"For myself, I can only say, that I have stood in the presence of kings, and sat at table with princes, without any of those feelings of awe and reverence, which came over me like a summer cloud when in his presence, although then in the recklessness of boyhood.

"Washington's style of travelling comported with the marked dignity of his character; on the occasion above-mentioned it was as follows :-It was his general practice to enter a town in his chariot, and leave it on horseback. His post-chariot was drawn by four beautiful bay horses, and driven by postillions in blanket coat, liveries, jockey caps, buckskins and boots; while upon his right, on horseback, rode Colonel Lear, and on his left, Major Jackson: next came a light baggage wagon, drawn by two fine bay horses, driven by a white man in a round corduroy jacket, glazed hat, buckskins and boots; while faithful Billy brought up the rear, mounted on a fine blood horse, and leading the general's white charger, presented him by Charles the Fourth, of Spain. It was precisely in this style that I saw him enter Worcester, followed by a cavalcade of gentlemen on horseback. When he left it, the only change was that he mounted his charger and rode between his two secretaries, Lear and Jackson; while the empty chariot and the remainder of his equipage followed after, with troops of horse and cavalcades of horsemen, increasing as they went, until they arrived at Boston."

But can it be possible that living man ever addressed to him the expression related in the following ?

"It is an extraordinary fact, that the life of no man, of any age or nation, who has risen to greatness, ever afforded so few anecdotes as his.

"One, however, I well remember to have heard frequently spoken of soon after it occurred; it was this: Directly after the British were compelled to quit Boston, which was besieged by Washington, with General Ward second in command, General Ward resigned his commission, which circumstance was thus spoken of by Washington, in a letter to Congress : no sooner is the seat of war removed from beyond the smoke of his own chimneys, than General Ward resigns his command.' "About the time of the organization of the government under the Constitution, General Ward was informed of this remark, and being elected to the second congress, soon after his arrival at the seat of government, (then New York,) he took a friend with him and called upon Washington, and asked him if it was true, that he had made use of such language. The president replied that he did not know; but he kept copies of all his letters, and would take an opportunity of examining them, and give him an answer at the next session. Accordingly, at the next session General Ward called again with his friend, and received for answer, that he (Washington) had written to that effect. Ward then said, Sir, you are no gentleman,' turned on his heel and left him, and here, of course, the matter ended.

"I have recently met with the confirmation of an important fact I had heard mentioned nearly half a century ago; but I do not know that it has found its way into any biography of Washington. It is this: that Governor Johnson, of Maryland, requested Mr. John Adams to nominate Washington for commander-in-chief; that Adams seemed to decline, and Johnson made the nomination. At a previous meeting of the New England delegation, to consult upon this subject, General Ward was agreed upon with the consent of every man present, but Mr. Adams, who dissented, and declared himself in favor of Washington. Great God, how often was the fate of this country suspended by a single hair? This was one of the numerous instances.

"When Ramsay wrote his biography, he sought in vain among the friends and neighbors of the illustrious dead, for those little incidents which so often enliven the page of the biographer.

VOL. VIII. NO. XXXIII.-SEPTEMBER, 1840. P

"In 1797, Lord Erskine wrote a book, in which he introduced the name of Washington, and sent him a copy, with a note to this effect, written upon a blank leaf of it: It has been my good fortune, through life, to be associated with the most talented and distinguished men of Europe; but you, sir, are the only human being for whom I ever felt a reverential awe, totally unlike anything I ever felt toward any other of the human race.''

The following reminiscences of Hancock and old Samuel Adams are not to be omitted:

"JOHN HANCOCK-The memory of this great patriot, statesman, and orator has been most grossly neglected. While hundreds, whose services in the cause of Independence were not a tythe of his, have been eulogized to the skies, and live on canvass and in marble, this great patriot's name but seldom finds a place even when celebrating that freedom he was among the very first, if not the first, to risk his life in obtaining. I have, for years, noticed this neglect, with feelings of unfeigned regret.

