 splendid ; the first approacli so imposing, the 
 minute examination so calculated to augment 
 admiration. 
 
 But there arose a reflection that I could not 
 repress. Many of the veterans whom I saw, 
 had, doubtless, fought under the compulsion 
 of impressment. As I looked on their hoary 
 locks and scarred faces, I thought that a 
 country treating its seamen thus, was bound 
 to lodge them like kings, when old or wound 
 ed ; that in fact, it was only a payment back, 
 and not adequate, for the previous infliction 
 of such a wrong. It is to me an unaccountable 
 anomaly, that a nation in which individual 
 rights are guarded by barriers such as no other 
 ever raised up, except the nation in the New 
 World that springs from her ; who would 
 wade through blood sooner than part with her 
 Habeas Corpus, or trial by jury, should yet 
 sit calmly down under this unjust and tyran 
 nical practice. It is said that her navy cannot 
 otherwise be manned. Poor excuse ! as if it 
 were not universally true, that labour of any 
 kind can be commanded by paying for it, and 
 of course labour upon the ocean, with the risk 
 of battle and death ; and as if, supposing it to 
 
iSlS. COURT OF LONDON. 149 
 
 cost ten times over what would be asked, it 
 ought not to be paid, sooner than such an out 
 rage be committed ! The statesmen, the philan 
 thropists of England will at last awake from 
 this dream of supposed necessity for the press- 
 gang. It will cease, and the wonder be, that 
 any arguments for sustaining it could have 
 been made current so long. There have, it is 
 true, been states ancient and modern, that 
 have resorted to force for obtaining military 
 service ; but it has generally been for tempo 
 rary purposes. Where this has not been the 
 case, the states have been those in which per- 
 so nal rights have been imperfectly protected. 
 The precedents are to be shunned, not copied ; 
 especially by a nation whose fundamental code 
 looks to the inviolability of personal liberty 
 in a degree far above that of the civil law of 
 Rome, or any of the codes of Continental 
 Europe engrafted upon it. I did not volunteer 
 my thoughts upon my English companion ; but 
 if I had, I scarcely think that dissent would 
 have come from his liberal mind, accustomed 
 as it was to analyze and reason.* 
 
 * Anxious to arrive at the exact state of the English Law, 
 in this respect, as it now stands, the writer sought the best 
 information, and here subjoins an extract from the reply of 
 an enlightened English friend : " I think there can be no 
 doubt that the right of Impressment is at this moment ex 
 isting. It appears to be part of the Common Law of England, 
 limited and denned by a series of statutes since the reign of 
 Bichard II., but never abrogated. The last statute on tho 
 
150 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 We visited in the last place the Observatory 
 at Greenwich. Mr. Pond, the astronomer- 
 royal, received us in the same hospitable man 
 ner as Commissioner Cunningham. We as 
 cended to the top of the edifice, seeing all the 
 astronomical instruments in use. When chro 
 nometers were spoken of, it was stated, that 
 the Government ordered twelve to be made 
 every year by the best watch-makers in Lon 
 don. For the one which kept the most accu 
 rate time, a premium was given ; for the next 
 best, a diminished premium ; and the remain 
 ing ten, if approved, were taken at fair prices. 
 All were for the use of the public ships. In 
 this way competition was kept up, no watch 
 maker suffered loss, and the navy got a supply 
 of the best instruments for measuring time in 
 all latitudes. The hour for our return press 
 ing, we hastened back to town, after a day 
 which, to me, had been one of great variety 
 and interest. The Secretary of Legation, and 
 Captain Thompson of the navy of the United 
 
 subject, 5 & 6 W. IV., c. 24, limits the time for which a 
 man may be taken to five years. I have not been able to 
 ascertain the time when the last press gang was sent out, 
 and it would, I should think, be very difficult to get this 
 information. But as it seems men were not impressed except 
 under stress of war, I suspect that the right has been in 
 abeyance since 1815. It is pretty safe to prophecy, I think, 
 that the right is one which will remain in abeyance. v 
 
 Nevertheless it seems scarcely credible that this blot upon 
 the English statute book should be suffered to remain. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 151 
 
 States, were of the party. Sir Humphrey s 
 ardour of conversation did not abate going 
 home. 
 
 April 2. Dined at Prince Esterhazy s. 
 Company the diplomatic corps and their 
 ladies, The dinner was one to have been ex 
 pected from the munificence of the entertainer. 
 Among a variety of wines, we had hock. By 
 Austrian connoisseurs, this is not prized so 
 much on account of its age, as original quality. 
 When best, they think it does not improve 
 after twelve or fifteen. Perhaps no wine does. 
 The preference at English as at foreign tables 
 in London, is for the light wines ; the strong, 
 as Madeira and Sherry, are little used : Sherry 
 most. Generally, it is limited to a singfc glass 
 after soup. With the latter every dinner be 
 gins. Turbot follows, before the meats are 
 uncovered.* We had French cookery, in its 
 perfection. This I find at English, as foreign 
 tables. Mr. Morris, American Minister in 
 France at the time of the revolution, said, that 
 if the French had revolutionized the kitchens 
 of Europe instead of its courts, they would 
 have rendered a service that no party would 
 have called in question. He was right. Food 
 simply roasted, or boiled is thought temper 
 ance. The French know better, and that to 
 render it simple as well as savoury, a process 
 
 * Turlot is doubtless used here as women gencralissimuin. 
 
 * 
 
152 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 more artificial is required. Hence, the made 
 dishes, like the light wines of France, promote 
 health and cheerfulness. Oppression seldom 
 follows indulgence in them ; gout as rarely. 
 
 Talking with the Prince after coming out 
 from dinner, we spoke of the campaigns of 
 Frederick. There is a pretty little fact with 
 which he was familiar on my allusion to it. 
 After Berlin was taken by the Austrians and 
 Russians, the soldiers gave themselves up to 
 plunder. An officer high in rank was seen to 
 protect the palace at Potsdam. He would 
 suffer nothing to be touched ; but asked as a 
 favour to be allowed to take a small picture of 
 Frederick, and one of his flutes, that he might 
 preserve them as memorials of so great a war 
 rior and king. This officer was Prince Ester- 
 hazy, a relative, as I learned, of our accom 
 plished host.* 
 
 Although no political relations existed be 
 tween the United States and Austria, I re 
 ceived from this her ambassador in London, 
 
 * The name of the Great Frederick naturally suggests that 
 of the Great Emperor King who now rules over united Ger 
 many, and leads the mind irresistibly to the great German 
 People ; a People whose solid qualities, domestic and stern 
 virtues, conspicuously their love of truthj 
 
 " Wo ein ja, ein ja, und ein nein, ein nein, ist " 
 whose simplicity, yet nobility of character, developed by 
 high education, and invincible courage, point them out as 
 destined to a mighty future upon the Continent of Europe. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 153 
 
 invariable marks of esteem during my resi 
 dence. 
 
 April 3. We dined at Earl Bathurst s. 
 Earl and Countess Bathurst, the Duke of 
 York, the Duke of Gloucester, the Duke of 
 Montrose, Lord Lynedoch, Mr. and Mrs. Vil- 
 liers, Sir Henry Torrens, General Maitland, 
 Mr. Goulburn, and a few others, were the 
 company. 
 
 Conversation turned upon the United States; 
 their climate, government, productions, steam 
 boats. On a question respecting the width of 
 a river in one of the States, I was at fault. 
 One of the Royal Dukes put me right. Both 
 of them spoke of our Constitution. They 
 asked how the Senate and Supreme Court 
 were modelled, not well perceiving the line 
 between the National and State authorities. 
 I endeavoured in a few words to explain ; 
 which it was not easy to do, in a few words ; 
 and it was no place for dissertation. The 
 Colonization society became a topic. Its ob 
 jects were approved. Inquiries were made as 
 to the amount of our slave population, the 
 ratio of increase, and others bearing on this 
 subject. I answered with an admission of the 
 general evil of slavery in the United States ; 
 but added that there were great mitigations in 
 the good treatment of the slaves. To this the 
 exceptions, I said, were rare, and scarcely 
 known at all, among the better classes of our 
 
154 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 Southern planters. The effect of good treat 
 ment was, to diffuse in a large degree content 
 and happiness among the slaves. Conciliatory 
 statements towards the United States ran 
 throughout all the conversation. 
 
 At eleven, we left the table. An hour passed 
 in the drawing-room, where conversation was 
 continued. 
 
 April 8. The Princess Elizabeth was mar 
 ried last evening to the Prince of Hesse 
 Homberg. The cabinet ministers, foreign 
 ambassadors and ministers, officers of the royal 
 household, persons in the suites of the Royal 
 Dukes and Princesses, the Archbishops of 
 Canterbury and York, the Bishop of London, 
 the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice 
 were present. The Prince Regent was not 
 there, being ill. Our invitation was from the 
 Queen, given through the Earl of Winchelsea, 
 nearly three weeks before. 
 
 We got to the palace at seven o clock. 
 Pages were on the stairs to conduct us to the 
 rooms. The ceremony took place in the 
 throne-room. Before the throne was an altar 
 covered with crimson velvet. A profusion of 
 golden plate was upon it. There was a salver 
 of great size on which was represented the 
 Lord s Supper. The company being assem 
 bled, the bridegroom entered, with his attend 
 ants. Then came the Queen, with the bride 
 and royal family. All approached the altar. 
 
iSlS. COURT OF LONDON. 155 
 
 Her Majesty sat ; the rest stood. The mar 
 riage service was read by the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury. The Duke of York gave the 
 bride away. The whole was according to the 
 forms of the Church, and performed with great 
 solemnity. A record of the marriage was 
 made. When all was finished, the bride knelt 
 before the Queen to receive her blessing. 
 
 The consent of the King (or Regent) and 
 Privy Council, is necessary to the validity of a 
 royal marriage in England. There is another 
 mode, where the party intending to marry, and 
 being of the male branch, is of the age of 
 twenty-six. In such case a record of the in 
 tention on the books of the Privy Council will 
 authorize the marriage at the expiration of a 
 twelvemonth, unless Parliament interpose an 
 objection. 
 
 Soon after the service was performed, the 
 bride and bridegroom set off for Windsor. 
 The company remained. The evening passed 
 in high ceremony, without excluding social 
 ease. From the members of the Royal family, 
 the guests had every measure of courtesy. 
 The bearing of the Queen deserves special 
 mention. This venerable personage, the head 
 of a large family her children then clustering 
 about her ; the female head of a great empire 
 in the seventy-sixth year of her age went the 
 rounds of the company, speaking to all. There 
 was a kindliness about her manner from which 
 
156 EESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 time had struck away useless forms. No one 
 did she omit. Around her neck hung a minia 
 ture portrait of the King. He was absent, 
 scathed by the hand of Heaven ; a marriage 
 going on in one of his palaces ; he, the lonely, 
 suffering tenant of another. But the portrait 
 was a token superior to a crown ! It bespoke 
 the natural glory of wife and mother, eclipsing 
 the artificial glory of Queen. For more than 
 fifty years this royal pair had lived together in 
 affection. The scene would have been one of 
 interest anywhere. May it not be noticed on 
 a throne ? 
 
 Tea was handed. The Queen continued to 
 stand, or move about the rooms. In one was 
 a table of refreshments. I went to it with 
 Major-General Sir Henry Torrens, distinguish 
 ed by service and wounds, whose acquaint 
 ance I had made at Lord Bathurst s. He was 
 of the establishment of the Duke of York. 
 On the table were urns and tea-kettles of 
 fretted gold. Sir Henry recommended me to 
 a glass of what I supposed wine, in a flagon 
 near me ; but he called it king s cup, given 
 only at royal weddings.* 
 
 Returning to the chief rooms, the Princess 
 
 * This was the solitary fact, mentioned by the Author, 
 which the writer remembers to have heard called in question 
 when this book first appeared, and it is quite possible that 
 he may have misapprehended his informant. Happily the 
 error, if error it be, is not a grave one. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 157 
 
 Sophia Matilda pointed out to Mrs. Rush and 
 myself the paintings, the representation of a 
 bird from India formed of precious stones so 
 as to resemble beautiful plumage, with other 
 objects of curiosity or taste. She did more. 
 She spoke of Washington. She paid a spon 
 taneous tribute to his virtues. None but Ame 
 ricans can know how this would fall upon the 
 heart. To hear his immortal name pro 
 nounced with praise in a palace of George 
 III., had a high and touching value. Men 
 tioning this Princess, I add, that myself and 
 family afterwards experienced her obliging at 
 tentions in ways the remembrance of which is 
 cherished with grateful pleasure. 
 
 At ten the company came away. 
 
 April 9. Dined at Lord Bagot s. We had 
 the Earl of Mount-Edgecumbe, Lady Emma 
 Edgecumbe, the Duchess of Leeds, the Coun 
 tess of Dartmouth, Mr. Disbrow, Vice Cham 
 berlain to the Queen, the Bishop of Oxford, 
 and several Members of Parliament. The 
 conversation had frequent allusions to the 
 United States, their public institutions, and 
 private society. The royal marriage was talk 
 ed of. Lord Mount-Edgecumbe, who had 
 been much an inmate of the palace, told anec 
 dotes of the Queen illustrative of her domestic 
 virtues. Another topic was, the attempt on 
 the life of Lord Palmerston, Secretary-of-War. 
 He was shot at and wounded, going into his 
 
158 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 office at the Horse Guards, yesterday.* The 
 person who fired was supposed to be deranged. 
 His acquittal was anticipated on this ground, 
 as with Margaret Nicholson, and Hadfield, 
 who attempted to assassinate the King. Whe 
 ther the life of their King or the lowest sub 
 ject be struck at, let the law have its course is 
 the cry in England. Their code is sanguinary, 
 but all are bound by it, all look up to it. One 
 of the company considered the law too lenient 
 upon these attempts to assassinate kings and 
 their ministers ; they recurred too often ; he 
 would punish the offender in the persons of his 
 relations, as well as his own ; as had been done 
 with the Ravillacs and Damiens in France. 
 This opinion found 110 countenance. It was 
 canvassed with sprightliness. 
 
 After dinner an evening party followed. We 
 had an invitation from Lord Bagot, to visit 
 him at his country estate, Blithfield ; and Lord 
 Mount-Edgecumbe invited us to his, near 
 Plymouth. 
 
 * The first mention of this great English Statesman, as 
 he subsequently became, may perhaps justify the writer in 
 here recording his recollections of the attractiveness of his 
 intercourse, whether official or social. Foreign Secretary 
 between the years 1837 and 1841, it happened to him 
 while occasionally left in charge of the United States Lega 
 tion, to see much of that distinguished English Minister, in 
 whom he always found a conciliatory disposition towards 
 America, united with a personal courtesy, enhanced often by 
 the sprightly vein which belonged to his character, and 
 which so impressed itself upon all who knew him. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 159 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 INTERVIEW WITH LORD CASTLEREAGII. GENERAL NE- 
 GOCIATIONS PROPOSED ON THE WEST INDIA TRADE, 
 
 MARITIME QUESTIONS AND IMPRESSMENT. NATURE 
 
 OF THE LAST QUESTION. THE SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 OFFER OF BRITISH MEDIATION IN THE AFFAIRS OF 
 THE UNITED STATES AND SPAIN. DINNER AT MR. 
 WILBERFORCE S AT THE EARL OF HARDWICKE S. 
 ALMACK S. LATE HOURS. COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE. 
 
 April 11, 1818. Had an interview with 
 Lord Castlereagh. I asked it, to apprize him 
 of the desire of my Government to open nego 
 tiations for a general treaty of commerce, and 
 arrange other matters of importance to both 
 countries. 
 
 It was the wish of the President, I said, to 
 see the commercial relations between the two 
 countries placed upon a basis broader and 
 more permanent than hitherto. The existing 
 convention was not only limited as to time, but 
 objects. The period not being remote when it 
 would expire, it w T as desirable that the Pre 
 sident should know the probable determina 
 tion of His Majesty s Government as to form- 
 
160 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 ing one of a different character; one which, if 
 not comprehending all the colonies of Great 
 Britain, should at least include those in North 
 America and the West Indies. I was aware 
 of her past unwillingness to treat of this, and 
 other subjects I should name ; but had been 
 instructed to present them anew, in the hope 
 of other views prevailing. In this event, I was 
 furnished with a full power to negotiate a 
 treaty of the nature indicated. 
 
 Lord Castlereagh was candid in reply. He 
 said, that he could hold out no encouragement 
 towards a treaty so comprehensive ; too many 
 interests hung upon their colonial dominion in 
 the quarter mentioned. It would operate like 
 a revolution in their commercial system. But 
 I might be assured, that the determination of 
 Great Britain not to bring the trade of those 
 islands and colonies under such, or any, ar 
 rangements by treaty, arose from no unfriendly 
 feeling. It was only continuing a policy long 
 established. Hence, no complaints would be 
 made if the United States adopted countervail 
 ing measures ; more especially if, not being 
 vindictive, they were merely based upon fair 
 competition. I replied, that the latter was the 
 spirit alone in which they would be resorted 
 to; that as Great Britain guarded her commer 
 cial interests very scrupulously, and in con 
 nexion with them those of her tonnage, the 
 United States must do the same. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 161 
 
 This subject being for the present disposed 
 of, I passed to others. A time of general peace, 
 as lately intimated by his lordship, seemed, I 
 said, the proper time for settling points which, 
 although of no immediate importance, were 
 highly so in the future. The President was 
 therefore desirous to take advantage of it, in 
 the hope of being able to arrange the most 
 important of this description ; such as, trade 
 with the colonies of enemies during war ; that 
 between colonies and the parent country ; that 
 from port to port of an enemy ; the list of 
 articles contraband ; the doctrine of blockade, 
 and the question of impressment. Past ex 
 perience had shown the tendency of conflicting 
 opinions on these points to embroil neutrals 
 and belligerents ; it had been unhappily too 
 much the case as between Great Britain and 
 the United States; the season when both 
 parties were free from the excitements of mo 
 mentary feeling or interest, was auspiqious to 
 attempts for adjusting them amicably, and I 
 was empowered to enter upon negotiations on 
 them all. 
 
 Lord Castlereagh replied by concurring in 
 the fitness of the time to the objects. He first 
 spoke of blockade. Upon this point he be 
 lieved the two Governments were agreed, and 
 asked if they were not ? I said that my Go 
 vernment was satisfied with the definition of 
 blockade adopted by England in Lord St. 
 
162 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 Helen s convention with Russia of 1801 ; but 
 that it was the President s desire to have the 
 point placed upon an exact footing, by com 
 pact between the two nations. Not much 
 passed upon this, and scarcely any thing upon 
 other points, both of us agreeing, that even if 
 there could be an understanding upon them 
 all, a treaty would be of little value that did 
 not also comprehend that of impressment. To 
 this question he therefore came, as of absorb 
 ing importance. 
 
 It is one prominent in the negotiations be 
 tween the two Governments. I will therefore, 
 before stating what was said on this first occa 
 sion of its being broached under my mission, 
 offer some general account of it. It may be 
 understood by those who are not politicians, 
 and its peculiarity may perhaps impart to it, 
 in the eyes of such, some share of interest. 
 To many of the rising generation it is also in 
 a great measure new, and to be learned only 
 through numerous and detached state papers, 
 not always at command but in the libraries of 
 public men. 
 
 Great Britain, as a measure of state policy, 
 impresses her seamen to serve on board her 
 ships-of-war ; in other words, takes them by 
 force. The practice is one with which other 
 nations have nothing to do, as long as it is 
 confined to British seamen, the British domi 
 nions, and the decks of British vessels upon 
 
t8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 163 
 
 the seas. It may seem at variance with the 
 high standard of personal rights upon which 
 her laws are set in other respects ; but that 
 consideration is wholly for herself. 
 
 But she claims the right of searching the 
 vessels of other nations upon the seas, for her 
 seamen ; arrd here begins the cause of com 
 plaint. For, how can the claim ever be en 
 forced consistently with what is due to other 
 nations ? 
 
 Let the steps by which the enforcement pro 
 ceeds be attended to. A British frigate, in 
 time of war, meets an American merchant 
 vessel at sea, boards her, and, under terror of 
 her guns, takes out one of the crew. The 
 boarding-lieutenant asserts, and, let it be ad 
 mitted, believes, the man to be a Briton. By 
 this proceeding the rules observed in deciding 
 upon any other fact where individual or na 
 tional rights are at stake, are overlooked. The 
 lieutenant is accuser and judge. He decides 
 upon his own view, instantly. The impressed 
 man is forced into the frigate s boat, and the 
 case ends. No appeal follows. There is no 
 trial of any kind. More important still, there 
 is no remedy, should it appear that a wrong 
 has been committed. 
 
 Different is the mode of proceeding if an 
 American merchant-vessel be stopped and ex 
 amined at sea under circumstances subjecting 
 her to suspicion as prize of war. In the latter 
 
164 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8, 
 
 case, the boarding- officer sends the vessel into 
 port under accusation. Facts are inquired into 
 judicially. Both parties are heard. Both have 
 ample opportunities of bringing forward proofs. 
 Should the tribunal decide that no lawful cause 
 of seizure existed, the vessel is restored, the 
 captors are answerable in damages, and there 
 are adequate modes of making them pay. If, 
 on the other hand, the man seized be in fact 
 no Briton, the most he can ever hope for is, 
 merely to be released. This can only take 
 place after he has been kept an indefinite 
 length of time on board the frigate, put to 
 duty, and perhaps made to fight. He may be 
 slain in battle. If this fate does not await 
 him, his subsequent liberation, from the nature 
 of the case, can only be effected at a distant 
 day, and is not certain at last. He may not 
 be able, whilst on board the frigate, to obtain 
 documents to show that he is not a Briton. 
 He may be transferred to some other vessel of 
 war. Even to trace him through a navy scat 
 tered over all seas, must become to his country 
 or friends a difficult, often a hopeless task. 
 Should the chances, multiplied as they are 
 against him, all turn out in his favour, and the 
 order for his discharge be obtained, where is 
 his action for damages ? where his remedy for 
 loss of liberty ? He has none ! 
 
 A claim so ex parte in the whole enforce 
 ment, so intrinsically open to error, and the 
 
1818. COURT OF LONDON. 165 
 
 error so fatal, cannot, it should seem, rest upon 
 public law. The United States say that it 
 does not. They have never denied to Great 
 Britain the right of search. They allege, 
 however, that this means search for enemy s 
 property, or articles contraband of war, not 
 search for men. They say that no public code, 
 or other adequate authority, has ever estab 
 lished the latter as an international right. If 
 its exercise by any other State than Great 
 Britain can be shown, the instances are averred 
 to be too few, and too devoid of the evidences 
 of general consent, to have made it part of the 
 law of nations. 
 
 Great Britain places her claim on the ground 
 of natural allegiance. She alleges that, by a 
 principle of universal law, a man owes this 
 kind of allegiance to the country of his birth. 
 That he never can shake it off. That as his 
 country protects him, so it may demand his 
 services in return ; especially in time of war. 
 
 The United States reply, that the principle 
 of natural allegiance, however cherished by 
 some states, is not universal. Sir William 
 Blackstone, in his Commentaries, so able for 
 the most part, lays it down as universal. But 
 he refers for support, only to the writers of 
 England. Puffendorf holds that allegiance 
 may be put off. So do Grotius and Bynkers- 
 hoek. If we choose to go as for back as the 
 Justinian code, we shall there find the same 
 
166 RESIDENCE AT THE 1818. 
 
 doctrine. The principle of perpetual allegi 
 ance may be held sacred by Britain ; it may be 
 of the highest practical importance under her 
 own system ; but the United States say, that 
 its operation should be confined to her own 
 territorial dominions, and decks of her own 
 merchant-vessels. There is scarcely an im 
 portant principle of public law that has not, at 
 one time or other, had place in treaties among 
 European States, the better to define or regu 
 late it. This is especially the case with prin 
 ciples that belong to maritime affairs. Would 
 a right of such concern to all nations using the 
 sea, as a sovereign s to enforce the allegiance 
 of his own subjects in neutral vessels on its 
 broad highway, have escaped notice in these 
 solemn instruments between States ? Yet no 
 treaty contains any thing in relation to it. 
 
 The United States have been exposed to 
 grievances from the exercise of the claim by 
 Britain, heavier perhaps than ever fell to the 
 lot of an independent nation. It springs from 
 a cause rooted in nature, and irreversible ; the 
 resemblance of their seamen to those of Eng 
 land. Their language, dress, sea-phrases, 
 every thing, are alike. To discriminate, is in 
 most cases impossible. Of this, the proof is 
 incontestable. It here follows. 
 
 Britain disavows, unequivocally, all claim 
 to impress from American ships, any other 
 seamen than her own. Her sense of justice 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 167 
 
 would not allow her to set up any pretence 
 of claim to take Americans ; yet these she 
 unavoidably does take, and in numbers suffi 
 cient to surprise those not informed upon the 
 subject. 
 
 From a report made to Congress by the 
 Secretary of State in April 1816, it appeared, 
 that the impressed American seamen on board 
 of British armed ships at the commencement 
 of the war of 1812, a war occasioned chiefly 
 by this cause, amounted to one thousand four 
 hundred and twenty-two. Here is no exag 
 geration. The feet comes from the archives 
 of Britain. It is taken from official lists, fur 
 nished by functionaries of the British Govern 
 ment to the American agent for prisoners of 
 war in London. These men had been trans 
 ferred from English ships to English prisons, 
 on the breaking out of the war, or during its 
 progress. 
 
 Furthermore. Britain, at a former period, 
 liberated one thousand one hundred and 
 thirty-two Americans who had been impressed 
 prior to the month of September 1801. This 
 fact also rests upon the authority of British 
 archives, and was included in the same report 
 to Congress. On the impressment of all these 
 Americans, the British boarding-officers must 
 have believed they were taking their own sub 
 jects ; else they took them knowing them to 
 be Americans. Hence the difficulty not to be 
 
168 RESIDENCE AT THE 1818. 
 
 surmounted, of distinguishing American from 
 British seamen. 
 
 What then do we learn ? more than TWO 
 
 THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED AMERICAN CITIZENS, 
 
 confessedly, the sufferers under this practice 1 
 and by no means the whole list. All were 
 native Americans. No British seaman, natu 
 ralized in the United States, was ever, if im 
 pressed, given back again/ Can Britain, whose 
 pride and spirit have raised her to greatness,, 
 and who must know how to respect such 
 qualities in other nations, can she, for a 
 moment, wonder, that a practice leading to 
 such consequences should excite the deepest 
 sensation in the United States? 
 
 She complains, that she is aggrieved by the 
 number of her seamen who get into the mer 
 chant-service of the United States, through 
 our naturalization laws and other causes. 
 This takes from her, she alleges, the right 
 arm of her defence. Without her navy, her 
 existence, no less than her glory, might be 
 endangered. It is therefore vital to both, 
 that, when war comes, she should reclaim her 
 seamen from the vessels of a nation where they 
 are so frequently found. 
 
 I have incidentally remarked in another 
 place, that the naturalization laws of the 
 United States are less favourable to foreigners 
 than is generally supposed, and less than 
 those of some of the principal states of Eu- 
 
1818. COURT OF LONDON. 169 
 
 rope. England has statutes, unless recently 
 repealed, under which foreigners serving only 
 two years in her navy, become naturalized : 
 which is going much beyond any facilities 
 afforded by the United States. As to other 
 causes that may bring her seamen to their 
 vessels, the United States can only reply, that 
 they do not entice them. Seamen are birds of 
 passage ; now under one flag, then another. 
 Those of the United States often seek volun 
 tarily the service of other nations, as those 
 of other nations voluntarily seek theirs. The 
 British navy, it is well known, is manned by 
 a large proportion of foreign seamen. Some 
 go there of their own accord. The decks of 
 all nations show, more or less, an intermin 
 gling of the seamen of all. But no country 
 is more desirous of employing their native 
 seamen than the United States. They know 
 the value of British seamen ; nevertheless, 
 they prefer their own. And why should it 
 be thought that they have not enough of 
 their own, as any other country whose in 
 terests and pursuits have long been maritime ? 
 New England alone is more populous than 
 was Holland, when her sailors swarmed ; and 
 as maritime. " Her farms are upon the ocean," 
 said one of her statesmen, " and she gathers 
 her harvests from every sea." How numerous 
 her sailors were as long ago as when she 
 made part of the British empire, British sta- 
 
170 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 tistics of that day may attest. This great 
 nursery, passing by all other districts of a 
 country with a vast sea coast, is perhaps suf 
 ficient to give to the United States as large a 
 stock of seamen as they require. The supply, 
 as in other fields, meets the demand. If ever 
 interrupted by temporary causes, things soon 
 return to this natural basis. 
 
 The United States not only desire to foster 
 their own seamen, but have gone farther. In 
 the hope of terminating the dissension about 
 impressment, they have shown a willingness, 
 as the progress of this work will make known, 
 to exclude British seamen entirely from their 
 service. They do not desire to hide the fact 
 that they come, often in large numbers. It 
 is a fact, however, which British records will 
 also attest, that the number of British seamen 
 regained by impressment out of the vessels of 
 the United States, falls far behind the number 
 of Americans taken in their stead. Under 
 this view alone of the practice, apart from all 
 others, the injury to the United States is 
 greater than the benefit to Britain. 
 
 It is not immaterial to remark, that im 
 pressment, as a measure merely under the 
 English laws and as exercised only in Eng 
 land, has a tendency to drive her seamen 
 into the merchant-service of the United States 
 on the breaking out of war. Obedient as the 
 impressed British seaman may be to discipline 
 
1818. COURT OF LONDON. 171 
 
 when once on board a man-of-war of his 
 country, it is not in human nature that he 
 should like to be impressed. It is notorious 
 that he does not. He dreads it. He tries to 
 hide from the press-gang. His bold spirit 
 would resist if he could; and sometimes he 
 seeks foreign decks to get out of the way. 
 
 There is another heavy evil resulting to the 
 United States. The voyages of their merchant- 
 vessels are sometimes broken up by impress 
 ment. It is not to be supposed that they carry 
 extra hands. Hence, when men are taken out 
 of their vessels upon the high seas, it may 
 happen, and has happened, that not enough 
 are left for their safe navigation : and they 
 have been compelled to make ports, other than 
 of their first destination. 
 
 The foregoing is an outline of the question, 
 in its main features. It may serve to give 
 some idea of the manner in which it operates 
 upon the United States. As between the two 
 nations, it is a question sui generis. To both 
 it is of the last importance. The diplomatic 
 history of the United States will show how re 
 peated and earnest have been their endeavours 
 to settle it. The joint mission to London in 
 1806, when Mr. Monroe and Mr. Pinckney 
 were our negotiators, could effect nothing on 
 this point; and Mr. King s effort in 1803, 
 successful in all other respects, was at last 
 frustrated by Great Britain insisting on re- 
 
172 RESIDENCE AT THE 1818. 
 
 serving her right to impress within the narrow 
 seas. To this doctrine of the mare clausum of 
 her Selden, in opposition to the mare liherum 
 of Grotius, the United States were not prepared 
 to assent. 
 
 I return to my interview with Lord Castle- 
 reagh. He remarked, that intrinsic as were 
 the difficulties respecting impressment, his de 
 sire was sincere to see them removed, and his 
 efforts would be given with earnestness to re 
 move them. I assured him, that, under all my 
 instructions, my efforts would be equally sin 
 cere and earnest. The conversation proceeded. 
 We adverted to the principles maintained by 
 our respective countries. He said, that the 
 abuse of the practice, for he freely admitted its 
 abuse, had been the result of the peculiar state 
 of the world, all Europe having been at war, 
 and America neutral. He did not believe that 
 the desire to enforce their right to the same 
 extent, would exist in future ; or that it would 
 be drawn into exercise at all, if means could 
 be devised to keep their men out of our ves 
 sels. I said, that the question never could be 
 put to rest as long as a British naval officer 
 was allowed to muster an American crew upon 
 an American deck, to look for British seamen. 
 Besides the indignity, so felt by all America, 
 the inevitable consequences to which it must 
 lead of subjecting Americans to seizure instead 
 of Britons, would preclude for ever all hope of 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 173 
 
 adjustment. The best mode we could devise 
 of keeping British officers from our vessels on 
 such errands, was that which he had hinted at ; 
 namely to keep British seamen away altoge 
 ther. This we were desirous to do, as far as 
 in our power. I promised to furnish him with 
 a proposal to this effect ; and he, that it should 
 have a liberal consideration. 
 
 His lordship next spoke of the Slave-trade. 
 The Government of Great Britain felt, he said, 
 an increasing desire, that the Government of 
 the United States should lend itself to mea 
 sures of regulation going forward in Europe for 
 its extirpation. These were, mainly, a recipro 
 cal submission to the right of search for slaves, 
 and a limited number of the armed vessels of 
 each of the maritime states, to be empowered 
 to search. It was contemplated to form out 
 of an association of these, a species of inter 
 national police in the African seas, from which 
 the best effects were anticipated. No unusual 
 structure or appearances in the vessel searched ; 
 no presence of irons or other presumptions of 
 guilty intention ; nothing but the actual find 
 ing of slaves on board, was to authorize a sei 
 zure and detention. Great Britain had lately 
 urged France on this subject ; but her consent 
 could not, for obvious reasons, be made known, 
 until the military occupation of her territory 
 ceased. A recent vote, however, in both her 
 chambers, on the principle of abolition, his 
 
174 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 lordship added, might safely be taken as a 
 pledge of future co-operation. I replied, that I 
 was wholly without instructions on the subject, 
 but would transmit to my Government all that 
 he said. The United States had long been 
 awake to the evils of the slave-trade. They 
 had been the first nation to abolish it, un 
 less Denmark led the way, and had directed 
 against it the penalties of their own laws. 
 
 Before we separated, his lordship spoke of 
 the late offer of Britain, through her minister 
 at Washington, to mediate in our affairs with 
 Spain. Although the offer had been refused, 
 he desired to assure me that the refusal was 
 taken in no unfriendly part ; the less, from its 
 conciliatory manner. Britain had in like man 
 ner refused the mediation of Russia, offered 
 during the late war with the United States, 
 without any unfriendly feeling towards Russia, 
 or any question of her impartial dispositions. 
 He was about to say something farther on the 
 affairs of Spain, but, the hour being late, de 
 ferred it. 
 
 April 12. After my interview with Lord 
 Castlereagh yesterday, I dined at Mr. Wilber- 
 force s. Of the company, were Lord Teign- 
 mouth, Lord Rocksavage, Lord Gambier, Mr. 
 Babington of the House of Commons, Mr. 
 Neal, with others, ladies as well as gentle 
 men. 
 
 Many inquiries were made about the United 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 175 
 
 States ; their commerce, revenue, population, 
 literature, and state of religion. A friendly 
 spirit characterized the inquiries and remarks. 
 Mr. Wilberforce s fame as a philanthropist and 
 Christian had been known to me. His par 
 liamentary labours, and those of his pen, had 
 probably been more diffused over the United 
 States than any country out of England. I 
 expected to find him grave. He was full of 
 animation. He led, without engrossing the 
 conversation. His manner gave point to all 
 that he said, and in his voice there were pe 
 culiarly eloquent intonations. He spoke of 
 Mr. Pitt. They had been at school together. 
 He was remarkable, he said, for excelling in 
 mathematics ; there was also this peculiarity 
 in his constitution, that he required a great 
 deal of sleep, seldom being able to do with less 
 than ten or eleven hours ; he would often drop 
 asleep in the House of Commons ; once he had 
 known him do so at seven in the evening, 
 and sleep until day -light. The ease with which 
 some persons wrote, and the labour it cost 
 others, were spoken of. Burke, Pitt, Wind- 
 ham, and Lord Ellenborough, were all great 
 blotters, he said ; Burke had begun a history 
 of England, but gave it over ; Wmdham s pow 
 ers of conversation exceeded those of Fox, Pitt, 
 and all his contemporaries ; he even went be 
 yond Sheridan in wit. One of the company 
 mentioned the name of a gentleman who had 
 
176 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 large possessions in the West Indies. There 
 is, said Mr. Wilberforce, in grammar, what they 
 call a disjunctive conjunction ; so there is in 
 society. It is thus with that gentleman and 
 me, he is so great a slave-holder ; but we do 
 very well when we meet ; we pass by topics we 
 should not agree upon, and exchange the small 
 shot of conversation. The income-tax being 
 mentioned, he remarked, that having borne it 
 once, they could bear it again ; it yielded fif 
 teen millions a-year, which would be good for 
 a new loan of three hundred millions. 
 
 These things all flowed from him happily. 
 Lord Teignmouth and others made their con 
 tributions. We were invited and arrived at an 
 early hour. It w r as midnight when we got 
 home, so agreeably had the time passed. Most 
 of the company were public professors of reli 
 gion, always the more attractive when in alli 
 ance with genius and accomplishments. 
 
 April 13. Dined at the Earl of Hardwicke s. 
 Lord Somers was of the party. English his 
 torical names as met in daily society, vividly 
 arrest the attention of Americans. On this 
 occasion I could not forget that I was with 
 those of renown in the law ; Lord Hardwicke 
 being the grandson of the Lord Chancellor of 
 that title, and Lord Somers a descendant of 
 Lord Chief Justice Somers. The interest was 
 heightened by portraits of the two ancestors 
 hanging in view, the families having intermar- 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 177 
 
 ried. We had also Lord and Lady Caledon, 
 Lady Somers, Lady Catharine Halket, Admiral 
 Sir Joseph Yorke, and Mr. Montagu. 
 
 The conversation turned upon France. 
 Commendation was freely bestowed. Before 
 cpming to England, I had adopted an im 
 pression that the people were not prone to 
 speak of the merits of their neighbours on the 
 other side of the Channel, I remark the con 
 trary in the circles I frequent. Another ob 
 servation continues to force itself upon me ; 
 their taste for foreign things. Among the 
 embellishments of the table this evening, were 
 some beautiful ornaments in silver, from 
 France. Although the French take the lead 
 in many of the finer manufactures, I had 
 supposed that English plate was preferred, 
 from the more copious use of it in England 
 leading to superior excellence in its manufac 
 ture. The French use more abundantly the 
 sumptuous porcelain. The English import 
 that, in all its variety and costliness ; but 
 French plate, it seems, is also imported. So it 
 will always be with nations that are opulent. 
 Tired even of their own forms of superiority, 
 they seek novelty from abroad. 
 
 Sir Joseph Yorke had been reading some of 
 the official documents published by Congress, 
 that treat of our navy. He made its condition 
 the subject of complimentary remarks. 
 
 It is not uncommon to hear, that at enter- 
 
178 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 tainments there were all the luxuries of the 
 season. In this metropolis, I witness con 
 stantly those out of season ; as, on this oc 
 casion, strawberries and pine-apples, recalling 
 the " winter roses and summer snows" of the 
 Roman poet ; cestivce nives, hybernce rosce. We 
 had also tokay that had been thirty years 
 in his lordship s cellar ; and, better than all, 
 respectful things said of our country, with 
 other attractive conversation. 
 
 April 16. We were at Almack s last night. 
 The younger part of the company danced. 
 They were not the most numerous part. 
 Statesmen, cabinet ministers and their ladies, 
 peers, peeresses and their daughters, foreign 
 ambassadors, and others, were present. In 
 these circles, if all classes do not intermingle, 
 all ages do. Gibbon, writing to Lord Sheffield 
 from Paris, says, that Horace Walpole gave 
 him a letter to Madame du Deffand, " an 
 agreeable young lady of eighty -two" who had 
 constant suppers at her house, and the best 
 company. There may be seen in society in 
 London, and as part of its ornaments, ladies 
 whom I should set down as not much short 
 of that youthful age. It would be doing in 
 justice to the stronger sex, to suppose that 
 they give up sooner. 
 
 We got to Almack s after having been at 
 Covent Garden theatre to see Miss O Neil s 
 Bianca. In like manner, it is after the Opera, 
 
iSlS. COURT OF LONDON. 179 
 
 that we go to the weekly parties of Lady Cas- 
 tlereagh, the invitation specifying that time. 
 Neither the Opera nor Covent Garden break 
 up until twelve. Parties beginning at that 
 hour, last until two and three. Most of those 
 who have been at them, do not rise until 
 towards noon next day. About two, commences 
 the roll of carriages. At six in the evening, 
 the morning ends. Then, scarcely sooner, the 
 throngs of carriages, with gentlemen and 
 ladies on horseback, disappear from the streets 
 and parks, the hour of preparation for dinner 
 being at hand. This is no overdrawn account, 
 but the daily routine. It seems strange that 
 health can be preserved, with such habits ; yet 
 the men look hale, the women blooming. 
 Chiefly, they are of a class whose riches leave 
 them at perfect leisure ; but mixed in with 
 them, are others, men of affairs, whose duties 
 are arduous, and whose fame must be kept up 
 by exertion cabinet ministers, parliamentary 
 orators, even chancellors and vice-chancellors 
 the last being seen on the bench next morn 
 ing by nine. How these go through it all, 
 seems more strange. This kind of life opens 
 by degrees in February, gets to its crisis in 
 May and June, and ends with July.* 
 
 * See ante p. 141, note. This was more than fifty years 
 ago. The hours are even later now during the London 
 season. The morning now, scarcely ends much before seven 
 in the evening, nor is the consequent disappearance of car- 
 
 N 2 
 
180 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 On the drop-curtain at Covent Garden, are 
 seen the flags of nations with whom England 
 has been at war. They are in a shattered 
 state, and represented as in subjection to Eng 
 land. That of the United States is among 
 them. The symbols are not historically true. 
 If they were, they are misplaced at such an 
 exhibition. Foreign nations do not take 
 offence at such things now, and show good 
 sense. The age is not remote when their sen 
 sibility was quicker. In the time of Charles II. 
 one of the reasons given by England for a rup 
 ture with Holland was, that a picture of the 
 burning of the English ships at Chatham by 
 the Dutch, was permitted to be hung up in 
 the Town House at Amsterdam. England has 
 fame enough, military and of all kinds, with 
 out straining in small ways after what does not 
 belong to her. 
 
 riages and horsemen from the streets and parks witnessed 
 much sooner, certainly during the height of the season, eight 
 o clock being now the hour of invitation to dinner. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 181 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 WAGER OF BATTLE. INTERVIEW WITH LORD CASTLE- 
 REAGH. IMPRESSMENT. COURSE OF GREAT BRITAIN 
 AND THE UNITED STATES, AS BETWEEN SPAIN AND 
 HER COLONIES. AFFAIRS BETWEEN THE UNITED 
 STATES AND SPAIN. SAFETY OF DIPLOMATIC COR 
 RESPONDENCE. THE DRAW1 NG-ROOM. BIRTH-DAY 
 DINNER AT LORD CASTLEREAGH s. 
 
 April 16, 1818. Went to the Court of 
 King s Bench to hear the argument in the 
 case of wager of battle. The parties were pre 
 sent. Through the courtesy of the Judges, I 
 had a seat on the bench, next to Mr. Justice 
 Bayley. On his left was Lord Chief Justice 
 Ellenborough, occupying the seat of the Cokes, 
 the Hales, the Mansfields. To the left of Lord 
 Ellenborough were Mr. Justice Abbot and 
 Mr. Justice Holroyd. If at Lord Hardwicke s 
 I was awake to the associations which the great 
 legal names of England call up, the feeling 
 could not be less here. The room was ex 
 tremely full. The case was so remarkable as 
 to have become a topic in general society. 
 
 By the ancient law of England, when a 
 
182 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 person was murdered, the nearest relative of 
 the deceased might bring what was called an 
 appeal of death, against the party accused of 
 the murder. Under this proceeding, the 
 accuser and accused fought. The weapons 
 were clubs. The battle began at sun-rise, and 
 was in the presence of the Judges, by whom 
 also the dress of the combatants, and all other 
 formalities were arranged. Part of the oath 
 was, that neither combatant would resort to 
 witchcraft. If the accused was slain, it was 
 taken as a proof of his guilt ; if the accuser, 
 of his innocence. If the former held out until 
 star-light, that also attested his innocence. If 
 either yielded whilst able to fight, it worked 
 his condemnation and disgrace. Those who 
 wish a full description of the proceedings, may 
 seek it in Sully, or continental writers of an 
 earlier day, as Froissart, the custom having 
 been imported into England by the Normans. 
 My summary will give the general idea. 
 
 It was a mode of trial for dark ages. Ash- 
 ford the appellor, had accused Thornton the 
 appellee, of the murder of one of his relations, 
 and the latter desired to fight. In the 
 highest tribunal of the most enlightened coun 
 try in Europe, I was listening to a discussion 
 whether or not this mode of trial was in force 
 in the nineteenth century ! It was difficult to 
 persuade myself of the reality of the scene. 
 Sir Humphrey Davy s remark was fresh in my 
 
1818. COURT OF LONDON. 183 
 
 mind. Mr. Chitty, a lawyer of eminence, ar 
 gued against the right of battle. Mr. Tindall 
 had argued on the other side, on a former day. 
 Fleta, Bracton, the Year-books, and other 
 repositories of ancient law, were ransacked. 
 Abundant ability was displayed on both sides. 
 The greatest order prevailed ; even gravity. 
 The Judges were in their robes. About seventy 
 lawyers sat in front of them ; all in gowns and 
 wigs. Finally, the Judges decided that trial 
 by battle was in force. It had never, it seems, 
 been repealed. 
 
 To repeal laws, belongs to the legislature. 
 Courts expound and apply them. Free go 
 vernment is complex, and works slowly ; ty 
 ranny is simple, and does it work at once. 
 An absurd law may sleep in a free code, be 
 cause overlooked ; but, whilst there, it is the 
 law. It is so, I suppose, that we must reason ; 
 and generally the reasoning would be right. 
 Yet it might have been thought, that, in a case 
 like this, long disuse added to obvious absur 
 dity, would have worked the silent repeal of 
 the law ; according to the doctrine of desuetude 
 under the Roman code. 
 
 In the end, no battle was fought. A tech 
 nical flaw interposed to prevent it, and Parlia 
 ment passed a repealing statute.* But the case 
 marks an incident in English jurisprudence, 
 having come near to converting the Court of 
 
 * 59 Geo. III., c. 46. 
 
184 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 King s Bench into another Lyceum of Men- 
 doza. 
 
 April 18. Had an interview with Lord 
 Castlereagh. My object was, to submit a pro 
 posal for abolishing impressment. Its nature 
 will be seen in the paper subjoined. It is not 
 my general design to insert copies of official 
 papers, meaning to content myself, when they 
 come into view, with making known their 
 substance and results. But there may be 
 exceptions, and the subject of impressment is 
 one. I therefore give the paper in its words, 
 as follow : 
 
 " Great Britain alleging a right to impress 
 her seamen out of American vessels, upon the 
 high seas, it follows, that whenever a mode can 
 be devised for their previous exclusion from 
 American vessels, the motive for the practice 
 must be at an end. It is believed that this 
 may be effected by each nation imposing re 
 straints upon the naturalization of the seamen 
 of the other, and reciprocally excluding from 
 their service all seamen not naturalized. If 
 Great Britain be allowed to naturalize Ameri 
 can seamen, the United States must be allowed 
 to naturalize British seamen. Each should be 
 at liberty to afford the same facilities, or bound 
 to interpose the same restraints. The greater 
 the difficulty in acquiring the right of citizen 
 ship, the easier will it be to avoid imposition, 
 and the more complete the desired exclusion. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 185 
 
 The law of Congress of the third of March, one 
 thousand eight hundred and thirteen, of all the 
 provisions of which Great Britain may com 
 mand the benefit, will prove how sincerely the 
 United States desire to settle this controversy 
 on conditions satisfactory to Great Britain. 
 By that law it is made indispensable for 
 every British subject who may hereafter be 
 come a citizen, to reside five years in the 
 United States without intermission, and so 
 many guards are interposed to prevent frauds, 
 that it seems scarcely possible they should be 
 eluded. No British subject can be employed 
 in a public or private ship of the United 
 States, unless he produce to the commander 
 in the one case, arid to the collector of the 
 port in the other, a certified copy of the act 
 by which he became naturalized. A list of 
 the crew, in the case of a private ship, must 
 be taken, certified, and recorded by the col 
 lector; and the consuls or commercial agents 
 of Great Britain may object to the employ 
 ment of a seaman, and have the privilege of 
 attending the investigation relative to his citi 
 zenship. The commander of a public ship 
 receiving a person not duly qualified, is to 
 forfeit a thousand dollars, and the commander 
 or owner of a private ship, five hundred. It 
 is also made a felony punishable by fine and 
 imprisonment, for any person to forge or coun 
 terfeit, or to pass, or use, any forged or coun- 
 
136 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8 
 
 terfeitecl certificate of citizenship, or to sell 
 or dispose of one. The United States will 
 also be willing to provide, that every British 
 subject desiring to become a citizen, shall be 
 bound to appear in person before the proper 
 tribunal, once a year, for the term of five 
 years, until his right shall be completed, or 
 adopt any other more practical and satisfactory 
 evidence that his residence within their ter 
 ritory was bond fide and uninterrupted, it 
 being their sincere desire to employ their own 
 seamen only, and exclude British. By re 
 quiring five years uninterrupted residence as 
 the condition of citizenship, it is confidently 
 believed that, from considerations readily sug 
 gesting themselves, few, if any, British seamen 
 would be found to take advantage of it. The 
 nature of a seaman s life stands opposed to a 
 different conclusion. If, in some instances, 
 a residence should be commenced with a real 
 intention, at the time, of submitting to this 
 condition, the presumption is strong that, at 
 the expiration of the term, such a change of 
 habits and prospects would be superinduced, 
 as to lead to the abandonment for ever of the 
 sea as an occupation. If the proposal be ac 
 cepted, the United States would farther agree, 
 that none of the British seamen who might be 
 within their territory when the stipulation to 
 give it effect was entered into, without having 
 already become citizens, should be admitted 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 187 
 
 into either their public or private ships, until 
 they had acquired the right, according to all 
 the above regulations. In return for them, a 
 clear and distinct provision to be made by 
 Great Britain against impressment out of 
 American vessels." 
 
 I accompanied the delivery of the paper 
 with renewed assurances to his lordship of the 
 President s desire to see this cause of dissen 
 sion for ever removed, and the expression of 
 a hope that Great Britain would see in the 
 proposal no surrender of any right or interest, 
 whilst its acceptance would guard the United 
 States against wrongs that were palpable. 
 He replied, that he would lay the proposal 
 before the cabinet ; that it should have all the 
 consideration due to its importance, and, I 
 might be assured, in a conciliatory spirit. 
 
 Leaving this subject in his hands, I reminded 
 him of his intention to speak on Spanish affairs. 
 He resumed the thread. Great Britain, he 
 said, lamented the long continuance of the 
 contest between Spain and her colonies. She 
 had done all in her power to heal it. She 
 would not relinquish her efforts, always desir 
 ing that Spain should pursue a liberal course, 
 not a narrow or exclusive one ; he meant a 
 course that would look largely to the commer 
 cial emancipation of the colonies. Great 
 Briain, in particular, would not be instrumen 
 tal to a settlement of the contest upon terms 
 
188 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 which, drawing to herself peculiar advantages, 
 would exclude the United States, or any other 
 nation, from a just participation in the trade of 
 South America. He hoped he might hear from 
 me, that the United States would be governed 
 by similar principles. 
 
 I replied, that they were the principles which 
 had invariably governed the United States. 
 They desired, as ardently as Great Britain, the 
 termination of the contest. They considered 
 it in the light of a civil war, injurious to other 
 nations, and, from geographical and other 
 causes, especially injurious to the United 
 States. The latter lent aid to neither party, 
 in men, money, or ships. Spain made com 
 plaints; but they were unfounded. The United 
 States maintained as strict a neutrality as was 
 possible ; they considered each party as having 
 all the rights of war as between themselves, 
 and as against other powers. If any of their 
 seafaring or mercantile inhabitants gave illegal 
 aid to either party, they did it at their peril ; 
 they were subject to belligerent capture by the 
 party injured, and to prosecution under the 
 laws of the United States ; who, the better to 
 enforce neutral conduct upon their citizens, 
 had special statutes annexing penalties to a 
 departure from it. If the colonies finally pre 
 vailed, the United States not only did not 
 seek, but would not, by treaties or other com 
 pacts, accept, any exclusive advantages; these, 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 189 
 
 they knew, would create jealousy in other 
 nations ; all that they desired was, fair com 
 petition. Such were the maxims of the United 
 States ; they had been made know r n to the 
 world, and there was no reason to think they 
 would be departed from. 
 
 Lord Castlereagh asked if I knew whether 
 my Government had given notice to Spain of its 
 intention to take possession of Amelia Island. 
 I said that I did not ; nor did I know that it 
 would have been practicable. That island had 
 been taken, not from Spain, but those who had 
 previously wrested it from her. It adjoined 
 territories of the Union ; an expedition had 
 been set on foot against it, ostensibly by the 
 public enemies of Spain, viz. some of her 
 colonies warring against her ; but, in fact, by 
 an irregular force from all countries, with such 
 aid as could clandestinely be drawn from the 
 United States in spite of prohibitory laws. 
 This force took the island, and the Spanish 
 authorities at the Havanna strove, but without 
 success, to get it back. It became a rendez 
 vous for freebooters, smugglers, and renegade 
 slaves ; and an entrepot for fresh slaves from 
 Africa. To put a stop to these and other enor 
 mities upon their border, the United States 
 sent a small naval and military force to take 
 possession of the island. They held it subject 
 to a proper accountability, not doubting that 
 the world would see in the measure nothing 
 
190 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 beyond a necessary precaution for the security 
 of their commerce, and maintaining the au 
 thority of their laws. His lordship assented 
 to the strength of these motives. 
 
 He inquired, lastly, if I was acquainted with 
 the intentions of my Government as to the 
 reception of deputies from the colonies of 
 Spain. 
 
 I replied, that up to the time of my leaving 
 Washington, no representatives of the colonies 
 had been received in any official capacity. In 
 formal agents had arrived, and been informally 
 listened to. Spain complained of this, and 
 had even demanded that the United States 
 should exclude from their ports the flags of 
 Mexico, Carthagena, Buenos Ayres, and other 
 provinces in resistance. The demand was 
 thought unreasonable, especially whilst the 
 United States had, as they conceived, long and 
 just causes of complaint against Spain. Some, 
 I recapitulated. 1. Questions of territory, 
 growing out of the purchase of Louisiana from 
 France, by the United States, in regard to which 
 Spain still failed to do them justice. 2. Her 
 sudden and violent interruption of the trade 
 of the United States descending the Missis 
 sippi, by cutting off the right of deposit at 
 New Orleans, before Louisiana belonged to 
 the United States. 3. Her neglect to award 
 compensation to the citizens of the United 
 States for spoliations during the wars of the 
 
1818. COURT OF LONDON* 191 
 
 French Revolution, although a treaty had at 
 tested their title to it ; a treaty signed by her 
 own minister at Madrid, but from which her 
 Government withheld its ratification. These 
 things I brought into view, that the forbearing 
 policy of the United States towards Spain 
 might be the better appreciated. His lord 
 ship expressed a hope that all our differences 
 with that power might be satisfactorily accom 
 modated. I joined in the hope, saying that 
 the desire of my Government not to disturb 
 the general peace, was steady and sincere, and 
 that it would leave nothing undone in the way 
 of further negotiations, earnest as had been its 
 past endeavours. 
 
 April 21. Count called on me. He 
 
 had requested an interview. After introduc 
 tory words, he asked if I was aware that the 
 English Government watched foreign ministers. 
 I asked, how? He said, by having persons 
 in its service. Watched them in what ways ? 
 In all w r ays ; was I sure of my servants ? did 
 I lock up my manuscripts ? did I send my 
 letters through the post-office ? I said, yes, 
 as to the two last. As to my servants, I hired 
 them, as others did, after learning their cha 
 racters. Was I sure they were not in secret 
 pay? Not sure, I said ; did he know it ? 
 Not positively ; he could bring no proof; it 
 was a business that kept proof out of sight. 
 Had he heard anything ? I asked. No, but he 
 
192 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 had been long in London, and heard much 
 on this subject ; the Government with an out 
 side of candour, knew how to work under 
 ground ; it thence became an adept in intrigue 
 by lulling suspicion. But would he let me 
 into the grounds of his suspicion in my case ? 
 what whispers were there? History enlight 
 ened us much, he said ; did not Walpole 
 expend a million in secret-service money had 
 the English Government so changed since, as 
 to be above all similar practices ? 
 
 I replied that little would be gained by 
 watching me. My Government was not one 
 of mystery. Those in its service had to act 
 and write under the responsibility of publi 
 cation at home. Their secrets would thus 
 come back to England, more fully than ser 
 vants, or the post-office, could detail them. 
 Nevertheless, he rejoined, the American and 
 Russian legations were the two most watched; 
 he believed so, and desired to render me a 
 service by putting me on my guard. I thanked 
 him, but said I was slow to believe. The 
 English Government had its faults, but not of 
 that kind. Why not ? Because it was against 
 the genius of the Government and people ; 
 they openly debated all that they did, and 
 printed all that they said ; twenty folios would 
 scarcely hold the matter annually sent forth 
 by Parliament about their finances, trade, 
 foreign relations, army, navy, everything ; 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 193 
 
 into their public offices any one might go ; into 
 their barracks, arsenals, or any other depot. 
 Their press was everywhere, ferreting out every 
 thing. But what did all that prove ? Nothing, 
 I said, if he had special facts to make good 
 his suspicion ; but, in the absence of them, 
 it led me towards the conclusion that a nation 
 so devoid of concealment in its own affairs, 
 would be little inclined to bribe the servants 
 of a foreign minister. What then had 
 Walpole done with his million sterling ? That 
 was more than I could say ; every Govern 
 ment, however open, had a secret fund; the 
 Government of the United States had ; some of 
 Walpole s went to pay newspapers, we were 
 told, which would be foolish in these days, if 
 not in his. 
 
 I do not know that I changed the opinions 
 of my visitant. He spoke on other subjects 
 and left me, after having staid an hour. 
 
 April 23. Went to the Drawing-room. We 
 had the hoops and plumes, the same spectacle 
 in the hall, up-stairs, and going to the palace. 
 It was one to bear repeating. The company 
 was even more numerous. 
 
 The Queen was on her velvet elevation as 
 before. I stood next to the Duke of Sussex. 
 He named to me those who passed before her. 
 The anxious countenances as the line slowly 
 advanced ; the dresses ; the silence, increasing 
 as the moment of presentation approached ; 
 
 o 
 
194 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 the graceful timidity when at last the youthful 
 fair curtsied before the Queen, gave to this 
 real scene whatever imagination might picture. 
 Close by me was the Duke de Bourbon ; pale, 
 silent, accustomed to Chantilly, to Versailles 
 even he stood gazing in admiration. It was 
 the fine sensibility of a Conde, touched by the 
 female beauty of England. Pensive though 
 placid, it seemed, even at such a time, as if 
 the remembrance of his son, the Duke d En- 
 ghien, was stealing into his thoughts. Among 
 the attractions of the day were Lady Eliza 
 beth Leveson Gower,* Miss Seymour, Lady 
 Georgiana Fane, Lady Emily Bathurst. It 
 was their first presentation at Court. The 
 Queen cordially welcomed them, dispensing 
 her accustomed kindness. 
 
 This drawing-room was in honour of the 
 birth-day of the Prince Regent. It comes in 
 August, but is not then celebrated. The con 
 jecture ran that not fewer than two thousand 
 persons were present. We got down stairs 
 as we could, through tulle, gold net, hoops, 
 and other glittering entanglements with which 
 beauty obstructed the way. 
 
 In the evening, Lord Castlereagh gave a 
 grand dinner. He was himself unwell, and 
 
 * Now the Dowager Marchioness of Westminster, of 
 whose courtesy and kindness, as Countess of Grosvenor to 
 an official stranger many years afterwards, in unison with 
 her early attractions here spoken of, time has not effaced 
 the memory. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 195 
 
 not at table. His brother, Lord Stewart, did 
 the honours. At the foot, were the Earl of 
 Clanwilliam and Mr. Planta ; the former, 
 private secretary of Lord Castlereagh, the 
 latter, under secretary of state. Lord Stewart 
 gave the Prince Regent as a toast. The com 
 pany all rose. A few minutes afterwards, 
 Prince Esterhazy gave Lord Castlereagh, 
 which was received in like manner. In each 
 case, the name alone was mentioned. Among 
 the wines were dry champagne non mousseux, 
 said to have been the favourite wine of Napo 
 leon ; and tokay, a present to Lord Castle 
 reagh from one of the crowned heads. 
 
 ***** said to me, that he believed the 
 United States might obtain an island in the 
 Mediterranean if desired. I said, that our 
 interests were not European. Did we not 
 keep a squadron there ? he asked. I replied 
 that we did ; only, however, to guard our 
 commerce from African pirates. How long 
 would we continue that policy ? Always, I 
 remarked, rather than pay tribute ? Had we 
 no treaty with Algiers by which our com- 
 , merce was to go free, without tribute ? Yes, 
 but the Dey gave us to understand, what 
 might have been inferred, that he would 
 abide by it no longer than he could help it; 
 he had signed the treaty to save his fleet 
 from attack ; an enterprise resolved upon by 
 the United States prior to Lord Exmouth s 
 
 o 2 
 
196 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 bombardment of his town ; from that time 
 we had kept a naval force in the Mediter 
 ranean strong enough, as was believed, to check 
 his. Then, would not this policy make it de 
 sirable to have a station for our ships, and 
 for supplies ? I replied, that our squadron 
 readily obtained supplies from friendly ports, 
 paying in specie which it took out, or bills 
 on London ; was not this safer than to run 
 the risk of exciting jealousy, perhaps of ex 
 posing our purpose itself to frustration, by 
 attempts to get footing in the Mediterranean ? 
 He said that he was under the belief that 
 we might obtain Lampedosa in a manner to 
 avoid objection ; he meant the use and occu 
 pation of that island, Naples retaining the 
 sovereignty. To such a transfer he did not 
 see that Spain, England, France, or any power, 
 could object. That might change, I said, 
 some aspects of the question ; still there 
 might be stumbling-blocks. Here our con 
 versation closed. 
 
 After we came out from dinner, Baron de 
 Gerning, attached to the suite of the Prince 
 of Hesse Homberg, spoke to me of the great 
 and good Washington. So he called him. 
 The United States were far removed, he said, 
 from his part of Germany; but virtue was 
 of all countries, and all revered it in the 
 illustrious founder of mine. I had conver 
 sation with Admiral Van der Capellen, who 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 197 
 
 commanded so ably the Dutch ships that 
 fought with Lord Exmouth at Algiers. He 
 had been on board the United States squad 
 ron in the Mediterranean, under Commodore 
 Chauncey. There was, he said, throughout 
 every part of it, a discipline that excited his 
 admiration. It is always grateful to hear the 
 things of one s country so spoken of abroad.* 
 
 * It is remarkable how often foreigners are struck wifcli 
 the discipline prevailing on board United States Ships of 
 War. Perhaps they are not always prepared for it. There 
 is reason for their admiration. Naval discipline in the 
 United States is carried to a high pitch. It was one of the 
 causes which helped to win for the infant Navy of The Ee- 
 public, in the early years of its history, its way to renown. 
 
198 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE DAILY PRESS. ANNUAL EXHIBITION AT THE ROYAL 
 ACADEMY. PUBLIC SOCIETIES. DINNER AT THE 
 MARQUIS OF LANSDOWNE S. EVENING ENTERTAIN 
 MENT AT CARLTON HOUSE. DINNER AT DR. PINCK- 
 
 ARD S. 
 
 April 29, 1818. A country is not to be 
 understood by a few months residence in it. 
 So many component parts go to make up the 
 grand total, where civilization, and freedom, 
 and power, are on a large scale, that the 
 judgment gets perplexed. It pauses for re- 
 examination. It must be slow in coming to 
 conclusions, if it would be right. Often it 
 must change them. A member of the diplo 
 matic corps, an enlightened observer, said to 
 me a few days ago, that, at the end of his first 
 year, he thought he knew England very well. 
 When the third had gone by, he began to have 
 doubts ; and that now, after a still longer time, 
 his opinions were more unsettled than ever. 
 Some he had changed entirely; others had 
 undergone modification, and he knew not 
 what fate was before the rest. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 199 
 
 There was reason in his remark. If it be 
 not contradictory, I would say, that he showed 
 his judgment in appearing to have at present 
 no judgment at all. The stranger sees in 
 England, prosperity the most amazing, with 
 what seems to strike at the roots of all pros 
 perity. He sees the most profuse expenditure, 
 not by the nobles alone, but large classes be 
 sides ; and, throughout classes far larger, the 
 most resolute industry supplying its demands 
 and repairing its waste ; taxation strained to 
 the utmost, with an ability unparalleled to meet 
 it; pauperism that is startling, with public 
 and private charity unfailing, to feed, clothe, 
 and house it; the boldest freedom, with sub 
 mission to law ; ignorance and crime so widely 
 diffused as to appal, with genius and learning 
 and virtue to reassure ; intestine commotions 
 predicted, and never happening ; constant 
 complaints of poverty and suffering, with con 
 stant increase in aggregate wealth and power. 
 These are some of the anomalies which he 
 sees. How is he at once to pass upon them 
 all ? he, a stranger, when the foremost of 
 the natives after studying them a lifetime, do 
 nothing but differ ! 
 
 One of the things that strike me most, is 
 their press. I live north of Portman Square, 
 nearly three miles from the House of Commons. 
 By nine in the morning, the newspapers are 
 on my breakfast-table, containing the debate 
 
200 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 of the preceding night. This is the case, though 
 it may have lasted until one, two, or three in 
 the morning. There is no disappointment ; 
 hardly a typographical error. The speeches 
 on both sides are given with like care ; a mere 
 rule of justice, to be sure, without which the 
 paper would have no credit, but fit to be men 
 tioned where party -feeling always runs as high 
 as in England. 
 
 This promptitude is the result of what alone 
 could produce it ; an unlimited command of 
 subdivided labour of the hand and mind. The 
 proprietors of the great newspapers employ as 
 many stenographers as they want. One stays 
 until his sheet is full. He proceeds with it to 
 the printing-office, where he is soon followed 
 by another with his ; and so on, until the last 
 arrives. Thus the debate as it advances, is in 
 progress of printing, and when finished, is all 
 in type but the last part. Sometimes it will 
 occupy twelve and fourteen broad closely- 
 printed columns. The proprietors enlist the 
 most able pens for editorial articles ; and as 
 correspondents, from different parts of Europe. 
 Their ability to do so may be judged of from 
 the fact, that the leading papers pay to the 
 Government an annual tax in stamps, of from 
 twenty to fifty thousand pounds sterling. I 
 have been told that some of them yield a profit 
 of fifteen thousand sterling a-year, after pay 
 ing this tax, and all expenses. The profits 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 201 
 
 of " The Times," are said to have exceeded 
 eighteen thousand a-year. The cost of a daily 
 paper to a regular subscriber is about ten 
 pounds sterling a-year. But subdivision comes 
 in to make them cheap. They are circulated 
 by agents at a penny an hour in London. 
 When a few days old, they are sent to the 
 provincial towns, and through the country at 
 reduced prices. In this manner, the parlia 
 mentary debates and proceedings, impartially 
 and fully reported, go through the nation. 
 The newspaper sheet is suited to all this 
 service, being substantial, and the type good. 
 Nothing can exceed the despatch with which 
 the numerous impressions are worked off, the 
 mechanical operations having reached a per 
 fection calculated to astonish those who would 
 examine them.* 
 
 What is done in the courts of law, is dis 
 seminated in the same way. Every argument, 
 trial, and decision, of whatever nature, or be 
 fore whatever court, goes immediately into the 
 
 * What is here said of the promptitude and accuracy of 
 the English Press will astonish less, now at the end of more 
 than half a century, in connection with the wonderful results 
 since achieved through the agency of steam and the tele 
 graph. In this respect it is believed that the American 
 Press is not behind. But in the scrupulous observance by 
 the former of the "mere rule of justice/ mentioned by the 
 Author, perhaps the Press in other lands, though less liable 
 to complaint than formerly, may yet have something to 
 learn. 
 
202 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 newspapers. There is no delay. The follow 
 ing morning ushers it forth. I took the liberty 
 of remarking to one of the Judges, upon the 
 smallness of the rooms in which the Courts of 
 King s Bench and Chancery sit, when the pro 
 ceedings were so interesting that great num 
 bers of the public would like to hear them. 
 " We sit," said he, " every day in the news 
 papers." How much did that answer compre 
 hend ! What an increase of responsibility in 
 the Judge ! I understood from a source not 
 less high, that the newspapers are to be as 
 much relied upon, as the books of law reports 
 in which the cases are afterwards published; 
 that, in fact, the newspaper report is apt to be 
 the best, being generally the most full, as well 
 as quite accurate. If not accurate, the news 
 paper giving it would soon fall before com 
 petitors. Hence, he who keeps his daily 
 London paper, has, at the year s end, a volume 
 of the annual law reports of the Kingdom, be 
 sides all other matter. 
 
 In the discussions of the journals, editorial 
 or otherwise, there is a remarkable fearlessness. 
 Things that in Junius s time would have put 
 London in a flame, pass almost daily without 
 notice. Neither the Sovereign nor his Family 
 are spared. Parliament sets the example, and 
 the newspapers follow. Of this, the debates 
 on the royal marriages in the course of the 
 present month, give illustrations. There are 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 203 
 
 countries in which the press is more free, by 
 law, than with the English ; for although they 
 impose no previous restraints, their definition 
 of libel is inherently vague. But perhaps 
 nowhere has the press so much latitude. 
 
 Every thing goes into the newspapers. In 
 other countries, matter of a public nature may 
 be seen in them ; here, in addition, you see 
 perpetually even the concerns of individuals. 
 Does a private gentleman come to town ? you 
 hear it in the newspapers ; does he build a 
 house, or buy an estate ? they give the infor 
 mation ; does he entertain his friends ? you 
 have all their names next day in type ; is 
 the drapery of a lady s drawing-room changed 
 from red damask and gold to white satin and 
 silver? the fact is publicly announced. So of 
 a thousand other things. The first burst of it 
 all upon Madame de Stael, led her to remark 
 that the English had realized the fable of 
 living with a window in their bosoms. It may 
 be thought that this is confined to a class, who, 
 surrounded by the allurements of wealth, seek 
 emblazonment. If it were only so, the class 
 is immense. But its influence affects other 
 classes, giving each in their w r ay the habit of 
 allowing their personal inclinations and objects 
 to be dealt with in print ; so that, altogether, 
 these are thrown upon the public in England 
 to an extent without parallel in any country, 
 ancient or modern. When the drama at Athens 
 
204 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 took cognizance of private life, what was said 
 became known first to a few listeners ; then to 
 a small town ; but in three days, a London 
 newspaper reaches every part of the king 
 dom, and in three months, every part of the 
 globe. 
 
 Some will suppose that the newspapers 
 govern the country. Nothing would be more 
 unfounded. There is a power not only in the 
 Government, but in the country itself, far above 
 them. It lies in the educated classes. True, 
 the daily press is of the educated class. Its 
 conductors hold the pens of scholars, often of 
 statesmen. Hence you see no editorial per 
 sonalities ; which, moreover, the public would 
 not bear. But what goes into the columns of 
 newspapers, no matter from what sources, 
 comes into contact with equals at least in mind 
 among readers, and a thousand to one in 
 number. The bulk of these are unmoved by 
 what newspapers say, if opposite to their own 
 opinions ; which, passing quickly from one to 
 another in a society where population is dense, 
 make head against the daily press, after its 
 first efforts are spent upon classes less en 
 lightened. Half the people in England live 
 in towns. This augments moral as physical 
 power ; the last, by strengthening rural parts 
 through demand for their products the first 
 by sharpening intellect through opportunities 
 of collision. The daily press could master 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 205 
 
 opposing mental forces, if scattered ; but not 
 when they can combine. Then, the general 
 literature of the country, reacts against news 
 papers. The permanent press, as distinct from 
 the daily, teems with productions of a com 
 manding character. There is a great class of 
 authors always existent in England, whose 
 sway exceeds that of the newspapers, as the 
 main body the pioneers. Periodical literature 
 is also effective. It is a match at least for the 
 newspapers, when its time arrives. It is more 
 elementary ; less hasty. In a word, the daily 
 press in England, with its floating capital in 
 talents, zeal, and money, can do much at an 
 onset. It is an organized corps, full of spirit 
 and always ready ; but there is a higher power 
 of mind and influence behind, that can rally 
 and defeat it. From the latter source it may 
 also be presumed, that a more deliberate judg 
 ment will in the end be formed on difficult 
 questions, than from the first impulses and 
 more premature discussions of the daily jour 
 nals. The latter move in their orbit by re 
 flecting also, in the end, the higher judgment 
 by which they have been controlled. Such are 
 some of the considerations that strike the 
 stranger, reading their daily newspapers. 
 They make a wonderful part of the social 
 system in England. Far more might be said 
 by those having inclination and opportunity to 
 pursue the subject. 
 
206 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 May 3. Yesterday the Royal Academy 
 gave their anniversary dinner at Somerset 
 House. It was the fiftieth celebration. Frois- 
 sart, when he found himself on the English 
 coast, said, that he was among a people who 
 " loved war better than peace, and where stran 
 gers were well received" If the latter were true 
 in the time of Edward III, diplomatic stran 
 gers must say, that it is still. Invitations crowd 
 upon them. If they did not decline more than 
 they accept, there would be a poor account of 
 their public business. The Royal Academy is 
 an institution for the encouragement of the 
 arts. Professorships of painting, sculpture, 
 and anatomy, are annexed to it. The first Pre 
 sident was Sir Joshua Reynolds. In that ca 
 pacity he delivered his celebrated Discourses ; 
 a work invaluable to the student in painting, 
 and to be read with scarcely less advantage by 
 the student of any science or profession. The 
 author, says Burke in his beautiful obituary 
 notice of him, was the first Englishman who 
 added the praise of the elegant arts, to the 
 other glories of his country. Yesterday I had 
 the satisfaction to see, as his successor in the 
 chair, my venerable countryman Mr. West. 
 There were present, the royal academicians, a 
 large collection of the nobility, many of the 
 cabinet ministers, the Lord Chancellor, the 
 Bishops of London and Salisbury, artists and 
 others, high in the walks of genius and taste ; 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 207 
 
 the foreign ambassadors, and an array of pri 
 vate gentlemen. Five of the rooms had their 
 walls hung with paintings. There were more 
 than four hundred. The rule being to receive 
 none formerly exhibited, this number was there 
 fore to be taken as the year s production of 
 pieces deemed by the Academy worthy of ex 
 hibition. Additional rooms were open, con 
 taining architectural designs and specimens in 
 sculpture. 
 
 The collection was rich in portraits. The 
 English in this line do not perhaps fall behind 
 any part of Europe. The productions of Law 
 rence, Beechey, Phillips, Davis, Newton, Jack 
 son, and many others, were seen all around. 
 The piece that excited most attention from the 
 interest of the subject in British eyes, was a 
 full-length likeness of the Duke of Wellington 
 on the horse he rode, and in the dress he wore, 
 at the battle of Waterloo. It was by Sir 
 Thomas Lawrence. There was a fine piece 
 by Mr. West, founded on an interview between 
 the great Mogul and Lord Clive. But one was 
 seen of surpassing charm; the family of Walter 
 Scott, by Wilkie. The great author is seated 
 on a bank, his wife and daughters near him in 
 cottage dresses. If we had Shakspeare in a 
 family scene on the Avon, by a distinguished 
 artist of Elizabeth s time, how would it be 
 prized now ! In going through the rooms, it 
 was not easy to avoid the reflection, that a day 
 
208 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 of fame in the arts awaits Britain. She is still 
 in her youth in them. She has made hardly 
 any efforts. Busy in climbing to the top of 
 every thing else, she has not had time. The 
 useful arts have occupied her. At the head of 
 these in Europe, she is now at a point for em 
 barking in the fine arts. And are not these 
 useful too, when all ages pronounce that they 
 enlarge the understanding, and improve the 
 heart, as much as they refine the taste? To 
 suppose the English climate not favourable to 
 the fine arts, is strange. A climate where 
 beautiful appearances of nature abound ; that 
 has been favourable to every kind of mental 
 eminence, as mechanical skill ; where the infe 
 rior animals are seen in full size and strength, 
 and the human form in all its proportions and 
 beauty, not a climate for painters and sculp 
 tors ! But it is said there must be a certain 
 delicacy of thought and feeling to appreciate 
 the world of nature, and deck it with the 
 glories of art! Is not then the country of 
 Shakspeare and Scott, of Milton, and Byron, 
 and Moore, one for painters? How came the 
 Dutch with a school of painting of their own, 
 and an eminent one ? Is their sky more ge 
 nial? And will not the English, with political 
 institutions and social manners of their own, 
 try new fields of art ? An American adopts 
 the anticipation the rather, because he clings 
 to the belief that his own country, like repub- 
 
1818. COURT OF LONDON-. 209: 
 
 lies of old, is by and by to take her stand in 
 the arts. Her students even now go to Italy 
 for instruction. They hold, that in the great 
 world of art, there is still immeasurable room 
 for originality, and this under the strictest rules 
 of art. 
 
 We dined in the principal exhibition-room ; 
 a large one. Two tables ran down the sides, 
 connected by another at the top. In the 
 middle of the latter, sat the President ; on one 
 side of him, the Duke of Sussex, on the other 
 the Duke of Norfolk. The walls were so 
 covered that every position commanded the 
 paintings; and through vistas, the eye could 
 steal into the other rooms. The whole was 
 extremely attractive. I enter into no criticism. 
 I give general impressions. It is not, as I 
 know, the habit of the English, fastidious from 
 their familiarity with the exquisite models of 
 the Continent, to value themselves much on 
 this home exhibition ; but for myself, bursting 
 upon me as it did all at once, I thought it 
 highly worthy to be extolled. I could have 
 made bold to suggest a subject for a piece that 
 I did not see in the collection ; viz " The 
 President and Royal Academy at the anniver 
 sary dinner with their guests." 
 
 The members of the diplomatic corps had 
 seats near the head. After the Prince Recent 
 
 o 
 
 and Royal family had been given as toasts, 
 according to the custom at public festivals in 
 
 p 
 
210 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 England, the President gave the " Foreign 
 Ambassadors and Ministers," who, as he was 
 pleased to add, " had done the Academy the 
 honour to be present." The toast was cheered 
 with great courtesy. The corps looked to me 
 as the organ of acknowledgment, English being 
 my native tongue. Obeying their wishes, I 
 returned thanks, adding that I was authorized 
 to express the gratification we all derived in 
 partaking British hospitality, surrounded by so 
 many memorials of British art. Speeches were 
 made by several of the nobility and gentlemen, 
 but chiefly the Duke of Sussex and Lord 
 Chancellor Eldon. They were in commenda 
 tion of the arts, and on the usefulness of that 
 institution towards their advancement in Eng 
 land. Dinner was served at six. Until past 
 seven, we had the sun through sky-lights. 
 Afterwards, there fell gradually from above, 
 light from numerous shaded lamps in hanging 
 circles. They were burning, unobserved, when 
 we sat down, and emerged from ambush only 
 as night came on. 
 
 Dependent lychni laquearibus aureis 
 Incensi : et noctem flammis funalia vincunt. 
 
 May 6. This is the season for public socie 
 ties to hold their meetings. It would be next 
 to impossible to ascertain the number, charita 
 ble, religious, literary, dramatic, philanthropic, 
 and of all descriptions. I made some attempts, 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 211 
 
 but ceased from their hopelessness. A public- 
 spirited individual, who is also a member of 
 parliament, handed me a printed list contain 
 ing the day and place of meeting of between 
 fifty and sixty of those only with which he was 
 connected. The Egyptian Hall, City of Lon 
 don Tavern, Crow T n and Anchor, or some other 
 large building is chosen, and a round of din 
 ners begins ; this being most commonly the 
 form of celebration. Persons who were toge 
 ther at the principal schools, as Eton and Har 
 row; and fellow graduates of the different col 
 leges in the Universities, have also their annual 
 dinners, to keep alive early friendships. Many 
 of the associates come up to town from their 
 homes at a distance in the country, on purpose 
 to attend them. 
 
 The English are very remarkable for din 
 ners. I do not allude to the kind last named, 
 or those in private life ; but to their habit of 
 giving them in connexion with objects exclu 
 sively public. These, charitable ones among 
 them, they constantly advance in this manner. 
 
 " The veins unfilled, our blood is cold, and then 
 We pout upon the morning, are unapt 
 To give or to forgive ; but when we have stufFd 
 These pipes and these conveyances of our blood 
 With wine and feeding, we have suppler souls 
 Than in our priest-like fasts." 
 
 If the English meant to go by this doctrine 
 of their great bard, they have done well, for 
 
 their charities are stupendous. A newspaper 
 
 p 2 
 
212 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 can hardly be opened that does not hold up a 
 long list of subscriptions, amounting to sums 
 that are sometimes enormous. I have now re 
 ference to some for building churches and es 
 tablishing schools, that within a few days have 
 met my eye. So, in various parts of London, 
 hospitals and other asylums for the distress 
 ed, arrest attention, bearing the inscription, 
 
 " FOUNDED BY VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTION." 
 
 They would be less remarkable, were they not 
 beheld in connexion with poor taxes to an 
 amount such as no nation ever before paid. 
 The buildings devoted to these charitable pur 
 poses, are often more spacious than the royal 
 palaces, and show an exterior more imposing. 
 A grand annual dinner seems an indispen 
 sable adjunct to an English charity. Here is 
 a " Samaritan Society ;" or an " Infirmary for 
 diseases of the Eye ;" a society for the " relief 
 of decayed Artists ;" another for relieving " poor 
 Authors;" a fifth for the "indigent Blind;" a 
 sixth for " Foreigners in distress ;" a seventh 
 for the " Deaf and Dumb ;" a society for " pro 
 moting Christian knowledge ;" a " Medical be 
 nevolent society," and I know not how many 
 more, for I merely take examples, all of which 
 have their annversary dinners. Whatever the 
 demands upon the charitable fund, there seems 
 always enough for a dinner fund. Eating and 
 drinking are not the sole objects of this festi 
 vity. Business is transacted, reports on the 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 213 
 
 state of the charity made, and speeches de 
 livered, in the course of which the pocket is 
 appealed to. Feeling rises as the inspiring 
 glass passes, and the evening generally closes 
 with an increase of the treasurer s store. No 
 blemen, including royal dukes, take part. They 
 often preside at the dinners, and otherwise 
 give their personal instrumentality, and freely 
 their purses, towards the objects of the socie 
 ties. In France, before the Revolution, the 
 noble families were computed at thirty thou 
 sand. In England, they may perhaps be com 
 puted at six or eight hundred. This handful 
 does more of the every-day business of the 
 country, than the thirty thousand in France. 
 In France, they did the work of chivalry ; they 
 fought in the army and navy. In England, 
 besides this, you trace them not merely as pa 
 trons of the arts, but in road companies, carnal 
 companies, benevolent and public institutions 
 of all kinds, to say nothing of their share in 
 politics ; in the latter, not simply as cabinet 
 ministers, but speakers, committee-men, and 
 hard-workers otherwise. 
 
 I have to-day been at a meeting of the Bri 
 tish and Foreign Bible Society. Lord Teio-n- 
 mouth was in the chair. Lord Harrowby 
 President of the Council of cabinet ministers 
 Mr. Vansittart, Chancellor of the Exchequer ; 
 the Bishops of Norwich and Gloucester, with 
 several other bishops ; Lords Gambier and 
 
214 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 Calthorpe, Mr. Wilberforce and others dis 
 tinguished by character, title, or station, were 
 present. A report was read, by which it ap 
 peared that the society had been the means 
 of distributing two millions of Bibles ; had 
 caused it to be translated into twenty-seven 
 languages, and that since the last annual meet 
 ing, there had been collected in aid of the 
 society s funds by private subscriptions in 
 Britain, ninety-nine thousand pounds sterling. 
 The report contained some complimentary 
 allusions to Bible Societies in the United 
 States. These passages were loudly cheered. 
 Several speakers who addressed the meeting 
 mentioned the United States in a similar spirit ; 
 amongst them, the Chancellor of the Exche 
 quer, and Bishop of Gloucester. The former 
 spoke of Great Britain and the United States, 
 as the "two greatest maritime nations of the 
 world ;" the Bishop of Gloucester called the 
 latter " a great and growing sister country." 
 I was requested, after entering the hall, to 
 move a vote of thanks to the distinguished 
 President, Lord Teignmouth. A resolution to 
 this effect was put into my hands, which I 
 moved accordingly. In fulfilling the duty, 
 whilst joining in the tribute that all had ren 
 dered to the objects of the society, I was 
 happy in the opportunity of responding as 
 national courtesy demanded, to the notices 
 taken of my country. 
 
1818. COURT OF LONDON. 215 
 
 May 10. Dined at the Marquis of Lans- 
 downe s. His name had been familiar to me 
 with every prepossession. In the House of 
 Lords I had already listened to his disciplined 
 eloquence. 
 
 The company consisted of Lord and Lady 
 Lansdowne, His Royal Highness the Duke of 
 Gloucester, the Earl of Ilchester, the Earl of 
 Rosslyn, Lord Holland, Lord Erskine, the 
 Bishop of Sodor and Man, the Russian and 
 Austrian ambassadors, the Vice-Chancellor, 
 and the ladies of several of the guests. 
 
 In the dining-room were ancient statues. 
 They were in ancient costumes, standing in 
 niches. These time-honoured master-pieces 
 of genius and art had been obtained from 
 Rome. As we walked into dinner through a 
 suite of apartments, the entire aspect was of 
 classi^ beauty. 
 
 Conversation was various. The Floridas 
 being mentioned in connection with the rumour 
 of their intended transfer to the United States, 
 Lord Erskine said, we ought to have them ; 
 that is, he added, "if I belonged to the United 
 States, I would maintain that doctrine/ There 
 was the same vein about him as at the Duke of 
 Cumberland s ; a youthfulness of imagination 
 that imparted its sprightliness to every thing. 
 
 The Duke of Gloucester spoke of General 
 Washington. It was with the praise always 
 annexed to his great name. He commended 
 
21 G RESIDENCE AT THE 1 8 I 8. 
 
 Ins farewell address. Lord Erskine called him 
 an august and immortal man. 
 
 Architecture being a topic, Lord Holland 
 said that it did not yet flourish in England. 
 Italy, France, and other parts of the Continent, 
 had better public edifices : specimens of do 
 mestic architecture were not wanting in Eng 
 land ; but these were too often spoiled by 
 putting the door in the middle ; by this custom, 
 good arrangement inside was sacrificed to ex- 
 1 ternal appearance, and he was not sure that a 
 gain always followed in this respect ; on the 
 Continent, the entrance to the best private 
 buildings, was generally at the side. The 
 architecture of the ancients was spoken of, and 
 other subjects touched as they arose. 
 
