n was there the slightest restraint of ceremony. There was less
of it than I ever recollect to have met with where perfect good breeding
and manners were at the same time observed. To many remarks Washington
assented with a smile or inclination of the head, as if he were by
nature sparing in his conversation, and I am inclined to think this was
the case. An allusion was made to a serious fit of illness he had
recently suffered; but he took no notice of it. I could not help
remarking that America must have looked with anxiety to the termination
of his indisposition. He made no reply to my compliment but by an
inclination of the head. His bow at my taking leave I shall never
forget. It was the last movement which I saw that illustrious character
make, as my eyes took their leave of him for ever, and it hangs a
perfect picture upon my recollection. The house of Washington was in the
Broadway, and the street front was handsome. The drawing-room in which I
sat was lofty and spacious; but the furniture was not beyond that found
in dwellings of opulent Americans in general, and might be called plain
for its situation. The upper end of the room had glass doors, which
opened upon a balcony, commanding an extensive view of the Hudson river,
interspersed with islands, and the Jersey shore on the opposite side. A
grandson and daughter resided constantly in the house with the general,
and a nephew of the general's, married to a niece of Mrs. Washington,
resided at Mount Vernon, the general's family-seat in Virginia; his
residence, as president, keeping him at the seat of government.' The
levees held by Washington, as president, were generally crowded, and
held on Tuesday, between three and four o'clock. The president stood,
and received the bow of the person presented, who retired to make way
for another. At the drawing-room, Mrs. Washington received the ladies,
who courtesied, and passed aside without exchanging a word. Tea and
coffee, with refreshments of all kinds, were laid in one part of the
rooms; and, before the individuals of the company retired, each lady was
a second time led up to the lady-president, made her second silent
obeisance, and departed. Nothing could be more simple, yet it was
enough."

The late Mr. Custis, in his _Recollections of Washington_, says: "With
all its developments of muscular power, the form of Washington had no
appearance of bulkiness; and so harmonious were its proportions, that he
did not appear