CHAPTER II
NEW YORK AND SOME NEW YORKERS
About 1828 my parents moved to New York, and immediately occupied the
house, No. 6 Hubert Street, purchased by my father, and pleasantly
located a short distance from St. John's Park, then the fashionable
section of the city. This park was always kept locked, but it was the
common play-ground of the children of the neighborhood, whose families
were furnished with keys, as is the case with Gramercy Park to-day. St.
John's Church overlooked this park, and the houses on the other three
sides of the square were among the finest residences in the city. Many
of them were occupied by families of prominence, among which were those
of Watts, Gibbes, Kemble, Hamilton and Smedberg. Next door to us on
Hubert Street lived Commander, subsequently Rear Admiral, Charles
Wilkes, U.S.N., and his young family. His first wife was Miss Jane
Jeffrey Renwick, who was a sister of Professor James Renwick of Columbia
College, and after her death he married Mary Lynch, a daughter of Henry
Lynch of New York and the widow of Captain William Compton Bolton of the
Navy. This, of course, was previous to his naval achievements, which are
such well known events in American history. In after life Admiral and
Mrs. Wilkes moved to Washington, D.C., where I renewed my friendship of
early days and where members of his family still reside, beloved and
respected by the whole community.
Mr. Thomas S. Gibbes of South Carolina, whose wife was Miss Susan
Annette Vanden Heuvel, daughter of John C. Vanden Heuvel, a wealthy
land owner, lived on Hudson Street, facing St. John's Park. Their elder
daughter Charlotte Augusta, who married John Jacob Astor, son of William
B. Astor, was an early playmate of mine, and many pleasant memories of
her as a little girl cluster around St. John's Park, where we romped
together. When I first knew the Gibbes family it had recently returned
from a long residence in Paris, an unusual experience in these days, and
both Charlotte Augusta and her younger sister, Annette Gibbes, sang in a
very pleasing manner French songs, which were a decided novelty to our
juvenile ears. Mrs. Gibbes's sisters were Mrs. Gouverneur S. Bibby and
Mrs. John C. Hamilton.
Directly opposite St. John's Park, on the corner of Varick and Beach
streets, was Miss Maria Forbes's school for young girls, which was the
fashionable school of the day. I attended it in company with my sister
Fanny and my brother James who was my junior. Miss Forbes occasionally
admitted boys to her school when accompanied by older sisters. Our life
there was regulated in accordance with the strictest principles of
learning and etiquette, and a child would have been deficient indeed who
failed to acquire knowledge under the tuition of such an able teacher.
School commenced promptly at eight o'clock and continued without
intermission until three.
The principal of the school was the daughter of John Forbes, who for
thirty years was the librarian of the New York Society Library. He was a
native of Aberdeen in Scotland, and was brought to this country in
extreme youth by a widowed mother of marked determination and piety,
with the intention of launching him successfully in life. He early
displayed a fondness for books, and must have shown an uncommon maturity
of mind and much executive ability, as he was only nineteen when he was
appointed to the position just named. It is an interesting fact that he
accepted the librarianship in 1798 with a salary of two hundred and
fifty dollars a year in addition to the fines and two and a half per
cent. upon all moneys collected, besides the use or rental of the lower
front room of the library building. After many years of labor his salary
was raised to five hundred dollars. Upon his death in October, 1824, the
trustees, out of respect to his memory, voted to attend his funeral in a
body and ordered the library closed for the remaining four days of the
week. He married Miss Martha Skidmore, daughter of Lemuel Skidmore, a
prominent iron and steel merchant of New York, and I have no doubt that
Maria Forbes, their daughter and my early teacher, inherited her
scholarly tastes from her father, of whom Dr. John W. Francis in his
"Old New York" justly speaks as a "learned man."
Miss Forbes was a pronounced disciplinarian, and administered one form
of punishment which left a lasting impression upon my memory. For
certain trivial offenses a child was placed in a darkened room and
clothed in a tow apron. One day I was subjected to this punishment for
many hours, an incident which naturally I have never yet been able to
forget. On the occasion referred to Miss Forbes was obliged to leave the
schoolroom for a few minutes and, unfortunately for my happiness,
appointed my young brother James to act as monitor during her absence.
His first experience in the exercise of a little authority evidently
turned his head, for upon the return of our teacher I was reported for
misbehavior. The charge against me was that I had smiled. It is too long
ago to remember whether or not it was a smile of derision, but upon
mature reflection I think it must have been. I knew, however, in my
childish heart that I had committed no serious offense and, as can
readily be imagined, my indignation was boundless. It was the first act
of injustice I had ever experienced. Feeling that the punishment was
undeserved, and smarting under it, with abundance of leisure upon my
hands, I bit the tough tow apron into many pieces. When Miss Forbes
after a few hours, which seemed to me an eternity, came to relieve me
from my irksome position and noticed the condition of the apron, she
regaled me with a homily upon the evils of bad temper, and gave as
practical illustrations the lives of some of our most noted criminals,
all of whom had expiated their crimes upon the gallows.
In recalling these early school days it seems to me that the rudiments
of education received far more attention then than now. Spelling was
regarded as of chief importance and due consideration was given to
grammar. There were no "frills" then, such as physical culture, manual
training and the like, and vacation lasted but thirty days, usually
during the month of August. Some of my earliest friendships were formed
at Miss Forbes's school, many of which I have retained through a long
life. Among my companions and classmates were the Tillotsons, Lynches,
Astors, Kembles, Hamiltons, Duers, and Livingstons.
