iladelphia "set the social pace."
And, when the capital was removed to the Quaker City, there was indeed a
brilliance in society that would have compared not unfavorably with the
best in England during the same years. Unfortunately few magazine
articles or books picturing the life in the city at that time remain;
but from diaries, journals, and letters we may gain many a hint. Before
and during the Revolution there were at Philadelphia numerous wealthy
Tory families, who loved the lighter side of life, and when the town was
occupied by the British these pro-British citizens offered a welcome
both extended and expensive. As Wharton says in her _Through Colonial
Doorways_:

"The Quaker City had, at the pleasure of her conqueror, doffed her
sober drab and appeared in festal array.... The best that the city
afforded was at the disposal of the enemy, who seem to have spent their
days in feasting and merry-making, while Washington and his army endured
all the hardships of the severe winter of 1777-8 upon the bleak
hill-sides of Valley Forge. Dancing assemblies, theatrical
entertainments, and various gaieties marked the advent of the British in
Philadelphia, all of which formed a fitting prelude to the full-blown
glories of the Meschianza, which burst upon the admiring inhabitants on
that last-century May day."[224]

This, however, was not a sudden outburst of reckless joy on the part of
the Philadelphians; for long before the coming of Howe the wealthier
families had given social functions that delighted and astonished
foreign visitors. We are sure that as early as 1738 dancing was taught
by Theobald Hackett, who offered to instruct in "all sorts of
fashionable English and French dances, after the newest and politest
manner practiced in London, Dublin, and Paris, and to give to young
ladies, gentlemen, and children, the most graceful carriage in dancing
and genteel behaviour in company that can possibly be given by any
dancing master, whatever."

Before the middle of the eighteenth century balls, or "dancing
assemblies" had become popular in Philadelphia, and, being sanctioned by
no less authority than the Governor himself, were frequented by the best
families of the city. In a letter by an influential clergyman, Richard
Peters, we find this reference to such fashionable meetings: "By the
Governor's encouragement there has been a very handsome assembly once a
fortnight at Andrew Hamilton's house and stores, which are tenan