Important Accounts of President Martin Van Buren's Visit to Pelham in 1839
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Research has revealed a pair of associated news articles published in the Morning Herald, a New York City newspaper, on July 11 and July 12, 1839 that together contain the most detailed and astonishingly extensive account of President Martin Van Buren's visit to Hunter's Island in the Town of Pelham on July 9-10, 1839. The newspaper accounts are significant because they provide extensive descriptions of John Hunter's mansion and its extensive grounds at the time, as well as descriptions of the President's activities and the famous elegant dinner given in the President's honor at the mansion on the evening of Wednesday, July 10.
President Van Buren's visit to Pelham was part of a "grand tour" of Westchester County that, in turn, was part of a tour of New York by the President in 1839. On Tuesday, July 9, 1839, following the President's tour of New York City, a "New York committee of arrangements" escorted the President on horseback to The Harlem Bridge where he was met by a mounted escort from Westchester County. The escort proceeded with the President through Morissania to the villages of West Farms and Westchester, then part of Westchester County and now part of the Bronx.
Following brief visits at the settlements of West Farms and Westchester, the Westchester County mounted escort accompanied President Van Buren to the grand home of John Hunter on Hunter's Island in Pelham. There the President greeted his friend, John Hunter, who hosted a light meal for the President and the mounted escort. The President toured the grounds and home. Then, the next day, the President met with local officials and callers and attended one of the most elegant and impressive dinner parties ever hosted in the Town of Pelham.
Martin Van Buren in a Photograph Taken By
Matthew Brady, Ca. 1855-58. Source: Wikipedia.
NOTE: Click Image to Enlarge.
Hunter's Island is no longer an island. It was "attached" to the mainland in the 1930s when a portion of Pelham Bay was filled to create the Orchard Beach parking lot. If you wander near the crest of Hunter's Island, you will come across an area covered in vines, shrubbery, and other growth that includes portions of the cellars of John Hunter's grand mansion that once towered atop the island named after him. Standing on that spot today, it is almost impossible to imagine the grand mansion that once stood there and the visit paid there by President Martin Van Buren in July, 1839.
I have written before about President Van Buren's visit to Pelham as well as John Hunter's relationship with President Van Buren. See, e.g.:
Fri., Jun. 03, 2016: More Newspaper Accounts of President Martin Van Buren's Visit to Pelham in 1839.
Thu., Nov. 03, 2005: President Martin Van Buren's Visit to Pelham in July 1839.
Fri., Dec. 15, 2006: References to John Hunter of Pelham Manor in the Papers of President Martin Van Buren.
Tue., Nov. 21, 2006: John Hunter Loses a Debate in the State Senate During the Winter of 1841.
Mon., Aug. 28, 2006: John Hunter of Hunter's Island in Pelham Obtained Special Tax Relief in 1826..
Mon., Aug. 14, 2006: An Early Account of a Visit to Hunter's Island and John Hunter's Mansion in Pelham.
Thu., Apr. 27, 2006: Burial Place of John Hunter (1778 - 1852) of Hunter's Island.
Wed., Dec. 14, 2005: New Information About John Hunter's Acquisition of Hunter's Island in the Manor of Pelham.
Fri., Dec. 2, 2005: John Hunter of Hunter's Island in Pelham, New York.
The pair of articles transcribed below offer a very detailed and fascinating glimpse of much that transpired during the time President Van Buren stayed in John Hunter's mansion. John Hunter and the Westchester welcoming committee met the President at The Harlem Bridge where Van Buren climbed into John Hunter's barouche, a type of horse-drawn carriage fashionable in the early 19th century.
From Harlem Bridge the procession traveled through the settlements of Morissania, West Farms, and Westchester, then part of lower Westchester County. People lined the roads to see the President. At each settlement, men gathered on horseback to greet the procession. According to the July 11 newspaper account:
"His reception along the entire route was really pleasing. A great number of ladies waited hours to see him; the excellent wives and charming daughters of the substantial Westchester farmers (the home and sinew, aye, and even the marrow of society,) turned out en masse, to see and greet the President. At West Farms a very large number of horsemen, well mounted, and ladies in carriages, were assembled to do him honor; and here the cheering was most enthusiastic."