 After we came from table, I had more con 
 versation with Lord Erskine. He sjjpke of 
 the Emperor Alexander. He had seen La 
 Harpe, his tutor, at Paris, who showed him 
 letters from the Emperor, written soon after 
 his accession to the throne. One of them ran 
 thus : " My dear friend : I feel the load of my 
 responsibility ; I feel how incompetent my 
 youth and inexperience are, to wield the 
 sceptre of such an empire ; all that I can hope 
 is, that I may be guided by the precepts you 
 have taught me; I pray you, if ever you find 
 me departing from them, to remind me of them ; 
 do not wait for me to send for you ; this I pro 
 bably shall not do when I act in opposition to 
 
l8i8. COURT OF LONDON. 217 
 
 them ; but write to me, come to me, to recall 
 me from my errors." All will agree, that such 
 a letter was creditable to both pupil and pre 
 ceptor. His lordship said that La Harpe told 
 him the Emperor was fond of reading works on 
 the institutions of the United States. Before 
 separating, he said he intended to call on me 
 soon, not by leaving a card, the common way, 
 he believed, of visiting foreign ministers, but by 
 coming in. I assured him he could in no way 
 make me more happy. 
 
 May 19. Last evening we were at Carlton 
 House. This seems the season for large routs 
 by night, as the meeting of public societies by 
 day. We have been to a number. I could 
 give little description of them, unless to speak 
 of their crowds, and the difficulty of getting to 
 them and from them through phalanxes of 
 
 carnages. 
 
 The entertainment last evening was different. 
 The company found space in the ample rooms, 
 although there was an array of all the principal 
 persons of the court, a very full number of 
 peers and peeresses, the foreign ambassadors 
 and ministers, and many others. I caught 
 conversation as I could. Lord Sidmouth 
 Home Secretary, assured me of the earnest 
 desire of His Majesty s Government to 
 strengthen the friendly relations between our 
 two countries. He spoke of the United States 
 with great cordiality. He inquired for Mr. 
 
218 RESIDENCE AT THE I 8 I 8. 
 
 King, saying that he had earned the lasting 
 respect and good will of many persons in Eng 
 land. Nor did the Prince Regent conclude 
 his salutations to me, without renewing his 
 inquiries for him. 
 
 The scene was magnificent. The golden 
 plate in display, is said to be unrivalled in 
 Europe. It includes some that belonged to 
 Charles the First. One of the rooms led, 
 through doors of reflecting glass, to a rich 
 gothic conservatory, partly illuminated with 
 coloured lamps. It was filled with flowers, 
 than which there can be nothing more beautiful 
 even in palaces. The effect was heightened 
 by music from the Prince s band, which was 
 stationed here, and played at intervals through 
 out the evening. It was not at an early hour 
 we got away from such a scene. 
 
 May 21. Dr. Pinckard, an eminent physi 
 cian of Bloomsbury Square, entertained us at 
 dinner. He was formerly attached to the Bri 
 tish army, and on service in the West Indies. 
 Thence he visited Philadelphia, where I made 
 his acquaintance ; listening, at my father s 
 table, to his various and intelligent conver 
 sation. 
 
 We had a pleasant party. Of the guests, 
 were Lieutenant-general Sir Charles Green. 
 Advanced in life, he was still a fine-looking 
 man, with little of age in his manner. He had 
 been distinguished by his services in the \vars 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 2 19 
 
 of the French Revolution. I found that his 
 military career took an earlier date. He was 
 a captain in Burgoyne s army, had been cap 
 tured at Saratoga in 1778, with that army, and 
 marched as a prisoner from Albany to Boston. 
 He related anecdotes of the campaign, and of 
 his march ; it need scarcely be added, with 
 urbanity and good humour. 
 
 I mention the incident, because although 
 the first, it was not the only instance in which 
 I met in England those who had shared in the 
 war of the American Revolution, and who 
 spoke of its events in the same spirit. Be 
 longing to an age gone by, it seems no longer 
 to be recalled in any other spirit than that of 
 history. 
 
220 RESIDENCE AT THE iSlS. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE UNITED STATES AND IONIAN ISLANDS. AFFAIRS 
 BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND SPAIN. MONU 
 MENT TO BURNS. BRITISH INSTITUTION. PALL-MALL. 
 
 DINNER AT MR. CANNING S. LORD ERSKINE. 
 
 May 24, 1818. * * * * from the Ionian 
 Islands called upon me. He had a communi 
 cation to make of interest, as he said, to his 
 country, and he hoped I would think it so to 
 mine. By a treaty concluded at Paris in 1815, 
 the seven Ionian Islands had been formed into 
 an independent state, denominated " The 
 United States of the Ionian Islands," and 
 placed under the protection of Great Britain. 
 It was a protection the Islands did not like. 
 Did the constitution of rny country prohibit 
 our acquiring foreign possessions? I said, no. 
 He asked if it would accord with our policy, to 
 have a connection with the seven Islands ; such 
 a measure, he believed would be practicable, 
 if the United States would consent. In short, 
 he thought that the Islands, particularly Corfu, 
 Zante, and Cephalonia, would be willing to 
 place themselves under the protection of the 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 221 
 
 United States, if the terms could be ar 
 ranged. 
 
 I asked what England would say, and Rus 
 sia, and Europe generally? He replied, that 
 he did not see what ground of objection there 
 could be, if the Islands desired it; remarking 
 that he had perceived by the newspapers that 
 my Government hadprotested against Great Bri 
 tain exercising sovereignty over them any longer. 
 
 I was little prepared for his communication. 
 I cannot say that I was an entire stranger to 
 the publication he alluded to, for I had seen it. 
 I had considered it in the light of a burlesque 
 upon a previous newspaper paragraph, stating 
 that Great Britain had protested against the 
 United States acquiring the Floridas. But 
 what is penned in mirth, it seems, may pass for 
 earnest. I assured * * * * that there was no 
 foundation for the account. He appeared to 
 have believed it fully, until this interview. He 
 did not urge the less that my Government 
 should take into consideration the expediency 
 of assuming the protectorship of the Islands. 
 He enlarged on the prospects of commercial 
 advantage it would open to us by an inter 
 course with the Morea, Albania, Constantino 
 ple, and the Ottoman dominions generally. I 
 replied, that it was no part of the system of the 
 United States to get into European politics, 
 and least of all, to interfere in the relationship 
 between Great Britain and these Islands. This 
 
222 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 was the amount of the interview. He was at 
 tended by two other persons from the Islands. 
 
 As the English newspapers have lately 
 abounded in vituperative articles againt the 
 United States in connexion with their affairs 
 with Spain, without understanding them, or 
 exhibiting only the Spanish side, I will here 
 insert a letter I addressed to the President. It 
 bears upon the foregoing interview. My re 
 gular weekly despatches, and oftener when 
 necessary, were addressed to Mr. Secretary 
 Adams. These went on the public files of the 
 Department of State. I wrote to him, also on 
 public matters, in a way not designed for those 
 files, it being my good fortune to enjoy his con 
 fidence ; and, not unfrequently, I wrote to the 
 President in the same manner. The communi 
 cation in question was dated the 20th of this 
 month. Its material parts areas follow: 
 
 " Since my last, no steps that were practi 
 cable have been omitted to ascertain from what 
 source the letter, a copy of which I transmitted, 
 proceeded ; or how far the information which it 
 disclosed, is to be relied upon. The writer 
 states himself to be in connexion with a person 
 high in station, but declines an interview. Since 
 the tenth instant, he has addressed several letters 
 to the Legation. I would send copies, but that 
 all are to the same effect, and the one already 
 sent, \vill be to you a sufficient sample of his 
 style and manner. Keeping to points that are 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 223 
 
 essential, I will condense the information they 
 purport to convey, thus saving your valuable 
 time. 
 
 " He continues, to assert, that Great Britain 
 has secretly determined to support Spain in a 
 contest with the United States ; that the cabi 
 net of the former has resolved that our territory 
 shall not be extended, and more than all that the 
 Floridas shall not be added to it, as bringing us 
 too near to Cuba. That Spain is to begin the 
 contest, not by a formal declaration, but by 
 letting loose her privateers ; that she will take 
 the step as soon as the armament now preparing 
 at Cadiz to go against South America, shall 
 have sailed, and that this is the opinion of the 
 Spanish Ambassador at this court, founded on 
 communications from Madrid. That the mani 
 festo of Spain will soon appear, calling upon all 
 other powers who have colonies to assist her 
 in the struggle ; that an officer high in the 
 Spanish embassy, was sent off express to Paris 
 on these objects last week, and that a Spanish 
 secretary sailed from the Thames with definitive 
 instructions to the Spanish minister at Wash 
 ington, Mr. Onis, under the crisis that is ap 
 proaching. That Spain is to have no quarrel 
 with Portugal, such a measure not falling in 
 with the views of England, and that Olivenza 
 will be given up. That five of the daily news 
 papers of London have their columns open to 
 the Spanish embassy, and that the Spanish 
 
224 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 Government is actively employed in buying up 
 vessels to be fitted out and manned in England, 
 to cruise under the Spanish flag against our 
 trade. That Spain has her agents at work in 
 several of the ports of equipment in this king 
 dom ; also in France, Holland, and the Nether 
 lands, expecting, under cover of her own flag, 
 to enlist the privateering means of half Europe 
 against the commerce of the United States 
 whilst everywhere exposed, and that the vessels 
 will be fitted out under pretence of acting 
 against South America. That a person lately 
 arrived here from Madrid, with full powers 
 from the King to the Spanish Ambassador to 
 act at his discretion in procuring the instru 
 ments and means of striking at our commerce ; 
 that the ambassador, who is represented as 
 having large private resources, which he spends 
 liberally in addition to his public allowances, 
 has the unbounded confidence of his King, who 
 will confirm all that he does. Finally, that 
 the ambassador has caused a pamphlet to be 
 written against the United States, dilating 
 upon their alleged injustice and rapacity to 
 wards Spain, which, by raising odium against 
 them, is intended to aid the hostile views of 
 Spain ; and that many thousand copies of it 
 are to be circulated in French, Spanish, and 
 English, in quarters where it will be likely to 
 be most effective, 
 
 " The question is, how far do the above 
 
l8l8 COURT OF LONDON. 
 
 allegations, or any of them, appear to be sus 
 tained by facts. The most material are, the 
 asserted purchase and equipment of vessels in 
 the ports of Great Britain. This, if true, can 
 not easily be hidden. As yet I have obtained 
 no information that would authorize me in say 
 ing that it has been done. I have made, and 
 will continue to make, every inquiry. Persons 
 connected with the American trade are the 
 proper sources to resort to. Their sagacity 
 will be sure to make the first discoveries; nor 
 will our vigilant consul, Colonel Aspinwall, be 
 asleep. 
 
 " As to the newspapers being open to the 
 Spanish embassy, this is not improbable. Most 
 of the violent articles against the United States 
 touching their affairs with Spain, that have 
 lately appeared in the London papers, have 
 proceeded, I have little doubt, from Spaniards, 
 or pens they enlist. They bear marks of this 
 origin. There was, I believe, an officer of the 
 Spanish embassy despatched to Paris ten days 
 or a fortnight ago. I have been able to pro 
 cure no evidence of the nature of his errand, 
 beyond the assertions of the letter- writer. 
 Upon these alone, reiterated indeed with great 
 confidence, rests for the present, the credit 
 due to all his other communications. The 
 pamphlet of which he speaks, has been written; 
 at least in part. He sent to the Legation some 
 of the printed sheets, which I enclose. It is 
 
 Q 
 
226 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 said that the writer an Englishman has re 
 ceived, or is to receive, sixty guineas from the 
 Spanish embassy. I should pronounce it more 
 than the pamphlet is worth. The Spanish 
 ambassador is the Duke of San Carlos. He 
 formerly represented Spain at the court of 
 Vienna, where his household was on a munifi 
 cent scale; as here. We exchange visits, and 
 reciprocate other civilities. 
 
 " In addition to the communications of the 
 letter-writer, I have been called upon by a 
 member of the Congress of Venezuela, now in 
 London. He regards a rupture between the 
 United States and Spain as so near, that, on 
 the ground of his acquaintance with the con 
 dition and resources of Spanish America, he 
 came to tender me all his information in aid of 
 our cause. I said the United States meditated 
 no hostile steps. He replied, that Spain did. 
 I suggested the objections, unless she expected 
 co-operation from England ; and that I could 
 not think the latter meant to go to war with us 
 without cause. He met the objections by saying 
 that England had promised no co-operation, 
 but that the condition of Spain was desperate : 
 she must lose her colonies if things continued 
 on the present footing; the only hope of saving 
 them, rested upon her being able to bring Eng 
 land by some means or other to her assistance. 
 That she counted upon the jealousy between 
 England and the United States on the ocean, 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON 1 . 227 
 
 and by going to war herself with the latter, the 
 course of events would soon draw the former 
 into it, whatever she might say at first. At 
 any rate, that this was a game of chances Spain 
 had resolved to play, as, at the worst, it could 
 only accelerate a catastrophe otherwise inevit 
 able, viz. the total loss of her dominion in 
 America. This Venezuelan, although liable 
 to be warped by his political wishes, is intelli 
 gent and eool-minded, and full of activity in 
 seeking information. I therefore report what 
 he said, although he referred to no specific 
 facts. However plausible his way of reasoning, 
 it is not sufficient with me to overcome weightier 
 reasons opposed to it. Hence, that either Spain 
 or England design to strike a hostile blow at 
 us, I am not able at present to believe. Still 
 I have not felt at liberty to be altogether pas 
 sive under my own incredulity. I am taking 
 steps of precaution from which, be the issue 
 what it may, no evil can arise. I have written 
 to our ministers at Paris and Madrid, and to 
 the commander of our squadron in the Medi 
 terranean. I have not expressed myself in a 
 way to excite alarm, but watchfulness. I shall 
 continue attentive to what passes, and should 
 any new or more distinctive grounds be laid 
 before me, adopt such other measures as pru 
 dence may dictate, hoping those already taken 
 may have your approbation. It is proper I 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 should add, that there has been no open de 
 parture whatever in the English cabinet or 
 court from a frank or conciliatory course 
 towards us. If any thing is going on, it is 
 profoundly in the dark." 
 
 The matter of the above letter points to 
 occurrences which belong to the history of a 
 public mission. Light is shed by them on in 
 cidents otherwise not so well understood. It 
 was easy to believe that Spain desired a rup 
 ture between the United States and England, 
 and that those in her service would labour in 
 all ways to that end. But it was not to be 
 believed, that she would go to war with the 
 United States, on a mere speculation that the 
 force of circumstances might draw England 
 into it. The navy of the United States was 
 efficient, and the certainty of its immediate 
 co-operation with the Spanish colonies, for 
 which their proximity afforded advantages, 
 could not have failed to set before Spain the 
 risks, on that ground alone, of seeking such a 
 war. That England would rather the Floridas 
 belonged to Spain, than the United States, was 
 no more than natural to suppose. She re 
 membered that the treaty of Utrecht had pro 
 hibited Spain from transferring any of her 
 colonial possessions to other powers. But the 
 Congress of Vienna had been silent on such a 
 policy. England, a party to that congress, 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 229 
 
 knew as well as other powers, that the day for 
 its revival was at an end.* 
 
 May 27. A few persons desiring to see a 
 monument erected to Burns, put an off-hand 
 notice in the Morning Chronicle, that the ad 
 mirers of his genius would dine to-day at the 
 City of London Tavern. About two hundred 
 assembled. The stewards invited me as a 
 guest. The Duke of York was in the chair. 
 
 The leading person was Mr. Boswell, son of 
 the biographer of Johnson, and a member of 
 parliament. He made a speech on the genius 
 of Burns, and urged the propriety of erecting 
 a monument on the site of the cottage where 
 he was born. A son of the poet was present. 
 On " Success to the family of Burns" being 
 given as a toast, he thanked the company in 
 a modest, feeling manner. The punch-bowl 
 that belonged to Burns, and of which it is 
 known he was too fond, was handed round the 
 table, as a relic. A full band was in the or 
 chestra. We had a great deal of fine old 
 Scotch music, with several of Burns s songs, 
 and a good one written for the occasion by 
 Mr. Boswell. The Duke of York was toasted, 
 
 * It is satisfactory to reflect, that History has justified 
 the Author s incredulity expressed in the above letter to the 
 President,, notwithstanding the somewhat grave and exagge 
 rated communications which reached him. History also 
 records the memorable interviews between Mr. Canning and 
 the Author, at a subsequent period of his Mission, in refer 
 ence to Spain and her Colonies. 
 
230 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 with a complimentary allusion to the share 
 which, as Commander-in-chief of the British 
 army, he had taken in improving its condition. 
 He returned thanks, adding that it was his 
 highest pride to merit the approbation of his 
 sovereign, and good-will of his fellow-subjects. 
 " The admirers of Burns in the United States" 
 came next; on which I made my acknow 
 ledgments, saying that my countrymen were 
 alive to the charms of his poetry, as he wrote 
 for the heart, which was of all nations. The 
 Duke asked me if we made speeches at our 
 public dinners, as they were forced to do in 
 England. I said, not often hitherto ; but it was 
 a custom which tended, I thought, to improve 
 the character of public dinners, by introducing 
 excitements beyond those merely jovial. He 
 assented. We had other speeches short 
 ones. They would otherwise, all must agree, 
 lose a chief merit for such occasions. 
 
 Several hundred pounds were collected to 
 wards the monument. Three or four of my 
 countrymen, accidentally in London, were pre 
 sent, and marked their admiration of the 
 genius of the bard by being contributors. It 
 may serve as an instance to show how the 
 pocket is opened at public dinners in London. 
 
 May 28. Visited the British Gallery in Pall 
 Mall. The collection of paintings is very 
 choice. It is made up exclusively of pieces 
 from the Italian, French, Dutch, Spanish, and 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 231 
 
 Flemish masters. They belong to persons in 
 England, who annually send specimens from 
 their private collections to this exhibition for 
 the gratification of the public, and to aid in 
 fostering taste in this branch of the arts. You 
 wander through rooms where hang produc 
 tions on which the public taste of different 
 ages and nations had put the seal of appro 
 bation. 
 
 It has been said that painters can flourish 
 only in Roman Catholic countries. That the 
 Scriptures have afforded the grandest subjects 
 for the pencil, is true. In Catholic countries, 
 the Church influences largely secular feeling. 
 This is a sufficient reason why their painters 
 so frequently take subjects from Scripture. 
 But they have not confined themselves to 
 these ; and are riot the same subjects open to 
 the pencil in Protestant countries ? The very 
 variety of religions, as of character, in England, 
 will tend to advance her in the arts when she 
 takes her stand in them. She has an establish 
 ed church with every species of dissent ; a 
 powerful aristocracy with popular forms and 
 practices, that in some respects Athens never 
 equalled ; a King venerated and lampooned ; 
 more than all, an amount of riches, not heredi 
 tary, merely, but self-acquired, in the hands 
 of individuals in every part of the kingdom, 
 making a greater number independent in their 
 circumstances, and giving them consequently 
 
232 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8 
 
 more command over time and inclination, than 
 has probably ever before been known among 
 the same number of people, existing as one 
 nation. All these are materials for the arts. 
 A school founded in such a soil, could neither 
 be formal, nor limited. Mannerism belongs to 
 feelings and pursuits more circumscribed. It 
 would be a soil too for patronage ; not by a 
 few nobles, or the hand of an amateur Prince ; 
 but diffused, as through rich republics, all 
 over the land. 
 
 The annual exhibition of the works of the 
 masters is not the only way in which this In 
 stitution aims at advancing the Fine Arts. Its 
 governors and patrons purchase the produc 
 tions of British artists where merit is high. 
 It was so that Mr. West s picture of " Christ 
 healing the Sick," was purchased for three 
 thousand guineas. This is the picture, the fel 
 low to which was presented to the Hospital 
 at Philadelphia. There needs no other proof 
 of the interest the venerable artist felt in the 
 land of his birth. It was a munificent dona 
 tion. He contemplated with delight the growth 
 of the arts in the United States. He had 
 studied painting as carefully, and understood 
 its rules with as just a discrimination as any 
 artist living. He had opportunities of knowing 
 that the study was pursued with both zeal and 
 judgment in the country always dear to him. 
 He had seen in her infancy every presage of 
 
1-8 1 8. COURT OF LONDON. 233 
 
 future eminence ; and to aid in stimulating 
 tendencies so noble, was one of the motives to 
 his generous gift. 
 
 June 5. We were at another brilliant enter 
 tainment at Carlton House on Tuesday even 
 ing. To-day I attended the levee. Lord 
 Castlereagh said to me that his constant en 
 gagements in parliament had prevented his 
 asking an interview with me during the past 
 fortnight, as he had wished. Its dissolution 
 was at hand, immediately after which he would 
 fix a time for our meeting. 
 
 June 6. Dined at Mr. Canning s. His resi 
 dence is at Gloucester-lodge, two miles from 
 town. We had exchanged visits by cards. 
 The latter periods of my mission, during which 
 he was Secretary for foreign affairs, brought me 
 into much intercourse with him, personal and 
 official ; but this was the first time I had met 
 him except at levees and drawing-rooms. To 
 the space he filled in public estimation, I could 
 be no stranger. He received his guests cor 
 dially. The grounds about his house were not 
 extensive, but shut in by trees. All was seclu 
 sion the moment the gates closed ; a common 
 beauty in villas near London. The drawing- 
 rooms opened on a portico, from which you 
 walked out upon one of those smoothly- 
 shaven lawns, which Johnson, speaking ef 
 Pope s poetry, likens to velvet. We had the 
 .soft twilight, which at this season lasts so long 
 
234 , RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 in England, and sets off verdure to such ad 
 vantage. " You see," said Mr. Canning, " how 
 we prize your plants," pointing to some Rho 
 dodendrons ; " you must be fond of horticul 
 ture in the United States, from the specimens 
 we have of your flowers." I said it was a 
 growing taste with us, but that we had much 
 to do before we should equal England. And 
 we in England, he said, are behind Holland, 
 and I believe France, in flowers. Dinner was 
 soon announced. Mr. and Mrs. Canning, the 
 Marquis and Marchioness of Stafford, Lady 
 Elizabeth Leveson Gower, the Spanish Ambas 
 sador and his Duchess, the Neapolitan minis 
 ter, and his Countess, my wife, Mr. Chinnery, 
 and some membersof the family,made the party. 
 Mr. Canning sat at the head. His quick eye 
 was all round the table ; his aim to draw out 
 others. Occasionally, he had touches of plea 
 santry. He asked for Mr. Pinkney of Mary 
 land. " I once," said he, " had a skirmish with 
 him about language, but he worsted me ; I 
 said there was no such word as influential, 
 except in America, but he convinced me that 
 it was originally carried over from England." 
 Lord Stafford remarked, that it was so good a 
 one, they ought to bring it back. " Yes," said 
 Mr. Canning, " it is a very good word, and I 
 know no reason why it should have remained 
 in America, but that we lost the thing." 
 
 A library was attached to the suite of rooms. 
 
l8t8. COURT OF LONDON. 235 
 
 When we came from dinner, some of the com 
 pany found pastime in turning over the leaves 
 of caricatures, bound in large volumes. They 
 went back to the French revolutionary period. 
 Kings, princes, cabinet ministers, members of 
 parliament, everybody, figured in them. It was 
 a kind of history of England in caricature for 
 five-and-twenty years. Need I add, that our 
 accomplished host was on many a page. He 
 stood by. Now and then he threw in a word 
 giving new point to the scenes. It is among 
 the contradictions of the English, that, shy and 
 sensitive as the higher classes in many respects 
 are, perhaps beyond any other people, they are 
 utterly indifferent to these kind of attacks. 
 Their public men also, exclude politics from 
 private life. You see, every where, persons of 
 opposite parties mingling in social intercourse. 
 He asked, who were our favourite authors in 
 the United States. The English, I said. But 
 among the English? Johnson, Dryden, Addi- 
 son, or Swift ? Opinions varied, I said ; John 
 son had his admirers ; but I thought that after 
 five-and-twenty, our readers for the most part 
 came round to the others. They were his 
 favourites, he said. Next he asked, is not 
 Junius liked? Generally, I said. I had 
 heard of a young gentleman in Philadelphia, 
 who transcribed all his letters in the hope of 
 catching his style. He made no comment; but 
 I thought I saw that he would not recommend 
 
236 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 a young friend to that trouble. From the 
 Spanish ambassador I had every civility, not 
 withstanding the pamphlet. 
 
 So, briefly, was my first dinner at Mr. Can 
 ning s. Many and agreeable ones followed. 
 Sir James Macintosh said of him in debate, 
 that he had incorporated in his mind all the 
 elegance and wisdom of ancient literature. 
 It was a high tribute from a political opponent 
 and competent judge. Both were first-rate 
 men, as well by native endowments, as the 
 most careful cultivation ; both disciplined by 
 an advantageous intermixture in great poli 
 tical and social scenes ; Macintosh, universal 
 and profound ; Canning, making every thing 
 bend to parliamentary supremacy ; the one, 
 delivering speeches in the House of Commons 
 for the philosopher and statesman to reflect 
 upon ; the other winning, in that arena, daily 
 victories. Both had equal power to charm in 
 society ; the one various and instructive ; the 
 other intuitive and brilliant ; Macintosh, by 
 his elementary turn, removed from all col 
 lisions ; Canning, sarcastic as well as logical 
 in debate, and sometimes allowing his official 
 pen to trespass in the former field ; but in 
 private circles, bland, courteous, and yielding. 
 Let me add that both were self-made men ; 
 enjoying, by this title, the highest political 
 consideration and social esteem, in the most 
 powerful hereditary and other circles of the 
 British empire. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 237 
 
 June 7. Lord Erskine called upon me ac 
 cording to promise. First he spoke of the bill 
 he lately brought into the House of Lords, to 
 prevent arrest in cases of libel until after in 
 dictment, regretting its loss. 
 
 He touched on other topics. I pass by all, 
 to come to what he said of Burke. My boys 
 being in the room, he asked if I had found a 
 good school for them. I said they were at 
 present with Mr. Foothead, in my neighbour 
 hood. " You are lucky," he said, " if Burke s 
 recommendation goes for anything, for he 
 thought well of him as a teacher of the 
 classics.* What a prodigy Burke was !" he 
 
 * Lord Erskine soon afterwards sent two of his own sons 
 to the same school, The Hon. Thomas Erskine, and The 
 Hon. Alfred Erskine, both of whom were schoolmates of the 
 boys above mentioned. It is common to speak of the de 
 generacy of present, as compared with past, times ; but the 
 question may at least be asked, are the English schools as 
 good now, as they were then ? are they as thorough ? 
 
 At a capital school some years afterwards at Hampstead, 
 conducted by the Messrs. Johnson, one of them a University 
 man (whether Oxford or Cambridge is not now remembered), 
 boys of fourteen had read, or were reading, Csesar, Cicero 
 de Officiis, Sallust, Yirgil, Horace, Graeca Majora, and 
 Homer (considerable portions of each author), and were 
 made to understand and explain what they read, to which 
 prosody and Latin verse came in as auxiliaries. They were 
 also made to read out loud, in a class, every day, from the 
 standard British poets, with special attention to tone and 
 emphasis, and distinctness of enunciation ; and there were 
 also boys of that age who spoke French fluently. All this is 
 distinctly remembered. Can as much be said now ? It 
 
238 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 exclaimed. " He came to see me not long 
 before he died. I then lived on Hampsted 
 hill. * Come, Erskine/ said he, holding out 
 his hand, let us forget all ; I shall soon quit 
 this stage, and wish to die in peace with every 
 body, especially you. I reciprocated the sen 
 timent, and we took a turn round the grounds. 
 Suddenly, he stopped. An extensive prospect 
 broke upon him. He stood, rapt in thought. 
 Gazing on the sky, as the sun was setting, 
 
 * Ah ! Erskine, he said pointing towards it, 
 
 * you cannot spoil that because you cannot 
 reach it ; it would otherwise go ; yes, the 
 firmament itself you and your reformers 
 would tear it all down. I was pleased with 
 his friendly familiarity, and we went into the 
 house, where kind feelings between us were 
 further improved. A short time afterwards he 
 wrote that attack upon the Duke of Devonshire, 
 Fox, and myself, which flew all over England, 
 and perhaps the United States." All this Lord 
 Erskine related in the best manner. In my 
 form of repeating it, I cannot do him justice. 
 
 Desiring to hear something of Burke s de 
 livery from so high a source, I asked him about 
 it. "It was execrable," said he. " I was in 
 the House of Commons when he made his 
 great speech on American conciliation, the 
 
 would be to come short of the " truth of history " not to 
 add, that the cane was sometimes held up in terrorem, and 
 sometimes came down ! 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 239 
 
 greatest he ever made. He drove everybody 
 away. I wanted to go out with the rest, but 
 was near him and afraid to get up ; so I 
 squeezed myself down, and crawled under the 
 benches like a dog, until I got to the door 
 without his seeing me, rejoicing in my escape. 
 Next day I went to the Isle of Wight. When 
 the speech followed me there, I read it over 
 and over again ; I could hardly think of any 
 thing else ; I carried it about me, thumbed it, 
 until it got like wadding for my gun." Here 
 he broke out with a quotation from the pasages 
 beginning, " But what, says the financier, is 
 peace without money ?" which he gave with a 
 fervour, showing how he felt it. He said that 
 he was in the House when he threw a dagger 
 on the floor, in his speech on the French Revo 
 lution, and it " had like to have hit my foot." 
 "It was a sad failure," he added, " but Burke 
 could bear it."* 
 
 He sat upwards of an hour, leaving me to 
 regret his departure. 
 
 * "While passing the winter in Paris in 1867-68, an 
 English Officer, who was also passing the winter there, pro 
 cured from the writer the volume from which this is a re 
 print, of which he said many courteous things. On returning 
 it, the following pencil note to the above passage was found 
 on the margin, which it is believed there can be no harm in 
 here reproducing : 
 
 " To hear Burke s famous Speech against Hastings, re 
 cited by Erskine, who knew it by heart, was a splendid 
 enjoyment." 
 
240 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 DISSOLUTION OF PARLIAMENT. REVENUE AND RE 
 SOURCES OF ENGLAND. INTERVIEW WITH LORD CAS 
 TLE RE AGH. IMPRESSMENT. THE SLAVE-TRADE. 
 
 COMMERCIAL CONVENTION OF 1815. DINNER AT 
 THE MARQUIS OF STAFFORD^. FURTHER INTERVIEW 
 WITH LORD CASTLEREAGH ON IMPRESSMENT AND THE 
 SLAVE-TRADE. THE HUSTINGS AT CO VENT-GARDEN. 
 DINNER AT THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHE 
 QUER S. 
 
 June 10, Parliament was dissolved by the 
 Prince Regent in person. This is regarded as 
 one of the most imposing public ceremonies in 
 England. It derives this character, in part, 
 from the manner in which the Sovereign goes 
 to Parliament. 
 
 In all ages, the horse has helped to swell 
 the pomp of public processions Dryden ren 
 ders Virgil s " bellator equus," led in the train 
 of Pallas s funeral, " The steed of State" On 
 this occasion the carriage of the Prince Regent 
 was drawn by eight horses used only for this 
 ceremony. They were of beautiful form, and 
 richly caparisoned : 
 
 " With golden bits adorn d, and purple reins." 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 241 
 
 There sat with the Prince, the Duke of Mont- 
 rose, Master of the Horse, and Lord Amherst, 
 as Lord in Waiting. Even in the insignia of a 
 state carriage England does not forget the 
 field of her power. Conspicuously upon this, 
 was a figure of Neptune, in massive gilding. 
 Next in the procession came four carriages and 
 six, all in rich decorations. These made the 
 royal train. It moved from St. James s palace 
 through the Park. Thence it came out, under 
 the arch-way of the Horse Guards. My car 
 riage got to that point, and stopped with 
 others, as the whole slowly turned into the 
 street. The sight was gorgeous. Windows, 
 balconies, house-tops, were lined. It was 
 the spot, where like crowds had witnessed the 
 execution of Charles the First. When the 
 train reached the end of Parliament Street, 
 the number of equipages in the direction of 
 Westminster Abbey was immense. All were in 
 rows, and glittered in the sun. The universal 
 beauty of the horses, for which the English 
 are so celebrated, the completeness of every 
 equipage, the turrets of the ancient Abbey, 
 the vast multitude, presented a scene of great 
 animation and brilliancy. The state carriage 
 drew up before the entrance to the House of 
 Lords. A groom held each bridle, the horses 
 champing the u foaming gold." The Prince 
 Regent, on alighting, was greeted with long 
 shouts. 
 
 R 
 
242 RESIDENCE AT THE 1818. 
 
 The ceremony of the dissolution took place 
 in the House of Lords. Close in front of the 
 throne a space was set apart for the Foreign 
 Ambassadors and Ministers. All attended in 
 diplomatic costume. The chamber, when I 
 arrived, w r as filled with Peers and Peeresses, 
 the former wearing robes of scarlet and ermine. 
 In a little while the Prince Regent entered. A 
 salute of cannon was at that moment heard. A 
 procession formed by a portion of his cabinet 
 ministers, preceded him, the Premier, Lord 
 Liverpool, going first, and carrying the sword 
 of state. The Prince took his seat upon the 
 throne. In a few minutes, doors opened at 
 the extremity of the . chamber, and the Com 
 mons entered, the Speaker at their head. 
 They stopped at a barrier, from which the 
 Speaker commenced his address to the Throne. 
 It recapitulated the important business of the 
 Session, gave a prominent place to the subject 
 of income and expenditure, saying that, al 
 though a heavy pressure continued upon the 
 finances, the revenue was increasing, and con 
 cluded with praying the royal assent to a bill 
 of Supply which the House brought up, the 
 last of a series that had been passed. The 
 title of the bill was read, on which a Clerk of 
 Parliament exclaimed, " Le Hoi remercie ses 
 loyal subjects, accepte leur benevolence, et aussi 
 le veut" The titles of other bills were succes 
 sively read, and the royal assent given by the 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 243 
 
 same officer pronouncing the words, " Le Roi 
 le vent." 
 
 The Prince, who had not yet spoken, now 
 addressed both Houses. He said that there 
 had been no alteration in the state of the 
 King s health ; that he continued to receive 
 from Foreign powers assurances of friendly 
 dispositions, on which he turned with a manner 
 appropriate towards the diplomatic corps ; he 
 thanked the House of Commons for the supplies 
 they had granted; he informed both Houses of 
 his intention to dissolve the present and call a 
 new Parliament, in making which communica 
 tion he could not, he said, refrain from adverting 
 to the great changes that had occurred since 
 he first met them in that chamber. Then, the 
 dominion of Bonaparte, whom he spoke of as 
 the " common enemy," had been so widely 
 extended, that longer resistance to his power 
 was by many deemed hopeless ; but that by 
 the unexampled exertions of Britain, in co-ope 
 ration with other countries, Europe had been 
 delivered from his oppression, and a contest the 
 most eventful and sanguinary known for cen 
 turies, terminated with unparalleled success 
 arid glory. These were the main points of the 
 speech. When it was ended, the Lord Chan 
 cellor rose from the woolsack and said, that it 
 was the will and pleasure of the Prince Regent 
 acting in the name of the King, that the Par- 
 
 R 2 
 
244 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 liament be dissolved ; and he pronounced it to 
 be dissolved accordingly.* 
 
 The Prince remained seated whilst delivering 
 his speech, and wore a hat. The Peers and 
 
 * When Queen Victoria delivered her first Speech from 
 the Throne, on the first opening of Parliament in 1838. after 
 her accession, the scene in the House of Lords, as witnessed 
 from the Ambassadors Box, was extremely brilliant and 
 striking. As the youthful Queen, then still in her teens, 
 advanced, there was a very slight nervousness perceptible in 
 her countenance, while the utmost stillness prevailed through 
 the House. When about to ascend the steps of the Throne her 
 foot caught in her robes, and she tripped slightly, causing a 
 momentary suffusion, but regained her foothold in an instant, 
 and took her seat with perfect ease and self-possession, after 
 which, in the sweetest tone, she signified to their Lordships 
 to be seated. There was still a breathless silence. 
 
 As the Queen proceeded with her Speech, the Premier, 
 Viscount Melbourne, who stood by her side, in his rich 
 court dress, holding upright the sword of state, and who 
 was thought to be sometimes a little absent, was observed to 
 follow, or rather anticipate, every word, by the apparently 
 involuntary movement of his lips, and an occasional inclina 
 tion of the head, from, side to side, as though keeping time. 
 
 Every word that the young Queen uttered, every syllable, 
 fell from her in tones that were captivating, by their softness 
 and musical sweetness, with the clearest and most beautiful 
 enunciation, while her voice was modulated in the most per 
 fect manner. Yet all so natural, without the slightest shade 
 of affectation. 
 
 When the Royal Speech was concluded, an evident and 
 universal feeling of satisfaction seemed to pervade the House, 
 and one of the young men of the Diplomatic Corps, whose 
 eyes and ears had been rivettcd to the Throne, and who 
 stood near the writer, turned to a friend, exclaiming, in a 
 suppressed whisper, while lolling his head with excitement, 
 ( Parfaitemcnt lien ! } 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 245 
 
 Commons stood, and were uncovered. Mr. 
 Canning once described the British constitu 
 tion as a monarchy, intended to be checked by 
 two assemblies, one hereditary, the other elec 
 tive, springing from the people ; but, said he, 
 some argue as if it were originally a demo 
 cracy, merely inlaid with a peerage, and topped 
 with a crown. This gives, in a word, the oppo 
 site theories of the origin of the British con 
 stitution. The remark may be made, that its 
 external ceremonies point to a regal, rather 
 than popular root. They are strikingly so at 
 a coronation, as at the dissolution of Parlia 
 ment. Take another incident at the latter, 
 besides wearing the hat. The Clerk, before 
 reading the title to each bill, made a reverence 
 to the Throne , and another, on laying it down 
 upon the table. On receiving the nod of royal 
 assent, he turned towards the Commons, gave 
 them a look, and barely said, without any 
 reverence, Le Roi le veut. 
 
 The scene would have been more imposing 
 had the chamber been better. It is not merely 
 deficient in architectural form, but in space. 
 The Commons stood in a confused heap, press 
 ing one upon another. Their own room below, 
 
 The writer subsequently heard the young Queen announce, 
 from the Throne, on a similar occasion, her approaching 
 marriage to Prince Albert a trying moment ; yet the an 
 nouncement was made with a mixture of Regal dignity and 
 feminine modesty, composure and timidity, that commanded 
 universal admiration. 
 
246 RESIDENCE AT THE 1818. 
 
 is even inferior in appearance, and alike in 
 conveniently small. Both may have answered 
 their original uses centuries ago ; one as a 
 banqueting-room, the other as a chapel to a 
 palace; but are unsuited to the accommodation 
 of Parliament, The mode of giving the royal 
 assent to bills, I had read in books ; yet it 
 sounded strangely to me as a fact. It has been 
 remarked by a great English writer, that these 
 old words serve as a memento that the liberties 
 of England were once destroyed by foreign 
 force, and may be again but for vigilance. The 
 remark is a strained one in this connexion. 
 England balanced the account of warlike ex 
 ploits with France, in the days of her Edwards 
 and Henrys. Her own sovereign at last gave 
 tip his titular claim to be King of France. 
 Hence it would seein that this little badge of 
 the Norman conquest might now be allowed to 
 drop off. It was discontinued under the Pro 
 tectorate of Cromwell, the form in his time 
 being " The lord Protector doth consent." His 
 words of acknowledgment for bills of Supply 
 were, " Understanding it hath been the prac 
 tice of those who have been chief governors, to 
 acknowledge with thanks to the Commons, their 
 care and regard for the public, I do very 
 heartily and thankfully acknowledge their 
 kindness therein When the Commonwealth 
 ended, the foreign jargon revived. 
 
 The Speaker in his address stated that the 
 revenue was increasing. I cannot puss this 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 247 
 
 subject by. The income for the year was fifty- 
 one millions of pounds sterling. The largest 
 item was from the Excise, which yielded up 
 wards of twenty-one millions. The Customs 
 stood next. They gave upwards of eleven 
 millions. The Assessed and Land taxes third, 
 from which eight millions were obtained. The 
 Stamps fourth, which produced seven millions. 
 The remainder was from the Post-office, and 
 miscellaneous sources. Large as this sum may 
 appear for the produce of one year s taxes, it 
 is less by more than twenty millions than was 
 raised two years ago, the Property-tax and 
 certain war duties being then in force. It may 
 safely be affirmed that no nation, ancient or 
 modern, of the same population, has ever 
 before paid so much under the regular opera 
 tion of tax-laws. Of the Excise, I understand 
 that the whole amount due for the year has 
 actually been paid in, except a fraction of five 
 thousand pounds, part of which it is believed 
 will be recovered. So exceedingly small a 
 deficiency on a basis of twenty-one millions, 
 manifests an extraordinary ability on the part 
 of the community at large to meet with punc 
 tuality the demands of the Government under 
 this branch of internal taxation. Besides the 
 fifty-one millions, which make up the national 
 taxes proper, for Great Britain and Ireland, 
 the sums levied on account of Poor-rates for 
 England during the year, have amounted to 
 nine millions. 
 
248 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 The exports from the kingdom for the same 
 time, amounted, in value, to fifty-three millions 
 of pounds sterling. The manufactures of the 
 United Kingdom constituted four-fifths of this 
 sum. Actual value is meant, as contra-distin 
 guished from official. The latter assumes a 
 certain standard of price, fixed more than a 
 century ago, and no longer applicable as a 
 measure of value. The imports amounted to 
 thirty-four millions ; considerably less, there 
 fore, than the value of manufactured articles 
 exported. 
 
 Expenditure for the year has been about the 
 same as income. In its great branches, it may 
 be classed thus : For interest on the public 
 debt, twenty-nine millions. For the Army, 
 nine millions ; the military force on the pre 
 sent peace establishment, amounting to about 
 a hundred thousand men. For the Navy, seven 
 millions ; the peace establishment of that arm 
 being one hundred and thirty ships, twenty 
 thousand seamen, and six thousand marines. 
 For the Ordnance, one million. The Civil list, 
 and miscellaneous items absorb the residue. 
 In statements whether of British income or 
 expenditure, I observe that fractions of a mil 
 lion or two seem to be unconsidered. They 
 are scarcely understood but by those who will 
 be at the pains of tracing them amidst the 
 rubbish of accounts, and not always then. 
 As to the debt, what shall I say ? If I spe- 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 249 
 
 cify any sum I may unconsciously commit a 
 fractional error of fifty millions ! To find out 
 precisely what it is, seems to baffle inquiry. 
 Dr. Hamilton in his work on this subject states 
 a curious fact. He says, that in an account of 
 the public debt presented to the House of 
 Commons in 1799, it was found impossible to 
 ascertain the sums raised at different periods 
 which created the funds existing prior to the 
 thirty-third year of George the Third. This 
 candid avowal of ignorance, where all official 
 means of information were at command, may 
 w^ell excuse, as the able author remarks, a 
 private inquirer if his statements be imperfect. 
 But I will set the debt down at EIGHT HUN 
 DRED MILLIONS. This as an absolute sum, 
 strikes the world as enormous. It loses this 
 character when viewed in connection with the 
 resources of Great Britain, the latter having 
 increased in a ratio greater than her debt ; a 
 position susceptible of demonstration, though 
 I do not here design to enter upon it. It may 
 be proof enough, that in the face of this debt, 
 her Government could, at any moment, borrow 
 from British capitalists fresh sumslarger than 
 were ever borrowed before ; and than could 
 be raised by the united exertions of all the 
 Governments of Europe. Credit so unbounded, 
 can rest only upon the known extent and soli 
 dity of her resources ; upon her agricultural, 
 manufacturing, and commercial riches ; the 
 
250 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 first coming from her highly cultivated soil 
 and its exhaustless mines, not of gold and sil 
 ver, but iron and coal, for ever profitably 
 worked ; the second, from the various and 
 universal labour bestowed on raw materials, 
 which brings into play all the industry of her 
 people, suffering none to be lost for want 
 of objects ; the third, from a system of navi 
 gation and trade, followed up for ages, which 
 enables her to send to every part of the globe 
 the products of this vast and diversified in 
 dustry, after supplying all her own wants. 
 This system of navigation and trade is greatly 
 sustained by a colonial empire of gigantic size, 
 that perpetually increases the demand for her 
 manufactures, and favours the monopoly of her 
 tonnage. 
 
 These are the visible foundations of her in 
 calculable riches ; consequently of her credit. 
 Both seem incessantly augmenting. It is re 
 markable that she extends them in the midst 
 of wars. What cripples the resources of other 
 nations, multiplies her s. Not long ago I went 
 to Guildhall, to witness the sittings of the 
 King s Bench, after term-time. The court 
 room was so full, that I could hear or see 
 little, and soon left it. I was compensated by 
 loitering among the monuments in the hall 
 close by. The inscription on Lord Chatham s 
 drew my attention most, because Americans 
 always hang with reverence on his name, and 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 251 
 
 because of the inscription itself. It dwells 
 upon the services he rendered his country, 
 
 BY " UNITING COMMERCE WITH, AND MAKING 
 IT FLOURISH DURING, WAR." Such was his 
 
 title to fame, recorded on the marble. Other 
 nations should look at it. War, by creating 
 new markets, gives a stimulus to industry, calls 
 out capital, and may increase not merely the 
 fictitious but positive wealth of the country 
 carrying it on, where the country is powerful 
 and not the seat of war. Moscow may be 
 burned ; Vienna, Berlin, Paris sacked ; but it 
 is always, said Franklin, peace in London. 
 The British moralist may be slow to think, 
 that it is during war the riches and power of 
 Britain are most advanced ; but it is the law 
 of her insular situation and maritime ascend 
 ency. The political economist may strive to 
 reason it down, but facts confound him. It 
 has been signally confirmed, since engraven on 
 the monument of Lord Chatham. The Prince 
 Regent pronounced the contest with Bona 
 parte the most eventful and sanguinary known 
 for centuries. Yet, at its termination, the 
 Speaker of the House of Commons declared, 
 whilst the representatives of nations stood 
 listening, that the revenues of Britain were 
 increasing. What a fact ! The Abbe Du Pradt 
 has remarked, that England threatens all the 
 wealth, and Russia all the liberty, of Europe. 
 Up to the first origin of the contest with 
 
252 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 Bonaparte, the largest sum England ever raised 
 by taxes in any one year of war or peace, was 
 seventeen millions sterling. In twenty-five 
 years, when that contest was over, she raised 
 hardly less than EIGHTY millions. This sum 
 was paid indeed in the midst of complaints ; 
 but not more than in Queen Anne s time, when 
 the taxes were three millions, and debt forty ; 
 or at the end of George the Second s, when the 
 former had risen to seven, and the latter to a 
 hundred millions. It was also in 1815, at the 
 close of the same contest, that the world be 
 held her naval power more than doubled ; 
 whilst that of other states of Europe was, in a 
 proportion still greater, diminished. Hitherto, 
 at the commencement of wars, the fleets of 
 France, of Spain, of Holland, if not a match for 
 those of England, could make a show of re 
 sistance. Their concerted movements were 
 able to hold her in temporary check. Where 
 are the navies of those powers now? or those 
 of the Baltic ? Some gone almost totally ; the 
 rest destined to be withdrawn from the seas, 
 on the first war with England. There is no 
 thing, singly or combined as far as Europe is 
 concerned, to make head against her. France 
 is anxious to revive her navy. She builds good 
 ships ; has brave and scientific officers. So, 
 Russia. But where are the essential sources 
 of naval power in either ? where their sailors 
 trained in a great mercantile marine? Both 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 253 
 
 together have not as many, of this description, 
 as the United States. England, then, in her 
 next war, will accomplish more as against 
 Europe upon this element, than at any former 
 period. She will start, instead of ending with 
 her supremacy completely established. The 
 displays of her power will be more immediate, 
 as well as more formidable, than the world has 
 before seen. I will not speak of a new agent 
 in navigation, " that walks," as Mr. Canning 
 said, " like a giant on the water, controlling 
 winds and waves steam." This great gift to 
 mankind, in its first efficient power upon the 
 ocean, was from the United States ; but all 
 Europe will feel its effects in the hands of 
 Britain. 
 
 I had intended to say something of public 
 speaking. The dissolution of Parliament might 
 suggest the topic ; but I defer it. I have de 
 sired heretofore to make a minute of my im 
 pressions on this subject. I have heard debates 
 in both Houses ; but the occasions have been 
 unfavourable for calling up the leading orators, 
 or drawing them fully out if they rose. I wait 
 further lights. 
 
 June 11. Had an interview with Lord Cas- 
 tlereagh, on his invitation. He informed me, 
 that he had brought before the cabinet my pro 
 posal on impressment, and that it had been 
 considered with the care due to its importance. 
 
 He w r ent into some of the arguments to which 
 
254 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 the subject always leads. He adverted, first, 
 to the opposite opinions which the two Go 
 vernments held on the doctrine of allegiance. 
 Next he remarked, that we gave to our ships a 
 character of inviolability that Britain did not; 
 that we considered them as part of our soil, 
 clothing them with like immunities. I said 
 that we did consider them as thus inviolable, 
 so far as to afford protection to our seamen ; 
 but that we had never sought to exempt them 
 from search for rightful purposes ; viz. for 
 enemy s property, articles contraband of war, 
 or men in the land or naval service of the 
 enemy. These constituted the utmost limit of 
 the belligerent claim as we understood the law 
 of nations. What we objected to was, that 
 Britain, passing this limit, should advance a 
 claim to enforce her own municipal claim re 
 lating to allegiance and impressment, on board 
 our vessels. His lordship did not view it in 
 this light. He was forced, he said, to add, 
 that on a full consideration of my proposal, the 
 cabinet had not found it practicable to forego 
 under any arrangement, the execution of which 
 was to depend upon the legislative ordinances 
 of another country, the right of Great Britain 
 to look for her subjects upon the high seas, 
 into whatever service they might wander. 
 
 The proposal thus rejected, having declared 
 the readiness of the United States to impose 
 further restraints upon the naturalization of 
 
l8l8. COURT OP LONDON. 255 
 
 British seamen, and exclude from their ships 
 all not naturalized, I asked his lordship what 
 difference it would make if the United States 
 would a^ree to exclude from their ships of war 
 and merchant-vessels, all natural born subjects 
 of Great Britain ? 
 
 He replied, that this indeed would be going 
 a step farther, but that it would still leave the 
 proposal within the principle of their objec 
 tion. That the objection rested upon an un 
 willingness to concede by treaty or convention, 
 whatever its terms, the right of entering the 
 vessels of a foreign power to search for their 
 subjects. 
 
 I said, that I heard this determination with 
 regret. I had been ready, otherwise, to submit 
 a proposal to the effect last mentioned. My 
 regret was the stronger, as it would exhaust 
 all the offers the United States could make. I 
 requested him, in fact, to consider such an offer 
 as actually made, under full authority from my 
 Government. 
 
 I now inquired if any proposals would be 
 submitted on the part of Great Britain. Lord 
 Castlereagh was prepared with none which did 
 not assume, as a basis, the right of entering our 
 vessels. For the exercise of this right in a 
 manner not to injure the United States, Great 
 Britain was willing, he said, to come into the 
 most effective regulations ; such as restricting 
 the boarding officers to those of rank not below 
 
256 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 lieutenants ; giving responsible receipts for the 
 men taken out, or any other safeguards that 
 the Government of the United States might 
 propose as better adapted to the end ; that she 
 would receive, and in the most friendly manner 
 discuss such proposals, in the hope of some sa 
 tisfactory arrangement. I said that the United 
 States never could admit the right to enter 
 their vessels for such a purpose as impress 
 ment. Besides the objection to it in principle, 
 the practice, however attempted to be softened, 
 must be liable, from causes altogether insur 
 mountable as between the two nations, to per 
 petual and fatal abuse. This had been shown 
 by past experience, and it was impossible to 
 remain blind to it. Lord Castlereagh again 
 admitted the evils of which it had been the 
 parent, expressing his hope that they might 
 never recur. 
 
 He next spoke of the Slave-trade. Great 
 Britain, he said, had concluded treaties with 
 three of the powers of Europe on the subject; 
 Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands. Portugal 
 had agreed to abolish the trade, except in cer 
 tain specified places on the coast of Africa, south 
 of the equator; Spain, north of the equator, 
 from the ratification of her treaty, and in all 
 other parts, after May 1820. To these powers 
 Britain had paid, from first to last, 700,000/. as 
 inducements to the treaties. The clauses stated 
 the money to be as compensation to Spanish 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 257 
 
 and Portuguese subjects, for the loss of tlie 
 trade. The Netherlands had agreed to abolish, 
 immediately and totally, without pecuniary in 
 ducement. The purport of the treaties, speak 
 ing more particularly of the last, was, that the 
 contracting parties were to authorize a limited 
 number of the ships of their navy to search the 
 merchant vessels of each other, found under 
 circumstances to raise suspicion of being en 
 gaged in the trade ; and in case of slaves being 
 actually on board, to send the vessels in for 
 trial ; the tribunals to consist of mixed courts, 
 composed of judges, or commissioners, ap 
 pointed by each power ; the courts to hold 
 their sittings within the territories or depend 
 encies of each power, but one always to be 
 established on the coast of Africa ; no search 
 to be permitted in the Mediterranean, or 
 any of the European seas north of latitude 
 37, or within and eastward of longitude 20. 
 These were some of the main provisions of 
 the treaties. There were various others de 
 signed to guard against irregularity in the 
 exercise of a right which the contracting par 
 ties had mutually conceded for the common 
 object. The period had arrived, his lordship 
 continued, when it was the wish of Great Bri 
 tain to invite the United States to join in these 
 measures, and it was his design to submit, 
 through me, proposals to that effect. It had 
 occurred to him to send me, with an official 
 
258 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 note, authentic copies of the treaties them 
 selves ; they would best unfold in all their de 
 tails, the grounds on which a concert of action 
 had been settled with other powers, and it was 
 on similar grounds he meant to ask the acces 
 sion of the United States, anticipating large 
 benefits from their maritime co-operation in 
 this great work of humanity. Whilst it had 
 occurred to him to make the overture to my 
 Government in this manner, he said that, if any 
 other course presented itself to me as better 
 adapted to the end, he would be happy to 
 listen to it. 
 
 I replied, that I knew of none better. I was 
 altogether devoid of instructions on the subject, 
 as already stated, but would transmit the trea 
 ties for the consideration of the President. 
 The United States, from an early day, had 
 regarded this traffick with uniform disapproba 
 tion. For many years it had been altogether 
 prohibited by their statutes. The existence of 
 slavery in several of the states of the American 
 Union, had nothing to do, I remarked, with the 
 slave-trade. The former grew up with the 
 policy of the parent country anterior to the 
 independence of the United States, and re 
 mained incorporated with the domestic laws of 
 the particular states where it had been so in 
 troduced, and always existed. Yet, those who 
 could not allow their laws in this respect to be 
 touched, went hand and heart with the rest of 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 259 
 
 their fellow-citizens in desiring the abolition of 
 the slave-trade. 
 
 Lastly, Lord Castlereagh spoke of the com 
 mercial convention of 1815. He reminded me 
 that it had but little more than a twelvemonth 
 to run, asking if I knew the views of my Go 
 vernment in regard to its renewal. I said, not 
 precisely, but expected soon to ascertain them. 
 
 June 12. Dined at the Marquis of Stafford s, 
 I am no votary of the rout. The private dinner 
 party shows society differently. The diplomatic 
 stranger can hardly command other opportuni 
 ties of seeing it at all. Evening visits he can 
 not make; the late hour of dining is an obstacle. 
 Morning calls are a mere ceremony performed 
 by his card. Midnight crowds are not society. 
 It is only at dinners that he finds it. 
 
 These seem the chosen scenes of English 
 hospitality. They are seldom large. Mr. 
 Jefferson s rule was, not fewer than the Graces, 
 nor more than the Muses. At the London din 
 ners, from twelve to sixteen seems a favourite 
 number. Sometimes they are smaller. Indivi 
 dual character and accomplishments, reserved 
 at first in these classes, here begin to open. 
 Sully, after Paulus JEmilius, said, that to 
 marshal an army and an entertainment, were 
 equally difficult. Those of which I would 
 speak, present no discordant feelings or topics. 
 All obey forms, with which all are familiar. 
 Conversation moves along under common con- 
 
260 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 tributions and restraints. There is no ambi 
 tion of victory . To give pleasure, rather than 
 try strength, is the aim. You remark nothing 
 so much as a certain simplicity, the last attain 
 ment of high education and practised inter 
 course. Such are some of the characteristics 
 of these private dinners. Beginning with such, 
 I must proceed a little farther. The servants 
 are so trained, as to leave to the master and 
 mistress no care but of looking to the guests. 
 The arrangements of the table are orderly and 
 beautiful. All are alike, yet all vary ; alike 
 in general conformity ; varying, as taste varies, 
 where there is self-confidence in its indul 
 gence; where all have large means, and all are 
 on the same level. The word fashion I have 
 not heard ; nor seen its principle, in mere 
 imitation.* The services of silver strike me 
 as among the evidences of a boundless opu- 
 
 * How true it is that the word " fashion" is rarely heard, 
 or its ({ principle," if it have any, witnessed in " mere imita 
 tion/ in these circles, and if those who are prone to imitate, 
 would borrow a little of the independence and self-confidence 
 of the persons who compose them most of whom are above 
 fashion the mass of mankind might be the better for it, 
 whatever the effect in the diminished gains of some of the 
 celebrities of the Rue de la Paix, or other quarters of Paris. 
 And who, after all, are they who ({ set the fashions !" The 
 writer was struck with the good sense of an English Peer 
 who remarked, with a quiet smile, on the topic being inci 
 dentally touched after dinner, that he never could understand 
 people dressing to please other people ! For his part, he 
 always dressed to please himself. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 261 
 
 lence. All forms of it, for use or embellish 
 ment, are seen, and in surpassing lustre. Not 
 unfrequently, the romantic patterns and fretted 
 workmanship of past ages, still remain. Fo 
 reigners from whatever part of Europe, are in 
 like manner struck with this profusion of solid 
 and sumptuous plate upon English tables, as 
 unknown in any other capital to an extent at 
 all approaching to comparison. The posses 
 sors, long accustomed to it, seem unconscious 
 of its presence; but the foreigner sees in it all, 
 national as individual riches. Whence pro 
 ceed, he asks himself, the incomes, so large, 
 so increasing, that retain, and acquire in fresh 
 accumulation, luxuries so costly, but from the 
 land ? and what would be the land with all the 
 works upon it, what the crops on its surface, 
 the mines underneath, but for the manufactures 
 and trade which bring all into value by a vast 
 and ever increasing demand ; increasing at 
 home as abroad, increasing in war as in peace? 
 Our dinner to-day illustrated, as one instance 
 might, the characteristics alluded to. It was 
 not large. Lord and Lady Stafford, the Earl 
 and Countess of Surrey, Lady Elizabeth Leve- 
 son Gower, Lord Francis Gower, and a few 
 more, made the party. The country life in 
 England was much spoken of; also the lite 
 rary publications of the day, this family being 
 distinguished by the literary accomplishments 
 of its members. The paintings of the masters 
 
262 RESIDENCE AT THE 1818, 
 
 were all around us. Our hospitable enter 
 tainers invited Mrs. Rush and myself to visit 
 them at their seat, Trentham, in Staffordshire, 
 than which we could not have known a higher 
 gratification. Another topic, always grateful, 
 was not passed by ; our country. Cordial 
 things were said of it, and enlightened wishes 
 expressed that two nations so connected as 
 England and the United States, might long 
 see their way to mutual good-will. Leaving 
 the table, we were an hour in the drawing- 
 rooms, always an agreeable close to English 
 dinners. Ladies make part of them, and rise 
 first, the gentlemen soon following and rising- 
 all together. On no occasion have I observed 
 any one gentleman leave the table, until all 
 rise. We had music from St. James s Park, 
 into which the windows of Stafford-house look. 
 Its notes were the softer from the stillness of 
 that scene, and the breezes of a charming sum 
 mer night. 
 
 June 20. Had an interview with Lord 
 Castlereagh. He read the first draft of a note 
 to me, inviting the United States to co-operate 
 in putting down the Slave-trade, asking my 
 suggestions as to any modifications. I had 
 none to offer. It was accordingly sent as pre 
 pared. I drew up an answer, to the general 
 effect of the sentiments I had expressed in our 
 conversations, promising to refer the whole 
 subject to my Government. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 263 
 
 I renewed the topic of Impressment. Al 
 though in our conference of the llth I had 
 made known the willingness of the United 
 States to exclude from their naval and mer 
 chant service all British seamen, native as well 
 as naturalized, I did not think proper to let 
 the proposition rest on the footing of a verbal 
 offer. I reduced it to writing, in terms as 
 follow : 
 
 " The proposal submitted to Lord Castle- 
 reagh upon the subject of impressment on the 
 18th of April not being found acceptable, the 
 undersigned has the honour to offer, on behalf 
 of his Government, the following. Each na 
 tion rigidly to exclude from service on board 
 their ships-of-war and merchant vessels, all 
 native-born subjects or citizens of the other. 
 The checks and precautions stated in the 
 former paper to guard against fradulent na 
 turalization, to be resorted to (with the proper 
 modifications) to prevent imposition relative 
 to the birth-place of seamen, or others adopted. 
 Seamen already naturalized in the United 
 States to be excluded from the operation of 
 the agreement, as these, by their laws, cannot 
 be included. The number of this class is be 
 lieved to be small, and in a short time would 
 cease altogether. Although the stipulation 
 for exclusion must be reciprocal, a provision 
 to be inserted authorizing the United States, 
 if so disposed, to dispense with the obligations 
 
264 KESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 it would impose on their own seamen, when 
 ever the latter may choose of their own accord 
 to enter the British service ; this power of dis 
 pensation to be reciprocal, if desired. 
 
 " Should the above proposal be accepted, it 
 will follow, that all British seamen or subjects 
 now in the United States, and not heretofore 
 naturalized, will be excluded from their sea 
 service ; and that all who arrive in future will 
 be excluded. Great Britain, on her part, to 
 come into a distinct stipulation not to impress 
 men out of American vessels. R. R." 
 
 I handed this paper to Lord Castlereagh. The 
 proposal had, as I knew, been rejected ; but I 
 knew the President s desire to settle this great 
 question, and believed that I should be more 
 truly the organ of his wishes, by putting the 
 proposal in a shape in which it might go upon 
 the archives of his Majesty s Government. I 
 even cherished the hope, that other views might 
 yet be taken of it. His lordship on reading 
 the paper said, that he would lay it before the 
 Cabinet on his return from Ireland, whither he 
 was going the day following, and should the 
 proposal, now that it had taken this form, still 
 be objected to, perhaps it might be thought 
 advisable to put in writing the counter opinions 
 of Great Britain. Nothing farther passed at 
 this interview. 
 
 The general election for a new House of 
 Commons being in progress, and the hustings 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 265 
 
 at Covent Garden open, I said, when about 
 to come away, that I intended to go there to 
 see what was doing. " If you can wait a few 
 minutes," said his lordship, " I will go with 
 you ; I want to vote." I replied that I should 
 be happy to go under such auspices. " You 
 might have better," he remarked. At that 
 moment Sir William Scott was announced, and 
 I took my leave, finding my own way to the 
 hustings. They gave a repulsive picture of an 
 English election. Sir Murray Maxwell was the 
 ministerial candidate ; Sir Francis Burdett, Sir 
 Samuel Romilly, and Mr. Hunt, on the other 
 side. The first was not only hissed and hooted 
 by the populace, but on a former day had been 
 wounded by missiles. He appeared with his 
 arm tied up, and a bandage over his eye. I 
 was glad to get away from the scene of tumult. 
 In a little while Lord Castlereagh came. His 
 remark was prophetic ; he was mobbed. Having 
 given his vote for Sir Murray Maxwell, he 
 was recognized, and four or five hundred of 
 the populace, under the opposite banners, pur 
 sued him.* He took refuge in a shop in 
 
 * It is stated that, when Mr. Hunt saw Lord Castlereagh 
 come to vote, he called out, " Gentlemen, let me introduce to 
 you the Viscount Castlercagh," which led to the subsequent 
 pursuit. It is quite true that elections in free countries are 
 not always characterized by the highest propriety and de 
 corum but it may be safely asserted that nowhere in the 
 "United States would a prominent supporter of a candidate 
 be treated by the other side, as Lord Castlereagh was treated 
 here. 
 
266 KESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 Leicester Square, whence he was obliged to 
 escape by a back-way, until finally he found 
 shelter in the Admiralty. If the ministerial 
 candidate and his supporters were thus roughly 
 treated, they bore it with good-humour. The 
 former on reappearing after his wounds, again 
 mounted the hustings to make a speech. Being 
 told that pains would be taken to discover and 
 punish the authors of the outrage, he forbad 
 all inquiry, saying he had no doubt they acted 
 thoughtlessly without any intention of hurting 
 him; a stroke of policy that brought fresh 
 votes. As to Lord Castlereagh, I was informed 
 that, on reaching the Admiralty, he turned 
 round and with much complaisance thanked 
 his pursuers, then close upon him, for their 
 escort, saying that he would not trouble them 
 to accompany him farther ; which drew huzzas 
 in his favour. 
 
 July 1. Dined at the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer s. His residence is in Downing 
 Street, and 1 may add, historical. His dining- 
 room was once Mr. Pitt s. Here he lived 
 while Prime Minister ; still earlier, Sir Robert 
 Walpole. A portrait of the latter was on the 
 wall. You beheld in it the composed face that 
 enabled him to sit unmoved under the batteries 
 of Wyndham and Shippen, and Pulteney. There 
 were at table Mr. and Miss Vansittart, Mr. 
 and Mrs. East, Lord Harrowby, the Ambas 
 sador from the Netherlands, the Prussian 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 267 
 
 Ambassador, Mr. Arbuthnot, Secretary of the 
 Treasury, and Mr. MacKenzie. 
 
 Mr. Pitt was spoken of. Lord Harrowby 
 said that he was a fine Greek scholar ; also 
 that he had retained with singular accuracy 
 his mathematics acquired at school. He spoke 
 of Lord Grenville s attainments as a classic, 
 particularly in Greek, and his skill in lan 
 guages generally, of which he knew a great 
 number. Lord Harrowby himself has high 
 reputation in this line, modern languages as 
 well as fhe classics being at his command in 
 great purity. He spoke of words that had ob 
 tained a sanction in the United States, in the 
 condemnation of which he could not join ; for 
 example, lengthy, which imported what was 
 tedious as well as long, an idea that no other 
 English word seemed to convey as well. I 
 remarked, that we were unfortunate in my 
 country, for that if persons, no matter how il 
 literate, used wrong words, they were brought 
 to light as Americanisms, whereas in other 
 countries such things were passed by as merely 
 vulgarisms ; thanking his lordship however for 
 throwing his shield over lengthy, which I also 
 thought a very expressive word. 
 
 Mr. Vansittart had been reading some of the 
 official documents of our Government. He 
 said that our appropriations for the military 
 service for the year exceeded those of Great 
 Britain, in proportion to the size of the two 
 
208 KESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 armies ; remarking that the British army was 
 the most expensive in Europe. The Dutch 
 was next, he said ; the Russian cheapest. The 
 last cost but a seventh part as much, man for 
 man, as the British. I said that the expense 
 of an army in the United States arose from 
 the ease with which subsistence was otherwise 
 obtainable ; moreover, that the service was not 
 popular in peace. He assigned a further rea 
 son our large proportion of artillery ; we had 
 three thousand to an army of ten thousand ; 
 whilst the British artillery, to an army of an 
 hundred thousand, amounted to not more than 
 seven thousand.* This I explained by saying, 
 that one of the chief uses of a small standing 
 army in the United States was to keep fortifi 
 cations in order, adding, that we also made 
 large expenditures upon them, under our mili 
 tary appropriations. I owe warm acknowledg 
 ments to Mr. Vansittart for hospitalities and 
 other acts of kindness during the whole of my 
 mission ; appreciated the more in my public 
 and personal feelings, from his high station in 
 the cabinet, in conjunction with his individual 
 distinction and various worth. 
 
 In a renewed conversation I asked him 
 what work was regarded as containing the best 
 account of the British finances. He said it 
 
 * The standing army of The United States has been 
 largely augmented since. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 269 
 
 was difficult to arrive at a knowledge of them 
 from any single work ; but, on the whole, he 
 considered Sir John Sinclair s, for the periods 
 it embraced, as most satisfactory. 
 
 July 15. Went to an entertainment at 
 Carlton-house. It was in honour of the mar 
 riages of the Duke of Clarence, and Duke of 
 Kent, who, with their royal brides, were 
 present. These marriages, with those of the 
 Princess Elizabeth and Duke of Cambridge, 
 all within a few months, have led to a succes 
 sion of entertainments in which the diplomatic 
 corps have participated. 
 
270 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 INTERVIEW WITH LORD CASTLEREAGH. GENERAL NEGO 
 TIATION PROPOSED. COMMERCIAL CONVENTION OF 
 ]815. EUROPEAN MEDIATION BETWEEN SPAIN AND 
 
 HER COLONIES. DINNER AT MR. VILLIERs s. THE 
 
 QUARTERLY REVIEW. INTERVIEW WITH LORD CAS 
 TLEREAGH. PROPOSAL FOR A GENERAL NEGOTI 
 ATION ACCEPTED. MR. GALLATIN TO JOIN IN IT. 
 
 MR. ROBINSON AND MR. GOULBURN, THE BRITISH NE 
 GOTIATORS. COMMERCIAL CONVENTION OF 1815. 
 DINNER AT SIR JOHN SINCLAIR S AT MR. BENTHAM s 
 AT THE FRENCH AMBASSADOR S. INTERVIEW WITH 
 LORD CASTLEREAGH. COURSE OF GREAT BRITAIN 
 AND THE UNITED STATES AS BETWEEN SPAIN AND 
 HER COLONIES. AFFAIR OF PENSACOLA. 
 
 July 16. Lord Castlereagh returned from 
 Ireland on the 14th. To-day I had an inter 
 view with him on my application. 
 
 I entered upon the subject of the commer 
 cial relations between the two countries. I 
 remarked, that it was with reluctance the Pre 
 sident had given his consent to the act of Con 
 gress to exclude from ports of the United 
 States, British vessels coming from the West 
 Indies or other British colonies, from whose 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 271 
 
 ports vessels of the United States were ex 
 cluded. The act indeed was founded on equal 
 justice, and could lay no ground of complaint, 
 as had often been agreed by Great Britain. 
 Still, the President could not but know, that 
 its practical operation might be irritating to 
 individual interests affected in both countries, 
 and his desire was, to give efficacy to measures 
 mutually more beneficial and conciliatory. It 
 was therefore that I was once more instructed 
 to propose to His Majesty s Government the 
 negotiation of a general treaty of commerce. 
 The President desired also, that the negoti 
 ation should include other matters. I recapi 
 tulated the four following. 1. The question 
 respecting slaves carried off from the United 
 States, in contravention, as we alleged of the 
 treaty of Ghent. 2. The question of title to 
 Columbia River. 3. That of the north-western 
 boundary line, from the Lake of the Woods. 
 4. The question of such immediate import 
 ance, relating to the fisheries. Upon all these, 
 the President preferred negotiating directly, 
 rather than resorting to commissioners as 
 under the treaty of Ghent, in the hope that 
 it might prove the means of the two Govern 
 ments coming more speedily to an understand 
 ing. If his Majesty s Government was pre 
 pared to go into them all, in addition to the 
 question of a general treaty of commerce, as 
 the whole would take wide range, the United 
 
272 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 States would name another plenipotentiary to 
 meet, in association with me, any two desig 
 nated by Great Britain. 
 
 Lord Castlereagh asked what was to be un 
 derstood by a general treaty of commerce. I 
 replied, a treaty that would open not a tempo 
 rary or precarious, but permanent, intercourse 
 with the British West Indies and their colo 
 nies in North America to the shipping of the 
 United States ; a subject which I admitted it 
 might seem unnecessary to bring forward after 
 the recently expressed opinions of his Ma 
 jesty s Government, were it not that others of 
 interest to both nations were now coupled 
 with it in a way to give the proposition in 
 some measure a new character. 
 
 He said that the British Government would 
 be willing to enter upon a negotiation on the 
 commercial relations of the two countries ; but 
 he had no authority to say that the colonial 
 system would be essentially altered. Broken 
 down, it could not be. I said, that if it were 
 not to be departed from at all, or in no 
 greater degree than as provided by the four 
 articles spoken of in our conference of the 3rd 
 of January, as those articles had not proved 
 acceptable to my Government, it did not ap 
 pear to me that any advantage would be 
 likely to arise from going into the negotia 
 tion. He replied, that he was not prepared to 
 answer definitively upon any of the subjects, 
 
l8i8. COURT OF LONDON". 273 
 
 but would lay them before the cabinet. He 
 professed it to be the earnest desire of the 
 British Government to see the commercial in 
 tercourse between the two countries placed 
 upon the best footing at all points ; the stake 
 to each being alike important. 
 
 In the event of a negotiation not being 
 opened on the broad grounds I had stated, his 
 lordship asked if it were yet in my power to 
 inform him of the intentions of my Govern 
 ment as to the existing convention of July 
 1815, now so soon to expire. 
 
 I gave him to understand that the President 
 was willing to renew it ; thus keeping it dis 
 tinct from all other questions. It was an in 
 strument satisfactory to the United States, 
 because, as far as it went, it placed the tonnage 
 of the two countries in each other s ports, on 
 a footing of equality. His lordship expressed 
 the readiness of his Majesty s Government to 
 adopt that course. 
 
 I next passed to South American affairs. -I 
 said that my Government was desirous of as 
 certaining the intentions of the European Alli 
 ance in regard to the contest in that hemi 
 sphere, and especially of learning those of Great 
 Britain, as far as she might be disposed to com 
 municate them. The information was sought, 
 not from a mere desire to draw aside the veil of 
 European politics, but from the deep interest 
 the United States took in that contest. They 
 
274 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 asked nothing which they were not prepared 
 to reciprocate, being ready to disclose with 
 candour their own intentions. My Govern 
 ment was not uninformed of a general pur 
 pose of mediation by the European Alliance ; 
 but upon what precise basis, it did not 
 know. This was the point on which it desired 
 light. 
 
 Lord Castlereagh made the following replies. 
 He said that the British Government was not 
 only willing, but desired, to communicate to 
 the United States, every thing in relation to 
 the proposed mediation. It acknowledged our 
 natural interest in the question ; but that, in 
 fact, no plan for the mediation had been ma 
 tured. Difficulties had arisen with Spain, on 
 points the most essential ; they were increased 
 by obstacles to a quick intercourse of counsels 
 among parties so remote from each other, as 
 London, St. Petersburgh, Vienna, and Madrid ; 
 even the place for the mediation had not been 
 fixed upon. The Allied sovereigns when 
 assembled at Aix la Chapelle in the autumn, 
 would probably take up the subject, although 
 meeting primarily for the consideration of 
 others ; and as soon as a basis of pacification 
 had been laid down, he would not fail to apprise 
 me of it. 
 
 Before parting, he gave me the following 
 piece of information : that in consequence of 
 the depredations committed upon the lawful 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 275 
 
 commerce of the world by cruisers ostensibly 
 sailing under commissions from the Spanish 
 colonies, the British Government had issued 
 orders to some of its armed vessels to arrest 
 and bring them in, for the purpose of putting 
 a stop to the vexations and losses they inflicted 
 upon British commerce. He added, that the 
 orders did not embrace cruisers fitted-out bona 
 fide in South American ports. 
 
 July 20. Dined at Mr. Villiers s, North 
 Audley Street ;* to whom I owe obligation for 
 frequent kindnesses ; not less for invariable 
 expressions of good-will towards my country. 
 Field-marshal Lord Beresford, Lord Fitzroy 
 Somerset, Lady Fitzroy, the Duchess of Wel 
 lington, Mrs. Pole, Lord Maynard, Mr. Pon- 
 sonby, Mrs. Villiers, and my wife, were the 
 party. Conversation turned chiefly on France, 
 in the spirit of commendation I remark to be 
 so usual. 
 
 After dinner, Lord Beresford spoke to me 
 of the United States. He thought the Union 
 would not last. Our Government, he said, had 
 worked extremely well, so far; but must give 
 
 * Afterwards Earl of Clarendon, uncle to the late Earl, 
 the accomplished Foreign Secretary of England, whose 
 agreeable correspondence the writer, while on the Continent, 
 had the good fortune to enjoy, only mentioned here for the 
 sake of referring to the repeated and marked evidence de 
 rived therefrom of his friendliness towards The United 
 States. The former Earl, of whom the author speaks, was 
 also a nobleman of most attractive qualities, 8s all remember 
 who knew him. 
 
276 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8 
 
 way, it seemed to him, when the country grew 
 to be highly populous as well as powerful. I in 
 culcated other doctrine, mentioning, as among 
 our safeguards, the federative and national prin 
 ciple interwoven in our Constitution, and refer 
 ring to shocks the Union had already withstood 
 in peace and in war.* He complimented our 
 Navy ; it had taken England by surprise, high 
 praise, had it earned no other, he said ; but, 
 from its nature, not likely to happen again. I 
 expressed the hope that all such occasions might 
 be far off; in which he cordially joined. 
 
 July 21. Mr. * * * * called upon me. 
 
 * The accomplished British officer who expressed the 
 above opinion in 1818, might perhaps have seen cause to 
 modify it on the termination of the Civil War between the 
 Northern and Southern States of the Union, nearly half a 
 century afterwards. Deeply as all who love their country 
 deplored that dreadful and prolonged contest, what American, 
 animated by the true spirit of patriotism, but must feel his 
 national pride rise higher, as he contemplates the rank among 
 Nations now every where accorded to The United States as 
 one of the great Powers of the World, which nothing but 
 the successful termination of that contest, would or could 
 have assured to her. This is said with every appreciation of 
 the high sentiments, heroic courage, and other noble qualities 
 of the Southern people, among whom the writer was edu 
 cated, and formed some of his earliest and warmest friend 
 ships, but who fell into a fatal error when they resisted the 
 authority of the mighty UNION of which Washington, (him 
 self a Southern man) laid the deep foundations in the hearts 
 of the American People ; a People inheriting, may it not 
 here be added, from their English ancestors, their keen and 
 sensitive appreciation of the value of the " Star of Empire/ 7 
 How would England ha,ve acted under a similar attempt, by a 
 portion of her own people, to dismember her great Empire ? 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON, 277 
 
 He said that there would appear in the next 
 Quarterly Review, an article on the life and 
 character of Franklin. It was to be the 
 medium of an attack upon the United States. 
 It would disparage the people, and underrate 
 the resources of the Nation. It would parti 
 cularly examine the claims of the United States 
 as a naval power, and strip them of importance. 
 It would state their tonnage at less than nine 
 hundred thousand, and as decreasing ; en 
 deavouring to show from this and other things, 
 that their maritime resources were not only in 
 considerable at present, but not formidable in 
 prospect. The object of the publication was 
 to lower the reputation of the United States in 
 Europe. To this end, it would be translated 
 into French, republished in Paris, and thence 
 widely circulated. Finally, that the article was 
 already known to persons who stood high in 
 England, and countenanced by them. 
 
 The last part of what my informant commu 
 nicated, may, or may not, be true. The whole 
 is of small concern. Cromwell said, that a 
 Government was weak that could not stand 
 paper shot. Who then shall write down a 
 Nation ? Insignificant states escape assaults 
 of the pen. Powerful ones can bear them. If 
 the United States have long been exposed to 
 these assaults, so has England. They come 
 upon her from abroad, but more at home. 
 Anybody who will spend six months in Lon- 
 
278 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 don and look at only a portion of the publica 
 tions daily thrown from the press, -will be 
 surprised at the number of denunciations he 
 will surely find of England. The crimes and 
 other enormities committed by her people; the 
 profligacy of the lower orders, the vices of the 
 higher ; the corruptions of the Government, its 
 partiality, injustice, tyranny; the abuses of 
 Law ; the abuses in the Church ; the appalling 
 debt, the grinding taxation, the starving poor, 
 the pampered rich these and like topics, on 
 which are based assertions of wide-spread de 
 pravity and suffering unparalleled, are urged 
 in every form, and run out into all details. It 
 is not the cheap, unstamped press which alone 
 reiterates them ; but many of the highest and 
 most powerfully supported of the journals. 
 Sometimes France is fiercely attacked, some 
 times Russia, sometimes the Holy Alliance, 
 sometimes the United States ; but England 
 always. The battering-ram against her never 
 stops. What English writers thus say of 
 their own country, and the picture is commonly 
 summed up with predictions of national ruin, 
 crosses the Channel next day, is translated into 
 French, and, as foretold of the forthcoming 
 article in the Quarterly Review, circulated 
 over Europe. In a month it has crossed the 
 Atlantic, and is circulating in America. Mil 
 lions read, millions believe it. In the midst of 
 it all, England goes on in prosperity and power. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 279 
 
 Europe and the world see both, in proofs irre 
 sistible. The enlightened portion of the world 
 perceive, also, alongside of the picture of moral 
 deformity, no matter how much may be true, 
 or how much over-coloured, counteracting 
 fields of excellence, public and private, that 
 exalt the English nation to a high pitch of 
 sober renown. 
 
 It is in this manner I content myself as a 
 citizen of the United States. The last forty 
 years have witnessed their steady advance, in 
 prosperity and power. Europe and the world 
 behold both in proofs as irresistible. The en 
 lightened portion of the world will also infer, 
 that a Nation with a foreign commerce over 
 shadowing that of the greatest Nations of 
 Europe, England excepted ; whose whole 
 tonnage, instead of nine hundred thousand, 
 already exceeds fifteen hundred thousand; a 
 Nation throughout whose borders the public 
 liberty and prosperity have long been dif 
 fusing the means of private comfort and the 
 lights of general education, the enlightened 
 everywhere will infer, that such a Nation 
 cannot be wanting in adequate intellectual 
 advancement or social refinements, any more 
 than in political power. They follow through 
 the indissoluble connexion between causes and 
 effects. Ingenuity and ill-nature hunting for 
 exceptions may find them ; but the great field 
 of excellence remains. It will continue to 
 
280 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 widen, until Britain herself, renowned as 
 she is, will in time count it her chiefest 
 glory, to have been the parent stock of 
 such a people. Of the frame of our Govern 
 ment, so often denounced and little under 
 stood, a British Statesman, wanting neither in 
 sagacity or knowledge of history Charles 
 James Fox remarks, that it was precisely 
 that constitution which the wisest men of the 
 world would give to the people of the present 
 age, supposing that they had to begin on a 
 clear foundation, and not to destroy any thing 
 existing, at the cost of anarchy and civil war. 
 Of such a Constitution the citizen of the 
 United States may as justly as proudly boast; 
 concluding, in the additional words of Mr. 
 Fox, that it is the "British Constitution with 
 the improvements of the experience of ten 
 centuries"* 
 
 July 23. A note from Lord Castlereagh 
 requested I would meet him at the Foreign 
 Office to-day. I found Mr. Robinson with 
 him. The latter is President of the Board of 
 Trade, and has recently been called to a seat 
 in the cabinet. 
 
 His lordship informed me that he had made 
 
 * It is not for the pen here employed to give expression 
 to any panegyric upon these reflections,, but surely no en 
 lightened and dispassionate man in either country would 
 fail to respond to them. Ought not two such Nations to "be 
 friends ? Ought trivial causes to interrupt their friendship ? 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 281 
 
 known my proposals to the cabinet, and that 
 a general negotiation would be agreed to, on 
 all the points I had stated. With regard to 
 the commercial question, the British Govern 
 ment did not pledge itself to a departure from 
 the colonial system in any degree greater than 
 hitherto, but would bring the whole subject 
 under review ; willing to hope, though abstain 
 ing from promises, that some modification of 
 the system, mutually beneficial, might be the 
 result of frank discussions, renewed at the 
 present juncture. 
 
 I replied, that my Government would hear 
 this determination with great satisfaction, and 
 joined in the hope that the new effort might be 
 productive of advantage to both countries. 
 
 I now informed his lordship, that Mr. Gal- 
 latin, our minister at Paris, would take part 
 in the negotiation, and come to London as 
 soon at it might suit the convenience of his 
 Majesty s Government to appoint plenipoten 
 tiaries on the side of Great Britain. 
 
 He replied, the sooner the better, saying 
 that Mr. Robinson* and Mr. Goulburn would 
 be appointed. He added that he himself 
 would be obliged to set out for the Continent, 
 in August, to attend the congress at Aix-la- 
 Chapelle, and that the negotiation would have 
 to proceed in his absence; but expressed a 
 wish that it might open before he left town. I 
 
 * The lute Earl of Kipon. 
 
282 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 said that all our instructions had not got to 
 hand, but we expected them daily. He asked, 
 whether, to guard against delays incident to a 
 general negotiation, I was prepared to agree 
 separately to a renewal of the convention of 
 1815, for a term of years to be fixed. I in 
 formed him that I was in possession of a power 
 to that effect. 
 
 From the manner in which Lord Castlereagh 
 mentioned this subject, and it was for the third 
 time, it was evident that the British Govern 
 ment strongly desired the renewal of this con 
 vention. The United States desired it not less. 
 In the early part of the present month, by 
 information transmitted to me, more of our 
 vessels were in the port of Liverpool, than 
 those of any foreign power, or even English 
 vessels, coasters excepted. The latter fact sur 
 prised me. It may be taken as an indication 
 that in the trade between the two countries, 
 the United States are likely to have their equal 
 share as carriers, as long as the charges upon 
 the vessels of each continue equal. This is all 
 that the United States ask. It is the offer 
 they make to all nations. They hold it out in 
 a permanent statute, as the basis of their code 
 of navigation. 
 
 July 24. Dined yesterday at Sir John Sin 
 clair s, Ormly Lodge, in the neighbourhood of 
 Richmond. He had invited us to spend the 
 day for the sake of an excursion upon the 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 283 
 
 Thames. Hampton Court, Pope s Villa at 
 Twickenham, Strawberry Hill, with other places 
 to call up historical or classic recollections, 
 would have been within our range ; but we 
 were, for this occasion, disappointed. My 
 interview with Lord Castlereagh had been 
 fixed for an hour that prevented our leaving 
 town in season, so that the pleasure of dining 
 and passing the evening at Ormly Lodge, was 
 all we could command. 
 
 It was the first time I had been so far into 
 the country, since our arrival. Gardens, 
 hedge-rows, village churches, houses and walls 
 with ivy growing about them, met the eye in 
 all directions. Here, were evergreens cut into 
 shapes as in Queen Anne s time ; there, the 
 modern villa, where art was exerted to avoid 
 all appearance of art ; so that, even in this 
 short distance, the taste of different ages might 
 be seen. Looking on the w r hole, I could not 
 avoid the thought, that the lawns so neat and 
 fields so fertile, were the soil that the plough 
 had gone through when the Romans were 
 here. The more did this thought come over 
 me, as in the United States we have what we 
 call "old fields" worn out by too much use, as 
 w r e think, and abandoned on that account. 
 They are abandoned, I must remark, for new 
 ones, more fertile ; but when these in turn 
 become " old fields" it seems we need be in no 
 despair of making the former " old fields" fer- 
 
284 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 tile again, any more than the latter ! We drove 
 through Richmond Park, \vhich completed the 
 beauty of the scene. 
 
