ith appropriate mottoes, near the old statehouse. Under this he
passed in great state. I stood at a window close by, and saw him
enter the balcony of that building and show himself to the
thousands who came from far and near to greet him. I saw all that
passed, heard the fine anthems that were composed for the occasion,
and gazed with admiring eyes upon his majestic figure.

"The procession that had accompanied him from the entrance of the
town took up its line of march again, after these ceremonies, and
accompanied him to the house selected for his residence, which
stood at the corner of Tremont and Court streets. It was a handsome
brick building. A beautiful company of light-infantry served as a
guard of honor, commanded by the well-known and greatly
distinguished Harrison Gray Otis.

"Governor Hancock had prepared a great dinner at his house, to
which he invited the French admiral, the officers of the fleet, and
many of the principal citizens. A notion had got into Hancock's
head, that the governor of a state was a kind of king or sovereign
in his own territory, and that it would be derogatory to his
station to pay the first visit to any one, even the president of
the United States; and, acting always upon this rule, he sent an
invitation to General Washington to dine with him, but excused
himself from calling on him, alleging that sickness detained him at
home; thus covering by a lame apology the resolution which he dared
not openly exercise toward the president. Washington, who had
received some hint of this absurd point of etiquette which sought
to exalt the head of a part above the head of the whole, sent his
aid-de-camp, Major William Jackson, with a message to his
excellency, declining the invitation to dinner, and intimating that
if his health permitted him to receive company, it would admit of
his visiting him.

"My father dined at the governor's, and about sunset brought
Admiral de Pondevez and several of his officers, who spent the
evening with us. The dinner-party went off heavily, owing to the
general disappointment in not meeting the president. Meantime the
French ships-of-war in the harbor were dressed in variegated lamps,
and bonfires blazed in the streets. The ladies wore bandeaux,
cestuses, and ribands, stamped and embroi