The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1873-08-16

III no cnanced that the brltlnh Minister
from 1903 to 1909, with whom Jefferpum
had most to do, Merry by name but mot by
nature, was fanatic Of etiqustte and it
appears that, previous to his presentation
to the President, he had not heard OF the
business-like manner in which the AFFAIR."
~ the White House were conducted. He
was stunned ct the manner Of min recep-
ton It made an impression upon his
mind which neither explanation nor the
lapse Of years could even soften, much Isss
obhterate. And. really, when We considsr
that he had passed his life at courts where
the nod, the smile, the frown, the glance,
the tone, the silence, the presence, the ab-
sence OF the head Of the Government we're
matters of importance to be noted, record
ed. transmitted, and weighed, We ought not
to laugh at this Mr.. Merry an we do Be
sidea, an Mr.. Jefferson remarks, Poor
Merry had learned nothing Of diplomacy
but its suspicious without head enough to
distinguish when they were misplaced.
Nevertheless, he comes down to us borne
on the billow of laughter, and he remains
to this day one Of the stock of tests of
Washington. Thus he recounted his woes,
three years after the event, to Mr. Josiah
Quincy, of Massachusetts, the ablest Fed
erallst In Congress, and one Of the worth
lest
81 called on Mr.. Madison, who accom-
panied me officially to introduce me 10 the
President. We went together to the man
sion house, being in full official costume,
as the etiquette Of my place required on
such formal introduction Of a Minister
from Great Britain TO the President Of the
United States. On arriving at the hall Of
audience we found it empty, at which Mr..
Madison seemed surprised, and proceeded
to an entry leading to the President study,
l followed him, supposing the introduction
was to take place in the adjoining room.
At this moment Mr.. Jefferson entered the
entry at the other end, and all three Of us
were packed in this narrow space, from
which, to make room, | was obliged 10 back
out. In this awkward position my intro
ductlon to the President was made by Mr.
Madison. Mr.. Jeferson's appearance soon
explained to me that the general circum-
stances of my reception had not been acci-
dental, but studied. l, in my official cos
tune, found myself, at the hour Of reeep-
ton he had himself arpoip&ed, introduced
to man as President Of the United States,
not merely in an undress, but actually
standing in slippers down at the heels. and
both pantaloons, coat, and underclothes in
dlcatlve Of an utter slovenliness aud indif-
ference to appearances, and il state Of
negligence actually studied. / could not
doubt that the whole scene was prepared
and intended an an insult, not to me per
sonally, but to the sovereign 1 repre-
sented"
II is just possible that Mr.. jefferson
thought, that morning, Of the time when
Gouverneur Morris kicked his heels four
months In London waiting for the prom
ised answer to the British government to
as reasonable and urgent a communications
from President Washington as one govern
ment ever made to another, and then had
to leave England without getting it, Pos
sibly, also, it did happen to occur to his
memory that Mr.. Adams had boon kept
vainly waiting three years in England for
a reply TO the same proposals Perhaps,
too, he remembered the period when be
himself was presented to the King Of Eng
land by Mr.. Adams, and the King froze to
them both; an example which was followed
by the Kings friends" and society gen
orally; 90 that it required courage for q
courtier to show them more than cold civil
ity at an evening party. And this, while
they were only asking the King to stay the
bloody ravages of the Indians by giving
up the seven posts within the boundaries
of their country. He may, too, have
thought Of the time when he, as Secretary
of State, would send an important commu-
nication 20 the British Minister Mt PhilA-
delphia, and wait many months for an an
swer; but II he failed to answer a letter
within three or four days. ne would be
| ''goadea by a second. Perhaps he
thought the time had come to show the
Federallsts thas he did not accept Great
Britain at her own valuation, and did not
believe she was lighting the battle Vt man
and liberty against Bonanarte. II may be,
too, that he, knowing the childish politics
Of Europe, and what a ridiculous impor-
tance was attached there to trihes, may
have paused before ringing for . pair Of
shoes not down at the heels, and wondered
Il his old slippers, duly reported to Bona
parte, might not drive another nail into
the bargain for Louisiana, Just concluded
| by Mr.. Livingston and Mr. Monroe, 70 the
great Joy of President and people Ali
these thoughts may have fitted through
the Presidents mind, and held back his
hand from the bell rope; but, in all proba-
bilIty, he had no thoughts Of that kind,
and only wore the clothes he usually did
while at work
A tex weeks after, arrived in Washing
ton the Irish poet, Thomaa Moore, who
had crossed the Atlantic in the same ship
with Mr.. and Mira Merry. To him, also.
the affronted Briton related his sorrows,
and even exhibited the President clad in
the same style. Mr.. Merry presented Mr..
Moore to the President n. the White
House. II found him." the poet re-
cords, ''sitting with Gen. Dearborn and
one or two other officers, and i'm the same
homely costume. comprising slippers and
Oonnemara stockings, in which Mr.. Merry
had been received by him, much to that
formal minister's horror, when waiting on
him in full dress to deliver his credentials.
My single interview with this remarkable
person was Of very short duration; bnt to
have seen and spoken to the man who
drew up the Declaration Of Independence
was an event not to be forgotten" The
poet did not approve Of the President, and
said SO in several satirical stanzas and po-
ems In his next publication, ut which Mr.
Jefferson was amused, and even surprised
for he had not before heard Of this new
light in literature. Mr.. Randall relates a
pleasant incident to show how little he
had come to regard the stings and arrows
Of outrageous politics. few years after
his retirement, a granddaughter placed in
his hands Moore's Irish Melodies, as the
book Of the season, which was having a
great run on both sides of the ocean. The
young lady, curious and exPectant, watched
him as he opened the work and turned
over the leaves. Said jefferson: ''This il
the little man wRo satirized me SO. Read
ing on, he was won by the flowing music
and patriotic feeling Of the verse. 1'Why, =
he said, at length, ''he is poet after all; I
and, even after, even to the end Of his life,
he was fond Of reading certain favoritel
among the poems Of Thomas Moore.
D But poor Mery's troubles were not al
4 an end He and his wife dined one dav at