The route from The Harlem Bridge to Boston Post Road and then to the private roadway built by John Hunter from Boston Post Road to today's Shore Road (now part of the Bridle Path in Pelham Bay Park) was a gorgeous scene that day. The Morning Herald reporter said the route was "full of delightful scenery. The waving fields of wheat, corn, rye, &c. on the one hand, the luxuriant meadows, skirted by the East river on the other, the groves of noble trees, the rivulets brooks, creeks, inlets, bridges, mosses, waters, slaps, and stiles, with here and there the neat white cottage of the independent husbandman contrasting with the plain substantial farmer, all combine to produce a scene that few places, save this part of Westchester, can produce, for beauty and picturesque effect."
The reporter described a rather awe-inspiring scene as the entourage made an "abrupt right turn" onto today's Shore Road from the long private roadway that once ran along the edge of the northeastern boundary of today's Pelham Bay Park where the park boundary meets the Town of Pelham. According to the reporter:
"An abrupt turn right exhibits the house on the summit of a hill, covered with groves of trees, lawn, grass plats, and rich fields of grain; the utile et dulci combined to admiration. A short descent brings us to an arm of the East river which divides the island from the main land. A neat bridge crosses this, at the end of which stands the porter's lodge, similar to those at the entrance to the parks of the nobility in England, though on a somewhat humbler scale. A winding road, up a gentle rise, leads past the stables (which are not well concealed from view) to the west point of the mansion of Mr. Hunter, which as far as its internal arrangements go, may be termed princely. The two sides of the house are embowered, or as we Irishmen would say, surrounded with trees, and the east front opens on the East River with a glorious view of Long Island Sound. A sloping lawn of great beauty, interrupted with flower borders, leads from the east front steps to the water's edge."
Exterior of Front of John Hunter's Mansion on Hunter's Island in 1882.
Embedded Image Not Copied to the Historic Pelham Blog so If the
Image is Removed by its Owner or the Link to it is Changed, It Will
No Longer Display Here. Source: Digital Version of Albumen Print in
Collections of the Museum of the City of New York, No. X2010.11.10134.
NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.
The article published on July 12, 1839 contained a splendid and detailed description of the interior of the mansion, a discussion of some of the activities undertaken by the President after his arrival at the mansion, a wonderful description of the many master works of art that hung within the mansion, and a description of the grand and elegant dinner hosted in the President's honor that evening including the complete menu for the seven-course French meal served from a "splendid double service of gold and silver plate [that] graced the table, which groaned under the costly provision made for His Majesty."
The reporter described the grand interior of the mansion as follows:
"Mr. Hunter's mansion is rather small for a gentleman like himself, of enlarged and liberal views, and worth at least two millions of dollars, besides 700 acres of the very richest land in Putnam county. He became the possessor of Hunter's Island by purchase, for $40,000, in 1810. It was then a poor, miserable, barren rock, and worth nothing, save for the extreme beauty and picturesqueness of its location. Mr. Hunter, soon after his purchase, commenced building his present mansion, which cost him about $40,000; he also expended at least $40,000 in various improvements upon the island, making a total expense, with the first purchase, of $120,000. His splendid collection of paintings cost him about $130,000, making a total of a quarter of a million of dollars for his house, grounds and pictures. After this, it may well be termed a princely mansion. The house has two fronts facing east and west, and the ascent is by a flight of half a dozen broad marble steps. In fact, in this particular, it is a miniature resemblance of the style of the Duke of Buckingham's splendid palace at Stow, of which Pope has spoken so beautifully. The building has a vary capacious and well arranged basement floor, containing all the apartments for domestics, underneath which are very extensive cellars. The first floor is divided by a wide and handsome hall; entering at the west door, the first room on the right is the library containing a large and choice collection of ancient and modern works; the grand staircase adjoins the library, and a small passage divides it from the grand dining room, which extends two-thirds the length of the building. On the opposite side of the hall are the parlor and drawing room, opening into each other. The entire walls of both these rooms are covered with superb pictures, collected for Mr. Hunter by his agent in Europe, during different periods of political commotion in various parts of that continent, to meet the expense of which, Mr. Hunter allowed his agent to draw on him to the amount of $10,000 annually. In this way he has obtained undoubted originals by Salvator Rosa, Snyder, Rubens, Raffaella, Carlo Dolci, Andrea del Sarto, Leonardo da Vinci, Pompeio Battoni, Raffaelle Mengo, Tibaldi, Andrea Sacchi, Paolo Veronese, Titian, Rembrandt, Vandyke, &c. The grand hall also contains several pictures by Snyder, Salvator Rosa, and others. The second story is composed entirely of beautiful bed rooms, dressing rooms, and ante-rooms to complete each suite. The whole is furnished in the most elegant style of the period immediately preceding the panic, and every wall in the house is ornamented with beautiful paintings. His Republican Highness occupied and elegant suite of rooms in the south east wing, where he could see the sun rise; the suite comprised a double bed room, with a dressing room, and ante-room, or audience chamber. The floor is covered with rich Turkey carpet, with Ottomans and fauteiuls [Note: a fauteiul is a wooden seat in the form of an armchair with open sides and upholstered armsto match] to match; rose-colored silk curtains, and rose water to match."
