"Can things of such mechanical and terrestrial import," inquired the King, "interest the thoughts of one before whom Heaven has unrolled her own celestial volumes?"

My brother," replied the astrologer, "believe me, that, in considering the consequences of this invention, I read with as certain augury, as by any combination of the heavenly bodies, the most awful and portentous changes. When I reflect with what slow and limited supplies the stream of science hath hitherto descended to us; how dif ficult to be obtained by those most ardent in its search; how certain to be neglected by all who love their ease; how liable to be diverted or altogether dried up by the invasions of barbarism,-can I look forward without wonder and astonishment to the lot of a succeeding generation, on whom knowledge will descend like the first and second rain, uninterrupted, unabated, unbounded; fertilizing some grounds and overflowing others; changing the whole form of social life; establishing and overthrowing relig ions; erecting and destroying kingdoms-"

-

"Hold! hold, Galeotti!" cried the King; "shall these changes come in our time?"

แ

'No, my royal brother," replied Martivalle; "this invention may be likened to a young tree which is now newly planted, but shall, in succeeding generations, bear fruit as fatal, yet as precious, as that of the Garden of Eden, the knowledge, namely, of good and of evil.”

THIRD PERIOD.

1783-1871.

From the Evacuation of New York City by the British to the present day.

CHAPTER I.

1783.

"THE city is ruined by the war, but its future greatness is unquestionable." So wrote a citizen of New York, at the close of the Revolutionary War, to a friend; and never was there a truer prophecy uttered. The trade of the city was indeed "ruined;" her treasury was empty; and her people were yet divided by domestic feuds. Still, this state of things could not last long. The position of New York among the colonies had already become too important to be ignored for any length of time; and the same causes which, at an early period, made New York the center of the colonial interest, were to continue in operation until she should become that which she now is,—the metropolis of America. The Colonial Congress of 1765, the Provincial Congress of 1776, the selection of herself as the seat of the General Government in 1788, and the inauguration of Washington in 1789, were "all hints of the empire that was to be."

1788.

On the 13th of September, 1788, the adoption of the Federal Constitution was publicly announced; and New York was chosen as the seat of the General Government. This action of the Convention was peculiarly gratifying to the citizens of New York, who at once took steps to celebrate the occasion with fitting ceremonies.*

It is well known that the festivities attendant upon such a momentous occasion should be embalmed for American generations yet unborn. The adoption of the Federal Constitution-the instrument which was to bind the almost disjointed members of the republic together, as one people—was the most important event that the citizens of New York had ever been called upon to commemorate. The period intervening between the formation of the Constitution by the Convention, and its adoption by the number of States requisite to give it validity, was one of deep anxiety to the patriots of that day, not unmingled with fears as to the final result. A violent opposition sprung up in various parts of the Confederation, which was so successfully fomented by demagogues, and by those who feared they might lose weight in the national scale, should the new Federal edifice be erected, that the friends of the Constitution, seeing nothing better than civil tumult and anarchy in the prospective, should that instrument be rejected, entertained the most lively apprehen

*The account given in the text of the PROCESSION in honor of the adoption of the Federal Constitution, as well as the narrative of the INAUGURATION BALL, is taken from the writings of the late Colonel William L. Stone, for thirty years the editor of the New York Commercial Advertiser. It is believed to comprise the only faithful historical record, political, festive, and fashionable, of the adoption of the Federal Constitution, the organization of the Government, the pageantry attending it, and the demonstrations which followed that important epoch in our national history. The particulars were collected by Colonel Stone, with much care and labor, from such printed accounts as could be found in the scattered remnants of the little dingy newspapers of that day, and, also, such facts as were yet dimly floating in the recollections of those few who were then surviving and had been actors in the scenes described.

the

sions upon the subject. There were, likewise, among opponents of the proposed Constitution, some good men and real patriots, who honestly believed, that, in the event of its adoption, too much power would pass from the States to the Federal Congress and the Executive. The ablest tongues and pens in the Union were brought into action; and it was that contest which combined the united wisdom of Hamilton, Jay, and Madison, in the Federalist,-the ablest exposition of the Constitution that ever has been, or, perhaps, ever will be, written.

The action, however, of the respective States was slow. The proceedings of their conventions were watched with absorbing interest; and, when it was found that the voice of New York would turn the scale (the Convention being in session in Poughkeepsie), all eyes were eagerly turned toward that quarter. The chief reason of New York's reluctance to come into the Constitutional Union was the fear--in view of the rising destiny of their city and Stateof making over too much of their local power to the central Government; especially their great share of revenue from imports, and their commanding position between New England and the South and West. The contest, however, was not long in doubt. Hamilton redoubled his wonderful efforts, and Livingston put the whole energies of his capacious mind in requisition, and the Federalists triumphed. The news was received in New York city with unbounded delight; the clubs celebrated the event with dinners and great festivity, and the citizens gave themselves up to the most unequivocal evidences of gratification. But private manifestations of the public feeling were held not to be worthy of the occasion, and no time was lost in concerting the necessary measures for a public commemoration of the event, upon the most extensive and splendid scale that the public means would allow. Nor has the pageantry of any American celebration since that

day-not even excepting the Atlantic Cable Celebration of 1859-excelled it in the ardor of its enthusiasm, or in the splendor of its effect. In describing the procession on this occasion, Colonel Stone says:

"The procession was organized in the fields,' above the city; thence it moved down Broadway to Great Dock Street; thence through Hanover Square and Queen (now Pearl) Street, up to Chatham; through Chatham to Division, and thence across, through Bullock Street, to the grounds surrounding the country-seat of Nicholas Bayard, near the present junction of Broadway and Grand Street.

"A volume would scarce suffice to detail the particulars necessary to a full description of the flags and emblems, and patriotic decorations, which graced the many divisions and subdivisions of this brilliant pageant-altogether exceeding anything of a kindred character previously exhibited in the New World. After a brilliant military escort came Captain Moore, in the character and ancient costume of Christopher Columbus, preceded and followed by a band of foresters, with axes, suitably appareled. The next division consisted of a large number of farmers, among whom were Nicholas Cruger, driving a six-ox team, and the present venerable John Watts, holding a plow. All the implements of husbandry and gardening were borne in the procession, and the Baron Poelnitz attended a threshing-machine. Their horses. were handsomely caparisoned, and led by boys in white uniforms. The tailors made a very brilliant display of numbers, uniforms, and decorations of various descriptions. In the procession of the bakers were boys in beautiful dresses, representing the several States, with roses in their hands. There were likewise an equal number of journeymen in appropriate uniforms, with the implements of the calling, and a loaf of bread was borne in the procession