ther of
her eccentricities consisted in the fact that she positively refused,
when shopping, to recognize even her most intimate friends, as she said
it was simply impossible for her to combine business with pleasure. In
spite of her peculiarities, however, she possessed unusual social charm.
Her husband was prominent in society and business circles. He was
founder of the New York Yacht Club as well as its first president, and
commanded the _America_ in the memorable race in England in 1851, which
won the celebrated cup that Sir Thomas Lipton and other English
yachtsmen have failed to restore to their native land. Mary Livingston,
the younger daughter of John Swift Livingston, was a _petite_ beauty.
She married a distant relative, a son of Maturin Livingston. I am told
that her brother, Johnston Livingston, is still living in New York at a
very advanced age.

Joseph Kemmerer's band was an indispensable adjunct to all social
gatherings in the days of which I am speaking. The number of instruments
used was always in proportion to the size of the entertainment. The
inspiring airs of Strauss and Labitzky, then in vogue, were popular with
the younger set. These airs bring back pleasant memories, as I have
frequently danced to them. The waltz in my day was a fine art and its
votaries were numerous. I recall the fact that Edward James of Albany, a
witty young gentleman with whom I occasionally danced, was such a
devotee to the waltz that, not possessing sufficient will power to
resist its charms and having a delicate constitution, he nearly danced
himself into another world. Two attractive young brothers, Thomas H. and
Daniel Messinger, who were general beaux in society, played their parts
most successfully in the social world by their graceful dancing, and no
ball was considered complete without their presence. These brothers
were associated in the umbrella industry, and Miss Lydia Kane, some of
whose witty remarks I have already quoted, dubbed them the "reigning
beaux!" Daniel Messinger eventually married Miss Elizabeth Coles
Neilson, a daughter of Anthony Bleecker Neilson, and became a Lieutenant
Colonel in the Union Army during the Civil War.

The British Consul General in New York from 1817 to 1843 was James
Buchanan. He was Irish by birth, and many young British subjects
visiting the United States made his home their headquarters. He had
several daughters and, as the whole family was social in its tastes, I
often enjoy