by these, alarming to themselves; and as far as they are able to render them so, disquieting to others."- Washington to Gouverneur Morris.

THURSDAY, MARCH 24.

At Philadelphia: "March 25.-Yesterday I dined at the President's, with ministers of state and their ladies, foreign and domestic. After dinner the gentlemen drew off after the ladies, and left me alone with the President in close conversation. He detained me there till nine o'clock, and was never more frank and open upon politics. I find his opinions and sentiments are more exactly like mine than I ever knew before, respecting England, France, and our American parties. He gave me intimations enough that his reign would be very short. He repeated it three times at least, that this and that was of no consequence to him personally, as he had but a very little while to stay in his present situation."-John Adams to Mrs. Adams.

FRIDAY, MARCH 25.

At Philadelphia: "The resolution moved in the House of Representatives, for the papers relative to the negotiation of the treaty with Great Britain, having passed in the affirmative, I request your opinion,

"1. Whether that branch of Congress has or has not a right, by the constitution, to call for those papers?

"2. Whether, if it does not possess the right, it would be expedient under the circumstances of this particular case to furnish them?

"3. And, in either case, in what terms would it be most proper to comply with, or to refuse, the request of the House?"- Washington to Timothy Pickering, Secretary of State.*

The treaty with Great Britain, commonly called Jay's Treaty, having been ratified in London on the 28th day of October, 1795, and returned to

* Sent as a circular to the other members of the Cabinet.

the United States, a copy of it was laid before Congress, by the President, on the 1st of March. It now became the duty of the House of Representatives to make appropriations for carrying the treaty into effect. The party in the House opposed to the treaty was not satisfied with the course pursued by the President in promulgating it by a proclamation (February 29) before the sense of the House of Representatives had been in any manner obtained upon the subject. A resolution was brought forward by Mr. Livingston (March 2), which, after an amendment by the original mover, assumed the following shape:

"Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to lay before this House a copy of the instructions given to the minister of the United States, who negotiated the treaty with Great Britain communicated by his message of the 1st instant, together with the correspondence and documents relating to the said treaty, excepting such of said papers as any existing negotiation may render improper to be disclosed."

A debate arose which did not terminate till the 24th of March, when the resolution passed in the affirmative by a vote of sixty-two to thirty-seven, and it was accordingly sent to the President by a committee of the House.* The President replied to the committee "that he would take the request of the House into consideration."

The members of the Cabinet were unanimous in advising the President not to comply with the resolution. Each of them stated the grounds of his opinion in writing. During the progress of the debate, Chief-Justice Ellsworth drew up an argument, showing that the papers could not be constitutionally demanded by the House of Representatives. A message was therefore framed and sent to the House on the 30th of March, at the conclusion of which the President said, "A just regard to the constitution, and to the duty of my office, under all the circumstances of this case, forbid a compliance with your request."

A motion to refer the message to a committee of the whole House was carried by a large majority; and on the 29th of April,† after a debate which had lasted for two weeks, the question was taken in committee, and determined by the casting vote of the chairman (Frederick A. Muhlenberg) in favor of the expediency of making the necessary laws for carrying out the treaty. The resolution was finally carried (April 30), fifty-one voting in the affirmative and forty-eight in the negative.

* Edward Livingston, of New York, and Albert Gallatin, of Pennsylvania.

†The speech of Fisher Ames, made on the 28th of April, advocating the appropriation required for the execution of the treaty, was such a remarkable effort that a member of the opposition objected to the taking of a vote at that time, on the ground that the House was too excited to come to a decision.

THURSDAY, MARCH 31.

At Philadelphia: "I do not know how to thank you sufficiently for the trouble you have taken to dilate on the request of the House of Representatives for the papers relative to the British treaty. . . . I had, from the first moment, and from the fullest conviction in my own mind, resolved to resist the principle, which was evidently intended to be established by the call of the House of Representatives; * and only deliberated on the manner, in which this could be done with the least bad consequences."— Washington to Alexander Hamilton.

MONDAY, APRIL 11.†

At Philadelphia: "I am under promise to Mrs. Bingham to sit for you to-morrow, at nine o'clock, and wishing to know if it be convenient to you that I should do so, and whether it shall be at your own house (as she talked of the State House) I send this note to ask information."- Washington to Gilbert Stuart.

The full-length portrait of Washington, as President, painted by Gilbert Stuart in compliance with the above-mentioned request of Mrs. William Bingham, and known as the "Lansdowne Portrait,' was executed for the purpose of presentation to the Marquis of Lansdowne (Lord Shelburne), a great admirer of Washington, and who, during the Revolution, was an active opponent of the policy of Lord North. At this date Stuart had a studio in a house at the southeast corner of Fifth and Chestnut Streets (now included in the Drexel Building), and in this room, in all probability, the sittings were had. The portrait, which will always retain the name of the original owner, is now in the possession of Lord Rosebery, late Prime Minister of England. It is well known through numerous engravings, the first of which, executed by James Heath, was published at London, February 1, 1800.

