Washington and the American Republic Part 36

While Adet was fulminating his thunders against the administration, and the opposition in the house were doing all in their power to injure the president, the _Aurora_ newspaper was pouring out its venom with increased malignity. "If ever a nation was debauched by a man," said a correspondent of that paper, on the twenty-third of December, "the American nation has been debauched by Was.h.i.+ngton. If ever a nation was deceived by a man, the American nation has been deceived by Was.h.i.+ngton.

Let his conduct, then, be an example to future ages. Let it serve to be a warning that no man may be an idol. Let the history of the federal government instruct mankind, that the mask of patriotism may be worn to conceal the foulest designs against the liberties of the people."

At about the same time, a malignant pamphlet, in the form of a letter from Thomas Paine to Was.h.i.+ngton, was issued from the office of the _Aurora_. Paine had been a member of the National a.s.sembly of France, and thrown into prison. Application had been made to the United States government for his release, but, as in the case of Lafayette, it could do nothing. This seeming neglect kindled the ire of Paine, who had, at this time, become an habitual drunkard. He had, in consequence, also become morose in disposition, and dogmatical in his opinions to an insufferable degree. Monroe sympathized with him; and under his roof, in Paris, Paine wrote the virulent letter alluded to, and sent it to Bache, of the _Aurora_, to print and disseminate. The following extract will be sufficient to exhibit its tone and temper:--

"The part I acted in the American Revolution is well known; I shall not here repeat it. I know, also, that had it not been for the aid received from France in men, money, and s.h.i.+ps, that your cold and unmilitary conduct (as I shall show in the course of this letter) would, in all probability, have lost America; at least she would not have been the independent nation she now is. You slept away your time in the field till the finances of the country were completely exhausted, and you have but little share in the glory of the final event. It is time, sir, to speak the undisguised language of historical truth.

"Elevated to the chair of the presidency, you a.s.sumed the merit of everything to yourself, and the natural ingrat.i.tude of your const.i.tution began to appear. You commenced your presidential career by encouraging and swallowing the grossest adulation; and you travelled America, from one end to the other, to put yourself in the way of receiving it. You have as many addresses in your chest as James the Second. As to what were your views (for if you are not great enough to have ambition, you are little enough to have vanity) they can not be directly inferred from expressions of your own; but the partisans of your politics have divulged the secret."

How false and malignant are the a.s.sertions in this paragraph (which is a fair specimen of the whole letter), the readers of these volumes well know. It appears strange that a gentleman like Monroe, who was afterward an honored chief-magistrate of the republic, should have been so infatuated as to allow such a libel to go from under his roof.

The _Aurora_ press also issued a pamphlet at this time, ent.i.tled "Notes from Citizen Adet, Minister Plenipotentiary of the French Republic near the United States of America, to the Secretary of State of the United States." It was printed in French, with an English translation facing each page. It contained the correspondence to which we have alluded, and occupied, in the two languages, ninety-five pages. In reference to this pamphlet, Was.h.i.+ngton wrote to his friend, Doctor Stuart, early in January:--

"As to what effect M. Adet's conduct has had, or will have, on the public mind, you can form a better opinion than myself. One of the objects which he had in view, in timing the publication, is too apparent to require explanation. Some of his own zealots do not scruple to confess that he has been too precipitate, and thereby injured the cause he meant to enforce; which is to establish such an influence in this country as to sway the government, and to control its measures. Evidences of this design are abundant, and new proofs are exhibiting themselves to ill.u.s.trate the fact; and yet, lamentable thought! a large party, under real or pretended fears of British influence, are moving heaven and earth to aid him in his designs. It is a fact well known, for history proves it, that from the restless temper of the French, and the policy of that nation, they attempt openly or covertly, by threats or soothing professions, to influence the conduct of most governments. That they have attempted it with us a little time will show. But, finding that a neutral conduct had been adopted, and would not be relinquished by those who administered the government, the next step was to try the people; and to work upon them, several presses and many scribblers have been employed to emblazon the improper acts of the British government and its officers, and to place them in all the most exaggerated and odious points of view of which they were susceptible; to complain that there was not only a deficiency of friends.h.i.+p, but a want of justice also, in the executive toward France, the cause of which, say they, is to be found in a predilection for Great Britain. This not working so well as was expected, from a supposition that there was too much confidence in, and, perhaps, personal regard for, the present chief-magistrate and his politics, the batteries latterly have been levelled at him particularly and personally. Although he is soon to become a private citizen, his opinions are to be knocked down, and his character reduced as low as they are capable of sinking it, even by resorting to absolute falsehoods. As an evidence whereof, and of the plan they are pursuing, I send you a letter from Mr. Paine to me, printed in this city, and disseminated with great industry.