But in spite of the severe discipline of Miss Forbes's school, her
pupils occasionally engaged in current gossip. It was in her schoolroom
I first made the discovery that this earth boasted of such valuable
adjuncts to the human family as title-bearing gentlemen, and in this
particular case it was a live Count that was brought to my notice. Count
Louis Fitzgerald Tasistro had recently arrived in New York, and his
engagement to Adelaide Lynch, a daughter of Judge James Lynch, of an old
New York family, was soon announced. On the voyage to America he had
made the acquaintance of a son of Lord Henry Gage of England, whose
principal object in visiting this country was to make the acquaintance
of his kinsman, Mr. Gouverneur Kemble. Through his instrumentality
Tasistro was introduced into New York's most exclusive set, and soon
became the lion of the hour. We girls discussed the engagement and
subsequent marriage of the distinguished foreigner (_sub rosa_, of
course), and to our childish vision pictured a wonderful career for this
New York girl. The marriage, however, soon terminated unfortunately, and
to the day of his death Tasistro's origin remained a mystery. He was an
intellectual man of fine presence and skilled in a number of foreign
languages. He claimed he was a graduate of Dublin College. Many years
later, after I had become more familiar with title-bearing foreigners,
Tasistro again crossed my path in Washington, where he was acting as a
translator in the State Department; but after a few years, owing to an
affection of the eyes, he was obliged to give up this position, and his
condition was one of destitution. Through the instrumentality of my
husband he obtained an annuity from his son, whom, by the way, he never
knew; and for some years, in a spirit of gratitude, taught my children
French. His last literary effort was the translation of the first two
volumes of the Comte de Paris's "History of the Civil War in America."
His devotion to my husband was pathetic, and I have frequently heard the
Count say during the last years of his life that he never met him
without some good fortune immediately following.
After Mr. Gouverneur's death I received the following letter from
Tasistro, which is so beautiful in diction that I take pleasure in
inserting it:
WASHINGTON, April 26, 1880.
My dear Mrs. Gouverneur,
Had I obeyed implicitly the impulses of my heart, or been
less deeply affected by the great loss which will ever
render the 5th of April a day of sad & bitter memories to
me, I should perhaps have been more expeditious in rendering
to you the poor tribute of my condolence for the terrible
bereavement which it has pleased the Supreme Ruler of all
things to afflict you with.
My own particular grief in thus losing the best & most
valued friend I ever had on earth, receives additional
poignancy from the fact that, although duly impressed with
an abiding sense of the imperishable obligation, conferred
upon me by my lamented friend, I have been debarred, by my
own physical infirmities, from proffering those services
which it would have afforded me so much consolation to
perform.
I should be loath, however, to start on my own journey for
that shadowy land whose dim outlines are becoming daily more
& more visible to my mental eye, without leaving some kind
of record attesting to the depth of my appreciation of all
the noble attributes which clustered around your husband's
character--of my intense & lasting gratitude for his
generous exertions in my behalf, & my profound sympathy for
you personally in this hour of sorrow & affliction.
Hoping that you may find strength adequate to the emergency,
I remain, with great respect,
Your devoted servant,
L. F. TASISTRO.
A valued friend of my father's was Dr. John W. Francis, the "Doctor
Sangrado" of this period, who, with other practitioners of the day,
believed in curing all maladies by copious bleeding and a dose of
calomel. He was the fashionable physician of that time and especially
prided himself upon his physical resemblance to Benjamin Franklin. He
had much dramatic ability of a comic sort, and I have often heard the
opinion expressed that if he had adopted the stage as a profession he
would have rivalled the comedian William E. Burton, who at this time was
delighting his audiences at Burton's Theater on Chambers Street. In my
early life when Dr. Francis was called to our house professionally the
favorite dose he invariably prescribed for nearly every ailment was
"calomel and jalap."
One day during school hours at Miss Forbes's I was suddenly summoned to
return to my home. I soon discovered after my arrival that I was in the
presence of a tribunal composed of my parents and Dr. Francis. I was
completely at a loss to understand why I was recalled with, what seemed
to me, such undue haste, as I was entirely unconscious of any
misdemeanor. I soon discovered, however, that I was in great trouble. It
seems that a young girl from Santa Cruz, a boarding pupil at our school,
had died of a malady known at this period as "iliac passion," but now as
appendicitis. Her attending physician was Dr. Ralph I. Bush, a former
surgeon in the British Navy, and I soon learned to my dismay that I was
accused of having made an indiscreet remark in regard to his management
of my schoolmate's case, although to this day I have never known exactly
how Dr. Francis, as our family physician, was involved in the affair. I
stood up as bravely as I could under a rigid cross-examination, but,
alas! I had no remembrance whatever of making any remark that could
possibly offend. At any rate, Dr. Bush had given Dr. Francis to
understand that he was ready to settle the affair according to the
approved method of the day; but Dr. Francis was a man of peace, and had
no relish for the code. Possibly, with the reputed activity of Sir
Lucius O'Trigger, Dr. Bush had already selected his seconds, as I have
seldom seen a man more unnerved than Dr. Francis by what proved after
all to be only a trifling episode. Soon after my trying interview,
however, explanations followed, and the two physicians amicably adjusted
the affair.
It seems that this unfortunate entanglement arose from a
misunderstanding. There were two cases of illness at Miss Forbes's
school at the same time, the patient of Dr. Bush already mentioned and
another child suffering from a broken arm whom Dr. Francis attended. He
set the limb but, as he was not proficient as a surgeon, the act was
criticized by the schoolgirls within my hearing. My sense of loyalty to
my family doctor caused me to utter some childish remark in his defense
which was possibly to the effect that he was a great deal better doctor
than Dr. Bush, who had failed to save the life of our late schoolmate.
In recalling this childish episode which caused me so much anxiety I am
surprised that such unnecessary attention was paid to the passing remark
of a mere child.
