celebrated in the city with more than usual attention, induced probably by
the political excitement which then prevailed. The ringing of all the
bells of the city with a Federal Salute from the Battery ushered in the
day, which was repeated at noon and in the evening. There was a large
procession, which about eleven o'clock moved from the Battery to the new
Presbyterian Church where the Declaration of Independence was read by
Edward Livingston and an elegant and patriotic discourse was delivered by
the Rev. Mr. Miller. On returning to the Battery, where a feu-de-joie was
fired the different societies that had taken part separated and at three
o'clock sat down to entertainments prepared for them at different places
in the city. After dinner, the Corporation, the Society of the Cincinnati,
the Militia Officers, the Society of Tammany, the Mechanic and Democratic
Societies and the Merchants at the Tontine Coffee House sent deputations
to each other with congratulations upon the return of the day. The
festivities closed with a beautiful display of fireworks under the
direction of Colonel Bauman. The merchants, who celebrated the day by a
dinner at the Tontine Coffee House were honored by the company of Governor
Jay, Major-General Morris, Judge Iredell, Mr. Reed, Senator in Congress
from South Carolina, Judge Hobart, Judge Lawrence, Colonel Hamilton, Mr.
King, the Mayor of the City, Doctor Johnson, the Secretary of the State,
the Attorney-General of the District, the Treasurer of the State, Captain
Dennis, Captain Talbot, Captain Thomson. After the dinner toasts were
drunk as usual.
[Sidenote: The Tammany Wigwam]
For some years the Tammany Society had their anniversary dinners and their
Fourth of July dinners at Bardin's, the City Tavern. The Great Wigwam of
the society was in the old Exchange in Broad Street, where it continued to
be until the building was taken down in 1799. After this the Long Room of
Abraham B. Martling's Tavern on the corner of Nassau and George (now
Spruce) Streets, where the American Tract Society Building now stands,
became the wigwam of the society. During the period of political
excitement, from 1793 to 1795 and later, the Tammany Society is said to
have been opposed to radical measures, which might have involved us in
European difficulties. A toast drunk at one of their festivals was, "The
hawks of war--may they be harmless." In 1795, during the excitement about
the Jay treaty, the minority of the United States Senate who voted against
it were toasted, thus showing that there was then in the society a strong
anti-federal sentiment. On July 4, 1798, the Tammany Society met in their
Great Wigwam in the evening, where a newspaper states "they partook of a
collation and drank toasts which were in unison with their political
opinions." This was about the beginning of Tammany's political career. The
principles of Jefferson were in the ascendant; it had become a republican
society. Martling's Tavern was a low, wooden building, with a very rough
exterior devoid of paint, having an entrance on Nassau Street. The Long
Room was in the rear of the house, and its somewhat dilapidated appearance
caused it to be called the "Pig Pen," by those not friendly to Tammany.
All the leading republicans of the day attended the meetings held here,
and although the party was threatened by divisions of the Burrites, the
Lewisites and the Clintonians, it was held together.
[Illustration: MARTLING'S TAVERN]
During the French Revolution there were many Frenchmen who had been driven
from France and had taken refuge in New York City. One of these was the
famous gastronome, Anthelme Brillât-Savarin, author of La Physiologie du
Gout, who tells us something of the way they enjoyed themselves while
here. He says: "I sometimes passed the evening in a sort of café-taverne,
kept by a Mr. Little, where he served in the morning turtle soup, and in
the evening all the refreshments customary in the United States. I
generally took with me Vicomte de la Massue and Jean Rodolphe Fehr,
formerly a mercantile broker at Marseilles, both _emigrés_ like myself. I
treated them to welch-rabbit, which was washed down with ale or cider, and
here we passed the evening talking over our misfortunes, our pleasures,
and our hopes."