John Hunter of Hunter's Island from Lockwood Barr's
History of Pelham Published in 1946.
NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.
John Hunter of Hunter's Island from Lockwood Barr's
History of Pelham Published in 1946.
NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.
After getting a good night's sleep in the double bedroom on the second floor of the southeast wing of the mansion, President Van Buren arose early on the morning of July 10, 1839 and walked the grounds of the estate on Hunter's Island. At 9:00 a.m. he had breakfast with a group of men and women. He passed the morning and afternoon, according to the July 12 article, as follows:
""One or two hours of the forenoon were passed in this delightful manner, with the social interchange of agreeable nothings, and the solemn introduction of pompous folly, in which some were amused, some mystified, but none were edified. The President, after breakfast, and dishing up a few genteel things for the ladies, left them to regulate in their ringlets, adjust their dresses, &c., and taking the arm of a gentleman of the old noblesse school, Mr. Schuyler, promenaded the convenient balcony on the east front of the building. After putting a few leading questions to him, and gleaning answers accordingly, he took the arm of another, with whom he acted in a similar manner, and so on to the end of the chapter. His Royal Republican Highness having then been notified, through Prince John, that his despatches had arrived, proceeded to his private apartments, to write, regulate his legions for the election throughout the country, cogitate on the sub-treasury system, which he still turns over daily in his mind, and prepare for the coming campaign. This occupied His Majesty till nearly 4 o'clock, when he composed himself to dress for dinner."
A spectacularly-elegant French seven-course meal followed. Such a grand meal served in such a grand mansion, the walls of which were covered with priceless works of art, was all the more impressive when considered in the context of the times. The country was in the midst of a profound financial crisis at the time. The so-called financial "Panic of 1837" was a financial crisis that touched off a financial crisis that caused a major recession that lasted until the mid-1840s. By 1839, unemployment had risen, wages had declined, profits were down, and pessimism abounded. Consequently, the news articles make much of portraying the President, a Democrat, as "His Democratic Majesty," "His Republican Highness," "His Highness," and other such appellations.
At 5:00 p.m. that day, about a dozen men and a dozen women gathered with President Van Buren in the drawing room of the mansion where "the ladies discussed fashion and dresses, and parties and soirees, and music, and poetry, and painting, and wisely eschewed dirty, trashy politics." The men and women strolled throughout the mansion perusing the priceless works of art. The reporter for the Morning Herald wrote the next day:
"A very fine painting of the Graces elicited much admiration, although the coloring (like most of the pictures by the same master) is too cold. A painting of 'Cromwell and Mrs. Claypole,' by Vandyck, is in the happiest style of that fine delineator of features. Two large paintings by Snyder (in the hall) appear as if like Rembrandt the artist, in order to take the advantage of accident, had used his pallet knive [sic] to lay his color on the canvass instead of the pencil. A 'Magdalen,' very beautifully painted, has so much of the exquisite softness of Carlo Dolic as to be deficient in strength of tone. A 'Judith with the Head of Holofernes,' is a superb painting; it has the defect of Titian, the form of the models not being corrected by any general idea of beauty in the mind of the artist, -- though parts are in the style of Carlo Maratti, and have the defect of his works, that of being overlaid with drapery, too artificially dispersed. A 'Holy Family,' by Andrea del Sarto has all the rich tinting of that master; and the picture by Rubens below it, is amongst the best in the collection."
At 6:00 p.m., the gathering moved to the elegant dining room of the mansion for the seven course meal. The number of selections available to the guests was immense. It was a seven course meal with a total of thirty choices ranging from Tortoise Soup to Head of Veal (i.e., Calf's Head) cooked with Chambord liqueur. After dinner eight classes of fine wines and champagne, some of ancient vintages, were offered with a total of 32 different wines and champagnes consumed.