Dr. Francis was as proficient in quoting wise maxims as Benjamin
Franklin, whom he was said to resemble. One of them which I recall is
the epitome of wisdom: "If thy hand be in a lion's mouth, get it out as
fast as thou canst."
I may here state, by the way, that in close proximity to Dr. Francis's
residence on Bond Street lived Dr. Eleazer Parmly, the fashionable
dentist of New York. He stood high in public esteem and a few still
living may remember his pleasing address. He accumulated a large fortune
and I believe left many descendants.
The girls at Miss Forbes's school were taught needle work and
embroidery, for in my early days no young woman's education was regarded
as complete without these accomplishments. I quote from memory an
elaborate sampler which bore the following poetical effusion:
What is the blooming tincture of the skin,
To peace of mind and harmony within?
What the bright sparkling of the finest eye
To the soft soothing of a kind reply?
Can comeliness of form or face so fair
With kindliness of word or deed compare?
No. Those at first the unwary heart may gain,
But these, these only, can the heart retain.
It seems remarkable that after spending months in working such effusive
lines, or others similar to them, Miss Forbes's pupils did not become
luminaries of virtue and propriety. If they did not their failure
certainly could not be laid at the door of their preceptress.
Miss Forbes personally taught the rudiments but Mr. Luther Jackson, the
writing master, visited the school each day and instructed his scholars
in the Italian style of chirography. Mr. Michael A. Gauvain taught
French so successfully that in a short time many of us were able to
place on the amateur boards a number of French plays. Our audiences were
composed chiefly of admiring parents, who naturally viewed the
performances with paternal partiality and no doubt regarded us as
incipient Rachels. I remember as if it were only yesterday a play in
which I took one of the principal parts--"Athalie," one of Jean Racine's
plays.
This mode of education was adopted in Paris by Madame Campan, the
instructor of the French nobility as well as of royalty during the First
Empire. In her manuscript memoirs, addressed to the children of her
brother, "Citizen" Edmond Charles Genet, who was then living in America,
and of which I have an exact copy, she dwells upon the histrionic
performances by her pupils, among whom were Queen Hortense and my
husband's aunt, Eliza Monroe, daughter of President James Monroe and
subsequently the wife of Judge George Hay of Virginia. She gives a
graphic account of the Emperor attending one of these plays, when
"Esther," one of Racine's masterpieces, was performed.
The dancing master, who, of course, was an essential adjunct of every
well regulated school, was John J. Charraud. He was a refugee from Hayti
after the revolution in that island, and opened his dancing-school in
New York on Murray Street, but afterwards gave his "publics" in the City
Hall. He taught only the cotillion and the three-step waltz and came to
our school three times a week for this purpose. Much attention was given
to poetry, and I still recall the first piece I committed to memory,
"Pity the Sorrows of a Poor Old Man." My father thoroughly believed in
memorizing verse, and he always liberally rewarded me for every piece I
was able to recite. I may state, by the way, that Blair's Rhetoric was
a textbook of our school and the one which I most enjoyed.
Miss Forbes had a number of medals which the girls were allowed to wear
at stated periods for proficiency in their studies as well as for
exemplary deportment. There was one of these which was known as the
"excellence medal," and the exultant pupil upon whom it was bestowed was
allowed the privilege of wearing it for two weeks. Upon it was inscribed
the well known proverb of Solomon, "Many daughters have done virtuously,
but thou excellest them all."
Among the pleasant memories of my early life are the dinners given by my
father, when the distinguished men of the day gathered around his
hospitable board. In New York at this time all the professional cooks
and waiters in their employ were colored men. Butlers were then unknown.
It was also before the days of _à la Russe_ service, and I remember
seeing upon some of these occasions a saddle of venison, while at the
opposite end of the table there was always a Westphalia ham. Fresh
salmon was considered a _pièce de résistance_. Many different wines were
always served, and long years later in a conversation with Gov. William
L. Marcy, who was a warm friend of my father, he told me he was present
on one of these occasions when seven different varieties of wine were
served. I especially remember a dinner given by him in honor of Martin
Van Buren. He was Vice-President of the United States at the time and
was accompanied to New York by John Forsyth of Georgia, a member of
Jackson's cabinet. Some of the guests invited to meet him were Gulian C.
Verplanck, Thomas Morris, John C. Hamilton, Philip Hone and Walter
Bowne. The day previous to this dinner my father received the following
note from Mr. Van Buren:
My dear Sir,
Our friend Mr. Forsyth, is with me and you must send him an
invitation to dine with you to-morrow if, as I suppose is
the case, I am to have that honor.
Yours truly,
M. VAN BUREN.
Sunday, June 9, '33.
J. Campbell, Esq.
Martin Van Buren was a political friend of my father's from almost his
earliest manhood. Two years after he was appointed Surrogate he received
the following confidential letter from Mr. Van Buren. As will be seen,
it was before the days when he wrote in full the prefix "Van" to his
name:
_Private._
My dear Sir,
Mr. Hoyt wishes me to quiet your apprehensions on the
subject of the Elector.[2] I will state to you truly how the
matter stands. My sincere belief is that we shall succeed;
at the same time I am bound to admit that the subject is
full of difficulties. If the members were now, and without
extraneous influence, to settle the matter, the result would
be certain. But I know that uncommon exertions have been,
and are making, by the outdoor friends of Adams & Clay to
effect a co-operation of their forces in favor of a divided
ticket. Look at the "National Journal" of the 23d, and you
will find an article, prepared with care, to make influence
there. A few months ago Mr. Adams would have revolted at
such a publication. It is the desperate situation of his
affairs that has brought him to it. The friends of Clay
(allowing Adams more strength than he may have), have no
hopes of getting him (Clay) into the house, unless they get
a part of this State. The certain decline of Adams in other
parts & the uncertainty of his strength in the east alarm
his friends on the same point. Thus both parties are led to
the adoption of desperate measures. Out of N. England Adams
has now no reason to expect more than his three or four
votes in Maryland. A partial discomfiture in the east may
therefore bring him below Mr. Clay's western votes, & if it
should appear that he (Adams) cannot get into the house, the
western votes would go to Crawford. If nothing takes place
materially to change the present state of things, we hope to
defeat their plans here. But if you lose your Assembly
ticket, there is no telling the effect it may produce, & my
chief object in being thus particular with you is to conjure
your utmost attention to that subject. About the Governor's
election there is no sort of doubt. I am not apt to be
confident, & _I aver that the matter is so._ But it is to
the Assembly that interested men look, and the difference of
ten members will (with the information the members can have
when they come to act) be decisive in the opinion of the
present members as to the complexion of the next house.
