IN THE UNITED STATES 1838-1875 377 



But there was then one thing which has now ceased: in 

 many of the greater hotels public prayers were held every 

 evening, some eminent clergyman officiating ; and a leader 

 in these services was David Leavitt, a famous New York 

 bank president, shrewd, but pious. Now and then, as 

 the political campaigns drew on, we had speeches from 

 eminent statesmen; and I give in the chapters on 

 &quot;My Religion&quot; reminiscences of speeches on religious 

 subjects made by Archbishop Hughes and Father Ga- 

 vazzi. An occasional visit from Washington Irving or 

 Senator (afterward President) Buchanan, as well as 

 other men of light and leading, aroused my tendencies 

 toward hero-worship ; but perhaps the event most vividly 

 stamped into my memory was the parade of Mme. Jumel. 

 One afternoon at that period she appeared in the streets 

 of Saratoga in an open coach-and-four, her horses rid 

 den by gaily dressed postilions. This was regarded by 

 very many visitors as an affront not merely to good 

 morals, but to patriotism, for she had the fame of 

 having been in relations, more intimate than edifying, 

 with Aaron Burr, who was widely considered as a traitor 

 to his country as well as the murderer of Alexander 

 Hamilton; and on the second day of her parade, an 

 other carriage, with four horses and postilions, in all 

 respects like her own, followed her wherever she went, 

 and sometimes crossed her path: but this carriage con 

 tained an enormous negro, black and glossy, a porter 

 at one of the hotels, dressed in the height of fashion, 

 who very gravely rose and doffed his hat to the ap 

 plauding multitudes on either side of the way. Mme. 

 Jumel and her friends were, of course, furious; and it 

 was said that her postilions would in future be armed 

 with pistols and directed to fire upon the rival equi 

 page should it again get in their way. But no catastro 

 phe occurred ; Mme. Jumel took one or two more drives, 

 and that was the end of it. 



In my college days, from 1849 to 1853, going to and 

 from New Haven, I frequently passed through New York, 