 Arrived at Ormly Lodge, we were cour 
 teously received at the door, and soon went 
 to dinner. Sir John and Lady Sinclair with 
 several members of their family, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Basil Cochrane, of Portman Square, Sir Ben 
 jamin and Lady Hobhouse, with a few others, 
 made the party. Sentiments the most liberal 
 were expressed towards the United States, both 
 Sir John Sinclair and .Sir Benjamin Hobhonse 
 having an acquaintance with their concerns 
 that belonged to inquiring minds. The latter 
 was President of the Agricultural Society at 
 Bath. He spoke of the agriculture of the 
 United States. It had long been his desire, 
 he said, that the agriculturists of the two 
 countries should correspond, exchanging ob 
 servations, and the results of their experiments. 
 I said that those of my country could scarcely 
 object, seeing how much they would be likely 
 to gain. He replied that agriculturists in 
 England would gain too, and spoke of the 
 advantage he had himself derived from a cor 
 respondence with Mr. Peters, of Belmont, 
 President of the Agricultural Society at Phi 
 ladelphia ; to whose knowledge he bore testi 
 mony, and his happy manner of imparting it. 
 He spoke of Mr. Coke s farm at Holkham, in 
 Norfolk ; it was in the highest order in which 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 285 
 
 it seemed possible for ground to be, to illus 
 trate productive and beautiful husbandry ; he 
 did not know that a weed could be found upon 
 it. He called it horticulture upon a great 
 scale. This celebrated farm consists of several 
 thousand acres ; the enclosure round the park 
 was stated to be ten miles in extent; the whole 
 estate in that county, to contain about forty 
 thousand acres. Having had the gratification 
 at a subsequent day, of visiting Mr. Coke at 
 his Holkham estate, I am here reminded of 
 what he told me was jocosely said when he 
 first took, possession of it ; that there was but 
 one blade of grass on the whole, for which 
 two half-starved rabbits were fighting ! All 
 accounts agree that it was sterile. Skilful 
 farming, aided by capital, had brought it, in 
 the course of a single life, into the state Sir 
 Benjamin Hobhouse described, and repaid, as 
 was added, the large expenditures upon it. 
 The remark from Brougham s colonial policy 
 about Holland was quoted : that that country 
 owed its rich culture to a combination of 
 defects in both soil and climate, which put man 
 upon his own efforts. What a lesson to nations 
 as to individuals ! The principle of the remark 
 may be applied to England ; who with her 
 superabundant riches and strength, is greatly 
 stinted in natural advantages bestowed with a 
 profuse hand on many other nations. 
 
 Sir John Sinclair s conversation was instruc- 
 
280 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 live and entertaining. He had the double 
 fund of a large mixture with the world and 
 books to draw from. Early rising was a topic ; 
 he thought it less conducive to health than 
 was generally supposed, owing to the morning 
 exhalations ; we had heard of the robustness 
 of the old Saxons, but he doubted if they 
 were as powerful a race, physically, as the 
 English of the present day ; and as to their 
 going to bed at dark and getting up with the 
 dawn, that, he pleasantly said, was natural 
 among a people ignorant of the art of making 
 candles ! In the evening, further company 
 arrived from neighbouring country seats. Of 
 the number were the Miss Penns, descendants 
 of the founder of Pennsylvania. Pastimes fol 
 lowed, promoted and shared by Sir John, 
 whose qualities in private life do not fall be 
 hind those that have made him known to his 
 country as a public man and author. I men 
 tioned on a former page the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer s opinion of his work on the British 
 finances ; I add that, on asking Mr. Coke what 
 work might be consulted with most advantage 
 on the agriculture of England, he replied, that 
 he knew of none, by a private hand, better than 
 Sir John Sinclair s. High testimonials ! 
 
 July 27. Dined at Mr. Jeremy Bentham s. 
 If Mr. Bentham s character be peculiar, so is 
 his place of residence. 
 
 From my house north of Portman Square, 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 287 
 
 I was driven nearly three miles through 
 streets for the most part long and wide, until 
 I passed Westminster Abbey. Thereabouts 
 things changed. The streets grew narrow. 
 Houses seemed falling down with age. The 
 crowds were as thick, but not as good-looking, 
 as about Cornhill and the Poultry. In a little 
 while I reached the purlieus of Queen Square 
 Place. The farther I advanced, the more con 
 fined was the space. At length turning through 
 a gateway, the passage was so narrow that I 
 thought the wheels would have grazed. It 
 was a kind of blind-alley, the end of which 
 widened into a small, neat, court-yard. There, 
 by itself, stood Mr. Bentham s house. Shrub 
 bery graced its area, and flowers its window- 
 sills. It was like an oasis in the desert. Its 
 name, the Hermitage. 
 
 Entering, he received me with the simpli 
 city of a philosopher, I should have taken him 
 for seventy or upwards. Every thing inside 
 of the house was orderly. The furniture 
 seemed to have been unmoved since the days 
 of his fathers ; for I learned that it was a patri 
 mony. A drawing-room, library, and dining- 
 room, made up the suite of apartments. In 
 each was a piano, the eccentric master of the 
 whole being fond of music as the recreation 
 of his literary hours. It was a unique, ro 
 mantic little homestead. Walking with him 
 into his garden, I found it dark with the 
 
288 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 shade of ancient trees. They formed a bar 
 rier against all intrusion. In one part was 
 a high dead wall, the back of a neighbour s 
 
 house. It was dark and almost mouldering 
 
 o 
 
 with time. In that house, he informed me, 
 Milton had lived. Perceiving that I took an 
 interest in hearing it, he soon afterwards ob 
 tained a relic, and sent it to me. It was an 
 old carved baluster, from the staircase, which 
 there was reason to think the hand of the 
 great bard had often grasped so said the 
 note that accompanied the relic.* 
 
 The company was small, but choice. Mr. 
 Brougham, Sir Samuel Romilly, Mr. Mill, 
 author of the well-known work on India, 
 Dumont, the learned Genevan, once the asso 
 ciate of Mirabeau, were all who sat down 
 to table. Mr. Bentham did not talk much. 
 He had a benevolence of manner, suited to the 
 philanthropy of his mind. He seemed to be 
 thinking only of the convenience and pleasure 
 of his guests, not as a rule of artificial breed 
 ing, as from Chesterfield or Madame De 
 Genlis, but from innate feeling. Bold as 
 are his opinions in his works, here he was 
 wholly unobtrusive of theories that might not 
 have commanded the assent of all present. 
 
 * It was composed of four twisted columns. Many years 
 afterwards the author had it worked into his own staircase 
 at Sydenham, at the foot of the stairs, topped with a silver 
 plate indicating its history, as "The Milton Balustrade." 
 It isjstill preserved in the possession of the writer. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 289 
 
 Something else was remarkable. When he 
 did converse, it was in simple language, a 
 contrast to his later writings, where an in 
 volved style, and the use of new or unusual 
 words, are drawbacks upon the speculations 
 of a genius original and profound, but with 
 the faults of solitude. Yet some of his earlier 
 productions are distinguished by classical terse 
 ness. 
 
 Mr. Brougham talked with rapidity and 
 energy. There was a quickness in his bodily 
 movements indicative of the quickness of his 
 thoughts. He showed in conversation the 
 universality and discipline that he exhibits in 
 Parliament and the Courts of Law. The af 
 fairs of South America, English authors, John 
 son, Pope, Swift, Milton, Dryden, Addison, 
 (the criticisms of the last on Paradise Lost, 
 he thought poor things) ; anecdotes of the 
 living Judges of England ; of Lord Chancel 
 lors, living and dead ; the errors in Burrow s 
 Reports, not always those of the reporter, he 
 said ; the Universities of Oxford and Cam 
 bridge ; the Constitution of the United States 
 these were topics that he touched with the 
 promptitude and power of a master. He 
 quoted from the ancient classics, and poets 
 of modern Italy, (the latter in the original 
 also,) not with the ostentation of scholarship, 
 which he is above, but as if they came out 
 whether he would or no amidst the multi- 
 
 u 
 
290 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 tude of his ideas and illustrations. He ban 
 died nothing at length, but with a happy 
 brevity ; the rarest art in conversation, when 
 loaded with matter like his. Sometimes he 
 despatched a subject in a parenthesis ; some 
 times by a word, that told like a blow. Not 
 long after this my first meeting with him, 
 one of his friends informed me that a gen 
 tleman whose son was about to study law, 
 asked him what books he ought to read : 
 " Tell him to begin with Demosthenes and 
 Dante." "What, to make a lawyer?" said 
 the father. " Yes," he replied, " and if you 
 don t take, we won t argue about it." Mr. 
 Mill, M. Duinont, and Sir Samuel Romilly, 
 did their parts in keeping up the ball of 
 conversation. Sheridan being spoken of, Sir 
 Samuel Romilly, who had often heard him 
 in the House of Commons, said, that " nothing 
 could be more marked than the difference 
 between the parts of his speeches previously 
 written out, and the extemporaneous parts. 
 The audience could discover in a moment 
 when he fell into the latter. It was well 
 known," he added, " that all the highly 
 wrought passages in his speeches on Hastings 
 impeachment, were prepared beforehand and 
 committed to memory." 
 
 After we rose from table, Mr. Bentham 
 sought conversation with me about the United 
 States. " Keep your salaries low," said he ; 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 291 
 
 " it is one of the secrets of the success of 
 your Government. But what is this," he in 
 quired, " called a Board of Navy Commis 
 sioners that you have lately set up ? I don t 
 understand it." I explained it to him. " I 
 can t say that I like it," he replied ; " the 
 simplicity of your public departments has 
 heretofore been one of their recommendations, 
 but boards make screens: if any thing goes 
 wrong, you don t know where to find the 
 offender; it was the board that did it, not 
 one of the members ; always the board, the 
 board!" I got home at a late hour, having 
 witnessed a degree of intellectual point and 
 strength throughout the whole evening, not 
 easily to have been exceeded. 
 
 July 30. The French Ambassador gave a 
 dinner to the Prince Regent. There were 
 present all the foreign ambassadors and minis 
 ters, Lord Castlereagh, Lord Melville, Lord 
 Stewart, Lord Binning, the Vice-Chancellor, 
 and other official characters, the company being 
 large. The arrangements were on the models 
 of France ; for wines, we had Burgundy, To 
 kay, St. Julien, Sillery Champagne, and others 
 in esteem at such tables. The fruit course 
 displayed the mingled fruits of France and 
 England ; from the gardens of the former, and 
 hot-houses of the latter. In England it is 
 only by heat so obtained, that fruit can have 
 its full flavour; yet so numerous overall the 
 
 T: 2 
 
292 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 island are these receptacles of artificial heat, 
 that they become as another sun to the Eng 
 lish climate. 
 
 Beautiful as was the appearance of the table, 
 the chief attraction did not lie there ; but in 
 the distinguished entertainers, the Marquis 
 and Marchioness D Osmond. French society 
 has always been celebrated ; the Sevignes, the 
 du Deffands, the de Leviss, and a thousand 
 others, have told us of it. The manners of 
 the French in those days, in spite of the alloy 
 mixed with them, command admiration. They 
 are embalmed in the literature of the nation. 
 Their influence survives in France ; for even 
 those who discard totally the politics of the 
 same ages, cherish the example of personal 
 accomplishments that gave grace and orna 
 ment to social life. The memory of them was 
 recalled on this occasion. 
 
 But among personages of the class assem 
 bled, exterior attractions are not all that en 
 gage the thoughts. In the drawing-rooms of 
 London as the salons of Paris, intervals are 
 found for other topics. " What is it?" whis 
 pered to me in the course of the evening an 
 ambassador from one of the great powers 
 " what is it we hear about Pensacola ? are you 
 going to have difficulty with Spain?" I re 
 plied that I hoped not. " May I hear from 
 you the circumstances I should be glad to 
 inform my court what they are." I said they 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 293 
 
 were simply these. The United States were 
 at war with the Serninole Indians, a tribe 
 dwelling partly in Florida; Spain was bound 
 by treaty to restrain their hostilities from 
 within her own line, nevertheless, they crossed 
 the line, attacked our people, and fell back 
 into Florida; there, they recruited for new 
 attacks, and when pursued, found shelter, it 
 was hoped without the knowledge of Spain, in 
 the Spanish posts of St. Mark s and Pensacola. 
 Such were the facts on which General Jackson, 
 commander of the United States troops, had 
 acted. He had accordingly taken possession 
 of those fortresses ; not as an act of hostility to 
 Spain, but in necessary prosecution of the war 
 against the Indians, and defence of our own 
 frontier. The ambassador said, that Europe 
 would look with interest upon the progress of 
 the affair. I gave the same information to 
 one of the ministers plenipotentiary. The 
 latter remarked, that the diplomatic corps 
 were full of the news ; for, said he, " we have 
 had nothing of late so exciting it smacks of 
 war." I said that I had no belief the United 
 States would detain the posts an hour after 
 the necessity that led to their being taken, 
 ceased. 
 
 Mr. Poleticca, appointed minister from Rus 
 sia to the United States, was of the company. 
 He spoke of the friendly dispositions he should 
 carry with him to my country, by command of 
 
294 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 his sovereign. So strongly, he said, were his 
 instructions imbued with this spirit, that he 
 would not scruple to read them to Mr. Adams, 
 when he got to Washington. I learned, not 
 from Mr. Poleticca, but otherwise, that they 
 related in part to the United States joining 
 the Holy Alliance. This may seem strange. 
 It may be explained by the remark, that there 
 was nothing objectionable in the ends pro 
 posed on the face of this alliance. Religion, 
 peace and justice among nations, were its pro 
 fessed objects. It was, however, a sufficient 
 objection to any free Government becoming 
 party to it, that it sprang from the wills of 
 irresponsible sovereigns, was perfected by their 
 autograph signatures, and susceptible, from its 
 very nature, of being interpreted and enforced 
 to their own ends. The Emperors of Russia 
 and Austria, and the King of Prussia, first 
 signed it. England declined ; on the ground 
 that by the forms of her constitution, no treaty 
 or league of any kind was ever signed by the 
 monarch in person, but by ministers responsible 
 to the nation. A representative of one of the 
 second-rate powers of Europe remarked to me 
 on the mortification which such powers felt 
 at having all their movements brought under 
 the inspection and control of this alliance. 
 He told in this connection the anecdote of the 
 Dutch ambassador who was sent to make 
 peace with Louis XIV., after his first successes 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 295 
 
 against Holland ; but who, on hearing the ex 
 travagant terms demanded by Louis, swooned 
 away, as being of a nature never to be yielded, 
 and which he knew not how to resist. 
 
 The Prince Regent sat on the right of the 
 French Ambassador. The whole entertain 
 ment was sumptuous. The company remained 
 until a late hour in the drawing-rooms, under 
 the spell of French affability and taste. 
 
 July 31. Had an interview with Lord 
 Castlereagh, by appointment at the French 
 Ambassador s yesterday. He informed me that 
 the Court of Madrid had made propositions to 
 Great Britain to mediate between Spain and 
 her colonies, and invited the European Alliance 
 to join. The invitation was given in a note 
 from the Spanish Ambassador in London, 
 written early this month. He had not known 
 of it at the time of our interview on the 16th, 
 having then just got back from Ireland, and a 
 convenient opportunity of noticing it had not 
 offered when we w r ere together afterwards. 
 He had therefore sought this interview. He 
 could not better unfold the subject than by 
 putting into my hands the notes that had 
 passed ; first, the one from the Spanish Am 
 bassador ; next the answer of the British Go 
 vernment, drawn up a few days ago ; thirdly, 
 as coupling itself with the subject, a note of 
 the British Government of the 28th of August 
 1817, addressed to the Allied Powers and 
 
296 EESIDENCE AT THE iSiS. 
 
 made known to Spain, containing the senti 
 ments of Great Britain as to a mediation at 
 that time. 
 
 I read each note. The introductory matter 
 of the Spanish Ambassador s, spoke of the re 
 bellious nature of the war in the colonies, of 
 the past clemency of Spain, and her continued 
 willingness to terminate the quarrel. It then 
 laid down the following as the basis on which 
 a mediation was asked. 1. An amnesty to 
 the colonies on their being reduced. Lord 
 Castlereagh explained this word, which was a 
 translation from the Spanish, by saying that 
 Spain did not mean conquered, but only that 
 her colonies must desist from hostility. 2. 
 The King of Spain to employ in his public 
 service in America, qualified Americans as well 
 as European Spaniards. 3. The King to grant 
 the colonies privileges of trade adapted to the 
 existing posture of things. 4. The King to ac 
 quiesce in all measures the mediating powers 
 might suggest to effect the above objects. 
 
 The British answer approved the proposi 
 tions, as general ones, but called for explana 
 tions by which the meaning of some of them 
 might be rendered more definite. It expressed 
 an opinion that the dispute ought to be healed 
 without taking away the political supremacy 
 of the parent state. It declared that the trade 
 of the colonies ought to be free to the rest of 
 the world, the mother-country being placed 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 297 
 
 upon a footing of reasonable preference. Lastly? 
 it made known that Great Britain would do 
 no more than interpose friendly offices, using 
 no compulsion should they fail. 
 
 The British note of August, 1817, related 
 chiefly to the commercial freedom of the co 
 lonies and the non-employment of force. It 
 was very explicit on the first point, going the 
 length, as the United States had done, of 
 saying that Great Britain would accept no 
 privileges of trade at the hands of the colonies 
 not open to other nations ; and on the second 
 point unequivocally disavowing all intention 
 of forcing the colonies by arms, into any mea 
 sures whatever. The proffered mediation at 
 this period, went off on the question of the 
 slave-trade. Britain insisting on its abolition 
 by Spain on terms to which the latter would 
 not then assent. 
 
 These state papers, the purport of which I 
 give succinctly, record the opinions of Great 
 Britain on the settlement of this contest at the 
 epochs indicated. 
 
 When I had finished reading them, his lord 
 ship asked if I was in possession of the views 
 of my own Government as to a basis of settle 
 ment. 
 
 I replied in the affirmative ; informing him 
 that the desire of my Government was, that 
 the colonies should be completely emancipated 
 from the parent state. I was also of opinion, 
 
298 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 that the contest never would, or could, be set 
 tled otherwise. 
 
 I added, that the United States would decline 
 taking part, if they took part at all, in any plan 
 of pacification, except on the basis of the inde 
 pendence of the colonies. 
 
 This was the determination to which my 
 Government had come on much deliberation, 
 and I was bound to communicate it in full 
 candour. It had hoped that the views of Great 
 Britain would have been coincident. 
 
 Lord Castlereagh appeared to receive the 
 communication with regret. He admitted that 
 the United States stood in different relations 
 to the contest, from those which Great Britain 
 held ; as well by reason of the European en 
 gagements of the latter, as other causes. Still, 
 lie sincerely desired that our two Governments 
 should have acted in full harmony of opinion. 
 He perceived the extent of interest which the 
 United States had in the whole question ; on 
 which account their concurrence with Europe 
 on all the grounds of mediation, although they 
 took no part in it, would not have been with 
 out an influence in rendering it effectual. The 
 fundamental point of difference was farther 
 discussed between us ; but I gave his lordship 
 no reason to suppose that the determination of 
 the United States would undergo a change. 
 The conversation was conducted and terminated 
 in a spirit altogether conciliatory. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 290 
 
 The policy of the United States on the great 
 question of Spanish American independence, 
 could not have been different. They owed it 
 
 / 
 
 to the actual position of the colonies ; to their 
 future destinies ; to the cause of human liberty 
 in the new hemisphere. The determination of 
 the United States to act upon the policy, was 
 accelerated by the exertions of a distinguished 
 patriot and statesman of the Republic, Mr. 
 Clay; whose comprehensive forecast outran the 
 doubts of others, and whose ardent, commanding 
 eloquence, never tiring in this cause, made its 
 impression on the legislative counsels and public 
 opinion of the nation. It was a noble spectacle 
 to see the United States stretch out their power 
 ful hand to these infantcommunities, anticipating 
 the freest government of Europe in announcing 
 the decree of their independence. Mr. Canning, 
 at a subsequent day, earned a brilliant portion 
 of his fame, by throwing the mighty segis of 
 Britain over their freedom; which but enhances 
 the fame of their American champion, who was 
 foremost in the competition. 
 
 When we had done with this subject, his 
 lordship asked if I had any accounts from my 
 Government of the capture of Pensacola. I 
 said, none that were official. I improved the 
 opportunity, as in other cases at the French 
 Ambassador s, of giving him an outline of the 
 transaction. He expressed a hope that it 
 would not lend to a breach of our peaceful 
 
300 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 relations with Spain, adding that nothing had 
 yet been received on the subject from the 
 British Minister at Washington. 
 
 August 12. Called at the Foreign Office, to 
 inform Mr. Planta, Under Secretary of State, 
 that Mr. Gallatin would probably arrive in 
 England in a few days by way of Dover, on the 
 business of the negotiation. I requested that 
 the necessary passports might be forwarded for 
 according to him every facility in landing and 
 coming to London ; which were promised. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 301 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 INTERVIEW WITH LORD CASTLEREAGH. IMPRESSMENT 
 CASES OF ARBUTHNOT AND AMBRISTER. MR. GALLATIN 
 
 ARRIVES IN LONDON. PREPARATORY CONFERENCE AT 
 
 NORTH CRAY, THE SEAT OF LORD CASTLEREAGH, IN 
 KENT, WHERE THE NEGOTIATORS DINE AND PASS THE 
 NIGHT. APPEARANCES OF THE COUNTRY. OPENING 
 
 OF THE NEGOTIATION. THE POINTS RECAPITULATED. 
 
 LAST INTERVIEW WITH LORD CASTLEREAGH ON 
 IMPRESSMENT, PRIOR TO HIS DEPARTURE FOR AIX LA 
 CHAPELLE. 
 
 August 14, 1818. Called on Lord Castle- 
 reagh by his invitation. 
 
 He informed me that causes had occurred 
 to prevent the Congress of Sovereigns assem 
 bling at Aix la Chapelle as soon as had been 
 expected. The time was now fixed for the 
 20th of September ; he was the better pleased, 
 as it ensured him the opportunity of being 
 present at the commencement of the negotia 
 tion. I expressed my satisfaction at the com 
 munication, and in turn informed him, that the 
 full powers and instructions to Mr. Gallatin and 
 
302 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 myself had arrived, and that I expected the 
 former from Paris in a day or two. 
 
 He next surprised me agreeably by reviving 
 the subject of Impressment. I feared that it 
 had been expunged from our conferences. He 
 premised, that what he was going to say, was, 
 for the present, without the knowledge of his 
 colleagues in the administration. He had 
 reflected upon my late proposals ; they had, it 
 was true, been rejected, as they stood ; but 
 feeling the great importance of this subject, 
 and willing to avoid, if possible, shutting it out 
 from the general negotiation, it had occurred 
 to him to offer some suggestions to me. He 
 thought that my proposals might perhaps be 
 rendered acceptable by some modifications im 
 portant to Great Britain, without affecting, as 
 he hoped, the primary object of the United 
 States. The modifications were these : 
 
 1. That any treaty or convention founded on 
 my proposals, should be limited to eight, ten, 
 or twelve years, with liberty to each party to 
 be absolved from its stipulations on a notice 
 of three or six months ; as in the existing 
 arrangement between the two countries for the 
 reciprocal dismantlement of their flotillas on 
 the lakes. 
 
 2. That the British boarding-officer entering 
 American ships at sea for a purpose agreed 
 by both nations to be justifiable under the laws 
 of nations, should be entitled to call for a list 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 303 
 
 of the crew ; and if he saw a seaman known to 
 him, or on good grounds suspected, to be a 
 British seaman, should have the further privi 
 lege of making a record, or proch verbal, of the 
 fact, in such manner as to bring the case under 
 the notice of the Government of the United 
 States, but not to take the man out of the 
 ship. 
 
 The latter regulation, his lordship observed, 
 would operate as a further incentive to the 
 faithful execution of our home prohibitions for 
 excluding British subjects from our vessels ; 
 the former, guard against any irrevocable re- 
 linquishment by Great Britain of what she 
 believed to be her right of impressment 
 a relinquishment which the feelings of the 
 country might not on trial be found to bear. 
 
 To the first modification I saw no insur 
 mountable objection. The second I viewed 
 very differently. But as, in the progress of 
 the negotiation, a hope might reasonably be 
 entertained of getting rid of the second if the 
 first were adopted, I said that, while I felt 
 unwilling to express an opinion on the pro 
 posed modifications, apart from my colleague, 
 whose arrival was so soon expected, I saw 
 quite enough in the suggestion of them to bring 
 the subject again within the pale of our dis 
 cussions. 
 
 Lord Castlereagh then passed to a new sub 
 ject, his manner showing the interest he felt in 
 
304 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 it. It was the execution, by order of General 
 Jackson, of two British subjects, Arbuthnot 
 and Ambrister. This transaction grew out of 
 the war against the Seminole Indians. Am 
 brister was taken in the field, fighting on their 
 side against the forces of the United States. 
 Arbuthnot was made prisoner in the Spanish 
 fort of St. Mark s, and charged with instigating 
 the Indians to war against our troops and 
 people. His lordship inquired if I had any 
 intelligence from my Government respecting 
 these executions, saying that his Majesty s 
 Government had none as yet from Mr. Bagot. 
 I replied, that neither had I any from my 
 Government. He said that he could have no 
 complaint to make at present, the case not being 
 officially before the British Government ; but 
 assuming the rumours to have any foundation, 
 the execution of these men under the mere 
 authority of the commanding general, without 
 any reference to the Government of the United 
 States, seemed an extreme measure. He asked 
 if I could account for it. I replied, that I 
 could only account for it by supposing the 
 offences to have been extreme. This, combined 
 with the distance of the commanding general 
 from Washington, had probably presented the 
 whole case to his mind, as one for his own dis 
 cretion. The Indians, when waging war, de 
 stroyed their prisoners, sparing neither age nor 
 sex, which necessarily exposed those who took 
 
iSlS. COURT OF LONDON. 305 
 
 side with them to their own rules of warfare, if 
 captured; a momentary humanity might regret 
 this kind of retaliation ; but perhaps the perma 
 nent interests of humanity would be promoted, 
 as its tendency would be to deter others from 
 instigating the Indians to attack our people. It 
 was so that I spoke. Lord Castlereagh made no 
 other commentary than to express a hope that 
 everything would be well explained, the oc 
 currence being of a nature to excite unusual 
 sensibility in England. I remarked that I saw 
 with concern the inflammatory comments of the 
 public journals, before the occurrence could 
 be rightly understood in England ; not that 
 the press in either country should be left to 
 any other influence than its own wil! 3 but from 
 the fear that it might forerun, in this instance, 
 the real nature of the case, and raise up diffi 
 culties not intrinsic to it. He replied by dis 
 avowing all connexion on this, as on other oc 
 casions, between the Government and such of 
 the public prints as were said to propagate its 
 opinions ; remarking that the Government 
 formed its own views of subjects without fol 
 lowing those of newspapers, or dictating them. 
 He said at parting, that it was his intention 
 to go out of town to-morrow, to be back on 
 the 25th. 
 
 August 16. Mr. Gallatin arrives in London. 
 
 August 17. Address a note to Lord Cas 
 tlereagh, informing him of Mr. Gallatin s ar- 
 
 x 
 
306 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 rival, and that we were ready to open the 
 negotiation. 
 
 August 19. Receive an answer. Lord 
 Castlereagh being still out of town, says, that 
 he will be happy to see us at dinner at his 
 country residence, on the 22nd. We are asked 
 to come early, to give time for a conference 
 before dinner, and remain all night. 
 
 August 20. Employed to-day and yester 
 day in going with Mr. Gallatin to leave our 
 cards at the houses of the members of the 
 cabinet and diplomatic corps. As minister last 
 arriving, he makes the first call, though only 
 in transitory relations with this court. 
 
 August 23. We arrived at Lord Castle- 
 reagh s country seat, North Cray, Kent, sixteen 
 miles from town, yesterday at three o clock. 
 
 We found there, Mr. Robinson and Mr. 
 Goulburn, the two British plenipotentiaries. 
 After a courteous welcome, we all withdrew to 
 Lord Castlereagh s cabinet. An informal be 
 ginning was made in the negotiation. His 
 lordship said, that this first meeting was one 
 in which he took much interest, though its 
 principal design was to bring the plenipoten 
 tiaries together, and fix the subjects rather than 
 discuss them. The negotiation was important 
 to both countries ; he sincerely felt it so to 
 Great Britain ; his Majesty s Government ear 
 nestly desired that every question which had 
 led to past misunderstandings, might be ami- 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 307 
 
 cably adjusted at this season of peace, so as to 
 lay a foundation of stable harmony for the 
 future ; he trusted that the aim of each country 
 would be to advance, as far as compatible with 
 its own rights and interests, the just rights and 
 interests of the other. In short, let us strive, 
 said he, so to regulate our intercourse in all 
 respects, as that each Nation may be able to 
 do its utmost towards making the other rich 
 and happy. These were among his introduc 
 tory remarks. Mr. Gallatin and I reciprocated 
 their good spirit. His lordship proceeded to 
 specify the points the negotiation was to com 
 prehend. 
 
 Next, he spoke of Impressment. The mo 
 difications suggested to the proposals I had 
 submitted for excluding British seamen from 
 
 C3 
 
 our service, he would, he said, repeat, for the 
 information of Mr. Gallatin. We expressed at 
 once our decided objection to the second ; but 
 agreed, that the general subject should come 
 into the negotiation. With impressment, it 
 was also agreed that we should let in other 
 subjects of a maritime nature ; such as, the 
 doctrine of blockade ; the right of a neutral to 
 trade with the colonies of an enemy in time of 
 war ; the right of search, and list of contraband. 
 General conversation was had under each head. 
 The conference closed with an understanding; 
 
 o 
 
 that the plenipotentiaries should re-assemble 
 
 x 2 
 
308 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 on the 27th, the negotiation then to open in 
 form. 
 
 Business being over, we took a turn through 
 the grounds. The day was fine. We walked 
 on lawns from which sheep were separated by 
 invisible fences, and along shady paths by the 
 Cray side. The Cray is a narrow river, whose 
 waters here flow through grassy banks. Close 
 by, were hedges of sweet-briar. Such, and 
 other rural appearances, might naturally have 
 been anticipated at such a spot. But they 
 were not all that we saw. There was some 
 thing I had not anticipated. It was a me 
 nagerie. Taste, in England, appears to take 
 every form. In this receptacle were lions, 
 ostriches, kangaroos, and I know not what 
 other strange animals. Those who collect rare 
 books and pictures, are too numerous to be 
 computed ; so, those who gather relics and 
 curiosities from different parts of the world. 
 Some persons are conchologists. They have 
 the shells of all coasts arranged under scientific 
 classification, like plants in botany. Some col 
 lect pipes. I hear of an individual who has 
 laid out several thousand pounds sterling upon 
 this taste. And now, amidst lawns and gar 
 dens ; amidst all that denoted cultivation and 
 art, I beheld wild beasts and outlandish birds, 
 the tenants of uncivilized forests and skies, 
 set down as if for contrast ! 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 309 
 
 Getting back we were shown to our rooms to 
 prepare for dinner, where we were afterwards 
 joined by Lady Castlereagh and Lady Sand 
 wich. Lord Clanwilliam, and the two Mr. 
 Stewarts, nephews of Lord Castlereagh, were 
 also of the guests, with Mr. Robinson and Mr, 
 Goulburn. Every thing was talked of but the 
 negotiation. The four-footed and feathered 
 exotics seen in our walk, were not forgotten. 
 We rose from table at an early hour. The re 
 mainder of the evening went by in conversa 
 tion and conversation-games. My colleague 
 and myself felt ourselves at home. Invited 
 for the purpose of fulfilling public duties to 
 the house of an English minister of state, en 
 trenched in confidence and power, we found 
 ourselves of his domestic circle, the partakers 
 of a hospitality as easy as delightful. At twelve 
 we separated. 
 
 We were under the necessity of leaving this 
 agreeable mansion after breakfast this morning. 
 It was Sunday. Lord and Lady Castlereagh 
 walked to the village church not far off. They 
 were followed by their servants, by whom they 
 are said to be beloved for their kind treatment 
 of them. Those who oppose his lordship in 
 politics, accord to him every merit in the re 
 lations of private life. To his uniform bland- 
 ness in all official and personal intercourse, the 
 whole diplomatic corps bear testimony. 
 
 The country between London and North 
 
310 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 Cray was undulating, Crossing the Thames 
 at Westminster Bridge, we left Shooter s Hill 
 to the north. The whole way presented one 
 universal face of cultivation. The hop is ex 
 tensively grown in the county of Kent. It is 
 relied upon as a principal crop by the Kentish 
 yeomen, who are said to illustrate finely the 
 comforts and character of the middle class of 
 rural population in England. I was told that 
 but for the heavy duty on the importation of 
 foreign hops, amounting to prohibition except 
 when the home crop fails, not a hop vine 
 would be planted in Kent, or any part of Eng 
 land. The hops from several other countries, 
 including the United States, would be pre 
 ferred, as of superior strength, and far cheaper. 
 With the corn laws of England, the commer 
 cial world is familiar. The same policy, it 
 seems, extends not to hops only, so connected 
 with the vast home consumption of malt liquor, 
 and other large items of agriculture, but to 
 the minutest products ; comprehending eggs, 
 apples, cherries, chesnuts. Watch is thus kept 
 upon the orchards and barn-yards of France ! 
 The old custom of gavel-kind still prevails 
 in Kent. This made me look with an eye of 
 curiosity upon the country. By this custom, 
 on the death of a parent, his land is divided 
 equally among all his sons, instead of going to 
 the eldest, as in other parts of England. The 
 latter mode of descent the English defend, as 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 311 
 
 necessary to their prosperity and power. It 
 is doubtless necessary to their form of govern 
 ment. Nothing else could give stability to 
 their aristocracy, without which the throne 
 would not long be stable. But they say that 
 it is necessary to their agriculture, the root of 
 all their riches. They allege, that without the 
 capital which it places in the hands of great 
 landholders, farming could not be carried on 
 to full advantage ; the soil could not be im 
 proved to its utmost capability, small farmers 
 not being able to command the means, or will 
 ing to incur the risk, of experimental agricul 
 ture on a scale to ascertain permanent results, 
 especially in connexion with expensive and 
 constantly improving machinery. They also 
 say, that, in the national aggregate, agriculture 
 is cheaper when farms are large, than when 
 too much subdivided. The same enclosures 
 last through ages ; and stock, implements, and 
 labour of all kinds, are more economically ap 
 plied when kept together and applied under 
 one system, than when frequently broken into 
 small parts. It is so, and more at length that 
 they reason. I could not see the proof of it, 
 in the portion of this county that fell under 
 my observation. The farms, to a rapid glance, 
 showed thrift, neatness, and fertility. Nor did 
 I learn from those better informed, that there 
 was any inferiority in the modes of farming ; 
 or in general productiveness, as compared with 
 
312 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 other counties in the kingdom. The gross 
 product of agriculture in all England, is, in 
 deed, amazing, when it is considered what ex 
 tensive tracts of her territory are still in downs 
 and heath ; and how much of the fertile part 
 is in pleasure-grounds. The wonder augments 
 when we see what large classes of her popu 
 lation, and of the domestic animals, consume 
 without working. The horses in England, 
 kept for luxury, are reckoned as fifteen to one 
 to those in France. The very pheasants are 
 consumers ; grain being raised for feeding them 
 as they fly about the domains of the opulent. 
 
 Gavel-kind creates subdivided inheritances 
 only when the owner of an estate dies intes 
 tate. He may, by will, prefer tfie eldest son ; 
 and the general feeling in England, which is 
 so strong in favour of keeping estates together 
 that even younger sons acquiesce in it, exerts 
 an influence in Kent. Some lands are speci 
 ally exempt by law from the custom, though 
 most of them are still subject to it. I estimate 
 fully the political objections to primogeniture. 
 I deal not with it in this light ; but the imagi 
 nation feels the force of a mere rule of law that 
 can link time present to time remote ; that can 
 preserve, unbroken throughout centuries, out 
 ward memorials around which it is in man s 
 nature that his moral associations should lin 
 ger. It is said that Surrenden House in this 
 county, the present residence of Sir Edward 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 313 
 
 Bering, was rebuilt, upon its old foundations, 
 in the time of Edward III ; the lineage of the 
 proprietor being traceable by family records to 
 a period earlier than the Norman conquest. 
 In gazing upon these ancient, massive struc 
 tures, we forget the tyranny under which they 
 were first reared, and rude customs and super 
 stitions of their age. These are gone. The 
 romance of their history remains, stealing into 
 the feelings when they are approached as seats 
 of modern hospitality. 
 
 The interest of the whole excursion was in 
 creased to me by the companionship of Mr. 
 Gallatin. His station as Minister Plenipoten 
 tiary at Paris has added to all his other infor 
 mation, much insight into the courts and cabi 
 nets of Europe. A keen observer of men, and 
 possessing a knowledge of books, which his 
 knowledge of the world has taught him how to 
 read, his stores of conversation are abundant 
 and ever at command. He did me the favour 
 to take a seat in my carriage, and in his flow of 
 anecdote and reflections 1 had an intellectual 
 repast. 
 
 August 27. The Plenipotentiaries assem 
 bled at the office of the Board of Trade, 
 Whitehall. The full powers on each side 
 were exhibited, and inspected by the other. 
 A copy of ours was handed to the British ple 
 nipotentiaries, and a copy of theirs promised 
 at the next meeting. 
 
314 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 We presented a paper containing a recapi 
 tulation of the subjects which, by our under 
 standing, were to be treated of. They were 
 as follow: 1. The Slave question under the 
 treaty of Ghent. 2. The Fisheries. 3. North 
 western boundary line. 4. Columbia river 
 question. 5. Renewal of the commercial con 
 vention of 1815. 6. Intercourse between 
 the United States and British West India 
 islands. 7. Intercourse by sea between the 
 United States and British North American 
 colonies. 8. Inland intercourse between same 
 and same. 9. Impressment. 10. Blockade. 
 11. Colonial trade in time of war. 12. List of 
 contraband. 13. Miscellaneous, minor, ques 
 tions. 
 
 The British plenipotentiaries agreed to this 
 recapitulation. Referring to the fifth head, 
 they asked whether we intended to discuss the 
 provisions of the existing convention. That 
 instrument might not, they remarked, contain 
 for either party all that was wished ; but if 
 opened, each would have alterations to pro 
 pose, which would throw the whole at large. 
 Under this reasoning, it was determined not to 
 open it for discussion. We expressed a desire 
 not to proceed immediately to the formal 
 act of renewal, but wait a reasonable time to 
 ascertain the progress made on other points. 
 The desire was acceded to. The British ple 
 nipotentiaries stated, that they did not view 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 315 
 
 this convention as connected with any of the 
 other points, alleging that they had been ready, 
 but for our asking a pause, to proceed at once 
 to the act of renewal. Both parties united in 
 the propriety of its being renewed in time to 
 let the merchants of the two countries be sea 
 sonably informed of the ground on which they 
 were to stand. After some conversation on 
 other points, the meeting adjourned to the 
 29th. It was agreed that the negotiation 
 should be carried on by conferences and pro 
 tocol, the privilege being open to either party 
 of recording their sentiments on the protocol. 
 
 Whitehall is one of the ancient palaces of 
 London. The room in which we assembled, 
 had been the chamber of the Duke of Mon- 
 mouth. It was also mentioned that Gibbon 
 had often written at the table before us, when 
 a member of the Board of Trade. 
 
 August 29. The Plenipotentiaries met. The 
 protocol of the last conference, as drawn up 
 by the British Plenipotentiaries, was read, and 
 adopted. They gave us a copy of their full 
 powers. 
 
 Regular discussions now commenced. The 
 question about the slaves first presented itself. 
 During the war of 1812, great numbers of this 
 description of population belonging to the 
 landed proprietors of the southern States, had 
 found their way to British ships in the Chesa 
 peake, or other waters of the Union. A large 
 
316 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 portion had gone on board of them, under pro 
 clamations from the British naval commanders; 
 some without these incentives. Others had 
 been captured during the progress of the war. 
 Their loss was heavily felt by the owners. By 
 the first article of the treaty of Ghent it was 
 provided, that "all territory , places, and pos 
 sessions, taken by either party from the other 
 during the war, or which may be taken after the 
 signing of this treaty, shall be restored without 
 delay, and without causing any destruction, or 
 carrying away any of the artillery, or other 
 public property, originally captured in the 
 said forts or places, and which shall remain 
 therein after the exchange of the ratifications 
 of the treaty, OR ANY SLAVES, OR OTHER PRI 
 VATE PROPERTY." 
 
 Slaves came under the denomination of pri 
 vate property, by the highest sanction of our 
 laws. The United States held it to be the 
 true meaning of the foregoing clause, that the 
 British were to carry off no slaves within our 
 limits, and in their possession, at the time of 
 the ratifications of the treaty, whether such 
 slaves were on board their ships, or in forts, 
 or other places on shore, held by their troops. 
 
 Great Britain contended for a more restricted 
 construction. She said that those slaves only 
 were not to be carried off, who, at the time of 
 the exchange of the ratifications, were in the 
 forts and places where they had been originally 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 317 
 
 taken. This was the question at issue between 
 the two nations. 
 
 By far the greater number of the slaves of 
 whom the proprietors had, by one means or 
 other, been despoiled, were attached to places 
 that the British had never reduced or taken, 
 during the war. Very few had been in forts 
 or places so taken, or at all events remained 
 in them, up to the time of the ratifications of 
 the treaty ; so that, in effect, the British con 
 struction of the clause would have rendered it 
 nearly inoperative as to any benefit to the 
 owners of the slaves. 
 
 We unfolded the views of our Government 
 on this subject. The British plenipotentiaries 
 replied and stated theirs. They asked whether 
 our claim embraced such of the slaves as had 
 been captured at any periods during the war, 
 carried out of our limits, and then brought 
 back again into some bay or harbour, other 
 than where they had been originally captured. 
 We answered in the affirmative ; assigning as 
 one reason, that we did not consider even the 
 original capturing of the slaves, under what 
 ever circumstances, justified by the ordinary 
 usages of war. The British plenipotentiaries 
 did not accede to this doctrine. 
 
 No definite proposals of any kind resulted 
 from this day s discussions. It was agreed that 
 we should adjourn to Friday the 4th of Sep 
 tember. The British plenipotentiaries hoped 
 
318 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 to be ready by that day to submit proposals on 
 impressment, we promising to hand in, imme 
 diately afterwards, ours on other maritime 
 questions. We made known our intention not 
 to discuss any maritime question, unless that 
 of impressment was brought forward by Great 
 Britain. 
 
 September 1. Called on Lord Castlereagh. 
 He had sent a note requesting to see me. IJis 
 travelling- carriages were at the door, prepara 
 tory to his departure for Dover on his journey 
 to the Continent. He had delayed this inter 
 view, he remarked, as his last act of business ; 
 but not one least in his thoughts It was to 
 make a communication to me on Impressment. 
 He had reported to the Cabinet all that passed 
 at the meeting at North Cray, making known 
 especially our objections to the condition which 
 went to authorize a British boarding-officer to 
 call for a list of the crew. The British Go 
 vernment felt an anxious desire to accommodate 
 this difficult subject, and had determined upon 
 going all practicable lengths. He had therefore 
 to inform me, that this condition would be 
 waived. Such had been the determination of 
 the Cabinet. He took great pleasure in ap 
 prising me of this determination, hoping I 
 would see in it proof of the friendly feeling 
 which prevailed in the councils of the Cabinet 
 towards the United States. 
 
 I replied in suitable terms to his communi- 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 319 
 
 cation. Continuing bis remarks he said, that 
 the course which the Cabinet had resolved 
 upon, would probably give a shock to public 
 feeling in England, when known ; but its mem 
 bers would be prepared to meet it. He con 
 cluded by observing, that the great principle 
 being at last settled, Adz. that on our engaging 
 not to employ British seamen, the practice of 
 impressment from our vessels would cease, he 
 hoped all details would -be easily arranged ; 
 their proposals, put into form, would be ready 
 as soon as we were prepared with ours on the 
 Fisheries and West India trade. 
 
 A few words were exchanged on other 
 points. Speaking of the trade in time of war 
 with the colonial ports of a belligerent, I per 
 ceived a disinclination in his mind to consider 
 it as among the questions to be treated of. He < 
 said that the rule of : 56 was one that Great 
 Britain regarded as so well established that he 
 did not see how we could touch it. I replied, 
 that I had been under the belief that the ques 
 tion was to come into the negotiation, what 
 ever might prove its fate ; adding, that the two 
 Governments had been so near an adjustment 
 of it heretofore, that there seemed no reason 
 to despair now. At this point of the conver 
 sation, Sir William Scott was announced. The 
 coincidence claims a passing notice. This 
 celebrated Judge of the English Court of Ad 
 miralty, in whose decrees eloquence unites with 
 
320 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 learning to stretch the belligerent and depress 
 the neutral claim, was the same whose elabo 
 rate judgment in the case of the Immanuel, had 
 done so much towards fortifying the British 
 Government in the very rule we were talking 
 about. Our conversation dropped. Lord 
 Cast! ere agh was on the eve of departure and 
 could not prolong it. He requested I would 
 impart to Mr. Gallatin what had passed on 
 Impressment, and gave me his adieu. A few 
 minutes after I left him, he set off". 
 
 The affairs of the Foreign Office were con 
 fided, during his absence, to Earl Bathurst, 
 who received, and corresponded with, the fo 
 reign ministers. The chief purpose of the 
 Congress of Aix la Chapelle was, to determine 
 whether the armies of the allied powers should 
 be withdrawn from France this autumn, or 
 remain two years longer. Besides other con 
 siderations galling to France in the occupation, 
 the expense, which she was made to bear, 
 pressed upon her. Other European topics 
 were to engage the attention of the Congress ; 
 and the business of Spanish America was not 
 to be passed by, as Lord Castlereagh had, on 
 a former occasion, intimated to me. 
 
lSl8. COURT OF LONDON. 321 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE ENGLISH IN THE AUTUMN. INAUGURATION OF THE 
 LORD MAYOR. DEATH OF THE QUEEN. 
 
 1818. WHILST the negotiation was going on, 
 its business absorbed attention. Of personal 
 occurrences during its pendency I have little 
 to say. We dined with some of the cabinet 
 ministers and diplomatic corps. On one occa 
 sion, a portion of the ambassadors and ministers 
 gratified me by dining at my house, to meet 
 Mr. Gallatin. Some of them had taken a 
 lively interest in the progress of our negotia 
 tion. A French philosopher has said, that every 
 day of his life formed a page of his works. I 
 cannot claim this merit, if merit it be. It was 
 not my habit to note down, as a daily routine, 
 the incidents passing around me. I gave myself 
 to the practice according to my feelings and op 
 portunities. During the negotiation, and for the 
 remnant of the year, I scarcely indulged in it 
 at all. Soon after the close of our joint labours, 
 Mr. Gallatin returned to Paris, leaving me to 
 regret the loss of a colleague so enlightened. 
 
322 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 In the west-end of London during the au 
 tumn, little is seen but uninhabited houses. 
 It brings to mind the city in the Arabian 
 Nights, where everything was dead. The 
 roll of the carriage, the assemblage in the 
 parks, the whole panorama of life, in circles 
 where amusement is the business of life, stops. 
 Pass Temple Bar, and winter and spring, sum 
 mer and autumn, present the same crowds. 
 Nothing thins them. But the depopulation 
 of the west-end is nearly complete. The 
 adjournment of Parliament is the first signal 
 for desertion. You see post-chaises and tra 
 velling carriages, with their light and liveried 
 postillions, issuing frcMn the squares and sweep 
 ing round the corners. For awhile, this move 
 ment is constant. The gay emigrants find 
 their country-seats all ready for their recep 
 tion. Thiebault tells us, that the King of 
 Prussia had libraries at several of his palaces, 
 containing the same books, arranged in the 
 same order; so that when going from one to 
 another the train of his studies might not 
 
 be broken. So the English on arriving at 
 
 <_ ? ~ 
 
 their seats, even if they have several, which 
 is not unfrequently the case, find every thing 
 they want; unlike the chateaux in the pro 
 vinces of France, which are said to be ill- 
 furnished and bare, compared with the fine 
 hotels of Paris. 
 
 The next great egress is on the approach 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 323 
 
 of the 1st of September. That day is an era 
 in England. Partridge-shooting begins. All 
 who have not left town with the first flight, 
 now follow. Ministers of state, even lord- 
 chancellors, can hardly be kept from going 
 a-field. When our conference of the 29th 
 of August was finished, my colleague and I, 
 without reflection, named the 1st of Septem 
 ber for the next meeting. " Spare us," said 
 one of the British plenipotentiaries ; " it is the 
 first day of partridge-shooting /" 
 
 The families that flock into the country, 
 generally remain until after the festivities of 
 Christmas, which close with Twelfth-night. 
 Some stay much longer. Cabinet ministers 
 and the diplomatic corps, are among the few 
 persons left in the metropolis, and these in 
 diminished number. The latter are often of 
 the invited guests, when the English thus 
 exchange the hospitalities of the town for 
 those, more prolonged and magnificent, at 
 their country abodes. Field sports are added 
 to them ; hunting of all kinds, the fox, the 
 hare, the stag ; shooting, with I know not 
 what else, including archery, of the days of 
 the Plantagenets. This last, like the chase, 
 is sometimes graced by the competitions of 
 female agility. But foreign ambassadors and 
 ministers do not always find it convenient 
 to profit of these invitations. If not always 
 engaged in negotiations, a day seldom goes 
 
 Y2 
 
324 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 by with those representing countries in large 
 intercourse with England, unmarked by calls 
 upon their time. Like men of business every 
 where, they must be always on the spot to 
 attend to, or watch it.* But if for the most 
 part cut off from these rural recreations, there 
 is one way in which they partake of the re 
 sults ; I mean in abundance of game for their 
 tables. Amongst the persons to whom mine 
 was indebted throughout the autumn, I must 
 not forget one of the British plenipotentiaries. 
 Let me add, that if not of the same mind with 
 us on all official discussions, they both made 
 us sensible in all ways of their personal cour 
 tesy. 
 
 The enthusiastic fondness of the English 
 for the country, is the effect of their laws. 
 Primogeniture is at the root of it. Scarcely 
 any persons who hold a leading place in the 
 circles of their society live in London. They 
 have houses in London, in which they stay 
 while Parliament sits, and occasionally visit 
 at other seasons ; but their homes are in the 
 country. Their turreted mansions are there, 
 
 * During the whole of Ins residence of seven years and a 
 half at the English Court, it may be safely asserted that the 
 very rare absences of the author from his post in London, all 
 put together, would not exceed two weeks. Two other instances 
 might be cited of diplomatic servants of the American 
 Government in London, who, during several successive 
 years, were not three days absent from their posts, all put 
 together. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 325 
 
 with all that denotes perpetuity heir-looms, 
 family memorials, pictures* tombs. This spreads 
 the ambition among other classes, and the taste 
 for rural life, however diversified or gradu 
 ated the scale, becomes widely diffused. Those 
 who live on their estates through successive 
 generations, not merely those who have 
 titles, but thousands besides, acquire, if they 
 have the proper qualities of character, an in 
 fluence throughout their neighbourhood. It 
 is not an influence always enlisted on the side 
 of power and privilege. On the contrary, 
 there are numerous instances in which it has 
 for ages been strenuously used for the fur 
 therance of popular rights. These are the 
 feelings and objects that cause the desertion 
 of the west-end of the town when Parliament 
 rises. The permanent interests and affections 
 of the most opulent classes, centre almost uni 
 versally in the country. Heads of families go 
 there to resume their stand in the midst of 
 these feelings ; and all, to partake of the pas 
 times^ of the country life, where they flourish 
 in pomp and joy. 
 
 In other parts of London, in the vast limits 
 between Temple Bar and the Tower, the 
 crowds, I have said, continue the same. Even 
 here, however, the passion for the country 
 peeps out. Every evening when business is 
 over, the citizens may be seen going to their 
 cottages that skirt the wide environs towards 
 
326 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 Highgate, Hornsey, Hackney, Stratford, Clap- 
 ham, Camberwell, Greenwich, and in all direc 
 tions. I heard a physician call the Parks the 
 " lungs of London" These little retreats, many 
 of them hidden amidst foliage, and showing 
 the neatness that seems stamped upon every 
 thing rural in England, in like manner serve 
 their owners as places in which to breathe, after 
 the pent-up air of confined streets and count 
 ing-rooms. To the latter they return on the 
 following morning to plan operations that 
 affect the markets and wealth of the civilized 
 world.* 
 
 On the 9th of November I dined at Guild 
 hall. It was the day of the inauguration of 
 the Lord Mayor, Mr. Alderman Atkins. There 
 sat down about nine hundred persons. The 
 giants and knights clad in steel, the band of 
 music slowly moving round the hall, the Alder^ 
 men in their costumes, the Sheriffs with their 
 gold chains, the Judges in their robes, the 
 
 * The preference for the country life has long prevailed 
 among the opulent in parts of The United States, many of 
 whom only come to the large cities for a few months in the 
 year. The same preference has spread of late years, to other 
 parts of The Union, where large and beautiful, it might 
 almost be said elaborate, residences are often seen, some 
 times far into the country, with ample lawns and pleasure 
 grounds, and all else denoting taste and the means of grati 
 fying it, The country houses are sometimes sumptuously 
 furnished and adorned. Of the beauty and extent of the 
 large parks in the immediate neighbourhood of some of the 
 principal cities, too much can scarcely be said. 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 327 
 
 Lady Mayoress in her hoop, with long rows 
 of prosperous-looking citizens, presented a 
 novel mixture of modern things, with symbols 
 of the ancient banquet. The lights, the deco 
 rations of the hall, and all that covered the 
 tables, gave a high impression of municipal 
 plenty and munificence. Some of the cabinet 
 ministers and other official characters were 
 among the guests. 
 
 One of the knights wore the helnjet which 
 the City of London gave to Henry the Seventh. 
 Its weight was fourteen pounds. The other 
 knight wore the entire armour of Henry the 
 Fifth. It was that of a small man. Lord 
 Sidmouth, who sat near me, remarked, that all 
 the armour of that day and earlier, indicated 
 the stature to be smaller than at present. I 
 thought of what Sir John Sinclair said, at 
 Ormly Lodge. The reasons assigned were 
 improved agriculture, better personal habits, 
 from the greater diffusion of comforts among 
 the people through the increase of wealth and 
 science ; also, the disappearance of certain 
 diseases, as leprosy and scurvy, and the ad 
 vancement of medical knowledge. Mr. Van-* 
 sittart said, that the remains of Roman armour 
 had shown the Romans to be a smaller race of 
 men than the moderns. 
 
 After the King, Prince Regent, and mem 
 bers of the Royal Family, had been given as 
 toasts, the Lord Mayor did me the honour to 
 
328 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 propose my name, that he might make it the 
 medium of cordial sentiments towards the 
 United States. These the company received 
 with applause. In returning thanks I reci 
 procated the friendly feelings he had ex 
 pressed for my country. 
 
 Before going to dinner we were in the 
 council-room. Among the paintings was a 
 very large one of the scene between Richard 
 the Second and Wat Tytler. Another of that 
 between Mary of Scots and Rizzio ; one of 
 the siege of Gibraltar, by Copley ; and other 
 pieces. But I looked with chief interest at the 
 portraits of the naval commanders. Pausing 
 at Nelson s, Lord Sidmouth said, that in a 
 visit he had from him three weeks before the 
 battle of Trafalgar, he described the plan of 
 it with bits of paper on a table, as it was 
 afterwards fought. When we came to Dun- 
 
 o* 
 
 can s, he recited the lines, by Lord Wellesley, 
 on the victory over the Dutch, off Camper- 
 down. At Howe s, Mr. Vansittart said, that 
 just before his battle with the French fleet, 
 the sailors expressed a wish for a little more 
 grog. Howe replied, " Let em wait till it s 
 over, and we ll all get drunk together." At 
 Rodney s, some conversation took place on the 
 manoeuvre, which he first practised in his 
 victory over De Grasse, of breaking the line. 
 I asked, whether the success of that mode 
 of attack did not essentially depend upon the 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 329 
 
 inferiority of your enemy, especially in gun 
 nery. It was admitted that it did, and that 
 Lord Nelson always so considered it. The 
 Marlborough, Rodney s leading ship, received 
 the successive broad-sides of twenty-three of 
 the French ships of the line, at near dis 
 tance, and had not more than half-a-dozen 
 of her men killed. My motive to the inquiry 
 was, a remark I once heard from Commodore 
 Decatur of our service, that, in the event, 
 which I trust "may not occur, of English 
 fleets and those of the United States meet 
 ing, the former would probably change their 
 system of tactics in action, Speaking of 
 naval science in England, Lord Sidmouth said, 
 that it had greatly improved of late years ; 
 Lord Exmouth had told him that, when he 
 was a young man, it was not uncommon for 
 lieutenants to be ignorant of lunar observa 
 tions, but that now no midshipman was pro 
 moted who could not take them. He inti 
 mated his belief, that naval science generally, 
 was destined to far higher advances than it 
 had yet reached. 
 
 After dinner we went into the ball-room, 
 where a ball terminated the festivities. 
 
 I should not soon have done if I were to 
 mention all the instances, of which I chanced 
 on this occasion to hear, of riches among me 
 chanics, artisans, and others engaged in the 
 common walks of business in this great city. 
 
330 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 I make a few selections. I heard of haber 
 dashers who cleared thirty thousand pounds 
 sterling a-year, by retail shop-keeping ; of 
 brewers, whose buildings and fixtures neces 
 sary to carry on business, cost four hundred 
 and fifty thousand pounds ; of silversmiths 
 worth half a million ; of a person in Exeter 
 Change, who made a fortune of a hundred 
 thousands pounds, chiefly by making and sell 
 ing razors ; of job-horse men, who held a 
 hundred and forty thousand pounds in the 
 Three per Cents ; and of confectioners and 
 woollen drapers who had funded sums still 
 larger. Of the higher order of merchants, 
 bankers, and capitalists of that stamp, many 
 of whom were present, whose riches I heard 
 of, I am unwilling to speak, lest I should 
 seem to exaggerate. I have given enough. 
 During the late war with France, it is said that 
 there were once recruited in a single day in 
 the country between Manchester and Birming 
 ham, two thousand able-bodied working men 
 for the British army. It is the country so re 
 markable for its collieries, iron mines, and blast 
 furnaces. Its surface is desolate. A portion 
 of it is sometimes called the fire country, from 
 the flames that issue in rolling volumes from 
 the lofty tops of the furnaces. Seen all around 
 by the traveller at night, they present a sight 
 that may be called awful. Sometimes you are 
 told that human beings are at work in the 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 331 
 
 bowels of the earth beneath you. A member 
 of the diplomatic corps, on hearing of the above 
 enlistment remarked, that could Bonaparte 
 have known that fact, and seen the whole 
 region of country from which the men came, 
 seen the evidences of opulence and strength in 
 its public works, its manufacturing establish 
 ments and towns, and abundant agriculture, 
 notwithstanding the alleged or real pauperism 
 of some of the districts, it would of itself have 
 induced him to give over his project of in 
 vading England. 
 
 In like manner, let any one go to a lord 
 mayor s dinner ; let him be told of the sums 
 owned by those he will see around him and 
 others he will hear -of, not inherited from 
 ancestors, but self-acquired by individual in 
 dustry, in all ways in which the hand and 
 mind of man can be employed, and he will 
 be backward at predicting the ruin of Eng 
 land from any of her present financial diffi 
 culties. Predictions of this nature have been 
 repeated for ages, but have not come to pass. 
 Rich subjects make a rich nation. As the 
 former increase, so will the means of filling 
 the coffers of the latter. Let contemporary 
 nations lay it to their account, that England 
 is more powerful now than ever she was, not 
 withstanding her debt and taxes. This know 
 ledge should form an .element in their foreign 
 policy. Let them assure themselves, that in- 
 
332 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 stead of declining she is advancing ; that her 
 population increases fast ; that she is con 
 stantly seeking new fields of enterprise in 
 other parts of the globe, and adding to the 
 improvements that already cover her island 
 at home, new ones that promise to go beyond 
 them in magnitude ; in fine, that instead of 
 being worn out, as at a distance is sometimes 
 supposed, she is going a-head with the buoy 
 ant spirit and vigorous effort of youth. It is 
 an observation of Madame de Stael, how ill 
 England is understood on the Continent, in 
 spite of the little distance that separates her 
 from it. How much more likely that nations 
 between whom and herself an ocean interposes, 
 should fall into mistakes on the true nature of 
 her power and prospects ; should imagine 
 their foundations to be crumbling, instead of 
 steadily striking into more depth, and spread 
 ing into wider compass. Britain exists all 
 over the world, in her colonies. These alone, 
 give her the means of advancing her industry 
 and opulence for ages to come. They are 
 portions of her territory more valuable than if 
 joined to her island. The sense of distance is 
 destroyed by her command of ships ; whilst 
 that very distance serves as the feeder of her 
 commerce and marine. Situated on every 
 continent, lying in every latitude, these, her 
 out-dominions, make her the centre of a trade 
 already vast and perpetually augmenting a 
 
l8l8. COURT OF LONDON. 333 
 
 borne trade and a foreign trade for it yields 
 the riches of both, as she controls it all at her 
 will. They take off her redundant population, 
 yet make her more populous ; and are destined, 
 under the policy already commenced towards 
 them, and which in time she will far more 
 extensively pursue, to expand vastly her 
 empire, commercial, manufacturing, and mari 
 time.* 
 
 On the 17th of November, died the Queen. 
 She expired at Kew Palace, after a long ill 
 ness. The last time I saw her was at an en 
 tertainment at Carlton House. There, as at 
 the royal marriage, she had been distinguished 
 by her affability. Going away, gentlemen 
 attendants, and servants with lights, preceded 
 her sedan ; whilst the company gave tokens of 
 respectful deference. Now, she had paid the 
 common debt of nature. The event was 
 communicated to me in a note from Lord 
 Bathurst ; a form observed towards all foreign 
 ambassadors and ministers. 
 
 The Queen enjoyed in a high degree the 
 respect and affection of a very large portion of 
 the inhabitants of Great Britain. For more 
 than half a century, her conduct upon the 
 throne had been to the nation, satisfactory. 
 There were periods when it was said that she 
 
 * Whatever may be said to the contrary, reflecting men. 
 will agree that time has not diminished the force of these 
 reflections. 
 
334 RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 had interfered beyond her sphere in public 
 affairs ; but besides the obstacles to this 
 under a constitutional government like that 
 of England, however frequent may be the in 
 stances in arbitrary governments, there never 
 appears to have been any sufficient evidence of 
 the fact. Colonel Barre, the bold champion 
 of the Colonies during the American war, eulo 
 gized her " unassuming virtues" in one of his 
 opposition speeches. All agree, that in the 
 relations of private life, her conduct was ex 
 emplary, and that the British court main 
 tained in her time, a character of uniform de 
 corum and chastened grandeur. 
 
 Her funeral was on the 2nd of December, 
 at Windsor. The body had lain in state for 
 the time usual. The procession moved from 
 Kew. I went there with my sons. The mul 
 titude was so great, of carriages, persons on 
 horseback, and foot passengers, that it might 
 be said to form a compact mass from London 
 to Kew, a distance of eight miles. It con 
 tinued, as long as I looked, to press onward. 
 At night, the road was lighted with torches 
 borne by the military. These, gleaming upon 
 the soldiers helmets, and partially disclosing, 
 now the hearse, then the long solemn proces 
 sion, winding its slow way with its trappings 
 of death, presented a spectacle for the pencil 
 or the muse. The interment took place in 
 the royal chapel of St. George. There, for 
 
1818. COURT OF LONDON. 335 
 
 centuries, had reposed the remains of kings 
 and queens, and there, they had mouldered to 
 dust. Around the vault, seen by dim lights in 
 the Gothic interior, were assembled the Prince 
 Regent, and other members of the royal family, 
 with a few of the personages who composed 
 the funeral train. Canning was of the num 
 ber Canning, with sensibilities always quick 
 to whatever in human scenes might awaken 
 moral reflection, or lift up the tone of the 
 
 imagination. 
 
 On the 3rd of December the theatres were 
 re-opened. I went to Drury-lane. The house 
 was crowded, and everybody in black for the 
 Queen. Orders for a court-mourning take in 
 only a limited class ; but the streets, as the 
 theatres, are filled with persons of all classes, 
 who put it on. Even children wear it, and 
 servants. Such is the usage of the country. 
 The play was " Brutus, or the fall of Tarquin," 
 a new tragedy, by Mr. Howard Payne, a young 
 American. I felt anxious for an author who 
 was my countryman, and had the gratification 
 to witness his complete success. When the 
 piece was announced for repetition, bursts of 
 applause followed, and the waving of hand 
 kerchiefs.* 
 
 * American readers cannot bat feel an inward gratification 
 at the favourable verdict so often pronounced upon the efforts 
 of their countrymen in England, and on the Continent, in 
 fields of literature, genius and art, to say nothing of the 
 competitions of science and skill in which they have so often 
 
33G RESIDENCE AT THE l8l8. 
 
 On the 22nd of the month, accidents oc 
 curred all over London, from a remarkable fog. 
 Carriages ran against each other, and persons 
 were knocked down by them at the crossings. 
 The whole gang of thieves seemed to be let 
 loose. After perpetrating their deeds, they 
 eluded detection by darting into the fog. It 
 was of an opake, dingy yellow. Torches were 
 used as guides to carriages at mid-day, but 
 gave scarcely any light through the fog. I 
 went out for a few minutes. It was dismal. 
 
 taken an active part on public occasions, and at public exhi 
 bitions, abroad, with results which are before the world. 
 
1819- COURT OF LONDON. 337 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 AMERICANS ABROAD. CASES OF ARBUTHNOT AND AM- 
 
 BRISTER. OPENING OF PARLIAMENT. ROYAL SPEECH 
 
 BY COMMISSION. DINNER AT MR. WELLESLEY POLE S. 
 
 CHESAPEAKE AND SHANNON. 
 
 January 1, 1819. Twelve of my countrymen 
 dined with me. One or two were residents of 
 London ; the remainder, here on their travels. 
 Some were going to Italy ; others had been, or 
 were going, to France, and other parts of the 
 Continent. 
 
 It has been iny habit to see my countrymen 
 at my table as often as in my power. To-day, 
 as generally on these occasions, we indulged 
 in home topics. Admire as we may what we 
 see abroad, who among us that has ever left 
 his own country, does not feel that his warmest 
 affections point to it as a centre ? Though 
 we cannot, in its infancy, claim for it all the 
 monuments of science, letters, and the arts, 
 that are the slow growth of time, we have 
 already, under each, made rapid progress. In 
 some, we believe that we have made improve- 
 
 2 
 
338 RESIDENCE AT THE 1819. 
 
 ments. The prospect before us is full of hope; 
 not resting on idle boast, but the realities of 
 the past. A noble freedom is ours, resting on 
 the broad basis of equal rights ; a freedom 
 fitted for producing the highest energies and 
 refinements of civilization ; yet restrained by 
 constitutional limits ; guarded also against 
 some of the risks of that state by the habits of 
 our people, who from their origin have been 
 trained to its blessings, and knowing their im 
 mense value, will know for ever how to cling 
 to them. With this, as the ground-work of 
 national character ; with political advantages, 
 the result of geographical situation ; with 
 great agricultural, manufacturing, and com 
 mercial capabilities, to what a career of power 
 and fame, if true to ourselves, may we not 
 look forward ! These are the sentiments that 
 Americans, meeting in another land, delight 
 to interchange. The heart has no higher 
 pleasures than those which the feelings of 
 country inspire. They are exalted by absence. 
 An American minister abroad, must then be 
 ever in the experience of his purest social 
 enjoyments, when he sees around him his 
 countrymen as guests.* 
 
 * Of late years, a great many of tlie Author s countrymen, 
 not in official life, and constrained by no obligations of duty, 
 seem to have become addicted to & permanent residence abroad. 
 The writer does not presume to reflect upon such persons, 
 who certainly are entitled to think and act for themselves. 
 
1819. COURT OF LONDON. 339 
 
 January 7. Received a note from Lord Cas- 
 tlereagh requesting me to call on him to-day 
 at four, at his private residence. It was dated 
 last night, and indorsed " Immediate" He 
 was confined with the gout. I was shown 
 into a room upstairs, where I found him on 
 his couch. 
 
 It was my first interview with him since the 
 negotiation. He expressed his satisfaction at 
 what had been accomplished, with a regret 
 that more had not been done. Of Impress 
 ment, he said nothing more than that it had 
 gone off on a point unexpected. 
 
 He had sent for me on the cases of Arbuth- 
 not and Ambrister. The British Government, 
 he said, had received from Mr. Bagot, their 
 minister in Washington, a copy of the proceed 
 ings of the court-martial, which had been under 
 full deliberation at a cabinet council. 
 
 The opinion arrived at was, that the conduct 
 of these individuals had been unjustifiable, and 
 therefore not calling for the interference of 
 Great Britain. 
 
 Whilst announcing this result he had also 
 to say, that parts of the transaction were 
 viewed as open to exception, whether as re 
 but there certainly is such, a tiling as PATRIOTISM, and perhaps 
 the foregoing reflections might be suggested to such persons 
 with advantage, without underrating what is seen abroad in 
 nature or art, or tho agreeable intercourse often met with in 
 foreign lands. 
 
 z 2 
 
340 RESIDENCE AT THE 1819. 
 
 garded some of the operations in Florida, or 
 the conduct of the commanding general, in 
 ordering Ambrister to be executed after the 
 first sentence against him was revoked. He 
 then read me a despatch drawn up to Mr. 
 Bagot, embracing in substance the communi 
 cation made to me. 
 
 I expressed the satisfaction which I was 
 sure my Government would feel at the prin 
 cipal decision, intermingling a regret at the 
 other sentiments with which its disclosure to 
 me had been accompanied. 
 
 Lord Castlereagh then remarked, that it was 
 his desire to hold a conversation with me upon 
 the views of the British Government respect 
 ing the Indians along our frontier ; but that 
 for the present he would forbear, having rea 
 son to expect a communication from me. Here 
 he read part of a despatch from Mr. Bagot, 
 dated the 3rd of December, in which he informs 
 his Government that Mr. Adams had given 
 him to understand that instructions would be 
 sent to me to afford full explanations in rela 
 tion to the case of these two British subjects. 
 
 I replied, that I had actually received such 
 instructions ; but as they had only just got to 
 hand, I was not prepared to act upon them. 
 I would be ready at the earliest time he would 
 appoint ; on which he named the day after to 
 morrow. I added, that although the decision 
 to which his Majesty s Government had come, 
 
1819. COURT OF LONDON. 341 
 
 might be considered as anticipating to a certain 
 extent the object of my instructions, I had 
 still a duty of much moment to perform ; for 
 that I should ill satisfy the wishes of the Pre 
 sident if I suffered the record of the court- 
 martial, strong as it was, to be taken as a mere 
 naked record, unaccompanied by elucidations 
 of a nature somewhat more enlarged, that 
 would serve, I trusted, to place the whole 
 transaction in its right attitude. 
 
 Jan. 11. Called again on Lord Castlereagh. 
 My call had been postponed at his instance, 
 from Saturday until to-day. I felt that the 
 task I had to execute was the more important, 
 from the deep sensation which the execution 
 of these individuals had created in England. 
 It was not enough that the act could be 
 technically justified by the strict laws of 
 nations, or sheer rights of war. I felt that it 
 ought to stand on broader grounds; that it 
 ought to be vindicated to humanity no less 
 than justice. 
 
 I said to his lordship, that full justice could 
 not be rendered to the United States, if the 
 unhappy occurrence was looked at simply by 
 itself. It was indispensable to consider it in 
 connexion with principles and facts which, for 
 a succession of years, had been interwoven 
 w r ith their history. That it was not my de 
 sign to enter minutely into this field ; but that 
 I should be unable to represent in their true 
 
342 RESIDENCE AT THE 1819. 
 
 spirit the views, or fulfil the expectations, of 
 my Government, if I did not go into it par 
 tially. That it seemed difficult for Europe to 
 understand the precise relations of policy and 
 feeling subsisting between the United States 
 and the Indians. In many respects the mis 
 conceptions were fundamental. These In 
 dians were savage, wandering tribes ; yet very 
 warlike. Their relations towards the United 
 States were, indeed, so anomalous ; there was 
 such an absence of all standards of comparison 
 in Europe, that the rights and obligations of 
 the United States were scarcely perhaps of a 
 nature to be accurately appreciated but by 
 themselves. It seemed a part of their system, 
 more than any other, local and exclusive. The 
 original question of dispossessing the Indians of 
 their homes, was not now for consideration. It 
 was with nations that had gone before us. We 
 had to take things as we found them. The policy 
 and intentions of a nation could nowhere be better 
 read than in its acts of legislation, and habitual 
 conduct. Judged by both, not only would it 
 be found that the United States pursued a just 
 treatment towards the Indians within their ter 
 ritory or along their border, but anxiously 
 sought in all ways to better their condition. 
 They purchased lands from them, only under 
 their own consent. They formed treaties or 
 compacts with them, guaranteeing their rights. 
 Their laws guarded them against the inroads 
 
1819. COURT OF LONDON. 343 
 
 of the whites, prohibited dealings with them 
 by which they might be aggrieved, and in 
 every practicable way sought to diffuse among 
 them the comforts of civilization. But all 
 these just aims had too often failed, and 
 through causes which the United States could 
 not prevent, and sincerely deplored. When 
 peace with the Indians had been interrupted, 
 it was never by the wish of the United States. 
 In the border strife that preceded open hosti 
 lity, aggression almost necessarily came from 
 the Indian. He lived in the forest. His at 
 tack upon the whites was under cover of night, 
 or from his ambush by day. Whole families 
 were surprised and cut off by him. Pursuit 
 could hardly ever reach him, until the tardy 
 force of Government was called out. In this 
 manner the frontier inhabitants had been slain 
 throughout successive generations. But, left 
 to himself, the Indian was not always a dan 
 gerous neighbour. If when roused, he took 
 his revenge, he was not destitute of peaceful 
 virtues. He was, moreover, essentially the 
 weaker party. When the Government moved 
 its force, he was sure in the end to be over 
 come. Hence, if nothing else prevented his 
 incursions, self-interest would be a check, were 
 it not for the intermeddling of others ; who, 
 with the double guilt of real enmity to the 
 Indians and the United States, became the 
 party truly responsible for the fate that awaited 
 
344 RESIDENCE AT THE 1819. 
 
 the former, as well as the butcheries inflicted 
 upon the inhabitants of the latter. 
 
 And here, I said, I came to a painful, but 
 indispensable, part of my duty. I was com 
 pelled to declare, that my Government, resting 
 upon sufficient proofs, was satisfied, that our 
 Indian wars generally, with the massacres on 
 the frontier always their preludes, had origi 
 nated in one and the same cause. That they 
 had been produced by British traders, intruding 
 themselves, with evil intentions, among the 
 Indians. To recapitulate the proofs would 
 not be difficult. American history contained 
 them. A single instance might be adverted 
 to. The events of the late war which threw 
 the baggage of General Proctor into the hands 
 of the Americans, had put the Government of 
 the United States in possession of documents 
 to show, that if not all the Indian wars which 
 President Washington had been compelled to 
 wage, the most formidable of them, were insti 
 gated and sustained on the side of the Indians 
 by British traders. The enormity of such con 
 duct was the more felt in the United States, as 
 it was there alone its consequences were ex 
 perienced. It was known how explicit had 
 been the refusals of the Government of the 
 United States to admit, under any pretence 
 whatever, British traders among the Indians 
 within their borders ; from what motives, might 
 be easily conjectured from all I was saying. 
 
1819. COURT OF LONDON. 345 
 
 That his Majesty s Government had disowned 
 all connexion with these agents in their work 
 of death, was well-known. This only exhibited 
 their crimes under a deeper dye, seeing that 
 they persevered in perpetrating them in the 
 name of his Majesty s Government, mocking 
 its justice, abusing its dignity, and misleading 
 the poor Indian but the more fatally by claim 
 ing to be invested with its high auspices and 
 support. Here was the fountain of the evil. 
 If any long train of outrages and sufferings 
 along their frontier, could be supposed to affect 
 the sensibilities of a people, it was such as I 
 was obliged to bring into view. 
 
 It was under the recollection of them all 
 that the Government of the United States was 
 compelled to regard the cases of Arbuthnot 
 and Ambrister. The necessity of reviewing 
 proofs against them, was superseded by what 
 had passed at our interview on the seventh 
 instant. His Majesty s Government had acqui 
 esced in the reality of their misdeeds, by re 
 fusing its avenging arm in their behalf. It 
 only remained for me to strip their punish 
 ment of the features of harshness which, im 
 perfectly understood, it might seem at first to 
 wear. This I could not do nxore effectually 
 than by declaring it to be the belief of my 
 Government, that it was to these two indi 
 viduals that the war with the Seminole Indians 
 was to be ascribed. That without their insti- 
 
346 RESIDENCE AT THE 1819. 
 
 gation it never would have taken place, any 
 more than the massacres which preceded and 
 provoked it ; the massacre of Mrs. Garrit and 
 her children ; the massacre of a boat s crew, 
 with a midshipman at their head, ascending 
 the Appalachicola in time of peace ; the mas 
 sacre, upon another occasion, of a party of 
 more than thirty Americans, amongst whom 
 were women and children, with other massacres 
 alike cruel. 
 
 As to Ambrister, he had been taken in arms. 
 He had dispensed with the necessity of evi 
 dence, by pleading guilty to the charge of 
 leading on the Indians against American 
 troops. And in what light did Ambrister 
 stand ? We find him deceiving them by re 
 presentations which he knew to be untrue; 
 striving to rouse them by artful falsifications 
 of the treaty of Ghent, and unfounded asser 
 tions of ill-treatment from the Americans. At 
 another time he is seen applying to the British 
 Minister at Washington, to the British Gover 
 nor at New Providence, and, indirectly, to the 
 British Government itself, for arms and ammu 
 nition for the Indians ; drawing on the war by 
 impressions made on their mind that they 
 would be upheld by Britain ; and presumptu 
 ously usurping the highest official names in 
 Britain, the better to carry on his designs. He 
 was the patron of the Indians, the penman of 
 their petitions, the spokesman at their coun- 
 
1819- COURT OF LONDON. 347 
 
 cils ; these were the methods by which he 
 worked upon their passions; these the testi 
 monials of his guilt; to which, in the eye 
 of the Government of the United States, 
 that of the credulous Indian, whilst perpetrat 
 ing his worst enormities, was only secondary. 
 It therefore called for the last punishment. 
 
 As connected with the general subject of 
 Indian cruelties, I spoke of the massacres of 
 American prisoners during the late war by the 
 tribes associated with the British army. I 
 brought into view those committed after the 
 battle on the river Raisin. On that occasion, 
 American officers, who had surrendered, were 
 scalped and murdered in the presence of Bri 
 tish officers, the latter declaring their inability 
 to restrain the ferocity of the Indians. Among 
 the victims was Captain Hart, the brother-in- 
 law of the speaker of the House of Repre 
 sentatives of the United States. The public 
 sensation under such horrors, might be easily 
 imagined. Congress had been forced to pass 
 a law authorizing retaliation on captive British 
 officers, in case of their repetition ; the Execu 
 tive Government of the Union having pre 
 viously and repeatedly proposed to Great Bri 
 tain, that neither country should, under any 
 circumstances, employ thelndians as auxiliaries 
 in battle. 
 
 Lord Castlereagh asked, if it anywhere 
 appeared that there had been a connection be- 
 
348 RESIDENCE AT THE 1819. 
 
 tween Arbutlmot and Woodbine, the evidence 
 before the court-martial, as far as he recollected, 
 not disclosing that fact. Here I gave him a 
 copy of the journal in Arbuthnot s hand-writing, 
 kept in October and November, 1816, when he 
 and Woodbine arrived in the vessel of the 
 former at Suwahny, from Nassau. This docu 
 ment established a connexion between the 
 two, and moreover showed that Woodbine, in 
 Arbuthnot s presence, made promises to the 
 Indians of support from Great Britain, which 
 Arbuthnot knew to be unwarrantable. The 
 latter, instead of contradicting them, became 
 party to the deception by repeating the same 
 promises himself. 
 
 His lordship next inquired if there was any 
 evidence that he was apprized of the true con 
 struction of the ninth article of the treaty of 
 Ghent. 
 
 Passing by the obvious import of the article, 
 that it applied only to Indians with whom the 
 United States had been actually at war, I re 
 plied, that there was also positive proof to fix 
 upon him this knowledge ; viz. a letter re 
 ceived by him from Mr. Culloh, written in the 
 name of the commanding officer of Fort Gaines, 
 in which he was expressly informed that such 
 was its meaning. A copy of this letter, I also 
 handed to his lordship. 
 
 I drew to a conclusion by saying, that both 
 of these unhappy individuals had clearly drawn 
 
I 8 19. COURT OF LONDON. 349 
 
 upon themselves their doom. That towards 
 those who could deliberately become the 
 means of war and bloodshed, the extension of 
 a lenient treatment by the United States, would 
 be to forget what they owed to their own 
 people. Long had they borne the evils inflicted 
 by such guilty agents. If a necessary justice 
 had at length, for the first time, held up to 
 public example two of them, there was room 
 for the hope, that, painful as was the example, 
 it might be productive of future good to the 
 cause of humanity. I was directed by the 
 President to say, that whatever deep regret 
 might belong to the occasion, there appeared 
 to be no ground of censure. The command 
 ing general stood high in the confidence of his 
 country, had added to its glory, and was be 
 lieved on this, as other occasions of his life, 
 to have been animated only by a sense of the 
 public good. It was scarcely necessary for 
 me to add, that those who mixed themselves up 
 with hordes whose rule of warfare subjected 
 to destruction, with torments, all who fell into 
 their hands, threw themselves out of the pale 
 of those merciful protections which civilized 
 warfare extended to captives. To have al 
 lowed these individuals a trial at all, was an 
 indulgence. 
 
 Lord Castlereagh said that he would take 
 into consideration what had fallen from me, 
 as well as the fresh papers I had submitted, 
 
350 RESIDENCE AT THE 1819. 
 
 before offering any tiling on his part. He 
 asked if I had any further documents to lay 
 before him. I said none. " Will no others 
 be laid before Congress?" he inquired. He 
 had here in his rnind the letter of Mr. Adams 
 of the 28th of November 1818, to the Minister 
 of the United States at the Court of Spain, 
 containing so ample a vindication of the prin 
 cipal events of the Seminole war, including 
 the execution of the two British subjects. I 
 answered, that the President would in all pro 
 bability communicate to Congress other docu 
 ments than the bare proceedings of the court- 
 martial ; if so, they might be expected in Eng 
 land by early arrivals. 
 
 In the end he remarked, that he greatly 
 lamented the whole occurrence. It was ex 
 citing strong sensibility in England. On this 
 topic he dwelt with some anxiety; giving ex 
 pression however, for himself, to none other 
 than assuaging sentiments. In this spirit the 
 interview had been conducted and terminated. 
 It may scarcely be necessary to add, that the 
 explanations on my side, were afforded with 
 all the conciliation of manner practicable. 
 
 January 14. Received a note from Lord 
 Castlereagh requesting me to call on him. On 
 my arrival he said, that the cases of Arbuth- 
 not and Arnbrister were making a deep im 
 pression on the public mind ; he witnessed it 
 with concern, as he knew not what turn the 
 
1819. COURT OF LONDON. 351 
 
 subject might take when Parliament met ; he 
 saw nothing objectionable in the general cha 
 racter of my explanations ; on the contrary, 
 that on revolving in his mind all that I said, 
 there were parts which it was rather his desire 
 I would repeat for his more full information. 
 This I did, with the amplifications required. 
 I spoke of the war with the Creek Indians in 
 1813, and the barbarities at Fort Minims that 
 provoked it. These, there was much reason 
 for believing, had also been instigated by 
 foreign hands. Lord Castlereagh requested I 
 would furnish him with a copy of the treaty of 
 peace concluded on that occasion, and a copy 
 of the act of Congress I had mentioned, autho 
 rizing retaliation. 
 
 January 15. Furnished Lord Castlereagh 
 with a copy of the act of Congress of the 3rd 
 of March 1813, and a copy of the treaty of 
 Fort Jackson, of the 9th of August 1814. 
 
 I had expected that he would say something 
 of the views of his Majesty s Government 
 respecting the Indians along our frontier, in 
 pursuance of his intimation on the 9th instant ; 
 but he did not. Nor did any further expla 
 nations or remarks of a formal nature, pass 
 relative to these executions. 
 
 They subsequently became the subject of 
 Parliamentary inquiry. Commentaries that 
 might have been anticipated were made in 
 debate; but Ministers maintained their ground. 
 
352 RESIDENCE AT THE 1819. 
 
 Out-of-doors, excitement seemed to rise higher 
 and higher. Stocks experienced a slight fall. 
 The newspapers kept up their fire. Little 
 acquainted with the true character of the trans 
 action, they gave vent to angry declamation. 
 They fiercely denounced the Government of 
 the United States. Tyrant, ruffian, murderer, 
 were among the epithets applied to their com 
 manding general. He was exhibited in pla 
 cards through the streets. The journals, with 
 out distinction of party, united in these attacks. 
 The Whig, and others in opposition, took the 
 lead. Those in the Tory interest, although 
 more restrained, gave them countenance. In 
 the midst of all this passion, the ministry stood 
 firm. Better informed, more just, they had 
 made up their minds not to risk the peace of 
 the two countries, on grounds so untenable. 
 It forms an instance of the intelligence and 
 strength of a Government, disregarding the 
 first clamours of a powerful press, and first 
 erroneous impulses of an almost universal 
 public feeling. At a later day of my mission, 
 Lord Castlereagh said to me, that a war might 
 have been produced on this occasion, " if the 
 " ministry had but held up a finger " On so 
 slender a thread do public affairs sometimes 
 hang. Plato says, that the complaisance which 
 produces popularity, is the source of the 
 greatest operations in government. The firm 
 ness of one man, is perhaps the pivot on which 
 
1819. COURT OF LONDON. 353 
 
 great events more frequently turn. 1 adopted 
 and retain the belief, that the firmness of Lord 
 Castlereagh under this emergency, sustained 
 by that of his colleagues in the cabinet, was 
 the main cause of preventing a rupture between 
 the two nations. 
 
 January 20. Lord Castlereagh gives an 
 official dinner to-day to the members of the 
 Cabinet and Privy Council, -amounting in all 
 to between thirty and forty. The object is, to 
 agree finally upon the Prince Regent s speech 
 to Parliament. It is already drawn up, and 
 will be read by his lordship. This is the cus 
 tom, my informant said, every year, the day 
 before Parliament meets. The office of enter 
 taining the Ministers, and reading the speech, 
 generally devolves, he added, on the leading 
 ministerial member in the House of Commons. 
 It had been for many years in the hands of 
 Lord Castlereagh. 
 