Others of a similar nature are also in circulation.

"To what lengths the French Directory will ultimately go, it is difficult to say; but, that they have been led to the present point by our own people, I have no doubt. Whether some, who have done this, would choose to accompany them any further or not, I shall not undertake to decide. But I shall be mistaken if the candid part of my countrymen, although they may be under a French influence, do not see and acknowledge that they have imbibed erroneous impressions of the conduct of this government toward France, when the communication which I promised at the opening of the session, and which will be ready in a few days, comes before the public. It will be seen, if I mistake not, also, that country has not such a claim upon our grat.i.tude as has been generally supposed; and that this country has violated no engagement with it, been guilty of no act of injustice toward it, nor been wanting in friends.h.i.+p when it could be rendered without departing from the neutral station we had taken and resolved to maintain."

FOOTNOTES:

[107] "Although I never wrote, nor even saw one of these letters until they issued from New York in print," wrote Was.h.i.+ngton to a friend, in January, 1797, "yet the author of them must have been tolerably well acquainted in, or with some person of my family, to have given the names and some circ.u.mstances, which are grouped in the ma.s.s of erroneous details. But, of all the mistakes which have been committed in this business, none is more palpable, or susceptible of detection, than the manner in which it is said they were obtained, by the capture of my mulatto, Billy, with a portmanteau. All the army under my immediate command could contradict this, and I believe most of them know, that no attendant of mine, nor a particle of my baggage, ever fell into the hands of the enemy during the whole course of the war."

[108] The t.i.tle was "Epistles, Domestic, Confidential, and Official, from General Was.h.i.+ngton; written about the commencement of the American Contest, when he entered on the Command of the Army of the United States. New York, printed by G. Robinson and J. Bull. London, reprinted by F. H. Rivington, No. 62 St. Paul's Churchyard, 1796." In order to give the affair the appearance of genuineness, and to make a volume of respectable size, several important public despatches, which actually pa.s.sed between Was.h.i.+ngton and the British commanders; and also, a selection from several of his addresses, orders, and instructions, were added.

[109] A selection from Was.h.i.+ngton's replies to these addresses may be found in the twelfth volume of Sparks' "Life and Writings of Was.h.i.+ngton."

[110] For a notice of a general plan of a military academy at West Point, prepared by Was.h.i.+ngton, see Sparks's "Life and Writings of Was.h.i.+ngton," viii., 417.

CHAPTER x.x.xVI.

FRIENDLY OVERTURES TO FRANCE--PICKERING'S HISTORICAL AND EXPLANATORY LETTER TO PINCKNEY--WAs.h.i.+NGTON'S SUGGESTIONS--FRENCH OUTRAGES UPON AMERICAN COMMERCE--RESULTS OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION--JOHN ADAMS THE NATION'S CHOICE--HIS FOREBODINGS RESPECTING HIS HOUSEHOLD--WAs.h.i.+NGTON'S SALE OF SUPERFLUITIES--MRS. WAs.h.i.+NGTON'S LAST DRAWING-ROOM--BIRTHDAY FESTIVITIES--WAs.h.i.+NGTON'S EMOTIONS--LETTERS TO HIS FRIENDS ON HIS RETIREMENT--FAREWELL DINNER--HIS DECLARATIONS RESPECTING THE SPURIOUS LETTERS--INAUGURATION OF ADAMS--WAs.h.i.+NGTON'S PARTING WORDS--ADAMS'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS--A TINGE OF JEALOUSY--ELEGANT ENTERTAINMENT GIVEN TO WAs.h.i.+NGTON--VIOLENT ATTACKS UPON HIM BY THE "AURORA"--THE EDITOR BEATEN AND HUMBLED.