There are _other points of view_ which I cannot now state to
you, in which the result I speak of may seriously affect the
main question. Let me therefore entreat your serious
attention to this matter. _Be careful of this._ Your city is
a gossiping place, & what you tell to one man in confidence
is soon in the mouths of hundreds. You can impress our
friends on this subject without connecting me with it. Do
so.
Your sincere friend,
M. V. BUREN.
Albany, Octob. 28, 1824.
James Campbell, Esq.
The Mr. Hoyt referred to in the opening sentence of this letter was
Jesse Hoyt, another political friend of my father's who, under Van
Buren's administration, was Collector of the Port of New York. During my
child life on Long Island he made my father occasional visits, and in
subsequent years lived opposite us on Hubert Street. He was the first
one to furnish me with a practical illustration of man's perfidy. As a
very young child I consented to have my ears pierced, when Mr. Hoyt
volunteered to send me a pair of coral ear-rings, but he failed to carry
out his promise. I remember reading some years ago several letters
addressed to Hoyt by "Prince" John Van Buren which he begins with "Dear
Jessica."
Table appointments at this time were most simple and unostentatious.
Wine coolers were found in every well regulated house, but floral
decorations were seldom seen. At my father's dinners, given upon special
occasions, the handsome old silver was always used, much of which
formerly belonged to my mother's family. The forks and spoons were of
heavy beaten silver, and the knives were made of steel and had ivory
handles. Ice cream was always the dessert, served in tall pyramids, and
the universal flavor was vanilla taken directly from the bean, as
prepared extracts were then unknown. I have no recollection of seeing
ice water served upon any well-appointed table, as modern facilities for
keeping it had yet to appear, and cold water could always be procured
from pumps on the premises. The castors, now almost obsolete, containing
the usual condiments, were _de rigueur_; while the linen used in our
home was imported from Ireland, and in some cases bore the coat of arms
of the United States with its motto, "_E Pluribus Unum_." My father's
table accommodated twenty persons and the dinner hour was three o'clock.
These social functions frequently lasted a number of hours, and when it
became necessary the table was lighted by lamps containing sperm oil and
candles in candelabra. These were the days when men wore ruffled shirt
fronts and high boots.
I still have in my possession an acceptance from William B. Astor, son
of John Jacob Astor, to a dinner given by my father, written upon very
small note paper and folded in the usual style of the day:
Mr. W. Astor will do himself the honor to dine with Mr.
Campbell to-day agreeable to his polite invitation.
May 28th.
James Campbell Esq.
Hubert Street.
I well remember a stag dinner given by my father when I was a child at
which one of the guests was Philip Hone, one of the most efficient and
energetic Mayors the City of New York has ever had. He is best known
to-day by his remarkable diary, edited by Bayard Tuckerman, which is a
veritable storehouse of events relating to the contemporary history of
the city. Mr. Hone had a fine presence with much elegance of manner, and
was truly one of nature's noblemen. Many years ago Arent Schuyler de
Peyster, to whom I am indebted for many traditions of early New York
society, told me that upon one occasion a conversation occurred between
Philip Hone and his brother John, a successful auctioneer, in which the
latter advocated their adoption of a coat of arms. Philip's response was
characteristic of the man: "I will have no arms except those Almighty
God has given me."
In this connection, and _àpropos_ of heraldic designs and their
accompaniments, I have been informed that the Hon. Daniel Manning,
Cleveland's Secretary of the Treasury, used upon certain of his cards of
invitation a crest with the motto, "Aquila non capit muscas" ("The eagle
does not catch flies"). This brings to my mind the following anecdote
from a dictionary of quotations translated into English in 1826 by D. N.
McDonnel: "Casti, an Italian poet who fled from Russia on account of
having written a scurrilous poem in which he made severe animadversions
on the Czarina and some of her favorites, took refuge in Austria. Joseph
II. upon coming in contact with him asked him whether he was not afraid
of being punished there, as well as in Russia, for having insulted his
high friend and ally. The bard's steady reply was 'Aquila non capit
muscas.'" Sir Francis Bacon, however, was the first in the race, as long
before either Manning or Casti were born he made use of these exact
words in his "Jurisdiction of the Marshes."
In my early days John H. Contoit kept an ice cream garden on Broadway
near White Street, and it was the first establishment of this kind, as
far as I know, in New York. During the summer months it was a favorite
resort for many who sought a cool place and pleasant society, where they
might eat ice cream under shady vines and ornamental lattice work. The
ice cream was served in high glasses, and the price paid for it was
twelve and one-half cents. Nickles and dimes were of course unknown, but
the Mexican shilling, equivalent to twelve and one-half cents, and the
quarter of a dollar, also Mexican, were in circulation.
There were no such places as lunchrooms and tearooms in my early days,
and the only restaurant of respectability was George W. Browne's "eating
house," which was largely frequented by New Yorkers. The proprietor had
a very pretty daughter, Mrs. Coles, who was brought prominently before
the public in the summer of 1841 as the heroine of an altercation
between August Belmont and Edward Heyward, a prominent South Carolinian,
followed by a duel in Maryland in which Belmont is said to have been so
seriously wounded as to retain the scars until his death.
