"There is scarcely anything talked of now but General Washington and the Palace." This is what Mrs. William T. Robinson wrote to her friend, Miss Kitty Wistar, of Brandywine in 1789, when the first President was installed in the mansion prepared for him in Cherry Street. It was commonly referred to as the Palace, although President Washington himself never alluded to it as such. No doubt it was an extraordinarily fine house for that time, and had all the household magnificence's known to the struggling little town of these early days.

 The President himself was aristocratic and rather domineering, but notwithstanding these imperial traits he had a fine equipoise of mind which kept him in line with republican simplicity. He only smiled at the superficialities which put him in a class with royalty.

The fact is that the city was a rather shabby little town with narrow and dirty streets running in irregular lines, and zigzagging in every direction. Most of the houses were little low buildings, constructed mostly of wood with no pretensions whatever to architectural style. There is an old print of Broadway even later than 1789 which shows the buildings on that leading thoroughfare to be simple brick or frame houses of irregular size and shape. In spots of course the little town had its finer quarters, but to an inhabitant of modern New York with all its splendid residences and fine streets the little old New York of Washington's times would be a sorry spectacle.

If the President went anywhere a foot in the early days of the Republic he would encounter all sorts of obstacles on the streets, not the least of these being the live stock which swarmed everywhere. Dogs were numerous, and pigs were allowed to roam the streets on account of their usefulness in devouring the garbage which our forebears unconcernedly threw out on the streets. These were the original street cleaners and the precursors of our modern white wings. Our modern streets also present a marvelous contrast to the rough and often unpaved streets of Washington's time. The hills and valleys of these unpaved streets made walking a strenuous and even dangerous exercise, and any one who ventured out after dark staggered along in imminent danger of a fall. The lights were few and far between and the little flickering lamps did not help much to dispel the darkness of the night. There were slaves in New York in these days a strange commentary on human nature for the master hands who had just won liberty for themselves did nothing to free the real slaves that were bought and sold in the market place of the town. Let us not be too hard on our slave owning forefathers, however they could not accomplish all they desired at once, and the seeds of liberty they sowed then fructified later into the great liberation of the Civil War.

It was not customary to remain up late nights, nine o'clock being considered a good time to retire. There were few attractions for the ordinary citizen in the evenings and a walk around the Battery for the better class of people was thought to be quite a good time. Washington himself in his diary referred to several walks around the Battery as a recreation. The poorer folks did not wander far from their own door steps and too many of them especially the men portion found their chief amusement in the near taverns, of which there were plenty.

The town pump was an institution of importance. It was the chief water supply for the entire community. Here the housewives or the young people of the family came to draw their supply of drinking water, and here too, much of the gossip of the little town was exchanged. The pump stood in Chatham Street, and was fed from a pond located a little further north, near where Canal Street is now.

It was customary to deliver water to those who could afford to pay for the service and this water was adjudged to be of a  superior quality. It was delivered in barrels and on account of its better quality was spoken of as "Tea water." It is a strange fact that in our own day this old custom of delivering water in original packages has been revived and water too which is claimed to be of a higher grade_grade A, so to speak.

The great social event was the levee held by the President every Thursday afternoon to which the public was welcome. On these occasions the President, who was always rather fastidious in regard to dress, presented a very handsome figure in black velvet coat and knee breeches, with white waist coat and immaculate linen. His knee buckles and those of his shoes were always in shining condition, and on his head rested the customary wig which people of consequence and position wore in those days. A sword was invariably at his side on all such occasions. On less formal occasions he left off the sword, but otherwise was just as scrupulously attired. He relaxed somewhat from the austere manner of his formal levees and became for the time the affable and genial gentleman, conversing with vivacity and even indulging in pleasantries with the fair sex.

On Sundays all was quiet and extremely decorous about the Presidential mansion. Frivolity, which rarely invaded the home of the first President at any time, was banished from its precincts absolutely and an air of solemnity filled the house. The President was a regular church-goers and joined the Sabbath morning throngs that could be seen wending their way to their respective places of worship, the lines of pedestrians converging toward St. Paul's chapel, where the President occupied a pew specially set apart for his use. It was a picturesque sight to see these simple folk in their quaint dress and primitive ways walking in twos and threes through the little narrow streets leading to the churches. There were few slackers in the early days of the Republic and morning worship was a solemn duty that brought everybody to church that could possibly go.

In these later and more opulent days we can scarcely realize that the people of New York in Washington's time were in a sad and poverty-stricken condition. They had just passed through the severities and privations of war. They had not recovered from the great fire of 1776 which had destroyed so much of the best part of the town, and the commercial and other interests were only beginning to take on new life with the prospect of settled conditions. It was a time of adjustment and the beginning of a new period, and the presence of the great man who had led the nation safely through all the turbulent and stormy years was specially valuable in giving the people new heart and new inspiration.

Near View of Washington's Inauguration

Mrs. Eliza Susan Morton Quincey, wife of Josiah Quincey, and an eye witness of Washington's inauguration gives an intimate touch to this important historical event which is very charming. She says:

"I was on the roof of the first house in Broad Street which belonged to Captain Prince, the father of one of my school companions, and so near to Washington that I could almost hear him speak. The windows and the roofs of the houses were crowded, and in the streets the throng was so dense that it seemed as if one might literally walk on the heads of the people. The balcony of the hall was in full view of this assembled multitude. In the centre of it was placed a table with a rich covering of red velvet, and upon this, on a crimson velvet cushion, lay a large and elegant Bible. This was all the paraphernalia for the august scene. After taking the oath of office, a signal was given by raising a flag upon the cupalo of the Hall for a general discharge of the artillery of the Battery. All the bells in the city rang out a peal of joy, and the assembled multitude sent forth a universal shout. The President again bowed to the people and then retired from the scene such as the proudest monarch never enjoyed. Many entertainments were given, both public and private, and the city was illuminated in the evening."