Sincerely desirous of maintaining a good understanding with the French, the president, early in January, requested Mr. Pickering, the secretary of state, to address a letter to Mr. Pinckney, the United States minister in France, stating in full the causes of difficulty between the two governments, examining and reviewing the same, and submitting, with his letter, a ma.s.s of relative doc.u.ments, by which the whole matter might be fully understood. Pickering's letter and the doc.u.ments were laid before Congress on the nineteenth of January, accompanied by a message from the President, in which he said that the immediate object of Mr. Pinckney's mission to France was, "to make to that government such explanations of the principles and conduct of our own, as by manifesting our good faith, might remove all jealousy and discontent, and maintain that harmony and good understanding with the French republic which it had been his constant solicitude to preserve. A government which required only a knowledge of the _truth_ to justify its measures, could but be anxious to have this fully and frankly displayed."

Previous to the completion of the letter to Pinckney, Was.h.i.+ngton wrote to Pickering, suggesting that some such summing up as the following might be proper:--

"That the conduct of the United States toward France has been, as will appear from a foregoing statement, regulated by the strictest principles of neutrality.

"That there has been no attempt in the government to violate our treaty with that country, to weaken our engagements therewith, or to withhold any friends.h.i.+p we could render, consistent with the neutrality we had adopted.

"That peace has been our primary object; but, so far has it been from inducing us to acquiesce silently in the capturing of our vessels, impressing our seamen, or in the misconduct of the naval or other officers of the British government, that no instance can be produced of authenticated facts having pa.s.sed unnoticed, and, where occasion required it, without strong remonstrances.

"That this government, seeing no propriety in the measure, nor conceiving itself to be under any obligation to communicate to the ministers of the French republic all the unpleasant details of what had pa.s.sed between it and the British minister here, or with the minister of foreign affairs at the court of London on these accounts, conscious of its fair dealing toward all the belligerent powers, and wrapped up in its own integrity, little expected, under the circ.u.mstances which have been enumerated, the upbraidings it has met with; notwithstanding, it now is, as it always has been, the earnest wish of the government to be on the best and most friendly footing with the republic of France; and we have no doubt, after giving this candid exposition of facts, that the Directory will revoke the orders under which our trade is suffering, and will pay the damages it has sustained thereby."

This allusion to depredations upon American commerce by French cruisers, hinted at a state of things which the United States government could not long endure in silence. According to a report made by the secretary of state toward the close of the session, in which he made a full exhibit of the wrongs inflicted by the French on American commerce, it appears that enormous depredations had been committed in the West Indies. All vessels having contraband articles on board, no matter whither bound, were decreed to be good prizes; and the cargoes of neutral vessels bound to or from British ports, or even to Dutch or French settlements in the possession of the British, or cleared out for the West Indies generally, were seized and confiscated. The crews of American vessels captured were generally treated with indignity, and frequently with cruelty. "Bitter complaints," says Hildreth, "were made of Commodore Barney, then in the West Indies with his two frigates. He was accused of treating with contemptuous indifference and neglect his fellow-citizens brought in as prisoners by the French privateers, and even of having shown his contempt for his country by hoisting the American ensign union down.