Among the entrees, President Van Buren "confined his attention to" two dishes: "calf's brains" and "Financier pie." The "principal wines" that the President drank that night were: the Nabob (a Madeira) and Brahmin (a Madeira) and "Prince Metternich, celebrated Castle bottled, gold seal Johannisberger, vintage, 1822." This last was a so-called "Hock" wine. Hock is a British term for German white wine, sometimes used to refer to white wine from the Rhine region and sometimes to all German white wines.
Incredibly, the host, John Hunter, purportedly drank each and every one of the 32 wines and champagnes. According to the Morning Herald: "Prince John drank of every wine, and toasted every lady."
This, it seems, may have been one of the most elegant and spectacular dinner parties ever hosted in Pelham, perhaps even to this day.
* * * * *
Below is the text of the pair of articles about President Van Buren's visit to Pelham that appeared in the July 11-12 issues of the Morning Herald of New York City. Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.
"His Democratic Majesty on the High Road to Sing Sing.
In the same order that His Republican Highness, Martin Van Buren and his body guard, left New York, they arrived at Harlem. Here the squad of shabbies, unmentionables, gentlemen, rogues, loafers, decent men and vagabonds, delivered him 'with care, this side up,' into the hands of the committee of Republican farmers from West Chester, headed by the veteran Mr. Hunter, whose barouche [Note: a type of horse-drawn carriage fashionable in the 19th century] was in waiting for His Majesty. His Republican Highness, glad to escape from every recollection of the relics of New York, jumped into Mr. Hunter's barouche, bad an universal, and for once in his life, a hearty adieu to the New York escort of fantasticals, and set his face for Hunter's Island and the elegant mansion it contains. 'Well, he's gone at last,' said Alderman Purdy to Mayor Warian. 'Yes, God bless him,' said the Mayor, 'for he's a man of great genius!' But the Mayor is much mistaken. Mr. Van Buren is a man of much tact, and not a little talent, but he's too much of a gentleman to be a genius.!
The escort that took His Highness from Harlem Bridge to Hunter's Island, was of 'another guess kind' from man of the unsubstantials that left New York with him. They were not men of great education and refinement of manners, but they were men of sound common sense, of good standing in society, and have a solid stake in the commonwealth. -- Mr. Hunter himself is a gentleman by nature, and one of her truest noblemen -- plain, simple, and unassuming; yet possessing excellent judgment, and fine taste for the belles lettres, music, poetry, painting, and abstruse science. His Democratic Majesty felt at ease amongst them; here he reigned supreme -- a gentleman by education, habit, associations, and from choice, he is unhappy but with those who have the stamp of genuine gentility about them. He was surrounded by men of good breeding, but moderate intellect -- men who had not the art to conceal their nature, or the little they might know -- men whom he could easily lead in various ways, and who would never resist his desires, or say aught to annoy him. Here he was, for a brief space, happy.
His reception along the entire route was really pleasing. A great number of ladies waited hours to see him; the excellent wives and charming daughters of the substantial Westchester farmers (the home and sinew, aye, and even the marrow of society,) turned out en masse, to see and greet the President. At West Farms a very large number of horsemen, well mounted, and ladies in carriages, were assembled to do him honor; and here the cheering was most enthusiastic.
Hence the route to the beautiful residence of Mr. Hunter is full of delightful scenery. The waving fields of wheat, corn, rye, &c. on the one hand, the luxuriant meadows, skirted by the East river on the other, the groves of noble trees, the rivulets brooks, creeks, inlets, bridges,
'Mosses, waters, slaps, and stiles,'
with here and there the neat white cottage of the independent husbandman contrasting with the plain substantial farmer, all combine to produce a scene that few places, save this part of Westchester, can produce, for beauty and picturesque effect. Passing by the stone and wooden bridge at Westchester the road leads round by the handsome mansion of Thomas E. Taylor, Esq., the excellent and sterling farmer, who curbed and destroyed the atrocious monopoly of Harlem Bridge. [Note: Taylor led the group that sued The Harlem Bridge Company to overturn its franchise to exact tolls for crossing The Harlem Bridge. At the time of this story, the lower court had ruled in Taylor's favor, but The Harlem Bridge Company eventually had the decision reversed on appeal.] The road hence is full of beauty and variety till we arrive abreast of Hunter's Island. An abrupt turn right exhibits the house on the summit of a hill, covered with groves of trees, lawn, grass plats, and rich fields of grain; the utile et dulci combined to admiration. A short descent brings us to an arm of the East river which divides the island from the main land. A neat bridge crosses this, at the end of which stands the porter's lodge, similar to those at the entrance to the parks of the nobility in England, though on a somewhat humbler scale. A winding road, up a gentle rise, leads past the stables (which are not well concealed from view) to the west point of the mansion of Mr. Hunter, which as far as its internal arrangements go, may be termed princely. The two sides of the house are embowered, or as we Irishmen would say, surrounded with trees, and the east front opens on the East River with a glorious view of Long Island Sound. A sloping lawn of great beauty, interrupted with flower borders, leads from the east front steps to the water's edge.