Alexander T. Stewart's store, corner of Broadway and Chambers Street,
was the fashionable dry goods emporium, and for many years was without a
conspicuous rival. William I. Tenney, Horace Hinsdale, Henry Gelston,
and Frederick and Henry G. Marquand were jewelers. Tenney's store was on
Broadway near Murray Street; Gelston's was under the Astor House on the
corner of Barclay Street and Broadway; Hinsdale's was on the east side
of Broadway and Cortlandt Street; and the Marquands were on the west
side of Broadway between Cortlandt and Dey Streets.
James Leary bore the palm in New York as the fashionable hatter, and his
shop was on Broadway under the Astor House. As was usual then with his
craft, he kept individual blocks for those of his customers who had
heads of unusual dimensions. In his show window he sometimes exhibited a
block of remarkable size which was adapted to fit the heads of a
distinguished trio, Daniel Webster, General James Watson Webb, and
Charles Augustus Davis. Miss Anna Leary of Newport, his daughter and a
devout Roman Catholic, received the title of Countess from the Pope.
The most prominent hostelry in New York before the days of the Astor
House was the City Hotel on lower Broadway. I have been informed that
the site upon which it stood still belongs to representatives of the
Boreel family, descendants of the first John Jacob Astor. Another, but
of a later period, was the American Hotel on Broadway near the Astor
House. It was originally the town house of John C. Vanden Heuvel, a
member of one of New York's most exclusive families. Upon Mr. Vanden
Heuvel's death this house passed into the possession of his son-in-law,
John C. Hamilton, who changed it into a hotel. Its proprietor was
William B. Cozzens, who was so long and favorably known as a hotel
proprietor. At this same time he had charge of the only hotel at West
Point, and it was named after him. If any army officers survive who were
cadets during Cozzens's _régime_ they will recall with pleasure his
kindly bearing and attractive manner. Mr. Vanden Heuvel's country
residence was in the vicinity of Ninetieth Street overlooking the Hudson
River. His other daughters were Susan Annette, who married Mr. Thomas S.
Gibbes of South Carolina, and Justine, who became the wife of Gouverneur
S. Bibby, a cousin of my husband.
As I first remember Union Square it was in the outskirts of the city.
Several handsome houses had a few years previously been erected there by
James F. Penniman, the son-in-law of Mr. Samuel Judd, the latter of whom
amassed a large fortune by the manufacture and sale of oil and candles.
Miss Lydia Kane, a sister of the elder De Lancey Kane and a noted wit of
the day, upon a certain occasion was showing some strangers the sights
of New York, and in passing these houses was asked by whom they were
occupied. "That one," she responded, indicating the one in which the
Pennimans themselves lived, "is occupied by one of the _illuminati_ of
the city."
Robert L. Stuart and his brother Alexander were proprietors of a large
candy store on the corner of Chambers and Greenwich Streets, under the
firm name of R. L. & A. Stuart. Their establishment was a favorite
resort of the children of the day, who were as much addicted to sweets
as are their more recent successors. "Broken candy" was a specialty of
this firm, and was sold at a very low price. Alexander Stuart frequently
waited upon customers, and as a child I have often chattered with him
over the counter. He never married.
The principal markets were Washington on the North River, and Fulton on
the east side. The marketing was always done by the mistress of each
house accompanied by a servant bearing a large basket. During the season
small girls carried strawberries from door to door, calling out as they
went along; and during the summer months hot corn, carried in closed
receptacles made for the purpose, was sold by colored men, whose cries
could be heard in every part of the city.
Mrs. Isaac Sayre's bakery was an important shop for all housewives, and
her homemade jumbles and pound cake were in great demand. Her plum cake,
too, was exceptionally good, and it is an interesting fact that it was
she who introduced cake in boxes for weddings. Her shop survived for an
extraordinary number of years and, as far as I know, may still exist and
be kept by some of her descendants.
I must not omit to speak of a peculiar custom which in this day of
grace, when there are no longer any old women, seems rather odd. A
woman immediately after her marriage wore a cap made of some light
material, which she invariably tied with strings under her chin. Most
older women were horrified at the thought of gray hairs, and immediately
following their appearance false fronts were purchased, over which caps
were worn. I well recall that some of the most prominent women of the
day concealed fine heads of hair in this grotesque fashion. Baldheaded
men were not tolerated, and "scratches" or wigs provided the remedy.
Marriage announcements were decidedly informal. When the proper time
arrived for the world to be taken into the confidence of a young couple,
they walked upon Broadway arm in arm, thus announcing that their
marriage was imminent.
A dinner given in my young days by my parents to Mr. and Mrs. William C.
Rives still lingers in my memory. Mr. Rives had just been appointed to
his second mission to France, and with his wife was upon the eve of
sailing for his new post of duty. I remember that it was a large
entertainment, but the only guests whom I recall in addition to the
guests of honor were Mr. and Mrs. James A. Hamilton. He was a son of
Alexander Hamilton, and was at the time United States District Attorney
in New York. It seems strange, indeed, that the other guests should have
escaped my memory, but a head-dress worn by Mrs. Hamilton struck my
young fancy and I have never forgotten it. As I recall that occasion I
can see her handsome face surmounted by a huge fluffy pink cap. This Mr.
and Mrs. Hamilton were the parents of Alexander Hamilton, the third, who
married Angelica, daughter of Maturin Livingston, and who, by the way,
as I remember, was one of the most graceful dancers and noted belles of
her day.