 January 21. Parliament was opened. The 
 Prince Regent did not come in person to the 
 House of Lords. Five Commissioners repre 
 sented him, viz. the Lord Chancellor, the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, the Marquis Cam- 
 den, the Earl of Westmoreland, and the Earl 
 of Harrowby. The speech was read by the 
 Lord Chancellor. It announced two events, 
 and only two, in connexion with the foreign 
 relations of the country. First, that the 
 negotiations of Aix la Chapelle had led to 
 
 2 A 
 
354 RESIDENCE AT THE 1819. 
 
 the evacuation of the French territory by the 
 Allied armies. Secondly, that a treaty had 
 been concluded with the United States for the 
 renewal of the commercial convention, and 
 " the amicable adjustment of several points of 
 " mutual importance to the interests of both 
 " nations." It stated the trade and manufac 
 tures of Great Britain to be in a most flourish 
 ing condition, and that there was a progressive 
 improvement of the revenue in its most impor 
 tant branches. 
 
 January 23. Dined at Mr. Wellesley Pole s. 
 There were at table, Mr. and Mrs Pole, Mrs. 
 Rush, Lady Harvey of Maryland,* Lady 
 Georgiana Fane, Miss Caton of Maryland, the 
 Duke of Wellington, the Earl of Westmoreland, 
 Lord Fitzroy Somerset, one of the aids of 
 the Duke of Wellington, Sir Felton Harvey 
 another, young Mr. Fane, Mr. M Tavish of 
 Baltimore, and Mr. Bouverie. 
 
 Conversation was various. Mr. Bagot s pro 
 bable return home in May, was mentioned. A 
 frigate was to be sent for him. I spoke of the 
 satisfaction his diplomatic career had given at 
 Washington, and from authority, having been 
 directed by the President to say so to Lord 
 Castlereagh. 
 
 Paris and French society were talked of. 
 The Duke of Wellington and Lord Fitzroy 
 Somerset took a leading share in what was 
 
 * See ante p. 85, note. 
 
1819. COURT OF LONDON. 355 
 
 said. Mention was made of a solemn celebra 
 tion on Thursday at the chapel of the French 
 Embassy in London, to commemorate the anni 
 versary of the execution of Louis the Sixteenth. 
 The priest read the will of Louis. Lord 
 Fitzroy Somerset, in decribing the good ac 
 commodations of the house in Paris in which 
 the Duke resided when last there, said it was 
 the same that President Monroe had occupied 
 during his mission to France. 
 
 We heard of the exploits of one of the com 
 pany during the late shooting-season. Eight 
 hundred and twelve partridges, and three 
 hundred and thirty pheasants, were the fruits 
 of his marksmanship. Other exploits of the 
 same nature were spoken of; some that ex 
 ceeded them. A gentleman was named on 
 whose estate, at the preceding season, three 
 thousand hares were shot by himself and 
 friends; all explained, I might add, by the 
 game monopoly. Something remarkable for 
 numbers in another way, happened to be 
 stated ; that Colonel Vivian was one of twenty- 
 six children, and the Bishop of Norwich the 
 youngest of thirty. 
 
 Painting became a topic. .The collections 
 in France, Spain, and the Low Countries, were 
 familiar to some of the company. My atten 
 tion was most excited by what was said of a 
 picture of the Black Prince, lately picked up 
 for a few francs at a sale on the Continent. 
 
 2 A 2 
 
356 RESIDENCE AT THE 1819. 
 
 Mr. Pole said there were good grounds for 
 believing it to be an original, formerly of the 
 royal collection in England. The account 
 given was, that James II. took it with him to 
 France when he abdicated, since which it had 
 been lost sight of, until traced by chance at 
 this sale. Lord Westmoreland had his doubts, 
 from the circumstances under which James left 
 England. Mr. Pole saw no incompatibility. 
 This turned the conversation to the personal 
 fortunes of that monarch. The picture after- 
 w r ards gave it a turn to the Plantagenets. 
 Touching upon this part of English history, it 
 was remarked, that the Duke of Wellington 
 had won a battle in Spain on the ground where 
 the Black Prince gained one ; that both had 
 fought in the cause of the crown of Spain, 
 one for the restoration of Peter of Castile, the 
 other for that of Ferdinand the Seventh ; each 
 Spanish monarch having been ejected by the 
 French. These were close parallels. Another 
 was probably in the thoughts of the company 
 -the fields of Poictiers and Waterloo. All, I 
 believe, would have destined the picture, if 
 genuine, to the ownership of the Duke, as a 
 companion to the colossal statue of Napoleon 
 at Apsley House. 
 
 Sir Felton Harvey and Lord Fitzroy Somer 
 set had each lost an arm in the battles of the 
 Duke. The Duke himself had never been 
 wounded. Others of his military suite had 
 
I 8 19. COURT OF LONDON. 357 
 
 been maimed or killed by his side. Sir Felton 
 had been with him in most of his campaigns in 
 the Peninsula, He said to me, speaking of 
 the Duke after dinner, that his self-possession 
 enabled him to sleep soundly on the brink of 
 danger. Often when lying down, under his 
 usual order to be awoke if necessary, he had 
 known him called up repeatedly within a few 
 hours, by the arrival of expresses, and if no 
 movement were required, drop asleep again in 
 a moment. It was such conversation and more, 
 that the evening brought with it.* 
 
 Of Sir Felton Harvey I subsequently learned 
 an anecdote. It may be in print, but I have 
 not seen it. During one of the battles in 
 Spain, the Duke gave him an order to convey 
 to another part of the field. Half across it, a 
 French officer was seen galloping towards him. 
 Sir Felton had no sword. It was his right 
 arm he had lost ; the other held the bridle. 
 
 * Among the endless anecdotes of the Duke and Waterloo, 
 it is related, that one morning, either at Strathfieldsaye or 
 elsewhere, the Duke came down rather late to breakfast, and 
 found some of the company still lingering at table. Ap 
 proaching the fire, he stood for an instant in the act of 
 rubbing his hands together, and then turned round, when 
 one of the ladies present remarked, " Duke, we ve just been 
 talking about -you." " Ah, ah, indeed/ said the Duke, " and 
 what have you been saying ?" " WeVe rather come to the 
 conclusion that Bonaparte ought to have defeated you." 
 " Indeed," said the Duke, again rubbing his hands together, 
 " then why did nt he ?" 
 
358 RESIDENCE AT THE 1819. 
 
 But be faced the foe, looking him defiance. 
 As they swiftly drew near, the Frenchman 
 raised himself in his stirrups, his sword up 
 lifted. Discovering his adversary to be de 
 fenceless, he brought down his weapon in the 
 form of a salute, and rapidly passed on. Such 
 acts give to war touches of moral beauty, in 
 spite of its evils. After the battle, the restless 
 courtesy of Harvey sought in vain for the 
 chivalrous Gaul. There was too much reason 
 to think he fell. He had made no boast of 
 sparing life, but gave his salute in silence, 
 
 January 26. Mr. ***** called on me. 
 He had applied for an interview, stating himself 
 to be . It was his purpose to ask in 
 formation relative to the navy boards of the 
 United States, and other matters pertaining to 
 the civil organization of our marine. He talked 
 a good deal. Sometimes his remarks were 
 more full than the mere desire for information 
 seemed to call for. A foolish rumour was in 
 town of Bonaparte s escape from St. Helena, 
 the rumour adding that a fast-sailing American 
 schooner had been in the plot. This led him 
 to speak of the exploits of the American navy. 
 He touched upon them with sufficient com 
 plaisance, but wound up with an allusion to 
 the action between the Chesapeake and Shan 
 non. That, on the whole, ought to be con 
 sidered, he thought, the fairest trial of the 
 naval prowess of the t\vo countries, frigate to 
 
1813. COURT OF LONDON. 359 
 
 frigate. I did not argue with him. He soon 
 left me, after the somewhat singular topics it 
 had been his pleasure to indulge in. I am 
 bound to add that it is the first and only time it 
 had been my lot to hear any broached in Eng 
 land not suited to the good feelings of conver 
 sation. 
 
 The Chesapeake, it is true, was captured. 
 The English commander sought the battle 
 with a noble, daring spirit, and won his 
 prize gallantly.* Let no American gainsay 
 this, for is it for Americans to rob valour of its 
 renown ? We heard how the achievement was 
 hailed in England ; the more, as it first broke 
 the spell of an uninterrupted series of naval 
 encounters between the two countries termi 
 nating differently. But with whatever satis 
 faction received there, whatever joy it may 
 have created in England, I cannot think 
 that it equalled, nay, I am sure that it 
 did not, the opposite feeling in the United 
 
 * Captain Brooke, of the British frigate " Shannon." 
 The writer was afterwards at school with his son, the school 
 first referred to, ante page 237. It may be taken for granted 
 that this celebrated naval engagement was not unknown in 
 the school, the period being then not remote. Sometimes 
 it became a topic, an animated one, perhaps all the more so, 
 from the presence of the Hero s son, and the sons of the 
 American Minister. If the discussions, growing out of it, 
 were not always characterized by the restraints of riper 
 years, or the strictest adherence to the TO Trpttrov, they were 
 at least conducted with the genuine heartiness, not to say 
 abandon, of that happiest stage of life." 
 
S60 RESIDENCE AT THE 1 8 1 9. 
 
 States. I remember, who among us can 
 forget, the first rumour of it. I remember 
 the startling sensation. I remember, at first, 
 the universal incredulity. I remember how 
 the post-offices were thronged, for successive 
 days, by anxious inquiring thousands, under 
 the disheartening reports that successively 
 reached the Capital ; and then how collections 
 of people rode out for miles upon the highway, 
 to catch something by anticipation as the mail 
 came in. At last, when hope gave way, and 
 the certainty of her capture no longer remained 
 in doubt, I remember the universal gloom. 
 Funeral orations, badges of mourning, testified 
 it. "DON T GIVE UP THE SHIP !" the dying 
 words of Lawrence, slain by the first broadside, 
 were on every tongue. Wrapped in his Flag 
 as a winding sheet, his remains were conveyed 
 by the victors to Halifax, and there interred 
 with the honours due to a brave foe. But not 
 long did they lie there,. When peace came, 
 a vessel fitted out by the prompt, affectionate 
 patriotism of twelve New England sea-captains, 
 and by them exclusively manned, bore them 
 back to his country, the country he so loved, 
 the country he so nobly died for. There they 
 repose, under the laurel as the cypress ; for he 
 too, in his turn, had formerly triumphed, ship 
 to ship, over the world-renowned Flag of Eng 
 land. Others may augur the naval destinies of the 
 United States from their repeated and splendid 
 
1819. COURT OF LONDON. 361 
 
 victories, even in the very infancy of the Re 
 public ; Ifrom the grief that followed this 
 defeat. It illustrated the intensity of feeling 
 prevailing among a People where each one 
 identified himself with the Nation, and seemed 
 as sorely struck down by a public calamity, as 
 if it had been a personal blow. What may 
 not be hoped from such a People in the 
 achievements of War ; what, in all that may 
 contribute to their triumphant advancement in 
 the arts of Peace, and to their social, as their 
 political, progress, if true to themselves, and 
 their happy and powerful UNION. 
 
 The writer feels most reluctant to add anything of his own 
 to the above concluding passage of this portion of the 
 present volume, yet, concluding as it does with a tribute to 
 the value of The Union, he cannot forbear here expressing, 
 as his belief, how the author s soul would have swelled with 
 patriotic emotion, could he have lived to witness the final 
 triumph of the great cause of The Union over four dreadful 
 years of armed domestic insurrection. 
 
 Sincerely attached, as the author was, to the brave People 
 who thus, in an evil hour, suffered themselves to rise against 
 the authority of the General Government, and attempt the 
 violent disruption of The Union of The States ; estimating, 
 as he always did, in a very high degree, their attractive and 
 noble qualities ; closely connected with the South by the 
 ties of marriage; two of the three Administrations of which 
 he was successively a member, having each at their head 
 a great Virginia statesman, President Madison and Presi 
 dent Monroe, whereby he was brought, for a series of years, 
 into the closest official and personal intercourse with dis- 
 
362 RESIDENCE AT THE COURT OF LONDON. 1819. 
 
 tinguislied Southern men ; imbibing from those two pure and 
 illustrious Chief Magistrates, as he has himself left on record, 
 " lessons of wisdom fit to be ever remembered ;" he yet 
 never permitted his affection for his native State, to out 
 weigh his superior allegiance to that greater UNION, which 
 he saw had alone made, and could alone preserve, us, a 
 powerful, prosperous, and happy People. Denouncing, on a 
 memorable occasion, the attempt of a single State in 1831, to 
 set aside a law of Congress, which signally failed under the 
 prompt and resolute measures of President Jackson, he thus 
 concluded a letter, which attracted attention, to a leading 
 Journal at the seat of Government : 
 
 " I write from, and am a Citizen of, Pennsylvania, but am 
 more proud to subscribe myself a Citizen of the United 
 States." 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 A BECAPITULATION OF THE QUESTIONS 
 
 ARRANGED BETWEEN 
 
 GREAT BKITAIN AND THE UNITED STATES, 
 
 BY THE NEGOTIATION OF 1818, 
 WITH A STATEMENT OF THOSE LEFT UNADJUSTED. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 PROGRESS OF THE NEGOTIATION. A CONVENTION CONCLUDED ; 
 
 QUESTIONS ARRANGED BY IT, VIZ. : THAT OF THE FISHERIES 
 
 NORTH-WESTERN BOUNDARY LINE COLUMBIA RIVER AND 
 
 TERRITORY WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS COMMERCIAL 
 
 CONVENTION. SLAVilS CARRIED OFF CONTRARY TO THE TREATY 
 
 OF GHENT. 
 
 1818. Sept. Oct. THE Plenipotentiaries assembled again 
 at Whitehall, according to appointment. 
 
 Having given an account of the first stages of the negotia 
 tion in the order of dates, it is no longer my design to 
 proceed in that way. It has been seen that the subjects 
 were multifarious. All demanded attention ; some, copious 
 discussions. These, with the documents at large, the pro 
 tocols, the projets and counter-projets, debated and modified 
 by the scrutiny of each side, would present a mass of matter 
 through which the diplomatist or politician might perhaps 
 wade ; but be little attractive to any one else. My endeavour 
 will be to present an intelligible history of the negotiation 
 by giving results rather than details. The latter are deposited 
 in the archives of the two Governments. I will draw upon 
 them to no greater extent than may be necessary to illustrate 
 principles upon which the negotiation turned in its success or 
 failure. Some of these principles are important to both 
 nations. To record them with impartiality, is the aim I 
 propose to myself. 
 
 Throughout September and October, meetings were as 
 constant as was compatible with maturing in a proper manner 
 the various subjects. By the 20th of October all appeared 
 to have been fully discussed. The points were ascertained 
 on which there could be agreement, as well as those on which 
 it was hopeless, in the existing disposition of the two Govern 
 ments, to continue the negotiation longer. Accordingly, on 
 that day, a convention was signed which comprehended the 
 following subjects : 
 
 I. That of the FISHERIES. This, although not first in the 
 
366 APPENDIX. 
 
 order of discussion, came first in the convention. The points 
 of misunderstanding had not risen to much height practically; 
 but it is scarcely going too far to say, that they menaced the 
 peace of the two countries. They therefore merit special 
 notice. 
 
 By the third article of the treaty of September 1783 be 
 tween the United States and Great Britain, the people of 
 the former had the right to take fish on the Grand Bank, and 
 all other banks of Newfoundland; in the Gulf of St. Law 
 rence, and all other places in the sea, where the inhabitants 
 of both countries had been used to fish before ; and the liberty 
 to fish on such part of the coast of Newfoundland as British 
 fishermen used, (but not to dry or cure fish there) and on the 
 coasts, bays and creeks of all other British dominions in 
 America. American fishermen had also the liberty to dry 
 and cure fish in any unsettled bays, harbours, and creeks of 
 Nova Scotia, Magdalen Islands, and Labrador ; but as soon 
 as any of them were settled, this liberty was to cease, unless 
 continued by agreement with the inhabitants. 
 
 These were rights and liberties of great magnitude to the 
 United States. Besides affording profitable fields of com 
 merce, they fostered a race of seamen, conducive to the 
 national riches in peace, as to defence and glory in war. 
 After the peace of Ghent, the fishing-vessels of the Union 
 proceeded as formerly to fish off the British coasts, and use 
 the unsettled shores for curing and drying, according to the 
 stipulations of the above treaty. They were immediately 
 ordered off by the British naval forces. Some were captured. 
 The ground alleged was, that the treaty was no longer in 
 existence. The Government of the United States obtained a 
 suspension of these apparently hostile orders and proceedings, 
 until the two Governments could make efforts for adjusting 
 a question of so much moment. 
 
 The British doctrine was, that the treaty of 1783, not 
 being re-enacted or confirmed by the treaty of Ghent, was 
 annulled by the war of 1812. 
 
 The United States wholly dissented from this doctrine. 
 They did not deny the general rule of public law on which 
 Britain relied ; that a war puts an end to previous treaties ; 
 but they insisted that the rule was not applicable to the 
 treaty of 1783. That treaty, was peculiar in its nature and 
 objects. It had no analogy to common treaties, and was not 
 to be judged by their rules. It was a treaty by which Great 
 Britain had acknowledged the Independence of the United 
 States after a seven years contest in arms. It made two 
 Empires out of one. It was a treaty of separation. The 
 
PART I. :367 
 
 rights of eacli party were laid down as primary and funda 
 mental, in the act of dismemberment which the treaty 
 established. So much of territory and incidental rights in 
 America were allotted to one, so much to the other. The 
 entire instrument implied permanence. Hence, all the fishing 
 rights secured under it to the United States, were placed 
 by Great Britain upon the same foundation with their inde 
 pendence itself. Was her acknowledgment of the latter 
 revoked by the war of 1812 ? or were the boundaries of the 
 United States as fixed by the treaty of 1/83, annulled by that 
 war? So far was this from being the case, that the treaty of 
 Ghent, in making provision for ascertaining with further 
 accuracy some parts of the boundary line, constantly referred 
 to the treaty of 1783; thus manifesting a tacit conviction on 
 each side, that this treaty was regarded as the fundamental 
 law of the relations between the two countries. By what 
 rule then was the war to destroy the treaty in some parts, 
 and leave it whole in others ? The use of the word right in 
 one place, and liberty in another, could make no difference. 
 A liberty of unlimited duration, secured by so elementary 
 and solemn a deed, was as much a right as if stipulated by 
 any other term. In speaking of rights and liberties in a 
 national sense, both terms were alike efficacious. Liberty 
 might have seemed the more appropriate term where an 
 enjoyment was guaranteed to one party, of a thing adjoining 
 territory allotted to the other ; but it took nothing from the 
 permanence of the allotment. In point of principle, the 
 United States were pre-eminently entitled to all these 
 fisheries ; and in point of fact they had enjoyed more of them 
 than any other portion of the British Empire, before the 
 separation. The people of New England, from their prox 
 imity, had been earlier led to the discovery and im 
 provement of the best fishing-grounds, and had also, with 
 other parts of the Union, contributed amply in blood and 
 treasure towards winning from France provinces, on the coast 
 of which some of the fisheries were situated. Apart from 
 the question of right, the claim of the United States had 
 high sanctions. These fisheries afforded subsistence to a 
 numerous class of their inhabitants. By the usages of 
 nations, fishermen were a portion of human society whose 
 occupations, contributing to the general welfare of the species, 
 were always regarded with favour. Sometimes they were 
 even exempt from the effects of war whilst it raged ; as when 
 England herself allowed the Dutch to fish upon her coasts at 
 such seasons. The foregoiug is a synopsis of some of the 
 material argunents by which the claim of the United States 
 
3C8 APPENDIX. 
 
 was defended. Whatever could shed light upon it, had been 
 urged by Mr. Adams when in the English mission, with an 
 ability and fulness that left little to be said after him. 
 
 The claim was resisted by Great Britain in a manner to 
 give proof of her equal sincerity in opposite doctrine. She 
 denied that the treaty of 1783 had anything in its nature to 
 exempt it from abrogation by a war. She knew of no ex 
 ception to this rule of international law ; and could not 
 consent to give to her diplomatic relations with -one State, a 
 different degree of permanence from that on which her con 
 nexion with all other States depended. She did not admit 
 that this treaty was to be regarded as in force because the 
 treaty of Ghent had referred to it on the subject of boundaries. 
 One object of the latter treaty was, the mutual restoration of 
 territory taken by either party from the other during the war. 
 As a necessary consequence of such a stipulation, each party 
 reverted to their boundaries as before the war ; and the treaty 
 of 1783 having fixed these, the treaty of Ghent had referred 
 to them as facts, nothing more. She contended that it was 
 not unusual for treaties containing recognitions and acknow 
 ledgments of perpetual obligation, to contain likewise 
 grants of privileges liable to be revoked. The treaty of 1783 
 contained provisions of different characters; some in per 
 petuity, others, from their nature, temporary. If it were 
 inferred that because some of the advantages specified., would 
 not terminate by a war, therefore all were designed to be 
 permanent, it ought first to be shown that the advantages 
 themselves were the same, or of similar character. But what 
 necessary connexion was there between a right to national 
 independence, and a liberty to fish within British jurisdiction, 
 or use British territory? Liberties within British limits 
 were as capable of being exercised by a dependent, as an 
 independent State; they could not, therefore, be the neces 
 sary consequence of independence. The independence of a 
 nation was that which could not be correctly said to be 
 granted by a treaty, but to be acknowledged by one. In the 
 treaty of 1 783, the Independence of the United States was 
 acknowledged by Great Britain, as it had already been by 
 the powers of Europe ; and by Britain herself, in her previous 
 consent in November 1782 to enter into provisional articles. 
 Their independence might have been acknowledged without 
 either the treaty or provisional articles; but by whatever 
 mode acknowledged, the acknowledgment was, in its nature, 
 irrevocable. A power of revoking or even modifying it, 
 would be destructive of the thing itself, and was therefore 
 necessarilv renounced when the acknowledgment was made. 
 
PART I. 3G9 
 
 She urged as corroborative of her reasoning, notwithstanding 
 the explanations suggested by the American Plenipotentiaries, 
 tl>e use of the word right when the United States were to 
 take fish on the banks, and other places from which Great 
 Britain could not pretend to exclude any independent nation, 
 and liberty when they were to cure and dry within British 
 territory. The latter was also made to depend on agreements 
 with the proprietors of the soil, whenever the territory might 
 become settled. As to the origin of the fishing-privileges in 
 point of fact, she admitted that whilst the United States 
 made part of the British dominions, their inhabitants had 
 the enjoyment of them in common with other British sub 
 jects; but they had at the same time, like British subjects 
 everywhere, duties to perform. When therefore the United 
 States, by their separation from Great Britain, became re 
 leased from the duties, they became excluded also from the 
 privileges of British subjects. The above is a summary of 
 the reasoning in its chief parts against our claim. It was 
 embodied in a paper by Lord Bathurst in October 1815, 
 prepared with the force and zeal that the subject demanded. 
 The views of each party on the question, had not been left 
 out of sight in negotiating the treaty of Ghent. 
 
 To the distinction so much insisted on by Great Britain 
 between liberty and right it was replied for the United States, 
 that the former, if construed to imply limitation of time or 
 precariousness of tenure, would defeat the whole meaning of 
 the article as gathered from the context. The restriction 
 itself at the close of the article, stamped permanence upon it. 
 The intention was, that the people of the United States should 
 continue to enjoy all the benefit they had formerly enjoyed 
 from the fisheries, with the exception of drying and curing on 
 the shores of Newfoundland ; but when other shores on which 
 they were to have this liberty, became settled, then its exer 
 cise was to be conciliated with the proprietary rights of the 
 owners of the freehold. This was precisely the restriction to 
 which British fishermen would be liable. Whence it followed 
 that the argument against permanence on account of the 
 word liberty being used, if applicable to the inhabitants of 
 the United States, would also be applicable to the subjects of 
 Britain. The principles of municipal law in England, which 
 were the same in the United States, corroborated the inter 
 pretation for which the latter contended. By these, the 
 property of a fishery was not necessarily in the owner of the 
 soil. The right to the soil might be exclusive; the fishery 
 free, or in common. Thus, whilst in this partition of the 
 national possessions in America, the jurisdiction over the 
 
 2 B 
 
370 APPENDIX. 
 
 shores where the fisheries were situated was reserved to 
 Great Britain, the fisheries themselves and accommodations 
 essential to their prosecution and enjoy ment, were, by the 
 mutual compact, agreed to be in common. How different the 
 course in the treaty of Utrecht on a similar point. By the 
 twelfth article of that treaty, Nova Scotia was ceded to 
 Britain; yet the subjects of France were expressly excluded 
 from fishing within thirty leagues of the coast. This pro 
 hibition was renewed in the fifth article of the treaty of Paris 
 of 1763. By the eighteenth article of the same treaty, the 
 subjects of Spain were excluded from all fishing-rights in the 
 neighbourhood of Newfoundland. The treaty of 1/83 was 
 therefore, it w r as again insisted, altogether unlike common 
 treaties. It contemplated a permanent division of co-equal 
 rights, not a transient grant of mere privileges. The acknow 
 ledgment of independence, the establishment of boundaries, 
 and the guarantee of the fisheries, each rested upon the same 
 immutable footing. 
 
 Neither side yielded its convictions to the reasoning of the 
 other. This being exhausted, there was no resource left with 
 nations disposed to peace, but a compromise. Great Britain 
 grew willing to give up something. The United States con 
 sented to take less than the whole. After various proposals 
 by the former which the latter rejected as inadequate, we at 
 length, as their Plenipotentiaries, acceded to the following : 
 viz. 
 
 That the United States should have, for ever, in common 
 with British subjects, the liberty to*fish on the southern coast 
 of Newfoundland from Cape Kay to the Rameau Islands; 
 and from that cape to the Quirpon Islands on thewestern and 
 northern coasts; and on the shores of the Magdalen Islands; 
 and on the coasts, bays, harbours, and creeks from Mount 
 Joly, on the southern coast of Labrador, through the Straits 
 of Belleisle, and thence indefinitely along the coast, north 
 wardly ; but without prejudice to any exclusive rights of the 
 Hudson s Bay Company. Also the liberty, for ever, to dry 
 and cure fish in any of the unsettled bays, harbours, and 
 creeks of the southern coast of Newfoundland, as above de 
 scribed ; and of the coast of Labrador ; subject, after settle 
 ment, to agreement with the proprietors of the soil. In 
 consequence of the above stipulations, the United States re 
 nounced for ever the liberty of fishing within three miles of 
 any other part of the British coasts in America, or of curing 
 or drying on them. But American fishermen were to be 
 permitted to enter bays or harbours on the prohibited coasts 
 for shelter, repairing damages, and obtaining wood and water, 
 subject to restrictions necessary to prevent abuses. 
 
PART I. 371 
 
 Such was the article finally agreed upon. The most 
 difficult part of our task,, was on the question of permanence. 
 Britain would not consent to an express clause that a future 
 war was not to abrogate the rights secured to us. We inserted 
 the words for ever, and drew up a paper to be of record in the 
 negotiation, purporting that if the convention should from 
 any cause be vacated, all anterior rights were to revive. The 
 insertion of any words of perpetuity, was strenuously resisted 
 by the British plenipotentiaries. They said that in case of 
 war, the only effect of their omission would be, the necessity 
 of providing in the treaty of peace, for the renewal of the 
 right. "We replied, that we could agree to no article on the 
 subject, unless the words for ever were retained ; or if any 
 counter record was made on the protocol impairing its 
 effect. 
 
 It was by our act that the United States renounced the 
 right to ther fisheries not guaranteed to them by the conven 
 tion. That clause did not find a place in the British counter 
 projet. We deemed it proper under a threefold view ; 1, to 
 exclude the implication of the fisheries secured to us being a 
 new grant ; 2, to place the rights secured and renounced, on 
 the same footing of permanence ; 3, that it might expressly 
 appear, that our renunciation was limited to three miles from, 
 the coasts. This last point we deemed of the more conse 
 quence from our fishermen having assured us, that the whole 
 fishing-ground on the coast of Nova Scotia extended to a 
 greater distance than three miles from land ; whereas along 
 the coast of Labrador it was almost universally close in with 
 the shore. To the saving of the exclusive rights of the 
 Hudson s Bay Company, we did not object. The charter of 
 that Company had been granted in 1670, and the people of the 
 United States had never enjoyed rights in that bay that could 
 trench upon those of the Company. Finally, it is to be re 
 marked, that the liberty of drying and curing on certain parts 
 of the coast of Newfoundland, as secured in the article, had 
 not been allotted to the United States even under the old 
 treaty of 1783. 
 
 When the convention was made public, it underwent 
 criticism in Britain as too favourable, throughout, to the 
 United States. But this article on the fisheries was assailed 
 with peculiar force. The leading presses of London opened 
 upon it. The claims of the United States were described as 
 of alarming magnitude ; the concessions, as of a character 
 corresponding. Important maritime interests of the British 
 empire were said to have been sacrificed. Complaints poured 
 in from the colonies. The legislative assembly and council of 
 
 2 u 2 
 
372 APPENDIX. 
 
 Nova Scotia sent forward remonstrances, with which were 
 mixed up, not unsparingly, denunciations of American 
 ambition and encroachment. The tide of complaint was 
 swelled by the recollection of similar alleged sacrifices under 
 the treaty of Paris of 1814. Britain by that treaty, said 
 the journals, had given back, and this when she was at the 
 height of influence and power, to France, her great European 
 rival, the enjoyment of the Newfoundland fisheries, from 
 which twenty years of victorious warfare upon the ocean had 
 totally driven her ; and now the calamity was to be doubled, 
 by a like gift to her rival in the other hemisphere ! 
 
 British statesmen, more calm, thought and acted otherwise. 
 They had not be< n deterred by the anticipation of clamour 
 from entering into the article. They felt that, if they had a 
 duty to fulfil by guarding British interests, they were not 
 released from the obligation of looking to the just rights of 
 an independent nation. It was in this spirit that a formidable 
 cause of collision was removed, without impairing the honour, 
 or, as is believed, the essential interests of either country.* 
 
 II. The second article related to the BOUNDARY LINE, FROM 
 THE LAKE OF THE WOODS. This line had been originally laid 
 down in the treaty of 1783. It proved defective, and further 
 provision was made for running it, in the treaty of 1794. 
 Several attempts for effecting this provision came to nothing. 
 The cession of Louisiana by France in 1803, gave to the 
 United States new and extensive territory west of the 
 Mississippi. This altered the relative position of Great 
 Britain arid the United States in this quarter, and the hither 
 to unsettled boundary was now arranged. It was provided, 
 that a line diawn from the north-western point of the Lake 
 of the Woods along the forty-ninth degree of latitude, due 
 west, should be the line of demarcation, forming the southern 
 boundary of the British territories and the northern boundary 
 of the United States, from the Lake of the Woods to the 
 Rocky Mountains. In case such aline would not run along 
 the forty-ninth degree, but fall above or below it, then the 
 line was to be traced by first drawing one from the same 
 
 * In the posthumous work entitled " Occasional Productions Politi 
 cal, Diplomatic and Miscellaneous 1 ," by the same Author, published 
 by his Executors in Philadelphia, 1860, the construction placed by the 
 American negotiators of the Convention of 1818, upon this article in 
 relation to the Newfoundland Fisheries, is fully set forth in a letter 
 from the Author to the Sccretaryof State of the United States, (then 
 Mr, Marcy) dated " Sydenham, July 1853, "preceded by an explanatory 
 Letter on the subject from the Author to his Executors. The article 
 itself, in relation to the Fisheries, is also inserted, p. 297 of that Work. 
 
PAHT I. 873 
 
 point, north or south as the case might be, until it struck 
 forty-nine ; from which point of intersection the western line 
 was to begin. Thus it was definitively settled. 
 
 An attempt was made by the British plenipotentiaries to 
 connect with this article, a clause securing to Great Britain 
 access to the Mississippi, and right to its navigation. They 
 made a similar claim at Ghent, but withdrew it. We said 
 that we could consent to no clause of that nature. Its omis 
 sion having, in the end, been agreed to, that subject was also 
 put at rest. Britain, under the treaty of 1783, had the right 
 of navigating the Mississippi. It was then the western 
 boundary of the United States. Their northern boundary, 
 by the same treaty, was to have been a line running due 
 west from the most north-western point of the Lake of the 
 AVoods to the Mississippi. It was afterwards ascertained 
 that a line so drawn, would not strike the Mississippi; its 
 head waters not being within British limits as first supposed. 
 Hence all reason for Britain to claim the right of navigating 
 a river which touched no part of her dominions, ceased. The 
 United States have claimed in a subsequent negotiation, the 
 right of navigating the St. Lawrence, from its sources to its 
 mouth. The essential difference in the two cases, is, that the 
 upper waters of the St. Lawrence flow through territory 
 belonging to both countries, and form a natural outlet to 
 the ocean for the inhabitants of several states of the American 
 Union. 
 
 III. The third article effected a temporary arrangement 
 of CLAIMS BEYOND THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS AND TO COLUMBIA 
 RIVER. I have related what passed relative to the settlement 
 at the mouth of this river, in my interview with Lord 
 Castlereagh in February. That settlement, called Astoria, 
 made by Americans, was broken up by the British during the 
 war, but fell back to the United States by the treaty of Ghent, 
 on the principle of status ante bdlum. The British pleni 
 potentiaries manifested a strong desire to connect this subject 
 with that of the boundary line. They appeared unwilling, 
 except under such a connexion, to agree to the line in any 
 shape. We proposed its extension to the Pacific Ocean. 
 The treaty of Utrecht had fixed the forty-ninth degree of 
 latitude as the line between the possessions of Britain and 
 France, including Louisiana since ceded to the United States. 
 If, therefore, the United States and Britain arranged their 
 claims westward, the same line, carried on to the Pacific, 
 seemed the natural one. We contended that, as far as prior 
 discovery could give the right to territory, ours was complete 
 to the whole, on the waters of the Columbia. It derived its 
 
374 APPENDIX. 
 
 name from the American ship that first entered its month. 
 It was first explored from its inland sources under the express 
 authority of the Government of the United States. The 
 British traveller, Mackensie, had mistaken another river for 
 a branch^of the Columbia; the American travellers, Lewis 
 and Clarke, as was now fully ascertained, having been the 
 first to trace the Columbia from the interior to the ocean. 
 Astoria had, as incontestably, been the first permanent set 
 tlement at its mouth. 
 
 The British plenipotentiaries asserted that earlier voyages 
 of English navigators, amongst them Cook s, gave to Britain 
 the rights of prior discovery on this coast. They spoke also 
 of purchases of territory from the natives south of this river 
 before the American revolution. They made no formal pro 
 posal of a boundary in these regions, but intimated that the 
 river itself was the most convenient, and said they could 
 agree to none that did not give them the harbour as its mouth 
 in common with the United States. To this Ave could not 
 assent, but were willing to leave things west of the mountains, 
 at large for future settlement. To this they objected, and 
 made in turn propositions objectionable in our eyes. Finally 
 it was agreed, that the country on the north-west coast of 
 America westward of the Rocky Mountains, claimed by either 
 nation, should be open to the inhabitants of both, for ten 
 years, for purposes of trade ; with the equal right of navigating 
 all its rivers. 
 
 This whole subject was discussed more fully by both nations 
 in a separate negotiation that it fell to my lot to conduct on 
 behalf of the United States, in 1824. Their rights on the 
 north-west coast had been materially enlarged by the treaty 
 of the 22nd of February 1819 with " Spain. By that treaty 
 the Floridas were transferred to the United States, and a 
 surrender made to them of all the rights of Spain on that 
 coast, above the forty-second degree of north latitude. 
 
 Under this branch of the discussion, might be seen power 
 seeking its own augmentation. How strong the case for this 
 reflection ! A nation whose dominions in Europe, established 
 her in the front rank of power ; whose fleets predominated on 
 the ocean ; who had subjects in Asia too numerous to be 
 counted ; whose flag was planted at the Cape of Good Hope 
 and other posts in Africa : who had Gibraltar and Malta, and 
 Heligoland, enabling her to watch the Mediterranean and 
 Baltic ; who had an empire in the West Indies as the East ; 
 and, added to all, vast continental colonies in America this 
 nation was anxiously contending for territorial rights in deep 
 forests beyond the Rocky Mountains^ and on the solitary 
 
PART I. 375 
 
 shores of the northern Pacific ! In the time of Queen Mary, 
 when the communication with Muscovy was first opened by 
 the discovery of a passage to Archangel, the English ventured 
 farther into those countries than any Europeans had done 
 before. They transported their goods along the Dwina in 
 boats made of one entire tree, which they towed up the stream, 
 to Wologda. Thence they carried their commodities a long 
 journey over-land, and down the Volga to Astracan. Here 
 they built ships, crossed the Caspian sea, and introduced their 
 manufactures into Persia. It makes a parallel passage in their 
 history, to see them at the present day pressing forward to 
 supply with rifles and blankets savage hordes who roam 
 through the woods, aud paddle their canoes over the waters 
 of this farthest and wildest portion of the American con 
 tinent. 
 
 IV. The fourth article prolonged for ten years the existing 
 COMMERCIAL CONVENTION. By its provisions a reciprocal[liberty 
 of commerce is established between the United States and the 
 British dominions in Europe. Importations and exportations 
 into or from either nation, are to be the same as permitted to 
 other nations, and chargeable with no higher duties. The 
 vessels of each nation, pay equal tonnage duties in each other s 
 ports ; and duties upon merchandize imported into, or exported 
 from, either, are the same, whether conveyed in vessels of the 
 one nation, or the other. Other clauses give to vessels of the 
 United States the right of trading with the principal British 
 settlements in the East Indies, viz. Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, 
 and Prince of Wales s Island ; but it is only the direct trade 
 between these settlements and the United States, that is 
 opened. The vessels of the United States pursuing this trade, 
 or going to China, may also touch for refreshment at the Cape 
 of Good Hope, St. Helena, or other possessions of Great 
 Britain in the African or Indian seas. These are the prin 
 cipal enactments of this Commercial Convention. It was 
 originally negotiated in the summer of 1815, by three of the 
 public men of the United States long signalized in the home 
 and foreign service, Mr. Adams, Mr. Clay, Mr. Gallatin. 
 Between the time of its signature in London, and exchange of 
 ratifications at Washington, an event occurred to modify one 
 of its provisions. It was determined by the Allied Powers, 
 that Napoleon, whose reign and dynasty closed at Waterloo, 
 should end his days at St. Helena. As a consequence, the 
 ratifications were exchanged with an exception of the right of 
 touching there, the sentence against the deposed Emperor 
 containing a clause that neither British nor any other vessels 
 should stop at that island, whilst his prison. 
 
376 APPENDIX. 
 
 The parts of this Convention which establish an equality of 
 duties, are liberal and wise. That the interest of Nations 
 is best promoted by discarding jealousies, is a truth which, 
 in the abstract, few will que3tion. But they should 1)2 
 discarded reciprocally, without any of the reservations for 
 which favourite interests will always plead. Whether such 
 reciprocity will ever be found compatible with the separate 
 existence of communities, and all their separate rivalries, is 
 the problem. The doctrine hitherto has been known but 
 little in the practice of the world. The United States, as one 
 of the family of nations, did their part, at the commencement 
 of their history, towards giving it currency ; not always how 
 ever with the success that attended this convention. Its pro 
 visions seemed to serve as a model. Within short periods 
 after it went into operation, Denmark, Prussia, the Nether 
 lands, Hanover, Sweden, and the Hanseatic cities of Hamburg, 
 Lubec, and Bremen, formed treaties with Britain, adopting 
 wholly, or in part, its regulations. In some of the instances, 
 I have reason to know that it was specially consulted as the 
 guide. France too, always slow to enter into compacts of 
 this nature with Britain, at last consented to a similar 
 arrangement. Such appears to have been the influence of 
 its example. The United States, have long desired to place 
 their intercourse with the colonies of Britain, on the basis 
 which this Convention establishes with her dominions in 
 Europe ; but as yet ineffectually. 
 
 Y. The fifth article related to the SLAVES. I stated in the 
 last chapter, the nature of this question. All attempts to 
 settle it by discussion proved fruitless. It was no question 
 of international law, but of sheer grammar. In the end, we 
 came to an agreement which this article embodied, to refer it 
 to the umpirage of a friendly sovereign. 
 
 The Emperor Alexander was chosen. It will be proper to 
 state the issue. The case was submitted to him in full form. 
 His decision was : 
 
 That the United States were entitled to claim from Great 
 Britain a just indemnification for all slaves that the British 
 forces had carried away from places and territories of which 
 the treaty stipulated the restitution ; and that the United 
 States were entitled to consider as having been so carried 
 away, all slaves who had been transported from the above- 
 mentioned territories to British ships within their waters, and 
 who for that reason might not have been restored. 
 
 This was the construction for which the United States had 
 contended. The Emperor caused it to be officially made 
 known, that he had devoted " all his attention to the exami- 
 
PART I. 877 
 
 nation of the grammatical question" and that his decision 
 was founded " on the signification of the words in the text of 
 the article." 
 
 The broad principle of right under the treaty of Ghent, 
 was thus settled in our favour ; but much remained to be done. 
 The nurnbsr of slaves carried away, their value, and the right 
 ful claimants in every case, were to be ascertained. To effect 
 these objects a convention was entered into at St. Petersburg!! 
 between the United States and Great Britain, Russia lending 
 her mediation. By this instrument various provisions were 
 adopted for settling, through commissioners and other fit tribu 
 nals, the above and all other matters necessary to be adjudged. 
 The tribunals were organized at Washington, and proceeded 
 to the execution of their duties. Difficulties and delays arose. 
 To get rid of all, another convention was concluded at London 
 between the United States and Great Britain, by which the 
 latter agreed to pay twelve hundred thousand dollars in lieu 
 of all further demands. This sum was accordingly paid into 
 the Treasury of the United States, thence to be distributed 
 among the claimants ; Great Britain being absolved from all 
 further responsibility. In this manner the dispute was finally 
 and satisfactorily closed. 
 
 VI. The sixth and last article was merely one of form, 
 with the usual stipulations for the exchange of ratifications. 
 
 Looking at the Convention as a whole, it must be judged 
 by the nature, rather than number, of its articles. In settling 
 the controversy about the Fisheries, the calamity of a war was 
 probably warded off. In fixing a Boundary line long uncertain, 
 the seed of future disputes was extinguished at that point. 
 In the temporary arrangement of conflicting claims beyond 
 the Rocky Mountains, something was gained. In regard to 
 those interests in the remote west, time is, for the United 
 States, the best negotiator. They are not unaware how they 
 bear upon their fur trade ; their fisheries and commerce in 
 the Pacific; their prospective relation with new foreign states 
 in this hemisphere ; and their intercourse with numerous tribes 
 of the aborigines. In the renewal for ten years of the Com 
 mercial Convention, limited at first to four, a further and 
 more encouraging example was set of liberal terms of navi 
 gation between the two greatest navigating Powers of the 
 world. It may be hoped that it will ripen into permanence 
 as between themselves, and continue to shed its influence 
 more and more upon other states. Already it has been pro 
 longed for another term of years. Lastly, in the article 
 about the Slaves, a foundation was laid for the indemnification 
 awarded to the citizens of our southern states for heavy losses 
 they had suffered. 
 
378 APPENDIX 
 
 PART II. 
 
 SUBJECTS WHICH THE NEGOTIATION LEFT UNADJUSTED, PARTI 
 CULARLY THE WEST INDIA TRADE AND IMPRESSMENT. 
 
 1818. Having giving the subjects which the negotiation 
 arranged, the task, scarcely secondary, remains to state those 
 that were not. 
 
 I. FIRST, AS TO THE WEST INDIA TRADE. Ample dis 
 cussions were had on this head. I will endeavour to make it 
 intelligible within as short a compass as its nature will allow. 
 The general question must be borne in mind as explained in 
 the fourth chapter of this work. Details will be pursued no 
 farther than is indispensable. 
 
 It was a cardinal purpose under our instructions, that 
 entire reciprocity should be the basis of any regulations by 
 treaty, for opening this trade. We offered the following 
 proposals as essential to the groundwork of our plan : That 
 the vessels of the United States be permitted to import into 
 the principal ports of the British West Indies, which we 
 enumerated, and into British ports on the continent of South 
 America, naval stores, live stock, provisions of all kinds, 
 tobacco, lumber, and other productions of the United States, 
 the importation of which was allowed from other places. And 
 also that they be permitted to bring back cargoes of sugar, 
 coffee, molasses, rum, salt, and other productions of the 
 foregoing ports or islands, the exportation of which was 
 allowed to other places. The vessels of Great Britain to be 
 confined to the same articles of trade, so that they might 
 have no advantage over those of the United States. The 
 tonnage duties on the vessels of each nation, to be the same ; 
 and each to be allowed to touch during the voyage, at one or 
 more ports of the other, to dispose of inward, or ship outward, 
 cargoes. Duties of import and export to be the same on all 
 cargoes, whether carried in American or British vessels, and 
 neither party to charge higher duties upon the productions 
 of the other, than were charged on similar productions in 
 their trade with other places. Regarding the colonies of 
 Britain in North America, we proposed that both American 
 and British vessels be allowed to import into them from the 
 United States, the same productions as allowed above, and 
 bring back any productions of those colonies admitted into 
 the United States from other places. Tonnage duties upon 
 the vessels of each nation, to be equal here also ; and the 
 duties on all cargoes to be the same, whether carried in the 
 vessels of the one nation or the other. 
 
PART II. 379 
 
 The British plenipotentiaries, on receiving these proposals, 
 declared them to be inadmissible. They amounted, they 
 said, to a much greater departure from the colonial system 
 of Britain, than she was prepared to sanction. They alleged 
 the impossibility of breaking down the system, favoured as 
 it still was by public opinion, and leagued in with various 
 interests, national and individual. The trade of their North 
 American colonies in salted fish and lumber, the export trade 
 in beef, pork, and flour, from Ireland, the British shipping 
 interest, and the interests of non-resident West India plan 
 ters, were among those to which they referred. They were 
 willing to admit reciprocity in the trade between the United 
 States arid West Indies, to a certain extent ; as far, indeed, 
 as the trade was opened. But our plan opened it too far. 
 They were willing to open, for example, all the ports we had 
 enumerated, (Bermuda being of the number,) except St. 
 Christopher s, St. Lucia, Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice ; 
 the exception of the three last growing out of their engage 
 ments with Holland. But if they admitted a specified 
 number of articles in the direct trade with the Islands, 
 they thought that we ought to consent to a larger list in the 
 trade with Halifax and St. John s on the North American 
 continent ; and also with Bermuda. We ought not to ask 
 that the trade be confined to the same articles with all their 
 possessions, insular and continental. They claimed also a 
 right for their vessels coming from Great Britain, to touch 
 at any port of the United States and take cargoes for the 
 West Indies ; alleging that, without this right, the proximity 
 of the United States to the Islands would give our vessels an 
 advantage. They would agree to a provision that our vessels 
 should have the same right; a provision, however, the re 
 ciprocity of which would have only been nominal. In the 
 end they remarked, that one of our proposals went the length 
 of restraining Great Britain from laying higher duties upon 
 articles imported into her Islands from the United States, 
 than on similar articles coming from her own possessions in 
 North America. To this they decidedly objected. They 
 spoke of the natural right of Great Britain to resort to dis 
 criminating duties for the purpose of favouring the produc 
 tions, agricultural or otherwise, of any part of her own 
 dominions. 
 
 We did not pretend to deny this last principle ; but re 
 marked, that truth in abstract propositions did not always 
 bear enforcement internationally. We contended that the 
 application of this principle to the trade in question, would 
 prove altogether unjust to the United States. Britain made 
 
380 APPENDIX. 
 
 a distinction, which of course she had the right to do, in her 
 commercial intercourse between her home dominions and 
 colonies. She even drew a distinction in the regulations of 
 trade between her North American colonies, and West India 
 Islands. The United States were therefore, in a commercial 
 view, obliged to consider each of these portions of her empire, 
 as so many distinct countries. To the United States, they 
 were distinct, as well by geographical situation, and nature 
 of their productions, as by this policy of the parent country. 
 This was not mere theory. In the business of trade, it led 
 to positive results. The United States made an offer to lay 
 no higher duties on productions imported into their ports 
 from British Islands, than on similar productions from other 
 foreign countries. Britain met this by apparent, but owing 
 to the division of her dependencies into separate countries for 
 commercial purposes, not real justice. She offered to lay no 
 higher duties on productions imported from the United States 
 into her Islands, than were charged on similar ones from 
 other foreign countries. The offer would be reciprocal in 
 words only, unless it went farther ; it ought to add, upon 
 similar productions from any other place. The reason was 
 obvious. The British Islands were supplied with similar 
 productions from no other foreign country than the United 
 States. The only similar ones, in amount deserving to be 
 mentioned, would go from the North American colonies of 
 Britain. The only competition in the supply would therefore 
 be, between these latter colonies and the United States ; 
 whereas, there would be a real foreign competition on the 
 productions imported into the United States from the British 
 Islands ; similar ones being imported from the Islands or 
 colonies of other foreign powers. Hence the clause would be 
 operative for Great Britain, and nominal for the United 
 States. It was plain that the former could turn it to her 
 own account. Her vessels might come to the United States 
 c rom her Islands, with the productions of the Islands; whilst 
 the vessels of the United States would find little encourage 
 ment in going to the Islands with the productions of the 
 United States, because the same kind would get there in 
 British vessels from Halifax, St. John s, or Bermuda, under 
 duties sufficiently low to vanquish American competition. 
 Such was our answer to this objection. At first sight the 
 objection wore a fair appearance. It seemed unreasonable 
 to say that Britain must not be left at liberty to foster, by 
 high duties, as she saw fit, the productions of any part of her 
 own dominions. But unless the United States took this 
 
PART II. 381 
 
 ground, they could secure no substantial reciprocity to their 
 own vessels in carrying on the trade to be arranged. 
 
 We alleged also the inexpediency of consenting to a limited 
 number of articles as the objects of a direct trade between 
 our ports and the Islands, and allowing an indefinite or even 
 larger list to go circuitously. The effect of this would in 
 like manner be, what the United States aimed at prevent 
 ing a disproportionate employment of British tonnage. 
 The articles not allowed to go to the Islands directly, would 
 be sent through Halifax, St. John s, or Bermuda. To these 
 ports, it is true, they might go in American vessels ; but, 
 arrived there, they would be transferred to British vessels, 
 and carried to the Isands exclusively in the latter. It was a 
 main point with the United States to guard their shipping 
 from this source of danger. 
 
 It was so that we reasoned. Nevertheless, it was our duty 
 to pay a just regard to the considerations which Great Bri 
 tain had presented. We expressed a desire to listen to any 
 specific proposals she would make. We asked for a scale of 
 duties that would exhibit the maximum of those intended 
 for the protection of the produce of her own dominions ; but 
 no such document was prepared for our consideration. In 
 further reply to this British doctrine about duties, we natur 
 ally remarked, that, if enforced against the United States, 
 the latter ought certainly to retain the option of laying 
 higher duties on the productions of the British Islands, than 
 on those of countries where their productions were, or might 
 be, received on better terms than in her Islands. We also 
 declared that we could agree to no proposals for regulating 
 the intercourse with Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, un 
 connected with the Islands. 
 
 After these and other particulars had been fully canvassed, 
 it became evident that the parties were too wide asunder to 
 give hope of meeting on ground that would satisfy both. 
 The British plenipotentiaries candidly expressed themselves to 
 this effect. But as we invited proposals, they gave them. 
 Their proposals adhered to the principle of protecting the 
 productions of their North American colonies, by levying 
 higher duties on similar productions from the United States. 
 They also claimed the right for British vessels from her 
 European dominions, to touch at ports of the United States 
 to take in cargoes for the West Indies. In other respects, as 
 these nominally, they admitted the principle of reciprocity, as 
 far as the trade was to be open. But they restricted it in a 
 way to be little acceptable to the United States. Neither 
 sugar, nor coffee, was allowed to be among the direct exports 
 to the United States from the Islands, although we would have 
 
382 APPENDIX. 
 
 consented to a limited amount of each. Nor were salted 
 provisions of any kind, including fish, nor lumber generally, 
 for under the last head there were slight exceptions, to be 
 allowed among the imports into the Islands from the United 
 States. Yet it was proposed, that not only sugar and coffee, 
 but all articles of the produce or manufacture of any of the 
 British dominions, and even East India articles, should be 
 admitted into the United States through the circuitous 
 channels of Bermuda, Halifax, and St. John s. It was also 
 asked, that, in the whole trade, Britain, by all the regulations 
 of the United States, should stand upon as good a footing in 
 their ports, as any other foreign nation. Such were the 
 principal features of their proposals. 
 
 Britain would agree to no arrangement of the intercourse 
 by land, or inland navigation, with her possessions bordering 
 on the United States, different from the one rejected with 
 the four articles submitted by Lord Castlereagh. Nor would 
 she let us take our produce down the St. Lawrence as far as 
 Montreal, or down the Chambly as far as the St. Lawrence. 
 
 On referring her proposals to our Government with all the 
 views elicited from her Plenipotentiaries, they were rejected. 
 In progress of time renewed negotiations were held between 
 the two Governments, some whilst I remained at the British 
 Court, some afterwards. Each Government gave up some of 
 the ground taken in this negotiation ; but no arrangement 
 by treaty has ever yet been made upon the subject. The 
 trade stands upon regulations adopted by the statutes of each 
 nation, which each is at liberty to modify or recall. Until 
 opened by these regulations, the prohibitory laws of the 
 Union would not allow supplies from the British West Indies 
 to come directly to the United States, or go directly from the 
 United States to the Islands, in the vessels of either Power. 
 The reason was, that as Britain would not allow them to 
 come and go in this direct manner on terms that the United 
 States deemed of equal advantage to their vessels, they pre 
 ferred that the direct intercourse should cease altogether. It 
 is obvious that the dispute was about tonnage, not the pro 
 ductions or merchandize of either party. These were still 
 permitted to be consumed in the territories of each ; but it 
 was necessary to import them in roundabout ways into each. 
 On a Spanish ambassador representing to Cromwell that the 
 Inquisition, and Colonial Trade, were his master s two eyes, 
 Cromwell replied, " Then I must trouble your master to put 
 out his two eyes/ We cannot address England in that style ; 
 but we may remark, that to whatever extent she enforces her 
 colonial system in her intercourse with other nations, the 
 
PART II. 883 
 
 latter will, so far, lose the advantage of full and equal com 
 petition as respects tlieir tonnage. 
 
 II. I come, secondly, to IMPRESSMENT. Faithful as were 
 our labours on this subject, disappointment was their portion. 
 A recapitulation of the causes has claims to the attention of 
 both nations 
 
 It will be remembered that I delivered to Lord Castlereagh 
 two propositions, which, taken together, embodied an offer by 
 the United States to exclude, by all the means in their power, 
 British seamen, native born, as naturalized, from their service. 
 As an equivalent, they demanded that impressment from 
 their vessels should be totally relinquished. The stipulntion 
 for excluding seamen, was to be reciprocal. The United 
 States agreeing not to employ British seamen, it was no more 
 than just that Britain should agree not to employ American 
 seamen. The exclusion was to extend to the public and 
 private marine of both nations. 
 
 It cannot escape remark, that the United States, by such 
 an offer, overlooked the estimate of pecuniary advantage to 
 their merchants, for the prospect of durable harmony with 
 Great Britain. Wages were higher in their merchant-service, 
 than the British. To exclude British seamen from it, would 
 be likely to raise them still higher. On the other hand, the 
 stipulation of Britain would have been remote in its practical 
 operation. It was necessarily contingent upon the event of 
 a maritime war with other powers, as she does not impress 
 from American vessels in time of peace. Hence, the onerous 
 part of the engagement would have been to us, immediate ; the 
 benefit, distant. 
 
 Our offer of exclusion, it will also be remembered, was at 
 first rejected. It was afterwards agreed that it should be 
 considered. Two conditions were annexed to it by Lord 
 Castlereagh. One, that any treaty containing the mutual 
 stipulations, should be revocable on short notice by either 
 party. This would serve, he thought, to pacify persons in 
 England who would otherwise be disposed to think the 
 arrangement derogatory to the rights of England ; whilst the 
 treaty, as he hoped, would be sliding into permanence. The 
 other condition was, that the British boarding-officer entering 
 American vessels at sea for purposes agreed to be lawful in 
 time of war, and finding British seamen, or men suspected to 
 be such, should be allowed to make aproces verbal of the fact, 
 to be presented to the notice of the American Government ; 
 but the officer to be prohibited taking away the men. 
 
 This latter condition seemed to imply distrust of America. 
 It breathed suspicion, that the regulations for excluding 
 
#84 APPENDIX. 
 
 British seamen, would not be fully executed. If objectionable 
 on this ground, it was more so on others. It did not ask, in 
 terms, that the boarding-officer calling- for a list of the crew, 
 should have the power of mustering them ; but the mere view 
 of the paper would be useless without that power. The men 
 must have been inspected for the purpose of comparison with 
 the list. Such inspections had been found among the most in 
 supportable aggravations of impressment. Their tendency, in 
 every instance, was to produce altercation between the foreign 
 officer and the master of the American vessel. If the officer 
 made a record of his suspicions, the master, and seaman, must 
 have the privilege of making a counter record. Where then 
 would be the end, or what the good, of these tribunals of the 
 deck? We did not desire the first condition, but were willing 
 to come into it. To the second, we declared our utter re 
 pugnance and unequivocal dissent. It will be farther remem 
 bered, that Lord Castlereagh withdrew the second ; which 
 brings me to the footing on which the subject was taken up 
 in the negotiation. 
 
 Repeated advances having been made by the United States, 
 the understanding was, that Britain should now bring the 
 subject forward in a shape matured for discussion. The 
 leading principles seemed to have been settled. It remained, 
 as we thought, only to settle details. At the third conference, 
 the British plenipotentiaries submitted a projet of six articles 
 designed for the regulation, by a separate treaty, of the whole 
 subject, I have abstained almost wholly from presenting 
 documents of the negotiation at large, supposing that I could 
 cause their essential matter to be sufficiently understood by 
 description. But the interest attaching to this question, 
 renders it proper to set forth the British projet in its precise 
 terms; a course the more proper as I inserted in the same 
 way the American propositions. It here follows : 
 
 " His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great 
 Britain and Ireland, and the President of the United States 
 of America, being animated with an equal desire to remove, 
 by amicable regulations, the inconveniences which have 
 arisen from the difficulty of discriminating between the sub 
 jects and citizens of the two powers respectively, have deter 
 mined to proceed, without prejudice to the rights of either 
 power, to frame such conventional arrangements as may 
 obviate the evils which might hereafter again result from the 
 circumstances above stated, to the public service, the com 
 merce, or the subjects or citizens of either of the contracting 
 parties. In pusuance of so desirable an object, his said 
 Majesty and the President of the United States have nomi- 
 
PART II. 385 
 
 nated Plenipotentiaries to discuss and sign a treaty to this 
 effect. His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of 
 Great Britain and Ireland, has nominated the Right Hon 
 ourable Frederick John Robinson, and Henry Goulburnj 
 Esquire, and the President of the United States has nominated 
 Albert Gallatin and Richard Rush, Esquires, who, having 
 exchanged their full powers, found in good and true form, 
 have agreed upon the following articles. 
 
 " 1. The high contracting parties engage and bind them 
 selves to adopt without delay, and in the manner that may 
 best correspond with their respective laws, such measures as 
 may be most effectual for excluding the natural-born subjects 
 and citizens of either party from serving in the public or 
 private marine of the other : Provided always, that nothing 
 contained in this article shall be understood to apply to such 
 natural-born subjects or citizens of either power as may have 
 been naturalized by their respective laws, previous to the 
 signature of the present treaty. And such measures, when 
 adopted, shall be immediately communicated to each party 
 respectively. 
 
 a 2. For the better ascertaining the number of persons ou 
 either side that may fall within the exception contained in 
 the preceding article, the high contracting parties, engage to 
 deliver, each to the other, within twelve months from the rati 
 fication of the present treaty, a list of all persons falling 
 within the said exception, specifying the places of their birth, 
 with the date of their becoming naturalized. And it is 
 further agreed, that none other than the persons whose 
 names shall be included in the lists, shall be deemed to fall 
 within the said exception. 
 
 "3. The high contracting parties, however, reserve to 
 themselves the power to authorize and permit, by proclama 
 tion, their respective subjects or citizens, to serve in the 
 public or private marine of the other country. And it is 
 hereby expressly understood, that, as long as such permission 
 shall remain in force, it shall be competent for the Govern 
 ment of the other power, notwithstanding the engagement 
 set forth in the first article of this treaty, to admit the per 
 formance of the said service. Provided always, that, when 
 ever the power so granting permission to the said subjects or 
 citizens to serve in the marine of the other, shall withdraw 
 the same, notification thereof shall forthwith be made to the 
 other contracting party, and, on receipt of such notification, 
 the power receiving the same shall forthwith notify it in the 
 most public and official manner, and shall use its utmost 
 endeavours to restrain the said subjects or citizens of the 
 
 2 c 
 
68G APPENDIX. 
 
 other party from further serving in its public or private 
 marine, and shall enforce the exclusion of such of the said 
 subjects or citizens of the other power as may then be in its 
 service, as if no such permission had been promulgated. 
 
 "4. In consideration of the stipulations contained in the 
 preceding articles, it is agreed by the high contracting 
 parties that, during the continuance of the present treaty, 
 neither power shall impress or forcibly withdraw, or cause 
 to be impressed or forcibly withdrawn, any person or persons 
 from the vessels of the other power, when met upon the 
 high seas, on any plea or pretext whatsoever. Provided 
 always, that nothing contained in this article shall be con 
 strued to apply to the vessels of either power which may be 
 within the ports, or within the maritime jurisdiction of the 
 other, and also provided that nothing herein contained shall 
 be construed to impair or affect the established right of 
 search as authorized in time of war by the law of nations. 
 
 16 5. The high contracting parties have agreed to extend 
 the duration of the present treaty to ten years, and they 
 reserve to themselves to concert, as to its renewal, at such 
 convenient period, previous to it expiration, as may ensure 
 to their respective subjects and citizens, the uninterrupted 
 benefit which they expect from its provisions : Provided 
 always, that either power may, if it deem it expedient, 
 upon giving six months previous notice to the other, wholly 
 abrogate and annul the present treaty. 
 
 "6. It is agreed that nothing contained in the preceding 
 articles shall be understood to affect the rights and principles 
 on which the high contracting parties have heretofore acted, 
 in respect to any of the matters to which these stipulations 
 refer, except so far as the same shall have been modified, 
 restrained, or suspended, by the said articles. And, whenever 
 the present treaty shall cease to be in operation, either by 
 the expiration of the term for which it is enacted, without 
 any renewal of the same, or by the abrogation thereof by 
 cither of the high contracting parties, as hereinbefore pro 
 vided, or, (which God forbid !) by any war between them, 
 each of the said high contracting parties shall stand, with 
 respect to the other, as to its said rights and principles, as if 
 no such treaty had ever been made." 
 
 In submitting these articles, the British plenipotentiaries 
 expressed upon the protocol their conviction, that, under all 
 the difficulties that surrounded the question, they would be 
 sufficient to satisfy us of the earnest disposition of Great 
 Britain to go every practicable length in a joint effort for 
 their removal, so as to connect the two countries in the 
 
PART II. 
 
 firmest ties of harmony. It was with this solemnity that the 
 subject was presented to our consideration. 
 
 It received from us a deliberate and anxious attention. 
 We brought to the task an unaffected desire to smooth down 
 every obstacle. It was not to be supposed that a subject that 
 had divided the two nations for five-and-twenty years, and 
 been the principal cause of a war, could be definitively 
 arranged by the first projet of a treaty drawn up by one of 
 the parties. But we hailed the entire plan as the harbinger 
 of adjustment, believing that we saw in its spirit and outline 
 the sure hope of success. Taking an interval for advisement 
 we said, that the proposal heretofore made by the United 
 States could leave no doubt of their constant desire to settle 
 this question, and declared our readiness to agree, with some 
 amendments, to the plan submitted. We added our full 
 expectation that, founded as it was in mutual confidence, it 
 could not fail to have a happy effect towards rendering 
 durable the relations of amity so happily subsisting between 
 the two countries. These sentiments we, too, recorded on 
 the protocol. 
 
 Several of our amendments were only verbal. We did not 
 think that the recital in the preamble met the whole case on 
 both sides, and offered alterations, some of which were ap 
 proved. To the clause under which there might have been a 
 claim to continue impressment in the narrow seas, we ob 
 jected, and it was, in effect, withdrawn. Nor did we like the 
 particular mode, or place, in which Britain reserved the right 
 of search at the close of the fourth article. We suggested 
 in lieu of it, that the words should go to a different article, 
 and provide that neither party should be affected by the 
 treaty "in any of their belligerent or neutral rights as ac 
 knowledged by the law of nations, except so far as modified, 
 restricted, or suspended by the treaty. 3 It becomes unneces 
 sary, however, to dwell on these and other points as to which 
 the parties did not agree at first, since they might have 
 agreed ultimately, had it not been for two that proved fatal 
 to the plan. To the explanation of these I confine myself. 
 
 The second article, with a view to ascertain the persons 
 who were to be excepted from those intended to be excluded 
 from the sea-service of either nation, provides, that each shall 
 furnish the other with a list of their names. This list was to 
 specify the place of their birth, and dates of their naturaliza 
 tion ; and none but persons whose names were upon it, were 
 to fall within the exception. To this provision we were 
 obliged to object, our laws not enabling us to meet all that it 
 required. As a substitute, we proposed that " no natural- 
 
 2 c 2 
 
388 APPENDIX. 
 
 " born subject or citizen of either power, whose name should 
 (i not be included in the list, should be deemed to fall within 
 " the exception, UNLESS HE PRODUCED PROOF OF HIS HAVING 
 
 c< BEEN DULY NATURALIZED PRIOR TO THE EXCHANGE OF RATI- 
 " FICATIONS OF THE TREATY." 
 
 Reasons must be given why the United States could not 
 comply with the British article as it stood. Anterior to 
 1789, aliens were naturalized according to the laws of the 
 several States composing the Union. Under this system, the 
 forms varied and were often very loose. The latter was 
 especially the case when they were drawn up by justices of 
 the pe?ce, as sometimes happened. Since that epoch, the 
 forms have been uniform, and are only permitted before such 
 courts of record as are designated by the laws of the United 
 States. But the designation includes not only courts of the 
 United States, properly so called, but courts of the several 
 States. Minor children also of naturalized persons, if the 
 former be within the limits of the Union, become, ipso facto, 
 naturalized. It must be added, that, for several years, no 
 discrimination as to the birth-place of aliens was recorded. 
 If attempts were made to procure the lists required, a first 
 objection might have been, that the courts of the several 
 States were not bound to obey, in this respect, a call from 
 the general Gevermnent. But granting that all obeyed, the 
 lists would have exhibited nothing more than the names of 
 British natural-born subjects, naturalized during a period of 
 nearly thirty years. They would not designate seamen, the 
 law not having required a record of the occupation ; nor 
 would they embrace minor children, their names never hav 
 ing been directed to be registered. There was but one other 
 source from which lists could have been derived, and here 
 only partially. By a law of 1796, collectors of customs were 
 required to keep books in which the names of seamen, citizens 
 of the United States, were, on their own application, to be 
 entered. Under this law, as may be inferred from its terms, 
 the entry of names was not full; nor did the law draw a 
 distinction between native citizens and naturalized. 
 
 From this summary it is manifest, that a compliance with 
 the Briti3h article would have been impracticable. The 
 unavoidable consequence of consenting to it would have been, 
 that aliens naturalized before the treaty, and entitled by our 
 laws to all the rights of citizens, would, by an tx post facto 
 and therefore unconstitutional measure, have found themselves 
 excluded from following the seas. 
 
 All these obstacles we presented to the British pleni 
 potentiaries. They were plainly such as we could not remove, 
 
PART II. 389 
 
 whatever our desire. But we urged, that the condition re 
 quired of us, appeared unnecessary. By the substitute pro 
 posed, every native-born subject of Britain claiming the right 
 of serving in our vessels, and not being able to show his name 
 upon the lists, would have to adduce other proof of his 
 naturalization. This other proof must have been, either the 
 original certificate of naturalization, or an authentic copy. 
 It could have been on no better proof, that any names would 
 have been returned in the lists. If minors claimed the benefit 
 of the exception, legal proof must have been given of their 
 identity ; to which must have been subjoined, proof of the 
 naturalization of their fathers. We urged also the right re 
 served to either party of annulling the treaty at will, as 
 affording a security. It was a reservation, not of our choice, 
 but acquiesced in, to avoid objection, and supersede the ne 
 cessity of details too complicated. It gave Britain a remedy 
 in her own hands against deviations from the true spirit of 
 the compact, whenever she believed any were committed. 
 
 But we could not prevail upon the British plenipotentiaries 
 to recede from their ground. They appeared to have taken 
 up an impression, which we were unable to expel, that great 
 numbers of their seamen intended by the treaty to be 
 excluded, would, but for the condition annexed, find tlieir way 
 into our service. 
 
 An error insensibly prevailing in Britain, seems to lie at 
 the root of the evil. It consists in supposing that the United 
 States cannot obtain seamen of their own, but must depend 
 upon Britain. Why, any more than on Britons to till their 
 farms, seems strange ! 1 will give an instance of this error. 
 When the Franklin anchored off Cowes, visitors came on 
 board. Her decks were filled with her seamen. To be sure, 
 they looked like English seamen, and spoke the same lan 
 guage. Soon the rumour went, that many were English. 
 All rumours grow ; so this. In a fortnight I read in the 
 London prints, that one-third of the whole were native-born 
 British subjects ! The news passed from journal to journal, 
 fixing itself, no doubt, in the belief of many an honest Eng 
 lishman. The commentary upon it is, that Commodore 
 Stewart informed me, that out of his crew, of seven hundred 
 men, twenty-five would include all of foreign birth. Of these 
 half were from parts of Europe other than Britain. I would 
 not be guilty of supposing that errors so gross as the one I 
 mention, could ever be committed by p. ersons having better 
 opportunities of information ; but it points to the popular 
 misconception. I fully believe, and this not as an unexarn- 
 ined opinion, that the proportion of native American seamen 
 
390 APPENDIX. 
 
 on board American ships- of- war, will always be found greater 
 than of native British seamen on board British ships-of-war. 
 The relative size of the two navies considered, it is demonstrable 
 indeed, that the United States are far better able to man 
 their s with native American, than the British their s with 
 native British. 
 
 The other part of the projet that produced fatal diversity, 
 was in the first article, It ran thus ; " Provided always that 
 "nothing contained in this article shall be understood to 
 " apply to such natural-born subjects or citizens of either 
 t( power as may have been naturalized by their respective laws 
 " previous to the SIGNATURE of the the present treaty." In 
 place of SIGNATURE, we proposed " EXCHANGE OF RATIFICA 
 TIONS." To the former, we could not consent. It would have 
 brought with it the same consequence ; that of violating our 
 Constitution. The obligations of a treaty are not complete 
 until exchange of ratifications. To exclude from our service, 
 subjects naturalized prior to that date, would have involved 
 the objection of ex post facto. The British plenipotentiaries 
 would not agree to drop their word. Here too was mani 
 fested what, to us, seemed needless apprehension. As by the 
 laws of the United States a residence of five years is one of 
 the pre-requisites to naturalization, the number of British 
 seamen who could have come in between the two dates, must 
 have been extremely small ; not worth consideration, as we 
 supposed, in a national point of view. But we could not 
 succeed in making the British plenipotentiaries think so. 
 The subject was debated until the closing hours of the 
 negotiation, and then fell to the ground. It put the seal to 
 the failure of our efforts. We had offered all that was pos 
 sible under our laws. We could go no farther. 
 
 I pause a moment on the above narrative. I look back, 
 with unfeigned regret, on the failure it records. Perhaps I 
 may be wrong, for I speak from no authority, but am not 
 able to divest myself of an impression that, had Lord Castle- 
 reagh been in London, there would not have been a failure. 
 I am aware that he was kept informed of the progress of the 
 negotiation. We had reason to believe that the documents 
 were regularly sent on for his inspection. Still, he could not 
 share in the full spirit of all that passed. He had the 
 European relations of Britain in his hands. Impressment, 
 although in truth a primary concern, could not, at such a 
 season, have commanded all his thoughts. But I know how 
 anxiously he entered into it, before his departure for Aix-la- 
 Chapelle. He saw that the great principle of adjustment 
 had at last been settled ; and 1 can scarcely think that he 
 
PAliT II. 301 
 
 would have allowed it to be foiled, by carrying too much 
 rigour into details. It is no part of my present purpose to 
 draw the character of Lord Castlereagh in his connection 
 with England, or Europe ; but there was this in him, which 
 his opponents did not deny, and history will award an entire 
 fearlessness. He knew that a treaty relinquishing impress 
 ment, no matter what the terms, would excite clamour in 
 England, come when it would.* But having made up his 
 mind to the justice and policy of such a treaty, he would have 
 faced the clamour. I believe that he set a high value upon a 
 good understanding with the United States ; and if, in the 
 particular instance assumed, my conjecture be not ill-founded, 
 who will say that his wisdom would not have been attested ? 
 Seamen, as a race, are short-lived. Had the arrangement 
 been perfected, the lapse of a very few years would have 
 swept away the stock of naturalized British seamen in the 
 United States ; whilst the treaty would have remained, a 
 monument of the statesmanship of the minister under whose 
 auspices it would have been concluded. 
 
 This subject falling through, others of a maritime nature 
 were withdrawn. It had been agreed that none were to be 
 proceeded with, if we failed on Impressment. We offered 
 articles on blockade, contraband, trading with the colonies 
 of a belligerent, for the regulation of proceedings in prize 
 cases, and the conduct of privateers and letters of marque. 
 Britain had joined in offers on most of them, omitting the 
 third. Their discussion was carried on to some extent, but 
 given over when discovered that we could not arrange the 
 point on which all depended. 
 
 The failure to accommodate this fruitful source of strife, is 
 only postponed, not defeated. If removed in no other way, 
 it will cease, ultimately, through the cessation of the practice 
 as a home measure in England. It cannot endure much 
 longer. Englishmen will get awake to its true nature. It is 
 the remark of a sagacious historian, that nations long after 
 their ideas begin to enlarge and their manners to refine, 
 adhere to systems of superstition founded on the crude con 
 ceptions of early years, it is the same with public abuses. 
 The English part reluctantly with those sanctioned by time. 
 But, at length, public scrutiny and the moral sense of the 
 
 * Perhaps a striking opinion by General , the same English 
 
 Officer, already referred to, p. 239, may here be given. It was also 
 found in a pencil note at the foot of this same page of the volume from 
 which this is a reprint, on this great question of Impressment ; " There 
 would hav6 been small, if any clamour." The officer in question was 
 an enlightened sagacious man, of extensive information, and bold 
 independent views. 
 
392 APPENDIX. 
 
 nation, fasten upon them as in the case of the slave-trade, 
 Eeason emerges, as from a cloud. The abuses fall, and 
 reprobation succeeds to the long tolerance that kept them 
 up. Indications are not wanting of this coming change as 
 to impressment. I could refer to some, derived from private 
 intercourse ; but for this I should have no warrant, and will 
 take other and public demonstations. Perhaps no association 
 of men in the kingdon are more likely to form sound opinions 
 on this subject, than the shipowners of London. This body, 
 at a meeting in September 1818, deliberately condemned the 
 practice. The report of their committee dwells upon its evils, 
 and suggests measures for its entire abolition. There is 
 something if possible more strong. Sir Murray Maxwell, a 
 distinguished officer in the British navy, when a candidate to 
 represent the great commercial interests of Westminster in 
 the House of Commons, made an appeal too remarkable to 
 be forgotten. Addressing himself to assembled thousands 
 round the hustings, he said, that if his opponent could show 
 that he had been <f for fifteen years engaged in promoting a 
 political scheme of such national importance as the one that 
 he (Sir Murray) had been labouring at, he would withdraw 
 from the contest ; he meant, the efforts he had made, in con 
 cert loith many of his brother officers, to do away the practice 
 of impressment." Need I go farther? If the conviction of 
 the impolicy and enormity of this violation of the rights of 
 the subject, this stain upon British humanity, has found its 
 way into the circle of shipowners and naval officers, is it con 
 ceivable that the conviction will stop there? No; it will 
 spread, until echoed by the voice of all Britain. 
 
 In conclusion, I must superadd my testimony to that of 
 every other American, that the United States cannot again 
 permit the exercise, by any foreign power, of impressment 
 on board their vessels. After the facts mentioned in the 
 twelfth chapter, they would be untrue to themselves, and 
 the race they spring from, if they did. 
 
 I have gone through the topics of the Negotiation. I have 
 given succinctly, but I trust accurately, those comprised in 
 the Convention. I have set forth, I hope intelligibly, the 
 causes of disappointment as to others. May the day soon 
 arrive when the adjustment of at least that of Impressment, 
 may cement by yet closer ties two nations that ought to feel 
 and act like friends, instead of pouring out their blood in 
 combat. 
 
 THE END. 
 
A GLANCE 
 
 VI 
 
 THE COURT AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 OF 
 
 LOUIS PHILIPPE, 
 
 AND 
 
 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848: 
 
 WHILE THE AUTHOR RESIDED 
 
 AS 
 
 ENVOY EXTRAORDINARY AND MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY 
 OF THE UNITED STATES 
 
 AT PAEIS, 
 
 FBOM 1847 TO 1849. 
 
 [Now first published in jEurope.~] 
 
" A Glance at the Court and Government of Louis 
 Philippe, and the French Revolution which followed. 
 Detached incidents, political, diplomatic, and social, the 
 last brief and infrequent, of the Mission to France in 
 1848, and portions of 1847 and 1849, from occasional 
 notes during- the Mission, put into their present form 
 after my return, to show the prominent events of the 
 Revolution of February, 1848, which drove Louis 
 Philippe from the throne, and what followed that ex 
 pulsion. Of the general business of the Mission, these 
 notes do not design to present more than the smallest 
 part. Conscious of deficiencies arid imperfections in 
 the parts they even aim at explaining-, I yet leave 
 them for publication after my death." 
 
 RICHARD RUSH. 
 
 PHIL .\DELPIIIA, 
 
 June, 1859. 
 
A GLANCE 
 
 AT THE 
 
 COUET AND GOVEKNMENT OF LOUIS PIIILEPPE 
 AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1818. 
 
 ON the 12th of June, 1847, I embarked at Xevv 
 York for France as Minister from the United States, 
 under the appointment of President Polk, and the ap 
 probation of the Senate. Mr. Buchanan was Secre 
 tary of State, with whose well-prepared instructions 
 I was charged. The post was as unexpected as 
 unsought, which made me the more sensible to the 
 confidence of the government in putting- it into my 
 hands when there were others better qualified for 
 it. I arrived at Havre on the 8th of July. Two 
 of my daughters accompanied me, a third remain 
 ing 1 at home with her Mother, who was in impaired 
 health. I had also an attache to the mission, in 
 young 1 Mr. Stan ton, of New York, son of Colonel 
 Stanton of the army. These, with our servants, made 
 up my family. 
 
 Staying- two days at Havre, we left it on the 
 10th for Paris by railway, but stopped ag-ain at 
 Eouen, further to recruit after the voyage. On the 
 loth we reached Paris. At the railway station we 
 found the Secretary of Legation, Mr. Martin ; Mr. 
 Irwin, late charge d affaires of the United States 
 at Copenhagen, and Mr. Corbin, of Virginia, to 
 
396 COURT AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 welcome us on first arriving-. Others were there, 
 whose names I cannot recall. We went to the 
 Hotel Windsor, Hue de liivoli, opposite the gardens 
 of the Tuileries, where apartments had been taken 
 for us. Our front rooms looked out into those 
 beautiful gardens. 
 
 July 21. My baggage gets to Paris to-day. It 
 comes by the Roulage, a slow conveyance. It was 
 promised in four or five days. This is the ninth. It 
 was left in charge of our acting consul at Havre, 
 who forwarded it, the necessary orders having been 
 transmitted by the French government for passing 
 it free at the Havre custom-house. 
 
 July 21. On this same day I have my first inter 
 view with M. Guizot, Minister of Foreign Affairs 
 
 I O 
 
 and President of the Council. I hand him a copy of 
 my letter of credence from the President to the King, 
 asking when I may hope for the honour of delivering 
 the original to His Majesty in person. The minister 
 replies that he will take the King s orders and inform 
 me. I express a hope that the King is well. The minister 
 says his health is very good, and that he speaks with 
 interest of the time he spent in the United States. He 
 represents his memory as remarkably retentive of what 
 he saw there ; sometimes he went into details, and 
 was not backward on those occasions in mentioning 
 the straits to which he was put at periods when his 
 remittances were stopped, or did not reach him punc 
 tually. He told him that during such times he had 
 lived on two shillings a day. 
 
 July 30. A note from the " Aide-de-Camp de 
 Service pres du Roi " of this date, from the Palace 
 " de Neuilly/ informs me that the King will receive 
 me at that Palace to-morrow at one o clock. 
 
OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. 897 
 
 July 31. Go to Neuilly, attended by the Secretary 
 of Legation. On entering- the Palace, I was con 
 ducted by an Aide into the room where the King- 
 was to receive me. In a few minutes the King- 
 entered. He was attended by three of his Aides-de- 
 Camp, and dressed in military uniform, as were the 
 Aides. I wore the diplomatic costume of my 
 country. The Secretary of Legation was also present. 
 Approaching- the King, I said that I felt honoured in 
 presenting- to His Majesty, a letter from the President 
 of the United States, which constituted me their 
 Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary 
 at his Majesty s Court. I felt this honour the more, 
 as France was the great ally of the United States at 
 an early day after the declaration of our Independence. 
 To fulfil my instructions in doing- everything- in my 
 power during- my residence towards strengthening- the 
 friendship and g-ood understanding- between France and 
 the United States would naturally yield me the high 
 est satisfaction ; and I added that if, in performing 
 these duties, I should be fortunate enough to perform 
 them in a manner acceptable to His Majesty, the 
 measure of my gratification would be full. 
 
 Here I might have stopped. But the fetes in 
 Paris in celebration of the three days of Revolution in 
 July, 1830, having- just terminated, that subject was 
 still fresh ; and I went on, in conclusion, to say, that 
 I could not but consider myself fortunate in arriving 
 in France during the celebration of the anniversary 
 which had placed His Majesty upon the throne. And 
 that he might witness many returns of it, continuing 
 to behold Europe enjoying the peace which he had 
 done so much towards securing, and live surrounded 
 by the affections of his august consort and family, 
 
898 COURT AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 was, I felt sure, the wish of the President ; and I 
 hoped His Majesty would permit me to say it was mine 
 also. 
 
 The King-, on receiving 1 the letter of credence, said, 
 in reply, that he had listened with interest to the 
 sentiments I expressed. He begged I would assure 
 the President that he reciprocated them fully. The 
 President could not estimate more highly than he 
 did the value of friendly relations between the United 
 States and France ; great and mutual benefits hung 
 upon them, and it would be his constant desire to secure 
 them as far as possible ; he remembered the ancient 
 ties between the two countries, and always recurred 
 to them with pleasure ; new motives and duties 
 prompted to the continuance of their friendship, and 
 nothing on his part should ever be wanting towards 
 confirming 1 it. Of all this he requested I would make 
 the President sensible, and I could not do it in a 
 manner too strong to convey his wishes to see the two 
 countries promoting in all ways each other s welfare. 
 He concluded with a kind word in reply to what I said 
 on my own part. 
 
 The King* spoke with cordiality and emphasis. 
 He spoke in English, with perfect command of the 
 language. His prime minister, M. Guizot, when I 
 talked with him, seemed equally master of it, though 
 his pronunciation was not as thoroughly English as 
 the King s. 
 
 The ceremony of reception over, the King asked 
 me to return and dine at the Palace at half- past six. 
 Honoured by the invitation, I did not fail to accept 
 it. He would then have an opportunity, he said, of 
 introducing me to the Queen and others of his family. 
 He included the Secretary of Legation in the in vita- 
 
OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. 399 
 
 tion, and said, familiarly, as we came away, u And we 
 will all take off our official costumes before meeting at 
 dinner." 
 
 I arrived at half-past six. We assembled in one 
 of the beautiful rooms of the Palace, which, although 
 not a large one, strikes favourably upon the eye in 
 every part I saw ; as do the grounds in driving up 
 to it. On entering, I was presented to the Queen by 
 the King ; then to the King and Queen of Belgium, 
 the latter his daughter, now on a visit to her father 
 with her royal consort. Afterwards he introduced me 
 to Madame Adelaide, his sister; then to the Dukes 
 de Nemours, d Aumale and Montpensier, his sons, 
 the last having married the beautiful young lady of 
 the royal house of Spain ; then to the Duchess of 
 Orleans, relict of the King s eldest son, who lost 
 his life by a melancholy accident near Neuilly. Other 
 persons were assembled, making perhaps eighteen or 
 twenty in all, the gentlemen all in plain dinner dress 
 like the King. 
 
 In going* into dinner I took on my arm the 
 Duchess of Montpensier ; an honour doubled by that 
 of sitting next to the Queen and on her right. The 
 King of Belgium sat on her left. In the middle of 
 the table, opposite to the Queen, was the King. The 
 Queen of Belgium sat next to him. I do not remem 
 ber how the rest of the company entered or were 
 placed, only that all were soon seated. The array of 
 the company ; the flowers, porcelain, and silver on the 
 table ; the homestead where all were seen, might well 
 call to recollection the phrase which embodies so much 
 La Belle France. 
 
 My position at table was fortunate. The topics, 
 intonations, the dignified form, of the Queen; her 
 
400 COURT AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 bland words and manner to the representative just 
 arrived from a distant and friendly Power, are still 
 fresh in my memory. She hoped I would like 
 France hoped I had found good apartments she 
 too remembered the ancient ties between France 
 and my Country- -the King- often spoke of the kind 
 ness he received there when a wanderer in early life-- 
 kindness he was fond of calling- up and never could 
 forget. Conversation like this with Her Majesty as 
 the dinner continued, was at moments varied by the 
 exchange of a few words with the King- of Belgium, 
 whose hospitality I had experienced, as Minister of 
 the United States, at Marlborough House, in London, 
 where he then lived as Prince Leopold, survivor of 
 the Princess Charlotte, heiress apparent to the British 
 throne. 
 
 The dinner over, all returned to the drawing-room 
 in the order we left it. The servants began to hand 
 coffee ; when the King-, with some of the ladies, 
 walked out upon the lawn through windows open 
 ing" to the floor. Others did the same, whom I accom 
 panied. Here the grounds had a rural beauty the 
 more striking from being simple. The servants 
 followed with the coffee, serving it as we stood. The 
 King came up to converse with me, but after a few 
 words, invited me to a seat with him under a tree 
 near us, where he said we could finish our coffee. I sat 
 there with him half an hour in the long twilight of 
 this summer evening. While we were conversing, 
 some of the company returned to the Palace ; some 
 took other rural seats ; some were moving about the 
 grounds. The King dwelt with interest on his visit 
 to the United States, more than half a century ago ; 
 mentioned places where he had been, some of which 
 
OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. 401 
 
 were known to me ; spoke of our rivers, our moun 
 tains, our cataracts ; and now and then would touch 
 upon incidents personal to himself, or his brothers, 
 during* their travels through our towns, hamlets, 
 and forests. He seemed to derive pleasure from 
 recurring- to these scenes of his early and eventful 
 life. Before separating 1 , he inquired what part of rny 
 family had come with me. I told him two daughters. 
 He said I must bring- them to Neuilly on Wednesday 
 evening*, that he might introduce them to the Queen. 
 It was not until twilight was departing- that my 
 carriage was announced, and I left the attractive 
 scene which, inside of the Palace or outside, had thus 
 marked my first official and social day in France. 
 