Such is the state and situation of Hunter's Island, and its princely mansion, which is almost the most beautiful place in the county, and at which His Republican Highness, Martin Van Buren, satiated the cravings of his regal stomach, and reposed His Imperial limbs, by the grace of God, on the night of Tuesday, the ninth day of July, in the year of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine, and there, for the present we leave him.
Ariel was with him the better part of yesterday; -- walked, talked and dined with His Royal Republican Highness, and will furnish the full particulars for tomorrow's paper, of his Democratic Majesty's doings up to bed-time last night. His Royal Republican Highness leaves Hunter's Island at ten o'clock this morning, proceeds to New Rochelle to meet the whorrah boys, and thence rides to Gen. Ward's elegant mansion at Sing Sing, whither our trusty Ariel accompanies him."
Source: His Democratic Majesty on the High Road to Sing Sing, Morning Herald [NY, NY], Jul. 11, 1839, Vol. V, No. 154, p. 2, col. 1.
"A Day with his Democratic Majesty amongst the Old Noblesse.
His Republican Highness Martin Van Buren, is fair game any where. The members of the delightful society in which he spent a day at Hunter's Island, are not fair game. The ladies were fair, surpassing fair -- and the gentlemen were game enough; but taken individually and collectively, they are not fair game. Senator Hunter, of Hunter's Island, is one of the old noblesse of the state of New York, and descended lineally from the celebrated Sir Walter Fitzallan de Bruce Hunter, who fought at the battle of Hastings. And when we state that amongst the select circle, comprising less than two dozen, who welcomed His Democratic Majesty to Hunter's Island, there was a lineal descendant of the venerable family of the Schuylers, of the Livingstons, the Clintons, and Lord Howard de Walden, it will easily be seen that His Republican Highness had shaken the very dust from his feet and that the loafers of New York had almost smothered him with.
Mr. Hunter's mansion is rather small for a gentleman like himself, of enlarged and liberal views, and worth at least two millions of dollars, besides 700 acres of the very richest land in Putnam county. He became the possessor of Hunter's Island by purchase, for $40,000, in 1810. It was then a poor, miserable, barren rock, and worth nothing, save for the extreme beauty and picturesqueness of its location. Mr. Hunter, soon after his purchase, commenced building his present mansion, which cost him about $40,000; he also expended at least $40,000 in various improvements upon the island, making a total expense, with the first purchase, of $120,000. His splendid collection of paintings cost him about $130,000, making a total of a quarter of a million of dollars for his house, grounds and pictures. After this, it may well be termed a princely mansion. The house has two fronts facing east and west, and the ascent is by a flight of half a dozen broad marble steps. In fact, in this particular, it is a miniature resemblance of the style of the Duke of Buckingham's splendid palace at Stow, of which Pope has spoken so beautifully. The building has a vary capacious and well arranged basement floor, containing all the apartments for domestics, underneath which are very extensive cellars. The first floor is divided by a wide and handsome hall; entering at the west door, the first room on the right is the library containing a large and choice collection of ancient and modern works; the grand staircase adjoins the library, and a small passage divides it from the grand dining room, which extends two-thirds the length of the building. On the opposite side of the hall are the parlor and drawing room, opening into each other. The entire walls of both these rooms are covered with superb pictures, collected for Mr. Hunter by his agent in Europe, during different periods of political commotion in various parts of that continent, to meet the expense of which, Mr. Hunter allowed his agent to draw on him to the amount of $10,000 annually. In this way he has obtained undoubted originals by Salvator Rosa, Snyder, Rubens, Raffaella, Carlo Dolci, Andrea del Sarto, Leonardo da Vinci, Pompeio Battoni, Raffaelle Mengo, Tibaldi, Andrea Sacchi, Paolo Veronese, Titian, Rembrandt, Vandyke, &c. The grand hall also contains several pictures by Snyder, Salvator Rosa, and others. The second story is composed entirely of beautiful bed rooms, dressing rooms, and ante-rooms to complete each suite. The whole is furnished in the most elegant style of the period immediately preceding the panic, and every wall in the house is ornamented with beautiful paintings. His Republican Highness occupied and elegant suite of rooms in the south east wing, where he could see the sun rise; the suite comprised a double bed room, with a dressing room, and ante-room, or audience chamber. The floor is covered with rich Turkey carpet, with Ottomans and fauteiuls [Note: a fauteiul is a wooden seat in the form of an armchair with open sides and upholstered armsto match] to match; rose-colored silk curtains, and rose water to match; the whole being admirably arranged to enable his Democratic Majesty to glide noiselessly from chamber to chamber, with the soft, stealthy, cat-like pace that never belonged to a straight-forward and sincere man.
