the ceremonies of
the day. Both parties sincerely desired to pay the highest honors to the
chief magistrate of the nation, but political considerations separated
the governor and the selectmen of Boston. The governor claimed the
right, as chief officer of the state, of receiving and welcoming in
person the expected guest at the entrance to the capital; while the
selectmen said, "You should have met him at the boundary of the _state_;
but when he is about to enter the _town_, it is the right of the
municipal authorities to receive him."

The controversy was unsettled when the president and _suite_, under a
military escort commanded by General Brooks, passed through Roxbury and
were ready to enter Boston. Washington and Major Jackson had left the
carriage, and had mounted horses prepared for them; and as the whole
procession passed over the Neck it was stopped, without apparent cause,
for a long time. The contending parties, executive and municipal, had
their respective carriages drawn up, each with the determination to
receive and do honors to the president; and for more than an hour aides
and marshals were posting between the leaders of the contending parties,
endeavoring to effect a reconciliation. The sky was cloudy and the
atmosphere raw, sour, and most disagreeable.[19] Washington finally
inquired the cause of the delay, and, being informed, he asked, with
evident impatience, whether there was any other avenue into the town. He
was about to wheel his horse and seek one, and leave the contestants
about etiquette to settle their dispute at leisure--when he was informed
that the matter had been arranged, the governor's party having yielded
to the municipal authorities.

The war of words being ended, the procession moved on. The president was
formally welcomed by the selectmen, and was received into the city with
acclamations of joy, the ringing of bells, and the firing of cannon. A
magnificent arch was raised for Washington to pass under, and the
streets, doors, and windows were filled with well-dressed people of both
sexes. The president rode with his hat off, and with a calm, dignified
air, without bowing to the people as he passed; but when he had reached
a balcony of the old statehouse, and he was saluted by a long procession
of citizens, he occasionally returned the salutations.[20] When the
ceremonials were over, he was conducted to his lodgings, at Mrs.
Ingersoll's--a fine brick house, at the corner of Tremont