Thomas Morris, son of Robert Morris the great financier of the
Revolution, was my father's life-long friend. He was an able
_raconteur_, and I recall many conversations relating to his early
life, a portion of which had been spent in Paris at its celebrated
Polytechnic School. One incident connected with his career is especially
interesting. When the sordid Louis Philippe, then the Duke of Orleans,
was wandering in this country, teaching in his native tongue "the young
idea how to shoot," he was the guest for a time of Mr. Morris. Several
years later when John Greig, a Scotchman and prominent citizen of
Canandaigua, New York, was about to sail for France, Mr. Morris gave him
a letter of introduction to the Duke. Upon his arrival in Havre after a
lengthy voyage he found much to his surprise that Louis Philippe was
comfortably seated upon the throne of France. Under these altered
conditions he hesitated to present his letter, but after mature
consideration sought an audience with the new King; and it is a pleasing
commentary upon human nature to add that he was welcomed with open arms.
The King had by no means forgotten the hospitality he had received in
America, and especially the many favors extended by the Morris family.
Mr. Morris's wife was Miss Sarah Kane, daughter of Colonel John Kane,
and she was beautiful even in her declining years. She also possessed
the wit so characteristic of the Kanes, who, by the way, were of Celtic
origin, being descended from John Kane who came from Ireland in 1752.
She was the aunt of the first De Lancey Kane, who married the pretty
Louisa Langdon, the granddaughter of John Jacob Astor. Their daughter,
Emily Morris, made frequent visits to our house. She was renowned for
both beauty and wit. I remember seeing several verses addressed to her,
the only lines of which I recall are as follows:
That calm collected look,
As though her pulses beat by book.
Another intimate friend of my father was Frederick de Peyster, who at a
later day became President of the New York Historical Society. He
habitually took Sunday tea with us, and always received a warm welcome
from the juvenile members of the family with whom he was a great
favorite. He was devoted to children, and delighted our young hearts by
occasional presents of game-chickens which at once became family pets.
In 1823 and 1824 my father's sympathies were deeply enlisted in behalf
of the Greeks in their struggles for independence from the Turkish rule.
It will be remembered that this was the cause to which Byron devoted his
last energies. The public sentiment of the whole country was aroused to
a high pitch of excitement, and meetings were held not only for the
purpose of lending moral support and encouragement to the Greeks, but
also for raising funds for their assistance. Among those to whom my
father appealed was his friend, Rudolph Bunner, a highly prominent
citizen of Oswego, N.Y. Although a lawyer he did not practice his
profession, but devoted himself chiefly to his extensive landed estates
in Oswego county. He was wealthy and generous, a good liver and an
eloquent political speaker. He served one term in Congress where, as
elsewhere, he was regarded as a man of decided ability. He died about
1833 at the age of nearly seventy. The distinguished New York lawyer,
John Duer, married his daughter Anne, by whom he had thirteen children,
one of whom, Anna Henrietta, married the late Pierre Paris Irving, a
nephew of Washington Irving and at one time rector of the Episcopal
church at New Brighton, Staten Island. Mr. Bunner's letter in response
to my father's appeal is not devoid of interest, and is as follows:
OSWEGO, 12 Jan'y 1824.
My dear Sir,
Though I have not written to you yet you were not so soon
forgotten. Nor can you so easily be erased from my memory as
my negligence might seem to imply. In truth few persons
have impressed my mind with a deeper sentiment of respect
than yourself; you have that of open and frank in your
character which if not in my own, is yet so congenial to my
feelings that I shall much regret if my habitual indolence
can lose me such a friend. Your request in favor of the
Greeks will be hard to comply with. If I can be a
contributor in a humble way to their success by my exertions
here they shall not want them, but I fear the _angusta res
domi_ may press too heavily upon us to permit of an
effectual benevolence. If you wanted five hundred men six
feet high with sinewy arms and case hardened constitutions,
bold spirits and daring adventurers who would travel upon a
bushel of corn and a gallon of whiskey per man from the
extreme point of the world to Constantinople we could
furnish you with them, but I doubt whether they could raise
the money to pay their passage from the gut of Gibraltar
upwards. The effort however shall be made and if we can not
shew ourselves rich we will at least manifest our good will.
Though Greece touches few Yankee settlers thro the medium of
classical associations yet a people struggling to free
themselves from foreign bondage is sure to find warm hearts
in every native of the wilderness. We admire your noble
efforts and if we do not imitate you it is because our
purses are as empty as a Boetian's skull is thick. We know
so little of what is _really_ projecting in the cabinets of
Europe that we are obliged to believe implicitly in
newspaper reports, and we are perhaps foolish in hoping that
the Holy Alliance intends to take the Spanish part of the
New World under their protection. In such an event our
backwoodsmen would spring with the activity of squirrels to
the assistance of the regenerated Spaniards and perhaps
_there_ we might fight more effectually the battle for
universal Freedom than either at Thermopylæ or Marathon.
There indeed we might strike a blow that would break up the
deep foundations of despotic power so as that neither art or
force could again collect and cement the scattered elements.
We are too distant from Greece to make the Turks feel our
physical strength and what we can do thro money and
sympathy is little in comparison with what we could if they
were so near as that we might in addition pour out the tide
of an armed northern population to sweep their shores and
overcome the tyrants like one of their pestilential winds.
