182 
very exact; several have been ordered, and one or two companies 
are to be armed with them in case of war. 
At a dinner given by the president, and at which I had the honour 
along with about forty persons, to be present, were the diplo¬ 
matic body, the state secretaries, several generals, and other per¬ 
sons of distinction. Among them, I made the acquaintance of Mr. 
Gaillard,* of North Carolina, president pro tern, of the senate. 
No ladies were present, because Mrs. Adams was not well. 
The table furniture was very rich. I was particularly pleased 
with a service of silver gilt. The eating-room is very spacious, 
besides which there were two richly furnished rooms open. I 
remarked several handsome Sevres, porcelain vessels, and a 
marble bust of the great Washington, by the Italian sculptor 
Ceracchi, who was afterwards shot in Paris, on account of a con¬ 
spiracy against Napoleon’s life. A great chandelier was remark¬ 
ably fine; it was made for the Emperor Napoleon, and purchased 
in the year 1815, by the American minister in Paris. The im¬ 
perial eagles now pass for American. 
General Brown,t during a visit, showed me a large gold me¬ 
dal which was presented to him by congress, on account of his 
services in the late war. On one side of it is a bust of the 
general, and on the other a trophy of English arms surrounding 
a fasces. Four shields bear the names, Sackett’s Harbour, Nia¬ 
gara, Chippewa, and Erie, with the dates on which these places 
witnessed the general’s deeds. At the foot of the trophy an Ame¬ 
rican eagle is represented, holding in his talons an English bam 
ner. This medal is not intended to be worn: the general pre¬ 
serves it in a box. The American citizens are not allowed to 
wear any foreign decorations; even General Bernard was obliged 
to lay aside those he had so truly merited. General Brown 
showed me also a gold box, presented to him by the city of New 
York, together with the freedom of the city. 
On the 14th of November I began to make farewell visits, for 
the dwellings in Washington are so far distant, that such visits 
require a great deal of time. On this occasion, I had a long con¬ 
versation with the secretary of war, Mr. Barbour, and gene¬ 
ral Macomb, on military subjects. I differed in opinion from 
the secretary about the efficiency of militia men, of whom he, 
as their former general, J seemed to entertain too high an opi¬ 
nion. At Mr. de Wallenstein’s I saw some good instruments; 
a barometer for measuring heights, and a telescope which he had 
adopted as a transit-instrument. I found there also Krusenstern’s 
* Since dead. f [Since dead.]— Trans. 
* He had commanded the militia jvhen Governor of Virginia. 
