community, and, his historian has informed us, was not adopted for personal gratification, but from a devotion to his country's welfare. Possessing a desirable stature, an erect frame, and, superadded, a lofty and sublime countenance, he never appeared in public without arresting the reverence and admiration of the beholder; and the stranger who had never before seen him, was at the first impression convinced it was the President who delighted him. "He seldom walked in the street; his public recreation was in riding. When accompanied by Mrs. Washington, he rode in a carriage drawn by six horses, with two outriders who wore rich livery, cocked hats, with cockades and powder. When he rode on horseback he was joined by one or more of the gentlemen of his family and attended by his outriders. He always attended Divine service on Sundays. His carriage on those occasions contained Mrs. Washington and himself, with one or both of their grandchildren and was drawn by two horses, with two footmen behind; it was succeeded by a post-chaise, accommodating two gentlemen of his household. On his arrival in the city the only residence that could be procured was a house in Cherry street, long known as the mansion of the Franklin family, but in a short time afterwards he removed to and occupied the house in Broadway, now Bunker's hotel. "Washington held a levee once a week, and, from what is now recollected, they were generally well attended, but confined to men in public life and gentlemen of leisure, for at that day it would have been thought a breach of decorum to visit the President of the United States in dishabille. "The arrival of Washington, in 1789, to assume the reins of government, was not his first entry into this city, accompanied with honor to himself and glory to this country. This was on the 24th of November, 1783, and here again, I must observe, the number present who witnessed the ceremonies of that day, must, indeed, be very limited; on that day he made his triumphal entry, not to sway the sceptre, but to lay down his sword, not for personal aggrandizement, but to secure the happiness of his countrymen. He early in the morning left Harlem and entered the city through what is now called the Bowery; he was escorted by cavalry and infantry and a large concourse of citizens, on horseback and on foot, in plain dress. The latter must have been an interesting sight to those of mature age who were capable of comprehending their merit. In their ranks were seen men with patched elbows, odd buttons on their coats and unmatched buckles in their shoes; they were not, indeed, Falstaff's company of scarecrows, but the most respectable citizens who had been in exile, and endured privations we know not of, for seven long and tedious years. On that occasion, and on his arrival in 1789, Washington was received, as is well known, by the elder Clinton, who was at both periods Governor of the State." In the following extract, from a reliable source, we have a fine description of the effect produced by Washington's personal appearance and manners on the mind of a highly intelligent observer: "The beautiful effusion which the reader will find below is the production of the chaste and classic mind of the late venerable and distinguished senator from Rhode Island, Mr. Robbins, and was occasioned by the following circumstances. During the session of 1837-8, Mr. Webster entertained a large party of friends at dinner, among them the venerable senator we have named. The evening passed off with much hilarity, enlivened with wit and sentiment, but, during the greater part of the time, Mr. Robbins maintained that grave but placid silence which was his habit. While thus apparently abstracted, someone suddenly called on him for a toast, which call was seconded by the company. He rose, and in his surprise asked if they were serious in making such a demand of so old a man, and being assured that they were, he said, if they would susspend their hilarity for a few moments, he would give them a toast and preface it with a few observations. Having thus secured a breathless stillness, he went on to remark, that they were then on the verge of the 22d of February, the anniversary of the birth of the great patriot and statesman of our country, whom all delighed to remember and to honor, and he hoped he might be allowed the privilege of an aged man to recur, for a few moments, to past events connected with his character and history. He then proceeded and delivered in the most happy and impressive manner the beautiful speech which now graces our columns. The whole company were electrified by his patriotic enthusiasm, and one of the guests, before they separated, begged that he would take the trouble to put on paper what he had so happily expressed and furnish a copy for publication. Mr. Robbins obligingly complied with this request on the following day, but by some accident the manuscript got mislaid and eluded all search for it until a few days ago, when it was unexpectedly recovered, and is now presented to our readers. 66 6 On the near approach of that calendar-day which gave birth to Washington, I feel rekindling within me some of those emotions always connected with the recollection of that hallowed name. Permit me to indulge them, on this occasion, for a moment, in a few remarks, as preliminary to a sentiment which I shall beg leave to propose. "I consider it as one of the consolations of my age, that I am old enough and fortunate enough to have seen that wonderful man. This happiness is still common to so many yet among the living, that less is thought of it now than will be in after-times; but it is no less a happiness to me on that account. "While a boy at school, I saw him for the first time; it was when he was passing through New England, to take command in chief of the American armies at Cambridge. Never shall I forget the impression his imposing presence then made upon my young imagination, so superior did he seem to me to all that I had seen or imagined of the human form for striking effect. I remember with what delight, in my after studies, I came to the line in Virgil that expressed all the enthusiasm of my own feelings, as inspired by that presence, and which I could not often enough repeat: “I saw him again at his interview with Rochambeau, when they met to settle the plan of combined operations between the French fleet and the American armies against the British on the Chesapeake, and then I saw the immense crowd drawn together from all the neighboring towns, to get, if possible, one look at the man who had throned himself in every heart. Not one of that immense crowd doubted the final triumph of his country in her arduous conflict, for everyone saw, or thought he saw, in Washington, her guardian angel, commissioned by Heaven to insure her that triumph. Nil desperandum' was the motto with everyone. "In after-life, when the judgment corrects the extravagance of early impressions, I saw him on several occasions, but saw nothing to admonish me of any extravagance in “Credo equidem, nec vana fides, genus esse Deorum."* * I verily believe, nor is my confidence unfounded, that he is of Divine descent. + Let us never despair, with Teucer to lead us, and under Teucer's auspices. my early impressions. The impression was still the same; I had the same overpowering sense of standing in the presence of some superior being. "It is indeed remarkable, and I believe unique, in the history of men, that Washington made the same impression upon all minds, at all places, and at once. When his fame first broke upon the world, it spread at once over the whole world. By the consent of mankind, by the universal sentiment, he was placed at the head of the human species; above all envy, because above all emulation; for no one then pretended, or has pretended to be at least who has been allowed to be the co-rival of Washington in fame. "When the great Frederick of Prussia sent his portrait to Washington, with this inscription upon it -"From the oldest general in Europe to the greatest general in the world," he did but echo the sentiment of all the chivalry of Europe. Nor was the sentiment confined to Europe, nor to the bounds of civilization; for the Arab of the desert talked of Washington in his tent; his name wandered with the wandering Scythian, and was cherished by him as a household word in all his migrations. No clime was so barbarous as to be a stranger to the name, but everywhere, and by all men, that name was placed at the same point of elevation, and above compeer. As it was in the beginning, so it is now; of the future we cannot speak with certainty. Some future age, in the endless revolutions of time, may produce another Washington, but the greater probability is, that he is destined to remain forever, as he now is, the Phoenix of human kind. "'What a possession to his country is such a fame! Such a |