Nevertheless, sympathy is a wonderful power and the sympathy
of a free nation like our own will not lose its moral
effect. I calculate strongly on this. It is a more refined
and rational kind of chivalry--this interest and activity in
the fate of nations struggling to break the oppressor's rod,
and it should be encouraged even where it is not directed so
as to give it all adequate force. They who would chill it,
who would reason about the why and the wherefore ought to
recollect that such things can not be called forth by the
art of man--they must burst spontaneously from his nature
and be directed by his wisdom for the benefit of his
kind.... We are all here real Radical Democrats and though
some of us came in at the eleventh hour we will not go back,
but on--on--on though certain of missing the penny fee. In
truth this is the difference between real conviction and the
calculating policy which takes sides according to what it
conceives the vantage ground. A converted politician is as
obstinate in his belief as one born in the faith. The man of
craft changes his position according to the varying aspect
of the political heavens. The one plays a game--the other
sees as much of reality (or thinks he sees) in politicks as
he does in his domestic affairs and is as earnest in the one
as the other.
Salve--[Greek: Kai Chaire]
R. BUNNER.
8 o'clock.
I have had a full meeting for your Greeks--and found my men
of more mettle than I hoped for. We will do something thro
the _Country_--We have set the Parsons to work and one
shilling a head will make a good donation. We think we can
give you 4 or 5 hundred dollars.
Mr. Bunner was over sixty years old when he went to live in Oswego, but
he soon became identified with the interests of the place and added much
by his activities to its local renown. In an undated letter to my
father, he thus expatiates upon his situation in his adopted home, and
paints its advantages in no uncertain colors:--
I am here unquestionably an exile but I will never dispond
at my fate nor whimper because my own folly, want of tact or
the very malice of the times have placed me in Patmos when I
desire a more splendid theatre. I can here be useful to my
family--to my district. I can live cheaply, increase my
fortune, be upon a par with the best of my neighbors, which
I prefer to the feasts of your ostentatious mayor or the
more real luxury of Phil Brasher's Table. Our population is
small, our society contracted, but we are growing rapidly in
numbers; and the society we have is in my opinion and to my
taste fully equal to anything in your home. We possess men
of intelligence without pretention, active men as Jacob
Barker without his roguery--men whom nature intended to
flourish at St. James, but whose fate fortune in some fit of
prolifick humor fixed and nailed to this Sinope. We have
however to mitigate the cold spring breezes of the lake a
fall unrivalled in mildness and in beauty even in Italy, the
land of poetry and passion. We have a whole lake in front,
whose clear blue waters are without a parallel in Europe. We
have a beautiful river brawling at our feet, the banks of
which gently slope and when our village is filled I will
venture to say that in point of beauty, health and variety
of prospect it has _nil simile aut secundum_.
Our house was the rendezvous of many of the learned and literary men of
the day, who would sit for hours in the library discussing congenial
topics. Among others I well recall the celebrated jurist, Ogden Hoffman.
He had an exceptionally melodious voice, and I have often heard him
called "the silver-tongued orator." It has been asserted that in
criminal cases a jury was rarely known to withstand his appeal. He
married for his second wife Virginia E. Southard, a daughter of Judge
Samuel L. Southard of New Jersey, who throughout Monroe's two
administrations was Secretary of War. In the "Wealthy Citizens of New
York," edited in 1845 by Moses Y. Beach, an early owner in part of _The
New York Sun_, the Hoffman family is thus described: "Few families, for
so few a number of persons as compose it, have cut 'a larger swath' or
'bigger figure' in the way of posts and preferment. Talent, and also
public service rendered, martial gallantry, poetry, judicial acumen,
oratory, all have their lustre mingled with this name." I regard this
statement as just and truthful.
Still another valued associate of my father was Hugh Maxwell, a
prominent member of the New York bar. In his earlier life he was
District Attorney and later Collector of the Port of New York. The
Maxwells owned a pleasant summer residence at Nyack-on-the-Hudson, where
we as children made occasional visits. Many years later one of my
daughters formed an intimate friendship with Hugh Maxwell's
granddaughter, Virginia De Lancey Kearny, subsequently Mrs. Ridgely
Hunt, which terminated only with the latter's death in 1897.
From my earliest childhood Gulian C. Verplanck was a frequent guest at
our house. He and my father formed an intimacy in early manhood which
lasted throughout life. Mr. Verplanck was graduated from Columbia
College in 1801, the youngest Bachelor of Arts who, up to that time, had
received a diploma from that institution of learning. Both he and my
father found in politics an all-absorbing topic of conversation,
especially as both of them took an active part in state affairs. I have
many letters, one of them written as early as 1822, from Mr. Verplanck
to my father bearing upon political matters in New York. For four terms
he represented his district in Congress, while later he served in the
State Senate and for many years was Vice Chancellor of the University of
the State of New York. He was an ardent Episcopalian and a vestryman in
old Trinity Parish. He was a brilliant conversationalist, and his
tastes, like my father's, were decidedly literary. In connection with
William Cullen Bryant and Robert C. Sands, he edited _The Talisman_, an
annual which continued through the year 1827. Mr. Verplanck lived to an
old age and survived my father for a long time, but he did not forget
his old friend. Almost a score of years after my father's death, on the
4th of July, 1867, Mr. Verplanck delivered a scholarly oration before
the Tammany Society of New York, in which he paid the following glowing
tribute to his memory:
In those days James Campbell, for many years the Surrogate
of this city, was a powerful leader at Tammany Hall, and
from character and mind alone, without any effort or any act
of popularity. He was not college-bred, but he was the son
of a learned father, old Malcolm Campbell, who had been
trained at Aberdeen, the great school of Scotch Latinity.
James Campbell was, like his father, a good classical
scholar, and he was a sound lawyer. He was not only an
assiduous, a kind, sound and just magistrate, but one of
unquestioned ability. In his days of Surrogateship, the days
of universal reporting, either in the multitudinous volumes
in white law bindings on the shelves of lawyers, or in the
crowded columns of the daily papers, had not quite arrived
though they were just at hand. Had he lived and held office
a few years later, I do not doubt that he would have ranked
with the great luminaries of legal science. As it is, I fear
that James Campbell's reputation must share the fate of the
reputations of many able and eminent men in all professions
who can not
Look to Time's award,
Feeble tradition is their memory's guard.
