rtrait of Washington
in profile, and a page was appointed to present one, with the
compliments of the managers, as each couple passed the receiver of the
tickets."[17]

On the evening of the fourteenth of May, the Count de Moustier, the
French minister, gave a splendid ball in honor of the president, at his
residence in M'Comb's house, in Broadway, afterward occupied by
Washington as the presidential mansion. The whole arrangement was
directed by his sister, the Marchioness de Brienne, who was an amateur
artist of considerable distinction. "I heard the marchioness declare,"
wrote a lady who was present, "she had exhausted every resource to
produce an entertainment worthy of France."

Mrs. Washington did not leave Mount Vernon until Tuesday, the nineteenth
of May, when she set out for New York in her travelling carriage, drawn
by four horses, accompanied by her two grandchildren, Eleanor Parke and
George Washington Parke Custis, and a small escort of horse. She was
everywhere greeted with demonstrations of the greatest affection. When
she approached Baltimore she was met by a cavalcade of citizens. In the
evening, fireworks were discharged in honor of the fair guest, and a
band of musicians serenaded her. When she approached Philadelphia she
was met by the president of the commonwealth, the speaker of the
assembly, two troops of dragoons, and a large number of citizens, who
escorted her toward the Schuylkill. Seven miles from Philadelphia she
was met by a large company of women in carriages, who formed an escort,
and at Gray's ferry all partook of a collation. There Mrs. Robert Morris
joined Mrs. Washington in her carriage, and as the procession entered
the city the bells rang out a merry peal, and cannon thundered a cordial
welcome.

Mrs. Washington remained in Philadelphia, a guest of Mrs. Morris, until
Monday morning, when she set out for New York, accompanied by that lady.
All through New Jersey she received the most affectionate attentions,
and at Elizabethtown was the guest of Governor Livingston. At
Elizabethtown Point she was met by her husband, who, attended by Robert
Morris and other distinguished men, had come from New York in his
splendid barge to receive her. As they approached the city they were
saluted by thirteen discharges of cannon, and were followed to their
residence by a crowd of the citizens.

On the day after Mrs. Washington's arrival, the president invited a few
official characters to a famil