Yet, when he arrived in the Chesapeake for the purpose of learning and carrying to France the result of the presidential election, though he boasted of having in his pocket the orders of the French Directory to capture all American vessels, and declared that if Jefferson was not chosen president war would be declared by France within three months, he was not the less, on that account, honored and feasted by infatuated politicians who read the _Aurora_, and believed Was.h.i.+ngton to be a traitor!"[111]

The votes of the electoral college for president of the United States were opened and counted in the senate on the eighth of February. The result showed a very close balance of political parties. The whole number of votes was one hundred and thirty-eight, making seventy necessary to a choice. Of these, John Adams, the inc.u.mbent vice-president, received seventy-one, and Thomas Jefferson sixty-nine votes. Thomas Pinckney, late minister to Great Britain, received fifty-nine votes, Aaron Burr thirty, Samuel Adams fifteen, Oliver Ellsworth eleven, George Clinton seven, John Jay five, James Iredell three, George Was.h.i.+ngton two, John King two, Samuel Johnson two, and Charles C. Pinckney, then in France, one. At that time the person who received the highest number of the electoral votes was declared to be president, and the person who had the next highest number was declared to be vice-president.

After reading the result, Mr. Adams sat down for a moment, and then rising, said:--

"John Adams is elected president of the United States for four years, to commence with the fourth day of March next; and Thomas Jefferson is elected vice-president of the United States for four years, to commence with the fourth day of March next. And may the Sovereign of the Universe, the Ordainer of civil government on earth, for the preservation of liberty, justice, and peace, among men, enable both to discharge the duties of these offices conformably to the const.i.tution of the United States, with conscientious diligence, punctuality, and perseverance."[112]

"The die is cast," wrote the new president elect to his wife, on the following day, "and you must prepare yourself for honorable trials. I must wait to know whether Congress will do anything or not to furnish my house. If they do not, I will have no house before next fall, and then a very moderate one, with very moderate furniture." He had written to Mrs.

Adams a few days before, saying: "I hope you will not communicate to anybody the hints I give you about our prospects; but they appear every day worse and worse. House-rent at twenty-seven hundred dollars a year, fifteen hundred dollars for a carriage, one thousand for one pair of horses, all the gla.s.ses, ornaments, kitchen furniture, the best chairs, settees, plateaus, &c., all to purchase; all the china, delph [Delft] or Wedgewood, gla.s.s and crockery, of every sort to purchase."

Was.h.i.+ngton now prepared, with feelings of the most exquisite pleasure, to retire from public life. Everything which would be unnecessary at Mount Vernon he offered for sale. "The president," wrote Mr. Adams to his wife, "has a pair of horses to sell; one nine, the other ten years old, for which he asks a thousand dollars.... He must sell something to enable him to clear out. When a man is about retiring from public life, and sees nothing but a ploughshare between him and the grave, he naturally thinks most upon that.

"When Charles the Fifth resigned his empire and crown, he went to building his coffin. When I contemplated a retirement, I meditated the purchase of Mr. Vesey's farm; and thought of building a tomb in my own ground, adjoining to the burying-yard. The president is now engaged in his speculations upon a vault which he intends to build for himself, not to sleep but to lie down in.... Our friend says she is afraid President Was.h.i.+ngton will not live long. I should be afraid, too, if I had not confidence in his farm and his horse. He must be a fool, I think, who dies of chagrin when he has a fine farm and a Narragansett mare that paces and canters. But I don't know but all men are such fools. I think a man had better wear than rust."

In February, when he could begin to count the days and hours that lay between him and that retirement he so much coveted, Was.h.i.+ngton wrote to his old and dear friends upon the subject with much feeling; and every day brought him new proofs of the love and veneration in which he was held by the people. His birthday was celebrated in Philadelphia in a manner unequalled before. A grand ball was given at the Amphitheatre, in the evening, at which Was.h.i.+ngton and his lady were present. Mrs.

Was.h.i.+ngton held a "drawing-room" in the afternoon, at which there was a crowd of people. "It was rendered affecting beyond all expression," said an eye-witness, "by its being, in some degree, a parting scene. Mrs.