The most prominent newspaper in New York in my early days was the
_Courier and Enquirer_, edited by General James Watson Webb, a man of
distinguished ability. He began his literary career by editing the
_Morning Courier_, but as this was not a very successful venture he
purchased the _New York Enquirer_ from Mordecai Manasseh Noah, and in
1829 merged the two papers. Several leading journalists began their
active careers in his office, among others James Gordon Bennett,
subsequently editor of _The New York Herald_, Henry J. Raymond, the
founder of _The New York Times_, and Charles King, father of Madam Kate
King Waddington and Mrs. Eugene Schuyler, who at one time edited _The
American_ and subsequently became the honored president of Columbia
College. James Reed Spaulding, a New Englander by birth, was also
connected with the _Courier and Enquirer_ for about ten years. In 1860
he became a member of the staff of the New York _World_, which, by the
way, was originally intended to be a semi-religious sheet. During
President Lincoln's administration General Webb sold the _Courier and
Enquirer_ to the _World_, and the two papers were consolidated. William
Seward Webb of New York was a son of this General Webb, and the latter's
daughter, Mrs. Catharine Louisa Benton, the widow of Colonel James G.
Benton of the army, lived until recently in Washington, and is one of
the pleasant reminders left me of the old days of my New York life.
_The New York Herald_ was established some years after the _Courier and
Enquirer_ and was from the first a flourishing sheet. It was
exceptionally spicy, and it dealt so much in personalities that my
father, who was a gentleman of the old school with very conservative
views, was not, to say the least, one of its strongest admirers. Several
years before the Civil War, at a time when the anti-slavery cauldron was
at its boiling point, its editor, the elder James Gordon Bennett,
dubbed its three journalistic contemporaries in New York, the World, the
Flesh, and the Devil--the _World_, representing human life with all its
pomps and vanities; the _Times_, as a sheet as vacillating as the flesh;
and the _Tribune_, as the virulent champion of abolition, the
counterpart of the Devil himself.
During the winter of 1842 James Gordon Bennett took his bride, who was
Miss Henrietta Agnes Crean of New York, to Washington on their wedding
journey. As this season had been unusually severe, great distress
prevailed, and a number of society women organized a charity ball for
the relief of the destitute. It was given under the patronage of Mrs.
Madison (the ex-President's widow), Mrs. Samuel L. Gouverneur (my
husband's mother), Mrs. Benjamin Ogle Tayloe (Julia Maria Dickinson of
Troy, New York), and other society matrons, and, as can readily be
understood, was a financial as well as a social success. Tickets were
eagerly sought, and Mr. Bennett applied for them for his wife and
himself. At first he was refused, but after further consideration Mrs.
Madison and Mrs. Gouverneur of the committee upon invitations granted
his request on condition that no mention of the ball should appear in
the columns of the _Herald_. Mr. Bennett and his wife accordingly
attended the entertainment, where the latter was much admired and danced
to her heart's content. Two days later, however, much to the chagrin and
indignation of the managers, an extended account of the ball appeared in
the _Herald_. This incident will be better appreciated when I state that
at this time the personal mention of a woman in a newspaper was an
unheard-of liberty. It was the old-fashioned idea that a woman's name
should occur but twice in print, first upon the occasion of her marriage
and subsequently upon the announcement of her death. My husband once
remarked to me, upon reading a description of a dress worn by one of my
daughters at a ball, that if such a notice had appeared in a newspaper
in connection with his sister he or his father would have thrashed the
editor.
John L. O'Sullivan, a prominent literary man and in subsequent years
minister to Portugal, edited a periodical called the _Democratic
Review_, which was published in magazine form. I well recall the first
appearance of _Harper's Magazine_ in June, 1850, and that for some time
it had but few illustrations. _The Evening_ Post was established in
1801, many years prior to the _Courier and Enquirer_. It was always
widely read, was democratic in its tone, and its editorials were highly
regarded. While I lived in New York, and also much later, it was edited
by William Cullen Bryant, who was as gifted as an editor as he was as a
poet. I have before me now a reprint of the first issue of this paper,
dated Monday, November 16, 1801. I copy some of the advertisements, as
many old New York names are represented:
FOR SALE BY HOFFMAN & SETON
Twelve hhds. assorted Glass Ware.
2 boxes Listadoes,
1 trunk white Kid Gloves,
200 boxes Soap & Candles,
60 bales Cinnamon, entitled to drawback.
Nov. 16.
* * * * *
FREIGHT
For Copenhagen or Hamburgh,
The bark BERKKESKOW, Capt.
Gubriel Tothammer, is ready to receive
freight for either of the above places, if application
is made to the Captain on board, at Gouverneur's
Wharf.
GOUVERNEUR & KEMBLE.
* * * * *
FOR SALE
Gin in pipes; large and small green Bottle
Cases, complete; Glass Ware, consisting of
Tumblers, Decanters, &c.; Hair Brushes, long and
short; black and blue Dutch Cloth; Flour, by
FREDERICK DE PEYSTER.
A STORE HOUSE in Broad-street to let, apply
as above. Nov. 16.
* * * * *
THE SUBSCRIBER has for sale, remaining from
the cargo of the ship Sarson, from Calcutta,
an assortment of WHITE PIECE GOODS.
Also
50 tierces Rice, 60 hhds. Jamaica Rum,
15 bales Sea-Island 10,000 Pieces White
Cotton, Nankeens,
29 tierces and 34 bls. A quantity of Large
Jamaica Coffee, Bottles in cases,
And as usual, Old
Madeira Wine, fit for immediate use.
ROBERT LENOX.
FOOTNOTES:
[2] Possibly this word is "Election."