 August 1. Go to Mr. Corbin s, at Versailles, 
 his present country residence, where he entertains 
 several of our countrymen at dinner. Before 
 dinner we walked in the gardens of the Palace 
 and saw the fountains play. This great Palace, 
 with its fountains and gardens, took my fancy less 
 than the simple beauties at Neuilly or, if I am not 
 carrying heresy still farther, than Warwick Castle 
 and its grounds in England, to bring together things 
 so dissimilar. In the latter, though relatively small, 
 and baronial in structure, Nature stands out grandly 
 by the side of Art. At Versailles, Nature seems 
 hidden by Art. 
 
 August 2. Devote the day to making visits of 
 ceremony to members of the Eoyal family, Cabinet 
 Ministers, the Diplomatic Corps, and other function 
 aries connected with the Government and Court, upon 
 \vhom it is usual for Foreign Ministers to call after 
 being officially received by the King. 
 
 August 3. Nearly all on whom I called yesterday, 
 
 2 D 
 
402 COUHT AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 call on me to-day. The rest send cards. M. Guizot 
 sits fifteen or twenty minutes. I refer to his speecli 
 in the Chamber of Deputies yesterday, in which he 
 alluded to Washing-ton ; always a grateful theme to 
 Americans, and which M. Guizot knows how to touch. 
 The Spanish ambassador, General Narvaez, is of those 
 who call in person. The Marquis of Normanby, 
 English ambassador, not calling to-day, I receive a 
 note from him expressing regret at his inability to 
 call, from being out of town. 
 
 August 4. This evening I take my daughters to 
 the Palace at Neuilly, according to the King s request, 
 and introduce them to His Majesty. They are pre 
 sented also to the Queen, who receives them kindly, 
 as she receives all. The company was not large. The 
 Queen sat at a circular table, where ladies of the Royal 
 family were also sitting, some with fine embroidery- 
 work before them. 
 
 August 7. We pass the evening- at Mr. Walsh s, 
 our consul at Paris, now staying with his family at 
 St. Germain s. Hear from Mr. Walsh things that 
 may prove useful in my mission. 
 
 August 10. We dine and spend the fray at Mr. 
 Moulton s, an American gentleman, settled in Paris ; 
 the day made the more agreeable by Mrs. Moulton 
 and the attractions of his chateau, twelve miles off , 
 where they are for the summer. We ramble through 
 the garden and grounds before going* to dinner. M. 
 and Madame Hottingeur are of the company. 
 
 August 12. We are at the marriage of Miss 
 Green to Mr. Vendenbrock, of Holland ; the bride a 
 daughter of the eminent American banker. The 
 marriage ceremony takes place in the first instance 
 before the Mayor of the arrondissement of Paris, in 
 
OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. 403 
 
 which Mr. Green resides, and is repeated at the 
 French Protestant Church, of which M. Coquerel 
 is the eminent rector. The scene winds up with a 
 dejeuner & la fourchette suited to the festive occasion, 
 given at the mansion of the bride s father, where many 
 guests assemble in honour of it. 
 
 August 19. We dine at Mr. Montgomery s, Rue 
 de Matignon, a gentleman of Louisiana, where he 
 spends part of the year and rejoins his family, living* 
 in Paris during the other parts. Here, in a house 
 which tradition says was formerly a royal residence 
 in miniature, he dispenses, with Mrs. Montgomery, a 
 kind hospitality, in which we shared. 
 
 August 23. Dine at the Swedish Minister s, Count 
 de Lowenhielm, who entertains the Diplomatic Corps, 
 most of whom are present. A topic at table was M. 
 Guizot s defence of the Ministry against the eloquent 
 Montalembert s attack, just before the Chambers rose. 
 A pithy sentence was repeated from it, that it was 
 pleasant for the minister to hear the government re 
 proached by the noble peer for governing too much, 
 when it was so often accused of not governing at all. 
 I sat next to the Prussian Minister, Count d Arnim, 
 to whose conversation I listened with benefit. 
 
 Another topic came up, which all Paris talks about 
 just now the murder of the Duchess de Praslin. It 
 took place a few nights ago, in her own bed, at Hotel 
 Sebastiani, not far from where \ve were dining. 
 Screams from her maid awoke the men servants, who 
 hastened to the door of her mistress s chamber, which 
 was locked ; but they got in through a window by 
 the garden, and found her body bruised and gashed, 
 as if she had been struggling for her life. What 
 makes the matter worse is, that her husband is under 
 
 2 D 2 
 
404 COUET AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 suspicion of being- the murderer. They slept in 
 different chambers; and one of the servants swore 
 that he saw the Duke, as he supposed, though it was 
 midnight, leave her chamber through the door, as he 
 entered by the window. These were circumstances 
 mentioned. The parties were known to some of the 
 company ; he about forty, she younger, and daughter 
 of General Sebastiani, Marshal of France. They have 
 children, and had just returned from his country 
 estate near Melun, on the mansion and grounds of 
 which, it was said, he had expended large sums to 
 adorn still more its ancient beauties. What makes 
 more talk about the murder is, the coupling of the 
 name of a governess with it who was sent out of the 
 family on suspicion of improper conduct ; to whom, 
 nevertheless, the Duchess granted a pension for life. So 
 it was stated. 
 
 Our entertainer had long enjoyed the confidence 
 of his Sovereign, and been many years in the diplo 
 matic service of Sweden. He was full of sprightli- 
 ness, and enlivened us with anecdotes some of the 
 past, others of present things in Paris. 
 
 September 1. Go to the King s at his Palace, St. 
 Cloud. It was reception-night. The Diplomatic Corps 
 were nearly all there, a few of the Cabinet, and others 
 of the Court circle. 
 
 The King asks me what my accounts are from the 
 United States. I tell him that I think our army has 
 entered Mexico, though we have no official accounts 
 of it. He asks for my daughters, and hopes they like 
 Paris. It could not be otherwise, I reply. He hopes 
 they will like it better as they know it more. He 
 introduces me to the Prince de Joinville, his naval son, 
 much a favourite with the French, whom I had not 
 seen before. 
 
OF LOUIS PHILIPrE. 405 
 
 September 2. Leave Hotel Windsor and go to 
 Versailles. We find good apartments at the Hotel du 
 Iteservoir, near the gardens of the Palace, to which we 
 have convenient access from the hotel. 
 
 September 4. The feeling of horror at the murder 
 of the Duchess de Praslin is not lessened by the fact, 
 which the papers mention, that the Duke has taken 
 arsenic and died by his own hand ; thus turning the 
 suspicion of his having been the murderer of his wife, 
 into belief. Letters to him from her, published since 
 her death, show a mind of the highest culture, with 
 sensibilities tender and affectionate, agonized by the 
 temper and conduct of her husband ; towards whom 
 she appears to have been forgiving to the last. So ends 
 this remarkable trag edy in domestic life, half romantic 
 in its horrors. 
 
 September 13. Go this evening from Versailles to 
 the King s, at St. Cloud. The Diplomatic Corps are 
 there. We offer our congratulations on the birth of a 
 daughter to the Duke d Aumale ; and on the escape of 
 the Duke de Nemours from being shot by the Prince 
 de Joinville, when they were out shooting together 
 yesterday. It appeared, however, that he received 
 a slight wouud on the cheek. 
 
 The King honored me with some conversation. 
 The subject of it was the tone of the English press on 
 the Spanish marriage question. General Narvaez, 
 lately the Spanish Ambassador here, had returned to 
 Madrid, and some of his movements there had, it 
 seems, roused the English press anew, as His Majesty 
 said. He then expressed himself much to this effect; 
 that having refused for one of his sons (the Duke de 
 Nemours) the crowns of Belgium and Greece, and 
 having long resisted a marriage with the Queen of 
 
406 COURT AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 Spain, pressed upon the Duke d Aumale until his 
 refusal had become hardly respectful, he was now to 
 be called to account because another of his sons (the 
 Duke de Montpensier) had married the sister of the 
 Queen. He spoke of Lord Palrnerston in a few words 
 not necessary to repeat, it being 1 well known that the 
 King s preferences were for Lord Aberdeen, as Eng- 
 land s Foreign Secretary, rather than Lord Palmer- 
 ston, and that the former held M. Guizot in high 
 esteem. I listened to His Majesty s remarks with 
 attention, the topic being a prominent one. It 
 was not for me to comment on the question of two 
 crowns, or titles to them, concentrating in one Iloyal 
 House ; and as he only alluded to the English press, 
 I confined myself to remarking on its unrestrained 
 tone at all times and on all subjects. In that charac 
 teristic of it, I said, might be found the errors it so 
 often falls into in regard to my country. The King- 
 replied that he knew the nature of the English press, 
 as Europe did ; it would say anything*, and stop at 
 nothing. Yes, Sir, I rejoined, we know this on our 
 side of the Atlantic ; but the press will have its say in 
 free countries. It runs riot in ours ; and strong coun 
 tries can bear it. His Majesty wound up by saying" 
 that its clamor would not alter his purposes ; it did him 
 injustice as to his course towards Italy, Switzerland, 
 and Spain, but he would be true to his policy, which 
 was to respect the rights of other states, and be glad as 
 the condition of each grew better, as all would reap 
 the benefit, France among the rest. 
 
 September 29. Return to Paris after a month of 
 delightful weather spent at Versailles. Our visits to 
 the Palace, whenever inclination led us to see its 
 memorials of art in painting-, statuary, and every 
 
OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. 407 
 
 thing-; our walks through the gardens and grounds, 
 sometimes extending- them to the Grand and Petit 
 Trianon, will make this month memorable in our recol 
 lections of France. Troops passed in front of our 
 windows every morning , to music from mounted 
 bands ; but among incidents less usual, and therefore 
 less to be forg otten^ were the working-men in blouses 
 we would so often see in the gilded rooms of the 
 Palace, silently looking at the pictures, or wandering 
 about in the gardens. Not a picture, not a flower, 
 did they touch. They seemed trained to decorum. It 
 was the condition on which they seemed glad to be 
 there to derive pleasure, if not imbibe thoughts to bear 
 good fruit. Whole parties from the provinces would 
 also come to see the Palace and grounds, all France 
 appearing to have a pride in them. They were open 
 to all, free of expense, the humble as well as the high. 
 Artists of both sexes mig ht be seen there every day 
 in the week in fine weather, sitting on portable chairs, 
 copying any picture they chose, from the vast collec 
 tion in the rooms, or taking landscape views from the 
 gardens and grounds. 
 
 1 went daily to Paris by railway in case I had been 
 wanted at the Legation, returning to dinner by five or 
 six o clock, though the Secretary of Legation was 
 always there. It was the " dead season " for diplo- 
 .matic men in Paris, the King not being there, and 
 the members of the Cabinet partly out of town. 
 
 October 1. Again in Paris, I establish my resi 
 dence at 63, Hue de Lille, Faubourg* St. Germain. 
 We are fortunate in having part of an excellent hotel, 
 well situated. A few paces from the concierge, 
 bring you to Quai d Orsay, from which opens a view 
 of the gardens and Palace of the Tuileries ; as we had 
 
408 COURT AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 both before us from another point of sight, when first 
 at the Hotel Windsor, Rue de Rivoli. 
 
 October 5. Visit Princess Lieven, at her apart 
 ment, Rue St. Florentine, in the hotel once occupied 
 by Talleyrand. She invites me to her receptions, and 
 calls on my daughters. I had the honour of knowing 
 her in London when Minister there, while her distin 
 guished husband, then Count Lieven, was Russian 
 Ambassador in London, and had much agreeable inter 
 course at their house. We spoke of those days. I 
 learn that she holds the place in Parisian society to 
 have been expected from her talents and accomplish 
 ments, which were appreciated in London. 
 
 October 6. To-day the King enters his seventy- 
 fourth year. I hear that it is not expected of the Diplo 
 matic Corps to go to the Palace or leave cards there, 
 in compliment to the occasion a form usual in England 
 on the King s birthday. 
 
 October 9. At M. Guizot s last night. It was re 
 ception night. Many gentlemen were there, and the 
 Diplomatic Corps in part. One of them told me there 
 was great satisfaction on the part of the King* and 
 Cabinet at the new ministry in Spain, from Narvaez 
 being at its head. 
 
 In one of the rooms hung portraits of Louis 
 Philippe and the Queen, with a very few others. 
 Prominent among the few was General Washington s ; 
 and there was also one of Alexander Hamilton. 
 In conversation with M. Guizot about the latter, the 
 " Federalist " was spoken of; that great production of 
 three of the eminent men of our Revolutionary period, 
 to which Hamilton and Madison contributed so largely, 
 and which purports to propound, by the lights of history 
 and reason, the mixed principles in which the Consti- 
 
OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. 409 
 
 tution of the United States is founded. Of this pro 
 duction M. Guizot thus expressed himself: he said, 
 that "in the application of elementary principles of 
 government to practical administration, it rcas the 
 greatest work known to liim" I make a note of this 
 well -expressed eulogy of the " Federalist/ as M. 
 Guizot, besides being- Prime Minister of France, and 
 dealing- with the practical affairs of a g*reat nation, is 
 also deeply read in the science of government, ancient 
 and modern. His words are therefore the more to be 
 valued and remembered. 
 
 October 18. I was last night at Princess Lieven s, 
 by her invitation. She introduces me to Count 
 d Appony, the Austrian Ambassador, and the Countess 
 d Appony ; also to the Marquis Brignoli, Ambassador 
 from Sardinia, and the Marchioness Brignoli. Other 
 persons of distinction are there; amongst them, M. 
 Guizot. 
 
 A gentleman enters the rooms, towards whom many 
 eyes turn. He is advanced in life. Insig*nia of merit and 
 honor are seen on his person. As he advances towards 
 Princess Lieven, her manner at once indicates how 
 cordially he is welcomed. She extends her hand, which, 
 with a grace not to be exceeded, he raises to his lips. 
 It was Baron Humboldt, the philosopher, the man of 
 genius, the votary of science ; possessing 1 knowledge so 
 universal, with worth and modesty so great, that all 
 respect him all desire to do him honor. The Prussian 
 Minister, Count d Arnim, introduced me to him. I was 
 gratified at his remembering that he dined at my 
 Father s, in Philadelphia, long years ago, when on his 
 way to enter upon his travels in Mexico and South 
 America, with Montufan and Bonpland. And I can 
 remember that his conversation on that occasion, 
 
410 COURT AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 showed an acquaintance with English literature which 
 made its impression on all at table. He spoke to me 
 of Mr. Prescott, our historian, in the highest terms ; 
 saying* that his fame was higher perhaps in Germany 
 than in England, justly as he was appreciated in Eng 
 land. I understood that this illustrious philosopher 
 was near his eightieth year. He is now in Paris, to 
 attend the sitting s of the National Institute, and receives 
 the most distinguished attentions. 
 
 October . Dine at the Marquis Brignoli s, Sar 
 dinian Ambassador. A large and brilliant dinner. 
 The Pope s tendency towards reforms in government, 
 is spoken of. At ten o clock go to the soiree of 
 Countess d Appony, where a good portion of the dinner 
 company also go. 
 
 October 21. Dine with our American friend, Dr. 
 Daniel, of Georgia, at the Trois Freres, Palais Royal. 
 He crossed the sea with us from New York, with a 
 son and daughter; the latter winning* the esteem of 
 my daughters, as of all who knew her; the son full of in 
 tellectual promise, but lost to his family by having fallen 
 in a duel in Georgia after he returned from France. 
 
 October 28. At the King s reception last night at 
 St. Cloud. His Majesty talked to me about our affairs 
 in Mexico. He began by asking what were my ac 
 counts from the United States. Good, I said, as to 
 the success of our army in Mexico. Yes : that I per 
 ceive, he said : it is nothing so far but glory for your 
 arms; but what of peace? I am thinking of that. 
 When will you have peace ? that is my wish. I wish 
 it as the friend of the United States. Your Majesty 
 cannot wish it more than we do, I replied; but we 
 must have it on just terms. War, he rejoined, was 
 always bad, and Nations did not get from it what 
 
OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. 411 
 
 they expected, but only injured each other, as you 
 and Mexico are doing-. But, I remarked, when one 
 Nation has been aggrieved by another, as we think we 
 have been by Mexico, and can get no redress, what 
 is to be done ? War with her, he again said, could 
 do us no good, and reiterated his opinion on the in- 
 utility of wars. I remarked, that Mexico had struck 
 the first blow in this war, and asked his Majesty if he 
 would permit me to express frank opinions. Certainly, 
 he said ; it was what he was doing-, and in the most 
 friendly manner. I then said that our error had been 
 in submitting- too long to indignities from Mexico, and 
 that had my country acted, as France acted ten years 
 ago, when his gallant son, the Prince de Joinville, was 
 sent with Admiral Baudin to Vera Cruz to obtain redress 
 at the cannon s mouth, for fewer affronts, as we believed, 
 than the United States had received, we would probably 
 have had no war at all with her. The King s comment 
 upon this was, that France did not get what she sought 
 by it, after all. Pie went into no particulars, but passed 
 to the peculiarities of the Spanish race, as seen in 
 history, and seen very memorably when Bonaparte 
 overran Spain. He beat the Spaniards in the field ; 
 trampled on them ; but like grass under the foot, it rose 
 up again when you took your foot off. Two hundred 
 thousand Frenchmen found graves in Spain at his 
 bidding. I said I was sure His Majesty did not mean 
 to identify the conduct of the United States with 
 Bonaparte s in Spain, who made little scruple of avow 
 ing- his project of sheer conquest against the known will 
 of the Spaniards. By no means, he said, but only that 
 he thoug ht we should find the Mexicans as hard to 
 deal with, as Bonaparte found the Spaniards. I dis 
 sented, with all deference, as our cause was wholly 
 
412 COURT AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 different, and because we had not yet sufficiently used 
 our strength against Mexico; that hitherto, after every 
 victor}^, our army had paused to hold out the olive- 
 branch ; for all which we got no other returns than 
 defiance. To this effect were my remarks. The King- 
 still dwelt upon peace. It was the topic constantly 
 coming- back to him. I had no aim to change his 
 opinions, my only aim being to do justice to my 
 country ; the King s feelings towards which were con- 
 stantty expressed. 
 
 Count Walewski, late Minister from France to 
 La Plata, having returned to Paris on the raising of 
 the blockade by England in those waters, through the 
 interposition of the British Minister, Lord Howden, 
 and there being rumors that the Count had come back 
 under a hope that France would send a considerable 
 force to that country, six thousand troops, the 
 rumor said, my conversation with the King seemed 
 to present the opportunity of alluding to this subject. 
 The spirit of His Majesty s remarks about Mexico, 
 pointed to the improbability that such a body of 
 French troops would be sent there by France ; and so 
 I ventured to intimate. You are right, was his 
 reply : I shall not send six thousand men there, nor 
 six hundred, nor one man. I said I was glad to hear 
 it, and would let my Government know it ; and hoped 
 I might be able to add that the blockade would be 
 raised on the side of France, as it had been by Eng 
 land, the commerce of the United States being 
 interested in its complete removal. The King was 
 not so definite on this point; the subject, he said, 
 was subjudice between the Governments of France 
 and England. 
 
 October 30. I receive a letter from Mr. Prescott, 
 
OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. 413 
 
 which states that for some years he has been col 
 lecting- manuscripts from the different capitals of 
 Europe, to illustrate the history of Philip the Second 
 of Spain. He has ascertained, it also states, that the 
 papers of Cardinal Granville, comprising 1 an important 
 mass of documents hearing 1 upon his investigations, 
 are at Besangon ; and that he has, under this infor 
 mation, sent an agent there to examine the archives. 
 His ag*ent learns that the papers have been removed 
 to Paris, and are in course of publication by the French 
 Government, but will not be on sale. Under these 
 circumstances, Mr. Prescott goes on to state, that a 
 friend of his in Paris, Count de Circourt, having- en 
 couraged him to believe that an application by me to 
 the French Government for a copy of the papers 
 might be favourably received, I consent at once to 
 make the application ; and accordingly I address a 
 note to the Minister of Public Instruction on the sub 
 ject. Almost on the next day I receive an answer 
 from the minister, M. Salvandy, complying with my 
 request, accompanied by six quarto volumes, com 
 prising the whole collection of Cardinal Granville s 
 papers. I cause the volumes to be forwarded to Mr. 
 Prescott, in Boston, appreciating this prompt homage 
 to letters on the part of the King s Government, under 
 my official application, and I inform our Government 
 of the fact. 
 
 November 5. Dine with the Minister of Foreign 
 
 O 
 
 Affairs. It was my first dinner there, and first at the 
 house of any member of the French Cabinet. The 
 company was very large, perhaps forty or more, all 
 gentlemen, and nearly all official persons, consisting of 
 the home ministers, foreign ministers, and others. 
 The venerable Humboldt appeared to be the only per- 
 
414 COURT AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 son present not official. The official persons were all 
 announced by the servants under their titles of office. 
 This is not done in England, or was not in my day, 
 in regard to the home ministers. These, when of the 
 
 C3 / 
 
 nobility, are announced by their titles ; when not,, by 
 their names simply. The difference may arise from 
 different national customs in small matters as in great ; 
 or it may be that the English prefer to be designated 
 by the family patent of dignity, as more durable than 
 titles of office so apt to be fleeting. 
 
 In going in to dinner, M. Guizot led the way. I 
 did not perceive under what other observances a com 
 pany so large entered ; nor is it material. All pro 
 bably went in and were arranged under forms known 
 to all, an attention to which prevents confusion. The 
 porcelain and silver appeared to be marked with the 
 official stamp of the Foreign Office. At night the 
 drawing-rooms were fully attended, ladies coming in 
 large numbers as well as gentlemen. 
 
 Before going in to dinner, the company being a 
 good while in assembling, I had conversation with 
 Baron Humboldt. He hoped we would soon make 
 peace with Mexico ; we were the stronger party, and 
 could afford to stop ; he felt for Mexico ; he remem 
 bered his early visit to that fine country, so rich in 
 nature s gifts. I said we should hardly stop, I 
 thought, until we got California, as due to the ex 
 penses the war had put us to, and our provocations 
 to it, as we viewed the subject. The venerable Baron 
 said he was not acquainted with the merits of the dis 
 pute, but it struck him that England seemed careless 
 under our advances in that region ; to which my reply 
 was that, as regarded the future commerce of the 
 Pacific, we sought no more than our just share with 
 England and other nations. 
 
OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. 415 
 
 November 8. We dine at Mr. Ridgway s, a fellow- 
 townsman and friend from Philadelphia, who has come 
 to Paris and taken a hotel in Rue de Varennes, Faub. 
 St. Germain, where, with Mrs. Ridgway, as the grace 
 ful head of his house, they give their attractive enter 
 tainments. After dinner we go to the grand French 
 Opera, where we see Cento. 
 
 November 13. We were at M. Guizot s reception 
 last night. The rooms were full; the Diplomatic 
 Corps and members of the Cabinet largely attending , 
 with many others. The mother of the minister was 
 present, and his two daughters. One of them pre 
 sented strangers to their venerable grandmother, who 
 did not rise from her chair, appearing" to be much ad 
 vanced in years ; and I could not avoid observing in 
 M. Guizot s manner towards her a courteous, I had 
 almost said pious, reverence. To me this was 
 touching, in a son whose own talents, with few other 
 aids, had raised him to the premiership of this great 
 nation ; a sphere in which he was daily encountering 
 the ablest men of France in debate, in the Chambers, 
 with consummate ability. From this reception we go 
 to the British Embassy, where there is a large assem 
 blage. The Princess Lieven is there. I hear 
 whispers that she resides in Paris, at the instance of 
 the Emperor Nicholas, as an informal ambassadress, 
 (sub rosa,) having succeeded to much of the confidence 
 her husband enjo} f ed at the hands of the Emperor 
 Alexander, whilst Russian A.mbassador in London ; 
 but the whispers are faint as I catch them. Appear 
 ances at her establishment, Rue St. Florentine, would 
 seem to indicate no more than eminent private life. 
 
 November 15. I was last night at the King s, at 
 St. Cloud, and held conversation with His Majesty, 
 
416 COURT AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 somewhat more full than usual, about Mexico and 
 other things, he, of course, inviting- it. 
 
 Authentic details being- known here of the battles of 
 Contreras, Churubusco, Molino del Key, and Chapul- 
 tepec, which ended in General Scott s entry into 
 Mexico, the King- began by asking-, " What news of 
 peace, Mr. Minister ?" I answered that I feared it 
 was farther off than when I last had the honor of 
 talking- with His Majesty on the subject ; that the 
 Mexicans not only rejected our offers of peace, but 
 violated an armistice, granted by General Scott when 
 on the eve of entering their city ; they had turned the 
 interval of suspended hostilities to their own account, 
 by strengthening- the city with fresh troops and other 
 wise, while our army, reduced still lower by the killed 
 and wounded in these sharp battles, received no in 
 crease whatever ; thereby causing- a further and need 
 less effusion of blood on our side before the American 
 banner was planted in their capital ; that such conduct 
 had not only prostrated once more the hopes of peace, 
 but created a feeling- in the United States for carrying- 
 on the war more effectively. 
 
 The King s first words were those of Polonius : 
 
 " Beware 
 
 Of entrance to a quarrel ; but, being in, 
 Bear it, that the opposer may beware of thce." 
 
 I thanked His Majesty for these words from the 
 great poet of our language : they applied in all things 
 to my country just now. I would not forget them. 
 We had been slow to go to war with Mexico ; we de 
 sired to avoid it ; but the time had come when there 
 would probably be an exertion of force on our side 
 which would be likely to warn her for the future. 
 The King replied that this might be burdensome, if not 
 
OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. 41? 
 
 exhausting , to us. I thought not ; nothing would be 
 considered burdensome while vindicating- our rights. 
 But what of your finances? They are ample, I re 
 joined ; they had not been much drawn upon as yet, 
 although all the supplies of our army since entering 
 the territories of Mexico had been fully paid for in 
 cash from our own army-chest ; but henceforth, perhaps, 
 the enemy might be made to bear some of the cost, in 
 the hope that an appeal in that form might operate in 
 favour of peace. Although His Majesty commenced 
 with the apt quotation I give, he soon reverted to his 
 favourite theme of peace. Whatever might be our 
 power, he devoutly wished for peace, as the friend of 
 the United States ; not that he was the foe of the 
 other party ; that was not his feeling ; it was not for 
 him to decide on the grounds of dispute between us ; 
 in all wars each side thought itself in the right. 
 Might we not, he asked, by drawing out our military 
 power, get too fond of war, and keep up large standing 
 armies to retain conquests if we made them ? though 
 it was not for him to predict results of any kind, nor 
 did he. I said there was little fear of our keeping up 
 larg e standing armies j our institutions were against 
 them, as well as the nature of our population, which 
 would be always likely to yield volunteer forces. Our 
 distance also from the great Powers of the Old World, 
 made large standing armies unnecessary. But, as 
 wars would happen, and as Mexico had forced this 
 upon us, as we believed, I asked the King whether 
 the prospects at present did not sug-gest ultimate views, 
 bearing favourably upon French interests, which His 
 Majesty could judge of better than I could. In the 
 commerce of the North Pacific, the United States or 
 England, I remarked, seemed destined to predominate ; 
 
 2 E 
 
418 COURT AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 at present we were ahead in the whale fishery, and 
 other branches of a growing* trade in those regions ; 
 and the blindness of Mexico was throwing" upon us 
 the obvious necessity of consolidating- our interests on 
 the shores of the Pacific from California to Oregon. 
 I spoke in no wrong- spirit towards England, with 
 whom our interests inculcated relations of the most 
 friendly g*ood will at all times, and such I had always 
 inculcated, but was only glancing 1 at a future that 
 mig ht be before us. 
 
 His Majesty g-ave no opinion as to the future pre 
 dominance of England or the United States in those 
 seas, thoug-h rather expressed a belief that our com 
 mercial flag- would prevail there ; he remembered 
 how we laid the foundations of early success by our 
 activity in the carrying- trade during- the wars of the 
 French Revolution ; as to France, she deprived herself 
 of benefits she might obtain in commerce, by being- 
 too restrictive ; but what were to be all the results 
 of the English policy, which had latterly g-one so 
 far the other way, seemed uncertain as yet ; he did 
 not defend monopolies : free trade, with some regula 
 tion, being the best. It was to this effect he ex 
 pressed himself. 
 
 The Mexican war was lost sight of in what the King 
 had been saying on commercial policy ; and as it was 
 among my instructions to get better terms in trade 
 with France than existed, she still keeping up heavy 
 duties on our productions, while we have been reducing 
 ours on hers, I improved the opportunity of alluding 
 to this subject. Bringing up one item, I expressed a 
 hope that the tobacco monopoly might be made to 
 give way for the sake of our Southern States, in some 
 of which that commodity had always been grown, and 
 
OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. 410 
 
 could be produced in much larger quantity. Consider 
 ing* the present consumption of tobacco in France, I 
 could riot avoid the conclusion that if our tobacco were 
 admitted into the country under a moderate duty, its 
 increased consumption would so augment importation 
 as in the end to make amends to France even in re 
 venue for the loss of the monopoly. It was so I spoke ; 
 but His Majesty did not acquiesce. The monopoly 
 yielded more than a hundred millions of francs, he 
 said, in annual value, and he was not prepared to say 
 what would be the effect of a change. Besides, even 
 were he disposed to think well of it, that would make 
 no difference ; his was but " a voice in the wilderness, * 
 and a public conviction long* entertained in France on 
 matters of trade was not to be easily chang ed. 
 
 My hopes for onr tobacco were in some degree 
 damped by these remarks from this source. I did 
 not, however, consider the subject as put to rest, mean 
 ing- to return to it again with the King s Minister for 
 Foreign Affairs, whose enlightened mind I knew ; but 
 I dropped the conversation about it at the Palace. It 
 would have been out of place in me to originate this 
 part of the conversation ; but the King* opened the way 
 to it, and I was aware of the business mind and habits 
 of His Majesty ; knew that he was industrious ; looked 
 into every branch of the public administration ; in 
 formed himself of every thing, seeking out details as 
 well as principles; and therefore naturally inferred 
 that his experience and knowledge, gained throughout 
 the vicissitudes of an eventful life in various countries, 
 would predispose him but the more to seek truth upon 
 the throne. The King beckoned me to the chair next 
 to him when he began the conversation ; this memo 
 randum of which will come under the notice of my 
 
 2 E 2 
 
420 COURT AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 Government. Generally he stands while in conversa 
 tion with the foreign ministers. 
 
 o 
 
 In mine with him this evening- relating- to Mexico, 
 I w r as led to infer, but it was only an inference, that 
 he silently desires our success, now that he thinks the 
 war is sure to g-o on ; but that he is distrustful of our 
 power to command success to the extent we suppose. 
 
 November 16. Dined yesterday at M. Rumpft s, 
 charge d affaires of the Hanse towns, who entertained 
 the Diplomatic Corps. He married an American lady, 
 which seems a link to rny country. If this may have 
 led to the commencement of friendly relations between 
 us in Paris, his own worth strengthens them. After 
 dinner I go to Mr. Walsh s. 
 
 November 19. We dine at M. Hotting tier s, the 
 eminent banker, long* known in Paris for his friendly 
 hospitality to Americans, and his just estimate of our 
 country. In conversation in the course of the evening- 
 on the state of public opinion in France, outride of 
 partisan circles, it was stated, as a g-ood omen of the 
 financial condition of the country, that the larg-e loan of 
 upwards of three hundred millions of francs, authorized 
 by the Chambers at the close of the session, had g-one 
 off well, notwithstanding- the manner in which opposi 
 tion papers assailed the terms. The fact was mentioned 
 as showing- public confidence in the Government, and as 
 auspicious to the further prosperity of the country, the 
 loan being* for the benefit of the public works. It was 
 said that the terms were thought fair by first-class 
 business men who had taken no part of the loan. 
 
 November 26. At St. Cloud last night, with my 
 daughters. All who were there were specially invited. 
 It was not a very large assemblage. It was given in 
 honour of the anniversary of the marriag-e of the King 
 and Queen, though not so announced in the invitation. 
 
OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. 421 
 
 Arriving at the Palace, we ascended the grand stair 
 case and moved about in the rooms where the company 
 were assembling-. In one were seen Gobelins tapestry, 
 representing- painting s with such perfect skill that they 
 might readily have been taken for the orig-irials. The 
 Royal Family were all present. The Duchess of 
 Orleans had by her side her two children, the Count de 
 Paris and Duke de Chartres, the former heir appa 
 rent of the French Throne. The Diplomatic Corps were 
 nearly all present; the King s Ministers, and others 
 connected with the court. The King- and Queen spoke 
 to all present with their usual cordiality, the latter using 
 words to my daughters of kindly import. Soon the 
 King- and Queen advanced, the King- with the Queen 
 on his arm, into a verdant passage or avenue, called 
 the orangerie, somewhat serpentine, which opened from 
 one of the rooms, and led I knew not whither, at first. 
 They were followed by the Royal Family and the rest 
 of the company, the ladies walking together two and 
 two, preceded by those of the Royal Family the 
 gentlemen all following in the same order. The 
 Duchess of Orleans and her young sons remained in 
 the rooms we left. The orangerie was partially lighted 
 up. Roses, jessamine, flowering shrubs and orange- 
 trees, were ranged on each side as we walked through 
 the middle. Its termination brought us into a theatre 
 annexed to the palace. This was brilliantly lighted up. 
 The company took their seats in the boxes, the King-, 
 Queen, and Royal Family going into the large box; in 
 front of the stage. The parterre was already filled 
 with military officers, or appearing to be such, in full 
 uniform. Music welcomed all as we entered the 
 threatre through the avenue of flowers and sweets. 
 The play was " Le Bouquet de Tlnfanta," a comic 
 
422 COURT AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 opera in three acts, followed by the u Hungarian 
 Dancers/ as an after piece. Between the two pieces, 
 the servants of the Palace, in their rich liveries, handed 
 refreshments to the company in the boxes. Good 
 humour prevailed, as if Thalia had suddenly descended 
 among- us on her wings. The King* seemed to forget 
 public solicitudes in an occasional smile which the Queen 
 shared. Others of the Royal Family joined with the 
 company in mirth more audible, as the actors drew it 
 out. The decorations of the theatre were of crimson 
 and gold, and the whole scene was beautiful. It was 
 quite late before we got home. 
 
 November 29. We go to-night to the reception 
 at St. Cloud. A large company, the Eoyal Family, 
 Diplomatic Corps, and others. The beautiful play 
 we had seen here a few nights ago was fresh in our 
 memories. The Queen receives all with the gentleness 
 and dignity ever belonging to her. 
 
 November 30. Attend the funeral of Mr. Tschann, 
 the Diplomatic Eepresentative of Switzerland. The 
 Diplomatic Corps attend ; also M. Guizot and some of 
 the King s Ministers, Two of the royal carriages were 
 there, and other attentions had been shown by the King, 
 grateful to the friends of the deceased. The funeral pro 
 ceeded from the domicile of Mr. Rumpft, charge d affaires 
 from the Hanse towns, and friend of the deceased. 
 
 December 21. Last night we were at Mr. Walsh s. 
 The party was large. Among those present were the 
 venerable Humboldt; both the Dupins; M. de Toc- 
 queville ; a grandson of Lafayette, in the person of 
 M. Oscar Lafayette; some of the De Kalb family, 
 whose French ancestors rendered gallant services in 
 our revolution ; and others of note in French society. 
 Many of our own country, including ladies, were there. 
 
OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. 423 
 
 The whole evening* went off well : the animated cour 
 tesy of our consul,, and kind attentions of the ladies of 
 his family to all present, making it agreeable to all. 
 There was much intellectual conversation, and much 
 that was sprightl}^ with music at intervals. 
 
 December 23. The King- held a reception at the 
 Tuileries last night, having- left St. Cloud for the season. 
 I took Mr, Bancroft, United States Minister in London, 
 here at present on a visit. The King- did not appear, 
 having 1 a bad cold. The Queen received everybody, 
 making- apologies for the King 1 with her accustomed 
 grace. All were in black, under a court mourning 1 for 
 the Archduchess Maria Louisa, Duchess of Parma and 
 widow of Napoleon. 
 
 December 25. At M. Guizot s last night, happy to 
 take Mr. Bancroft with me. Baron Humboldt was 
 there, most of the Diplomatic Corps and others.. 
 Among- the English present was Dr. Huet, of Trinity 
 College, Cambridge, to whom I was introduced ; a 
 person of high repute for learning and ability. He 
 spoke very highly of the works of our Mr. Wheaton 
 and Judge Story in the fields of jurisprudeuce and 
 public law, seeming familiar with them. 
 
 December 26. The near close of the year may be 
 a suitable time for noting down a few thoughts on the 
 state of parties, and condition of France, since iny 
 arrival in the summer. 
 
 I had hardly been a day at Havre before I heard of 
 the unpopularity of the King and his government. 
 When I got to Paris I found complaints against both 
 greatly increased. In official circles, and those in 
 intercourse with them, I received indeed, other im 
 pressions ; but out of these, discontent and crimination 
 were more or less heard. The press was pouring 
 
424 COURT AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 forth its daily fire upon all public measures. One 
 paper, and only one of account that I could at first 
 hear of, gave the ministers support. This was the 
 Journal des Debats. The general fault-finding- ap 
 peared to be coupled with distrust of the King. He 
 was accused of being selfish, hypocritical, crafty ; for 
 getting his promises, forgetting his duties to the 
 nation, in exclusive devotedness to the interests of his 
 family, and perpetuation of his dynasty. The Eepubli- 
 cans said he had deceived them, and the Legitimists 
 continued to be his foes. The Bonapartists had no sym 
 pathies with him, though the remains of the Emperor 
 had been brought from St. Helena in a frigate com 
 manded by the Prince de Joinville, and his statue 
 replaced on the column in the Place Vendome, equally 
 by his orders ; for those things were imputed to selfish 
 promptings. The Bonapartists, however, were few. 
 They did not exist as a party by any external symbols, 
 and if alive anywhere were necessarily against him. 
 All combined their voices to render Louis Philippe 
 unpopular, and draw down upon him suspicion and 
 hatred. At a great reform banquet held at the 
 Chateau Rouge, near Paris, where more than a 
 thousand persons were said to be at the tables, and 
 among them many members of the Chamber of De 
 puties, the acts of the Government since 1830 were 
 sweepingly condemned, and every unfavourable impli 
 cation was embodied against the King that ingenuity 
 could work up or party inflame. I heard of affiliated 
 societies throughout the country, simultaneous move 
 ments in which were to take place on his death as the 
 signal ; for it seemed admitted that his own reign was 
 not to be disturbed. At his death the movement was 
 to come on ; none professing to know what was to follow 
 
OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. 425 
 
 or who be uppermost. I heard of a society in Paris 
 holding- nocturnal meetings, where the sons of peers 
 might be seen, and denunciations heard against the 
 king and whole policy of his government, sometimes in 
 in terms polished but significant ; at others in the 
 French vernacular. 
 
 Seeking- for the causes of all this, I was brought to 
 a stand. Were they real ? If so, where should I find 
 the proofs of so many and such grave accusations? 
 It was not for me to take sides with any of the par 
 ties in France. I was only a looker-on. I desired 
 to make my inquiries in that spirit. Was France 
 going- down ? was her prosperity undermined ? was 
 taxation weighing- ruinously or heavily upon her ? had 
 her poor increased ? where was I to look for signs of 
 depression and misery ? Or was the King- a tyrant, or 
 trained in a school of idleness or vice, or g*oaded on by 
 a guilty ambition because looking- to the continuance 
 of his dynasty? Were the laws neglected, or the 
 people tongue-tied ? On the contrary, the King- and 
 his Ministers were governing through the laws. The 
 press was abundantly free, as witnessed by the un 
 sparing- attacks upon the King-, his Ministers, and 
 measures. If I looked to the country, instead of the 
 newspapers, or speeches at political banquets, I should 
 have thought I had come to a country abounding- in 
 prosperity of every kind and full of contentment. 
 France appeared as well off as could be expected of 
 any country where opulence, prosperity and power, 
 existing 1 on a large scale, must have drawbacks. None 
 seemed to doubt that her agriculture had improved, 
 and perhaps never was as good as at present ; that 
 her manufactures flourished and were flourishing ; 
 and it was shown, by statistical returns, that her 
 
426 COURT AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 foreign commerce and internal trade had been advanc 
 ing- more rapidly during- the present reign, than for half 
 a century anterior. Production was everywhere in 
 creasing, and tranquillity everywhere prevailed. If 
 alleged that a large army kept her tranquil by being 
 ready to enforce the laws, though of their effective 
 execution otherwise I heard no complaints, the army 
 she maintained was not larger in proportion than that 
 of other great continental Powers, upon whom she 
 had to keep watch, as they kept watch on her. If 
 taxes were heavier than sometimes when Napoleon was 
 in his glon r , they derived no aid, as then, from the 
 contributions of conquered states to his military chest 
 and other wants of his Imperial Treasury ; besides 
 that taxes in this King s time have been augmented by 
 calls for great public works, which when completed, 
 will add to the permanent riches and strength of 
 France ; as the fortifications round Paris, recently 
 constructed at heav\ r cost, will add to its security. 
 The loan of three hundred and fifty millions of francs 
 raised to make good the Government s portion of the 
 money to be applied towards the public works, had 
 shown the pecuniary ability of the country, in the fact 
 that more than a thousand millions of francs were sup 
 plied by individual subscription and payments. 
 
 The increase of Paris had been great and striking 
 during his reign. All agreed to this. Entire new 
 streets and avenues were built up. Ancient gardens 
 had given place to rows of lofty houses. The Champs 
 Ely sees, rural in appearance a few years ago, were 
 fast becoming part of the city. Other parts, old or 
 unsightly, had been renovated and improved so that, 
 with all that Napoleon did for Paris, this King, it was 
 said, had done more, except in setting up trophies of 
 
OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. 427 
 
 war. He had asked for no new Palace. He had, in 
 effect, digested himself of them all. He no longer 
 used Versailles as a residence for himself, or any of 
 his family ; but had converted it, partly at his own 
 expense, into a, grand museum, where memorials of 
 the history of France, her statesmen, warriors, king s, 
 philosophers, authors, poets, her names of renown in 
 all fields, from the earliest times to the present, may 
 be seen and their examples studied. 
 
 Her electoral law is very bad. It is a contrast to 
 much else indicating 1 advancement and liberality. Two 
 hundred thousand voters for choosing 1 the whole repre 
 sentative body of a nation so populous, spirited and 
 free, was a mockery upon representation. Yet it is 
 not very long- since free England chose her House of 
 Commons by voters not greatly exceeding 1 these in 
 number ; and if the meliorations brought about in 
 France of late, formed any rule for the future, it might 
 not unreasonably be inferred that the number of her 
 electors would in good time be adequately enlarged, to 
 meet the new age she was in and her own wishes for a 
 better electoral law. England petitioned and clamored 
 for parliamentary reform, and continued to abuse her 
 rulers for not granting- it, more than half a century 
 before getting 1 what she now has. 
 
 The King is beset with complications and dangers. 
 This must be the case with any King of France. It 
 is difficult to be king and republican on the same 
 throne. The French are not the people they were. 
 They have made large steps forward in political free 
 dom ] the ultimate fruits of the old revolution, and of 
 the constitutional governments or charters under which 
 they have lived since the revolution. They are bold 
 and impulsive. They will find fault with their rulers, 
 
428 COURT AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 when there is cause and when there is not. Thus does 
 England forever. Take any period of her prosperity ; 
 and the opposition, in Parliament and out of Parlia 
 ment, stoutly deny it all. They make out that she is 
 oppressed, ground down by taxation and debt, with 
 ruin staring 1 her in the face 3 from which nothing* can 
 save her but turning- out the ministers. So act the 
 United States under part} r spirit. You can always 
 prove any amount of corruption, folly, and every thing" 
 bad in government, if you adopt the outcry of the op 
 position. If Louis Philippe desires to perpetuate his 
 dynasty, what King- would not ? What did Napoleon 
 do for his family ? or rather what was it that he did 
 not do for all of them ? And if Louis Philippe aims 
 at continuing" one of his sons on the throne, by striving 
 to make the country prosperous by a pacific policy, 
 after the exhausting- wars France has gone through, 
 is that wrong ? His sons are not drones. They have 
 been well educated, are said to be intelligent, and 
 known to be brave. One charge against the King is, 
 that he appointed the Duke d Aumale Governor of 
 Algeria, because he was his son ; forgetting* that 
 among his qualifications is the gallantry he conspi 
 cuously displayed, in fighting against the fierce and 
 warlike natives of that land. 
 
 I cannot close without a glance at the Spanish 
 marriag e question as mingling with French politics 
 since I have been here. Some think war may grow 
 out of it between France and England, involving half 
 the world before it ends, the United States with the 
 rest ; for to that it might come in case of war. I am 
 not of this way of thinking. France would not begin 
 it 5 and is it to be imagined that England would stir 
 up a war for such a cause ; excite its flames because 
 
OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. 429 
 
 an ancient treaty* interdicted such a marriage ; when, 
 since that day, France and England have so changed 
 places in America, Asia, throughout the globe and 
 upon the ocean, as hardly to recognise each other, 
 from the preponderating gains of England ? That the 
 latter, with her sagacity, would provoke war for such 
 a phantom, seems incredible. The bare idea of it may 
 well excuse sensibility in Louis Philippe. 
 
 The foregoing thoughts are hazarded with all dis 
 trust, but in all sincerity. The substance of them has 
 been distinctly imparted to my government j more ex 
 tended on some points, less so on others. 
 
 December 28. Yesterday the King opened both 
 the Chambers in person by a speech, which he read. 
 I witnessed the ceremony from the box allotted to the 
 foreign ministers. Official persons, civil and military, 
 in great number, the appearance of the national guard 
 and troops, with other pageantry, made up an im 
 posing array ; and good order prevailed. When the 
 Queen entered the chamber, she was greeted with ex 
 clamations of Vive la Reine ! Vive la Heine ! The 
 King when he came ascended a platform, richly car 
 peted to receive him. As he approached his chair, 
 under a canopy facing the peers and deputies, they 
 all rose, as did all within the chamber. Vive le Eoi ! 
 broke from all parts of the assemblage. When he 
 acknowledged this by bowing, the same exclamations 
 were renewed. He then proceeded to read the speech. 
 
 It was not long, but comprehensive. Scarcity of 
 food no longer affected the country ; France had not 
 felt, as severely as some other States, the late com 
 mercial shocks j the great public works were advancing, 
 and, with the co-operation of the Chambers, would go 
 
 * Treaty of Utrecht, A.D. 1713. 
 
4.30 COURT AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 on, and in their completion, open new sources of pros 
 perity to the whole kingdom ; the receipts would 
 cover the expenditures under all the ordinary heads ; 
 the duty on salt would be reduced, and the postage 
 on letters lessened ; the relations of France with 
 foreign Powers inspired a confidence that the peace of 
 the world would not be interrupted, these were among 
 the things announced. He said, the more he advanced 
 in life, the more did he feel it his duty to consecrate 
 to the service of his country all the energy still left to 
 him in the midst of agitation and blind passion, he 
 was supported by the conviction that France possessed, 
 in her constitutional monarchy, the means of sur 
 mounting all obstacles, and satisfying all the material 
 and moral interests of her people ; and he concluded 
 with exhorting all to join in maintaining social order 
 and public liberty as guaranteed by the charter. 
 
 1848. 
 
 January 8. Attended M. Guizot s reception last 
 night. One of the ministers told me that the famous 
 Arab chieftain, Abd-el-Kader ? who so long* stood out 
 against the French arms in Algeria, was about to 
 come to Paris, under permission from the French 
 Government ; but that it would not allow him to go 
 to Egypt, which was his desire. 
 
 The late letter of the Duke of Wellington, on the 
 little difficulty the French would have in landing an 
 army on the shores of England with the aid of steam, 
 was spoken of in the rooms. I talked about it with 
 two Englishmen who were present, who both reg-retted 
 its publication. It was addressed to a general in the 
 British service, Sir John Burgoyne, written with no 
 view to publication ; but by some mischance got into 
 print. The veteran warrior unbosoms himself to his 
 
OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. 431 
 
 military friend, and seems to do it with a comprehen 
 sive eye. Something 1 , perhaps, is to he set down to 
 the account of the duke s uneasy feeling 1 at seeing* his 
 country less prepared than he thinks she ought to be. 
 Yet one of the Englishmen drew hope from what the 
 duke himself says in the letter : namely, that if the 
 army were increased by as much as half a million 
 would pay for, and militia organized and trained to 
 the number of 150,000, he would himself, with all the 
 modern facilities for transporting* and con centra ting- 
 troops, be willing 1 to engage for the defence of England 
 on her own ground. 
 
 January . Yesterday we dined at Mrs. Haight s, 
 of New York, now residing in Paris ; a dinner kindly 
 given to us. The company, Americans, French and 
 English; so well composed as to make the whole 
 evening* pass off very agreeably. 
 
 January 9. This evening I dined at the Duke de 
 Gazes Grand Eeferendary of France. The dinner very 
 large, consisting chiefly of official persons. English 
 gentlemen were there, the Duke having formerly been 
 French Ambassador in London. 
 
 M. Guizot was of the company. I spoke to him on 
 the case of Brown, a seaman from Boston, confined in 
 jail in Pans on a heavy criminal charge, on whose 
 behalf I had already written an official note to the 
 French Government. I intercede for him informally 
 by a few words before going* into dinner. I adii)it 
 that appearances are against him but that, on examin 
 ing the particulars of his case, I found extenuating 
 circumstances, as they struck me and I plead for 
 mercy. The minister says he will consider the case. 
 
 January 16. Dined yesterday at the Prussian Min 
 ister s, Baron D Arnim. The Diplomatic Corps in 
 
432 COURT AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 large number, nearly all the French Ministers, and 
 other persons of prominence, made up the distinguished 
 company. 
 
 In the drawing-room I had conversation aside with 
 two official persons, which had reference to some of 
 the public men here. Want of time alone would pre 
 vent a memorandum of it. It was very piquant ; and 
 these things had often better not he written down. 
 Our host, besides being- distinguished as a diplomatist 
 and otherwise, was so obligingly courteous to me, in 
 my early intercourse with the Diplomatic Corps here, 
 that I cannot forbear this mention of it. 
 
 January 20. Last night we were at M. Guizot s 
 reception. Next we went to the Countess of Sand 
 wich s, and afterwards to the Turkish Ambassador s. 
 M. Guizot told me that Brown, the Boston seaman, 
 would be liberated. " He is a bad fellow, we fear," he 
 said; a but, from the report of the case to me, there 
 are some extenuating circumstances ; and we desire to 
 give every consideration to your wishes." I thanked 
 him ; and so ends that case. 
 
 January 27. At the Tuileries last night. King*, 
 Queen, and royal family present^ the assemblage a 
 very large one peers, deputies, and many others, 
 attending in full number. All were in black, except 
 military officers and others in official costume, under a 
 court mourning for Madame Adelaide, the King s 
 sister, who died the last of December. When this 
 event took place, cards were already out from the 
 King for a grand dinner to the Diplomatic Corps and 
 high officers of State, as is usual at the Tuileries at the 
 beginning of the year. But the dinner was imme 
 diately given up by countermanding notices to us all. 
 
 Last night was the first occasion of our reassem- 
 
OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. 438 
 
 bling- at the Palace since this death occurred. The 
 If ing- having* spoken to me, as to others of the Diplo 
 matic Corps, I afterwards passed on into another 
 room, preparatory to going home. While talking* with 
 a gentleman there, a message came to me by the Duke 
 de Rochefoucault, one of the aides of the King-, 
 informing* me that the King wished to see me. I re 
 turned with the duke to the room where he still was. 
 His Majesty at once opened a conversation ahout our 
 affairs in Mexico. " How do you go on with Mexico 
 now, Mr. Eush ?" the King asked. I took the grounds 
 I had formerly taken, reinforcing them under new 
 points presented in the President s message to Congress 
 since my last conversation with His Majesty. In this 
 conversation, the King seemed to be awake, for the 
 first time, to the success of our arms. He said nothing 
 of our inability to take and hold the country, which I 
 said we should probably do, until the altered tone of 
 Mexico would justify us in relaxing our hold. The 
 King heard my remarks without making any comment ; 
 but did not swerve from his doctrines of moderation 
 and peace. He brought the conversation to a close 
 by reiterating his confidence in the wisdom and policy 
 of that course for all nations in the present improving 
 state of the world. 
 
 January 29. We were at a musical party last night 
 at Mine. Hottinguer s, where Castellan sings. We 
 went afterwards to a similar party at the Countess of 
 Sandwich s, where we heard Alboni and Persiani, two 
 other fashionable singers. 
 
 January 30. Dined yesterday at the Turkish Am 
 bassador s. The dinner immense sixty probably at 
 table, if not more ; the whole French Cabinet, as far 
 as I could observe ; the whole Diplomatic Corps, witfy 
 
 2 F 
 
434 COURT AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 other official persons, and persons not official; but pro 
 minent otherwise. The Ambassador and his suite re 
 ceived the company, as all were successively announced, 
 with a dignity and grace very striking-. The whole 
 arrangements of the dinner were according to European 
 forms ; and no dinner of the same size could have gone 
 off better. 
 
 February 2. We were last night at the reception 
 of Count and Countess de Circourt ; he known to high 
 public and scientific men in Paris, and the friend and 
 correspondent of our Prescott ; the Countess s conver 
 sation and accomplishments contributing to draw the 
 best intercourse to their rooms. We were often there, 
 and derived pleasure otherwise from their society ; and 
 I, advantage also, from his familiarity with French 
 affairs, and his kindly manner of imparting his know 
 ledge of them. 
 
 February 9. We were last night at a ball at the 
 Austrian Ambassador s, Count d Appony; the rooms 
 brilliantly filled, the Countess d Appony doing the 
 honours of the night most graciously ; the supper and 
 whole entertainment very distingue. 
 
 February 12. And last night we had a similar 
 entertainment at the British Embassy, the domicil 
 being even larger. A thousand or twelve hundred 
 were in the rooms, it was supposed. Dancing con 
 tinued until a late hour. The ample arrangements for 
 the supper and refreshments accommodated all ; and 
 the Marchioness of Normanby seemed not to tire in 
 her attentions to all. 
 
 February 14. We were this evening at M. Jolli- 
 vet s, a member of the Chamber of Deputies; the 
 apartments small, but fitted up beautifully. Nowhere 
 that we go in Paris do we see rooms alike. All differ 
 
OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. 435 
 
 In appearance and decorations ; yet all please the eye. 
 Mr. Walsh was one of the company. I talk with him 
 on French affairs. He thinks the Ministry in danger. 
 I listen the more to him, from his knowledge of France 
 and some of her chief public men. He is full of in 
 formation, derived from a long- residence here. 
 
 J O 
 
 February . Dined with the Minister of Marine, 
 the Duke de Montebello. The company large and 
 official. The members of the French Cabinet were 
 announced by their titles of office, as at the dinner of 
 the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Napoleon s career 
 makes known to us the origin of our entertainer s 
 hereditary title, which he wears so becomingly. He 
 is established in a fine hotel. The same may be said 
 of all the residences of the French Cabinet the Go 
 vernment providing* them. 
 
 After dinner, I go to the reception of the Minister 
 of Finance ; after that, to M. Guizot s. 
 
 February 18. Dined yesterday at M. Sauzefs, 
 the President of the Chamber of Deputies ; a large 
 official dinner, at which the Foreign and Home 
 Ministers were all, I believe, present, with many 
 others. 
 
 I sat next to M. Guizot, and was led to speak of 
 our prospects in the Pacific since our successes in 
 Mexico. I alluded to the Mediterranean as a 
 "French Lake," according to Napoleon s term, and 
 to Selden s " Mare Clausum," as doctrine the English 
 liked. The Minister said little under these heads, but 
 what he did say harmonized with the King s policy ; 
 peace, and no aggression. 
 
 February 20. At the Tuileries last night, where 
 there was a large assemblage. Many persons of rank 
 and power were distinguishable in the rooms. 
 
 2 F 2 
 
436 COURT AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 Amidst the restraints usual at the Palace, it was, 
 nevertheless, observable that conversation seeming 1 to 
 be earnest, in subdued tones, was going on in little 
 groups, where Cabinet Ministers and military officers 
 might be recognised. The King, not far from whom I 
 was standing, advanced to me, and alluding to the 
 approaching banquet in Paris, expressed himself thus : 
 " Order will be maintained. The Government has 
 taken every precaution, and we are under no appre 
 hension." 
 
 Leaving that subject, and referring to the rumour 
 that General Scott was under arrest and suspended 
 from his command in Mexico, the King remarked 
 that he knew nothing of the causes for this step ; but 
 that his military operations appeared to have been 
 skilful, and certainly the results must earn him glory 
 with his country as achievements of war. 
 
 February 21. At a reception of M. Thiers s last 
 night. It was small, but full of interest from the 
 topics we had, and the character and conversation of 
 this remarkable Deputy, Financier, Parliamentary 
 debater, and Historian. 
 
 February 22. We were last night at an invited 
 party at the Duchess de Hochefoucault s. The Diplo 
 matic Corps were there, and others. The party not 
 large, but very agreeable. The Keform banquet, so 
 close at hand, was spoken of; but no one seemed under 
 any uneasiness. 
 
 From this party we go to a large ball at the Prince 
 de Ligne s, the Belgian Ambassador. The whole 
 Parisian world of fashion seemed to be there. Not the 
 Arab chief himself, Abd-el-Kader, but one of his train, 
 was seen among the circles, richly dressed in the cos 
 tume of his native land. He was pallid and silent; 
 
OF LOUIS PHILIPPE. 437 
 
 but a wounded restless spirit was discernible in his dark 
 eye. The glitter of a European ball was evidently 
 lost upon him. The banquet was talked of in inter 
 missions of the dance, but in no feeling- of apprehension, 
 and I continue to hear that the Government feels con 
 fident that order will be maintained. 
 
 February 23. A Revolution has come like a 
 thunder-clap. All Paris in consternation ; barricades, 
 troops, cannon, mobs, cavalry in quick movement, 
 some in full gallop, wheeling* into one street and issuing 1 
 from another ; numerous heads looking 1 out from upper 
 windows in amazement. 
 
 I went to the office of the Legation, Rue de 
 Matignon, at one o clock. Crossed the bridge by the 
 Tuileries, the one at Place de la Concorde being- blocked 
 up by the military. Soldiers and crowds of people all 
 along the streets. Stay half an hour at the office. 
 Leave it to go home, the Secretary of Legation, Mr. 
 Martin, accompanying me. First send Mr. Stanton to 
 my house the shortest way he can get there, to tell my 
 daughters not to go out in the carriage. As we turn 
 into Rue St. Honore, increasing crowds are seen, and 
 more troops. Some of the people were breaking lamps. 
 As the troops press towards the crowd to keep it back, 
 they cry out Vive la Ligne ! the crowd wanting to 
 propitiate the troops by this cry. The distance was 
 considerable to my house ; and as we had the river to 
 cross, we could only get along slowly. Sometimes the 
 crowd obstructed our way entirely. At length we 
 reached the archways leading to the bridge by the Tuil 
 eries. Here we found all closed and guarded by troops. 
 
438 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 Mr. Martin makes known that I am the Minister of 
 the United States, and desire to get to my house. 
 The officer replies that his orders are positive to allow 
 no one to pass. It was no time to seek a permit from 
 the Government. I try a bridge further on, and in 
 that way reach home. Evening was now approaching. 
 Mr. Martin left me before I got home to return quickly 
 to the office, in case of danger to the papers of the 
 Legation, for all was uproar, and none could say what 
 was coming. 
 
 At ten at night I get a note from the Marchioness 
 of Wellesley, written under anxiety to know if I thought 
 she was safe in Paris. 
 
 Thursday, the 24th. Here at my residence, Hue 
 de Lille, we heard the noise of cavalry through the 
 night. Throughout the day (yesterday) our servants 
 were bringing in rumours of firing and bloodshed on the 
 other side of the river. All is rumonr and uncertainty. 
 People seem stunned. The fighting is said to be in 
 the direction of the Boulevards and Montmartre. Mr. 
 George Sumner, of Boston, came in to see us, and gave 
 graphic accounts of what was going- on. He said the 
 municipal guards were in great odium. This corps 
 fights for the King and Ministers. At five o clock I 
 walked over to Hotel Brighton, Rue de Rivoli, to see the 
 Marchioness of Wellesle} T , (originally) of Annapolis, 
 Maryland, and grand-daughter of Mr. Carroll. I found 
 it hard to get there. Place de la Concorde was lined 
 with cavalry and the municipal guards; the latter 
 mounted. Cannon was also placed in range. I told 
 the Marchioness I thought it might be best to leave 
 Paris, unless she had strong reasons for remaining* ; 
 but that, if she remained, I would be ready to afford 
 her the shelter of my Legation if desired. I caught 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 439 
 
 a rumour, while out, that the Ministers had all resigned, 
 M. Guizot alone remaining* until a new ministry could 
 be g-ot tog-ether. The Banquet was forbidden at the 
 last moment. Hence the suddenness with which the 
 bolt fell. At ten at nig-ht I drove over to the office of 
 the Legation. Crossed the bridge of the Invalides, 
 and met with no obstruction in that quarter. Found 
 all safe at the office. 
 
 February 25. The revolutionary movement ad 
 vances with inconceivable rapidity. Fighting-, blood 
 shed, dismay, everywhere. Constant fighting- all last 
 night. All manner of reports. No coming- at facts 
 except that the Ministers have certainly resigned. 
 Another report is, that the King sent for Count Mole 
 yesterday to form a new Ministry ; but that would not 
 do, he not being- an oppositionist, and the troops of the 
 line having- shown reluctance to fire upon the people ; 
 some refusing- altog-ether. The national guards would 
 not go against the people. In this emergency the 
 reports say that General Lamoriciere rode through the 
 streets with his aides, declaring in the King s name, 
 that Odillon Barrot (prominent in opposition) was to 
 form a new ministry, and that M. Thiers would join 
 him. Another report is, that the Duchess of Orleans 
 had entreated the King 1 to let her accompany, on horse 
 back, Odillon Barrot and M. Thiers through the 
 streets, and appeal in person to the people ; but the 
 King would not consent. 
 
 Friday, the 25th. The belief seems to be that a 
 complete Eevolution has been effected, the people having- 
 the upper hand everywhere, and none of the troops or 
 national guards acting- anj long-er against them. They 
 are in possession of the Tuileries, made a bonfire of the 
 King s carnages, the King, Queen arid Eoyal Family 
 
440 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 escaping 1 through the gardens. I go to Quai d Orsay, 
 in front of my house ; see the people looking out 
 of the Palace windows 5 see them throwing furni 
 ture out of the windows; see them pass by the place 
 where I stood. They shout out, with guns and 
 sabres in their hands ; they display trophies brought from 
 the Palace, such as pates, cooked meats, bread, and 
 other eatables. Also caps, artificial flowers, and 
 other finery. Soldiers mix in with the people and 
 shout too. Some of the soldiers stick loaves of bread 
 on the points of their bayonets, holding them up exult- 
 ingly. Anxious to know how things are at the Lega 
 tion, I leave my stand at Quai d Orsay and attempt to 
 go there by the bridge of the Invalides, it being im 
 possible to cross any other. I go on foot. Arriving 
 at this bridge, I see an immense crowd on the other 
 side, women, as well as men, all hallooing, sing-ing, 
 dancing, and shouting. Some are rolling empty wine- 
 casks along the ground so says my servant George, 
 who is with me. Others hold them over their heads 
 with uplifted arms, sending forth louder shouts and 
 playing off antics, as if inflamed with drink. I do not 
 cross the bridge. On this side, broken squads of the 
 municipal guard are to be seen riding here and there, 
 and detachments of horse artillery hurrying, I know 
 not Avhere. All is wild disorganization. I return to my 
 house, after being baffled in this attempt to reach the 
 office, fatigued and glad to get home. 
 
 At home once more, Mr. Martin comes in with the 
 first assurance that every thing is safe at the office of 
 the Legation. He had been out the whole morning, 
 seeking information. His report is, that the Revolu 
 tion is over ; that the King signed an abdication re 
 luctantly, in favour of the Count de Paris, the Duchess 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 441 
 
 of Orleans to be Regent ; that she had gone to the 
 Chamber with the Count de Paris and her other young 
 son, the Duke de Nemours, accompanying- her ; that 
 on her way she was surrounded by the people, who did 
 not ill treat her ; that when she first entered the Cham 
 ber, things seemed somewhat encouraging to her, but 
 that soon afterwards all \vas dismay and terror. Odil- 
 loii Barrot made a short speech in her favour, or at 
 tempted it, but in vain ; the people, with muskets and 
 sabres, broke in tumultuously, said it was too late, got 
 into the seats of the members, threatened them, pointed 
 muskets at them, and drove them out ; Ledru Rollin 
 spoke, and Lamartine, but could hardly be heard 
 amidst the uproar. That the members fled in different 
 directions, some of the opposition members going off 
 with the people to the Hotel de Ville, where they set 
 up a Provisional Government, proclaiming it to be 
 Eepublican, and callfng out the names of the persons 
 to form it. That the Duchess of Orleans, with her 
 children and the Duke de Nemours, escaped with diffi 
 culty, but were safe ; and that the King and Queen 
 were supposed to have gone to St. Cloud, in the first 
 hackney-coach they could find, or gone off by railway to 
 Rouen, wishing to reach the coast, and cross to England. 
 The rest of the Royal Family had gone, nobody knew 
 where. Mr. Martin went on to state that all accounts 
 seemed to agree in things having gone favourably for 
 the King as soon as the people learned that Odillon 
 Barrot and Thiers were ministers ; that they considered 
 this the triumph of their cause ; they had carried their 
 point over King and ministers, and were rejoicing but 
 that afterwards, when the regular troops fired upon the 
 people from the garden of the Hotel of Foreign Affairs, 
 the tide turned j that this firing was not from any 
 
442 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 orders of the Government, but through some mistake ; 
 but it killed a good many of the people in that wide 
 street, exasperated all, and swelled their numbers ten 
 fold. They flew to arms from all quarters ; they neither 
 would, nor could, hear explanations when musketry 
 and cannon were roarino* fio-htino* was renewed with 
 
 O 7 O C 
 
 double fury ; the Tuileries came near to being 1 sacked 
 before the inmates could escape, and the Monarchy fell 
 to pieces. 
 
 I almost ask myself, Can this be a reality ? Only 
 on the nig ht of the twentieth I was at the Tuileries, the 
 King*, Queen, and Royal family feeling- secure in fan 
 cied strength. Every thing brilliant around them ; 
 ladies to have graced the highest, or any spheres; 
 functionaries of state, and military officers ; all the 
 patronage, all the honours, of a great monarchy in their 
 hands, its army in their service. So it was a week 
 ago. Now the King- and Queen are outcasts ; desti 
 tute for the present, and uncertain of their fate. The 
 others, all scattered and gone. 
 
 Many Americans call on us to-day under these as 
 tounding events. We talk them over. Some stay to 
 dine with us, Mr. Martin among them ; and we have 
 Mr. and Mrs, Coppinger, of Boston. At table the 
 topics are renewed. We compare notes of the marvel 
 lous rapidity of the movement and its results. Before 
 going to dinner, Mrs. Coppinger had assisted in making 
 a Flag of the United States for the Legation. I ex 
 press a hope that no necessity to use it would arise. 
 I had never used one, and had none. No outrages on 
 private property had as yet been committed, that I had 
 heard of, much less on the houses of Foreign Ministers, 
 during the raging of this tempest. On the contrary, 
 it was .stated that some of the fighting bands among 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 443 
 
 the people, on hearing that thieves had broken into a 
 shop to rob it, shot them on the spot. 
 
 February 26. The Kevolution, it would seem, is all 
 over. A Provisional Government was proclaimed yes 
 terday, late in the day, declared to be Republican, and 
 its members are announced in the morning- papers, as 
 follows : viz. Dupont (de VEure), Lamartine, Arago, 
 Ledru Rollin, Cremieux, Gamier Pages, Marie ; these 
 forming- the Executive Head. 
 
 Armand Marrast, Louis Blanc, Flocon, Albert, to 
 be Secretaries. 
 
 The Provisional Government by decree appoint 
 Dupont (de VEure) President of the Council, without 
 portfolio } Lamartine, Minister of Foreig-n Affairs ; 
 Cremieux, Minister of Justice; Ledru Rollin, Minister 
 of the Interior ; General Bedeau, Minister of War \ 
 Goudchaux, Minister of Commerce ; Carnot, Minister 
 of Public Instruction ; Marie, Minister of Public 
 "Works } General Cavaignac, Governor of Alg-eria ; 
 Gamier Pages, Mayor of Paris ; Flotard, Secretary- 
 General ; Colonel de Courtais, to be Chief in Command 
 of the National Guard. These appointments to be 
 provisional ; but the persons filling- them empowered to 
 act in all things needful. 
 
 Of the foregoing names, some were widely and fa 
 vourably known by their writings or otherwise ; and I 
 obtain through one of my countrymen, long a resident 
 in Paris, information as to others as yet less known. 
 
 The Provisional Government proceeds to perform as 
 many of the functions cast upon it as circumstances 
 will permit. It obtains the allegiance of the Army and 
 Navy ; secures for itself the existing agencies of the 
 late Government in Paris and throughout the depart 
 ments ; and does other things to impart immediate effi- 
 
444 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 ciency to its operations. The conduct of Lam ar tine 
 commands admiration from all. Already he has told 
 the people, from the front of the Hotel de Ville, 
 disregarding a thousand muskets levelled at him, that 
 they should not have the red flag 1 (for which they 
 clamoured) as the symbol of the new Republic ; but 
 the tri-colour, which had made the tour of the World 
 with glory, while the red flag* had only made the tour 
 of the Champs de Mars, trailed throug-h torrents of 
 blood. This made the muskets drop, saved Paris from 
 horrors, and inspires hope. 
 
 Admiral Baudin accepts the command of the fleet. 
 The war stores of all kinds at the Ecole Militaire have 
 been secured by the new Government ; and courts of 
 law recognize its authority. 
 
 The Bank of France has accepted bills drawn upon 
 it, promising- their payment in cash at maturity. 
 Shops are re-opening- in Paris ; and to-day it is stated 
 that Baron Rothschild is prepared to fulfil all his en 
 gagements towards the heavy loan effected by the late 
 Government. 
 
 Saturday, the 26th. On this same day Major 
 Poussin calls upon me. He makes an earnest appeal 
 to me to recognise the new Republic in my capacity as 
 Minister of the United States, and says it will be of 
 unspeakable service. He believes this, believes it 
 fully ; and knows, is sure, that my appearance at the 
 Hotel de Ville to make the recognition in that capa 
 city, will be very acceptable to the Provisional Govern 
 ment. He entreats me to take the step : to-day, if 
 possible ; if not, to-morrow. 
 
 It may be supposed that I was little prepared for 
 this call. The Revolution had been sudden in the ex 
 treme. Hardly could we believe our eyes in seeing a 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 445 
 
 Republic, where a Monarchy stood firm, apparently, a 
 week ago ; and which was only first attacked by force 
 five days ago. Were the barricades yet removed? 
 Frenchmen mig-ht think the Republic stood firm ; but 
 could the world believe it ? 
 
 I so expressed myself. Major Poussin tried to 
 obviate these objections, putting- forward as one 
 g round, that my taking- the step, would add immediate 
 strength from abroad to France in her new position. 
 Would I withhold my aid to Republicanism? Did 
 I not wish well to that cause ? Yes : he was sure 
 I did. 
 
 I did, was my answer ; but that was not the point 
 between us. Other considerations must be weighed. 
 I had no notice, as Minister of the United States even 
 of the existence of the Provisional Government. With 
 out that notice, to say no more, could I in my official 
 capacity take any step ? 
 
 He thought forms might be overlooked in a case of 
 such magnitude, giving- some of his reasons ; and, in 
 connection with them, told me that the members of the 
 Provisional Government had been agreed upon the 
 night preceding* the day they were announced at the 
 Hotel de Ville, viz., last Wednesday night. I need 
 not repeat all he said on that head. 
 
 Our interview closed by my telling- him I would re 
 flect on the subject, and that he should hear from me. 
 In the course of the interview, he mentioned new facts, 
 to show the energy with which the Provisional Govern 
 ment was acting, and how fast all classes were giving 
 in their adhesion to it. 
 
 The subject of Major Poussin s visit was not new to 
 my thoughts, though his visit was unexpected. My 
 surmise was, that he had not come without the know- 
 
446 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 ledge of the Provisional Government, but for obvious 
 reasons, had no authority to say so. I reflected on the 
 situation I was placed in. I had previously known 
 Major Poussin as an honourable Frenchman. When 
 a young* man, then in the French army, he accompa 
 nied General Bernard to the United States, soon after 
 Napoleon s downfall. The fame and abilities of Gene 
 ral Bernard, as a high officer in the engineer branch 
 
 / O o 
 
 of Napoleon s service commended him to rny Govern 
 ment, for the superintendence and construction of works 
 belonging to our national defences ; and Major, then 
 Captain, Poussiri was his young assistant in those im 
 portant operations. He then became a naturalized 
 citizen of the United States ; and I knew him then. 
 He was on all accounts entitled to my esteem ; and I 
 was in the best personal relations with him in Paris, 
 before the Revolutionary tornado which brought him 
 to me on this anxious errand for his country. Still, 
 my own judgment was to guide my steps. The re 
 sponsibilities of my public station were upon me. 
 What would my Country expect from me ? and what 
 did I owe to my Country under this emergency? 
 These were the questions I was to deal with. 
 
 I did not view the King s Government, just over 
 thrown, as did the opposition to it among the French. 
 I was aloof from their party conflicts. To have mingled 
 in them would have been improper. I was as a neutral. 
 I desired to think well of the late Government, rather 
 than ill I aimed at conciliating it in all just ways, as 
 befitting the diplomatic trust, and as tending to shed a 
 good influence on my steps as Minister, when seeking 
 to serve in France my Country and countrymen. As 
 long as the King was on the throne, I felt the pro 
 priety of this course, and pursued it. But the French 
 
FEENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 447 
 
 people were themselves the arbiters of the conduct of 
 their Government, and the sole judges of what form of 
 Government they would have. Whether a majority 
 of them could have had opportunities of expressing 1 a 
 preference for a Republic, in the first moments after 
 the Monarchy fell, was not an inquiry for me to pro 
 pound. The United States were a Republic. It was 
 their rule, in all their foreign intercourse, to acknow 
 ledge every new Government abroad, when seen to 
 exist de facto, without inquiring by what means it was 
 set up or what its form. I might be thought hasty in 
 inferring the new Government of France to be a 
 Government de facto, so very soon ; yet it was appa 
 rent to me, as to all, that it was exercising* the actual 
 powers of Government, in ways the most telling, with 
 none to thwart it. No party, no class, was moving- 
 against it. All seemed to acquiesce, silently, if not 
 share the enthusiasm that was rallying all to its sup 
 port, Would it be right or expedient in me to wait 
 for instructions before recognising- it ? A month, or 
 more, must elapse before instructions could reach me. 
 Was it for me to be backward, when France ap 
 peared to be looking- to us ? The Nation whose blood 
 flowed with ours in our Revolution, and whose sympa 
 thies in our cause were still a tradition, ever ready to 
 excite our sympathies for her ? Most especially would 
 these spring into life, when she announced herself to the 
 world as a Eepublic. I could not be blind to the satis 
 faction with which our People would regard her great 
 name as enlisted on the side of Republicanism. True, 
 I looked anxiously on so great a Republican experi 
 ment. Yet I was unwilling to scrutinize too closety, 
 at first, the considerations which might seern at war 
 with the hope of its full success. I therefore felt it my 
 
448 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 duty, after weighing 1 every consideration, to lend my 
 Representative name towards cheering- it on. I be 
 lieved I should have the approbation of the Govern 
 ment and people of the United States by anticipating- 
 instructions. The old feeling- of good will towards 
 France was still so much in the American heart, that 
 the formularies of diplomacy, founded in good sense 
 for the most part, would be grudgingly accepted as an 
 excuse for lukewarmness in their Minister when France 
 had started up before his eyes as a Republic. They 
 would hail its first birth, and hope for the best after 
 wards. With the more reason would they do this, when 
 so much of the high intellect, so many of the good names 
 and a portion of the great names, of France, were seen 
 to g-o with the Republic from the beginning-. 
 
 Thoughts like these decided me to act, not instantly 
 but promptly. Before the dinner-hour, I walked over 
 to the office of the Legation. The Secretary of Lega 
 tion was there, and two of my countrymen : one, Mr. 
 Corbin, of Virginia ; the other, my friend and fellow- 
 townsman from Philadelphia, Mr. Ridgway. I im 
 parted to them my decision, with a summary of the 
 reasons ; adding*, that I would forbear recognition 
 until hearing- from M. Lamartine that he is the organ 
 of the new Government with foreign Powers. From 
 the office of Legation I go to Major Poussin, Mr. 
 Corbin accompanying me. I inform him of my deter 
 mination, arid that the time will have arrived for acting 
 upon it when I am informed that M. Lamartine repre 
 sents the Provisional Government in its intercourse 
 with other nations. Major Poussin is unable to give 
 me any present assurance on this point, but supposes 
 there will be no difficulty. We talk about it, he 
 zealously urging the great importance of the step ; I 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 449 
 
 remarking- on the propriety of what I have said about 
 M. de Lamartine. 
 
 Sunday, February 27. Appreciating- the enlight 
 ened mind of our consul, Mr. Walsh, I communicate 
 to him, in a personal interview, the course I am about 
 to take. He concurs with me in the propriety of the 
 step. 
 
 Unwilling- to take it without the knowledge of the 
 Diplomatic Corps, not one of whom had I seen since 
 the Revolutionary whirlwind, I determine to inform 
 the Eng-lish Ambassador, and, after my interview with 
 Mr. Walsh, I call on the Marquis of Normanby. Meet 
 ing- Mr. Martin on the way, I invite him to g-o with me. 
 His well-trained judg-ment, concurring- with that of 
 Mr. Walsh in the propriety of the course I had re 
 solved on, gives me the united voice of my Legation 
 in its favour. 
 
 I found Lord Normanby at home. On the first 
 intimation of my object, he mentioned what the morn 
 ing- papers had announced, but what I had not seen ; 
 namely, that I had already acknowledg-ed the Provi 
 sional Government. I told him it was not the case, 
 but that I was about to do so ; perhaps to-morrow. 
 It was not agreeable to me, I said, to separate myself 
 from my colleagues of the Diplomatic Corps on this 
 occasion, even temporarily, as would probably be the 
 case ; but I would not place myself in that situation 
 without giving them information, and trusted to 
 their liberal estimate of my position for rightly view 
 ing the step I was about to take. I was too far off 
 from my country to wait for instructions.* Before 
 they could arrive, events here might show that I had 
 
 * There were no Atlantic Telegraphs in those days. 
 
 2 G 
 
450 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 fallen into undue delay. The Provisional Government 
 proclaimed a Republic as the Government of France. 
 France was our early friend and ally, when we were 
 struggling for admission into the family of nations. 
 She had now proclaimed a Government like ours ; 
 and my belief was that my Government would expect 
 me to be prompt in acknowledging- it. These were 
 the considerations appealing- to me in the present 
 exigency. It was to this general effect I made known 
 my intention ; adding, that I came to him first, from 
 the great intercourse between our two countries, as 
 well as from my personal relations with himself. 
 
 It was plain that, the English Ambassador had not 
 expected such a communication from me. He asked 
 if I designed it merely as a communication of my in 
 tention, and nothing more ; or whether I wished the 
 expression of any opinions from him. I said I should 
 be happy to hear any opinions he would express. 
 He then said, that as to my distance, it was indeed 
 peculiar to my case ; neither upon that, or the other 
 considerations so w^hich I had adverted, was it for 
 him to offer any opinion ; it was for me alone to attach 
 to them whatever weight I thought fit. But other 
 wise my course, he must say, struck him as unusual. 
 What was the Provisional Government ? Had I yet 
 received any information from itself of its own exis 
 tence ? He had not, and presumed that not one of 
 the Diplomatic Corps had. Would I, under such 
 circumstances, separate myself from them ? Would 
 it not be better that we should act in concert ; see our 
 senior, the Marquis Brignoli, confer with him and 
 others, that we might know each others views? 
 Where would I go to make my acknowledgment? 
 To whom address myself, in the absence of all noti- 
 
FRENCH KE VOLUTION OF 1848. 451 
 
 fication from the true and proper organ of com 
 munication between the new Government and foreign 
 Powers ? 
 
 The foregoing- embraces the substance of his re 
 marks ; which were enlarged upon and urged, as 
 decidedly as an amicable manner and tone would 
 allow. Our interview closed by my saying that 
 what had fallen from him had not escaped my thoughts, 
 and was reasonable in itself; and that I did not 
 design to take the step until receiving a suitable 
 communication from the Provisional Government of 
 its own existence. 
 
 From the English Embassy T go to our own office 
 of Legation. While there, Mr. Martin, who went in 
 another direction on first leaving the English Embassy 
 with me, comes in, and says he hears that M. de La- 
 martime is now preparing* an official note, announcing* 
 to the Foreign Ambassadors and Ministers the exis 
 tence of the new Government, and that he is now the 
 Minister of Foreign Aifairs. I request Mr. Martin to 
 write a line in my name to Major Poussin, telling him 
 what he has heard. Before the day closes, the official 
 note to me from M. de Lamartine arrives at my house 
 corroborating the above. Its date is Sunday, the 27th. 
 
 This seems a fit occasion for saying, that an es 
 teemed colleague of the Corps from South America, 
 called on me as soon as the Provisional Government 
 was formed, to learn my intentions as to recog nising 
 the new Republic. I told him it was my intention 
 to recognise it at a period as early as I could properly 
 see my w r ay to that course. His motive in inquiring 
 was, that he might prepare himself for following my 
 example ; and this, he presumed, would be the case 
 (though he did not speak for them) with the other 
 
 2 a 2 
 
452 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 Diplomatic Representatives from South America ac 
 credited to the Government just overthrown. 
 
 Tuesday, February 29th. The official communica 
 tion from M. de Lamartine having* given me the authen 
 tic document I desired, I yesterday proceeded to the 
 Hotel de Ville, to perform the duty 1 had resolved 
 upon. I wore my diplomatic dress, and requested the 
 Secretary of Legation, whom I took with me, to wear 
 his. I also invited Major Poussin to a seat in my 
 carriage as a naturalized citizen of the United States, 
 as well as Frenchman, possessing 1 , as I believed, the 
 confidence of the Provisional Government. I arrived 
 at the Hotel de Ville at two o clock. Persons were 
 inside, waiting* receptions, or business otherwise to be 
 transacted with the Provisional Government. These 
 came to a pause when I was announced. 
 
 Conducted into the room where the Provisional 
 Government was sitting-, I addressed myself to its 
 President and Members, by saying- that, too distant 
 from my Country to wait instructions, I sought the 
 first opportunity of offering- my felicitations to the 
 Provisional Government, believing- that my own Go 
 vernment would transmit to me its sanction of the 
 early step I was taking- ; that the remembrance of the 
 ancient friendship and alliance which once joined 
 together France and the United States, was still 
 
 D / 
 
 strong among- us ; that the cry would be loud and 
 universal in iny Country for the prosperity and great 
 ness of France under the new institutions she had pro 
 claimed, subject to ratification by the national will ; 
 that, under similar institutions, the United States had 
 enjoyed a long- course of prosperity ; that their insti 
 tutions had been stable ; and while they left to all 
 other countries the choice of their own forms of 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 453 
 
 government, they would naturally rejoice to see this 
 great nation flourish under forms like their own, which 
 had been found to unite social order with public liberty. 
 I concluded with a repetition of the hope General 
 Washington expressed to the French Minister, Adet, 
 at Philadelphia, in 1796 : that the "friendship of the 
 two Republics might be commensurate with their ex 
 istence. " 
 
 M. Arago, on the part of the Provisional Govern 
 ment, replied, that its members received without 
 surprise, but with lively pleasure, the assurance of the 
 sentiments I expressed ; France expected them from 
 an ally to whom she now drew so close by the pro 
 clamation of a Republic ; he thanked me, in the name 
 of the Provisional Government, for the wishes I had 
 expressed for the prosperity and greatness of France, 
 and concluded by responding to the words I had re 
 called of the great founder of our Republic. 
 
 The venerable Dupont de 1 Eure, official head of 
 the Government, and eighty years of age, then ap 
 proached me. Taking me by the hand, he said, 
 " Permit me, in thus taking you by the hand, to assure 
 you that the French people grasp that of the American 
 nation." 
 
 The ceremony here ended. Three members of the 
 Provisional Government accompanied me to the out 
 side door of the Hotel de Ville. The guard presented 
 arms. Loud cries of Vive la RepuUique des Etats- 
 Unis ! were heard. The building is one of the 
 largest in Paris. Crowds were in front and all around 
 it when I drove up. These had not diminished as I was 
 coming away, and their renewed shouts of Vive la 
 Sepublique des Etats- Unis ! went up freely. 
 
454 FKENCH EEVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 March 1. My address to the Provisional Govern 
 ment appeared in the French newspapers of yesterday. 
 It was not for me to publish it. I was only to 
 transmit it to my own Government. My answer to 
 M. de Lamartine s official communication of the 27th 
 of February, which informed me of his being- charged 
 with the duties of the Foreign Office, has also ap 
 peared in the newspapers, equally without my instru 
 mentality. 
 