[Sidenote: A Drinking Bout]
Michael Little's Tavern, or Porter House, as it was called, was at 56 Pine
Street, a little below William Street, and it speaks well for the house
that it should have been selected by Brillât-Savarin and his friends as a
place for their suppers. Brillât-Savarin spent two years in New York,
1794-96, supporting himself by giving lessons in the French language and
playing in the orchestra of the theater. He gives a very amusing account
of a dinner party at Little's place, of which he and his two friends
formed a part. He had met there Mr. Wilkinson, an Englishman from Jamaica
and his friend, whose name he never knew, whom he described as a very
taciturn man, with a square face, keen eyes, and features as
expressionless as those of a blind man, who appeared to notice everything
but never spoke; only, when he heard a witty remark or merry joke, his
face would expand, his eyes close, and opening a mouth as large as the
bell of a trumpet, he would send forth a sound between a laugh and a howl
called by the English, horse laugh; after which he would relapse into his
habitual taciturnity. Mr. Wilkinson appeared to be about fifty years of
age, with the manners and all the bearing of a gentleman (_un homme comme
il faut_).
These two Englishmen, pleased with the society of Brillât-Savarin and his
friends, had many times partaken of the frugal collation which was offered
them, when, one evening, Wilkinson took Brillât-Savarin to one side and
declared his intention of engaging all three of them to dine with him. The
invitation was accepted and fixed for three o'clock in the afternoon of
the third day after. As they were about to leave the waiter quietly told
Brillât-Savarin that the Jamaicans had ordered a good dinner and had given
directions that the wine and liquor be carefully prepared, because they
regarded the invitation as a challenge or test of drinking powers, and
that the man with the big mouth had said that he hoped to put the
Frenchmen under the table.
For such a drinking bout Brillât-Savarin had no relish, but the Frenchmen
could not now very well avoid it without being accused of being
frightened by the Englishmen. Although aware of the danger, following the
maxim of Marshal de Saxe, "As the wine was drawn they prepared to drink
it." ("_Le vin etait tiré, nous nous preparâmes à le boire._")
Brillât-Savarin had no fear for himself, but he did not wish to see his
two friends go down with the others; he wished to make it a national
victory, and not an individual one. He, therefore, sent for his friends
and gave them a lecture. He instructed them to restrain their appetites at
the beginning so as to eat moderately with the wine throughout the whole
dinner, to drink small draughts and even contrive to get rid of the wine
sometimes without drinking it. They divided among them a quantity of
bitter almonds, recommended for such an occasion.
At the appointed time they all met at Little's Tavern, and soon after the
dinner was served. It consisted of an enormous piece of roast beef, a
turkey (_dindon cuit dans son jus_), vegetables, a salad and a tart
(_tarte aux comfitures_). They drank after the French fashion, that is to
say, the wine was served from the commencement. It was very good claret.
Mr. Wilkinson did the honors of the table admirably. His friend appeared
absorbed in his plate and said nothing.
Brillât-Savarin was charmed with his two friends. La Massue, although
endowed with a sufficiently good appetite, was mincing his food like a
delicate young lady, and Fehr was adroitly succeeding in passing glasses
of wine into a beer pot at the end of the table. He himself was holding up
well against the two Englishmen, and the more the dinner advanced the more
confident he felt.
After the claret came Port, after Port, Madeira, at which they stuck for a
long time. On the arrival of the dessert, composed of butter, cheese and
nuts, was the time for toasts. They drank to the power of kings, the
liberty of the people and the beauty of women; particularly to the health
of Mr. Wilkinson's daughter, Mariah, who, he assured his guests, was the
most beautiful person in all the island of Jamaica.
After the wine came spirits--rum, brandy and whiskey--and with the
spirits, songs. Brillât-Savarin avoided the spirits and called for punch.
Little himself brought in a bowl of it, without doubt prepared in advance,
sufficient for forty persons. No such vessel for drink was ever seen in
France.
Brillât-Savarin says that he ate five or six slices of buttered toast
(_roties d'un beurre extremement frais_) and felt his forces revived. He
then took a survey of the situation, for he was becoming much concerned as
to how it would all end. His two friends appeared quite fresh and drank as
they picked the nuts. Wilkinson's face was scarlet, his eyes were troubled
and he appeared to be giving way. His friend said nothing, but his head
smoked like a boiling caldron. The catastrophe was approaching.
Suddenly Mr. Wilkinson started to his feet and began to sing Rule
Britannia, but he could get no farther than these words; his strength
failed him; he felt himself drop into his chair and from there rolled
under the table (_coula sous le table_). His friend seeing him in this
state, emitted one of his noisiest laughs, and stooping to assist him fell
by his side.