Once safely stowed away in this delightful residence, His Republican Highness reverentially knelt down, and returned sincere thanks to Almighty God for a safe deliverance from the dirty locofocos of New York. He then made two or three devious turns around the room, and got into his bed by removing the clothes at the foot of it. He snored (for monarchs do snore) soundly till morning. Rising soon after the sun, His Republican Highness took a morning walk round the beautiful grounds of Hunter's Island, and sat down to breakfast about 9 o'clock which he enjoyed most heartily, and as he expressed himself, better than any meal he had taken in the week past. To all present he was particularly affable -- to the ladies he was most peculiarly so: for one he had a jeu d'esprit, for another a wise saw, for a third a bon mot, for a fourth a 'modern instance,' for a fifth a flattering remark, for a sixth a well turned compliment; in short, His Majesty was agreeable without effort, witty without being aware of it, and sincere in spite of his nature to act otherwise.
One or two hours of the forenoon were passed in this delightful manner, with the social interchange of agreeable nothings, and the solemn introduction of pompous folly, in which some were amused, some mystified, but none were edified. The President, after breakfast, and dishing up a few genteel things for the ladies, left them to regulate in their ringlets, adjust their dresses, &c., and taking the arm of a gentleman of the old noblesse school, Mr. Schuyler, promenaded the convenient balcony on the east front of the building. After putting a few leading questions to him, and gleaning answers accordingly, he took the arm of another, with whom he acted in a similar manner, and so on to the end of the chapter. His Royal Republican Highness having then been notified, through Prince John, that his despatches had arrived, proceeded to his private apartments, to write, regulate his legions for the election throughout the country, cogitate on the sub-treasury system, which he still turns over daily in his mind, and prepare for the coming campaign. This occupied His Majesty till nearly 4 o'clock, when he composed himself to dress for dinner.
About four o'clock the company invited to dine with His Serene Majesty, began to arrive in plain republican carriages, all of them remarkably substantial, and unassuming, but none of them particularly handsome. But as this was a private party and at the house of a private gentleman, Ariel felt himself bound by the gentlemanly code of the old noblesse, to notice none of the beautiful ladies who arrived in detail, and only two or three of the gentlemen with an eye to chronicle their doings. Over much that was said and done at this delightful place on this delightful day, both wise and foolish matters and things, a veil must be drawn, and they will for ever remain an impenetrable mystery, save to those who were so happy as to be present. The ladies numbered about a dozen, and the gentlemen were equally numerous. The former were all remarkable for elegance of manners, fine taste, and a ready tact in conversational powers, a gift rarely possessed by an entire assembly of ladies; many were very lovely, and none were so homely as not to excite admiration for beauty of expression. There was one tall queenly maiden on whom His Majesty bent his republican eyes with more than statesman-like interest, and who -----, but 'twas a private party. Mr. Hunter had chosen his guests most admirably, as Duke Humphrey did his hounds --
'Matched in mouth
Each under each:'
and not one mighty Tom of a fellow silencing the balance by the tremendous depth of his diapason.
Few of the gentlemen were remarkable for beauty of form or features; but those who were not distinguished for superior sense and erudition, were remarkable for sound judgment and a straight forward sincerity of manner and speech that contrasted curiously with His Majesty's sinuous and courtly phraseology.