"Never was a man more beloved by any people, than Hancock was by the people of Massachusetts. With the exception of a single year, when Bowdoin was put in, he was, for sixteen successive years, elected their governor, and closed his patriotic and illustrious life in that high station. Hundreds of times have I seen him, when so worn out, and crippled by disease, that he could not stand, taken from his carriage into the arms of two faithful servants, (who regularly attended for the purpose,) and carried up to the council chamber, a distance of nearly fifty yards from the street. The last time he addressed his fellow-citizens, was the most impressive scene I ever witnessed. A town meeting was called, upon a question of great excitement. Old Faneuil Hall could not contain the people, and an adjournment took place to the Old South Meeting-house. Hancock was brought in, and carried up into the front gallery, where the Hon. Benjamin Austin supported him on the right, and the celebrated Dr. Charles Jarvis upon the left, while he addressed the multitude. The governor commenced, by stating to his fellow-citizens, that he felt,' it was the last time he should ever address them-that the seeds of mortality were growing fast within him.' The fall of a pin might have been heard, such a deathlike silence pervaded the listening crowd, during the whole of his animated and soul-stirring speech, while tears ran down the cheeks of thousands.

"The meeting ended, he was conveyed to his carriage, and taken home, but never again appeared in public-his death followed soon after. The corpse was embowelled, and kept for eight days, to give an opportunity to the citizens, from the most distant parts of the State, to render the last tribute of respect to his memory. They came by thousands and tens of thousands-the procession was an hour and a half in passing. The post of honor, among the military, was given to the Concord Light Infantry, under Captain Davis, the same who commanded them on the ever memorable nineteenth of April, '75. It was the most solemn, and interesting, and incomparably the longest funeral procession I ever saw. Samuel Adams, who was lieutenant-governor, became governor, ex-officio, by the death of Hancock, and followed the bier, (there were no hearses, with nodding plumes, in those days,) as chief mourner, but the venerable patriot could not endure the fatigue, and was compelled to retire from the procession.

"Hancock, as an orator, had no equal. He seized upon the passions of his hearers, and led them captive at his pleasure; none could resist. A gentleman who heard him deliver his great oration, commemorative of the massacre of the fifth of March, seventeen hundred and seventy, told me that the multitude who listened to it were wrought up to such a pitch of phrenzy, that a single sentence from the orator, calling upon them to take arms, and drive the murderers from their town, would have been at once carried into effect. Such was his control over them,

many could not keep their seats, from indignation. I read this oration in my youth; it abounds

'In thoughts that breathe, and words that burn.'

It made my young blood run coursing through my veins, and the hair on my head to stand erect, as I read it. I said to myself, with the old Roman, ‘if such is the effect from reading, what would it have been to have heard him deliver it?' His form was elegant; his face beautiful, manly, and expressive; his eye piercing; his voice flexible. He could raise his hearers to the highest pitch of phrenzy, or sooth them into tears, at pleasure.

"It was THIS ORATION which first prepared the minds of men to resist the oppression of the British government. From the day it was delivered, it was the determination of thousands, that at the first opportunity afforded them they would burst the bands that bound them, and abide the consequences. Four years after, the opportunity was presented, at Lexington, and our nation's Independence was the result.*

"Hancock, before the Revolution, was a man of vast fortune; and although he permitted it to flow, in the cause of his country, like water, he had still enough left to support a splendid establishment, and lived and entertained like a prince. His generosity was unbounded. I well remember that one evening in each week,

The following addition to the above anecdote appears on a subsequent page: "The venerable and learned Doctor NOAH WEBSTER, in a letter of July, 1840, received too late to be inserted in their proper place, and too interesting to be omitted, has favored me with the two following anecdotes, for which he will please accept my thanks. The first, in relation to Hancock, I have known for more than half a century; and know, farther, who wrote the oration; it was written by the then celebrated Rev. Dr. Cooper; but any man who ever heard Hancock address a public assembly, as I have, could not for a moment doubt his ability to write such an oration; the object was, to get him committed beyond the hope of pardon, and that oration did it completely.

"MR. THOMAS:

"New Haven, July 29, 1840.

