ce. It was in the form of a
letter to Mr. Pickering, the secretary of state, giving his own
statement concerning the spurious letters which we have already
noticed--their dates, addresses, and signatures, and all the facts in
the case, the chief of which we have already noted. "These well-known
facts," he said, "made it unnecessary, during the war, to call the
public attention to the forgery by any express declaration of mine; and
a firm reliance on my fellow-citizens, and the abundant proofs which
they gave of their confidence in me, rendered it alike unnecessary to
take any formal notice of the revival of the imposition during my civil
administration. But as I can not know how soon a more serious event may
succeed to that which will this day take place, I have thought it a
duty that I owed to myself, to my country, and to truth, now to detail
the circumstances above recited; and to add my solemn declaration that
the letters herein described[114] are a base forgery, and that I never
saw or heard of them until they appeared in print.

"The present letter I commit to your care, and desire that it may
be deposited in the office of the department of state, as a
testimony of the truth to the present generation and to posterity."

On the fourth of March, John Adams, Washington's successor,
was inaugurated the second president of the United States. The
event took place in the hall of the representatives, which was
densely crowded with spectators. Mr. Jefferson, the new vice-president,
had just taken his seat as president of the senate. That
body had been convened by Washington for the occasion; and now,
with their presiding officer, they went into the representatives' hall,
where a large audience of ladies and gentlemen were collected to
witness the inaugural ceremonies. In front of the speaker's chair
sat chief-justice Ellsworth, who was to administer the oath, with
three other judges of the supreme court of the United States
(Cushing, Wilson, and Iredell). The new vice-president and secretary
of the senate took their seats on the right; and on the left sat
the speaker and clerk of the late house of representatives. At a
signal the doors were thrown open, and a crowd rushed in and
filled the galleries. Very soon loud cheering was heard in the
streets, and a few moments afterward Washington entered, followed
by the president elect. The whole audience arose and greeted
them with enthusiastic cheers.

[Illust