Some of the gentlemen rode out in the afternoon through the park, &c., and about four returned to the mansion. About this time a curious and pleasing little incident occurred, that agreeably relieved the ennui of the hour. A sweet girl, who had just seen some sixteen summers, full of jocund health, beauty and buoyancy of spirits, arrived at the house with a view to see his Majesty. She had traveled some 70 or 80 miles, and was determined to see and speak to him. Although a perfect stranger, and to a certain extent an intruder in a domestic circle, the kind-hearted venerable host, with that exquisite tact and gentlemanly feeling always to be found amongst the old noblesse, immediately made her welcome so cordial as to relieve her from the least feeling of uneasiness. His Majesty, with equal gallantry and good policy, although engaged, completed his toilet instanter, and sent Prince John to conduct the young lady to his august presence. Mistaking the Prince for the son of Mr. Hunter, she ascended the staircase on his arm. Leaving the lady in the anteroom, in a few moments, the Prince returned with his Imperial Father, when the following scene took place: --
Prince John -- My Father, Miss.
His Majesty -- How do you do? I hope I see you well?
Lady -- Quite well, I thank you; may I return the compliment? But I do not see the President. His Excellency is not here, then?
Prince John tittered.
His Majesty, (surprised) -- Oh, yes; I am the President.
Lady, (laughing heartily, but genteelly,) -- Est il possible? I did not think the President was so small a man. Forgive my rudeness; but I am much pleased at the honor of an introduction to the President, and also very much amused at my mistake.
Prince John laughed heartily, and His Majesty joined with the lady, and all laughed at each other.
Lady -- You pardon my stupidity?
His Majesty -- Most certainly; for I am equally pleased with yourself.
Lady -- I wish you a continuance of health and an increase of happiness, and I hope to see you again President.
His Majesty -- I thank you, and fully reciprocate your feelings.
The lady retired and joined her relative, who asked her why she did not present a bouquet of flowers (she held in her hand) to the President.
Lady -- Why should I give my beautiful flowers to Mr. Van Buren? His cold eye would wither them, though I like him better now I have seen him, than I did before. But had he been a hero -- a brave old soldier, like General Jackson or General Scott, I could have loved him -- or a noble sailor, like Perry or Decatur, I would have planted flowers, and brought them to him daily; but I know of no remarkable act of Mr. Van Buren's life that entitles him to remarkable honors.
By five o'clock the whole of the company arrived, and were ushered into the drawing room; the ladies discussed fashion and dresses, and parties and soirees, and music, and poetry, and painting, and wisely eschewed dirty, trashy politics. The gentlemen very wisely listened to the ladies, and a few strolled round the room to admire the paintings. The very amiable and accomplished lady of Mr. Hunter's son displayed her excellent judgment and fine taste in her judicious criticisms upon the paintings. Some of the gentlemen could not distinguish a Carlo Dolci from a Rembrandt, a Rubens from a Cuyp, a Snyder from an Annibal Caracci, a Salvator Rosa from a Raphael, a Titian from a Claude.
A very fine painting of the Graces elicited much admiration, although the coloring (like most of the pictures by the same master) is too cold. A painting of 'Cromwell and Mrs. Claypole,' by Vandyck, is in the happiest style of that fine delineator of features. Two large paintings by Snyder (in the hall) appear as if like Rembrandt the artist, in order to take the advantage of accident, had used his pallet knive to lay his color on the canvass instead of the pencil. A 'Magdalen,' very beautifully painted, has so much of the exquisite softness of Carlo Dolic as to be deficient in strength of tone. A 'Judith with the Head of Holofernes,' is a superb painting; it has the defect of Titian, the form of the models not being corrected by any general idea of beauty in the mind of the artist, -- though parts are in the style of Carlo Maratti, and have the defect of his works, that of being overlaid with drapery, too artificially dispersed. A 'Holy Family,' by Andrea del Sarto has all the rich tinting of that master; and the picture by Rubens below it, is amongst the best in the collection.
The funny, the witty, the silly, the wise, the ridiculous remarks made upon these paintings by those who had 'sipped of the spring,' and those who had never tasted the waters of true knowledge, we dare not give. We heard them in confidence, and they die with us. They were what they were, and under all the circumstances, they might have been a devilish deal worse. About six o'clock the dinner was on the table. His Majesty, who had walked the piazza with Mr. Schuyler, one of the most sensible men of the room, now led the daughter of the host to the dining table, followed by Mr. Schuyler, to whose arm clung a lovely girl. Prince John very awkwardly conducted a young widow to her seat, and the rest followed according to the strictest etiquette in rank. All was politeness, decorum, good breeding and fine taste. No locofocos here; no loafers here; no crowding, and elbowing, and squeezing here; but all was courtly in the extreme. The latest Parisian regulations prevailed, and the following was the sumptuous
MENU.