 This being- reception-day at my house, large numbers 
 of our countrymen and others call upon us. Among 
 the latter, Count de Circourt. He gives me the whole 
 account of de Lamartine s triumph over the votaries of 
 the red flag- at the Hotel de Ville. He called it a 
 critical and noble triumph. A savant; a man of 
 letters ; a patriot full of anxious hopes for his country, 
 his words and manner were impressive. He gave de 
 tails of the revolution which I had not heard before. 
 All pointed to favourable changes in the French people, 
 from the frenzies and cruelty of their old Revolution, 
 when Queens were killed with frantic joy; religion 
 tumbled down to enthrone a Goddess of Reason ; cart 
 loads of victims daily sent to the guillotine ; or tied 
 back to back and thrown with horrid profanations into 
 the Seine. My own entries of facts occurring- daring- the 
 days and nig-hts of the Revolution, as derived from the 
 Secretary of Legation, and my own opportunities of 
 observation, were not contradicted by his details. I 
 let them remain, therefore, as noted down, with only 
 verbal corrections and no ampliation, it being* no part 
 of my intention to write a full history of this Revolu 
 tion, and willing* to hope that it may disclose, in its 
 further progress, as much improvement over the old 
 
FKENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 455 
 
 one in rational liberty ^ as it has thus far shown in 
 humanity.* 
 
 * In recognizing the French Republic, in the manner he did, 
 under the novel circumstances then existing, the Author acted, as 
 he should have done, under a high sense of duty, as Eepresentative 
 of his Country, whatever may have been his individual judgment 
 in reference to the great convulsion then going on. It was not 
 long before he had heavy misgivings as to the result ; as the writer 
 of this well remembers, and events soon justified them. 
 
 lu connection with this, the following extract from a Pamphlet 
 by the Author, published in Philadelphia not long afterwards, 
 entitled " Character of Mr. Calhoun," (Vice-President of the U.S. 
 who died in 1850), may not be without interest now, in 1872, 
 with the fresh remembrance of another Revolution in France, and 
 in the existing condition of French politics. The Pamphlet forms 
 part of his " Occasional Productions, Political, Diplomatic, and 
 Miscellaneous," referred to in the Addendum to the Preface to 
 tins Volume : 
 
 " Of all Americans, he was among the few not carried away by 
 the great shock in Europe in 1848. That our citizens should 
 have given the French Republic a cordial first welcome, and that 
 both Houses of Congress should have done the same, was natural ; 
 but in his place as Senator, in the midst of enthusiasm for France, 
 Calhoun paused. He did not believe that by suddenly " proclaim 
 ing" Republics, they were to be made. He knew that change was 
 not always for the better, and when too rapid could scarcely be 
 good. He knew all excellence to be of slow growth, with nations 
 as persons ; that it comes of patience, education, and long training. 
 His mind, full of light, inferred that such quick convulsive move 
 ments in the other hemisphere, must be the work, with rare 
 exceptions, of a few selfish or deluded men in some places, and, 
 in others, of what Lord John Russell called, in the House of 
 Commons, "a society of circulating revolutionists." The real 
 masses, he believed, would be placed by so violent an overthrow 
 of existing things in a worse condition than they were before. 
 He saw also that these suddenly " proclaimed" Republics were 
 totally different from ours. His knowledge of the Constitution 
 of the United States, tind everything that led to the establish 
 ment of our Republic, taught him this. He believed that the 
 inherent tendencies of Republics starting into life instantaneously, 
 
456 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 March 2. The Archbishop of Paris, in an address 
 to the clergy, holds up the duty of obedience to the 
 Provisional Government, and orders the colours of the 
 Republic to be placed in their churches. 
 
 The Nuncio of Pope Pius the Ninth, resident in 
 Paris under the Monarchy, in a letter to M. de La- 
 raartine has expressed his profound satisfaction at the 
 respect shown by the people of Paris to religion, in 
 the midst of the great events that have been accom 
 plished; and his conviction that the Holy Father 
 would call down in all his prayers the blessings of 
 God on France. The letter was in answer to M. de 
 Lamartine s communication informing him, as he had 
 the other foreign representatives, that the Provisional 
 Government had clothed him with the functions of 
 Minister of Foreign Affairs. This letter of the Nuncio 
 the same who represented the Pope, while the King 
 was on the throne, is regarded as equivalent to a 
 recognition of the Republic by His Holiness, and, it is 
 thought, will not be without its influence with large 
 classes. 
 
 The turbulent times bring up the ex-King of West 
 phalia, Jerome Bonaparte. He has addressed a letter 
 to the Provisional Government. He asks that a 
 decree may be issued by the Republic to annul the 
 proscription imposed on his name by foreign Powers 
 
 were to disorder. He feared their deteriorating influences upon 
 us. More especially did he fear it from our predisposition sum 
 marily to applaud all movements against existing authority in 
 Europe, no matter what their nature, or who their instruments. 
 He appreciated too much the immense value of our own institu 
 tions, to behold without grief the danger of disparagement to 
 them by the odium likely to be brought upon Republics through 
 the abuses of that word abroad." Rush s Occasional Productions, 
 pp. 108-9. 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 457 
 
 in alliance with the Bourbons, the Eevolution having 
 destroyed the treaties of 1815. 
 
 The Eevolution also brings before the world a letter 
 from another of the Bonaparte family, Prince Louis 
 Napoleon. Returned to Paris from exile, he declares 
 his desire to rank himself under the Flag 1 of the Re 
 public, and assures the Provisional Government of his 
 devotion to the cause they represent, and of his personal 
 sympathy for them. 
 
 In making visits to-day, 1 was in districts where I 
 had not been since the Revolution. Nearly all the 
 shops appeared to be open again. Workmen were 
 engaged in repaving* the streets in the parts torn up 
 for barricades. Thing s have already, with a few ex 
 ceptions, their old appearance, or nearly so. I did 
 not see any private carriages, although I was in 
 thoroug-hfares where, before the Revolution, they were 
 always seen at the hour I was out. Hackney coaches, 
 cabs and other vehicles, were in the streets much as 
 usual. The theatres are reopened, and street amuse 
 ments go on in the daytime along the Champs Elysees, 
 as if nothing had happened. The recovery, judging 
 merely by the outside view of things along the streets, 
 has been very quick after this great convulsion. I had 
 little inclination to stroll on to Neuilly, where that 
 beautiful summer Palace of the King was burned ; for 
 who could take pleasure in looking on its ruins ? 
 
 March 4. To-day the funeral of the citizens who 
 fell in the combats of the 23rd and 24th of February 
 took place, under an order of the Provisional Govern 
 ment. The bodies were deposited in the vaults of the 
 Column of July, where the old Bastile stood, and 
 religious service was performed in all the churches. 
 The throng drawn together was chiefly concentrated 
 
458 FRENCH DEVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 in the neighbourhood of the church of the Madeleine, 
 and filled the Boulevards for a great distance. I saw 
 one edge of it in going to the Legation ; and before 
 leaving my house a large body of the people also passed 
 within view, on their way across the bridge at Place 
 de la Concorde to join the funeral procession. I went 
 out to see this detachment of it. Numerous tri-colored 
 flags were displayed; and all were singing the Mar 
 seilles Hymn. 
 
 March 5. Make a personal call on M. de Lamartine 
 this evening. He told me he was engaged in public 
 business day and night almost incessantly, and that 
 the labour pressed heavily on him. I congratulated 
 him on his victory over the bloody flag on the memor 
 able Friday, the 25th of Februaiy. He says that 
 when he has a little more command of his time, he 
 will hope to see more of me. Just as I entered his 
 hotel (the same M. Guizot had), a deputation of 
 pupils from the colleges of France was coming out of his 
 saloon. I heard their shouts on leaving him. They had 
 been to offer their homage, and give expression to their 
 hopes and devotedness under the great political 
 change. He had replied in a kind and stirring speech. 
 He is always ready on such occasions ; happy also in 
 his language and illustrations, especially when ad 
 dressed to the young, who fire up under the off-hand 
 bursts of his animation and genius. 
 
 March 7. M. de Lamartine came to see me, but 
 I was not in. I hear that he said to Count Circourt 
 that two good things had happened for the Eepublic : 
 the letter of the Pope s Nuncio, and the address of the 
 American Minister ; the one representing the head of 
 Christianity, the other the head of Eepublicanism. 
 
 March 24. Count de Lasterie and Major Poussin 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848, 459 
 
 dine with us. The former was a member of the late 
 Chamber of Deputies. Our conversation was on the 
 present state of thing s in Paris, and particularly on 
 the component parts of the Provisional Government. 
 It is more than half believed that divisions exist among* 
 the members on some important points. 
 
 March 25. This evening- I went to M. de Lamar- 
 tine s. The Belgian and Sardinian Ambassadors were 
 there, with a few other gentlemen. Madame de Lamar- 
 tine was present. M. de Lamartine had been annoyed 
 by an occurrence at his house shortly before I came. 
 A deputation of fifty, from the whole body of Poles in 
 France, waited upon him with a request, that the 
 Provisional Government would supply them with arms 
 and money to enable them to make a campaign into 
 Poland to liberate their country. He reasoned briefly 
 with them on the impropriety of their request that he 
 should kindle up a war in Europe, telling- them it 
 would come to that. They did not, or would not, 
 understand his reasoning-. He expostulated with them 
 more earnestly. They did not reg ard that, either, but 
 became boisterous in his very saloon. He then put 
 them down, firmly regardless of their clamour; for 
 they even threatened him with a hostile " demonstra 
 tion 7 against the Government on the day following. 
 Though he was somewhat moved at the occurrence of 
 such an incident in his own domicil, he enters into con 
 versation with his company with his usual buoyancy, 
 not despairing of the Eepublic because of the behaviour 
 of this Polish deputation. 
 
 March 31. I hear that early this month Lord 
 Normanby said to M. de Lamartine, in the name of his 
 Government, that as soon as the Provisional Govern 
 ment was changed into a definitive one by the National 
 
460 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 Assembly, Great Britain would accredit her Ambas 
 sador to the new Eepublic ; and in the interim keep 
 up the necessary business relations, as well as those 
 of good will and friendship, with the Republic. That 
 the Eepublic should desire to keep on g*ood terms with 
 England is both natural arid wise. M. de Lamartine 
 sees this. All reasonable Frenchmen see it. Ambi 
 tious and dangerous men suddenly arrived at power, 
 if able to get up a cry that England had put herself 
 against the Eepublic, might use it to blast the hopes 
 of internal quiet, so necessaiy to France when about to 
 mould her new institutions into form. 
 
 The Poles, who were brim-full of anger when they 
 left M. de Lamartine s house lately, came back the next 
 day with a larger deputation. He addressed the in 
 creased number, doing it with such good sense and 
 conciliation that, instead of the hostile demonstration 
 threatened, he brought them over to his side, with ex 
 pressions of regret at the unreasonableness of their 
 first expectations. 
 
 April 2. Among those at our table to-day was M. 
 George Lafayette, member of the late Chamber of De 
 puties, and son of General Lafayette : a name ever 
 dear to our country as the companion in arms of Wash 
 ington ; who left France, then a young nobleman born 
 to honours and fortune, to fight in our Revolutionary 
 battles as a volunteer aid by his side. He holds the 
 Republican principles for which his gallant and noble- 
 minded father fought, and inherits his virtues. Though 
 a Republican of the Washington school, he said to-day 
 that the number of Frenchmen in favour of that form of 
 government, take France throughout, was, he believed, 
 very small. For himself, he desired to see a Eepublic ; 
 but his fears were that France was not ready for one. 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 401 
 
 My ear could not be deaf to these words from this 
 source. His home is in the country, on the ancient 
 estate of his father. He thought, nevertheless, that 
 the Republic would stand, so many parties were for 
 upholding- it ; each party, probably, thinking- it might 
 the better arrive at its own ends, throug-h the great 
 change so suddenly come upon France by the procla 
 mation of a Republic. 
 
 April 10. Count de Lasterie tells me that M. de 
 Lamartine is opposed to a double branch for the Le 
 gislature in the Republican Constitution to be formed 
 for France, and thinks that almost all France will 
 be against it. 
 
 April 15. Went this evening- to M. de Lamartine s. 
 He was not at home, but with the Provisional Govern 
 ment. A small company is present, and no more than 
 two of the Diplomatic Corps. I collect from the con 
 versation of the evening that divisions of opinion exist 
 strongly in the Provisional Government, and that se 
 rious clashing among its members is even apprehended 
 before the National Assembly can meet, which will be 
 in May ; the elections, or preparatory steps for them, 
 being in progress. 
 
 April 16. M. de Tocqueville, the well-known author 
 of the celebrated work on the political institutions of 
 the United States, comes to see me. We get into con 
 versation on some of the points of Republican Govern 
 ment. I mention what I had heard of M. de Lamartine s 
 objections to a double branch for the Legislative power 
 under the new Republic. We converse on this part of 
 the subject. I say that American experience is all in 
 favour of two branches. For the illustrations from 
 history showing the dangers of a single branch and 
 
462 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 advantages of a double branch, I refer him to the 
 learned and logical work of the elder Adams, formerly 
 President of the United States,, and one of the foremost 
 patriots and sages of the American Eevolution, writ 
 ten against the attack of M. Turgot, the French 
 statesman, who regarded our preference of the double 
 legislature as only a misplaced fondness for the English 
 model of two houses of Parliament ; but, apart from 
 the value of that model, Mr. Adams s reasoning and 
 illustrations seemed to me, and to others who were 
 better judges, to be founded on the elementary maxims 
 of government and the nature of man. M. de Tocque- 
 ville seemed familiar with the historical facts and rea 
 soning in favour of the double branch, but wished to 
 know what work of repute there was in our country 
 which defended the single branch. I replied, none that 
 I knew of 5 that not only did the Constitution of the 
 United States establish a double branch in the two 
 houses of Congress, but all the States, amounting to 
 thirty, which composed the Federal Union at present, 
 had adopted the double branch; or, if exceptions existed, 
 I was not aware of them. The only exception, in 
 our past history was in the Constitution first formed 
 by Pennsylvania after the breaking out of the Revo 
 lutionary War. I remembered no other. But the 
 same State changed it afterwards for a Constitution 
 with the double branch. Was there any work in 
 Pennsylvania, he asked, embodying the arguments for 
 the single branch when her first Constitution was 
 formed ? None that 1 was able to specify, I said. 
 The Journals of the day, and debates of the body which 
 formed it, would, doubtless, contain the arguments its 
 advocates used ; but these I could not easily command 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 463 
 
 unless at home. It is proper for me to add, I remarked, 
 that Dr. Franklin was friendly to the single branch ; but 
 he rarely spoke in legislative bodies, and never at length. 
 
 Here our conversation stopped short. M. de 
 Tocqueville heard the rappel beating in the streets. 
 Rising from his chair, he left me, hardly pausing* a 
 moment to join his regiment in the National Guards. 
 Author; man of genius ; independent in his circum 
 stances; addicted to study ; not robust in frame; yet- 
 off he goes for his musket at the first summons of the 
 drum, to take his stand as a private in the ranks. So 
 martial is France ! 
 
 April 16. This same day, Count de Caraman and 
 Count de Mandelslow dine with us. The latter (of 
 Wurtemberg) was my esteemed colleague in the Di 
 plomatic Corps at London, whom it has been my g-ood 
 fortune to meet here in Paris, where he is on a visit ; 
 my renewed intercourse with whom has a double value, 
 from his amiable Countess and accomplished daughter 
 being here with him. 
 
 I introduce the name of Count Caraman first, for the 
 sake of saying that, when we talked of the Republic, 
 he was for accepting it, not because he held its opinions, 
 (for he is known to his friends as a frank and honour 
 able legitimist,) but because, thrown upon France even 
 by a delusive show of popular opinion, as he thought 
 it was, all should, nevertheless, accept it for present 
 peace. Like others of his political faith, he appeared 
 to have little idea that it would succeed. Apart from 
 this motive for alluding to him, I am afforded in doing- 
 so, the opportunity of a passing tribute to his worth. 
 Lono* known to me, first in Washington, as an attrac 
 tive young attache to the French Legation when M. 
 Serurier was Minister, in the First Napoleon s day, 
 
464 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 during 1 both his grandeur and fall ; again knowing* him 
 as belonging- to the French Embassy in London, when 
 the Marquis d Osmond was Ambassador from France ; 
 and now here, his society has always been highly 
 valued by myself and family. Especially has it been 
 agTeeable and useful to us in all social ways since we 
 came to Paris; and not unfrequently from the political 
 matter and conjectures he catches in his own circles, 
 where, as in all circles, he listens with an intelligent 
 and cultivated mind. 
 
 April 18. I learned again to-day that heart 
 burnings prevail among some of the members of the 
 Provisional Government, which cause intense anxiety, 
 though happily they are still kept out of the news 
 papers. 
 
 The rappel which so suddenly snatched from me the 
 enlightened companion with whom I was in conversa 
 tion day before yesterday, was caused by a great 
 (C demonstration " of the working-classes, who had con 
 gregated in the Champ de Mars. The assemblage, 
 which went on to increase by various reinforcements 
 arriving at this well-known point as a rendezvous, 
 moved off, to the number, it was said, of fifty thousand, 
 with banners denoting their object, which was to form 
 an organization of labourers to procure work. Their 
 march was towards the Hotel de Ville, where the Pro 
 visional Government sits ; at which point they intended 
 openly to announce their object. An alarm was raised. 
 It spread quickly. Rumour succeeded rumour, and 
 many feared a new Revolution was at hand ; though 
 the procession appeared to be moving along peaceably 
 and unarmed. When the rappel was beaten, the Na 
 tional Guards came together from all parts of Paris. 
 It did not begin to beat till noon ; but in a few hours 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 405 
 
 it was computed that scarcely fewer than a hundred 
 thousand of the Guards had turned out, ready to pro 
 tect all the important points of the capital, had there 
 been a fresh outbreak to bring- about another Revolution. 
 The Hotel de Ville was secured against attack inside 
 and from without. Lamartine and Marrast appeared 
 on the balcony, and were greeted by the plaudits of 
 thousands in the streets. Their appearance was hailed 
 as symbols of the Republic s safety. This prompt exer 
 tion of authority, backed by such an armed force acting* 
 with order and discipline, speaks well for the energy of 
 the Provisional Government ; which derives also a new 
 moral support from the evidences of public opinion, 
 which the occasion seems to have arrayed on its side. 
 An impression exists that a plot to overturn it was 
 certainly at the bottom of this movement. I find it 
 difficult to g-et authentic information on the subject, 
 and leave it under as much as I have noted down. 
 
 April 21. To-day I receive a dispatch from the 
 Secretary of State, conveying to me the approbation 
 of the President for the part I took on the 28th of 
 February in acknowledging- the French Republic, and 
 enclosing* me a letter of credence to the Provisional 
 Government. 
 
 April 22. I address an official note to M. de La- 
 martine, informing- him of this communication. 1 
 also send him a copy of the letter of credence, and 
 request an interview to know when I may have the 
 honour of delivering- the original to the Provisional 
 Government in person. 
 
 The letter was in the customary form of such commu 
 nications from the executive heads of Governments, 
 whether Monarchies or Republics. 
 
 2 H 
 
4GO FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 April 23. M. de Lamartine informs me that tie will 
 give me the interview to-morrow at twelve o clock. 
 
 April 12. I called at the Foreign Office at twelve 
 o clock. M. de Lamartine said that my formal appear 
 ance before all the members of the Provisional Govern 
 ment for the delivery in person of the letter of credence, 
 could scarcely, he feared, be brought about at as early 
 a day as he wished, from the difficulty of getting- them 
 all. together. He added, that if I would overlook the 
 form of appearing before all, he would himself receive 
 the letter from me as representing them all. I assented 
 to his proposition. 
 
 April 20. 1 presented my letter of credence to 
 M. Lamartine at the Bureau of Foreign Affairs, as 
 agreed. 
 
 The same arrival from the United States brought 
 me another dispatch from the Secretary of State, in 
 forming me that the President had appointed the Secre 
 tary of this Legation Charge d Affaires of the United 
 States at Rome. The dispatch added that whomsoever 
 I would name as successor to Mr. Martin, the President 
 w r ould appoint to the situation. In this transfer of 
 Mr. Martin to another sphere of public duty, I lose an 
 experienced and highly competent official assistant, 
 and a man of honourable principles and deportment.* 
 Many names are placed before me as his successor. I 
 select the attache to the Legation who came with me 
 from the United States, Mr. Stanton, still }^oung in 
 years, but who has earned this confidence from me by 
 
 * Mr. Martin died soon after arriving at Borne to enter upon 
 his mission. With a luminous mind, scholarly attainments, and 
 his whole nature anti-sellish and generous, his friends will long 
 regret his talents and virtues. 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 4G7 
 
 liis intelligent attention to the business of the Lega 
 tion, the quickness with which he has learned French, 
 and his correct principles and conduct. 
 
 April 30. M. de Tocqueville and Mr. Bancroft dine 
 with us. We had much conversation on the new form 
 of Government for France ; especially as regards the 
 federative principle and centralization. M. de Tocque 
 ville gave an account of the powers and jurisdiction of 
 the Parliaments as now existing* in the departments. 
 He sees great difficulty in constructing- out of them 
 anything like our State governments for France. She 
 is too much disposed to centralization from long habit, 
 which had become a conviction. His views were per 
 spicuously presented. Mr. Bancroft, himself not unin 
 formed in this field, was the better enabled to draw out 
 M. de Tocqueville s opinions and give point to what 
 was said. For my share in the conversation, I went 
 in favour of the federative system, as exemplified in 
 our Union, from its combining with federation the 
 strength of consolidation ; federation taking charge of 
 the whole internal concerns of our States ; consolida 
 tion (centralization) presenting us with one front to 
 foreign Powers. 
 
 May 10. The opening of the National Assembly 
 took place on the 4th of this month. 
 
 At eleven in the morning, members began to enter 
 the building erected since the Revolution for their 
 accommodation ; and before one o clock upwards of six 
 hundred were in the chamber. The body was tempo 
 rarily organized, and the members took their seats. 
 The whole body had an aspect of great respectability. 
 I witnessed the scene from the box or tribune allotted 
 to the Diplomatic Corps. Fewer young men were 
 among them than perhaps might have been antici- 
 
 2 H 2 
 
468 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 pated. The majority appeared to be of middle ag*e, 
 above rather than below it, and a portion more ad 
 vanced. Among the members are many names con 
 spicuous for intellect and reputation in France. 
 
 Soon after one o clock, cannon and drums announced 
 the approach of the Provisional Government. As they 
 entered the vast Chamber, all the members rose and 
 welcomed them with upraised hands, exclaiming- and 
 reiterating-, Vive la Republique ! Vive le Gouverne- 
 ment Provisoire ! The galleries echoed back the 
 greeting s. The President of the Provisional Govern 
 ment, the venerable Dupont, then made a brief address. 
 The moment had arrived, he said, when they were to 
 hand over to the Representatives of the People, as 
 depositaries of the Nation s will, the power with which 
 the Revolution had invested them ; they had pro 
 claimed the Republic, which sprang* into existence in 
 February; they had passed through difficult cir 
 cumstances, and now looked with hope to the supreme 
 power of the Assembly to give to France a Republican 
 constitution that would suit her. The address was 
 enthusiastically received amid new cries of Vive la 
 Republique. The address struck me favourably by its 
 brevity, and its simple and appropriate language. 
 
 The Provisional Government then withdrew. They 
 were followed by the Representatives, who went into 
 their different bureaux for the purpose of verifying 
 their returns under the election. This occupied an 
 hour or more, when they returned to the Chamber. 
 The Provisional Government also returned. In a little 
 while it was proposed that a solemn proclamation of 
 the Republic should be made by the Assembly. Some 
 said this was unnecessary. The Republic, they said, 
 already existed by spontaneous acclamation. It was 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 4C9 
 
 like the sun : all saw it. Finally, it becoming- known 
 that the National Guard, and more than a hundred 
 thousand people outside, desired to witness the pro 
 clamation of the Republic in the open air, all the 
 Representatives and the members of the Provisional 
 Government went out on the steps of the old Chamber 
 of Deputies, which the new hail adjoins ; and there, 
 with increased enthusiasm, the Republic was pro 
 claimed^ amid universal shouts. Their reverberations, 
 and the roar of cannon from the Champs Elysees and 
 Hotel des Invalides, made the scene very animating*. 
 
 The Assembly met ag-ain on the fifth, when seven 
 hundred and fifty members were present. They chose 
 for their presiding- officer M. Buchez. The presiding 
 officer is to be chosen once a month. Six Vice-Pre 
 sidents and six Secretaries were next elected ; and the 
 Assembly has held its sitting s every day since. 
 
 How the members, nine hundred in all, stand as to 
 political parties, has not yet been distinctly revealed. 
 About two- thirds seem at present to be considered 
 moderate Republicans ; but an intelligent member tells 
 me this is doubtful. M. Georg-e Lafayette is chosen; 
 and his meritorious son, M. Oscar Lafayette. Se 
 veral bishops, and others of the clergy, have been 
 chosen. The army and navy are well represented, six 
 g-enerals of division being- among- the former, as well 
 as other hig-h officers. Vice-admirals are among* the 
 naval officers. It is supposed that a hundred 
 Legitimists may probably have been chosen, with 
 some Orleanists, and others not Republicans before the 
 24th of February. But no one of any class or party, 
 appears to think of any other form of government but 
 Republican. The Abbe Lacordaire, the distinguished 
 ecclesiastic, has so expressed himself in the Assembly. 
 
470 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 He declared that before the events of February he 
 was a monarchist, but was now for a Republic. So 
 with the whole body. Twice has their constitutional 
 Monarchy failed. A Republic has come, as a fate. 
 Let it be fairly tried. This seems the feeling 1 , this the 
 apparent determination, of all. Fortunate also is it 
 that so many eminent men are seen in the Assembly, 
 whether taken from civil or ecclesiastical life, or the 
 army and navy. It holds out good assurances that 
 intellect and knowledge of a high order will not be 
 wanting* to its deliberations. This was foreseen as 
 the result of universal suffrage, which was the rule 
 
 O 7 
 
 in choosing* the members. It was foreseen and 
 foretold, as its practical operation, that large bodies of 
 the working* and labouring- classes among- the people, 
 when coming- up to vote, or before the day, would 
 probably seek the aid of prominent and trustworthy 
 persons known to them in the various departments or 
 communes, to make out suitable nominations for them ; 
 expressing- their willingness to support freely tickets 
 prepared in that way and put into their hands. This 
 is understood to have been the mode pursued in the 
 elections throughout large portions of rural France. 
 
 Several important reports were laid before the 
 Assembly by the members of the Provisional Cabinet 
 on surrendering* up their posts. Amongst them, M. 
 de Lam ar tine s manifesto, issued early in March, is 
 memorable. It considers the treaties of 1815 as 
 abolished. It announces to foreign nations that France, 
 as a Republic, does not desire to enter the family 
 of nations as a disturbing* phenomenon of European 
 order ; that war was not her principle, but peace 
 but that " if conditions of war were laid down to the 
 French people, 7 they would be accepted that u the 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 471 
 
 Republic was only the intellectual ally of nations 
 desiring* to live by the same principle as its own ; 
 France, as a Republic, aimed not at setting- the world 
 on fire, but only to shine from her place on the horizon 
 of nations." These are some of its words. The docu 
 ment shows the fertile thoughts of a rich mind, rather 
 
 o / 
 
 than the usual tone and diction of state papers. While 
 declaring- that "the treaties of 181*5 exist no longer 
 as law in the eyes of the French Republic," it 
 admits the ^ territorial circumscriptions " of those 
 treaties as a basis ; a point de depart, in its relations 
 with other nations. 
 
 The Reports from the Minister of the Interior ; of 
 Finance ; of Public Instruction.; of Justice ; of Agri 
 culture and Commerce ; and of War ; made known 
 what had been done in those several departments. The 
 Report of the Minister of War shows an army larger 
 than under the monarchy; namely, five hundred 
 thousand men, with eighty thousand cavalry ; and the 
 Garde Mobile, about fifteen thousand strong, has been 
 added to the military force of Paris. 
 
 There was also a summary Report from the Pro 
 visional Government as a body, which was read by M. 
 de Lamartine ; and the Assembly passed a vote that 
 the Provisional Government had deserved well of the 
 Country. 
 
 By as much as I can learn thus far of the opinions 
 of the members, through intercourse with some who 
 are eminent, the predominating feeling is for centrali 
 zation. The unity of France, her martial character, 
 her position in Europe which imposes on her the 
 duty of being ready for war now as much as ever all 
 point to centralization ; and the members appear to 
 think that a single legislative chamber will best sub 
 
472 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 serve all these great conditions of her existence. A 
 plural Executive seems to find favour with some. 
 
 Now that the Provisional Government has come to 
 an end, brief notices of its course may not be out of 
 place as part of the history of this remarkable epoch in 
 France. 
 
 The sudden prohibition of a political banquet which 
 the opposition intended to celebrate on the 22d of 
 February drove the King- from his throne. He reached 
 England in safety with his incomparable Queen. That 
 this prohibition was the immediate cause of his expul 
 sion, even if other causes existed for trouble of some 
 kind, all agree. The first demonstrations of violence 
 under the suppression . of the banquet were appeased 
 by the dismissal of the Ministers ; and had it not 
 been for the accidental firing- of the troops upon the 
 people, from the garden of the Hotel of Foreign 
 Affairs, many among the well informed think there 
 would have been no Revolution at all, more especially 
 as revolutions generally come when nations are in a 
 suffering* state, not when they are prosperous. If 
 there be dissentients from this opinion, all with whom 
 I conversed admit that France, as a nation, had no 
 intention of creating, arid was in no expectation of 
 seeing-, a Republic. Jt took the nation by surprise. 
 It sprang into being, as the venerable Dupont said in 
 his address. It presented itself with the same sudden 
 ness as the Monarchy fell. He equally spoke the 
 truth in saying the Provisional Government had 
 " passed through difficult circumstances." Considering 
 its incongruous composition, the wonder is that it held 
 together until the Assembly met a result attributable 
 in a great degree to the influence of de La mar tine. It 
 had to enter upon its functions instanter. There was 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 473 
 
 no interval for deliberation ; none for reconciling 
 jarring- opinions, even if all its members could ever 
 have moved in concert. Whatever was to be done, 
 was wanted on the moment. The chasm, opened by 
 the political earthquake, was to be closed. To have 
 left it open, would have invited evils greater than any 
 which could arise from the injudicious exercise of the 
 new-born authority. This all saw. All rallied round 
 that authority, as the only safety for all. 
 
 To mention all that this new-born authority did, is 
 no part of my purpose ; but the most important of its 
 acts may be summarily brought into view. 
 
 It abolished all titles ; and removed all shackles from 
 the press. 
 
 It decreed universal suffrage by ballot to all French 
 men twenty-one years old, except convicts, without 
 requiring any qualification of property. 
 
 It abolished death for all political offences, and 
 liberated from prison all who were confined for such 
 offences ; and abolished imprisonment for debt. 
 
 It gave bread to all workmen thrown out of employ 
 by the Revolution, not indefinitely, but for a season. 
 
 It promised them employment, and did employ 
 large numbers in the public workshops. 
 
 It ordained that the citizens slain in the streets 
 whilst fighting against the Monarchy were to be 
 adopted by the nation. 
 
 It decreed that in addition to existing* taxes (the 
 payment of which was urged in advance), the direct 
 taxes should be increased fifty-five per cent, for the 
 present year ; an increase which would have added a 
 hundred and ninety millions of francs to the national 
 income of the year. 
 
 It emancipated at once the slaves in all French 
 
4T4 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 colonies, and made a ratable proportion of them eligible 
 as members of the National Assembly equally with 
 members chosen in France. 
 
 These were among 1 the primary acts of the Pro 
 visional Government promulgated, arid, as far as pos 
 sible, executed, very soon after it u sprang" " into being-. 
 A multitude of others growing- out of them, or in 
 separate fields, followed quickly in their wake. Most 
 of those I specify were elementary. Some were bene 
 ficent; some necessary to keep down fresh outbreaks; 
 but scarcely any one would say that all were wise. 
 More might think that it would have been better to 
 leave a portion of them for the Representatives of the 
 whole nation to act upon when the National Assembly 
 met. 
 
 Looking* to the foreign policy of France, all its 
 early steps towards other states may be remembered, 
 with approbation. It kept the peace of Europe, when 
 the Revolution threw out fuel broadcast for kindling 
 fearful strife among nations. It nipped in the bud an 
 onslaught on Poland, in which whole thousands of the 
 French would eagerly have joined. It kept down bel 
 ligerent inroads into Italy, which the impetuosity and 
 fire of Frenchmen were ready to make. It did the 
 same towards Belgium. This pacific policy was kept 
 steadily in view by M. de Lamartine, and maintained 
 by his intellectual and moral power. It was the best 
 commentary upon his own manifesto; rendering clear, 
 parts which might have been thought obscure through 
 the redundancy and rhetoric of its periods. Nor did he 
 receive encouragingly, but the contrary, deputations 
 from Ireland, who came over with warm congratula 
 tory addresses on the Revolution, in the bope, possibly, 
 of aid for Irish grievances; any steps towards which 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 475 
 
 must have compromised the new Republic with Eng 
 land, and brought the two countries to the eve of war, 
 if not actual war. 
 
 The great difficulty was with the finances. The 
 taxes were not paid in advance, as urged ; and the 
 decree for increasing* so largely the direct taxes was of 
 doubtful policy and uncertain of success. Money dis 
 appeared. Credit was down, and could not be revived, 
 while the future was uncertain and the new expenses 
 great. The shops of Paris had reopened, as if by 
 magic, after the first shock of the Revolution. They 
 lost no time in making a display to keep up appear 
 ances, natural where with so many their all was at 
 stake in the revival of business. But those who 
 walked about in the streets found that to reopen shops 
 was not to bring back custom. Stepping into one 
 near the Rue du Bac for some gloves, I received from 
 those in attendance the assiduous attention always to 
 be met with in French shops. On coming away, I 
 learned that they had sold nothing else that day ! It 
 was then near evening, and the shop one in g ood 
 vogue. This was perhaps a month after the Revolu 
 tion ] and hundreds of shops, if not in the same, were 
 probably in predicaments not very different. 
 
 The first wants of the Provisional Government led 
 to enormous expenditure. For a while it drew upon 
 the funds left by the Monarchy ; but these rapidly 
 diminished. Demand upon the public purse was con 
 stant ; supplies to it precarious. Small dealers were 
 straitened, many ruined ; and large firms began to give 
 way. A loan of a hundred millions of francs was me 
 ditated, but fell through from the stagnation of business, 
 and general distrust. It was supposed that there had 
 been an average monthly payment of more than three 
 
476 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 millions of francs since the close of February, to support 
 unemployed workmen in Paris and its vicinity, leaving 
 out what was paid in the provinces. 
 
 Amidst the financial embarrassments of the Republic, 
 inevitable to its premature birth, it was cheered by 
 numberless voluntary acts of patriotism throughout the 
 land. Workmen, fortunate enough to get employment, 
 made known their desire to give up a day s wages in 
 every week to the State. Peasants in the country 
 made an offering of their silver forks and spoons for the 
 public ; for with these it would seem that a large por 
 tion of the peasantry of the country were supplied. 
 Bankers came forward with liberal donations, side by 
 side with private individuals who made smaller ones. 
 Admirals in the navy renounced a portion of their pay 
 and emoluments. Even needle-women, so badly paid 
 everywhere, perhaps, desired that a portion of their 
 earnings should be accepted by the Republic. I give 
 samples only of this feeling-. While the sum total of 
 all such oblations is of little account when the treasury 
 of a great nation is in straits, there was something in 
 them honourable to the French, especially to the com 
 mon people, when their country was suffering suffer 
 ing under evils which, although believed to be tem 
 porary, pressed sorely upon the middle and lower 
 classes. 
 
 May 11. The power of the Provisional Government 
 being extinct, the National Assembly yesterday chose 
 the following persons to be the Executive Committee 
 until the new Constitution comes into existence : 
 namely 
 
 M. Arago, M. Gamier Pages, M. Marie, M. de 
 Lamartine, and M. Ledru Rollin. 
 
 May 12. Yesterday the President of the Assembly 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 477 
 
 announced that the Executive Committee had selected 
 the following- persons to compose the Ministry : 
 
 Jules Bastide, Minister of Foreign Affairs ; M. Cre- 
 mieux, Minister of Justice ; M. Recurt, Minister of the 
 Interior ; M. Carnot, Minister of Public Instruction, 
 with M. Reynaud as Under Secretary ; M. Bethmont, 
 Minister of Public Worship ; M. Flocon, Minister of 
 Commerce and Agriculture; M. Trelat, Minister of 
 Public Works; M. Duclerc, Minister of Finance ; M. 
 Charms, Minister of War ad interim [General Cavaig- 
 nac became so a few days afterwards] ; Admiral Casy, 
 Minister of Marine ; M. Marrast and M. Caussidiere to 
 retain their respective situations as Mayor of Paris and 
 Prefect of Police. 
 
 May 12. Receive a letter from the President, ac 
 companied by a joint Resolution of Congress, tendering 
 the congratulations of the American to the French 
 people upon the success of their recent efforts to conso 
 lidate the principles of liberty in a Republican form of 
 government. I am directed by the President to present 
 an authenticated copy of this Resolution to the French 
 Government. 
 
 May 13. Wait on M. Bastide, the new Minister of 
 Foreign Affairs, this morning, to inform him that I 
 had received the joint Resolution of Congress, and 
 requesting to know at what time it would suit the con 
 venience of the Executive Committee to grant me the 
 honour of an audience to present it, as directed by the 
 President. The Minister promises to make known my 
 request and give me an answer. I leave with him a 
 copy of the Resolution. 
 
 May 15. Great commotion in Paris ; the rappel 
 beating ; streets filled with the military ; alarming- 
 rumours of fresh trouble. I hasten to the office of the 
 
478 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 Legation ; troops obstruct my passage over the near 
 bridge at Place de la Concorde, and I go another way. 
 Return at two o clock by the bridge of the Invalides. 
 I stop at the residence of my countryman, Mr. Aiken, 
 a gentleman of South Carolina, living* in Hue St. 
 Dominique, where orir former Minister, Mr. King, lived. 
 I there learn that thousands of soldiers are surrounding 
 the National Assembly ; the cause not known. On 
 reaching home, I hear that another Revolution is in 
 progress. Go out again, trying to ascertain, from 
 acquaintances at hand, what the alarm amounts to. 
 Hear that mobs of disorganizes and Red Republicans 
 from the clubs of Paris, the communists, socialists, 
 and such like, broke suddenly into the National As 
 sembly and stopped its deliberations. 
 
 May 16. It turns out that not only was the Assem 
 bly invaded yesterday and nearly all the members 
 driven by violence from their seats, but that the assail 
 ants proceeded to proclaim a new Revolution. The 
 Assembly, however, regained its authority in the even 
 ing*, and the assailants were discomfited. 
 
 May. 17. The Assembly took steps yesterday, and 
 are adopting* further steps to-dav, against the con 
 spirators and others concerned in this outrage upon its 
 authority. Arrests have been made; amongst them 
 Barbes, Sobrier, Huber, Rey, Albert (late one of the 
 Secretaries of the Provisional Government), and Ras- 
 pail. The last is editor of a paper called the " Friend 
 of the People." Treachery is charged upon some of 
 the National Guard, particularly General Courtais, 
 the commander, who has been arrested. 
 
 May 18. Further arrests are made of the con 
 spirators and their confederates. 
 
FRENCH INVOLUTION OF 1848. 479 
 
 May 19. Receive a note from the Minister of 
 Foreign Affairs, in answer to my verbal communica 
 tion to him of the 13th, informing- me that the Execu 
 tive Committee will receive me on the 32nd, at the 
 Petit Luxembourg", at twelve o clock. The Minister 
 gives as a reason for not having- named an earlier day, 
 the disturbed condition of thing s that has existed in 
 Paris. 
 
 May 19. Receive a dispatch from the Secretary of 
 State relative to the tobacco monopoly. It encloses a 
 memorial from merchants in Baltimore interested in 
 the trade, and instructs me to use my best endeavours 
 to have the. whole subject placed on a better footing 
 than it has been hitherto in France. 
 
 May 20. I will note down some of the particulars 
 of the late bold attempt to overset the Republic. 
 
 The loth of May had been fixed upon for a debate 
 in the National Assembly on the Polish and Italian 
 questions. It was expected that on this occasion M. 
 de Lamartine would fully explain what had been the 
 course of the Provisional Government towards those 
 countries, and unfold the future intentions of France. 
 The expectation of this debate had created excitement 
 in Paris. It was known that the violent party, dissa 
 tisfied at the issue of the elections, had given strong- 
 expression to their discontent at the clubs and in other 
 ways ; and it was apprehended that when the day for 
 the debate arrived, the occasion mig-ht be turned to 
 mischief. According-ly, on Monday, the 15th ; a great 
 procession was arranged by the malcontents. It was 
 termed a " demonstration in favour of the Polish cause." 
 The Poles were marshalled in all their force in the 
 streets. With them, were thousands of violent persons 
 from the clubs, and their deluded and desperate asso- 
 
480 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 elates, who had made the known popularity of the 
 Polish cause a cloak for their designs. The whole 
 marched in a body, formidable in number, towards the 
 Assembly, avoiding- at first all outward signs of disor 
 der or bad intentions. Man} of them, however, had 
 concealed weapons, as bayonets and knives under their 
 clothes. The Government was on its guard, and had 
 sufficiently protected the Assembly, as was believed, 
 against approaches on that day by any multitudinous 
 procession, whatever its pretext. But, through trea 
 chery somewhere, the procession was allowed to pass 
 the main barrier ; when its desperate bands, with well- 
 planned movements, burst into the Assembly, drove 
 nearly all the members from their seats, and actually pro 
 claimed from the tribune a new Provisional Government 
 for France. 
 
 The violence and consternation of the scene, equalled 
 for a while, it is said by those who witnessed it, any 
 thing* that occurred in the Chamber of Deputies when 
 the monarchy was overthrown. The Representatives 
 did not, however, move from their seats, until compel 
 led by violence. The conspirators hurried off to the 
 Hotel de Ville to consummate their work of usurpa 
 tion ; but in the meantime the cause of order was col 
 lecting its strength for a triumph. Whatever may 
 have been the individual instances of treachery in the 
 
 / 
 
 National Guard, its aggregate force rallied to put down 
 the daring outrage. The perpetrators were scattered 
 without the necessity of bloodshed, so prompt and over 
 powering was the turn-out of bayonets against them, 
 with cannon in reserve. They had possession of the 
 Government at four o clock in the afternoon ; but by 
 seven in the evening*, the Assembly had resumed its 
 sitting and the Executive Committee its authority. 
 
FltENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 481 
 
 This, in a few words, is an account of what happened, 
 as far as I have been able to sift it out. Numerous 
 arrests have been made. The ring-leaders are not yet 
 all known, but will be ferreted out, it is presumed. 
 On the whole, the Eepublic appears to have gained, by 
 the prompt suppression of this attempt to overturn it. 
 Yet that such men should have carried their point, 
 even to a momentary success, awakens uneasiness, 
 though it may not all be expressed. 
 
 They called themselves the People, in presence of 
 the nine hundred Representatives just chosen by the 
 different sections of the eighty-five departments of all 
 France under universal suffrage. But, said the con 
 spirators, they do not represent the Democracy of 
 France ! The names of those who were to have formed 
 the new Provisional Government were given out by the 
 conspirators in the National Assembly, as far as could be 
 heard in the confusion, and were afterwards announced 
 at the Hotel de Ville. The newspapers published 
 them. In the house of Sobrier, who was arrested, as 
 mentioned, decrees were found ready prepared. The 
 first among them begins with saying, that the National 
 Assembly was composed in a great degree of reaction 
 aries ; that it had violated its mission, lost time when 
 misery demanded relief, refused to create a " Ministry 
 of Labour;" and, after further recitals, declares that 
 the people of Paris, as an advance guard, had taken 
 upon themselves the charge of watching over the trusts 
 committed to the llepresentatives who had violated 
 them ; then it creates a Committee of " Public Safety/ 
 (as in the old Revolution,) to be invested with unlimited 
 powers for constituting a truly Democratic Republic, 
 and stifle reaction by the most energetic means. This 
 is an extract from it. By other decrees, u known 
 
 2 i 
 
482 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 patriots 7 were to form a new National Guard, to be called 
 "La Force Ouvriere;" and capitalists, whom they 
 accuse of hiding 1 their money since February, were to 
 be taxed to the amount of half their incomes, by a pro 
 cess of calculation which the malcontents had carefully 
 made out. 
 
 May 2 2. Arrests have been made of more than three 
 hundred of the conspirators, and the Assembly has 
 issued an address or proclamation under the event. It 
 is headed " The National Assembly to the People of 
 France," and states that these seditious men have 
 attempted the greatest of crimes in a free country the 
 crime of treason against the National Sovereignty ; but 
 that order would come out of this great trial, and justice 
 reach the guilty. It fills the third of a column in a 
 inewspaper. It was adopted by a strong 8 vote of the 
 Assembly, and is to be printed and posted up in all 
 the departments, and in every commune in France. 
 
 A Fete in honour of the Republic was celebrated yes 
 terday. It was in contemplation since the first meeting* 
 of the Assembly, but had been retarded by circum 
 stances, and amongst them, this conspiracy. Coming- 
 after it was crushed, the celebration w r as the more ani 
 mated. The weather was remarkably fine. The 
 procession was from the Place de la Bastile to the 
 Champ de Mars, and comprehended everything 1 in the 
 way of street exhibition, real and allegorical, that Paris 
 could effect. A colossal Statue, emblematic of the 
 Republic, was not wanting* to the display. The mem 
 bers of the Assembly, the chief feature in it all, moved 
 off in columns four deep from the main front of their 
 chamber, each with a small badge or ribbon in his coat, 
 to be distinguished from the mass. They were greeted 
 by thousands and thousands ; shouts going up of Vive 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 433 
 
 la Republique ! Vive PAssemblee Nationale ! They 
 marched towards the Champ de Mars, falling 1 in with 
 the grand procession at or near that spot. The Na 
 tional Guards and troops of the line were out in great 
 numbers, the former epecially. Tri-coloured flags 
 floated everywhere, and other banners were displayed. 
 At night there was a grand illumination. We drove out 
 to see it. Along- the whole Champs Elysees, from Place 
 de la Concorde to the Triumphal Arch, was one glitter 
 of light, under all the blaze of French pyrotechnics. 
 Order was maintained during the whole fete in which 
 probably half a million of people, military and civil, 
 men and women, young and old, may have mingled, 
 most of them, to all appearances, full of joy. The cost 
 of the whole was a million of francs. I have not the 
 proceedings of the Assembly by me at this moment, 
 but think that was the sum voted. When the appro 
 priation for it, in advance, was proposed, a member 
 rose to remind the Chamber that Paris was full of 
 workmen out of employment and fed by the Govern 
 ment ; nevertheless, the grant went promptly through, 
 with the greatest enthusiasm. 
 
 May 23. The Minister of Foreign Affairs having 
 appointed the 2*2d as the day when the Executive 
 Committee would receive the Joint Eesolution of Con 
 gress, I repaired yesterday to the Petit-Luxembourg at 
 twelve o clock, where the five members were assembled 
 to receive me. 
 
 On being introduced, I said that I had the honour 
 to present to their Excellencies a EESOLUTION of the 
 Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
 States in Congress assembled, passed on to the 13th of 
 April, tendering, in the name and behalf of the Ame- 
 
 2 i 2 
 
484 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 rican People, the congratulations of Congress to the 
 People of France, upon the success of their recent 
 efforts to consolidate the principles of liberty in a 
 Republican form of government. The Resolution had 
 the sanction of the President of the United States, in 
 the form prescribed by their Constitution, and I, as 
 their Minister Plenipotentiary, had been instructed, 
 under a clause of the Resolution, to present it. 
 
 In fulfilling- this duty I was charged by the Pre 
 sident to say, that these congratulations of the Legis 
 lative and Executive branches of the Government did 
 but reflect the general feeling of the People of the 
 United States, who never could view with indifference 
 the progress of civil liberty in any part of the world, 
 and least of all in the great nation ever associated 
 with the establishment of their own freedom and inde 
 pendence. The President, beholding with admiration 
 the spirit of order and peace which reigned as soon as 
 the late Revolution was achieved, had the anxious 
 hope that the same spirit would continue ; he hoped 
 that France might be blessed with internal tranquillity, 
 whilst occupied in her great work of building up her 
 new institutions of government, and be spared the 
 miseries of foreign war. He believed that those insti 
 tutions, calmly constructed with the best wisdom of 
 France, would thus have auspicious opportunities to 
 become improved and strengthened in a manner to 
 command the approbation of mankind, and secure to 
 France a long career of prosperity and happiness. The 
 People of the United States, whose birthright was 
 freedom, required time and peace after their Revolution 
 successfully to found and consolidate their system of 
 government, republican in form, popular in principle, 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 485 
 
 and stable from the elements of order inherent in its 
 structure ; for its efficiency, like its duration, was the 
 offspring of the checks it imposed on power. 
 
 These were the sentiments, these the hopes, cherished 
 towards France by the President, speaking- under this 
 Resolution of Congress, in the name of the American 
 People, and in the spirit of their ancient attachment to 
 their renowned and generous ally in the days of Wash 
 ing-ton. And I concluded by saying 1 how much I felt 
 honoured in being- the instrument for conveying* them 
 on the part of the President and of my Country. 
 
 M. de Lamartine, on behalf of the Executive Com 
 mittee, replied to the above address. Generally, in 
 these memorandums, I have not deemed it necessary 
 to set forth the contents of documents or dispatches 
 otherwise than by a faithful indication of their mean 
 ing- ; but in this instance I depart from that course, and 
 will give M. de Lnmar tine s reply in his own words. 
 After having 1 been delivered, it was printed in the 
 Moniteur as follows: 
 
 " Sir : The Eesolution which you present to us on 
 the part of the Senate, the Legislative body, and the 
 President of the American Republic, is a happy con 
 firmation of the recognition of the French Republic 
 which you were the first to proclaim. The new Go 
 vernment of the Republic would view with a just 
 susceptibility, foreign Governments mixing up counsel 
 with the expression of their good wishes ; but, in the 
 intimate relations which exist between the French 
 Republic and that of America, every word that the 
 latter may address to us will be received on the score 
 of perpetual friendship. The Senate, the Legislative 
 Body, and the Executive power of the United States 
 may be convinced that their wise counsels serve m 
 
486 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 advancer as a law to the French Republic ; not only 
 will it follow in their path, but it will follow the 
 examples which they give of the order of regular insti 
 tutions, of attention to its neighbours, of solicitude for 
 labour, instruction, and the prosperity of the people. 
 The names of Washington, Jefferson, and Jackson are 
 inscribed on the banner of the new Republic ; arid if 
 France is fortunate enough to find in its future annals 
 
 O 
 
 names worthy of these, liberty will assume its real 
 character on the old Continent, as it has done on the 
 other side of the Atlantic." 
 
 May 24. In the National Assembly, yesterday, M. 
 de La mar tine stated that the American Minister had 
 just presented to the Executive Committee a RESOLU 
 TION from the Congress of the United States, to recoo-- 
 
 Cv / O 
 
 nise the French Republic, and to congratulate it on its 
 existence. Up to the present time the Executive power 
 had always acted of itself in such circumstances ; but 
 on this occasion it was the whole Congress of the 
 United States which had directly addressed the repre 
 sentatives of the French Republic. Such being- the 
 case, it would be advisable, he thought, to respond to 
 such proceeding by one of a similar nature ; and, in 
 consequence, he had to propose, in the name of the 
 Executive Committee, that the Assembly should nomi 
 nate a committee to draw up an address to the American 
 Congress, which should be forwarded with as little 
 delay as possible. 
 
 The announcement of this proposition was followed 
 by cries from all parts of the Chamber of Yes, yes ! 
 It was immediately referred by the Assembly to the 
 Committee of Foreign Affairs. 
 
 May 25. To-day, in the National Assembly, M. 
 Drouyn de TPIuys rose, and spoke to the following 
 
FftENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 487 
 
 effect : The Assembly, he said, had charged the 
 standing 1 Committee of Foreign Affairs, of which he 
 
 r? D 7 
 
 was Chairman, to propose an Address in answer to the 
 felicitations of the Senate and House of Representa 
 tives of the United States; that when France changed 
 her form of government by a striking exercise of 
 national sovereignty, the American Republic at once, 
 through its Minister, hastened to recognise a sister in 
 the French Republic ; and when the events were known 
 at Washington, the President declared that the Ame 
 rican Minister had perfectly comprehended the inten 
 tions of his Government, and that the whole nation 
 joined in the language he had used. Congress had 
 now, in addition, agreed that felicitations should be 
 addressed to the French Republic in the name of the 
 American People ; and, in view of so marked a pro 
 ceeding^ the Committee of Foreign Affairs conceived 
 that the usual course ought also to be departed from 
 by France In place, therefore, of an address, a 
 decree by the Assembly appeared to be the mode of 
 communication best suited to the friendly character of 
 the communications between the two nations. The 
 Committee therefore proposed a decree in the terms 
 following : 
 
 " Article I. In the name of the French Republic, 
 the National Assembly, deeply affected by the feeling* 
 which has dictated to the American Congress the de 
 cree of the 13th of April last, offers to the American 
 people the thanks of the French Republic, and the 
 expression of its fraternal friendship. 
 
 u Article II. The Executive Committee is charged 
 to transmit the present decree to the French Legation 
 at Washington, with an order to communicate it offi 
 cially to the American Congress." 
 
488 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 The decree Avas unanimous!} adopted. 
 
 May 27. A decree yesterday passed the National 
 Assembly banishing- in perpetuity Louis Philippe and 
 the Orleans family from the territories of France. 
 Sixty-two members voted against it. Some of these 
 spoke against it, placing* their objections rather on the 
 ground of magnanimity, as the Republic had now 
 nothing* to fear from them. The word a perpetuite 
 being* objected to, M. Ducoux, who reported the bill 
 from the committee, said it meant nothing 1 , as its 
 
 / r*5 s 
 
 insertion in the decree would not prevent the decree 
 being* changed should the time arrive. 
 
 May 29. In the National Assembly to-day, the 
 Minister of Foreign Affairs stated that the Govern 
 ment of the Republic had received formal recognition 
 by the Courts of Spain and Belg ium. 
 
 May .30. Prince Louis Napoleon makes a com 
 munication to the National Assembly. It is dated 
 London, the 25th of May. Having- learned, he says, 
 that it had been proposed in the committees to main 
 tain ag ainst him alone the decree of banishment 
 against his family in 1816, he calls upon the repre 
 sentatives of the people to say how he has deserved 
 such severity. Was it, he asks, because he publicly 
 declared his opinion that France was not the appanage 
 of any one man, family, or part} ? Was it because, 
 wishing to make triumphant the principle of sove 
 reignty of the people which alone could terminate 
 French dissensions, he had twice been made a victim 
 to his hostility to that Government which the Republic 
 overthrew ? Was it because, in deference to the Pro 
 visional Government, he returned to a foreign country, 
 after hastening* to Paris at the first report of the 
 Revolution ? Was it because he refused to be a randi- 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 489 
 
 date for the Assembly, having* resolved not to re-enter 
 France until the Constitution was firmly established? 
 Such are his earnest interrogations. He further says, 
 that the same reasons which made him take up arms 
 against Louis Philippe would lead him, if his services 
 were required, to devote them to the defence of the 
 Assembly, chosen by universal suffrage and, he adds, 
 that in face of a king elected by two hundred deputies, 
 he could boast of being* heir to an Empire founded by 
 the assent of four millions of Frenchmen. In conclu 
 sion, he says, that he will claim no more than the 
 rights which belong to him as a French citizen ; but 
 these he would incessantly claim, with all the energv 
 which the consciousness of never deserving ill of his 
 country could give to an upright mind. 
 
 May 31. M. de Tocqueville visits me. He is one 
 of the committee of eig hteen appointed by the National 
 Assembly to prepare a draft of the new Constitution. 
 We have much conversation on the subject. The work 
 is advancing*, aud he thinks from present appearances 
 that the committee will report in favour of a single 
 Executive and a single Chamber. 
 
 Mr. Buchanan, our Secretary of State, had trans 
 mitted to me, unofficially, some thoughts, embodying 
 the great American doctrine that our State Constitu 
 tions were the only sure pillars of the Constitution of 
 the United States, which works by its own inherent 
 force in some things, and through the States in others ; 
 the latter instrumentality exemplifying the federative 
 principle, the former the national principle ; and the 
 combination of the two giving to our Union its effi 
 ciency, and securing thus far its duration. Mr. 
 Buchanan s paper was well drawn, and pointed to the 
 elementary differences of our system from the Swiss 
 
490 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 Confederation, that of the seven United Provinces, and 
 the federation of the former circles of Germany ; . the 
 defects in all which confederacies, and in others more 
 ancient, were in the view of the framers of our Consti 
 tution, and sufficiently guarded against as we believed. 
 I had shown this paper to M. de Tocqueville, that he 
 might judge how far, in the new Constitution preparing 
 for France, the French Provincial Parliaments might 
 be more or less assimilated to our State Governments, 
 so as to make the political machine work efficiently to 
 results such as we witnessed in the United States. 
 We had conversed before on these topics, and now 
 again \ but I found him little sanguine of the success 
 ful application of the two principles in France, where 
 the idea of centralization was so deep-rooted. 
 
 June 1. The papers state that the Executive Com 
 mittee have presented to the Assembly a full Report 
 on the conspiracy of the 15th of May, and that the 
 details are very voluminous. 
 
 June 2. At Madame de Tocqueville s reception last 
 night I had more conversation with M. de Tocqueville 
 on the new Constitution. Among prominent names 
 on the committee are those of Dupin, Dufaure, Cor- 
 menin, Odillon Barrot, Coquerel, Lamennais, Marrast. 
 The Abbe Lamennais resigned his membership after 
 preparing a draft of the Constitution which was not 
 adopted by the committee, but in several parts ap 
 proved. 
 
 June 5. In a letter from Commodore Read, com 
 manding our squadron in the Mediterranean, written 
 from his flag-ship in the Bay of Naples, he informed 
 me that he received numerous applications for the 
 presence of vessels of war at various points within his 
 command j but that his small force would not admit 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 491 
 
 of his complying* with the wishes of all who appre 
 hended inconvenience and even danger in various 
 
 o 
 
 ports of the Mediterranean at this juncture of European 
 affairs. 
 
 Considering- the disturbed state of Europe, and that 
 countries bordering- on the Mediterranean may be 
 agitated more than they have yet been ; considering 
 also the unsettled condition of France, and that none 
 can say what irregularities may chance to happen in 
 her ports before she g-ets throug-h all the consequences 
 of her late Revolution, thoug-h I would not foreshadow 
 ill of the Republic, it would seem to me best that our 
 force should be increased in that sea. Accordingly, 
 I wrote last week to our Government to that effect. 
 I advert to the fact that thirty years ago our naval 
 force in the Mediterranean was much larger than that 
 now under Commodore Read, although our commerce 
 at that day was scarcely half its present amount \ nor 
 was it so large then to protect our vessels from cap 
 ture by Algiers or other Barbary Powers, whose 
 piracies we had previously stopped by our cannon 
 the sole argument they would listen to. Happily for 
 commerce and civilization, France, by converting* 
 Algiers into Algeria, had broken up that nest of 
 pirates. 
 
 June 10. There was a bustle in the National As 
 sembly to-day. 
 
 Several members were observed contending* for the 
 tribune, each desiring to speak. The President de 
 cided in favour of M. Heeckeren. This member an 
 nounced to the Assembly that rumours had been 
 circulated that when the National Guard went out 
 from Troyes to meet a regiment of infantry arriving 
 there, it saluted the troops with Vive la Republique ! 
 
492 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 to which the troops replied by the cry of Vive Louis 
 Napoleon ! 
 
 Numerous voices called out, Why tell such rumours ? 
 they are false. 
 
 In the midst of the sensation produced, General 
 Cavaignac, Minister of War, rose and declared that 
 the Government of the Republic had received no 
 information of the kind, and pronounced it calumnious. 
 He accused no one ; he had no right to do so, no 
 right to believe guilt in the person whose name was 
 unfortunately put forward; but added that he would 
 hold up to public execration any man who would 
 sacrilegiously lay his hands on the public liberty. 
 Immense applause followed, the whole Assembly 
 rising and shouting, Vive la Republique ! 
 
 General Cavaignac resumed: Honour to the man 
 who is faithful to his duties, and devotes his talents 
 and fortune to the service of his country ; but shame 
 on him who would attempt to turn to his own account 
 a glorious name, when beholding his country under 
 present embarrassment and difficulty. Again vehement 
 applause, with repeated cries of Vive la Republique ! 
 
 Members on the left exclained, No reaction of any 
 kind no pretenders, no imperial despotism, no military 
 despotism. 
 
 A member on the right exclaimed, A vile imposture 
 to injure Louis Bonaparte ! 
 
 The scene closed by an adjournment of the Assembly. 
 
 The cause of all this was in the fact that Prince 
 Louis Napoleon had just been elected a member of 
 Assembly at the special elections in Paris and the 
 Provinces. He was chosen for three Provinces as 
 well as for Paris. 
 
 June 12. M. George Lafayette was elected a Vice- 
 
FRENCH DEVOLUTION OF 1848. 493 
 
 President of the National Assembly on Saturday, in 
 the place of M. Bethmont, appointed Minister of 
 Justice. It is so much in the heart of an American 
 to love the name of Lafayette, that I rejoice at this 
 compliment to the meritorious son of the companion in 
 arms of Washing-ton. 
 
 I here note down also the appointment of Major 
 Poussin as Minister Plenipotentiary to the United 
 States. He was a Republican in principle before the 
 days of February ; but, from all my knowledge of 
 him, never violent or impracticable in his opinions. 
 I received official information of his appointment 
 on the Oth instant, from the Secretary of Foreign 
 Affairs. 
 
 June 13. Another scene in the National Assembly. 
 
 As soon as the President took the chair yesterday, 
 M. Napoleon Bonaparte ascended the tribune, and 
 said, that although not present at the sitting on Satur 
 day, when General Cavaignac so nobly treated as 
 calumnious the infamous rumours against his relative, 
 he would, nevertheless, as his friend and cousin, claim 
 to address the Assembly ; not to make any apology 
 for him, for he needed none, and had he attempted 
 anything wrong he would be the first to blame him. 
 He then reviewed his conduct since the Republic com 
 menced, to show that it had been in every sense 
 proper; and he protested against imputations being 
 thrown upon him without proof. This is what he had 
 a rio-ht to demand for his relative. To deal with him 
 
 o 
 
 otherwise would be to withhold common justice. He 
 introduced collateral matter, in which I need not 
 follow him. 
 
 A little while afterwards, M. de Lamartine rose, and, 
 after some discussion of other matters, which he sus- 
 
494 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1348. 
 
 pended, and left the tribune from fatigue, returned to 
 it, and resumed his speech in a tone of increased ani 
 mation. This was caused by confusion in the Chamber 
 from rumours that shots had been fired at the National 
 Guards outside, where crowds were assembled and 
 troops known to be stationed. The startling- part of 
 the rumour was, that blood had been shed under a 
 cry of Vive VEmpereur. Returning 1 to the tribune, M. 
 de Lamartine stated, with great earnestness of manner, 
 that the Executive Committee had that very morning 1 
 prepared a declaration, which events now compelled 
 him to read immediately, and which, as conspiracy had 
 been taken flagrante delicto, and blood been shed, 
 ought to pass by acclamation. 
 
 A member called out No vote by acclamation. 
 
 Noise and excitement followed. The President 
 demanded silence from the whole Assembly, that the 
 communication from the Executive Committee under 
 such grave circumstances might be heard. 
 
 M. de Lamartine then read the following decree : 
 
 " The Executive Committee, looking at Article IV. 
 of the law of June, 1816, and 
 
 u Considering that Louis Napoleon Bonaparte is 
 comprised in the la\v of 1832, which banishes the 
 family of Napoleon : 
 
 " That if that law has been departed from by the 
 vote of the National Assembly, in favour of three 
 members of that family who were admitted to take 
 their seats as Representatives of the people, such de 
 parture from the law is quite personal, and by no 
 means applies to the said Louis Napoleon Bonaparte : 
 
 " That Louis Napoleon Bonaparte has twice come 
 forward as a pretender, and that his pretensions might 
 compromise the Republic : 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 495 
 
 " That the Government cannot accept the respon 
 sibility of such acts, and would fail in the first of its 
 duties if it did not take measures to prevent the recur 
 rence of them : 
 
 u Declares, that it will cause the law of 1832 to he 
 executed ag-ainst Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, until 
 such time as the National Assembly shall decide other 
 
 wise." 
 
 The reading* of this decree produced cries of Bravo ! 
 bravo ! the whole Assembly, rising- with shouts of 
 Vive la Eepublique ! 
 
 M. Labarit shouted in his loudest voice Vive la 
 Kepublique, but no proscriptions ! 
 
 After further remarks from M. de Lamartine and 
 M. Larabit, 
 
 M. Pierre Napoleon rose, and said, Shame on those 
 who have cried Vive PEmpereur while shedding- blood ! 
 The Emperor, to avoid civil war, sacrificed himself and 
 all his family in 1815. For my part, I shall be found 
 in the first rank of the defenders of the Republic. 
 Loud applause. 
 
 M. Napoleon Bonaparte rose. He applauded with 
 all his heart these words of his relative, and desired to 
 appeal to the reason of the Assembly at such a moment. 
 M. de Lamartine had eloquently told them that the 
 horrible crime that he denounced was committed at the 
 cry of a name never accused of fomenting* discord ; yet 
 it was under the feeling* of execration ag-ainst such an 
 attempt that he had proposed a bill of proscription. 
 He wished to say nothing* to cause excitement, but 
 felt it his duty to protest ag-ainst a decree inspired by a 
 crime to which the person intended to be proscribed 
 was a strang-er. 
 
49G FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 The Minister of Commerce stated ; that the decree 
 was prepared beforehand. 
 
 M. Napoleon Bonaparte. u What a moment, then, 
 have you chosen to present it ! It will be enough to 
 make any wretches use a name to cover criminal 
 designs." He protested ag ainst the connection which 
 M. de Lam ar tine appeared to establish between this 
 crime and the name of his relative, exclaiming , with 
 animation ic The Empire ! who wishes for it ? It is 
 a chimerical notion ; it will remain as a great epoch in 
 history, but can never be revived." 
 
 This ended the scene. No vote was taken on the 
 decree. It came up only as an incident. The Assem 
 bly proceeded to its regular business, but soon ad 
 journed, impatient of other discussions. 
 
 June 14. Yesterday the Assembly voted, by a 
 large majority, to admit Louis Napoleon Bonaparte to 
 his seat as a Representative. The debate about it 
 occupied nearly the whole sitting. Its substance may 
 be presented thus : 
 
 The members who were for admitting him, said that 
 he had been fairly elected ; why, therefore, not let him 
 take his seat? why did not the Executive Government 
 object to his being a candidate ? that would have been 
 their time. They knew of it, and ought to have 
 warned the electors against misplacing their suffrages ; 
 but at that time no one had any fear of the person 
 whom the Government had now made formidable. 
 There was no real danger from him as a pretender ; 
 the Eepublic was too great, too strong it had planted 
 its standard too high to feel any such alarm. To ex 
 clude him from the Assembly, after the people had so 
 fully chosen him, would be to affront their sovereignty 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 497 
 
 and give him a fatal importance. If he had committed 
 a crime, proceed against him, bat do not proscribe 
 him. A renewal of such attempts as he made against 
 the Government of Louis Philippe, would be like idle 
 dreams, impossible to succeed, and only exposing- him 
 self to the contempt of his fellow-citizens and posterity. 
 
 The members for excluding 1 him alleged that the 
 present time was different from that of the first elec 
 tions. It was then unknown from what point strength 
 or danger might arise to the Republic ; but, now that 
 the Executive Committee was formed, and the precise 
 position of the Government known, it would be an act 
 of folly to admit any one to a seat in the Assembly 
 who might trouble its tranquillity. Louis Napoleon 
 Bonaparte was not a simple Representative, but a 
 Prince and a Pretender. Each time he attempted to 
 enter France, his ambition prompted him to the step. 
 He was for coming as the nephew and heir of the 
 rights of the Emperor Napoleon. There was no being 
 blind to this ; and would the Chamber invest a Pre 
 tender with the inviolability which covered every one of 
 its members ? If any election district had chosen, as a 
 member, the Count de Paris or Henry V., would not 
 that have been a false step ? To exclude Louis Napo 
 leon was now a law of necessity, which the Assembly 
 ought to enforce. 
 
 When the Assembly divided, and it was found 
 those for admission had triumphed, it created great 
 sensation ; and an adjournment quickly followed. 
 
 We read in this vote a defeat of the Executive 
 Government of the Republic. 
 
 June 16. Yesterday, near the close of the sitting 
 of the Assembly, the President rose, and said he had 
 
 2 K 
 
498 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 that moment received a letter from Louis Napoleon 
 Bonaparte, which he proceeded to read. 
 
 It was addressed to him, as President of the Assem 
 bly, dated London, the 14th instant, and stated that, as 
 he was about to set off in order to be at his post, he 
 learned that his election had been made the pretext for 
 disorders and disastrous errors ; he repudiated all the 
 suspicion of which he had been the object, for he 
 sought riot for power ; if the people imposed duties on 
 him, he would know how to fulfil them, but disavowed 
 all those who had made use of his name to excite dis 
 turbance ; the name he bore was, above all, a symbol 
 of order, of nationality, of glory ; and rather than be 
 the subject of disorder and anarchy, he would prefer 
 remaining* in exile ; he sent enclosed a copy of a letter 
 of thanks to all the electors who had given him their 
 votes, and concluded with requesting* the President to 
 communicate to his colleagues the letter addressed to 
 himself. 
 
 Considerable agitation followed the reading of this 
 letter. Groups were formed in every part of the 
 Chamber. Several members went to the tribune. The 
 Minister of War, General Cavaignac, said he would not 
 express his thoughts, but could not help remarking 
 that in the letter just read the word Republic was not 
 even mentioned. Cries of Vive la Eepublique! 
 
 M. Beaune protested, in the name of all his col 
 leagues, against this declaration of war of the Pretender. 
 They would have no Pretender ; but Prance ought 
 to know how that imprudent citizen had responded to 
 the generosity of the Assembly. 
 
 M. A. Thouret. From the emotion of all in the 
 Assembly, it was evident that all were defenders of the 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 499 
 
 Republic \ but one expression in the letter, If the 
 people impose on me duties, I shall know how to fulfil 
 tJiem, was, in his opinion, an appeal to revolt ; and he 
 demanded from the Assembly an immediate decree 
 that Louis Napoleon Bonaparte had ceased to be a 
 Representative of the people. 
 
 The Minister of War proposed that the Chamber 
 should adjourn the discussion until to-morrow. 
 
 M. Jules Favre. There is but one sentiment in the 
 Assembly. 
 
 A voice. That is not so sure. 
 
 M. Jules Favre. I repeat, there is only one senti 
 ment here that of indignation. If, two days after his 
 admission as a member, he sends forth an insolent 
 challenge to the National Sovereignt} , it is our duty 
 to repel it. I am of opinion that the Assembly cannot 
 separate without passing- a resolution that it is unani 
 mous in opposing- all dynastic pretensions. If there 
 appears any indication of plot, proceedings ought to 
 be instituted. I demand that the letter and enclosure 
 be placed in the hands of the Minister of Justice. 
 Cries of Yes, yes ! [Before to-day, M. Jules Favre 
 had strenuously supported the admission of Prince 
 Louis as a member.] 
 
 The Minister of Finance thought it would be most 
 dignified not to act precipitately, but suspend any 
 decision until to-morrow. 
 
 General Clement Thomas (commander of the Na 
 tional Guards of the Seine). A proposition is made to 
 suspend your decision until to-morrow. If informa 
 tion which has reached me be correct, it is in all 
 probability a battle which you will have to fight 
 to-morrow. I demand that you declare that any 
 citizen who dares to take up arms to support the cause 
 
500 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 of a despot [yes, yes, Vive la Republique !] shall be 
 placed hors du loi. 
 
 M. E. Arago and M". Duclerc hurried to the tri 
 bune; but the noise prevented . any one from being 1 
 heard. 
 
 The President rose, and said, a Gentlemen, in the 
 midst of the various propositions, it appears to me that 
 it will be more dignified for the Assembly to make no 
 alteration in the order of its deliberations. Let us not 
 give more importance than it deserves to a matter 
 which may not be as grave as it at first appears." 
 
 The Minister of Finance remarked that the Republic 
 would not perish because the Assembly postponed its 
 deliberation. 
 
 The whole Assembly rose with cries of Vive la Re- 
 publique ! and the sitting- was brought to a close a few 
 minutes after. 
 
 Although the enclosure in Prince Louis s letter was 
 not read to the Assembly, I will give its import. It 
 was dated London, the llth instant, and posted on the 
 walls of Paris, addressed to the electors of the Seine, 
 the Yonne, the Sarthe, and the Seine Inferieure, who 
 had returned him to the National Assembly. He says 
 that their suffrages filled him with gratitude ; the 
 more from being unsolicited, and reaching* him at a 
 moment when he regretted being inactive, while the 
 country had need of all its children to extricate it from 
 its difficulties j a child of Paris, and now a Represen 
 tative of the people, he would unite all his efforts to 
 those of his colleagues to re-establish order, secure 
 peace abroad, consolidate democratic institutions, and 
 promote the prosperity and grandeur of the country. 
 The people had been free since the 24th of February. 
 Let all rally round the flag of the Republic, and give to 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 501 
 
 the world the grand spectacle of a people regenerating* 
 themselves without violence, civil war, or anarchy. In 
 conclusion, he offered them the assurance of his sym 
 pathy and devotedness. 
 
 June 17. Workmen and others collected yesterday 
 morning- in large numbers in the neighbourhood of the 
 Assembly, anxious to know how the case of Prince 
 Louis would be decided. The groups increased as the 
 hour approached for opening* the sitting*. No troops 
 were ordered out ; but military force would have been 
 ready if wanted. 
 
 The President took the chair at the usual hour, and 
 rose amidst profound silence in the members. He 
 announced the receipt of a new letter from citizen 
 Louis Napoleon Bonaparte. It was delivered to him 
 in the morning* by a person who left London yesterday 
 evening-, and he entertained no doubt of its authenticity. 
 It was dated the 15th instant. He proceeded to read 
 the letter amidst cries of Hear, hear ! Commencing 
 with the usual address to the President of the Assembly, 
 he says, that he was proud to have been elected a Re 
 presentative at Paris, and in three other departments : 
 that fact, in his eyes, was ample reparation for thirty 
 years, of exile and six years of captivity ; but the 
 offensive suspicions his election had given birth to, the 
 trouble for which it had been the pretext, and the 
 hostility manifested by the Executive Government 
 towards him, imposed on him the duty of refusing* an 
 honour which was attributed to intrigue. He desired 
 order and the maintenance of a Eepublic, prudent, 
 grand and intelligent ; and since, involuntarily, he 
 favoured disorder, he begged leave, though not without 
 deep regret, to place his resignation in the President s 
 hands. Soon, he trusted, calm would be restored, and 
 would permit him to return to France as the most 
 
502 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 simple of her citizens, but also as one most devoted to 
 the repose and prosperity of his country. The letter 
 ends with requesting- the President to receive the assu 
 rance of his most distinguished consideration. 
 
 Approbation was manifested in all parts of the 
 Assembly when the reading 1 of this letter was con 
 cluded. 
 
 The President suggested its transmission to the 
 Minister of the Interior, to allow him to act on it as he 
 might deem proper, with a view to a new election to 
 fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Louis 
 Napoleon. 
 
 The order of the day was then called for. 
 
 A voice exclaimed, Is the resignation accepted ? 
 
 Yes, yes, from all sides of the Chamber. Then let 
 us proceed to the order of the day. 
 
 The Assembly accordingly proceeded to take up its 
 regular business. 
 
 This last letter of the Prince, with his letter of the 
 llth instant to his constituents, unknown to the As 
 sembly when acting on his letter to their President of 
 the 14th, has had, from present appearances, a tran 
 quillizing effect. 
 
 June 20. Yesterday the draft of the Constitution for 
 the Republic was presented to the National Assembly 
 by M. Armand Marrast, the Reporter of the special 
 committee appointed to draw it up. He also read it. 
 When the reading was concluded, no remarks were 
 made ; but the Assembly, in consideration of the great 
 importance of the subject, took a recess of half an 
 hour. The sitting was then resumed. Its discussion 
 will come up another day. 
 
 As reported, a single Chamber is to constitute the 
 Legislative power. The Executive power is also to 
 be single. 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1818. 503 
 
 The Representatives of this single Chamber are to 
 be seven hundred and fifty in number, chosen by uni 
 versal suffrage, by ballot, for three years, and are 
 re-eligible. They must be twenty-five years old. They 
 are to be the Representatives not of the department or 
 district which elects them, but of all France, and can 
 receive no imperative mandate. The National Assem 
 bly is to be permanent, but may adjourn for a term 
 not exceeding- three months. No Representative can 
 be named, or promoted, to an office held by Executive 
 appointment. 
 
 The Executive power is to be in a President chosen 
 by direct and universal suffrage. His age must be 
 thirty at least. He is to be elected for four years, and is 
 not re-eligible until after an interval of four years. He 
 appoints to office and removes ; the latter, not in all 
 instances without the advice of the Council of State. 
 The Ministers of his appointment are to have seats in 
 the Assembly and the right of speaking. He is to 
 watch over and assure the execution of the laws. The 
 armed force is at his disposal, but with no power of com 
 manding in person. He cannot dissolve the Legisla 
 tive body, or in any manner suspend the Constitution 
 or laws. His salary is to be six hundred thousand 
 francs a year, and a residence is to be provided 
 for him. 
 
 There is to be a Vice-President {( nominated for 
 four years by the Assembly, on the presentation made 
 by the President in the month following his election."* 
 If the President is prevented fulfilling his duties, the 
 Vice-President acts for him. Should he die or resign, 
 a new President is to be elected within a month. 
 
 * Meaning (as I understand) elected by the Assembly on the 
 President s nomination. 
 
504 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 The Council of State is to consist of forty members 
 chosen by the National Assembly. The Representa- 
 tives are eligible to it. Vacancies in the Assembly 
 caused by the election of members to the Council of 
 State are to be filled up by new elections. 
 
 The Judiciary. Some of the Judges are appointed 
 by the President ; others by the National Assembly, 
 and all for life or good behaviour. Trial by jury in 
 criminal cases to be continued as already existing. 
 Conflicts of power between the administrative and 
 judicial authorities to be decided by a special tribunal 
 of Judges (as explained) nominated every three years 
 in equal numbers by each conflicting authority. 
 
 Alg*eria and the French colonies are to be French 
 territory and governed by special laws. 
 
 The press is to be free without censorship. All 
 religions are to be allowed, and the various ministers 
 of the acknowledged religions are to be paid by the 
 State. 
 
 The national debt is guaranteed. 
 
 Slavery is abolished in all French colonies. [As 
 by the Provisional Government.] The punishment of 
 death is not to be inflicted for political offences. [As 
 by the Provisional Government.] 
 
 France is styled "A Democratic Republic, one 
 and indivisible;" and "all power emanates from the 
 People." 
 
 The motto of the Republic is to be "Liberty, 
 Equality, Fraternity." 
 
 a Liberty, equality, safety, instruction, labour, pro 
 perty, assistance 7 are guaranteed to all citizens. 
 
 Under the head of "Public Force/ it is declared 
 that every Frenchman owes military service in person, 
 with the exceptions fixed by law. * u Substitutes are 
 interdicted. 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF J848. 505 
 
 Article 112, standing- by itself in the same chapter, 
 reads thus : " The public force is essentially obedient. 
 No armed force can deliberate." 
 
 The foregoing are among- the most important pro 
 visions and declarations of this anxiously expected 
 Constitution. It consists of one hundred and thirty- 
 nine articles, some running- into much detail. Those I 
 bring- into view may serve to show the spring s that 
 will be likely to move it when undergoing- the tests of 
 practical administration. A number of its clauses are 
 similar to the Constitution of the United States. Other 
 parts, and those elementary, are altog-ether different ; 
 as to be expected when different races, acting- under 
 different moral and physical causes, found systems of 
 government. 
 
 The opening- words of the French Constitution 
 are : 
 
 " In the presence of God, and in the name of the 
 French people, the National Assembly proclaims and 
 decrees as follows: DECLARATION OF DUTIES AND 
 RIGHTS. The duties of man in society are thus 
 summed up : respect to the Constitution^ obedience to 
 the laws, defence of the country, the accomplishment 
 of family duties, and the fraternal practice of the 
 maxim, Do not unto others what you would not wish 
 others to do unto you ; what you wish men to do for 
 you, do unto them likewise." 
 
 These last words all nations may agree to, as em 
 bodying- the precept of universal justice as well as 
 Christian morality. 
 
 June 21. To-day the Assembly received the Report 
 on the Finances from the Committee of Finance. It 
 takes less favourable views of them than those held up 
 by the Minister of Finance, but compliments him on 
 having resisted the issue of paper money. 
 
506 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 June 22. I went last night for the first time to the 
 reception of M. Bastide, the Minister of Foreign 
 Affairs. The attendance was not large. Of the Di 
 plomatic Corps we had none but the Danish Minister 
 and the Minister from Tuscany ; but some of the Mi 
 nisters of the Government were present. They talked 
 with each other as if anxiously. The tone of the 
 evening- was more grave than sprightly. 
 
 Major Poussin, the newly-appointed Minister to the 
 United States, was there. With him I chiefly con 
 versed. He thought the Government uneasy at the 
 present state of things. The numerous workmen out 
 of employ were getting more and more discontented. 
 Their discontents were inflamed at the clubs. Many 
 went there from idleness. The speakers, knowing how 
 they felt, and harbouring bad designs, ministered to 
 their discontents. These were his fears, and, he ima 
 gined, those of the Government. 
 
 I came away between ten and eleven o clock. 
 Driving over the bridge, the rows of lamps that skirt 
 the Seine and seem to twinkle through the gardens of 
 the Tuileries, with the more brilliant ones in Place de la 
 Concorde, make the wide spaces of this part of Paris 
 as beautiful by night as day. Every night you see 
 them. They seemed to dim the moonlight. The 
 allied armies were reviewed here in 1814. 
 
 June 23. Soon after daybreak this morning I heard 
 the rappel. It was beaten quickly, and sounded as if 
 from several drums beaten together. It awoke me^ 
 and continued to beat all around where I live until 
 breakfast-time. I went out to learn the cause. Heard 
 there was great alarm all over Paris. I saw National 
 Guards, singly or a few together, hurrying along with 
 their muskets. I then went to the office of Legation. 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 507 
 
 Groups of people fill up the streets. I attempt to go 
 over the bridge at Place Concorde, but cannot, from 
 the guard and troops that block up the way. I go to 
 the bridge of the Invalides and cross there. At the 
 Legation I learn there is a great insurrection. The 
 rappel had been beating the generale in that part of 
 the town. I return the way I went, but find it still 
 more difficult to reach home, from the increased num 
 bers of the military. They fill up all the approaches 
 to the National Assembly, as if to guard it ; and I 
 learn that serious fighting is going on in various parts 
 of Paris. 
 
 June 24. The Insurrection rages. The generale 
 was beating throughout the night, and the tocsin 
 sounded. It was chiefly at Port St. Denis, Port St. 
 Martin, and streets in that quarter, and in the Fau 
 bourg St. Antoine, that the Insurrection broke out. 
 Barricades were raised before daylight yesterday 
 morning, and so quickly on some spots as to get ahead 
 of the Government. The Insurgents even seized on 
 one of the Government s depots. More barricades 
 sprang 1 up, with amazing quickness, at different points 
 in the course of the morning ; and to-day the figiiting 
 is more deadly, and has extended to positions secured 
 by the Insurgents near Notre Dame, the Sorbonne and 
 the Pantheon. Cannon may be heard, and volleys of 
 musketry, from my residence, which is not far from 
 the Assembly. I walk out, endeavouring to get to 
 the Legation, but find it impossible. lam stopped by 
 sentinels at every turn. Many have been killed, and 
 more wounded, of the National Guard and troops. 
 So, I am told, it is reported to the Assembly. General 
 Cavaignac is commander-in-chief of the whole mili 
 tary, with powers to put down the Insurrection. The 
 
508 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 Assembly has declared itself in permanent session. 
 Several of the Eepresentatives g-o out to fight with 
 the National Guard, or give encouragement by their 
 presence. 
 
 June 25. The fighting* grows more fierce and san 
 guinary. Nothing but cannon can break down the 
 barricades. The Insurgents got possession of one, but 
 it was soon taken from them. They fight furiously, 
 and, when driven from their barricades, fight hand to 
 hand with knives, sabres, or bayonets. The troops 
 and National Guard fall in the greatest numbers, 
 the Insurgents firing upon them from houses and 
 windows close by the barricades, where the streets 
 are narrow and houses high. The troops enter the 
 houses through showers of bullets. The Insurgents 
 have opened communications from house to house 
 inside, through long distances. The troops do the 
 same. General Cavaignac is invested with the 
 supreme Executive Authority a dictatorship for the 
 time being. He reports constantly to the Assembly. 
 He orders more troops to Paris by the railways. The 
 city is declared to be in a state of siege. The Exe 
 cutive Committee of five is superseded, but does service 
 in the streets with the National Guard. National 
 Guards from the new provinces come in to act with 
 those of Paris, and the Garde Mobile fight desperately 
 and suffers greatly ; more than half at one barricade 
 are said to have fallen. 
 
 I cannot get to the Legation ; but in the after 
 part of the day I walked out in the streets near me. 
 All is silent, like a city of the dead. You hear not a 
 word. You see nothing but cavalry at the corners, 
 the men sitting on their horses, with up-raised swords, 
 to close all circulation through the streets. I make 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 509 
 
 my way with difficulty as far as Mr. Uidgway s, by 
 
 taking" a roundabout course. This stoppage of circu 
 lation is especially strict around the districts where the 
 fight rages, that reinforcements or aid of any kind may 
 be cut off from the Insurgents and their escape pre 
 vented when vanquished. 
 
 June 26. The Insurrection continues, but is losing 
 ground. The Mayor of Paris writes to the Assembty, 
 from the Hotel de Ville, that most of the long and 
 narrow streets from that great point to Rue St. 
 Antoine were covered with barricades, which the 
 troops were taking one after another, the ^ incredi 
 ble desperation " of the Insurgents yielding*, at length, 
 to the intrepidity and discipline of the troops. Never 
 before, says the Mayor, were the streets of Paris 
 stained with so much blood. The Insurgents wanted 
 a parley for terms ; but Cavaignac would only listen 
 to unconditional surrender. He led in person the at 
 tack on the first barricade, and carried it. He acts 
 with great vigour and good generalship, Lamoriciere 
 aiding". Shells have been thrown on barricades where 
 
 o 
 
 resistance was the most obstinate. The Assembly has 
 voted a grant of three millions of francs for assistance 
 to the poorer classes unable to get bread from the state 
 of the capital, and passed a decree that the wives and 
 children of all who fall in defending the laws are 
 adopted by the country. The Insurgents are well 
 armed, and supplied with ball cartridge to profusion. 
 
 At twilight this evening I walked into Eue de Lille, 
 the street in which I live. Circulation is still closed 
 by the cavalry at each end ; but the street is long, and 
 in walking through it, while scarcely a human being 
 was walking there but myself, I saw women sitting- 
 out by the conciergeries in little groups, making up 
 
510 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 bandages and scraping- lint for the wounded among* 
 the National Guards. The killed and wounded are 
 known already to be far greater than in the Revolu 
 tion of February. At night we could hear from our 
 house the cry of the sentries in lengthened-out tones, 
 u Sentinelle, prenez garde a v-o-us." It passed along* 
 the Bank of the Seine, from sentry to sentry, until the 
 ear caught only the last word, a v-o-us. The sound 
 gave token that all was safe in our neighbourhood. 
 My residence seems in the very centre of alarms, being* 
 between the Assembly and the Tuileries, and in the 
 neighbourhood of barracks. 
 