Was.h.i.+ngton was moved even to tears, with the mingled emotions of grat.i.tude for such strong proofs of public regard, and the new prospect of the uninterrupted enjoyment of domestic life: she expressed herself something to this effect. I never saw the president look better, or in finer spirits, but his emotions were too powerful to be concealed. He could sometimes scarcely speak. Three rooms of his house were almost entirely full from twelve to three, and such a crowd at the door it was difficult to get in.

"At the Amphitheatre, at night, it is supposed there were at least twelve hundred persons. The show was a very brilliant one; but such scrambling to go to supper that there was some danger of being squeezed to death. The vice-president handed in Mrs. Was.h.i.+ngton, and the president immediately followed. The applause with which they were received is indescribable. The same was shown on their return from supper. The music added greatly to the interest of the scene. The president staid until between twelve and one; the vice-president till near two. Both were serenaded with repeated huzzas long after they had been in bed. The latter slept so soundly that he knew nothing of it till next morning, though it is said 'Yankee Doodle' was one of the tunes played."[113]

The eight years of Was.h.i.+ngton's administration of public affairs, as chief-magistrate of the republic, were now drawing to a close. They had been years of toil, anxiety, and vexation. They had been stormy years; yet, like a rock in the ocean, or the mountain rising from the plain, he had stood unshaken by the surges or the winds. With that serenity of mind which arises from the consolations of a conscience void of offence toward G.o.d and man, he took a retrospective view; and with the eagerness of a prisoner about to be released from his cell, to breathe the free air of heaven and repose in peace in the bosom of his home, he approached the hour when he should bid adieu to the incessant labor and turmoil of political life. To his long-tried and dearly-loved friend, General Knox, he wrote as follows two days before his retirement:--

"To the wearied traveller who sees a resting-place, and is bending his body to lean thereon, I now compare myself; but to be suffered to do this in peace is too much to be endured by some. To misrepresent my motives, to reprobate my politics, and to weaken the confidence which has been reposed in my administration, are objects which can not be relinquished by those who will be satisfied with nothing short of a change in our political system.

The consolation, however, which results from conscious rect.i.tude, and the approving voice of my country, unequivocally expressed by its representatives, deprive their sting of its poison, and place in the same point of view the weakness and malignity of their efforts....

"The remainder of my life, which in the course of nature can not be long, will be occupied in rural amus.e.m.e.nts; and, though I shall seclude myself as much as possible from the noisy and bustling crowd, none would, more than myself, be regaled by the company of those I esteem at Mount Vernon; more than twenty miles from which, after I arrive there, it is not likely that I ever shall be.

"As early in next week as I can make arrangements for it, I shall commence my journey for Mount Vernon. To-morrow, at dinner, I shall, as a servant of the public, take my leave of the president elect, of the foreign emba.s.sadors, the heads of departments, &c., and the day following, with pleasure, I shall witness the inauguration of my successor to the chair of government."

There was a large company of ladies and gentlemen at the dinner, on the third of March, when Was.h.i.+ngton, in a somewhat informal manner, bade them all farewell. "During the dinner," wrote Bishop White, who was one of the guests, "much hilarity prevailed; but, on the removal of the cloth, it was put an end to by the president--certainly without design.

Having filled his gla.s.s, he addressed the company, with a smile on his countenance, saying, 'Ladies and gentlemen, this is the last time I shall drink your health as a public man. I do it with sincerity, and wis.h.i.+ng you all possible happiness.' There was an end to all hilarity, and the cheeks of Mrs. Liston, wife of the British minister, were wet with tears."

On that morning Was.h.i.+ngton performed an act of justice to himself, which he had refrained from doing while in office. It was in the form of a letter to Mr. Pickering, the secretary of state, giving his own statement concerning the spurious letters which we have already noticed--their dates, addresses, and signatures, and all the facts in the case, the chief of which we have already noted. "These well-known facts," he said, "made it unnecessary, during the war, to call the public attention to the forgery by any express declaration of mine; and a firm reliance on my fellow-citizens, and the abundant proofs which they gave of their confidence in me, rendered it alike unnecessary to take any formal notice of the revival of the imposition during my civil administration. But as I can not know how soon a more serious event may succeed to that which will this day take place, I have thought it a duty that I owed to myself, to my country, and to truth, now to detail the circ.u.mstances above recited; and to add my solemn declaration that the letters herein described[114] are a base forgery, and that I never saw or heard of them until they appeared in print.