"I see in the sheets of your Reminiscences, which you have been so good as to send for my perusal, that you have mentioned the electric effect which the oration of Mr. Hancock, March 5, 1774, had upon the audience. This reminds me of an anecdote related to me by the late Judge Trumbull, of this State.

"In the year 1774, Mr. Trumbull was a student of law in the office of John Adams. Mr. Hancock was, at that time, a wavering character; at least he was so considered by the leading whigs of that day. It was a matter of no small importance to bring him to a decision, as to the part he was to take in the crisis then approaching. To effect this object the more stanch leading whigs contrived to procure Mr. Hancock to be appointed to deliver an oration on the anniversary of the Massacre; and some of them wrote his oration for him, or a considerable part of it. This policy succeeded, and Mr. Hancock became a firm supporter of the American cause. Judge Trumbull related to me these facts, as from his personal knowledge; and no person will question his veracity. "I have another anecdote, derived from the late Rev. Nathan Strong, of Hartford, and coming to me through the Hon. Elizur Goodrich.

"When the question of taking arms to resist the claims of Great Britain was to be de cided in Connecticut, the Legislature held a secret session, and debated the question a whole day. The result was in favor of resistance; and it is said the most influential character in deciding the question was the Hon. Titus Hosmer, the father of the late Chief Justice Hosmer, of Middletown.

"I give you these anecdotes as I have received them; and if you deem them of any value, they are at your service.

"I am, Sir, with respect,

"E. S. THOMAS, ESQ.

"Your obedient servant,

N. WEBSTER."

during summer, a full band of music, at his own expense, attended in front of his venerable stone mansion, at the head of the Common, to entertain the citizens who were promenading on the mall. He seldom left Boston to visit at any distance; but when he did, he was always escorted by a volunteer troop of cavalry, who held themselves in readiness for that purpose. He was very fond of joke and repartee, so much so, that a worthy citizen of Boston, Nathaniel Balch, Esq., a hatter, who never failed to appear among the invited guests at his hospitable board, obtained the unenvied appellation of the Governor's Jester.' The celebrated Brissot, in his travels in the United States, speaks of his meeting this gentleman at Hancock's table; and such was the mutual attachment between the governor and Mr. Balch, that if the former was called away, no matter what distance, 'Squire Balch attended him, like his shadow, which the following circumstance most happily illustrates. Governor Hancock was called on to visit the then province of Maine, on which occasion he travelled in state, and was attended by the Hon. Col. Orne, one of the Executive council, and Nathaniel Balch, Esq. Their arrival at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was thus humorously announced:- On Thursday last, arrived in this town, Nathaniel Balch, Esq., accompanied by his Excellency, John Hancock, and the Hon. Azor Orne, Esq.'”

"SAMUEL ADAMS-I have taken for my subject on this occasion, recollections of SAMUEL ADAMS, who, though not a hero without example,' was a patriot without reproach.' In speaking of circumstances so long passed, I shall speak only of what I know; never having read the Biography of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence,' I know not what account may there be given of any of them. I never saw Mr. Adams until the year 1792; he was then far in the vale of years, with a constitution which was, judging from his appearance, naturally strong, but then nearly worn out, not with toil, but care. He still continued to use all the exercise his strength would admit, by visiting, almost daily, a Mr. Hughs, a constable, a respectable calling in Boston in those days, whatever it may be now. They had been friends from early life, and the same intimacy was common between their respective ladies. Mr. Adams was then lieutenant-governor, a place of honor, with but little profit, and no duty at all, except in case of the death of the governor, when, ex-officio, the duties of the executive devolved upon the lieutenant. Mr. Adams lived in a large old fashioned frame house, on Winter-street, which had once been painted yellow, but, like its venerable owner, was a good deal the worse for wear. He entertained little or no company, having neither the means nor the inclination to do it. He was poor.