 Yesterday, Sunday, the Archbishop of Paris passed 
 through Rue de Lille, going by my house, on his way 
 to General Cavaig nac. then at the Assembly. He 
 was in his ecclesiastical dress, attended by some of his 
 vicars : so my servants reported, two of whom saw 
 him as he passed. He desired the General s permis 
 sion to go to the barricades as a mediator with healing- 
 words to the combatants, in the hope of staying the 
 effusion of blood. The General warned him of the 
 dang er. He said he could not pause on that account, 
 when duty called him. The General assented, pro 
 mising all the protection possible, but alive to his 
 danger. Forthwith he repaired to the scene of blood 
 and mounted a barricade, the troops suspending their 
 fare. Two of his vicars were by his side, and a faith 
 ful servant behind him, who was there without his 
 knowledge. His venerable form, and the olive-branch 
 borne before him, touched the conscience of the In 
 surgents, and their lire stopped. Soon it recommenced. 
 He stood unmoved, while bullets flew about him. At 
 length he was struck, and fell, mortally wounded, his 
 servant striving to catch him in his arms. There is 
 
FKENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 511 
 
 some uncertainty where the fatal bullet came from, 
 the Insurgents disavowing it ; and perhaps, in the 
 confusion, it was uncertain. In dying*, this noble- 
 minded prelate expressed the hope of the Christian 
 martyr, that his death might do good to his country. 
 Alas ! the fighting continued ! Overpowering 1 numbers 
 and discipline alone put an end to it. 
 
 June 27. Yesterday, at an early hour in the 
 morning-, it was announced to the Assembly that the 
 Government was in possession of all the strong-holds of 
 the Insurgents, except the Faubourg- St. Antoine. As 
 their resistance became more hopeless, it grew more 
 bloody. When driven from their rude, yet formidable 
 ramparts, it was supposed they intended to rally, in 
 their desperation, on Montmartre, outside, thinking 1 
 fresh numbers might the better join them there. 
 They declared they would die fighting, rather than 
 surrender, except upon terms. They g-ot possession of 
 a large cannon, from which they poured a murderous 
 fire on the troops. The troops silenced it with howit 
 zers. Finally they gave way, but were undismayed 
 to the last, many turning- round and firing before 
 throwing- away their muskets. Some horse-artillery 
 of the National Guards pursued ; but the cavalry was 
 able to do this more effectually, and made many 
 prisoners beyond the barriers. More were taken in 
 the streets, and in the houses from which they had 
 been fig-hting-, and from which the troops prevented 
 their escape, as far as possible. Had they rallied on 
 the heights of Montmartre, it w r as their insane hope to 
 have recruited their force for a fresh struggle by night 
 sio-nals to their confederates all over Paris. 
 
 o 
 
 June 28. The Insurrection appears to be now 
 entirely suppressed. 
 
512 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 The day being 1 fine, I walk out to various parts of 
 Paris to view the scenes of havoc and slaughter. I go 
 to Port St. Denis, Port St. Martin, to the long- street 
 St. Antoine, through which I walk, and through parts 
 of other streets, not omitting-. Hue de Charenton, Eue 
 St. Jacques, and so onward to the Sorbonne and Pan 
 theon. My son, Madison Rush, Lieutenant in the 
 United States Navy, who is with us on leave of 
 absence from his ship, is the companion of my walk. 
 We see where the numerous barricades were raised, 
 defended and overthrown. Crowds of persons are 
 moving- along- the same streets, with the same object 
 as ourselves. Too plain to all are the traces of the 
 sanguinary fig-lit. Houses shattered by cannon-balls ; 
 many, many more, so many that they could not easily 
 be counted, riddled through all the woodwork by the 
 musketry of the troops and National Guard. We 
 were only left to imag-ine those fierce hand-to-hand 
 strug-g-les where so many were killed. The horrors of 
 a battle-field, where the dead, the wounded and the 
 dying- are left exposed, we did not see ; but it was the 
 battle-field of a dense city, where the slain and wounded 
 were borne off as they fell, replete with horrors less 
 common, but not less frightful. 
 
 We also passed along- the Boulevards, Place Con 
 corde, and Champs Elysees in parts where, although 
 there was no actual fig-hting-, every thing- bespoke the 
 conflict there had been. The sieg-e is still kept up ; 
 and those spacious thoroug-hfares where the g-ay and 
 fashionable of Paris and Europe throng- in their 
 equipag-es and morning- promenades, and along- which 
 I passed in my carriage, when all was so silent, in 
 going- home from the Foreign Office, the very night 
 before the Insurrection, now look like half-abandoned 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 513 
 
 encampments. Scattered wisps of hay and the litter 
 of cavalry, horses tied to iron palisades, detachments 
 of infantry, their arms stacked, the men lying* down 
 on straw, looking- jaded, some asleep, after this din of 
 battle, such is the picture of these streets now. 
 
 In the Assembly to-day, General Cavaignac resigned 
 his extraordinary powers. The Assembly passed a 
 vote of thanks to him, and a decree confiding- to him 
 the whole Executive power, with authority to appoint 
 the Ministers. These votes went through amidst the 
 loudest cheers and clapping* of hands, the members all 
 rising* and waving 1 their hats as well as cheering*. 
 
 c5 O o 
 
 The General went to the tribune (his appearance pro 
 ducing* fresh acclamations), and asked leave to propose 
 that the thanks should include the gallant army and 
 National Guards, and various general officers who had 
 so devotedly seconded him in his efforts to quell the 
 Insurrection. His proposition was received with 
 another burst of applause. 
 
 In the evening* sitting*, he announced to the Assembly 
 the names he had selected for the new Cabinet, which 
 I need not recapitulate, as changes may occur. Some 
 of the old members, whom the Insurrection found there, 
 are continued. All resigned when the Executive 
 Committee" ceased to exist by General Cavaignac s 
 investiture with the supreme command. 
 
 June 29. Soon after the Assembly met, the Presi 
 dent proceeded to read the draft of an address to the 
 French nation, which had been prepared by order of 
 the Chamber. Its first words are u Frenchmen, anar 
 chy has been overcome ! Paris is still standing ! 
 Justice shall have its course !" It goes on : " Honour 
 to the courage and patriotism of the National Guards 
 of Paris, and of the departments; to the brave and ever 
 
 2 L 
 
514 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 glorious army ; to the young- and intrepid Garde Mo 
 bile ; to the pupils of the schools ; and to the innu 
 merable volunteers who threw themselves into the 
 breach for the defence of order and liberty." a The 
 attacks of these new barbarians were/ it says, a against 
 the civilization of the nineteenth century ; in their code, 
 family was but a name, and property spoliation ; but 
 the He public, the work of God, the living* law of huma 
 nity, could not perish ; they (the Assembly) swear it 
 in the name of France, and by all those noble victims 
 who fell by their fratricidal hands." These are some 
 of the words of the address. It appeals to all French 
 men to unite in love of their country ; to remove the 
 last vestiges of civil discord 5 " to maintain firmly the 
 conquests of liberty and democracy, and to let nothing- 
 induce them to depart from the principles of their De 
 volution." When the reading- was concluded, all the 
 members rose, crying , Vive la Republique ! 
 
 At this sitting , the President also read, in the 
 form of a decree, a tribute to the Archbishop of Paris, 
 in these words : 
 
 u That the National Assembly regards it as a duty 
 to proclaim the sentiment of religious gratitude and 
 profound affliction which it feels for the devotedness 
 shown by the Archbishop of Paris ; and for his death, 
 so heroic, so holy." It was adopted unanimously, 
 amidst evident marks of deep feeling- throughout the 
 Assembly. 
 
 July 5. A member of the late Government having 
 insinuated in the Assemblv, on the breaking- out of the 
 Insurrection, that foreign gold had something to do with 
 it, the British Ambassador, in a note to the Minister 
 of Foreign Affairs, protested strongly against any 
 possible application of the words to his country. M. 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848, 515 
 
 Bastide replied, that the opinion of his Government, as 
 well as his own, was, that Her Majesty the Queen was 
 too just to have taken any part in exciting- the frightful 
 events in Paris ; and says to Lord Normanby that he 
 would see with the greater pleasure publicity given to 
 this declaration and Lord Normanby s note, as it would 
 be a new proof of the sentiments of reciprocal friend 
 ship which animated the two Governments. 
 
 July 8, The funeral of the Archbishop of Paris 
 took place yesterday. The concourse was great. De 
 tachments of the military headed the procession. 
 Various religious communities, with the clergy of Paris 
 and its environs, followed. Black banners were car 
 ried, on which were inscribed the dying words of the 
 Prelate. The body was borne by National Guards, 
 the face being left uncovered j and six bishops were 
 pall-bearers. Members of the National Assembly, 
 headed by their President, attended, and deputations 
 from various bodies of the State. The service was per 
 formed at the Cathedral, and is said, with the mournful 
 music, to have been very touching. 
 
 Having mentioned the principal events of the Insur 
 rection, closing with the sad ceremony just noted, I 
 will succinctly advert to some of its causes and possible 
 consequences, as my impressions of both were imparted 
 to my Government after it was over. 
 
 The Provisional Government gave instant relief, and 
 promised employment to the workmen of Paris and its 
 vicinity suddenly thrown out of emplo} T ment by the 
 Eevolution. This, as a temporary measure to supply 
 the wants of a large class in danger of starving, was 
 natural; more especially as these men did their pro 
 portion of the fighting in the cause that brought them 
 to want. But, under the maxims and movements of the 
 
 2 L2 
 
516 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 Revolution, the Provisional Government established 
 national workshops, and undertook to provide work in 
 them for these masses of the French population, as part 
 of the policy of the new Republic. This doctrine had 
 long- been inculcated in the writing s of the Socialists, 
 and they thought the time had arrived for putting- it 
 in practice. English Socialists came over to aid their 
 French brethren in the work. That some who held 
 this creed were sincere, ought not to be doubted ; but 
 it cannot be supposed all were. The national work 
 shops, in which work was to be provided, did not accom 
 plish the object. They did not, and could not, employ 
 every body. All who worked in them were paid two 
 francs a -day. This was too little for good workmen, 
 and too much for bad. The work was badly done ; 
 and the accumulating- excess of workmen who got no 
 employment, was thrown as a charity upon the Govern 
 ment at some inferior allowance , that its promise might 
 not be wholly broken. This made a heavy aggTegate 
 of expense to the Government without satisfying the 
 workmen; and the consequence was discontent among 1 
 all. For the first days after the Revolution their con 
 duct was orderly, and for a longer time they submitted 
 patiently. But idleness had created bad habits, and 
 actual or approaching want was beginning to render 
 some among them turbulent. Evil-minded persons 
 fomented their discontent, took them to the clubs, 
 and worked upon their passions. Many desired to 
 separate from the main body and seek work as they 
 could find it in Paris or in the country ; but this was 
 not allowed by their more resolute companions or by 
 the clubbists, who kept them in Paris. The Govern 
 ment sent some into the Provinces. This they did not 
 like, and tried to resist; which made more bad blood. 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 517 
 
 Thing-s under such a system were tending- from bad to 
 worse. The Provisional Government saw the difficulty, 
 without being- able to escape from it fast enough to 
 appease all the bad passions ripening- for explosion. 
 Finally, the same body of men whose humanity and 
 forbearance in February, when the Revolution raged, 
 were a theme of admiration, and whose obedience to 
 the laws was witnessed for a month afterwards, were 
 converted into instruments for oversetting- the National 
 Assembly for a brief moment on the 15th of May, and 
 for this terrible Insurrection in June. This may be 
 taken, as it appears to me, as an outline of the most 
 important of its proximate causes. 
 
 It was, indeed, a terrible insurrection. My sum 
 mary entries while it was in progress do not tell half 
 its horrors. The number of the Insurgents has been 
 estimated at from thirty to fifty thousand. General 
 Cavaig-nac said in the Assembly a few days ago that 
 no one reckoned it beyond fifty thousand ; from which 
 it would seem that he inclined to that number rather 
 than a lower one. If a medium be struck, it leaves an 
 appalling- number, when it is considered that all were 
 efficient for fig-hting- and fought protected by walls and 
 stone barricades. The army in Paris was twenty -five 
 thousand strong- when the fig-hting- began, and con 
 sisted of the war battalions and other troops in hig h 
 discipline. The reg-ulars were increased as the fighting- 
 continued. The National Guard and volunteers more 
 than doubled, it is believed, the number of reg-ulars. 
 It seems admitted that the barricades were reared at 
 the two points for carrying- the Hotel de Ville and 
 National Assembly ; that some were admirably con 
 structed, and that the Insurgents obeyed sig-nals and 
 orders which passed quickly through their lines from 
 
518 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF, 1848. 
 
 their leaders, and were suited to their objects. All 
 this may be explained by remembering* that from their 
 great numbers, many among* them must have seen ser 
 vice in the conscription. Hence their effective disci 
 pline, attested by their withstanding- for four days and 
 nig*hts military forces largely outnumbering* their own, 
 and directed by veterans who brought against them 
 all the apparatus of war. They even perforated with 
 loopholes the city wall of Paris, at proper distances, 
 where the wall is ten or twelve feet high, and kept up 
 through these loopholes, which they took care should 
 bear on some of their strong* barricades, a fire upon the 
 troops, which the latter could not return the Insur 
 gents getting- outside of the barriers when firing . 
 
 Of the killed and wounded among them, hardly any 
 thing appears to be yet known. Of the killed and 
 wounded in the army, Guards and volunteers, no au 
 thentic list has yet appeared ; but the number must be 
 fearful, when four generals were killed and seven 
 wounded, a majority of whom, it is said, fought in 
 Algeria. An estimate of the number has been roughly 
 made at from]seven to ten thousand. Of members of the 
 Assembly, four are among* the dead, and five wounded. 
 
 The Insurrection has left behind it difficulties, if not 
 dangers. Its watchwords were, Down with the Assem 
 bly ! Vive la Republique Democratique et Sociale ! 
 It hung out the red flag. Six thousand, some say 
 eight thousand, were captured ; but greatly more 
 escaped, notwithstanding* the precautions of the army 
 for hemming them in. On some of the women of the 
 Insurgent force captured by the troops were found 
 deadly weapons, as well as the ammunition they 
 carried for the use of the insurgents. 
 
 The overthrow of the " Executive Committee " is a 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 519 
 
 new starting-point in the administrative power of the 
 Republic. Anticipations of what is to come baffle all ; 
 and the remark I now hear most frequently is, though 
 it may look like a paradox, that nothing* is certain 
 except the uncertainty that hangs over the political 
 future of France. Speaking of the present, it is evi 
 dent that great changes have been working in men s 
 minds. At the first general election in April, M. 
 Thiers cautiously sought a candid a teship for the As- 
 sembly 3 but failed ; and none could have imagined that 
 Louis Napoleon would ever be a candidate. At the 
 special elections in June, both were chosen. The sen 
 sation the latter then created, would not have lived a 
 moment in the political atmosphere of Paris in February 
 or March. The continued prostration of industry 
 and credit ; the reduced means of individuals ; the di 
 minished revenues and increased expenses of the State ; 
 an increasing- want of confidence felt by all, with under 
 tones of discontent advancing more and more to utter 
 ance these, with plots and new combinations of bad 
 men for bad purposes, have all been tending to impair 
 the hopes which the Revolution at first created. Those 
 who cherished them are reluctantly brought to perceive 
 that the future is not only full of uncertainty, but 
 overcast with gloom. The Insurrection is crushed, 
 but the Insurgents live \ and live with hatred in their 
 hearts. The Assembly passed a decree for banishing* 
 all who were captured ; but to send off to remote seas 
 and islands six or eight thousand of them would not 
 be easy. It may prove more difficult, though orders 
 for it have gone forth, to disarm all the malcontents 
 among an excited and spirited people accustomed to 
 have arms, but in whose hands it might now be unsafe 
 to leave them. Such words are discouraging. T hough 
 
520 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 18 8. 
 
 military power, directed by a strong- hand, defeated this 
 formidable Insurrection, the feeling- may reappear 
 under other forms of trouble and reveng*e. The 
 French commonalty, once roused, are quick to move, 
 brave to ferocity when their blood is up, and fertile in 
 expedients. Their prowess shown in the Insurrection, 
 although it did not triumph, may have revived tradi 
 tions of the old Revolution, and roused g uilty hopes in 
 bad men who will always find leaders. These are fore 
 boding s that steal into anxious minds. They cannot 
 be kept down after what has happened. Martial law 
 is still in operation in Paris, General Cavaignac recom 
 mending it } and his voice is now the most potent. 
 Too true it also is that society at large has come to feel 
 more safe under its shield. 
 
 Others say that the suppression of the Insurrection, 
 however deplorable the cost, will be productive of good 
 to the Republic, in a face-to-face conflict, over the 
 dangerous doctrines which Revolution stirred up ; that 
 such a conflict was inevitable, and best that it should 
 have come when it did. This opinion receives counte 
 nance from the facts that not only were the National 
 Guards of Paris hearty and unflinching-, but that those 
 from the Provinces hurried to the capital to share in 
 putting* down the Insurrection ; and that even the rural 
 population, inspired by the same good feeling-, were 
 seen to go forward in the cause of law and order. The 
 cry of Vive la Republique still goes up, in the Assem 
 bly and out of doors, on every occasion to excite it. It 
 has been uttered from the beginning by those who did 
 not believe in a Republic for France. That this class 
 has been growing larger is evident ; yet all seem bent 
 on giving the Republic a fair trial, which it will have, 
 they say. when the new Constitution comes into being, 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 521 
 
 and not until then. Count Montalembert, M. Dupin, M. 
 Thiers, Odillon Barrot, Leon Faucher, Victor Hugo, 
 and others of high name in the Assembly are favourable 
 to a double Legislative Chamber. Should this alteration 
 be made in the Constitution before its final adoption by 
 the Assembly, speaking- as an American, I should 
 have higher hopes of its successful operation. Will the 
 declaration which guarantees labour to "all citizens" 
 be retained, after the experience of the Insurrection, 
 which grew out of the Government s being* able to pro 
 vide labour for all having- promised it to all ? I am not 
 able to reply to an inquiry so natural. 
 
 And where is now the Executive Committee of 
 Five ; they who dispensed the whole Executive power 
 of France; who received Foreign Ministers and ap 
 pointed them? Where is de Lamartine, who was all in 
 all ? who rode in the whirlwind and at first kept down 
 the fury of the storm? who saved society by his 
 courag e and a flash of eloquence ? who kept peace at 
 home and abroad, receiving- plaudits from all but the 
 Red Republicans, the most dang-erous of whom he 
 defied and tamed ? Where is he ? Hardly seen, or 
 seen only as a star setting-. But the g-ood he did 
 cannot soon be forgotten. His genius is left to him ; 
 and he knows the delights of literature ; a fondness 
 for which revolutions can neither give nor take away. 
 
 But I turn from thoug-hts which involuntarily 
 spring up from what passes around me, whatever may 
 be their errors. None can understand a country, or 
 have full claim to speak of its future, but those who 
 belong to it, or live in it long enough to catch its whole 
 genius and characteristics. There are times when even 
 these are brought to a stand in judging get perplexed 
 by complications they cannot disentangle. How much 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 more liable to err is the transient person ! How often 
 are those of other countries baffled in passing* judgment 
 upon the condition of Eng-land ! How often, and often 
 how soon, are predictions respecting- her resources and 
 prospects overset by opposite results ! There corne 
 persons to the United States who carry away opinions 
 which, to ourselves, seem mistakes at every turn 
 wrong- inferences from imperfect knowledge, even 
 where truth may be honestly sought. How then 
 can strangers hope to look into the veiled future of 
 France ? 
 
 July 10. To-day I dined at the Marquis Brignoli s, 
 the Sardinian Ambassador ; the first time I have dined 
 out since the close of February. It was a treat to get 
 back to quiet intercourse with the Diplomatic Corps, 
 after the boisterous scenes France has been going- 
 through ; and I regretted the unavoidable absence of 
 my daughters, who were to have been with me. I do 
 not hear much of social intermingling* among- its mem 
 bers since the hurricane that scattered us all. Those 
 here to-day had each a little to say on what has been 
 passing-. I learned that the Sardinian Government 
 recognised the Republic two days ag-o. Rather a 
 large evening-party assembled in the rooms after din 
 ner. Rumours floated through them that another out 
 break of some kind was expected on the 14th of this 
 month ; being- the anniversary of the destruction of the 
 Bastile. 
 
 M. Georg-e Lafayette, who was chosen a Vice-Pre- 
 sident of the National Assembly the early part of June, 
 to fill the vacancy created by M. Bethmont s appoint 
 ment as Minister of Justice, was elected again to that 
 station since the present month came in. The vote for 
 him was largest among several candidates. I mention 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 523 
 
 with renewed pleasure this second tribute to him from 
 the Assembly. 
 
 July 12. Yesterday the Assembly passed a bill, by 
 an overwhelming- vote, for the formation of a camp of 
 fifty thousand troops to be stationed within the city or 
 its environs. The measure was proposed by General 
 Cavaignac some days ago. 
 
 Secondly. The Press has been laid under restric 
 tions beyond any in the time of the Monarch} . The 
 Abbe de Lamennais gives up his paper in consequence 
 of one of them the caution-money required ; saying-, 
 he had not gold enough to pay it. 
 
 Thirdly. The political clubs are all to be bridled. 
 A bill to this effect has been brought forward in the 
 Assembly by the Minister of the Interior. Citizens are 
 ut liberty to open a club, provided the} 7 make a prelimi 
 nary declaration of their intentions to the Prefect of 
 Police at Paris, and to the Mayor of the commune in 
 all the departments; all sittings to be public, with ample 
 accommodation to be reserved for those not members; 
 a Government functionary of the Republic to have the 
 privilege of attending, and a seat to be always specially 
 reserved for him ; a record of the proceedings of each 
 sitting- to be drawn up by the President and Secretary; 
 no club ever to resolve itself into a secret committee, 
 or entertain any proposition tending to excite disturb 
 ance or civil war. These are its chief provisions, with 
 penalties to secure their observance. The bill can hardly 
 fail to become a law in all its essential parts. 
 
 The Insurrection dictated these measures. An ap 
 propriation was proposed for another object, which the 
 Insurrection has made necessary. It was that six 
 hundred and seventy thousand francs (670,000) be 
 granted in aid of the Theatres and Opera, crippled by 
 
524 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 the late turmoils. A bill for carrying 1 into effect this 
 grant may be expected to pass, if the other bills pass. 
 What opposite thing s are seen in this metropolis ! 
 The contrast is often beautiful ; sometimes startling-. 
 Places of amusement unrivalled ; renowned schools of 
 literature arid art ; a National Library incalculable in 
 value, the very manuscripts of which, ancient and mo 
 dern, fill a hundred thousand volumes ; the richest en 
 dowments for fostering science; the most beneficent 
 establishments for alleviating- human misfortune and 
 misery, under whatever forms seen ; so that the phi 
 lanthropist, the profound philosopher, the deep student, 
 the curious in the fine arts, the votary of fashion, all 
 come to Paris as a place where something- useful may 
 be learned or something agreeable enjoyed, something 
 to stimulate the intellect or incite to pleasure. Then, 
 again, are seen Governments uprooted and thrown to 
 the winds with scarcely a moment s warning; con 
 sternation and horror appearing on the stage with 
 enthusiasm and hope; the good and bad principle 
 springing into activity and contending for the mastery; 
 plots and strife getting to work ; want and starvation 
 stalking about ; passion let loose ; conflicts following 
 in quick succession ; representatives of the people, 
 chosen in the fairest possible manner, driven from their 
 seats ; blood flowing in the streets like water ; all true 
 liberty attacked suspended and when or how to be 
 reinstated no one knows. Both sides of this picture 
 have been visible in Paris since I began these memor 
 andums. 
 
 July 14. The anniversary of the destruction of the 
 Bastile comes and goes without an outbreak. 
 
 July 18. I went this evening to the reception of 
 General Cavaignac, at his new residence, Rue de 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 525 
 
 Varennes. It was the first since his ascent to the 
 Executive power. The Minister of Foreign Affairs 
 had notified the Foreign Ministers that he would hold 
 one ; and great was the attendance of army officers, 
 those of the National Guard, and other persons, includ 
 ing Ministers of State. I presented to him Mr. 
 Stanton, Secretary of Legation, and my son. He 
 received numerous congratulations from those who 
 had no opportunity of offering them before, and re 
 ceived them with soldierly grace, heightened by a com 
 manding person. 
 
 July 24. The National Assembly opened to-day 
 with an Address to the members by M. Marrast, the 
 new President under the monthly routine of election. 
 After acknowledging the honour conferred upon him 
 by electing him to the chair, he said it was owing to 
 their energy > and that of the Executive, that they were 
 now able to pursue their deliberations, when peace not 
 only reigned in the streets, but was gradually return 
 ing* to the public mind. He paid tributes to their 
 gallant colleagues who had shed their blood in the 
 cause of the Republic, and, after other appropriate 
 remarks, sat down amidst marks of approbation. 
 
 The main business of the sitting was the passing of 
 a bill for a loan of one hundred and seventy-five 
 millions of francs, or two hundred, as the case might 
 be, at the price of seventy-five francs twenty-five 
 centimes. These terms were not considered the best, 
 but agreed best with the wants of the treasury and 
 present state of the public credit. The Minister of 
 Finance so expressed himself, frankly. 
 
 July 31. Last week the proper Bureau made report 
 to the Assembly that, on examining the case of Louis 
 Napoleon Bonaparte, elected a Representative for 
 
526 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 Corsica, the proceeding s were found to be regular, and 
 that he was entitled to take his seat under this 
 election. 
 
 The President then read a letter addressed to him 
 by Louis Napoleon Bonaparte from London. It ran 
 thus : That he had just learned that, notwithstanding 
 his former resignation, he had been elected to the 
 Assembly for Corsica ; that, although deeply grateful 
 for this mark of confidence, the reasons which forced 
 him to refuse the post of Representative for the Seine, 
 Yonne and Charante-Inferieure still existed, and im 
 posed on him another sacrifice ; that, without renounc 
 ing- the honour of one day being- a Representative of 
 the People, he thought he ought not to return to his 
 country, until his presence in France could in no 
 manner serve as a pretext to the enemies of the Re 
 public; he trusted that his disinterestedness would 
 prove the sincerity of his patriotism, and it was his 
 wish that those who accused him of ambition might be 
 convinced of their error. He concludes with requesting 
 the President to inform the Assembly of his resignation, 
 as well as his regret at not being able to participate 
 in its labours ; and of his ardent prayers for the happi 
 ness of the Republic. 
 
 It was not necessary to take any step under this 
 letter ; but when the President finished reading it, 
 cries of " tres-bien ! tres-bien ! " were heard through 
 out the Chamber. 
 
 August 17. Attend the reception of General 
 Lamoriciere, Minister of War. His rooms were nearly 
 filled with military officers. Most efficient were the 
 services rendered by him during the Insurrection. 
 Trained, like Cavaignac, in Algeria, the latter paid the 
 highest tribute to his ability in the Assembly. 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 527 
 
 August 22. Go again to General Cavaignac s 
 reception. A great crowd, as before, and chiefly of 
 the military. The Marquis of Normanby was there, 
 and the Marchioness. I learn that the former pre 
 sented his credentials as Ambassador from England 
 on Saturday, and was first received by General Ca- 
 vaignac on that day. The step came about through 
 the co-operation of England and France in a media 
 tion in the affairs of Austria and Sardinia. France 
 sent a special minister to London, in the person of 
 Monsieur de Beaumont, on the business of this medi- 
 ation, as soon as she learned that he would be received 
 in that capacity by the English Government. This 
 opened a door to the renewal of diplomatic intercourse ; 
 and the reception of Lord Normanby, by the Execu 
 tive Head of the French Government followed on the 
 19th of this month. Such is the information I get. 
 England, shy in the beginning*, was also wise. She 
 felt the importance of keeping alive her intercourse 
 with France, though the Monarchy had fallen ; for the 
 Nation stood. France, proud and sensitive, could not 
 but feel the advantage of not breaking with England 
 when the Eevolution came. England again had her 
 people scattered in thousands throughout Paris, and 
 other cities and towns of France, spending their money 
 for pleasurable and other purposes ; and large bands 
 of her labouring men working on French railroads ; 
 not to speak of international interests, otherwise link 
 ing two such neighbouring countries together in wa} s 
 beneficial to both. Business operations between them 
 have, therefore, gone on from the first. M. de Lamar- 
 tine, while at the head of the movement, acted in 
 concert with Lord Normanby^ in so sensible a course, 
 until matters have ripened into the recognition stated. 
 
528 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 August 24. Dine at M. Bastide s, Minister of Fo 
 reign Affairs. It was a very large dinner, given to 
 the Diplomatic Corps, members of the Cabinet, and 
 other official persons, including members of the As 
 sembly. Among* the latter were M. Drouyri de THuys, 
 chairman of the Committee of Foreign Relations, M. 
 George Lafayette, and his son Oscar Lafayette. It 
 was the first entertainment of the kind given since the 
 Eepublic was proclaimed. Appearances were much 
 the same as in the days of M. Guizot. 
 
 General Cavaignac came to the drawing-rooms after- 
 dinner. Other company also came. General Cavaignac 
 acts as President of the Council of Ministers, as the 
 adjunct of his higher station as Executive head of the 
 Eepublic. I finished the evening by going* with my 
 friend, M. Lafayette, to the soiree of the President 
 of the National Assembly, where there was a brilliant 
 assemblage of ladies, and a concert. 
 
 September 2. Dined at M. Marrast s, President of 
 the National Assembly ; an entertainment larger than 
 the one at M. Bastide s, and given to the Executive 
 head of the Government, the Foreign Ministers, mem 
 bers of the Cabinet, members of the Assembly, and 
 others. The dining -room and suite in connection were 
 extremely rich in architecture and the hangings. They 
 were once part of the old palace of the Prince of 
 Conde, renovated and fitted up, in the wing or portion 
 where we assembled, for the official residence of the 
 President of the National Assembly. The whole 
 suite, blazing with light from chandeliers, ornate 
 lamps, and candelabra, presented a contrast to the 
 relative simplicity of the rooms in which M. Sauzet, 
 as President of the Chamber of Deputies, entertained 
 the Diplomatic Corps and home functionaries at dinner, 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 529 
 
 as mentioned in a former page, a few days before the 
 King s fall. 
 
 September 9. My memorandum of to-day is of a 
 dinner at the Marquis of Normanby s, the first at the 
 British Embassy since the Revolution, as far as known 
 to me ; and as it was given to General Cavaignac in 
 his capacity of Executive Head of the Republic, I the 
 rather make a memorandum of it. 
 
 General Cavaignac s Minister of Foreign Affairs, 
 M. Bastide ; General Lamoriei&re, his Minister of 
 War, and Madame Lamoriciere ; General Changaraier, 
 Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard ; a good 
 portion of the Diplomatic Corps, and some English 
 gentlemen, made up the company. I do not name all, 
 not knowing* all. Twenty or more appeared to be 
 present. General Cavaignac led the Marchioness of 
 Normanby to the table, and Lord Normanby Madame 
 Lamoriciere. My chair was next to General Cavaig- 
 nac, Lord Normanby assigned it to me. 
 
 In the conversation I had with General Cavaig nac, 
 he said, that because the former Eepublic of France 
 was attended by wars and commotion, persons thought 
 it would be the same now ; but it should not be, if he 
 could prevent it. He was for peace, and for a Re 
 public over all other forms of government. He paid 
 a compliment to the United States, which it was not 
 for me to disown or question the sincerity of, his ante 
 cedents having bound him to the Republican faith ; 
 although not to its dangerous extremes, as all know. 
 
 This happened to be my first dinner at an English 
 table in Paris, though not the first time I and my 
 daughters had received cards to dine at this table. 
 Notwithstanding the just fame of France in social 
 refinements, English dinners seem to have an advan- 
 
 2 M 
 
530 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 tage in being* smaller, which is more favourable to 
 conversation and tranquillity, if I may so express it. 
 I am, however, an incompetent judge, having* been to 
 fewer French dinners than English, and to very few 
 in unofficial life ; while in London private dinner 
 parties are constant, the Diplomatic Corps sharing 1 
 largely in them. A profusion of rich plate was on 
 the table this evening-, which is more the English 
 usage ; porcelain predominating- on French tables. 
 
 I will close this entry with a little incident, hoping 
 the allusion to it will not infringe upon propriety- An 
 English Peer sat on the other side of me. We got 
 into conversation, and he asks me to take wine. In 
 accepting, I tell him I am thankful ; for although I 
 had been in Paris a year, and seen beautiful dinners, 
 it was the first time I had been asked to drink a glass 
 of wine. Was it national? The Anglo-Saxon race 
 on our side of the Atlantic did it, and now I would 
 hope to infer, from the kind challenge of my neigh 
 bour, that the custom was not dead in Old England. 
 It was not, he said. Whenever you caught the eye 
 you wanted across the table, and took up your glass, 
 you were understood, and your friend filled too. The 
 custom came from good feeling, I thought ; and so 
 thought my English friend through whose courteous 
 act I was able to welcome it in Paris. 
 
 September 10. Dine at General Cavaignac s. All 
 the Diplomatic Corps were there, I believe, all, at 
 least, whose Governments have recognised the Repub 
 lic, and many military officers. I observed none 
 of the Cabinet, except M. Bastide, Minister of Foreign 
 Affairs. 
 
 My place at table was next to General Cavaignac, 
 who desired me to take it as we entered the dining- 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1843. 531 
 
 room. Our conversation touched upon England, to 
 the freedom of whose institutions he did justice. I 
 learned from the Sardinian Ambassador, who was near 
 me, that General Cavaig nac spoke the Italian and 
 Spanish languages, and had nearly mastered the 
 Arabic. The latter he had acquired at snatches of 
 leisure during* his campaigns in Algeria. 
 
 I informed General Cavaignac of a letter addressed 
 to him by the President of the United States, which 
 had reached me only to-day, in answer to one from 
 him to the President conve}~ed by M. Poussin, 
 Minister of the llepublic at Washington ; and that 
 after dinner I would ask M. Bastide to take his 
 directions as to the time when I might have the 
 honour of delivering it to him. He replied, off-hand, 
 that he would receive it to-morrow, at twelve o clock, 
 not knowing of any other engagement to prevent him. 
 
 I mentioned this to M. Bastide, and asked at what 
 hour I might call on him in the morning with a copy 
 of the letter before I delivered it, the form usual when 
 letters are written by heads of Governments to each 
 other. He appointed nine o clock. 
 
 In the drawing-room, after dinner, I spoke also to 
 General Cavaignac on re-establishing the consulate at 
 Boston, stating its importance from the population and 
 commerce of Boston. The subject seemed new to him, 
 and he was not aware of the reasons for abolishing* 
 the French consulate there, but would talk with M. 
 Bastide and inform himself on the subject. I also 
 used the opportunity to express a hope that Mr. 
 Isnard s desire to be reappointed consul at that port 
 might be favourably viewed, in case the French Go 
 vernment had formed no wishes for a new appointment, 
 as, by the representations made to me, he had per- 
 
 2 M 2 
 
532 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1S48. 
 
 formed his duties in a manner altogether acceptable to 
 the commercial community of Boston. 
 
 September 17. As I leave my house to call on M. 
 Bastide, I receive a note from him regTetting that he 
 cannot see me at nine, having-, since we parted last 
 evening*, been summoned to attend a meeting- of the 
 Council at General Cavaignac s this morning- ; which 
 also breaks up my appointment there at twelve o clock. 
 Nevertheless, I go to the office of Foreig-n Affairs and 
 leave for M. Bastide a copy of the President s letter, 
 as promised, adding- that I will be ready to deliver the 
 orig-inal at any time convenient to General Cavaignac. 
 
 The 28th of the month was afterwards named as the 
 day ; but when I called on that day General Cavaig- 
 nac was confined to his bed by indisposition. The 
 President s letter called for no act on his part, my 
 reception by the Republic being- already established. 
 It contained renewed expressions of friendly hope for 
 the prosperity and duration of the Republic under the 
 new Constitution in course of formation ; replied in 
 appropriate terms to the friendly tone of General 
 Cavaignac s letter transmitted by M. Poussin, and 
 spoke of the latter as formerly known and esteemed in 
 the United States, and as having- acted with usefulness 
 in their service. These sentiments being- all before 
 General Cavaignac in the copy of the letter I had 
 furnished, it was agreed in the end that a personal 
 delivery of the original had become only matter of 
 form, and might be dispensed with. 
 
 September 30. Prince Louis Napoleon here comes 
 again into these desultory notes. 
 
 The elections for the National Assembly, held in 
 Paris on the 19th of this month, resulted in his being 
 returned by a larger vote than was given to any of 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 533 
 
 the other candidates chosen on the same day. This 
 renewed and laro-e confidence induced him to leave 
 
 o 
 
 London; and, acting- no longer on the principle of 
 resigning-, he became a member of the Assembly on 
 the 2Gth of the month. Surprise and curiosity per 
 vaded the Chamber as he entered by one of the side 
 doors, and, for the first time, took his seat as a mem 
 ber, by sitting- down at the side of M. Vieillard, his 
 former tutor. All eyes turned to that part of the 
 Chamber. Some little bustle followed, which the 
 President checked by a call on the members to keep 
 silence. 
 
 M. Clement went to the tribune, and reported to the 
 Assembly that he had been charged by his bureau to 
 declare the election of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte; 
 thnt it was regular ; that no opposition was made to 
 it, and that the bureau recommended his admission, 
 provisionally, until he should justify his age and 
 nationality. 
 
 Cries that the case should be sent back to the 
 bureau for an unequivocal report. 
 
 M. Vivien rose and stated that the bureau was 
 satisfied of the validity of the election, and that the 
 members of it then present in the house all agreed 
 that an absolute declaration in favour of his admission 
 might have been made, the notoriety of his age and 
 nationality supplying the place of documents. He 
 therefore proposed that the election be proclaimed valid, 
 and that the citizen Louis Napoleon Bonaparte be 
 admitted to his seat. Cries of Yes, yes, came from 
 the Chamber ; and it now became evident that there 
 would be no opposition to his taking his seat at once. 
 
 Louis Napoleon then rose from the seat he had 
 taken, and requested permission to speak, Members 
 
534 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 from all parts of the Chamber exclaimed, "To the 
 tribune ! to the tribune ! " 
 
 He left his seat, and, ascending- the tribune, read 
 from a paper the address following 1 : Citizen Repre 
 sentatives, It is not permitted to me to keep silence 
 after the calumnies of which I have been the object. 
 I want to express here frankly, and on the first day 
 that I am permitted to sit among- you, the true senti 
 ments which animate me which have always ani 
 mated me. After thirty years of proscription and 
 exile, I at last recover my country, and all my rights 
 of a citizen. The Republic has g-iven me this happi 
 ness : let the Republic receive my oath and gratitude ; 
 my oath of devotedness. And may my generous 
 countr3 T rnen who have brought me into this Assembly 
 be certain that I shall endeavour to justify their votes 
 by labouring- with you for the maintenance of tran 
 quillity, that first necessity of the country, and for the 
 development of the democratic institutions which the 
 people have a right to demand. Long have I been 
 prevented from devoting to France more than the 
 meditations of my exile and captivity. At present the 
 career in which you are all advancing is open to me 
 also. Receive me, my dear colleagues, into your ranks 
 with the same sentiment of affectionate confidence that 
 I bring- with me here. My conduct, always inspired 
 by duty alwaj s animated by respect for the law 
 will prove, in relation to the passions which have 
 endeavoured to blacken my character in order again 
 to proscribe me, that no one here more than myself is 
 resolved to devote himself to the defence of order and 
 freedom of the Republic. 
 
 The address was received with marks of approbation. 
 He returned to his seat ; and, although no strong sen- 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 535 
 
 sation was roused, it was the incident of the day. 
 Other business grew languid, and the Assembly rose 
 without a lengthened sitting-. I did not hear the 
 address. A member told me that it was read dis 
 tinctly, with a firm voice, though not with a pronun 
 ciation purely French, but tinged with the German. 
 
 October 10. In the Assembly yesterday, the new 
 Constitution beino under discussion, the President rend 
 
 O 7 
 
 an amendment proposed by M. A. Thouret, in these 
 words : u No member of the families which have 
 reigned in France can be elected President or Vice- 
 President of the Republic." 
 
 The mover of the proposition advocated it in a few 
 words. Another member, M. Woirhaye, rose and 
 stated that the subject of the amendment had been 
 under consideration in the committee and rejected ; 
 for, although it was thought that royalist and imperial 
 families were not the best qualified for acting upon 
 Republican ideas, the democratic principle was too 
 deeply rooted in the country to cause fears to be enter 
 tained of what were called pretenders. 
 
 Other members spoke, some one way, some another. 
 
 Louis Napoleon ascended the tribune, and briefly 
 said that he did not come to speak against the amend 
 ment, or make complaint of calumnies ; but, in the 
 name of the 800,000 electors who had chosen him, to 
 disavow the appellation of pretender so constantly 
 brought against him. 
 
 M. A. Thouret hereupon said, that after that de 
 claration he considered the amendment useless, and 
 withdrew it. Nevertheless it was put to the vote, and 
 rejected ; Louis Napoleon not voting- upon it. 
 
 October 16. After the Republic came in, I was 
 charged by the Secretary of State to give attention 
 
536 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 to the subject of the tobacco monopoly. I brought it 
 to the notice of M. Bastide, who gave me no encourage 
 ment, but the reverse. The new Government wanted, 
 he said, all the revenue attainable, and could not afford 
 to part with so considerable an item as tobacco yielded, 
 but intimated his willing-ness to look more into the 
 
 c? 
 
 subject hereafter. I brought it to the notice of M. 
 Drouyn de 1 Huys, chairman of the Committee of 
 Foreign Relations in the National Assembly, with no 
 better success, his reasons being much the same ; and 
 I lost no opportunity of introducing it as a topic in rny 
 intercourse with such members of the Assembly as I 
 thought might be likely to appreciate what I said 
 about it. None gave much attention to the doctrine I 
 held up, that by admitting our tobacco under a mode 
 rate but fair duty, its increased importation into France 
 might result beneficially to the trade of both countries. 
 That might or might not follow ; but loss of present 
 revenue would be certain if they changed the laws re 
 lating to tobacco. It was in this way all my advances 
 were met. 
 
 But still more to the point : On the 22nd of June, 
 M. Thouret laid a proposition before the Assembly that 
 the sale of tobacco and snuff should no long-er be exclu 
 sively in the hands of the Government, but be open 
 and free. The proposition did not receive twenty-five 
 votes out of the whole Assembly, and thus fell to the 
 ground ; that number of assenting votes being required 
 before any proposition can come before the Chamber, 
 even for consideration. This vote would seem to show 
 that public opinion in France is in favour of the mono 
 poly, when we consider that the members have all so 
 recently been chosen by universal suffrage throughout 
 all parts of France. 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 537 
 
 The vote is discouraging* to any favourable changes 
 for us in any respect, at least for the present, in the 
 French tariff, over the laws regulating it in the time 
 of the Monarchy. The King s words to me at St. 
 Cloud, in November, that (c a public conviction long 
 entertained in France in matters of trade was not easily 
 altered/ 7 receives confirmation from this vote. The 
 Provisional Government, on coming into power, abo 
 lished the Octroi, a duty on meats, liquors, and other 
 things within the limits of Paris, but soon restored it. 
 The Republic also kept up the salt tax, of which the 
 King- recommended a reduction. These matters I 
 have made known to my Government. 
 
 It ought not to be overlooked that the Republic 
 succeeded to heavy debts from the Monarchy; and 
 that these debts and other arrearages, from the subse 
 quent falling off of trade and derangement of credit, 
 have been increasing 1 , in the absence of all ability, thus 
 far, to effect any reductions of them. 
 
 October 27. Prince Louis Napoleon yesterday 
 went to the tribune, and read, amidst profound silence 
 throughout the Chamber, a paper to the purport 
 following: 
 
 Addressing the body as citizen representatives, he 
 said, that the unpleasant incident which closed the dis 
 cussion of the preceding day did not allow him to keep 
 silence : he deplored being oblig-ed again to speak of 
 himself; it was repugnant to his feelings to be unceas 
 ingly bringing personal matters before the Assembly, 
 when not a moment was to be lost in attending to 
 grave public questions. He would not speak of his 
 own sentiments : they had already been explained : 
 no one ever had occasion to doubt his word. As to 
 his conduct in the Chamber, as he never could permit 
 
538 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 himself to call any of his colleagues to an account for 
 what they did, he recognised in no one the right to 
 demand of him explanations of his course : he owed 
 that account only to his constituents. He was accused 
 of accepting from the popular feeling a candid ateship 
 which he never claimed; he accepted that honour 
 because three successive elections, and the unanimous 
 decree of the National Assembly against the proscrip 
 tion of his family, authorized him to believe that 
 France regarded the name he bore as able to aid in 
 the consolidation of society, shaken to its foundations, 
 and make the Republic prosperous. (Loud exclama 
 tions of dissent among the members.) The} who 
 accused him of ambition knew little of his heart ; his 
 silence was turned into a reproach against him 5 it 
 was only a few who were gifted with the power of elo- 
 qnent language in the service of just ideas in that 
 Chamber. But was there no other way of serving the 
 country ? What it wanted was acts : it wanted a wise 
 and firm Government, which would think more of 
 healing the wounds of society than of avenging them, 
 and which could overcome, better than bayonets, 
 theories not founded on experience and reason : (fresh 
 dissent). He would not fall into snares set in his way ; 
 he would pursue the straight-forward course he had 
 traced out for himself. Nothing should disturb his 
 calm, nothing make him forget his duty. He had but 
 one object, which was to merit the esteem of the 
 Assembly and of all men of worth, and the confidence 
 of a magnanimous people. He would reply, henceforth, 
 to no interpellation to no provocation. Strong in his 
 own conscience, he would remain immovable under all 
 attacks, impassable against all calumnies. 
 
 His allusion in the commencement was to some 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 539 
 
 sharp-shooting- on the day preceding 1 , about candidates 
 for the Presidency. In the course of it, he had been 
 charged with having- agents in the departments appeal 
 ing- to the less enlightened portions of the people in his 
 behalf. His cousins in the Assembly rose to repel the 
 charg-e. Cries broke forth that he would go to the 
 tribune and speak for himself: but he continued in his 
 seat. 
 
 During- the same sitting-, the time of holding- the 
 election for President was also settled. There were 
 different opinions on this point : some were for a day 
 in November, some for a later day. Eminent speakers 
 shared in the debate amongst them Odillon Barrot, 
 Dupin, the distinguished Count Mole, and General 
 Cavaignac. The last was in favour of an early elec 
 tion, and strongly expressed his opinion that post 
 ponement a day longer than was necessary would 
 be hazardous. It was finally fixed for the 10th of 
 December. 
 
 October 31. The state of siege imposed on Paris 
 when the Insurrection raged, was removed on the 19th 
 of this month. 
 
 The removal was founded on the report of a com 
 mittee in the Assembly charged with the whole subject. 
 It stated that, on a full examination of all the con 
 siderations belonging to it, the committee had arrived 
 at the conclusion that the siege might end without any 
 fresh dangers to the Eepublic ; and the Executive 
 head of the Government believed that the public tran 
 quillity might now be maintained without it. The 
 vote for raising it was unanimous. 
 
 The peaceable and well-disposed people in Paris 
 were hardly sensible that they were living under a 
 state of siege, although it was in operation four months 
 
540 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 within a few days. At first, all were uneasy, from a 
 sort of habit, lest outbreaks shonld still happen, so 
 common had they been since the Revolution. This 
 feeling- wore away as each successive week brought 
 safety with it. Paris, in effect, was a great camp, 
 thoug h no camp was visible. Fifty thousand troops 
 were collected within its limits, or were close by if 
 wanted. Eleven presses were suppressed by military 
 power while the siege lasted. The knowledge that the 
 same power would be used against the turbulent and 
 ill-disposed if they moved towards mischief, kept them 
 quiet. The wise and prudent acquiesced in this course 
 on the part of General Cavaignac, believing 1 in his 
 abilities and his virtue a belief sanctioned by results. 
 It made the Red Republicans his foes, and raised up 
 other opposition to him among- politicians. 
 
 When the numerous arrests were made of those who 
 invaded the Assembly on the 15th of May, it was sup 
 posed that the ring-leaders in that conspiracy would be 
 brought to trial. This has not yet been done. After 
 the Insurrection in June, the Assembly appointed a 
 committee to inquire into all the facts belonging- to 
 that second and far greater calamity, and to couple 
 with this duty a new inquiry into all the circumstances 
 that might shed light upon the outrage on the 15th of 
 May. 
 
 This committee, clothed with ample powers for the 
 fullest investigations, finished its work and presented 
 its report to the Assembly in Aug-ust. It is a remark 
 able document. I have looked into it from time to 
 time, but shrink from the task of attempting the merest 
 outline of its contents. It is very voluminous. Much 
 of it is irrelevant. Still more of it is encumbered 
 with unnecessary details and repetitions ; but portions 
 of it reach back to the causes and incidents of the 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 541 
 
 Revolution in February. It lays bare the spring s of 
 that first shock in ways, not then so well known, that 
 are startling-. It shows how few were the real con 
 trivers and instruments of the Eevolution of February ; 
 and, with honourable exceptions (too few these also, 
 unhappily), how selfish were their motives. These 
 confessions came from the contrivers and instruments 
 of the movement ; a g-ood portion of whom secured the 
 personal advancement for which alone they seem to have 
 rushed upon the work of overturning- the Monarchy. 
 I hasten away from the reflections which these dis 
 closures, seeming- to be authentic, are calculated to 
 excite. I prefer to draw a veil over them until the 
 Eepublic reaches further stag-es in its destination. 
 
 November 3. Dine at Mr. Ridg-way s, and after 
 wards g-o to the reception of the Minister of Foreig-n 
 Affairs. The company not very larg-e ; the talk chiefly 
 about Vienna. One of the Diplomatic Corps said that 
 Windischgraetz, the Imperialist General, is carrying- 
 all before him ag-ainst the Insurgents, as he called 
 them, who have lately had the city in their hands ; 
 but that Windischg-raetz had stormed the barricades 
 with his troops, and was master of the city, or soon 
 would be. 
 
 I renew to M. Bastide the wish expressed to General 
 Cavaig-nac for the appointment of M. Isnard as French 
 consul at Boston; and use all the strong- words 
 I can in favour of retaining 1 Count Montholon, 
 son of General Montholon, as French consul at 
 Richmond. What I say of the latter is founded 
 on representations transmitted to me from Rich 
 mond of his merits, and the desire cherished by 
 the citizens of that place, whose esteem he has larg-ely 
 won, that he should remain among- them. 
 
542 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 November 7. Go to General Cavaignac s reception 
 this evening*. I present Colonel McCall, of our army, 
 and Mr. Kidgtvay ; as on a former evening- I had 
 presented Lieut. Percival Drayton, of our navy, and 
 Mr. Corbin. 
 
 November 13. This evening- we are at a party at 
 the British Embassy. It is not large, but portions of 
 the Diplomatic Corps are there. In conversing- with 
 a member of it, I hear fresh hints, like those I caug ht 
 in these rooms a year ago, soon after my arrival, that 
 Princess Lieven, though living- in Paris ostensibly in 
 private life, is looking- to Eussian interests, by the 
 silent appointment of the Emperor Nicholas. This 
 policy, and the fair influence sought in its aid, it was 
 intimated, grew out of an old understanding- between 
 the Emperor and the ex-Bourbon King-, Charles X., 
 that France was not to thwart the former in his objects 
 upon Constantinople, and he not to thwart France in 
 making- the Mediterranean a sort of " French lake/ 
 after she had planted herself in Alg-eria by the success 
 of French arms in the time of Charles. If this were 
 so, it mig ht lend plausibility, with some, to the alleg-ed 
 silent mission of this distinguished lady. It mig ht 
 with me, but for that part of the bargain which would 
 assign to France the control of the Mediterranean 
 [Gibraltar, Malta, and English naval power withal]. 
 This seems to me so visionary that my incredulity is 
 not yet overcome. 
 
 November 18. On Sunday, the 12th of this month, 
 Paris was all alive, bad as the weather was, with the 
 celebration of the Fete in honour of the new Constitu 
 tion, all parts of which are completed. The prepara 
 tions for it were upon a magnificent scale, and it was 
 supposed that it would much exceed in display, as I 
 believe it has in cost, the one in honour of the Republic 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 543 
 
 on the 21st of May. Immense flag-staffs, which 
 floated tri-coloured flag s full of Kepublican inscriptions 
 and emblems ; a dome of great height, richly orna 
 mented, with a cross as the pinnacle ; a Statue of the 
 Constitution, crowned with laurels, holding* the Consti 
 tution in the left hand, and in the rig ht hand a lance ; 
 a vast assemblage of the Clergy ; members of the 
 National Assembly, and all other officials ; troops in 
 countless number ; cannon roaring at intervals all 
 this and more was to be seen in Place de la Concorde. 
 The day was raw and cold. Snow fell in larg*e flakes, 
 whitening everything. When it stopped, sleet came 
 on > then a little more snow so that the bad weather 
 hardly ceased. All the arrangements were for fine 
 weather but sheds, open all round, roofed over, and 
 elevated on flooring, were reared up with French 
 quickness at fetes as in war, when the day broke with 
 appearances of a storm. All was to begin at half-past 
 eight in the morning. On the board floors canopied 
 over, the Diplomatic Corps, where I was, and all other 
 public functionaries, found partial shelter. The Pre 
 sident of the National Assembly read aloud the whole 
 Constitution for such as could hear it. General Ca- 
 vaignac was there in full uniform, and wore a badge 
 of distinction won by his gallantry in Algeria. The 
 presence of Prince Louis Napoleon was not observed 
 among the members of Assembly. The weather was 
 unfavourable for enthusiasm. Cries of Vive la Eepub- 
 lique were few, or from those so far off that I could 
 not hear them, coming, it may be, from streets in the 
 vicinity of Place de la Concorde. 
 
 I did not hear a word of the Constitution as read 
 out 5 but all have seen by the papers that it is much 
 the same as contained in the draft reported by the 
 committee on the 19th of June, as summed up in these 
 
544 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 notes the day following-. The single Legislative 
 Chamber, single Executive, and most of the other 
 elementary provisions remain as then framed, or with 
 modifications unessential. The abstract declarations 
 in the beginning- are varied. 
 
 As an accompaniment to the celebration, the fol 
 lowing- document was addressed by the Minister of the 
 Interior to the Prefects of all the departments in 
 France : 
 
 That, the French Republic being- now definitively 
 constituted, the National Assembly had decided that 
 the Constitution should be promulgated in every com 
 mune by being 1 read by the Mayor to the inhabitants 
 assembled ; that the Constitution was placed under the 
 invocation of God, and its promulgation was to be a 
 political and religious ceremony ; that prayers were to 
 precede or follow the reading- of it by the civil Magis 
 trate, as the Bishop or other clergy might prescribe ; 
 that as this great national Fete ought to leave a 
 souvenir among* the unfortunate, the Assembly had 
 appropriated four hundred thousand francs, which 
 were to be equitably distributed throughout the depart 
 ments in cases only of the most poignant misery. 
 
 Finally, the prefect of each department was to cause 
 the inhabitants to understand the importance and 
 solemnity of this act of a great People, who, after 
 eight months of uncertainty and disquiet, had placed 
 themselves under the empire of a strong and durable 
 Constitution and entered definitively upon the path of 
 free and regular governments. 
 
 And may it prove so. But, as a looker-on since 
 February, I cannot, with all the wishes I then had, 
 and desire still to cherish, for the success of the Re 
 public, I cannot, now that its new Constitution comes 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 545 
 
 forth, with but one Chamber, and other anomalies to 
 an American, easily yield my assent to any encourag 
 ing prospects of its durability. 
 
 November 28. Go to General Cavaignac s reception; 
 an immense crowd, consisting almost exclusively of 
 military officers; nothing comparable to it that I have 
 before seen at any reception in Paris for numbers. It 
 was caused by the General s speech in defence of his 
 course in putting down the Insurrection. His friends 
 and adherents came in multitudes to offer their con 
 gratulations. His adversaries brought charges against 
 him of causing blood to flow unnecessarily at the 
 barricades, by his acts and by his omissions. An 
 angry debate followed in the sitting of the 25th, and 
 the Assembly sustained his course by a triumphant 
 vote. Hence the crowd this evening. His rooms were 
 filled to overflowing, so that hundreds had to remain 
 in the garden. In making my way into the rooms to 
 reach General Cavaignac, I was aided by my kind 
 friends the Lafayettes, father and son, who led me 
 along circuitous paths in the garden. The debate in 
 the Assembly and crowd this evening are the better 
 explained by the near approach of the election for 
 President, General Cavaignac being prominent as a 
 candidate. 
 
 November 30. At length I am to record the mani 
 festo of Prince Louis Napoleon. It is out in full. On 
 the eve, he says, of an election for the first Magistrate 
 of the Republic, his name had presented itself as a 
 symbol of order and security. He knew that this 
 testimony of confidence was more to the name he bore 
 than to himself, who had yet done nothing for his 
 country. He was not ambitious of subversive theories : 
 reared in free countries, and in the school of misfor- 
 
 2 N 
 
540 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 tune, he would be faithful to the duties which the 
 suffrages of his fellow-citizens and the will of the 
 Assembly might impose on him. If elected President, 
 he would shrink from no danger or sacrifice to defend 
 society, so audaciously attacked. He would devote 
 himself to the strengthening of a Republic, prudent in 
 its laws, honest in its intentions, and great in its acts. 
 He should consider it a point of honour to leave to his 
 successor, at the end of four years, the government 
 strengthened, liberty intact, and a real progress accom 
 plished. He would strive to reconcile parties and calm 
 hatreds. Real reforms would be best effected by 
 econom}^ without disorganizing the public services; 
 by a diminution of the most burdensome taxes; by 
 encouraging* enterprises which would develop the riches 
 of agriculture, and give work to unemployed hands ; 
 by imparting to the laws relating to industry, the 
 meliorations which tend to benefit the poor without 
 injuring the rich ; by restricting the number of places 
 which depend on the Government, which often make a 
 free people a nation of place-hunters ; and by avoiding* 
 the fatal tendency which leads the state to do what 
 private individuals could do as well or better ; and by 
 preserving the press from its two excesses, arbitrariness 
 and license. These are points in his manifesto which 
 touch upon home concerns. 
 
 War, he says, would be no relief to the evils of 
 France. Peace would therefore be his dearest of desires. 
 France in her first Revolution was warlike, because 
 she was forced to be so. To invasion she replied by 
 conquest. Not being attacked now, she could devote 
 her resources to pacific improvements. A great nation 
 should be silent, or never speak in vain. To think of 
 national dignity, was to think of the army, whose 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 547 
 
 patriotism, so noble and disinterested, had often been 
 disregarded. Whilst the laws which gave force to 
 military organisation should be maintained, the burden 
 of conscription should be lightened. The present and 
 the future not only of the officers, but sub-officers and 
 soldiers, ought to be watched over, and an assured 
 existence prepared for the men who have long served 
 under the flag. In fine, when at the head of the French 
 people, an infallible means of doing- good, was to 
 resolve to do it. 
 
 This is the substance of w r hat he says. Whatever 
 the result of the election, he promises to bow to the 
 will of the people, and unite in all ends for promoting 
 the material and moral benefit of the country. The 
 manifesto is addressed to his fellow-citizens, is in all 
 the papers, and signed Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, 
 
 December 21. The election for the first President of 
 the Republic opened on Sunday, the 10th of this month, 
 the day fixed by the Assembly, and closed throughout 
 all France on the day following. Seven millions, three 
 hundred and twenty-four thousand, six hundred and 
 eighty-two votes were given, and were distributed as fol 
 lows: For Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, 5,434,426. 
 For General Cavaignac, 1,448,107. For M. Ledru 
 Rollin, 370,119. For M. Raspail, 36,920. For M. 
 Lamartine, 17,910. For General Changarnier, 4,790. 
 Lost votes 12,640. 
 
 The result was known some days ago; but not the 
 accurate returns. The official announcement of the 
 result in the National Assembly yesterday, caused a 
 very full attendance of the members, and all others 
 who could gain admittance within the Chamber. 
 
 The committee appointed to examine the returns 
 entered the Chamber, attended by a number of the 
 
 " 2 N 2 
 
548 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 Representatives, among- whom was General Cavaignac. 
 Louis Napoleon Bonaparte entered, and took his seat 
 next to Odillon Barrot on one of the benches. 
 
 Waldeck-Eousseau, reporter of the committee, then 
 ascended the tribune and read the report, deep silence 
 prevailing-. It stated that the nation had deposited in 
 the electoral urn the testimony of its confidence ; it 
 had pointed out the citizen to whom it wished to con 
 fide the destinies of the French Eepublic ; Europe had 
 been an attentive observer of the movement of a nation 
 rising- in the calmness of its strength, and showing 1 
 itself worthy of the liberty it enjoyed ; it had pointed 
 out the object of its choice, not as the will of a few, but 
 in a great and patriotic designation as standing for the 
 will of the whole. 
 
 He then read out the votes as stated above, and 
 declared the citizen Louis Napoleon Bonaparte to be 
 chosen President of the French people ; the Executive 
 power was to go into his hands ; the Representatives 
 of the people would come, it was hoped, with patriotic 
 eagerness, to offer to his Government the strength they 
 could impart to it ; and may God protect France. 
 
 These were the words with which the reporter con 
 cluded, I do not insert the report in full, but the 
 extracts given mark its character. 
 
 General Cavaignac rose, and stated that he had just 
 received the collective resignation of the late Ministers j 
 and that he had also to remit into the hands of the 
 Assembly the office of President of the Council which 
 had been intrusted to him. The Assembly would better 
 comprehend, than he could express, all the gratitude 
 he felt for the great kindness shown to him while he 
 exercised the Executive power. He sat down amidst 
 loud cheering from the Chamber. 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 549 
 
 The President of the Assembly, M. Marrast, then 
 put the report of the committee to the vote. The whole 
 Assembly (with the exception of five members) stood 
 up in its favour. 
 
 The President hereupon addressed the Assembly 
 thus : Whereas, the citizen Louis Napoleon Bonaparte 
 has fulfilled the conditions of Article 4 of the Constitu 
 tion, as well as those prescribed by Articles 47 and 48; 
 and whereas, in the ballot which has taken place, he 
 has obtained the absolute majority of votes, the 
 National Assembly does hereby proclaim him President 
 of the French Republic from the present time to the 
 second Sunday in May, 1852: I therefore call on the 
 citizen Louis Napoleon Bonaparte to ascend the tribune, 
 and take the required oath. 
 
 Louis Napoleon Bonaparte accordingly came for 
 ward, ascended the tribune, and took the oath in the 
 words following- : " BEFORE GOD, AND IN THE 
 
 PRESENCE OF THE FRENCH PEOPLE, REPRESENTED 
 
 BY THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, I SWEAR TO REMAIN 
 FAITHFUL TO THE KEPUBLIC, DEMOCRATIC, ONE AND 
 INDIVISIBLE; AND TO FULFIL ALL THE DUTIES WHICH 
 THE CONSTITUTION IMPOSES ON ME." 
 
 The President of the Assembly then said : The 
 Assembly, formally acknowledging- that the President 
 of the Republic has taken the oath required, orders 
 that solemn mention of the fact shall be made in the 
 proces-verbal of the sitting-, and that notice of the same 
 shall be posted up in all the communes of the Eepublic. 
 
 Cries of Vive la Republique arose. 
 
 The President of the Eepublic then delivered an ad 
 dress, in these words : a CITIZEN REPRESENTATIVES : 
 The suffrages of the nation, and the oath I have just 
 taken, trace out for me my future conduct, I shall 
 
550 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 follow it as a man of honour. I wish, like you, to 
 place society on its true basis ; to streng-then demo 
 cratic institutions, and to alleviate the miseries of tuat 
 generous and intelligent people which has just given 
 me such a striking proof of its confidence,, Animated 
 by a sincere spirit of conciliation, I have called round 
 me capable and patriotic men, who, in spite of the 
 diversity of their political origin, are ready to devote 
 themselves with me to the happiness of the nation. A 
 Government coming into power owes a debt of thanks 
 to its predecessors when the deposit of its authority is 
 handed over to it intact \ and in particular I owe it to 
 the honourable General Cavaignac to say that his con 
 duct is worthy of the generosity of his character. It 
 will not be the smallest title of his g lory. The Go 
 vernment and myself are animated with a sincere love 
 of the country. Let me hope, citizen Representatives, 
 that your co-operation will be given to me, and that 
 with it we may found a Government just and firm, 
 which, without being either reactionary or Utopian, 
 will secure the future welfare of the Republic ; and, if 
 we cannot do great things, we may at least, by our 
 loyal intentions and conduct, secure the welfare and 
 happiness of the people by whom we have been chosen." 
 
 This address closed the ceremony, and was received 
 with loud cheers. 
 
 The President of the Republic then left the tribune, 
 and, in going* down the centre of the Chamber, went 
 to the seat of General Cavaignac and shook him warmly 
 by the hand. This act was greeted by the Assembly 
 in the heartiest manner, by the clapping of hands. 
 
 The sitting was then suspended for a short time. 
 
 The President of the Assembly, on resuming the 
 chair, stated that, by a communication just made to 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 551 
 
 him by the President of the Republic, M. Odillon 
 Barrot had been charged to compose a new Ministry, 
 and that as soon as it was formed, the fact would be 
 communicated to the Assembly by a message. 
 
 The President of the Republic then left the Assembly, 
 accompanied by Odillon Barrot and other Representa 
 tives; after which the Chamber rose, many of the 
 members hastening- out before the adjournment was 
 announced from the chair. 
 
 December 29. The ministry of the President is 
 composed of the following* names : Odillon Barrot, 
 Minister of Justice, and President of the Council, in 
 the absence of the President of the Republic ; Drouyn 
 de THuys, Minister of Foreign Affairs; M. Leon 
 Faucher, Minister of the Interior ; General Rulhieres, 
 Minister of War ; M. de Tracy, Minister of Marine 
 and Colonies ; M. Falloux, Minister of Public Instruc 
 tion and Worship; M. Lacrosse, Minister of Public 
 Works ; M. Buffet, Minister of Agriculture and Com 
 merce ; M. Hippolyte Passy, Minister of Finance. 
 Some resignations followed the first selections ; but 
 these are the present members of the Ministry. 
 
 It is believed that Drouyn de 1 Huys, M. de Tracy, 
 and M. de Falloux, voted for General Cavaignac. 
 Their call to the new Cabinet is regarded as a generous 
 and graceful act. 
 
 All the Ministers are persons known. I will say 
 of the one to be the organ of intercourse with other 
 nations, that my previous knowledge of him, as far 
 as it has extended, has given me the most favourable 
 impressions of his highly eminent qualities and ac 
 complishments. 
 
 The election of Louis Napoleon has not, perhaps, 
 been as unexpected to observers on the spot, as to those 
 
552 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 beyond the limits of France. When an amendment 
 was proposed pending- the discussion of the Constitu 
 tion, for changing 1 the part which provided for the 
 election of President by the direct vote of the people, 
 so as to give the National Assembly the power of 
 electing- him, and that amendment was rejected, it was 
 considered the forerunner of the result now witnessed ; 
 though so overwhelming 1 a vote for the successful 
 candidate was hardly anticipated by anybody. All 
 perceive that it clothes him with great power to do 
 good. General Cavaignac lost ground with the 
 Socialists and Red Republicans, by the part he acted 
 in the Insurrection and during the siege; for, although 
 their numbers were not great throughout France, 
 their activity was great, and many of them had 
 very sharp intellects, and worked with unbounded 
 zeal towards their objects. Moreover, the belief which 
 more especially began to prevail after the vote on the 
 above amendment, which was strong for rejecting it, 
 that Louis Napoleon would be chosen, added daily to 
 his strength ; of which, doubtless, his name was at 
 the root. 
 1849. 
 
 January 1. The President of the Republic has 
 taken as his residence the Palais Elysee Bourbon. 
 
 By an official communication to the Foreign Ambas 
 sadors and Ministers, they were informed that he would 
 receive them this morning. As the new Chief Magis 
 trate of France under a constitution to commence its 
 operation under its executive auspices, the entire 
 Diplomatic Corps would naturally desire to offer their 
 compliments and congratulations on the proof he had 
 received of his country s confidence ; and it may be 
 supposed it would be desirable on his part to have an 
 
FKENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 553 
 
 early opportunity of making; their acquaintance. 
 Accordingly, the corps went, and were severally pre 
 sented to him in due form. Most of them were 
 personally unknown to him. This was my case. Our 
 presentations were made by his Minister of Foreign 
 Affairs. He spoke a few words to me, as to all, the 
 occasion not leading* to much conversation with any. 
 I had seen him before ; but only in the Assembly from 
 the Diplomatic box, and imperfectly. In stature below 
 rather than above the medium height, yet robust ; a 
 subdued carriage ; a thoughtful countenance ; a blue 
 eye, in repose rather than vivid, and darker in com 
 plexion than the French generally : this was his 
 appearance to me to-day. 
 
 The Palais Elysee Bourbon was a favourite residence 
 of the Emperor Napoleon. He went there as soon as 
 he reached Paris, after his final defeat at Waterloo, 
 himself the first to bring the news of it. Some 
 accounts say that such was his fatigue from his rapid 
 flight that he could not at first articulate, but threw 
 himself on a bed in a state near to exhaustion ; yet 
 speaking somewhat incoherently of the necessity of a 
 dictatorship in his favour. 
 
 And who were in that Palace now ? In looking 
 round, strange reminiscences obtruded themselves. 
 You saw the representatives of Austria, of Prussia, of 
 Sardinia, of Bavaria, of Saxony, of Wirtemberg, and 
 of Switzerland; of Spain, the Italian States, and 
 Portugal ; of Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Belgium ; 
 of German states and principalities, hardly to be 
 counted up, whose kingdoms he had overrun ; whose 
 territories he had invaded and despoiled ; the blood of 
 whose subjects had been made to moisten half Europe 
 during his wars of self-aggrandizement, which grasped 
 
554 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 at all Europe; his cannon seating- his own family, some 
 against their will and remonstrances, on the thrones he 
 overturned. All these kingdoms and states and prin 
 cipalities I can hardly have named too many, when 
 even the little free Hanse town did not escape were 
 forced to yield to him ; were doomed to see their 
 people mustered at the roll of his drum, to help him 
 nVht his battles against their interests and their duties. 
 
 o o 
 
 Some were humiliated past description ; all sorely 
 aggrieved, under pretexts which ambition, with armies 
 at its back,, is never at a loss in alleging, and knows 
 how to smooth over and gild. Now, I saw the repre 
 sentatives of them all coming* together to offer their 
 congratulations to the nephew of that deposed conqueror; 
 the nephew himself an exile less than a year ago, and 
 previously a prisoner twice condemned; and apparently 
 left without hope. What a sight ! Not often has the 
 wheel of Fortune turned so marvellously. I did not 
 chance to see the Minister of Russia in this repre 
 sentation of crowned heads and other sovereignties of 
 Europe assembled in honour of the nephew. Perhaps 
 he was away for reasons I was not acquainted with ; 
 or my eye may have missed him, so many were there. 
 The Ambassador of England could not be missed. 
 His presence was too memorable in the history it 
 recalls, ever to be forgotten. He was the sole person 
 in the group, as far as Europe was concerned, whose 
 nation never bent the knee to Napoleon ; the only one 
 who from the beginning looked him steadfastly in the 
 face undismayed, and saw through him under his mask , 
 whose Parliament, whose unfettered press, spoke the 
 truth out to nations trumpet-tongued, more resounding 
 than his war bugles on their frontiers, or in their 
 capitals ; who shattered his marine to pieces, whenever 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 555 
 
 it ventured out of port, by her naval thunders ; drove 
 him from the seas maddened and helpless, except in his 
 cherished, yet ever fruitless vengeance, against the 
 Power that thwarted his plans of dominion, and held 
 cheap his threats of invasion, in the face of his boastful 
 column at Boulogne, a Power that at one time 
 fought against him single-handed, Russia in turn 
 having given way, and fought with only the more 
 vigour ; who fought him to the last, and by her invin 
 cible resolution and perseverance, encouraged and aided 
 others in going on with the fight, until, at length, 
 Europe was roused to indignation under his stupendous 
 wrongs ; and down he came, amidst peans of universal 
 joy, from the height gained by his remorseless sword 
 France, who had been mino-lincr pToans with his 
 
 O O O 
 
 glory, joining largely in her shouts of gratitude at the 
 general deliverance. 
 
 There was one other person in that group whose 
 country never was in fear of him, but protested against 
 his outrages from first to last, the Minister of the 
 United States. He could readily contribute his con 
 gratulations where the object of them, reared, as he 
 said, in the school of misfortune, had risen on the free 
 and immense vote of the tenth of December ; and who 
 declared that peace was the dearest of his desires, and 
 that he felt bound in honour to deliver over the govern 
 ment to his successor at the end of four years with the 
 public liberty intact. 
 
 January 15. Go to the night reception of the 
 Prince President at the Palace Elysee Bourbon. The 
 Ministers of State were there, the Diplomatic Corps, 
 and many others connected with the new Government. 
 
 Go afterwards to a ball given by the Prefect of the 
 Seine, at the Hotel de Ville. Large as that buildmo- 
 
556 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 is, the company filled it. To see its spacious rooms 
 given up to music and dancing*, and the whole building- 
 blazing* with light and joyous with festivity, was truly 
 a beneficent change from its having 1 been so long* a 
 great centre of revolutionary alarms and fights. 
 
 January 23. Dine at the hotel of the Minister of 
 Foreign Affairs, M. Drouyn de FHuys. It was a very 
 larg-e dinner, the first under the new regime. We had 
 a great assemblage of the highest official persons : the 
 Prince President heading 1 the list } the Cabinet Minis 
 ters, the Diplomatic Corps, the President of the National 
 Assembly, and others of distinguished name, thoug-h 
 now holding- no station, amongst whom were M. de 
 Lamartine and Count Mole. The chair assigned to 
 me was next to the President of the Assembly ; and 
 next to him sat the President of the Kepublic. 
 
 January 24. This evening- the Diplomatic Corps 
 dine at my house, with their ladies, and our friends, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ridgway. 
 
 Our corps belongs essentially to the existing govern 
 ment 5 and it must be confessed that we have had our 
 embarrassments on this head in Paris. We had favour 
 able allusions at table now and then to the new Prince 
 President, as derived from the personal intercourse we 
 have so far had with him. The corps, for the most 
 part, were for General Cavaignac during- the canvass, 
 more or less openly. I took no part, continuing- to 
 think that we, as a body or individually, have nothing- 
 to do with party contests here, though we may write 
 as we think fit to our own Governments about French 
 affairs. 
 
 January 28. Go this evening to the reception of 
 Odillon Barrot, Minister of Justice and head of the 
 Ministry. The President of the Eepublic was there, 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 557 
 
 the members of his Cabinet, the Diplomatic Corps, and 
 a very large company of ladies and gentlemen. 
 
 The Minister of Foreign Affairs seeks conversation 
 with me as to what we do in cases where our President 
 and CongTess disagree. I tell him that when Congress 
 does not act on recommendations of the President, 
 either by remaining- passive under them, or debating 
 them without result, nothing comes of the recom 
 mendation. It falls to the ground for the time 
 being ; but may be, and often is, renewed at another 
 session. 
 
 On the other hand, if both Houses of Congress pass a 
 bill, either with or without a recommendation from the 
 President, the bill not becoming a law until the 
 President concurs in it, he may, if disproving it, return 
 it to the house in which it originated, with his objec 
 tions. If that house passes the bill by a vote of two- 
 thirds of its members, and the other house does the 
 same, it becomes a law, notwithstanding the objections 
 of the President. I add, that it rarely occurs in our 
 practice that the President s veto is overcome by the 
 requisite majority in both cases. 
 
 The Minister asks if I would object to furnishing 
 him with a written memorandum of this part of our 
 S} T stem and its operation. He thinks the President 
 of the Eepublic would like to see it. I tell him 
 I will readily do so. 
 
 January 29. Enclose the Minister of Foreign Affairs, 
 informally, a copy of the seventh section of the first 
 article of our Constitution, which relates to the veto of 
 the President, adding the views I had expressed to 
 him of its practical operation with us. 
 
 February 4, I give a smaller diplomatic dinner to 
 day, that I may have Mr. Bancroft s company, now 
 
558 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 here for a few days from London. Lord Howden is 
 one of my guests, an accomplished English diplomatist 
 at present in Paris, who gives me the first information 
 of Sir Henry Bulwer s appointment as British Minister 
 to the United States. I mention the fact to my 
 Government, in case it may not yet have been known 
 at Washington. We g*o this evening to the reception 
 of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. I present Mr. 
 and Mrs. Eidgway to the Minister, and to Madame 
 Drouyn de FHuys, and have conversation with the 
 Spanish Ambassador on the appointment of Sir Henry 
 Bulwer as Minister to the United States. 
 
 February 12. Dine with General Sir Phineas Eiall, 
 of the British army, at present residing here with 
 Lady Eiall, in Eue St. Florentine. 
 
 During the war of 1812 with England, General Eiall 
 was taken prisoner by our troops in one of the battles on 
 the Canadian lines, and remained in the United States 
 on parole until duly exchanged. This dinner was given 
 to me in remembrance of the attentions and g-ood 
 treatment he received from my countrymen- while 
 among them on his parole. There were sixteen or 
 eighteen at table, gentlemen and ladies, all English- 
 some of the army. Certainly no merit could be 
 claimed in treating well a gallant officer who had 
 fallen into our hands. But it was part of a generous 
 mind to remember it. I learned, not from himself, but 
 others, that my predecessors in the mission to France 
 had in like manner been recipients of his hospitality. 
 
 I close the note of my second English dinner in 
 Paris, with the remark, that remembering, what passed 
 at the English Embassy, about taking wine with the 
 company, I ventured to act upon it at this agreeable 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 559 
 
 dinner at the hospitable table of the distinguished and 
 gallant general. 
 
 February 16. We are at a grand ball to-night at 
 the Palais Ely see. Mr. and Mrs. Ridgway are of our 
 party, and Lady Augusta Bruce. Eminent persons 
 were there some of the Bonapartes ; the Ministers 
 of State ; the Diplomatic Corps, and distinguished 
 foreigners. The Prince President opens the ball by 
 dancing with his relative, the Princess Mathilde 
 Demiedoff. It was not easy to arrive or get away, 
 owing* to the crowd of carriages in the court-yard. The 
 President s servants wore the green and gold livery of 
 the Emperor. The President told me, in the course of 
 the evening, that the copy I had furnished of the part 
 of our Constitution relating to the Executive veto, was 
 very acceptable. 
 
 February 27. The anniversary of the proclamation 
 of the Republic was celebrated on the 24th of this 
 month. The religious part of the ceremony was in the 
 church of the Madeleine. 
 
 The President of the Republic and the President of 
 the National Assembly each moved off for the church, 
 the former from the Palais Elysee, the latter from the 
 Legislative Chamber, at a signal gun ; so that each 
 might arrive at the church and go in at the same time. 
 I heard that the President of the Assembly determined 
 to pursue this course, lest the President of the Republic 
 should have intended to enter first, thinking it his duty 
 to stand up for the dignity of the Assembly. 
 
 There has been a conflict of authority between the 
 Executive and the Chamber, from which the latter 
 came out disadvantageous^. This may the more have 
 determined the President of the Chamber not to yield 
 precedence in going into the church. The conflict was 
 
560 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 this. The President of the Republic and his Ministers 
 urged upon the Chamber several measures of policy 
 which they desired to see adopted. The Chamber 
 refused to adopt them, leaving* the Ministers in a 
 minority on more than one occasion. One of the 
 measures urged was no less important than that of 
 dissolving the Assembly ; the Ministers alleging that 
 its great function was fulfilled in the formation of the 
 Constitution, and that it was proper to have a new 
 Assembly chosen in the manner definitely settled by 
 the Constitution. The Chamber voted otherwise, not 
 choosing- to annihilate itself. The Ministers persisted. 
 So did the Chamber. This brought on a constitutional 
 conflict, the first which has arisen between the two 
 authorities. The Chamber said the Ministers ought to 
 resign under their defeats. The Ministers answered 
 no. The President of the Republic represents the 
 popular will as much as the Assembly, arid embodies 
 a more recent expression of it. The Ministers kept 
 their places, the President refusing to dismiss them. 
 The Assembly have since shown a more acquiescing 
 spirit ; and so things stand. 
 
 I wrote an account of this conflict to my Govern 
 ment on the 20th of this month, venturing to express 
 the opinion that the Executive had the best of the 
 argument ; but that we might read in this first clash 
 the future dangers of France under an elective and 
 representative government with but a single Legisla 
 tive Chamber. 
 
 March 13. Mr. Wikoff, of Philadelphia, called on 
 me a few days ago, to request that I would present 
 him to the Prince President. What need of this, I 
 ask? you have known the President long*er than I 
 have. I had read the account of the visit he paid the 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 561 
 
 latter at Ham when he was a State prisoner, and 
 remembered the predictions it contained. He replied, 
 that, having- recently come to Paris, he would prefer, 
 as a stranger and an American, to be reintroduced by 
 the Minister of his country. I replied, that, although 
 I had not been the first to suggest this, I thought he 
 judged rightly. Accordingly, at the reception at the 
 Palais Elysee, this evening, I presented him. In 
 doing it, I had to watch the proper moment. The 
 rooms were full. Others were being presented by the 
 Foreign Ministers ; and much of that ceremony was 
 otherwise going- on. I advanced nearer and nearer to 
 where the Prince President stood, Mr. Wikoff keeping 
 close to me. At length his turn came, and I was on 
 the eve of doing my part, when the President, seeing 
 who was with me, and directing- his eye towards him, 
 exclaimed, before 1 spoke, and in a tone of cordial 
 recognition, Mr. Wikoff ! It thus became unnecessary 
 for me to mention his name first. He then took the 
 latter by the hand and g-reeted him warmly. Mr. 
 Wikoff bore himself becomingly under a recognition so 
 complimentary, the incident having drawn attention 
 from all near enough to witness it. 
 
 March 26. We go to an invited party at the 
 Prince President s. It is not large, and a concert. 
 The most celebrated performers and singers in Paris 
 make up the music. So says to me a member of the 
 Diplomatic Corps present. 
 
 The same gentleman, who has been long here 
 and can discriminate people, whispers to me that 
 among the ladies of the company he does not perceive 
 a single one belonging- to a Republican family. All 
 were of the old regime ; Leg-itimists, Orleanists, or 
 Bonapartes. Thiers and Count Mole were there. 
 
 2 o 
 
56 2 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 They might be seen in a room by themselves, talking 1 
 together. 
 
 April 12. At a reception at the Palace Elysee this 
 evening , I presented to the Prince President Mr. and 
 Mrs. William E. Palmer, of Philadelphia. Also Mr. 
 and Mrs. F. B. Stockton, of Washing-ton. Mr. 
 Stockton being* of the U. S. Navy. 
 
 After presenting- Mrs. Palmer, she shows me a 
 miniature likeness of General Taylor, the newly elected 
 President of the United States, executed on satin. I 
 say to her that, with her permission, I will give it to 
 the Prince President, as the likeness of a brave soldier. 
 She consents ; and I tell her that in offering- it to his 
 acceptance, I shall represent myself as her ambassador, 
 commissioned by herself. I fulfil the honourable 
 commission I am charged with. The Prince Pre 
 sident receives the miniature, and most courteously 
 requests rne to thank the fair donor of whom he speaks 
 very flatteringly. 
 
 April 25. I dined yesterday with my daug-hters, at 
 the Palais Elysee Bourbon. The dinner was not a 
 larg-e one. The Diplomatic Corps were not there. 
 Some of the President s friends and portions of his 
 household formed the company. Colonel Edg-ar Ney, 
 the name on which Marshal Ney has shed such high 
 military renown General Fabvier, and that devoted 
 friend of the President throughout his adversity at 
 Ham and elsewhere, Doctor Conneau, -these were 
 present; with some of his own family, and others 
 belonging to his establishment. 
 
 In receiving his guests, the Prince President gave 
 his hand to all. The topics were familiar. He was 
 courteously attentive to his company, and all the 
 appearances of the dinner were in unison with the 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 563 
 
 palatial establishment. The servants, as they moved 
 about the table in the old green livery, seemed to call 
 up the shade of Napoleon, whose sword won the palace 
 we were in ; whose saloons, brilliant at one period 
 under the glare cast upon everything* by his conquests, 
 beheld also the hand- writing on their walls. 
 
 June 8. We are at the Swedish Minister s to-night, 
 invited with the Diplomatic Corps and others, to hear 
 Jenny Lind sing . We understood she had declined 
 sing-ing- on the stage in Paris, or elsewhere, publicly ; 
 but the Minister of her country, and his amiable consort, 
 the Countess de Lowerihielm, induced her to come to 
 their domicil and sing 1 for the gratification of them 
 selves and their friends invited to hear her. It was a 
 treat to listen to this highly-gifted songstress under 
 such circumstances. 
 
 June 16. An Insurrection has been attempted this 
 week. The immediate cause of it was an alleged vio 
 lation of the Constitution, in sending a French Army 
 to Rome to put down the cause of Italian liberty. 
 Hatred of democracy, say the Mountain party, which 
 the Government scarcely conceals on the banks of the 
 Seine, breaks out openly on the banks of the Tiber. 
 The Government reply that the portion of the French 
 Army at Rome under General Oudinot was sent there 
 to protect Italian liberty against its enemies the ultras. 
 Here is presented a disputed point. General Cavaignac, 
 an avowed and uniform Republican, but reflecting* 
 and prudent withal, had himself sent troops to Rome, 
 when Executive head of the Government, with the 
 same object. The Mountain party raised an issue on 
 this point, and preferred charges of impeachment in 
 the Assembly against the Ministers, quoting the 
 articles of the Constitution asserted to have been vio- 
 
564 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 lated. The Ministers were sustained by a large vote, 
 their majority being 350. The vote of the Mountain 
 party was 195. Encouraged rather than daunted, the 
 party asserted more strenuously that the Constitution 
 was broken, and, by various signs and manifestoes, 
 announced their intention of appealing to a battle in 
 the streets against the Government. They raised 
 imperfect barricades, and took steps for construe ting- 
 more. They also met at the Conservatoire des Arts 
 et Metiers, to deliberate on further measures of re 
 sistance. 
 
 The President and his Ministers were awake to their 
 proceeding s. Immediately Paris was put in a state of 
 siege and, as it so turned out, by about the same 
 majority in the Assembly which had rejected the 
 charges of impeachment against the Ministers. The 
 military power of the Government was drawn upon, 
 and so energetically used by General Changarnier, 
 now commander of the troops and National Guards of 
 Paris, that the barricades were destroyed, the meeting 
 at the " Conservatoire" broken up, and a " demonstra 
 tion 77 of twenty thousand people, collected and moving 
 in column in the region of the Church of the Made 
 leine, effectually dispersed by a few battalions of the 
 troops and cavalry, without a battle, and with little 
 or no bloodshed. Entire quiet was restored in a few 
 hours. 
 
 By this prompt success, and his own proclama 
 tion to the people on the occasion, the Prince Pre 
 sident appears to have gained with the conservative 
 Republicans, in and out of the Assembly. General 
 Cavaignac voted with them, and spoke briefly and 
 well. So did Thiers ; and the National Guard also 
 went with the Government. The feeling appears to 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 565 
 
 be general in society that, whatever the merits of the 
 question on this Italian policy pursued by the Go 
 vernment, a resort to force by the defeated party in 
 the Chamber was, under all circumstances, wholly 
 unjustifiable. 
 