In a letter to Major William Jackson (who married a sister of Mrs. Bing

* That the assent of the House was necessary to the validity of a treaty. "April 13.-I dined on Monday [April 11] at the President's with young La Fayette and his preceptor, tutor or friend, whatever they call him, whose name is Frestel. . . . There is a resemblance of father and mother in the young man. He is said to be studious and discreet."-John

Adams to Mrs. Adams.

ham), dated London, March 5, 1797, the marquis writes, "I have received the picture, which is in every respect worthy of the original. I consider it a very magnificent compliment, and the respect I have for both Mr. and Mrs. Bingham will always enhance the value of it to me and my family. ... General Washington's conduct is above all praise. He has left a noble example to sovereigns and nations present and to come. I beg you will mention both me and my sons to him in the most respectful terms possible. If I was not too old, I would go to Virginia to do him homage.”

The Lansdowne Portrait" was brought to this country in 1876, and exhibited at Philadelphia in the Centennial International Exhibition of that year. At that time it belonged to John Delaware Lewis. A replica of this portrait, executed for Mr. Bingham, is owned by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

SUNDAY, MAY 8.

At Philadelphia: "We are an Independent Nation, and act for ourselves-Having fulfilled, and being willing to fulfil, (as far as we are able) our engagements with other nations, and having decided on, and strictly observed a Neutral conduct towards the Belligerent Powers, from an unwillingness to involve ourselves in War. . . . We will not be dictated to by the Politics of any Nation under Heaven, farther than Treaties require of us.

"Whether the present, or any circumstances should do more than soften this language, may merit consideration.— But if we are to be told by a foreign Power (if our engagements with it are not infracted) what we shall do, and what we shall not do, we have Independence yet to seek & have contended hitherto for very little."- Washington to Alexander Hamilton.

FRIDAY, MAY 13.

At Philadelphia: "May 13.-At one o'clock to-day I called at General Washington's with the picture and letter I had for him. He lived in a small red brick house on the left side of High Street, not much higher up than Fourth

* Lord Wycombe, the eldest son of the Marquis of Lansdowne, visited the United States in the latter part of 1791. He was entertained by the President when in Philadelphia.

Street. There was nothing in the exterior of the house that denoted the rank of the possessor. Next door was a hair-dresser."-Diary of Thomas Twining.*

In continuing the above entry in his diary, Mr. Twining says, "Having stated my object to a servant who came to the door, I was conducted up a neat but rather narrow staircase, carpeted in the middle, and was shown into a middling-sized well-furnished drawing-room on the left of the passage. Nearly opposite the door was the fire-place, with a wood-fire in it. The floor was carpeted. On the left of the fire-place was a sofa, which sloped across the room. There were no pictures on the walls, no ornaments on the chimney-piece. Two windows on the right of the entrance looked into the street. There was nobody in the room, but in a minute Mrs. Washington came in, when I repeated the object of my calling, and put into her hands the letter for General Washington, and his miniature. She said she would deliver them to the President, and, inviting me to sit down, retired for that purpose. She soon returned, and said the President would come presently. Mrs. Washington was a middle-sized lady, rather stout; her manner extremely kind and unaffected. She sat down on the sofa, and invited me to sit by her. I spoke of the pleasant days I had passed at Washington, and of the attentions I had received from her grand-daughter, Mrs. Law.

"While engaged in this conversation, but with my thoughts turned to the expected arrival of the General, the door opened, and Mrs. Washington and myself rising, she said, 'The President,' and introduced me to him. Never did I feel more interest than at this moment, when I saw the tall, upright, venerable figure of this great man advancing towards me to take me by the hand. There was a seriousness in his manner which seemed to contribute to the impressive dignity of his person, without diminishing the confidence and ease which the benevolence of his countenance and the kindness of his address inspired. There are persons in whose appearance one looks in vain for the qualities they are known to possess, but the appearance of General Washington harmonized in a singular manner with the dignity and modesty of his public life. So completely did he look the great and good man he really was, that I felt rather respect than awe in his presence, and experienced neither the surprise nor disappointment with which a personal introduction to distinguished individuals is often accompanied.

* Thomas Twining, an Englishman by birth, who occupied a prominent position under the British government in the East Indies, made a short visit to the United States in 1796. When at Washington City he called upon Tobias Lear, then residing near Georgetown, who gave him a letter of introduction, and also intrusted him with a miniature picture of the President, to be delivered to him. We have no means of ascertaining what portrait this was. Mr. Twining's diary was published at New York in 1894.