Brillât-Savarin, viewing the scene with considerable satisfaction and
relief, rang the bell, and when Little came up, after addressing him the
conventional phrase, "See to it that these gentlemen are properly cared
for," with his friends drank with him their health in a parting glass of
punch. The waiter, with his assistants, soon came in and bore away the
vanquished, whom they carried out, according to the rule, _feet foremost_,
which expression is used in English to designate those _dead or drunk_,
Mr. Wilkinson still trying to sing Rule Britannia, his friend remaining
absolutely motionless.
Next day seeing in the newspapers an account of what had happened, with
the remark that the Englishmen were ill, Brillât-Savarin went to see them.
He found the friend suffering from a severe attack of indigestion. Mr.
Wilkinson was confined to his chair by the gout, brought on probably by
his late dissipation. He seemed sensible to the attention and said to
Brillât-Savarin, among other things: "Oh! dear sir, you are very good
company, indeed, but too hard a drinker for us."
[Illustration: ANTHELME BRILLAT-SAVARIN]
Brillât-Savarin was a convivial soul, a lover of good cheer and openhanded
hospitality. The time passed so pleasantly and he was so comfortable while
in New York City, that on taking his departure for France, in 1796, he
declared that all he asked of Heaven was, never to know greater sorrow in
the Old World that he had known in the New. He settled in Paris, and after
holding several offices under the Directory, became a judge in the Cour de
Cassation, the French court of last resort, where he remained until his
death, in 1826. While without special reputation as a jurist, as a judge
and expounder of gastronomic excellence, his name has become immortalized.
On the 16th of December, 1796, "the young men of the city who were willing
to contribute to the preservation of the Public Safety, at that critical
juncture," were invited to attend a meeting "at Mr. Little's Porter House
in Pine Street that evening at seven o'clock in order to form an
association for that laudable purpose." Soon after this Little moved to
No. 42 Broad Street, the old Fraunces' Tavern. At this place, on
Wednesday, July 28, 1802, the two friends of De Witt Clinton and Colonel
John Swartwout met to make arrangements for the duel which took place at
Hoboken on Saturday, July 31st. A meeting of the gentlemen of the bar of
the City of New York was held here February 11, 1802.
[Illustration]
XII
THE CITY HOTEL
[Sidenote: The Black Friars]
The social ties that had existed before the Revolution were all broken up,
and new connections had to be formed. Societies, like the St. Andrew and
St. George, were revived, and patriotic societies, such as the Cincinnati
and the Tammany were formed. The first purely social club after the war,
of which we have any knowledge, was the Black Friars, founded November 10,
1784, the officers of which were a Father, Chancellor, Cardinals and
Priors. On May 9, 1789, the society held a festival at the Friary, dinner
being served at half-past four, and on November 10th of the same year
celebrated its anniversary, an oration being delivered by Dr. Tillery.
After dinner, eleven toasts were drunk, only eleven states having then
come into the union. One of these toasts was: "The Fair Daughters of
Columbia, may they ever find a friend in a Friar." The society was
charitable as well as social, and met twice a month at the Friary, No. 56
Pine Street. Among its members at this time were Josiah Ogden Hoffman,
Benjamin Graves, John Stagg, Dr. James Tillery, Bernard Hart, Dr. Benjamin
Kissam, Richard Harwood, John Fisher and Oliver Glean. In 1802 the Friary
was at the hotel of John Adams, Jr., 68 William Street. Its meetings were
also held at the Merchants' Coffee House; by order of the Father.
[Sidenote: The Drone Club]
The Friendly Club, under the presidency of General Laight, existed for
some years about this period, and included among its members many
prominent men of the city. It met at the houses of its members in rotation
every Tuesday evening. It was the duty of the host to direct the
conversation and at the close of the discussion light refreshments were
served. The Drone Club, a select and literary circle, was instituted about
the year 1792. Its aim was intellectual advancement and the cultivation of
letters rather than social or festive enjoyment. Its members were
recognized by proofs of authorship, and in its ranks was the best talent
of the city. It seems to be a fact that social clubs that met at taverns
had more vitality than those that held their meeting at the houses of
members.