 September 7. Eeturned last night, with my daugh 
 ters, from a visit of three days to our friends the 
 Lafayettes, at La Grange, department of Seine-and- 
 Marne. 
 
 While away, we were at Fontainbleau. We visited 
 its Palace, saw all its curiosities, and the gardens. We 
 also walked through parts of the forest close by, so 
 well known to Eoyalty in French history. In seeking 
 out some of the majestic old oaks and other curiosities 
 of the forest, we might have been lost among* its inter 
 secting roads and paths, but for a peasant guide we 
 had, who also piloted us to a limpid rivulet among 
 rocks, where we were refreshed with cool water from a 
 shaded spring. 
 
 Nothing could exceed the friendliness of our wel 
 come at La Grange. The very name of that place is 
 dear to Americans. We associate it with Mount 
 Vernon, the home of Washington; to whom Ge 
 neral Lafayette seemed as a son; his youthful and 
 chivalrous sword having first been drawn in our 
 Revolutionary War under the auspices of our great 
 chief. The present head of the family is Mr. 
 George Lafayette, only son of the General, whose 
 name has been more than once mentioned in these 
 notes, and always in the affectionate spirit I ever 
 desire to cherish towards himself and that family. 
 His consort, the venerated Madame Lafayette, still 
 lives as the mistress at La Grange. The sons and 
 daughters and daughter-in-law under the roof, while 
 
566 FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 we were there, give to the guests of that revered home 
 the beau ideal of ancient gentry in retirement, dis 
 pensing- hospitality in ways as cordial as refined. The 
 building- is of the fifteenth century, castellated in ap 
 pearance, standing- amidst the shade of old trees, and 
 with ivy on its walls. Their carriage was in waiting 
 for us at the last station ; and when we arrived at the 
 house, in the evening* of a fine autumnal day, the head 
 of the family, and other members of it, were already 
 at the portal, and received us, as we alighted, with a 
 kindly warmth and grace we can never forget. The 
 attentions we had during* our whole stay were in har 
 mony with our first reception ; and we took our leave 
 of their hospitable mansion and family circle never to 
 think of our visit but with pleasurable and grateful 
 recollections. 
 1849. 
 
 October 8. My mission having- come to a close, 
 and now desiring to embark on my return voyag e by 
 way of England before winter sets in, I wait on M. de 
 Tocqueville, the present Minister of Foreign Affairs, 
 to tell him so. He had previously furnished me with 
 friendly passports, and attended to every thing* else to 
 be done for a returning* Minister, on learning* from me 
 that my successor had arrived. He had also, at my 
 request, arranged it with the President of the Republic, 
 that my audience of leave should take place to-day at 
 three o clock, at the Palais Elysee. I went there in 
 my carriage at that hour. 
 
 In delivering my letter of recall, I said, in the 
 words of the Secretary of State, that the President 
 desired to see the relations between the United States 
 and France placed on the footing* best calculated to 
 strengthen and perpetuate the most amicable inter- 
 
FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848. 56? 
 
 course between the two countries. The President of 
 the Republic reciprocated these sentiments very cor 
 dially; which terminated the official part of the 
 ceremony. 
 
 The Secretary s last despatch to me stated that the 
 President (General Taylor) had directed him to say 
 that he was not uninformed of my services as Minister 
 to France. 
 
 As I finally took my leave of the Prince President, 
 he used obliging* expressions in reference to my ap 
 proaching departure, as M. de Tocqueville had pre 
 viously done. He requested I would present his 
 compliments to my daughters, with his regrets that 
 our early departure would prevent his seeing* us as 
 often as he would otherwise have done. 
 
FROM A SKETCH 
 
 or THE 
 
 CHARACTER OF MR. CANNING. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR. 
 
 2 P 
 
[The name of MR. CANNING having occurred frequently 
 in the foregoing pages, it has been determined to insert 
 here, rather than among the notes in the body of the Volume, 
 something further in reference to that celebrated man, of 
 whom the Author had a very high opinion. On the day that 
 the intelligence of Mr. Canning s death, in 1827, reached 
 Washington, the Author, then a member of the Cabinet of 
 President Adams, was requested by the Editors of the Govern 
 ment Paper, at that time the " National Intelligencer," to 
 draw up a notice of the event, for which it was supposed he 
 might have had good opportunities. He immediately did 
 so, and the article appeared the next day, editorially, in the 
 columns of that Journal. It was afterwards republished in 
 pamphlet form, entitled " Sketch of the Character of Mr. 
 Canning/ and extensively circulated. 
 
 Among the Author s " Occasional Productions," referred 
 to in the Addendum to the Preface to this Volume, this 
 " Sketch" was included, and it has been thought that Eng 
 lish readers, to whom it will be new, might now take an 
 interest in it, Mr. Canning s name and fame occupying 
 so large a space in English history. Accordingly the con 
 cluding portion of the Sketch will be found annexed.] 
 
CHARACTER OF MR. CANNING. 
 
 WITH all our admiration of the mental powers of 
 Mr. Canning-, whether as inherited from nature, or 
 carried to their highest pitch by culture and discipline ; 
 whether we marked their efforts when brought to the 
 most momentous trials, or only g*azed at them when 
 they dazzled in lighter ones, truth compels us to state, 
 that he was never the political friend of this country. 
 He was a Briton, through and through ; British in 
 his feeling s, British in his aims, British in all his 
 policy and projects. It made no difference whether 
 the lever that was to raise them was fixed at home or 
 abroad ; for he was always and equally British. The 
 influence, the grandeur, the dominion of Britain, were 
 the dream of his boyhood. To establish these all over 
 the globe, even in the remote region where the waters 
 of the Columbia flow in solitude, formed the intense 
 effort of his riper years. For this he valued power 
 for this he used it. Greece he may almost be said to 
 have left to her melancholy fortunes, though so much 
 alive to all the touching recollections and beauties of 
 that devoted land, because the question of her escape 
 from a thraldom, so long, so bitter, so unchristian, was 
 a Turkish arid European, not a British, question. If 
 involuntarily hurried, for a moment* into the highest 
 strains of even poetry and enthusiasm, at the thoughts 
 of those classic shrines at which he had so often wor 
 shipped, the dictates of the British statesman called 
 him back from his intellectual and moral transports, 
 
572 CHAEACTEE OF ME. CANNING. 
 
 making- him careful in his steps. For Britain s sake, 
 exclusively, he took the determination to counteract 
 France, and the Continent, in Spanish America. So, 
 for Britain s sake, he invariably watched, and was as 
 invariably for counteracting 1 , the United States. 
 
 But we will stop. Mr. Canning s name belongs to 
 history, and we are presuming 1 to touch it whilst the 
 shock of his death still ring s in our ears. To departed 
 genius reverence is due. Britain has entombed him 
 side by side with her most illustrious sons, and will 
 raise monuments to his exertions to extend her power 
 and elevate her renown. Those who knew this highly 
 gifted man more nearly, testify, that his intercourse 
 in the relations of private and social life was as attrac 
 tive, as his public career was brilliant and commanding. 
 He was, indeed, the grace and ornament of a society 
 refined by age, by education, and by wealth ; ascendant 
 in the highest literary circles, and adding dignity to 
 those of rank. He was amiable in his family, devoted 
 to his friends, magnanimous among his foes. That his 
 career has been as brief as brilliant, does but tell us 
 how fleeting are human hopes ! He had ascended to 
 the pinnacle of all his earthly ambition only to die. 
 
EXTRACT 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 PROCEED I NG-S 
 
 or THE 
 
 HISTOEICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA, 
 
 STH OP AUGUST, 1859. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 
 
 " At a stated meeting of the Historical Society of 
 Pennsylvania, held on Monday evening 1 , the 8th of 
 August, 1859, Judge Cadvvalader occupied the chair. 
 It being announced that, since the last meeting of 
 the Society, one of its oldest and most honoured 
 members, Bichard Rush, had died, the Librarian 
 stated that he had received from Mr. Henry D. 
 Gilpin, one of the Vice-Presidents, (late Attorney- 
 General of the United States), whose ill health pre 
 vented his attendance, a paper expressing his deep 
 emotion occasioned by the occurrence just announced, 
 and containing some remarks which he would have 
 desired to make if present. 
 
 " In the language of Mr. Gilpin, in this paper : 
 
 (( Never since lie had been connected with the Society, 
 had it fallen to his lot to mourn with more sincere distress 
 the loss of a fellow-member. Yet the event should not be 
 regarded as a cause of sorrow ; he had but passed the inevit 
 able portal, to which we are all tending, after a long life of 
 unsullied probity, great public usefulness, the cultivation 
 and enjoyment of refined literary tastes, and a deportment 
 sincere, generous and urbane in every social relation. Still, 
 we feel that a link has been struck from the chain of grateful 
 association. 
 
 " For myself, I do not approach the subject without feel 
 ings which are independent of his merit, in the light of 
 which the world and history will judge him. For me a long 
 vista is closed of generous friendship ; of stores of know 
 ledge poured out ; of manly truths, mildly but resolutely 
 communicated ; of a social nature ever genial, and a hospi 
 tality simple, but ever generous. By those who enjoyed the 
 
576 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIK 
 
 twenty years of his intercourse at Sydenham, can its charms 
 ever be forgotten ? Can they fail to recall the feast of reason 
 and the flow of soul, by which a refined nature doubles every 
 charm of friendship ? I recall the ancestral home, shaded 
 by its ancient trees, and remember how books and works of 
 art adorned them, and especially the memorial gifts of 
 friends, which added peculiar objects of association. 
 
 ff The step and bannister brought from Milton s house and 
 inserted in his own staircase; volumes with some kindly 
 notice from Kogers or Campbell, or Hallam or Lyttleton ; 
 the pictures of statesmen and men of letters, both in Eng 
 land and in France, with tokens of their regard ; all these 
 seemed justly to augment his natural desire to linger to the 
 last in the homestead which he had inherited, until the pro 
 gress of the vast encroaching city took from it the last 
 vestige of rural tranquillity. There must be many of those 
 here assembled who can remember his venerable figure, as 
 the summer evening closed, standing upon the last step of 
 the portico, to wave them his courteous adieu the words of 
 his conversation lingering on the ear of his retiring guest, 
 as the wise and mild lessons of the aged Nestor dwelt in the 
 heart of the parting Telemachus. 
 
 ( The life of Eichard Rush must be nearly the history of 
 his country for half a century, for perhaps no American 
 citizen has ever been so constantly engaged in its public 
 events. In early life he studied law in Philadelphia, where 
 he commenced, and for a time pursued, its practice. For 
 several months he was attorney-general of the State. His 
 marriage, however, to a* lady of Maryland, many of whose 
 connexions resided in Washingon, and the eye of President 
 Madison having been fixed upon him, as a young man whose 
 talents and personal qualities would make him both accept 
 able and useful to his administration, in the troublesome 
 times which were at hand, led to his removal to that city, at 
 the instance of the President, in the year 1811. He was 
 appointed Controller of the Treasury, an office which, as then 
 organized, largely required the exercise of legal talents. 
 
 "In 1814 he was called by Mr. Madison into his cabinet, 
 succeeding Mr. Pinckney in the post of Attorney-General of 
 
OF THE AUTHOR. 577 
 
 the United States, the President having offered him the 
 choice of this office or that of Secretary of the Treasury. 
 He continued to hold it until the close of Mr. Madison s 
 administration. 
 
 " The other office, that of Secretary of the Treasury, he 
 subsequently filled during the administration of President 
 Adams. In all the business of that office he proved himself to 
 be an able administrator. His opinions upon the great finan 
 cial question of the day, leading to a policy of protective 
 duties, and his judgment in favour of it, were advocated with 
 much ability. The question is one scarcely yet withdrawn 
 from the disputed topics of governmental policy, either in this 
 country or in Europe. He urged his convictions with candour, 
 and did not shrink from their avowal at any period, even 
 when they became subjects of partisan and vehement dis 
 cussion. However correct or incorrect we may ourselves 
 deem them to be, it is not to be denied that he found sup 
 porters of his views on this subject in some of the ablest 
 American statesmen. 
 
 " The most continuous portion, however, of Mr. Rush s 
 public life was his representation of America as her Minister 
 in England and France. The former post he held for eight 
 years, the latter for two.* 
 
 " It fell to his lot to take a leading part in some of tho 
 questions which subsequently proved to be of great national 
 importance. In these measures he was aided by the groat 
 ability of the Secretary of State, Mr. Adams. Without 
 attempting to trace, or even narrate, these measures, which 
 is the work .of history, it should not be forgotten that he 
 pressed with incessant activity the rights of the United 
 States upon the Northwest coast of America ; and that his 
 minute historical researches, as well as able arguments, dis 
 closed most, if not all, the points of controversy upon which 
 that angry question subsequently turned. 
 
 * Mr. Bush was appointed to the English Mission by President 
 Monroe, in 1817, at the age of thirty-seven, having been for the 
 previous six months his acting Secretary of State; to the French 
 Mission he was appointed by President Polk, in 1847. 
 
 2 Q 
 
578 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR 
 
 t It is no longer a question of doubt that, after the close 
 of the great wars of Europe, some of its most powerful 
 sovereigns, who were united in the so-called Holy Alliance, 
 entertained views of interference on the American continent, 
 the character of which, never completely developed, would 
 necessarily partake of the spirit and aims of that alliance. 
 This disclosed itself to the sagacity of Mr. Canning while 
 Mr. Eush was in London. His views were communicated 
 to Mr. Rush, and their negotiations became the basis of that 
 quiet, but decisive, expression of the American Government, 
 without which the conduct of some of the European Go 
 vernments would, in all probability, have led to consequences 
 disastrous in American history. 
 
 " Without investigating the inferences, in regard to the 
 policy of the United States, which, in subsequent political 
 controversies, have been deduced from the language of 
 President Monroe, and without expressing an opinion as to 
 their applicability to subsequent events, which may or may 
 not be similar for this would be entering on the province 
 of the historian it must be admitted that the measure 
 itself, adopted at the time and in the manner in which it 
 was, has scarcely been surpassed in importance in the foreign 
 policy of the United States. In its conduct, Mr. Rush dis 
 played throughout great ability, discretion, vigilance, and 
 tact. These qualities, indeed, marked in a high degree his 
 whole diplomatic career in England. 
 
 " Though his services as Minister in France occupied a 
 much shorter period, yet his residence in Paris embraced a 
 portion of the reign of Louis Philippe, the whole of the 
 Republic, and part of the government of Louis Napoleon as 
 its President. Notwithstanding his personal relations with 
 the former sovereign, he did not hesitate in his duty, as 
 the representative of America, and, without awaiting the 
 course of the representatives of other countries, to recog 
 nize, as far as it was in his power, the free government, 
 established by the French people. Although such an emer 
 gency could not have been anticipated by his instructions, 
 he rightly judged the- feelings and sentiments of his govern- 
 
OF THE AUTHOR. 579 
 
 ment and countrymen. His diplomatic conduct through the 
 erratic course of events in France, which succeeded each 
 other in quick succession, was marked, in each emergency, 
 by the ability, promptness, resolution, and judgment, which 
 characterized his first important movement ; and when he 
 retired from his mission, and with it from active public 
 service, he returned to the United States with increased 
 distinction and untarnished honour. 
 
 " One feature remains to be noticed. His literary ability 
 was superior. He loved habitually the best English authors. 
 He was careful in the formation of his style. His mind was 
 richly stored, perhaps beyond any of his contemporaries, with 
 the minute history of the men and times among whom he 
 lived. His estimate of individual character was less obscured 
 by prejudice, than is usual among politicians who lived 
 through stormy times. If he could ever err in accuracy in 
 regard to events, it was from no want of an anxious search 
 for truth, which he possessed excellent opportunities to 
 ascertain. In his opinions on public measures, it would be 
 vain to say that all his judgments could be right ; but they 
 were always conscientious." 
 
 a After some appropriate remarks from the chair, it 
 was unanimously resolved that the memoir of Mr. 
 Gilpin ; be entered on the records, with an expression of 
 the Society s deep regret at the loss of their venerable 
 and distinguished member." 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Abbot, Mr. Justice, 181. 
 
 Aberdeen, Earl, Louis Philippe s opinion 
 of, 406; Guizot s opinion of, 406. 
 
 Academy, Royal, Anniversary Dinner 
 at Somerset House, fiftieth celebra 
 tion, 206 ; author returns thanks 
 to toast to Foreign Ambassadors and 
 Ministers, 210. 
 
 Adams, Mr., author s immediate prede 
 cessor, 26 ; Secretary of State, his 
 character, 48 ; The Elder," The 
 Younger," Charles Francis ; Family 
 hitherto the most distinguished, poli 
 tically, in America, 86, note ; address 
 of " The Younger" to Queen Char 
 lotte, and happy allusion, 102 ; sub 
 sequent Farewell Address, when 
 President, to General Lafayette, 103, 
 note; respect in which held, and 
 foresight of, while Minister to Russia, 
 121 ; tribute paid to him by Duke of 
 Sussex, 126 ; ability of in English 
 mission, 368 ; " The Elder," 462. 
 
 Adelaide, Madame, 399; Court mourn 
 ing for, 432. 
 
 Adet, Mons., 453. 
 
 Addison, 126 ; anecdote of, while re 
 siding at Holland House, 139. 
 
 Affairs, Foreign, French Minister of, 
 dines with, 413; enquiries by, in re 
 gard to conflict of opinion in U. S. 
 between President and Congress, 557. 
 
 Ages, intermingling of all, in Ecglish 
 society, up to past eighty, 178. 
 
 Agriculture in the United States, 284 ; 
 in England, 311. 
 
 Aix la Chapelle, chief purpose of Con 
 gress of, 320. 
 
 Alexander, Emperor, anecdote of, in 
 connexion with visit of Allied Sove 
 reigns to England, 52 ; his letter to 
 his tutor, La Harpe, soon after his 
 accession to the throne, 216 ; fond of 
 reading works on the United States, 
 217 ; his decision as Umpire under 
 fifth article of Treaty of 1818 between 
 U.S. and Great Britain, 376. 
 
 Allegiance, Natural, conflicting views of 
 writers upon Public Law, with refer 
 ence to, 165 ; opposite views of Bri 
 tish and American Governments with 
 reference to, 254. 
 
 Alliance, European, information asked 
 
 of Lord Castlereagh as to objects of, 
 with reference to South American 
 Affairs, 273 ; Holy, supposed over 
 tures of Russia to United States to 
 join ; objects of ; objections to free 
 Governments becoming party to ; 
 grounds of England s refusal to join, 
 294. 
 
 Almacks, 178. 
 
 Ambassador, Turkish, to France, author 
 dines with, 433. 
 
 Ambassadors, distinction between, and 
 Ministers Plenipotentiary, 64. 
 
 Amelia Island, 189. 
 
 America, Spanish, Plenipotentiaries 
 from three of the new States of, 67. 
 
 Americanisms, 267. 
 
 Amherst, Lord, 241 . 
 
 Anecdote of Spanish Ambassador who 
 represented to Cromwell that the In 
 quisition and Colonial Trade were his 
 master s two eyes, 382. 
 
 Anecdote, authentic, with reference to 
 
 Lady , formerly one of the Miss 
 
 Catons of Maryland, at dinner at the 
 King s, 86, note. 
 
 Anecdote of an English Peer, 260. 
 
 Anglesea, Marquis of, 88. 
 
 Annapolis, Maryland, 1, 86, note. 
 
 Appendix, Part I, Progress of Negotia 
 tion of 1818 between Great Britain 
 and U. S. ; Questions arranged by it, 
 365; Part II Questions left unad 
 justed, 378. 
 
 Arago, Monsieur, reply of, to American 
 Minister at Hotel de Ville on his 
 recognition of the French Republic 
 of 1848, 453. 
 
 Arbuthnot and Ambrister, two British 
 subjects, executed by order of General 
 Jackson, commanding the American 
 Troops, cases of, 304 ; Lord Castle 
 reagh communicates to author de 
 cision of British Government upon 
 cases of, 339 ; author vindicates fully, 
 in interview \\ith Lord Castlereagh, the 
 conduct of General Jackson, as not 
 only technically justified by rights of 
 war, but on grounds of humanity and 
 justice, 341 ; Parliamentary enquiry 
 into cases of; excitement in the 
 country, and of the press ; Ministers 
 maintain their ground, "352. 
 2 U 
 
582 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Arbuthnot, Mr., Secretary of the Trea 
 sury, 267. 
 
 Architecture, a topic at dinner at Lord 
 Lansdowne s, 216. 
 
 Army, appropriations for, in United 
 States said to exceed those of Great 
 Britain, in proportion ; British most 
 expensive in Europe, 267. 
 
 Arts, The Fine, Britain destined to fame 
 in, 208 ; America hopes to take her 
 stand in, 209 ; presage of her future 
 eminence in, 232. 
 
 Aspinwall, Colonel, U.S. Consul for 
 London, xxxi, 225. 
 
 Assembly, National, opening of, 467; 
 address of to the French Nation, after 
 insurrection of June 23, 1848, 513 ; 
 decree of, in honour of the Archbishop 
 of Paris, 514 ; Vote of, for Public 
 Safety, 523 ; report to, on case of 
 Louis Napoleon, 525; elections for, 
 532; first entrance of Louis Napoleon 
 into, 533 ; reference to, reports to, on 
 insurrection of May and June, 540; 
 decision of, in regard to new French 
 Constitution, 544; announcement in, 
 of result of election of President of 
 the French Republic, 547 ; address 
 of President of Assembly announc 
 ing result, 548 ; Oath to support 
 constitution administered to Louis 
 Napoleon, 549 ; rivalry between 
 President of Assembly and President 
 of Republic, 559. 
 
 Attorney General, why not of the Bri 
 tish Cabinet ? 43. 
 
 Auckland, Lady, 22. 
 
 Austria, desire of, to cultivate amicable 
 relations with U.S. her commerce 
 in the Black Sea, 62. 
 
 Austrian Ambassador, 58 ; author dines 
 with, 151, 215. 
 
 Authors, English, most admired in the 
 United States, 235. 
 
 Author s reflections on reaching Eng 
 land, 11 ; first call on Lord Castle- 
 reagb, English Foreign Secretary, 25 ; 
 first official interview with same, 31. 
 
 Babington, Mr., M.P. 174. 
 
 Bagot, Lord, author dines with, 157. 
 
 Bagot, Mr., British Minister to United 
 States, 74. 
 
 Bancroft, Mr., U.S. Minister in London, 
 423, 557. 
 
 Banquet, Reform, topic at Tuileries on 
 eve of Revolution, 436 ; prohibition 
 of, immediate cause of Revolution, 
 472. 
 
 Barrot, Mons. Odillon, Minister of Jus 
 tice, reception at, 556. 
 
 Barrow, Mr., 123. 
 
 Bassompierre, 67. 
 
 Bastide, Mons., Minister of Foreign 
 Affairs, reception at, 506 ; diplomatic 
 dinner with, 528 ; appointments with, 
 531, 532. 
 
 Bastile, Anniversary of destruction of, 
 524. 
 
 Bathurst, Earl, Colonial Secretary, 42 ; 
 author dines with, 152 ; affairs of 
 Foreign Office confided to, 320. 
 
 Bathurst, Mr. C. B., Chancellor of 
 Duchy of Lancaster, 43. 
 
 Bathurst, Lady Emily, 194. 
 
 Bavaria, Minister from, 58. 
 
 Bayley, Mr. Justice, 181. 
 
 Becket, Sir John and Lady Ann, 70. 
 
 Belgium, King and Queen of, among 
 guests at Neuilly, 399. 
 
 Bentham, Jeremy, author dines with, 
 286 ; some characteristics of, 288 ; 
 advises that salaries in the U.S be 
 kept low, 290. 
 
 Beresford, Field Marshal Lord, his 
 opinions of the Government of the 
 U. S-, and of the American Navy, 275. 
 
 Bermuda, Island of, 4, 40. 
 
 Binning, Lord, 291. 
 
 Bismark, Prince, 129, note. 
 
 Black Sea, Commerce of, 120. 
 
 Blockade, doctrine of, 161, 314. 
 
 Bloomfield, Sir Benjamin, Private Sec 
 retary to Prince Regent, 131. 
 
 Bonaparte I. would have given over 
 project of invading England, said a 
 member of diplomatic corps, could he 
 have seen region of country from 
 which men came recruited for British 
 Army, 331. 
 
 Bonaparte, Jerome, his letter to Pro 
 visional Government, 456. 
 
 Bonaparte, Louis Napoleon, see Napo 
 leon, Louis. 
 
 Bonaparte, Mons. Napoleon, remarks of, 
 in National Assembly in regard to his 
 cousin, Louis Napoleon, 493-4-5-6. 
 
 Booksellers shops, 115. 
 
 Boston, Consulate at, conversation with 
 General Cavaignac, respecting, 531; 
 same with the Minister of Foreign 
 Affairs, 541. 
 
 Boulevards of Paris, 53. 
 
 Boundary Line, North Western, con 
 templated by Treaty of 1783, 74, 77. 
 
 Bourbon, Duke de, 194. 
 
 Bourke, Mr., Minister Plenipotentiary 
 from Denmark, 66, 70 ; author dines 
 with, 99. 
 
 Bouverie, Mr., 354. 
 
 Brando, Professor, 113. 
 
 Brignoli, Marquis of, Sardinian Am 
 bassador, and Marchioness ; author 
 dines with, 410. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 583 
 
 Britain, Great, riches and power of 
 enhanced by wars elsewhere, owing to 
 insular situation and maritime ascen 
 dency, 250 ; her naval power ; fleets 
 of Europe, singly or combined, unable 
 to make head against her, 252 ; her 
 power in future wars, 253 ; trade and 
 manufactures of ; revenue of, 354. 
 
 British Officers, favourite praise bestowed 
 on, 89. 
 
 Brougham, Mr., 126 ; some character 
 istics of, at a dinner at Jeremy Ben- 
 tham s, 289. 
 
 Brown, Boston seaman, liberated by 
 French Government, 432. 
 
 Bruce, Lady Augusta, 559. 
 
 Buchan, Earl of, 118. 
 
 Buchanan, Mr., Secretary of State, 395 ; 
 important unofficial communication 
 from, 489. 
 
 Bulwer, Sir Henry, his appointment as 
 British Minister to United States, 558. 
 
 Burdett, Sir Francis, remark of, with 
 respect to Lord Erskine, 118, 264. 
 
 Burghersh, Lord, 58. 
 
 Burgoyne, Sir John, reference to letter 
 to, from Duke of Wellington on French 
 Invasion, 430. 
 
 Burke, 171 ; his beautiful obituary no 
 tice of Sir Joshua Reynolds, 206 ; 
 Erskine s recollections of, 237 j his 
 great speech on American concilia 
 tion, 238. 
 
 Burns, dinner of his admirers, at City 
 of London Tavern ; a son of the poet 
 present ; his punch bowl handed 
 round, 229. 
 
 Cabinet, British, names of those who 
 composed the, in 1818, 42. 
 
 Cabinet of United States, names of 
 those who composed the, in 1818, 48. 
 
 Calcclon, Lord and Lady, 177. 
 
 Calhoun, Mr. Secretary, afterwards 
 Vice-President, U.S. 49; his opinion 
 of French Revolution of 1848, 455, 
 note. 
 
 Camden, Marquis, 353. 
 
 Cunning, Mr., President of Board of 
 Control for Affairs of India, first 
 mention of, 43-46, 67, 108, 117; Au 
 thor dines with, at Glocester Lodge, 
 233; Sir James Mackintosh s compli 
 mentary allusion to, in debate; Au 
 thor s parallel between the two, 299, 
 355; sketch of character of, 569. 
 
 Canterbury, Archbishop of, 154, 353. 
 
 Capellen, Van der, Admiral, struck with 
 the discipline on board U.S. ships of 
 war, 197. 
 
 Caraman, Count dc, 463. 
 
 Caricatures, bound in large volumes on 
 
 English tables ; indifference of the 
 English to such attacks, 235. 
 Carlton House, entertainments at, 217, 
 
 233. 
 
 Carroll of Carrolton, last surviving 
 Signer of Declaration of American 
 Independence, grandfather of Duchess 
 of Leeds, Marchioness of Wellesley, 
 and Lady Stafford, 85, note. 
 Castlereagh, Lord, English Foreign Se 
 cretary, first mention of, 25 ; first inter 
 view with, by appointment, 31 ; remark 
 able declaration of, 46; author dines 
 with, 58, 109; interviews with, 72, 159, 
 184, 253, 262 ; is mobbed at the gene 
 ral election for a new House of Com 
 mons; his self-possession and good 
 humour, 265; interview with, 270; 
 interviews with, 280; interview with, 
 in reference to mediation of Great 
 Britain between Spain and her Co 
 lonies, sought by Spain, 295; British 
 note of August, 1817, with reference 
 to; views of American Government 
 as to basis of settlement of contest, 
 297; received by Lord Castlereagh 
 with regret; his desire that the two 
 Governments should act in harmony, 
 298; policy of U. S. on great ques 
 tion of Spanish American Independ 
 ence, 299; interview with, 301; Au 
 thor and Mr. Gallatin as joint pleni 
 potentiaries for general negotiation, 
 arrive at country seat of, North Cray, 
 Kent, for preparatory conference, 
 306; statesmanlike views of in enter 
 ing upon negotiation, 307, 318; in 
 terview with upon cases of Arbuthnot 
 and Ambrister, 339, 341, 351 ; informs 
 author, at later day of his mission, 
 that war might have been produced 
 by cases of Arbuthnot and Ambris 
 ter, " if ministry had but held up a 
 finger;" author s opinion of firmness 
 of, 352. 
 
 Cavaignac, General, remarks of, in re 
 ference to Louis Napoleon in National 
 Assembly, 492 ; Commander in Chief, 
 507; Dictator, 508; leads attack on 
 first barricade, 509; quells insurrec 
 tion, 511; resigns his extraordinary 
 powers, 513; invested with supreme 
 executive power, 513; receptions by, 
 524; conversation with, 529; dinner 
 with, 530; candidate for Presidency 
 of Republic, S45 ; resigns his executive 
 power, 548 ; popularity affected by 
 energy during insurrection, 552. 
 Ceremony, its obligations at the English 
 
 Court, with Author s reflections, 93. 
 Chamber, French Legislative, operation 
 of the single branch, 544. 
 2 R 2 
 
584 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Chan gamier. General, commanding 
 troops and National Guards of Paris, 
 564. 
 
 Channel, English, 6. 
 
 Charges d Affaires, accredited to Secre 
 tary of State, 67. 
 
 Charities, English, stupendous, includ 
 ing subscriptions for building ch urches 
 and establishing schools, 211. 
 
 Charlotte, Princess, 27. 
 
 Charlotte, Queen, Author s presentation 
 to, at Buckingham Palace, 100; im 
 pressions of the Queen, 101 ; birthday 
 drawing-room of, 104; tribute to her 
 domestic virtues, 155; death of, at 
 Kew, 333 ; funeral of, 334. 
 
 Chateaubriand, Viscount, French Am 
 bassador, as an author, 65. 
 
 Chauncey, Commodore, U.S. navy, 197. 
 
 Chesapeake Bay, 1. 
 
 Chesapeake and Shannon, Author s 
 reflections on the action between, 359. 
 
 Chester, Sir Robert, Master of Cere 
 monies, 84. 
 
 Chinnery, Mr. 234. 
 
 Chitty, Mr. 183. 
 
 Circourt, Count and Countess, 434. 
 
 Clanwilliam, Earl of, private Secretary 
 to Lord Castlereagh, 195, 309. 
 
 Clarence, Duke of, afterwards William 
 IV., 90. 
 
 Clay, Henry, the great American States 
 man and Patriot; his comprehensive 
 forecast on the question of Spanish 
 American Independence, 299. 
 
 Climate, English, 30 ; favourable to 
 every kind of eminence and skill, and 
 to animal and human development, 
 why not to the arts, 208. 
 
 Clubs, anecdote with reference to 
 White s, 113; United Service, extent 
 and completeness of; Travellers ; 
 Alfred, 114. 
 
 Clubs, French Political, restricted, 523. 
 
 Cochrane, Mr. and Mrs. Basil, 284. 
 
 Coke, Mr., his estate at Holkham, 285. 
 
 Colonies of Great Britain, importance 
 of to her empire, 332. 
 
 Colonization Society, 153. 
 
 Columbia River, post at, 74, 77. 
 
 Commerce, general Treaty of, proposed 
 to Lord Castlereagh by desire of 
 American Government, 159. 
 
 Committee, French Executive, choice of 
 Ministry by, 477; overthrow of, 508; 
 new starting point in administrative 
 powers of republic, 520. 
 
 Composition, facility of to some persons, 
 and labour to others ; Burke, Pitt, 
 Windham, Lord Ellenborough, 175. 
 
 Conflict of authority between Executive 
 of France and Chamber of Deputies, 
 559. 
 
 Conde, his ancient residence, 528. 
 Congress, resolution of congratulation 
 
 from, to French Republic, 477. 
 Conneau, Dr., devoted friend of Louis 
 Napoleon at Ham, 562. 
 
 Constitution, French; Committee ap 
 pointed to draft, 489; its important 
 provisions, 502 ; Fete in honour of, 
 542; Documents addressed by Mi 
 nister of Interior to Prefects of De 
 partments in reference to, 544. 
 
 Constitution, British, opposite theories 
 of antiquarians upon origin of, 245. 
 
 Constitution, American, Fox s panegy 
 ric upon the, 280. 
 
 Consul, American, at Cowcs, 9. 
 
 Convention, Commercial, between 
 America and England, of 1815, 34, 
 259, 272, 281. 
 
 Cook, original paintings of places seen 
 in his voyages, 124. 
 
 Cookery, French, a better medium by 
 means of wh^ch to revolutionize 
 Europe, than through its Courts, 151. 
 
 Cooper, Midshipman, of New York, 6. 
 
 Coquerel, Mons., rector of French Pro 
 testant Church, 403. 
 
 Corbin, Mr., of Virginia ; dinner with, 
 at Versailles, 395. 
 
 Corps Diplomatic, Dinner to the, 557; 
 preferences among for Gen. Cavaignac 
 as President, 556. 
 
 Corps, Diplomatic, names of those who 
 composed the, while Author resided 
 in England, 63. 
 
 Country, cause of enthusiastic fondness 
 of English people for the, 324. 
 
 Cowes, 8. 
 
 Crawford, Mr., former Minister of U.S. 
 in France, 22. 
 
 Crawford, Mr. Secretary, 48. 
 
 Credence, Letter of, from President U. 
 S. to Prince Regent, accrediting Au 
 thor to reside at his Court, 91. 
 
 Cumberland s, Duchess of, party at, 
 116. 
 
 Cunningham, Commissioner at Dcpt- 
 ford, 145. 
 
 Customs, as between British Govern 
 ment and Foreign Ambassadors and 
 Ministers, which * harmonize," 98. 
 
 Cuthbert, Ross, Esq., 24. 
 
 D Aglie, Count, Minister Plenipoten 
 tiary from Sardinia, 66. 
 
 Daniel, Dr., of Georgia, Dinner with, in 
 Paris, 410. 
 
 D Appony, Count, Austrian Ambassa 
 dor, and Countess ; Soiree at ; Ball 
 at, 
 
 D Arnim, Prussian Minister, 403. 
 
 Dartmouth, Countess of, 157. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 585 
 
 D Auraale, Dae, 399, 406. 
 
 Davy, Sir Humphrey, his flow of con 
 versation at dinner at Danish Minis 
 ter s, 99, 114, 137,142. 
 
 Debt, Public, of England; remark of 
 Dr. Hamilton in his work on, 
 Author s reflections upon; resources 
 of Great Britain have increased in 
 ratio greater than Debt, 248; founda 
 tion of her incalculable riches and 
 credit, which she extends in the midst 
 of wars, 250. 
 
 Decatur, Captain, U.S. Navy, pride of, 
 iu English ancestry, 12; remark of, 
 to Author, with reference to fleets of 
 England and United States, 329. 
 
 De Gaze, Duke, French Ambassador, 64. 
 
 Deffund, Madame du, 178. 
 
 DC I Huys, Mons. Drouin, Minister of 
 Foreign Affairs, 528 ; Dinner with, 
 556. 
 
 Demidoff, Princess Matilde, 559. 
 
 D Estrades, 68. 
 
 De Frias, Duke, Spanish Ambassador, 65. 
 
 De la Tour Maubcrg, Marquis, French 
 Ambassador, 64. 
 
 Deptford, visit to, with Sir Humphrey 
 Davy, 142. 
 
 Dering, Sir Edward, 313. 
 
 Dinners, fondness of the English for, in 
 connexion with public objects, 211; 
 private, the chosen means of English 
 hospitality ; characteristics of, 259. 
 
 Disbrow, Mr. Vice Chamberlain to the 
 Queen, 157. 
 
 D Osmond, Marquis, French Ambas 
 sador, 63. 
 
 Drawing Room, Birthday of Queen 
 Charlotte, 104, 193. 
 
 Drayton, Lieut. Percival, U.S. Navy, 542. 
 
 Duelling, striking remark in reference 
 to, at dinner at Earl of Westmore 
 land s, 71. 
 
 D union t, the learned Genevan, 288. 
 
 Duncan, his victory over the Dutch, 
 124. 
 
 East, Mr. and Mrs., 266. 
 
 Eldon, Lord, Lord Chancellor, 42, 210. 
 
 Election, General, for new House of 
 Commons; author visits hustings; re 
 pulsive picture, 264. 
 
 Ellenborough, Lord Chief Justice, 181. 
 
 Elizabeth, Princess, marriage of, to 
 Prince of Hesse Homberg, 154. 
 
 Embassy, British, in Paris; ball at, 
 434; party at, 542. 
 
 Embassies of great Powers in 1818, com 
 pared with embassies of other times, 
 67. 
 
 Emigration, from England to the United 
 States, 111. 
 
 Empire, British, said to have twice dic 
 tated Peace of Europe iu Capital of 
 France, 46. 
 
 England, her commercial power and 
 grandeur, as seen in the streets of 
 London, 53; has fame enough without 
 straining after what does not belong 
 to her, 180; contrasts in, as seen by 
 a stranger, 199; circumstances tend 
 ing to her advancement in the Arts, 
 231; more powerful now (1818) than 
 ever she was ; instead of declining is 
 advancing, with buoyancy and vigour 
 of youth; Madame de StaeTs remark; 
 exists all over the world in her Colo 
 nies, 332. 
 
 England, New, her seamen, 169. 
 
 English, The, fight everywhere, in con 
 trast to other nations, 88 ; fondness 
 of, for foreign travel, 135. 
 
 English rural scenery, 23, 283. 
 
 Entertainments, Dinner, English as com 
 pared with French, 529. 
 
 Erskine, Lord, author s first acquaint 
 ance with, and impressions of, 118, 
 125, 215; his recollections of Burke 
 in a visit to the author, 237. 
 
 Erskine, Hon. Thomas ; Hon. Alfred, 
 237, note. 
 
 Esterhazy, Prince, Austrian Ambas 
 sador, 63; dinner at, 151. 
 
 Expedition, Polar, 123, 142. 
 
 Fabvier, General, 562. 
 
 Fagel, Baron, Netherlands Ambassador, 
 63. 
 
 Falcke,Mr., Netherlands Ambassador,65. 
 
 Falkland Islands, 75. 
 
 Family, Royal, members of the, in 1818, 
 of male and female branches, 89. 
 
 Families, Noble, thirty thousand in 
 France before the Revolution; six or 
 eight hundred in England ; latter more 
 efficient than former, 213. 
 
 Fane, Mr., 354. 
 
 Fane, Lady Georgiana, 194, 354. 
 
 Fanshawe, Miss, 137. 
 
 Farragut, Admiral, 1, note. 
 
 Fashion; the word rarely heard in cer 
 tain classes in England, 260. 
 
 Federalist, remark on the, by Monsieur 
 Guizot, 408. 
 
 Finances, French, prosperous condition 
 of under Monarchy, 420 ; difficulty 
 with under Provisional Government, 
 475. 
 
 Fisheries, first of the subjects of general 
 negotiation of 1818, as to which Con 
 vention signed, see Appendix, 365. 
 
 Fitzroy Somerset, Lord and Lady, 275. 
 
 Floridas, rumour of their intended 
 transfer to United States, 215. 
 
586 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Folkstone, Lord, 137. 
 
 Fontainebleau, Palace and Forest of; 
 peasant guide through latter, 565. 
 
 Forms in Governments, and among the 
 diplomatic corps, 68 ; exist equally in 
 Republics as in all Governments, 94, 
 prevalence of among the Romans; 
 title of Majesty, modern as applied to 
 kings ; President Madison s quick sen 
 sibility to their observance, 95. 
 
 Fox, Charles James, 22 ; his panegyric 
 upon the American Constitution, 280. 
 
 France, reflections upon condition of, 
 423; Bank of, its credit during the 
 Revolution, 444. 
 
 Franklin, his style as a writer, combin 
 ing so much nature with so much 
 genius, 99 ; Sir James Mackintosh s 
 opinion of his style, 138. 
 
 "Franklin," 74, U. S. ship, 1. 
 
 Frederick the Great and the great Ger 
 man people, 1 52. 
 
 French, disposition of enlightened classes 
 in England to borrow from the, what 
 they thought good, 61 ; and to speak 
 well of France, and taste for French 
 things, 177. 
 
 French Ambassador, 58; author dines 
 with, to meet Prince Regent, 291. 
 
 Froissart, his opinion of the English, 
 206. 
 
 Gallatin, Mr., to be joint Plenipotentiary 
 with author in general negociation, 
 281, 301,306, 307,313, 321. 
 
 Gallery, British, Pall Mall, 230. 
 
 Gambier, Lord, 174, 213. 
 
 Gavelkind, old custom of, in Kent, 310, 
 312. 
 
 George III., his attachment to the Navy, 
 144. 
 
 Gerning, Baron de, 196. 
 
 Gibbon, the Duke of Sussex s opinion 
 of, 126. 
 
 Gladstone, Mr., 141, note. 
 
 Gloucester, Bishop of, 213. 
 
 Gloucester, Duke of, 152, 215. 
 
 Gold, foreign, insinuation in National 
 Assembly of use of in Insurrection of 
 23rd June ; note of British Am 
 bassador on the subject to Minister of 
 Foreign Affairs, 514. 
 
 Goulburn, Mr., 153, 281, 306, 309. 
 
 Government, French Provisional, pro 
 clamation of, 443; acknowledgment 
 of, by American Minister; his address 
 on theoccasion, 452 ; dissensions among 
 members of, 461 ; surrender of power 
 by, to National Assembly, 468 ; notice 
 of its course, 472; its difficulty with 
 the finances, 475; enormous expen 
 diture by, 475. 
 
 Government, Plato s remark as to the 
 source of the greatest operations in, 
 352. 
 
 Governments, Constitutional, in Italy, 
 Spain, and Portugal, appearing and 
 disappearing, 66. 
 
 Gower, Lady Elizabeth Levcson, 194, 
 234, 261; Lord Francis, 261. 
 
 Green, Lieut-Gen. Sir Charles, 218. 
 
 Greenwich Hospital, visit to, with Sir 
 Humphrey Davy, 145. 
 
 Grenville, Lord, 125. 
 
 Grey, Sir George, Chief Commissioner 
 of Dockyard at Portsmouth; his 
 courtesy to author, 18. 
 
 Grey, Lord, 125. 
 
 Guards, French National, and the 
 rappel, 464. 
 
 Guizot, Monsieur, Minister of Foreign 
 Affairs, first interview with, in Paris, 
 396; visit from, 402 ; defence of Mi 
 nistry by, 403 ; his opinion of Lord 
 Aberdeen, 406; conversation with, at 
 his reception, 408. 
 
 Haight, Mrs., of New York, dinner with 
 
 in Paris, 431. 
 
 Halket, Lady Catharine, 177. 
 Haller, Mr., Minister Resident from 
 
 Switzerland, 67. 
 Hardwicke, Earl of, 117; author dines 
 
 with, 176. 
 Ilarrowby, Earl of, Lord President of 
 
 Council, 42, 213, 266, 353. 
 Harvey, Sir Felton, Aide to Duke of 
 
 Wellington, and Lady Harvey, 354 ; 
 
 interesting anecdote of Sir Felton, in 
 
 one of Duke of Wellington s battles 
 
 in Spain, 357. 
 Havre, arrival at, 395. 
 Hertford, Marchioness of, 117. 
 Hobhouse, Sir Benjamin and Lady, 284. 
 Hock, 151. 
 
 Holroyd, Mr. Justice, 181. 
 Holland House, description of, 139. 
 Holland, Lord, 125 ; dinner with, and 
 
 Lady, 137, 215. 
 
 Homberg, Hesse, Prince of, 87; mar 
 riage of to the Princess Elizabeth, 
 
 154. 
 
 Hop, the cultivation of in Kent, 310. 
 Horses, proportion of in England kept 
 
 for luxury, to those in France, 312. 
 Hospitals in London, with other asylums 
 
 for the distressed, 212. 
 Hottingeur, Mons. and Madame, 402 ; 
 
 dinner with, 420 j musical party at, 
 
 433. 
 Houses, private, in West-end of London, 
 
 54; interior accommodations of, 56. 
 Howden, Lord, accomplished English 
 
 diplomatist, 558. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 587 
 
 Howe, reply of, to sailors, who wanted 
 more grog, just before his great vic 
 tory, 328. 
 
 Humboldt, remark of, with reference to 
 gulf stream, with hints to navigators, 
 4. 
 
 Humboldt, Baron, Prussian Ambas 
 sador, 63 ; 
 
 Humboldt, Baron, at Princess Lieven s, 
 409 ; author s recollections of him in 
 Philadelphia; attentions paid to him 
 in Paris, 410 ; conversations with, 
 414. 
 
 Hume, Sir James Macintosh s opinion 
 of, 138. 
 
 Huet, Dr., of Trinity Coll., Cambridge, 
 423. 
 
 Hunt, Mr., 265. 
 
 Hurtado, Mr., plenipotentiary from 
 Colombia, 67. 
 
 Huskisson, Mr., 44, 108. 
 
 Hyde Park, the display in, 28. 
 
 Ilchester, Earl of, 213. 
 
 Impressment, author s reflections in re 
 ference to practice of, 148 ; state of 
 English Law in reference to at present, 
 149, note; question explained, 162; 
 official reports with reference to, 167; 
 proposal to abolish, submitted by 
 author to Lord Castlereagh, 184; the 
 President s desire for removal of this 
 cause of dissension, 187 ; British 
 Cabinet refuses to forego right of 
 Britain to look for her subjects upon 
 the high seas, and rejects further 
 proposals of U. S. to modify right, 
 254 ; notwithstanding which, pro 
 posals reduced to writing to go upon 
 archives of British Government, 263 ; 
 Lord Castlereagh renews subject of, 
 and suggests modifications in pro 
 posals of U. S., 302, 307 ; American 
 negotiators decline to discuss any 
 maritime question, apart from ques 
 tion of, 318; Lord Castlereagh, on eve 
 of departure for Continent, informs 
 author that an objectionable con 
 dition previously insisted on by Great 
 Britain will be waived, 318; antici 
 pates thereby shock to public feeling 
 in England, but Government will 
 meet it, 319; recapitulation of causes 
 which led to failure to settle question 
 of, in negotiation of 1818, see Appen 
 dix, 390. 
 
 Income Tax, 176. 
 
 Income and expenditure of England, 
 author s reflections upon, 247. 
 
 Indians, Seminole, 293; their relations 
 towards United States, 342; wars of, 
 with accompanying atrocities, insti 
 
 gated and sustained by British traders, 
 344; their cruelties, general subject of, 
 347. 
 
 " Influential," skirmish between Mr. 
 Canning and Mr. Pinckney of Mary 
 land, with reference to the word, 234. 
 
 Institution, Royal, Albemarle St., 113; 
 London, Moorfields, 113. 
 
 Insurrection in Paris of 15th May, 477; 
 of 23rd June, 506; causes and possible 
 consequences of, 5 1 5-522 ; prompt pro 
 ceedings of Government to repress, 
 511. 
 
 Irwin, Mr., late U. S. Charge d Affaires 
 in Denmark, 395. 
 
 Isabella, The, one of the vessels of Polar 
 expedition, description of, 142. 
 
 Islands, Ionian; a visitor to the author 
 from the, urges that the U. S. should 
 assume protectorship of, 219. 
 
 Isnard, Mons., conversation respecting, 
 541. 
 
 Jackson, General, vindication of by 
 author in interview with Lord Castle 
 reagh, for execution of Arbuthnot 
 and Ambrister, two British subjects, 
 349. 
 
 Jenkinson, extract from work of, on 
 treaties, 39. 
 
 Joinville, Prince de, 404. 
 
 Jolivet s, of the Chamber of Deputies, 
 entertainment at, 434. 
 
 Judgment, sometimes best exhibited in 
 appearing to have no judgment at 
 all ; contrasts in England, 199. 
 
 Junius, 235. 
 
 Just, Baron, Minister Plenipotentiary 
 from Saxony, 66. 
 
 Keith, Lord, 123. 
 
 Kent, Duke of, father of Queen Victoria, 
 
 90. 
 King, Mr., formerly American Minister 
 
 in England, 85, 218. 
 King of the French (see Louis Philippe). 
 King s Bench, Court of, narrowly escapes 
 
 becoming scene of an encounter with 
 
 clubs, 181. 
 
 Lackington s, Finsbury Square, 115. 
 
 Lafayette, George, 460; elected a Vice- 
 President of National Assembly, 492; 
 Madame, 528; Mons. Oscar, 565. 
 
 La Grange, visit to; description of, 528; 
 pleasure of visit, 565. 
 
 Lamartine, Mons. de, official communi 
 cation from, as Minister of Foreign 
 Affairs, 452 ; triumph of, at Hotel de 
 Ville, 454; receives a deputation of 
 Poles, 459 ; opposed to double branch 
 in Legislature, 461; oflicial note to, 
 
588 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 465; reflections on career and genius 
 of, 521. 
 Lamoriciere, General, Minister of War, 
 
 reception at, 526. 
 Lansdowne, Marquis of, 125, 137 ; 
 
 author dines with, 215. 
 Langsdorff, Baron, Minister Resident 
 
 from Baden, 67. 
 
 Language, French, its prevalence among 
 the enlightened classes of England, 
 and advantage thereby possessed by 
 latter over same classes in France, 
 61 ; conversation Avith Duke of Sussex 
 respecting, 126; author s suggestions 
 to remedy monopoly of by France, 
 128. 
 Lasterie, Count de, of the Chamber of 
 
 Deputies, 458. 
 
 Leeds, Duchess of, formerly one of the 
 Misses Caton of Maryland, 85, note, 
 157. 
 
 Legations, Foreign, said, by a visitor to 
 
 the author, to be watched by English 
 
 Government, especially American and 
 
 Russian, 191. 
 
 " Lengthy," use of word in America, 
 
 defended by Lord Harrowby, 267. 
 Leopold, Prince, afterwards Leopold I. 
 
 of Belgium, 90. 
 
 L Eure, Dupont de, remark of, to 
 American Minister on his recognition 
 of French Republic, 453. 
 Levee of Prince Regent, first after 
 
 author s arrival, 88. 
 Lewis and Clarke, American travellers, 
 researches of, on Columbia river, 374. 
 Lieven, Count, afterwards Prince, Rus 
 sian Ambassador, 63 ; dinner at, 119, 
 121. 
 
 Lieven, Princess, visit to, 408; evening 
 at, 409 ; her supposed silent mission 
 to France, 415. 
 Ligne s, Prince de, Belgian Ambassador, 
 
 call at, 436. 
 
 Liverpool, Earl of, thirteen years 
 Premier of England, 42; character of 
 46, 108, 242. 
 
 London, environs of, author s arrival in, 
 24; first impressions of, 27, 50, 51 
 compared with Paris, 53 ; routine 01 
 daily life in, 179 ; " always peace in, 
 whether other capitals be burned or 
 sacked, 251; appearance of West-enc 
 in autumn, 322 ; East-end of, 325 
 " lungs of," 326. 
 London, Bishop of, 154, 206. 
 Louis Philippe, King of the French, pre 
 sentation to, 397 ; dinner at Palace of 
 399 ; at St. Cloud, 404 ; conversation 
 with, on Spanish marriage question 
 405; on Mexican affairs, 41 6 ; on com 
 
 mercial topics, 418 ; reception at St. 
 Cloud, 420; reflections on government 
 of, 425 ; opening of Chambers by, 
 429 ; remark of, in regard to approach 
 ing banquet in Paris, 436; is confident 
 that Government will be able to main 
 tain order, 437; abdication of, 440; 
 an exile, 442 ; decree of perpetual 
 banishment against, 488. 
 
 Louis XIV., Dutch Ambassador sent 
 to make peace with, who swooned 
 away on hearing extravagant terms 
 demanded, 294. 
 
 Louisiana, cession of by France to 
 United States, by Treaty of 1803, 
 372. 
 
 Lowenhielm, Count dc, Swedish Mi 
 nister, dinner with, 403. 
 
 Ludolf, Count, Minister Plenipotentiary 
 from Naples, 66, 234. 
 
 Luttrell, Mr., 137. 
 
 Luxuries, " out of season," at English 
 tables, as contradistinguished from all 
 those "of the season," 178. 
 
 Lynedoch, Lord, 152. 
 
 Lvttelton, Mr. and Lady Sarah, dinner 
 "at, 136. 
 
 Macintosh, Sir James, 126, 137 ; his 
 opinion of Hume, Robertson, Gibbon, 
 and Franklin, 138 ; Author s early 
 familiarity with speeches and writings 
 of, and tribute to, 139 ; his then 
 forthcoming history, 140. 
 
 MacKenzie, Mr., 267 
 
 Mackenzie, the British Traveller, 267. 
 
 McTavish, Mr., of Baltimore, 354. 
 
 Madison, President, 70, 95. 
 
 Maitland, Lord, 137. 
 
 Maitland, General, 153. 
 
 Mandelsloh, Count, Charge d Affaires 
 from Wirtemberg, 67, 463. 
 
 Manners, Major, British Army, 24. 
 
 Manufactures, and costly productions of 
 other parts of the world, imported 
 into England, 125. 
 
 Marrast, Mons., reference to address of, 
 to National Assembly on taking chair 
 as President, 525 ; dinner at, 528. 
 
 Marriages, Royal, requisites to validity 
 of, 155 ; four occurring within few 
 months of each other, 269. 
 
 Martin, Mr., U. S. Secretary of Lega 
 tion at Paris, 395 ; appointed Charge 
 d Affaires to Rome, 466. 
 
 Maxwell, Sir Murray, 265. 
 Maynard, Lord, 275. 
 
 Mayor s, Lord, Dinner at, 129. 
 
 McCall, Colonel, U. S. Army, 542. 
 
 Mediation, offers of, refused by United 
 States and Great Britain respectively, 
 174. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 589 
 
 Mediterranean, Policy of United States 
 in the, 195 ; U.S. squadron in; its 
 discipline, 197. 
 
 Mediterranean, Selden s doctrine of 
 " Mare Clausem," 435. 
 
 Melville, Lord, First Lord of Admiralty, 
 42, 58 ; Author dines with, 123, 291. 
 
 Menagerie, at Lord Castlereagh s, North 
 Cray, Kent, 308. 
 
 Mexico, Conversations with Louis 
 Philippe, respecting, 404, 416, 433. 
 
 Milton, the old carved baluster from 
 the staircase of his house, presented 
 by Jeremy Bentham to Author, 288. 
 
 Mill, Mr., 288. 
 
 Milligan, Professor, 113. 
 
 Ministers, Resident, accredited to Secre 
 tary of State, 67. 
 
 Ministry, Selection of, by Executive 
 Committee of French Republic, 477 ; 
 Louis Napoleon s first composition of, 
 551. 
 
 Mocking Bird, American, 22. 
 
 Mole, Count, 439, 556, 561. 
 
 Moltke, Count, Minister Plenipoten 
 tiary from Denmark, 66. 
 
 Money, Paper, issue of, resisted by 
 Minister of Finance, French Republic, 
 505. 
 
 Monroe, President, 26 ; character of, 47, 
 60, 118, 138,355. 
 
 Montagu, Mr., 177. 
 
 Montalembert, his attack on French 
 Ministry, 403. 
 
 Montebello, Due de, dinner with, 435. 
 
 Montgomery, Mr. and Mrs., dinner with 
 in Paris, 403. 
 
 Montholon, Count, and French Consul 
 ate at Richmond, Va., 541. 
 
 Montpensier, Due and Duchesse de, 
 399, 406. 
 
 Montrose, Duke of, 101, 152, 241. 
 
 Morpeth, Lord, 137. 
 
 Mori-is, Mr., American Minister to 
 France, striking remark of, 151. 
 
 Moscow, failure of Napoleon s expedi 
 tion to, predicted by Mr. Adams, 121. 
 
 Mount Edgecumbe, Earl of, and Lady 
 Emma, 157. 
 
 Mountains, Rocky, claims beyond the, 
 third of the subjects of general nego 
 tiation of 1818, as to which Conven 
 tion signed, see Appendix, 373. 
 
 Mulgrave, Earl of, Master General of 
 Ordnance, 43, 58 ; and Countess of, 
 123. 
 
 Munster, Count, Minister Plenipoten 
 tiary from Hanover, 66. 
 
 Naples, Minister from, 120. 
 
 Napoleon I., exertions of Europe against, 
 
 45 ; reflections on career of, 
 553; widow of, Court mourning for, 
 423. 
 
 Napoleon, Louis, (Napoleon III.) desires 
 to rank himself under Flag of Repub 
 lic, 457 ; communication from, to 
 National Assembly, 488 ; Excitement 
 in National Assembly, in regard to, 
 492 ; Elected Member of National As 
 sembly, 492 ; Decrees against pro 
 posed, 494; no vote upon them, 494; 
 Vote of National Assembly to admit 
 to his seat, 497; Letter from, to 
 President of National Assembly, that 
 he was about to leave London, 498 ; 
 proceedings in National Assembly, in 
 consequence, 499 ; Groups of work 
 men around Assembly enquiring 
 about admission of as Member, 501 ; 
 Letter from, of 15 June to President 
 of National Assembly, resigning his 
 seat, 501 ; Proceedings in National 
 Assembly in consequence, 502 ; Letter 
 from London to President of National 
 Assembly, on his election as repre 
 sentative for Corsica, 526 ; elected 
 representative for Paris, 532 ; leaves 
 London to take his seat, 533 ; surprise 
 and curiosity of Chamber as he enters 
 by side door, 533 ; his election de 
 clared from tribune ; proceedings in 
 National Assembly on occasion of; 
 his speech ; its reception, 534; dis 
 avows appellation of Pretender, 535 ; 
 does not vote on M. Thouret s amend 
 ment, 535 ; important paper read by, 
 in character of Deputy in reference to 
 himself, 537-538; manifesto of, on eve 
 of election for President of Republic, 
 545 ; elected First President of Re 
 public by French people, 547 ; ascends 
 Tribune, and takes oath of fealty to 
 Republic, 549; address by, to National 
 Assembly, as President of Republic, 
 550 ; interview of, with General Ca- 
 vaignac on leaving Tribune, 550 ; 
 charges M. Odillon Barrot to form a 
 Ministry; names of Ministry, 551; 
 Author s remarks on election of, 55 1 ; 
 selects as his residence the Palace 
 Elysee, 552 ; first reception of Diplo 
 matic Corps by, as President of Re 
 public ; personal appearance of, 553; 
 Author s reflections on the scene, 555; 
 the green and gold livery of the Em 
 pire, 559 ; entertainments by, as 
 Prince President, 559 ; remarks of, to 
 American Minister at audience of 
 leave, 567. 
 
 Narvaez, General, Spanish Ambassador, 
 402-405. 
 
 Naturalization, Laws of United States 
 
590 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 respecting, as compared with those of 
 other Countries, 112. 
 
 Navigation, celebrated Act of England, 
 39 ; code of, of United States, 282. 
 
 Navy of the United States, complimen 
 tary remarks in reference to, by Ad 
 miral Sir Joseph Yorke, 177; opinion 
 respecting, by Field Marshal Lord 
 Beresford, 276 ; a visitor to author 
 refers to exploits of, in way not 
 suited to good feelings of conversa 
 tion ; first and only time, author had 
 heard such sentiments in England ; 
 author s commentary; action be 
 tween Chesapeake and Shannon, 359. 
 
 Neal, Mr., 174. 
 
 Needles, The, passage through of U. S. 
 Ship " Franklin," 7. 
 
 Negotiation, General, proposed between 
 United States and Great Britain ; 
 subjects of enumerated, 270 ; another 
 Plenipotentiary proposed, to meet, in 
 conjunction with author, any two of 
 Great Britain, 272 ; is entered upon, 
 in preparatory conference, at country 
 seat of Lord Castlereagh, North Cray, 
 Kent, 306 ; formal opening of, at 
 Board of Trade, Whitehall ; full 
 powers exhibited, and recapitulation 
 of subjects of, in all thirteen, 313 ; 
 convention signed as to subjects 
 agreed upon, see Appendix, 365-77. 
 
 Nemours, Due de, 399, 405. 
 
 Neuilly, Palace of, 397 ; Author s official 
 presentation to King of the French at, 
 397 ; dinner at, 399 ; evening at, 
 402. 
 
 Ney, Colonel Edgar, 562. 
 
 Nootka Sound, 75. 
 
 Norfolk, Duke of, 209. 
 
 Normanby, Marquis of, British Am 
 bassador at Paris, 402, 449, 459 ; 
 dinner with, 529. 
 
 Norwich, Bishop of, 213 ; youngest of 
 thirty children, 355. 
 
 Observatory at Greenwich, minute at 
 tention of Government to instruments 
 in use at, 150. 
 
 Olivera, Mr., Minister Plenipotentiary 
 from Portugal, 66. 
 
 Onis, Mr., Minister Plenipotentiary 
 from Spain, 65. 
 
 Opinions, quick changes of, among the 
 French people during revolution, 519. 
 
 Orangery at St. Cloud, 421. 
 
 Orleans, Duchess of, with her two chil 
 dren at St. Cloud, 421 ; in the 
 Chamber of Deputies, 441. 
 
 Orleans Family, decree of perpetual 
 banishment against, 488. 
 
 Oudinot, General, Commander of French 
 
 Army at Rome, 563. 
 Oxford, Bishop of, 157. 
 
 Pahlen, Count, 121. 
 
 Paintings, collection of, at Stafford 
 House, 122; more in England than 
 any other country, 135. 
 
 Palmella, Count, afterwards Marquis, 
 Ambassador from Portugal, 64. 
 
 Palmer, Mr. and Mrs., of Philadelphia, 
 562. 
 
 Palmerston, Lord, 158, note, 406. 
 
 Paris, Archbishop of, address by to 
 clergy, 456; death of, at barricades, 
 510 ; decree of National Assembly in 
 memory of, 514 ; funeral of, 515. 
 
 Paris, increase of, during reign of Louis 
 Philippe, 426 ; appearance of, after in 
 surrection of 23rd June, 512 ; con 
 trasts seen in, 524. 
 
 Parliament, dissolution of by Prince Re 
 gent, 240 ; first opening of by Queen 
 Victoria, 244, note ; opening of by five 
 Commissioners on part of Prince 
 Regent, 353. 
 
 Parma, Duchess of, widow of Napoleon 
 L, 423. 
 
 Parties, political, reflections upon state 
 of, in France, 423. 
 
 Patterson, Mr. and Mrs., of Baltimore, 
 70. 
 
 Payne, Mr. Howard, American dra 
 matist, applause Avith which his tra 
 gedy is received at Drury Lane 
 Theatre, 335. 
 
 Payne and Foss, Pall Mall, 113. 
 
 People, English, appearance of, in streets 
 of London, 51. 
 
 Peel, Sir Robert, 126, note. 
 
 Peel, Mr., succeeds Lord Sidmouth as 
 Home Secretary, 44. 
 
 Penns, The Miss, 286. 
 
 Pensacola and St. Marks, Spanish posts 
 of; facts on which General Jackson, 
 Commander of American Troops, 
 acted in taking possession of, 293; 
 Lord Castlereagh makes an inquiry 
 on the subject, 299. 
 
 Pensioners, Greenwich, 146. 
 
 Perceval, Mr., 45. 
 
 Peters, Mr., of Belmont, President of 
 Agricultural Society of Philadelphia, 
 284. 
 
 Pfeffel, Mr., Minister Plenipotentiary 
 from Bavaria, 66. 
 
 Pheasants, 312. 
 
 Pilots, altercation between, for U. S. ship 
 " Franklin," 9. 
 
 Pilot-Boats, American and English, 
 6. 
 
 Pinckard, Dr., author dines with, 218. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 591 
 
 Pinkney, Mr., of Maryland, 85, 118. 
 Pitt, Wilberforce s recollections of, at 
 school, 175; Lord Harrowby s recol 
 lections of, 267. 
 Planta, Mr., Under Secretary of State, 
 
 195. 
 
 Pole, Mr. Wellesley, afterwards Lord 
 
 Maryborough, Master of Mint, 43, 
 
 53; Mrs., 275; author dines with, 
 
 354. 
 
 Poles, deputation of, to Lamartine, 459; 
 
 demonstration in favour of, 479. 
 Poletica, Mr., Minister from Russia to 
 the United States, 121; his instruc 
 tions, 293. 
 
 Policy, Italian, merits of Louis Napo 
 leon s, 563. 
 
 Polignac,Prince,French Ambassador,64. 
 Polk, President, 395. 
 Pond, Mr., Astronomer Royal, Green 
 wich, 150. 
 
 Ponsonby, Colonel, 88; Mr., 275. 
 Poor-taxes, 210. 
 
 Population, concentration of, in parti 
 cular districts of England, 21. 
 Portsmouth, author lands at, 13 ; ap 
 pearance of harbour, 13 ; George Inn 
 at, 15; Bell-ringers, royal, of, 17; 
 journey from to London, stopping a 
 night at Godalming, 18. 
 Poussin, Major, 444; appointed Minister 
 to United States, 493; conversation 
 with, 506. 
 
 Powell, Midshipman, of Virginia, 6. 
 Praslin, Duchess de, murder of, 403 ; 
 
 Due de, 405. 
 
 Precedence at English dinners, Cabinet 
 Ministers often decline to take, over 
 diplomatic corps, 60; but in reality 
 possess it, 93. 
 
 Prescott, W. H., compliment to by 
 Humboldt, 410; prompt compliance 
 of Louis Philippe s Government with 
 his request for original documents for 
 his history, 413. 
 
 President of United States, Letter of 
 Credence from, to Prince Recent, ac 
 crediting author as Envoy Extraordi- 
 dinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, 
 91. 
 
 Press, the English, promptitude and ac 
 curacy of, 190; rule of justice which 
 governs, 200; amount paid to Govern 
 ment by, in stamps ; profits of some 
 of the newspapers, 201 ; reliability 
 and fulness of law reports in, 202 ; 
 fearlessness of and latitude indulged 
 in by, 203; but do not govern the 
 country, 204 ; permanent as .distinct 
 from daily, its commanding character, 
 205 ; disavowal of Lord Castlereagl 
 of all connexion between Government, 
 
 and papers said to propagate its opi 
 nions, 305. 
 Press, the English, conversation with 
 
 Louis Philippe respecting, 405 ; 
 
 ^French, restrictions upon by National 
 
 Assembly, 523. 
 Primogeniture, author s reflections with 
 
 reference to subject of, apart from 
 
 political consideration, 312. 
 Prince, Black, interesting conversation 
 
 at dinner at Mr. Wellesley Pole s in 
 
 reference to picture of, 355. 
 Prince President, representation of old 
 
 regime at entertainments of, 561. 
 Projects, new, authors and inventors of, 
 
 seeking patronage from Government 
 
 of United States, 112. 
 Provisional Government, (see Govern 
 ment Provisional). 
 
 Queen of the French, 399. 
 
 Ramadani, Mr., Charge d Affaires from 
 Constantinople, 67. 
 
 Rappel, the, 463; Mons. de Tocqueville 
 called away by, in midst of conversa- 
 sation with American Minister, 464 ; 
 sounds of, again heard in Paris, 506. 
 
 Razors, a person who made a fortune 
 by making and selling, 330. 
 
 Read, Commodore, letter from, to 
 American Minister, 490. 
 
 Reflections of Author as to exchange of 
 diplomatic representatives of higher 
 class between distant Republics and 
 ancient Governments of Europe, 90 ; 
 upon the ability of the British Govern 
 ment to withstand attacks, as seen by 
 her steady advance in prosperity and 
 power, 278 ; upon the true character 
 of the institutions of the United States, 
 and their prospects, 279 ; upon the 
 tendency of power to seek its own 
 augmentation, illustrated by Great 
 Britain on North West coast of 
 America, 374 ; as to reciprocity of 
 duties between Nations, 376 ; upon 
 feelings and topics of home cherished 
 by an American Minister abroad, 
 338. 
 
 Regent, His Royal Highness the Prince, 
 25, 61, 63 ; reception of Author by 
 at Carlton House, 81 ; his address to, 
 84 ; reply of, 84 ; inquiries for 
 Mr. Adams and others ; speaks of 
 Mrs. Patterson and the Miss Catons 
 of Maryland, 85, 117, 122 ; birth-day 
 drawing room in honour of, 194. 
 
 Republic, French, celebration of Anni 
 versary of, 559 ; Question of prece 
 dence between President of, and 
 President of National Assembly on 
 occasion of, (see Revolution). 
 
592 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Republics, their claim to co-equality 
 with Monarchies successfully asserted, 
 70 ; as much addicted as other forms 
 of Government to claims to outward 
 reverence, 94. 
 
 Revolution, American, Author meets 
 with those who had shared in wars 
 of, and speak of events of with good 
 humour, 219. 
 
 Revolution, French, of 1848, 437 ; comes 
 " like a thunder clap," 438 ; scenes 
 in the streets of Paris, 438 ; rumours, 
 438; Tuileries in possession of the 
 multitude, 439; wild disorganization, 
 440; abdication of King, 440; Duchess 
 of Orleans and children in Chamber 
 of Deputies, 441 ; Flight of King and 
 Queen, 442 ; Flag for United States 
 Legation, 442 ; Provisional Govern 
 ment, 443 ; American Minister s re 
 flections upon course proper for him 
 to pursue in absence of instructions, 
 444; Mons. de Lamartine, 4 5 1 ; offi 
 cial communication from, to Ameri 
 can Minister, 451 ; recognition of 
 Republic by American Minister, 452; 
 his address, 452 ; reply of Mons. 
 Arago, 453 ; approval of course 
 adopted by American Minister by 
 United States Government, 465 ; 
 opening of National Assembly, 467 ; 
 surrender of power by Provisional 
 Government, 468 ; reports to National 
 Assembly by the same, 470; insur 
 rection of 15th May, 477 ; address of 
 American Minister on presenting 
 resolutions of Congress, 483; reply of 
 Mons. de Lamartine, 485 ; proceed 
 ings of National Assembly on occasion 
 of, 487 ; Draft of New Constitution 
 for France, 502 ; overthrow of Execu 
 tive Committee, and Cavaignac Dic 
 tator, 508 ; Paris like a city of the 
 Dead, 509 ; Cavaignac leads in per 
 son an attack on barricades, 509; 
 women making bandages in the 
 streets, 509 ; cries of sentinels, 510; 
 death at barricade of Archbishop of 
 Paris, 510 ; Cavaignac resigns his 
 powers, 513 ; Cavaignac becomes 
 Executive head of the Nation, 513; 
 address of Assembly to French 
 Nation, 513 ; Causes and conse 
 quences of the Insurrection, 517 ; 
 formation of camp of 50,000 troops, 
 523; appropriation to Theatres, 523; 
 contrasts in Paris, 524 ; resignation 
 of Cavaignac as Executive head of 
 the Nation on election of Louis Na 
 poleon, 548; (see Napoleon, Louis.) 
 
 Reynolds, Sir Joshua, one of his dis 
 courses preached from the pulpit, 134; 
 
 Burke s beautiful obituary notice of, 
 206. 
 
 Riall, General Sir Phineas, of the 
 British Army, 558. 
 
 Riches, instances of, among mechanics, 
 artisans, and others, in ordinary pur 
 suits of business in London, 330. 
 
 Ridgway, Mr. and Mrs., of Philadelphia, 
 415, 542, 556. 
 
 Ripon, Marquis of, 44, note. 
 
 Rising, Early ; topic at dinner at Sir 
 John Sinclair s, 286. 
 
 Rives, Mr., of Virginia, 80, note. 
 
 Robinson, Mr., afterwards Lord Gode- 
 rich, 44, 280 ; to be joint Plenipo 
 tentiary in conjunction with Mr. 
 Goulburn, for general negotiation 
 between Great Britain and United 
 States, 281, 306, 309. 
 
 Rochefoucauld, Duchesse de, 436. 
 
 Rocksavage, Lord, 174. 
 
 Rodney, conversation in reference to 
 manoeuvre first practised by, of break 
 ing enemy s line in action ; opinion of 
 Nelson cited, 329. 
 
 Romilly, Sir Samuel, 126, 265, 288. 
 
 Rosslyn, Earl of, 215. 
 
 Rue de Rivoli, Paris, 53. 
 
 Rumpft, Mr., Charge cl Affaires of Hanse 
 Towns, 420. 
 
 Rundell and Bridge , cost of some of 
 their articles of silver, 52. 
 
 Russell, Lord John, 455. 
 
 Russian Ambassador, 119, 215. 
 
 Salisbury, Bishop of, 206. 
 
 San Carlos, Duke of, Spanish Ambas 
 sador, 65, 226, 234. 
 
 Sandwich, Countess of, 309. 
 
 Sardinia, Minister from, 58. 
 
 Sauzet, Mons., President of Chamber of 
 Deputies, 435. 
 
 Schools, English, 237, note. 
 
 Science, Naval, remark of Lord Sid- 
 mouth with rererence to improvement 
 of, in England, 329. 
 
 Scott, Sir William, 117, 265. 
 
 Scott s Novels, incident at a dinner at 
 Holland House, 142. 
 
 Scott, General, 416; allusion to, by 
 Louis Philippe, 436. 
 
 Seamen, 144, 163. 
 
 Sebastiani, General, Marshal of France, 
 404. 
 
 September 1st., Anecdote in connection 
 with, 323. 
 
 Seymour, Miss, 194. 
 
 Shakspcare and the periodical writers, 
 number of volumes in Lackington s 
 collection, 115; quotation from, by 
 Louis Philippe, 416. 
 
 Shannon and Chesapeake, author s re- 
 
INDEX. 
 
 593 
 
 flections upon the action between, 
 359. 
 
 Shepherd s shop for cut-glass ; anecdote 
 of Emperor Alexander after visit 
 ing, 52. 
 
 Sheridan, difference between parts of 
 his speeches previously written out, 
 and extemporaneous parts, 290. 
 
 Ships, American, inviolability of, 254. 
 
 Shops of London, 50. 
 
 Sidmouth, Lord, Secretary of State for 
 Home Department, 42 ; speaks of I 
 United States with great cordiality, ! 
 217. 
 
 Silver, author s reflections upon the 
 sumptuous services of, seen on English 
 tables, as evidences of national as 
 well as individual riches, 260. 
 
 Sinclair, Sir John, his work on the 
 British finances, 269 ; author dines 
 with, 282. 
 
 Slaves carried off by English Ships from 
 United States, after War of 1812, 32, 
 72, 78, 316. 
 
 Slaves, treatment of, in the United 
 States, 153. 
 
 Slave Trade, Great Britain anxious 
 that United States should co-operate 
 in measures for its extirpation, 173 ; 
 United States first to abolish, unless 
 preceded by Denmark, 174 ; Treaties 
 concluded by Great Britain with 
 foreign Powers, and amount paid in 
 money, for suppression of, 256 ; 
 United States invited to co-operate, 
 257 ; distinction between, and Slavery, 
 in the United States, 258, 262. 
 
 Smith, Mr. John Adams, United States 
 Secretary of Legation, 87. 
 
 Society, Bible, British and Foreign, 
 meeting of, 213. 
 
 Societies, Public, anniversary meetings 
 of ; one gentleman a member of 
 between fifty and sixty, 211 ; enume 
 ration of a few in London, 212. 
 
 Sodor and Man, Bishop of, 215. 
 
 Somers, Lord, 176. 
 
 Somerset, Lord Fitzroy, aide to Duke 
 of Wellington, 354. 
 
 Southard, Mr. Secretary, 49. 
 
 Sovereigns, Allied, incident connected 
 with visit of, to England, 14. 
 
 Spain, affairs of, and contest between 
 ard her colonies, 187 ; policy of 
 United States in reference to, 188; 
 causes of complaint against, by 
 United States, 190. 
 
 Spanish Marriage Question, conversa 
 tion with Louis Philippe respecting, 
 405 ; remarks upon, 428. 
 
 Speaking, Public, 253. 
 
 Speeches at public dinners, 230. 
 
 Spencer, Earl, 137. 
 
 Sports, Field, fondness for, in Eng 
 land, 323 ; instances of exploits in, 
 355. 
 
 Stafford, Lady, formerly one of the Miss 
 Catons of Maryland, 85, note. 
 
 Stafford s, Marchioness of, evening- 
 party at, 122, 233 ; author dines with 
 Marquis of. 259. 
 
 Stanley, Lord, (late Earl of Derby), 
 126, note. 
 
 Stanton, Mr., Attache to United States 
 Legation at Paris, 395 ; appointed 
 Secretary of Legation, 466. 
 
 St. Cloud, Palace of, reception at, 404 ; 
 invitation to, in honour of anniversary 
 of Marriage of King and Queen, 420. 
 
 Stature, remark of Lord Sidmouth, that 
 the armour of former times indicated 
 stature to be smaller than at present ; 
 reasons assigned, 327. 
 
 Stewart, Lord, 87, 195, 291. 
 
 SteAvarts, The Mr., nephews of Lord 
 Castlereagh, 309. 
 
 Stewart, Commodore, U. S. Navy, 2, 5, 
 15. 
 
 Stierneld, Baron, Minister Plenipoten 
 tiary from Sweden, 66. 
 
 St. Lawrence, right to navigate^ claimed 
 by United States, 373. 
 
 Stockton, Mr. and Mrs. 562. 
 
 Storm at Sea, on board U. S. ship 
 Franklin, 2. 
 
 Stoiy, Judge, tribute to, by Dr. ITuet, 
 of Trinity College, Cambridge, 423. 
 
 Strangers, reception of, in England ; 
 diplomatic, invitations to, 206. 
 
 Streets, appearance of, in west end of 
 London, 53, 55. 
 
 Sturmer, Baron, Austrian Consul 
 General to United States, 62. 
 
 Sully, his retinue as Ambassador to 
 England, 67. 
 
 Surrey, Earl and Countess of, 261. 
 
 Sussex, Duke of, his flow of conversa 
 tion in morning visit to author, 125 ; 
 his knowledge of languages, 129, 209. 
 
 Sutherland, Duchess Countess of, 123, 
 note. 
 
 Swedish Minister s, evening at, with 
 diplomatic corps, to hear Jenny Lind, 
 563. 
 
 Symbols, represented on drop curtain 
 at Covent Garden Theatre, not his 
 torically true, 180. 
 
 Tax, Laws of England, no nation has 
 
 ever paid so much, 247. 
 Tayloe, Mr., of Washington, attache to 
 
 Author s Legation, 19, 87. 
 
594 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Taylor, General, the newly elected 
 President of the United States, 567. 
 
 Tea, fondness of the English for, 145. 
 
 Teignmouth, Lord, 174, 213. 
 
 Theatres, French, appropriation for, 523. 
 
 Theatricals, private at St. Cloud, 422. 
 
 Thiers , M., reception at, 436 ; at Prince 
 Louis reception, 561 ; on the Italian 
 policy, 564. 
 
 Thompson, Captain, U.S. Navy, 150. 
 
 Thompson, Mr. Secretary, 49. 
 
 Thornborough, Admiral, his courtesy to 
 Commodore Stewart, 17. 
 
 Thouret, Mons. A., his amendment to 
 new French Constitution, " tliat no 
 member of Families which have 
 reigned in France can l>e elected 
 President or Vice-President of the 
 Republic;" debate on amendment, 
 535. 
 
 Tide-waiters at Portsmouth, 14. 
 
 Tierney, Mr., 137. 
 
 Timber, for the Nary, 144. 
 
 Tindall, Mr., 183. 
 
 Toasts, 195. 
 
 Tobacco Monopoly; conversation with 
 Louis Philippe respecting, 419 ; un 
 successful negotiations with Govern 
 ment of French Republic, in regard 
 to, 536; public opinion in France in 
 favour of, 536; King s words on the 
 subject at St. Cloud recalled, 537. 
 
 Tocqueville, Mons. de, conversations of 
 with the American Minister, 461, 463, 
 489, 490. 
 
 Tokay, 178, 195. 
 
 Tonnage of the two countries, as regu 
 lated by Convention of 1815,273: 
 question of, at root of failure to ar 
 range West India trade, in negotia 
 tion of 1818, 359. 
 
 Torrens, Major-Gen. Sir Henry, 153, j 
 156. 
 
 Trade, West India, brief explanation of j 
 general question, 35; topic at dinner, j 
 at Lord Melville s, in vien of plea- j 
 santry, 124; first of the subjects left 
 unadjusted in negotiation of 1818; 
 history of discussions in reference to, 
 see Appendix ; fresh proposals by 
 British plenipotentiaries, 357 ; ton 
 nage, foundation of dispute, 359. 
 
 Travel, foreign, fondness of the English 
 for, and advantage thereby derived to 
 them, 135. 
 
 Treaties, extract from work of Jenkin- 
 son on, 39 ; right of precedence in, 
 70; between United States and Great 
 Britain, 74 ; of 1783, 324 ; of 1794 
 and 1803, 337; of 1818, 323; of 
 1819 and 1824, p. 341 ; obligations of, 
 
 not complete in U. S. until exchange 
 
 of ratifications, 375. 
 Treaties of Peace, enthusiasm in House 
 
 of Commons on production of, 45. 
 Treaty of Washington, xii, 44, note. 
 Turkey, diplomatic relations between 
 
 and United States, 120. 
 
 Union, The, opinion of Field Marshal 
 Lord Beresford with reference to, 
 275 ; Author s tribute to value of, 
 361. 
 
 United States, their foreign policy ; 
 important letter from the author to 
 the President in connexion with 
 affairs of Spain and her colonies, in 
 which England to be a party, 226 ; 
 reflections in reference to, 228. 
 
 Usages accorded by the world to Sove 
 reigns and those in immediate con 
 nexion with them, 90 ; at English 
 dinners, 262. 
 
 Utrecht, Treaty of, 69; Treaty of, in 
 connexion with Spanish Marriage 
 Question, 429. 
 
 Vandenbrock, Mr., his marriage to Miss 
 Green, 402. 
 
 Vansittart, Mr. ( afterwards Lord 
 Bexley), Chancellor of Exchequer, 
 42, 213; author dines with, 266. 
 
 Venezuela, author is called upon by a 
 member of the Congress of, in refer 
 ence to affairs of U. S. and Spain, 226. 
 
 Vernon, Mount, associated with La 
 Grange, 565. 
 
 Versailles, 401; recollection of a month 
 at, 406. 
 
 Victoria, Queen, high appreciation in 
 United States of her domestic virtues, 
 103, note; speech of, on opening first 
 Parliament after her accession, 244, 
 note ; her announcement from the 
 throne of her approaching marriage, 
 245, note. 
 
 Vienna, rule of, 69. 
 
 Villa Heal, Count, Portuguese Ambas 
 sador, 66. 
 
 Ville, Hotel de, recognition of French 
 Eepublic at by American Minister, 
 452 ; triumph of Lamartine at, 454 ; 
 ball at, given by Prefect of the Seine, 
 555. 
 
 Villiers, Mr. (afterwards Earl of Claren 
 don) and Mrs., 152; author dines 
 with, 274. 
 
 Visits of Ceremony, 401. 
 
 Visits, rule regulating diplomatic, 68 ; 
 intercourse thereby arising leading to 
 hospitalities, of which author cherishes 
 the memory, 98. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 595 
 
 Vivian, Colonel, 355. 
 Vote, result of, on election of President 
 of French Republic, 547. 
 
 Wager of Battle, author present at 
 argument in case of, 181 ; trial by, 
 decided to be in force in England in 
 1818, 183. 
 
 Wagner, Mr., Charge d Affaires from 
 Wirtemberg, 67. 
 
 Wales, H.R.H. Prince of; Prayers 
 offered up in U. S. for recovery of, 
 from recent dangerous illness, xiii ; 
 his visit to the United States ; re 
 ception of, at Academy of Music in 
 Philadelphia, xv. 
 
 Walewski, Count, conversation with the 
 King respecting return of, from La 
 Plata, 412. 
 
 Walker, General, 88. 
 
 Wallace, Mr., afterwards Lord Wallace, 
 44. 
 
 Walpole, Sir Robert, 266. 
 
 Walsh, Mr., Consul in Paris, 402, 422. 
 
 War, fondness for in U. S. deprecated, 
 137 ; effect of upon industry and 
 capital, where country powerful, and 
 not seat of war, 251. 
 
 War, Secretary of, why not of the 
 British Cabinet ? 43. 
 
 Warwick Castle, compared with Ver 
 sailles, -101. 
 
 Washington, the Prince of Wales at 
 Tomb of, xv ; tribute to, by Queen 
 Charlotte, 157, 196 ; his farewell 
 address commended by Duke of 
 Gloucester, spoken of by Lord Erskine 
 
 as an august and immortal man, 
 
 216. 
 
 Waterloo, 45. 
 Wellesley, Marchioness of, formerly one 
 
 of the Misses Caton of Maryland, 85, 
 
 note. 
 Wellington, Duke of, 44, 45, 58, 59 ; 
 
 Lord Castlereagh s opinion of, 62 ; 
 
 attempt upon life of, in Paris, 96 ; 
 
 full-length likeness of at Royal Aca 
 demy, on horse ridden at Waterloo, 
 
 207; Duchess of, 275, 354; interesting 
 
 characteristics, with anecdote of, 357. 
 Werter, Baron, Prussian Ambassador, 
 
 65. 
 West, Mr., President of Royal Academy, 
 
 visit to, 132, 206; his picture of 
 
 Christ healing the Sick, 232. 
 West-End, appearance of in autumn, 
 
 322. 
 Westminster, Dowager Marchioness of, 
 
 194, note. 
 Westmoreland, Earl of, Lord Privy 
 
 Seal, 42, 58; author dines with, 70, 
 
 356. 
 
 Westphalia, Treaty of, 69. 
 Wight, Isle of, 7. 
 Wilberforce, Mr., author dines with ; his 
 
 high estimate of, 174 ; the disjunctive 
 
 conjunction in society, 176. 
 Winchelsea, Earl of, 154. 
 Windham, his powers of conversation; 
 
 surpassed Sheridan in wit, 175, 214. 
 Wines, light, preference for, at English 
 
 tables, 151. 
 
 Wirt, Mr. Attorney-General, 49. 
 Wynn, Mr. C. W. W., 44. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 G. NORMAN AND SON, PRINTERS, MAIDEH LANE, COVNT GAKDEN. 
 

 
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