"The present letter I commit to your care, and desire that it may be deposited in the office of the department of state, as a testimony of the truth to the present generation and to posterity."

On the fourth of March, John Adams, Was.h.i.+ngton's successor, was inaugurated the second president of the United States. The event took place in the hall of the representatives, which was densely crowded with spectators. Mr. Jefferson, the new vice-president, had just taken his seat as president of the senate. That body had been convened by Was.h.i.+ngton for the occasion; and now, with their presiding officer, they went into the representatives' hall, where a large audience of ladies and gentlemen were collected to witness the inaugural ceremonies. In front of the speaker's chair sat chief-justice Ellsworth, who was to administer the oath, with three other judges of the supreme court of the United States (Cus.h.i.+ng, Wilson, and Iredell). The new vice-president and secretary of the senate took their seats on the right; and on the left sat the speaker and clerk of the late house of representatives. At a signal the doors were thrown open, and a crowd rushed in and filled the galleries. Very soon loud cheering was heard in the streets, and a few moments afterward Was.h.i.+ngton entered, followed by the president elect. The whole audience arose and greeted them with enthusiastic cheers.

[Ill.u.s.tration: JOHN ADAMS]

When the two dignitaries were seated perfect silence prevailed.

Was.h.i.+ngton then arose, and with the most commanding dignity and self-control, proceeded to read, in a firm, clear voice, a brief valedictory. An eye-witness yet (1860) living,[115] has made the following interesting record of this portion of the scene:--

"When General Was.h.i.+ngton delivered his farewell address, in the room at the southeast corner of Chestnut and Sixth streets, I sat immediately in front of him. It was in the room Congress occupied.

The table of the speaker was between the two windows on Sixth street. The daughter of Doctor C----,[116] of Alexandria, the physician and intimate friend of Was.h.i.+ngton, Mrs. H----,[117] whose husband was the auditor, was a very dear friend of mine. Her brother Was.h.i.+ngton was one of the secretaries of General Was.h.i.+ngton. Young Dandridge, a nephew of Mrs. Was.h.i.+ngton, was the other. I was included in Mrs. H----'s party to witness the august, the solemn scene. Mr. H---- declined going with Mrs. H----, as she had determined to go early, so as to secure the front bench. It was fortunate for Miss C----[118] (afterward Mrs. L----)[119], that she could not trust herself to be so near her honored grandfather.

My dear father stood very near her. She was terribly agitated.

There was a narrow pa.s.sage from the door of entrance to the room, which was on the east, dividing the rows of benches. General Was.h.i.+ngton stopped at the end to let Mr. Adams pa.s.s to the chair.

The latter always wore a full suit of bright drab, with lash or loose cuffs to his coat. He always wore wrist ruffles. He had not changed his fas.h.i.+ons. He was a short man, with a good head. With his family he attended our church twice a day. General Was.h.i.+ngton's dress was a full suit of black. His military hat had the black c.o.c.kade. There stood the 'Father of his Country,' acknowledged by nations--the first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen. No marshals with gold-colored scarfs attended him--there was no cheering--no noise; the most profound silence greeted him, as if the great a.s.sembly desired to hear him breathe, and catch his breath in homage of their hearts. Mr. Adams covered his face with both his hands; the sleeves of his coat, and his hands, were covered with tears. Every now and then there was a suppressed sob, I can not describe Was.h.i.+ngton's appearance as I felt it--perfectly composed and self-possessed till the close of his address: then, when strong nervous sobs broke loose, when tears covered the faces, then the great man was shaken. I never took my eyes from his face. Large drops came from his eyes. He looked to the youthful children who were parting with their father, their friend, as if his heart was with them, and would be to the end."