-----
POTAGES.
Potage de tortue,
Potage à la Juliènne.
POISSON.
Saumon, sauce d'anchois.
GROSSES PIECES ET PLATS FROIDES.
Tète de veau à la Chambore,
Filet de bœf piqué au vin de champaigne,
Jambon garnie,
Dindon à la perigueux avec un purée de marrons dessous.
Bastion orné.
Suprème de volaille en bordure à la gelee,
Aspic de filets de saumon.
ENTREES.
Pigeons à la royal, aux champignons,
Petite poulets piquès en croustade, aux petits pois,
Bècassines aux artichaux, à l'espagnole,
Noix de veau en demi deuil, sauce tomate,
Riz de veau piqué, aux asperge,
Petits paniers, garnie à la financière,
Filets mignone de mouton, en chevreuil,
Coquilles garnies de blanc de volaille aux truffes,
Paté chaud à la Toulouse,
Calf's brains 'au supréme,' tomato sauce.
'Financière Pie.'
ROTS.
Canard sauvages, (brant)
Becassines,
Pole de guinée piqués.
PATISSIRIE.
Lyre montée,
Croque en bouche de petits choux à la Rèine,
Sultane,
Biscuit à la vanille decoré,
Nougat,
Coupe garnie d'ananas bordure de quartiers de pommes decorè,
Blanc Manger,
Coupe garnie de gelée d'orange en quartiers,
Gelée au champaigne rosé,
Charlotte russe, au citron,
Petits gàteaux variés.
DESSERT.
Fruits, et glace en pyramide, et en petits moules,
Toste d'anchois, Café and liqueur.
-----
A splendid double service of gold and silver plate graced the table, which groaned under the costly provision made for His Majesty; who, singularly enough, confined his attention to the two last dishes amongst the 'Entrees,' viz: calf's brains and Financier pie, which occasioned some shrewd remarks from the ladies. Amongst the costly wines on this occasion were the following: --
SAUTERNE.
Morton's Y.
HOCK.
Reudesheimer, 1831
Stein Wine, box bottles.
Marcoobrenner, 1831.
Prince Metternich, celebrated Castle bottled, gold seal Johannisberger, vintage, 1822 }
CHAMPAIGNE.
Beaver, Champaign.
Napoleon.
Cliquot.
Cote d'or.
Perrier & Jouet.
CLARET.
Latour, 1831.
Batailly, 1827.
St. Julien, 1827.
St. Pierre.
PORT.
Towers Port.
BURGUNDY.
Macon.
Pouilly, White Burgundy.
Pomard.
Chambertin.
Romanee.
SHERRY.
Yriarte pale, delicate.
Tower Amber.
Tower Brown.
Sorelia, Brown, 1805, B. X.
Ravini's Pale Gold.
MADEIRA.
Halaway.
Bobby Lennox.
Old West India, MI.
Nabob.
Brahmin, A.
Red Seal, old, bottled, E. I.
Eclipse Madeira.
The Nabob and Brahmin Madeira, with Prince Metternich Johannisberger, were the principal wines drunk by His Democratic Majesty. Prince John drank of every wine, and toasted every lady; and the ladies -- but we must draw a veil over the future events of that day. It was a white day in the life of His Republican Highness, though we are afraid it will not leave his soul any whiter than the loafers of the city left it. But if we should be mistaken -- if it should cause him to quit his crooked ways, live godly, eschew sub-treasuries, and lead a holy life, repent of his sins, and put his trust in a petticoat, our labor will not be in vain, nor our strength be expended for that which is nought. If His Democratic Majesty did not leave Hunter's Island a wiser and a better man than when he entered it, then is there no balm in Gilead, and his cabbage garden at Kinderhook will assuredly go to the devil, along with himself, and become a hotbed below, the sole care of which will be assigned to him by special license from Satan."
Source: A Day with his Democratic Majesty amongst the Old Noblesse, Morning Herald [NY, NY], Jul. 12, 1839, Vol. V, No. 154 [sic], p. 2, cols. 1-3 (Note: Paid subscription required to access via this link).
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Labels: 1839, Hunter's Island, Hunter's Island Mansion, John Hunter, Martin Van Buren, Politics
posted by Blake A. Bell @ 4:35 AM
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