[Sidenote: The Belvedere Club]
The Belvedere House was built in the year 1792 by thirty-three gentlemen
composing the Belvedere Club. It was situated near the East River, about a
quarter of a mile beyond the paved streets of the east side of the city,
its site being now about the center of the block bounded by Montgomery,
Cherry, Clinton and Monroe Streets. The original intention was to build
merely a couple of rooms for the use of the club, but the beauty of the
situation induced them to extend their plan and they erected a building to
answer the purposes of a public hotel or tavern as well as for their own
accommodation. The ball-room, which included the whole of the second story
of the east front of the house was octagon, forty-five feet long,
twenty-four feet wide and seventeen feet high, with a music gallery. This
room, finished and decorated in admirable style, was retained by the Club
for their Saturday evening meetings, during the summer season, the only
exclusive privilege which the proprietors held. Its windows opened to the
floor, communicating with a balcony twelve feet wide which surrounded the
eastern part of the house and afforded a most agreeable promenade. The
room under this on the ground floor, of the same shape and size in length
and breadth as the ball-room, was used as a dinner and supper room for
large companies and public entertainments. On the west side of the house
were two dining parlors, a bar-room, two card-rooms and a number of bed
chambers. To the west of the house was a small courtyard with stables,
coach house and other offices; to the east, although the grounds were
small, was a bowling green, and there were graveled walks and some
shrubbery. From the balcony of the house could be seen a great part of the
city, the bay of New York, Long Island, the East River as far as Hell
Gate, and the bold and magnificent Pallisades bordering the North River on
the Jersey side.
[Illustration: BELVEDERE CLUB HOUSE]
The house when completed, was taken by John Avery, who in December, 1793,
was prepared to supply ladies and gentlemen with dinners and suppers, and
made it known that the use of the ball-room could be obtained on
seasonable notice, for public or private parties, balls or concerts. In
1798, the Society of the Cincinnati, after transacting at Federal Hall,
the usual business of their anniversary meeting, on July 4th, adjourned to
the Belvedere for the dinner which was served up to them in the usual
style. The Belvedere was an hilarious association, the main object of
which was social enjoyment. Its members were doubtless much interested in
the pleasures of riding and driving and probably supported to some extent
the races which are said to have been regularly held on the Bowery Lane,
about the opening of the nineteenth century.
[Sidenote: Improvement in the City Hotel]
John Lovett was landlord of the City Hotel until 1807, when he was
succeeded by Chenelette Dusseaussoir, who had been a confectioner, with a
store at No. 102, on the opposite side of Broadway, below the hotel. He
continued as landlord for two years, when in 1809, Solomon D. Gibson took
charge of the house, and two years later, after making some alterations,
informs the public that, "The Ordinary of the Hotel is always supplied
with every variety and delicacy which the season will permit, while the
Bar can boast an ample stock of superior wines calculated to tempt the
taste of the epicure. A new and elegant Bar-Room and Coffee-Room, fronting
on Broadway, have lately been added; which, unrivalled in point of pure
air and salubrity, and commanding a delightful view of a street
embellished with all the facinations of beauty and by all the graces of
fashion, present irresistable attractions to gentlemen of taste."
The City Hotel afforded better accommodations for balls and concerts than
any other place in the city, and the most important affairs of such a
nature were held here. What was called the Old Assembly Room in William
Street was also used for such purposes. In February, 1802, announcement
was made that the second Juvenile Assembly would be held on the 18th at
this place. This was probably a rival of the City Assembly. In the
announcement their rules are given out, which appear to have been very
strict.
[Sidenote: City Assembly]
An English traveler who visited New York in 1807 states that the City
Hotel nearly resembles in size and architecture the London Tavern in
Bishopgate Street. He also says: "Dancing is an amusement that the New
York ladies are passionately fond of, and they are said to excel those of
every other city in the Union. I visited the City Assembly, which is held
at the City Hotel in the Broadway, and considered as the best in New York.
It was the first night of the season, and there was not more than one
hundred and fifty persons present. I did not perceive anything different
from an English assembly, except the cotillions, which were danced in an
admirable manner, alternately with the country dances. Several French
gentlemen were present, and figured away in the cotillions with
considerable taste and agility. The subscription is two dollars and a half
for each night, and includes tea, coffee, and cold collation. None but the
first class of society can become subscribers to this assembly. Another
has, however, been recently established, in which the genteel part of the
second class are admitted, who were shut out from the City Assembly. A
spirit of jealousy and pride has caused the subscribers of the new
assembly to make their subscriptions three dollars, and to have their
balls also at the City Hotel. It was so well conducted, that many of the
subscribers of the City Assembly seceded, and joined the opposition one,
or subscribed to both."