"On the death of Governor Hancock, he walked as chief mourner, preceded only by the Hancock piece of artillery. (It is proper here to remark, that the first cannon taken from the British in the war of the Revolution, were two brass four pounders, on one of which was engraven, by order of the State, the name of John Hancock, and on the other, Samuel Adams, with appropriate devices.) Before the almost interminable procession had reached State-street, Mr. Adams' strength failed him, and he retired. He had then become ex-officio Governor of the State, and at the next election was confirmed in his high office by the votes of the people. The then salary of the Governor of Massachusetts, if my memory serves, was a thousand pounds currency, or $3,333-but a very small sum toward enabling the incumbent of the Gubernatorial chair, to follow the example, in style and hospitality, set by Hancock, who lived and entertained like a prince. Mr. Adams possessed neither carriage nor horses; but he had been elected Governor but a few weeks, when some gentlemen of Boston presented the venerable patriot with a new and handsome chariot, and a pair of as fine horses as there were in the city. The first use he made of his new equipage, shows the man in a point of view too rare not to be admired; seating himself beside his venerable lady, they drove to Constable Hughs', where the governor alighted, and handing Mrs. Hughs into his seat, the

two old ladies drove off together, while he staid and talked with his old friend, and I stood by devouring their discourse.

"In 1793, theatrical entertainments were first introduced into Boston after the Revolution. There was an express law against them. Application was made to the legislature to repeal the law, and it passed both houses; but Mr. Adams was then governor and refused to sign it; and we doubt whether it has ever been repealed to this day.

"It is recorded of Mr. Adams, that a large sum was offered him by agents of the British government, to take sides with it against his native land, but it was indignantly spurned, and on a subsequent occasion, when a similar circumstance was alluded to, he exclaimed, they well know that a guinea never glistened in my eyes.' It was well for our country, and for mankind, that there were such men, in whose eyes guineas did not glisten; they appear to have been raised up for the occasion, and having accomplished the great work given them to do, have disappeared from the face of the earth, and there have arisen in their stead, a race of men so unlike them, that it seems scarcely possible they can be the descendants of such sires. The contrast is striking, and well calculated to make us tremble for the future."

The two following extracts will have an agreeable historical interest for our friends in Wall and Chestnut streets :

"The next event, and by far the most important, after the obtainment of our independence, was the formation of the Constitution; in fact, we were not independent until the Constitution was made and adopted; and although it is not what it ought to be, in my estimation, still, the wonder is, among so many contending interests, not that it is no better, but that it is no worse. What kind of a Constitution would a convention produce now? After the Constitution was formed and submitted to the States for their adoption or rejection, the plundering of the poor soldiers was effected. The knowing ones had little or no doubt of the Constitution being adopted by a sufficient number of States, (nine,) and that, being adopted, Congress would fund the public debt. Then commenced a scene of legal robbery, such as the history of civilized nations can scarcely produce a parallel to. Even mechanics quit their business, to speculate in soldiers' notes, which were bought up, in great quantities, for two and sixpence, and three shillings, in the pound. Among others, I recollect a large, lazy, journeyman carpenter, by the name of Patch, who threw off his leather apron, and appeared a gentleman at large, and dressed in the most fashionable style. Another was a Lynn shoemaker. Fortunes were made, from a few hundred dollars, in a few weeks; and from this arose the aristocracy of wealth in the United States. Words can scarcely convey an idea of the excitement that was kept up, for several years, in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. There were mail-stages in those days, but their snail-like pace did not answer the views of the speculators; they kept expresses continually on the road.

"When the State of New York adopted the Constitution, it was an event calculated to have a very great effect upon the stock market, and Captain Levi Pease, of Boston, was kept in waiting for the result, with a relay of horses every ten miles, from there to Boston, by the then road, two hundred and fifty miles, which he accomplished in forty-eight hours, a performance, then, altogether unprecedented. An express once arrived in Boston on a Sunday, when the streets were all alive with people going to church. Instantly the church was lost sight of by hundreds of men, who left their families to find the way without them, while they went upon 'change, and bought and sold to the amount of hundreds of thousands.

"There was but one bank in Boston in those days, the old Massachusetts-in fact, there were but two in the United States, the one already mentioned, and one in Philadelphia-and as a sample of the mode of conducting banking business then, the son of the president of the bank in Boston, and two other gentlemen, were permitted to draw on the funds of the institution to such an extent as to compel it to