[Sidenote: Musical Societies]
About the opening of the nineteenth century there were several musical
societies in New York. Some of these were short-lived, but others arose to
take their places. The Euterpean was of this period. It lasted until the
middle of the century and exercised a considerable influence on the
musical taste of the time. There was also a Philharmonic Society. On the
16th of February, 1802, the Columbian Anacreontic Society gave their
annual Ladies' Concert at the Tontine Assembly Rooms, in the City Hotel,
Broadway. It must have been considered a very fine affair, for the account
of it in the Evening Post next day fills more than a column of the paper.
The article states that the concert was "given in a style of superior
elegance. The whole suite of apartments occupied by the City Assemblies
were thrown open on this occasion. No pains or expense had been spared to
provide suitable entertainment. * * * The company assembled at an early
hour and were numerous beyond any former occasion." Between the acts
refreshments were served from the tea-room, which part of the
entertainment was received by the company with marks of appreciation. The
newspaper article concludes: "We beg permission to express our hope that
an institution so honorable to the taste and manners of our city, may
continue to receive the electric applause of Beauty and Fashion."
[Sidenote: Second Hudson Centennial]
New York celebrated the second centennial anniversary of the discovery of
the Hudson River on Monday, the 4th of September, 1809, under the auspices
of the New York Historical Society. It was not so grand and elaborate an
affair as that of the third centennial celebration, gotten up by the city
two years ago, yet, nevertheless, it was an appropriate celebration. At
the request of the society the Rev. Dr. Samuel Miller delivered a learned
and interesting address concerning this event, before a large and
respectable audience of ladies and gentlemen at the City Hall, among whom
were the governor, the mayor and the corporation of the city. At four
o'clock the members of the society with the invited guests sat down to an
elegant dinner prepared for them by Messrs. Fay and Gibson at the City
Hotel. Shell fish and other fish, with which our waters abound, were
served, with wild pigeon and corn and beans or succotash, the old Dutch
or Indian dish, the favorite dish of the season, and the different meats
introduced into the country by the early settlers. Such dishes were served
as were common in the early history of the city. One of the toasts, which
was offered by Simeon DeWitt, was: "May our successors a century hence
celebrate the same event which we this day commemorate." The spirit of
Simeon DeWitt may have been the guardian angel of our recent celebration.
[Sidenote: St. Andrew's Society Dinners]
The dinners of the St. Andrew's Society seem to have surpassed all others.
The St. Andrew's Society of the State of New York celebrated its
anniversary on Monday, November 30, 1801, at the Tontine Coffee House.
Here, after disposing of the usual business of the society, they sat down
to a dinner prepared by James Rathwell, the landlord of the house, which,
it is said "was never exceeded in this city for elegance and variety, and
spent the evening to a pretty late hour with much conviviality and
friendship." They were honored with the company of the mayor, his
predecessor in that office, and that of the British consul. One account of
the dinner states: "We have never heard so many original and appropriate
songs as were sung on this occasion, and never witnessed more genuine
satisfaction beam in every eye." In 1802, and in 1803, the society
celebrated their anniversary at the same place and the dinner each year
was prepared by Mr. Rathwell in the same superior style as in 1801.
In 1804 the society celebrated their anniversary at the Tontine Coffee
House, and at four o'clock sat down to a dinner prepared in the best style
by Mr. Hyde, who was again the landlord of the house, "and spent their
convivial hour with the dignified festivity of men attached to each other
by personal respect, by love to their native and adopted country, and by a
generous concurrance in extending a generous proportion of their own
comforts to their suffering brethren." The mayor of the city, the British
consul general, Captain Beresford, of the navy, and other gentlemen of
distinction honored the society with their company. On the wall of the
room hung a full length portrait of General Hamilton, the property of the
Chamber of Commerce. Pointing to this, a member of the society gave the
toast: "Our Silent Monitor--May we ever emulate his virtues."