The Diaries of Sidney Qeorge Fisher 1844-1849

ETWEEN 1952 and 1955, a number of installments of the Fisher diary were published in this Magazine. These selections B from the monumental memoirs of the diarist, who com- menced setting down the record of his life as a young man in 1834 and continued the practice until his death in 1871, were so well received by our readers that the Editors are continuing them during the current year. The present selection begins in 1844 when the writer was thirty-six years old. He was still a bachelor, although deeply in love with Miss Elizabeth Ingersoll. "Love and poverty/' he wrote, "is a bad com- bination, worse than friendship and wealth, perhaps either is better than solitude with or without money." Sidney George Fisher, well-born scion of a distinguished Philadel- phia family, was a lawyer who refused to practice because the pursuit of money interfered with his intellectual interests. He loved to read, to meditate, to luxuriate in the delights of nature. Unfortunately, his inherited wealth was not sufficient to enable him to do all this. But always he hoped to make ends meet through profits from his farm, Mount Harmon, on the Sassafras River in Maryland. The story of his farming operations, which were under the charge of a tenant farmer, is a story of continuing disasters. His calculations of the farm's yield were invariably delusive and drove him into heavy debt. Fortunately for Fisher, he could turn to his younger brother, Henry, whose business career was well launched and whose success was a constant wonder to Fisher as he made good his yearly deficits from Henry's profits. Henry did what he could to rehabilitate his brother's fortune. He urged the sale of Mount Harmon, but Fisher refused on the basis that it was inherited property, and, in any event, he loved owning it. Henry tried to persuade him to practice law, to do something active and gainful, but with limited success. 49 5O SIDNEY GEORGE FISHER January The following selection from Fisher's diary finds him disturbed by the election of Polk and Dallas, and deals with many topics, includ- ing social and public events, personalities of the day, and the great national issues of slavery and the Mexican War. Its most poignant moment comes with his heartbroken description of the death of his brother's lovely little daughter, Emily. Whenever Fisher began a new volume of his diary, he inscribed on its title page some apt quotation. The present diary is headed: We are such stuff As dreams are made of, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep.

July 28, 1844 In the evening at Henry's. He has accepted the agency of the whole of Morrison's1 interests here, amounting to between 7 and 8 millions. He is to get $3,000 per annum, with some other perquisites, which make his compensation $3,500. His regular income from his estate is now over $4,000. The opportunities which his position gives him will enable him easily to make from 5 to $10,000 a year more; so that he is now entirely independent with every prospect of becoming a very rich man. Such rapid success is very remarkable. Three years ago he was not worth $10,000 besides his farm, & hardly knew what he should turn to, to support his family. This result is not luck, but the legitimate consequence of industry, talent, honorable conduct & knowledge of business and of men, by which he has become able to secure the entire confidence of large capitalists and to render them such important services that they are anxious to secure the benefit of his efforts. I never saw a more happy family or one by whom happiness & prosperity was more fully deserved. My lot is very different, necessarily so because my turn of mind & disposition are different. His talents are practical & active, mine speculative, which lead to no external results. He is a doer, I a dreamer & must remain so all my life for it is useless to strive against nature. December 29, 1844 As to public affairs, the success of Polk & Dallas is complete, and ultra democracy has again signally tri- umphed, as it always must in this country, until drunk with power it 1 James Morrison (1790-1857) of London, a man of great wealth who had large American investments. 1962 DIARIES 1844-1849 51 plunges into the anarchy which will destroy it. Everything here & in Europe indicates that the old order of things is passing away, that the present civilization is to be destroyed, that the period of change has arrived. The masses are everywhere rising and claiming to govern society, to alter not only its political constitution but its organiza- tion, its relations, its life. What new forms will grow out of the chaos is a question which concerns a distant future. We, our genera- tion & our time, have unhappily to suffer all the troubles & griefs of the process of change, a fiery ordeal, of which the present foretaste is bitter enough. February [ ], 1845 Another movement, showing a disregard for vested rights, is an attempt lately made to unite the city & districts under one government, thus destroying its charter & altering all its relations. The pretext is a general police; the real motives are to give the vote of the whole to the democratic party & to improve the value of the vacant lots in the districts. It originated in holders of these lots & politicians. It was got up in the most insidious manner, no responsible or respectable riames being openly connected with it, tho the real movers are pretty well known. A meeting was called to oppose this scheme & Mr. Binney presented a memorial to be sent to the councils & the legislature. He interested himself very much in the matter as he is a large holder of city debt, the security of which such a measure would greatly injure. The chief objection to the proposed plan is one which cannot be insisted on publicly, that the city is conservative, the districts are radical. As long as the city remains within its present limits, the conservative party will govern it. If it be merged in the districts, the radicals will have the majority in the new corporation. The city in short would be governed by the mob of the districts and its own mob combined, its property would be applied to the improvement of the districts, its patronage & revenue be placed in the hands of demagogues & partizans of the lowest stamp. The whole scheme is one of plunder.2 Uncle William has published a book on the history of the Sabbath.3 It is an attempt to oppose the efforts of puritans and fanatics, who 2 Despite the efforts of Horace Binney and other conservatives, the city and districts were consolidated in 1854. Fisher wrote an article on "consolidation" which was published in the United States Gazette, Jan. 30, 1845, over his initial "S." 3 William Logan Fisher, History of the Institution of the Sabbath Day> its uses & abuses; with Notices of the Puritans & Quakers (Philadelphia, 1845). 52 SIDNEY GEORGE FISHER January are endeavouring by influencing public opinion & thro that the legislature, to force upon the community by law their narrow- minded & gloomy superstitions. It is so well done that I was quite astonished that he could have written it. March 2y 1845 The Reading Railroad & Schuylkill Naviga- tion Cos. are . . . engaged in a ruinous contest, in which much unpleasant feeling has been excited. The road is determined to take the whole coal trade & thus destroy the value of the canal if possible. For this object a double track was made last year at an expence, with wharves & machinery, of $1,500,000. The canal, to retain the business, has just issued proposals for a loan of $1,000,000 to enlarge its work. To prevent the success of this attempt & destroy public confidence, parties interested in the road have written pamphlets & newspaper articles against the canal; its friends have replied by similar attacks on the road & its directors. This paper war has been kept up for some time & is becoming every day more acrimonious & personal. The public rejoices because it makes coal cheap. But the owners of the 15 millions of capital invested in these two works are the sufferers. 4 July 8y 1845 Morrison was in town. Saw a good deal of him. He invited me to go out with him on the 1st of July, promising to show me country life in England and to give me all the facilities in his power. Would have been much tempted by this offer were it not that I had just got engaged with my new farming avocations, which I cannot now leave.5 They have increased Henry's salary to $5,000. He receives $1,000 from the Dennisons.6 These two posts are permanent, at least as long as he will want them. With his own fortune they make his income $10,000 a year at least. He can easily make 10 or $20,000 in addition. His success is very remarkable, unprecedented indeed. He deserves it all for the labor, anxiety and responsibility attending such varied & heavy interests is immense. The Morrisons have enlarged his powers giving him complete control of all their investments amounting to about ten millions of dollars. It is rare indeed that such a trust is confided to so young a man. 4 Alfred Morrison, a son of James Morrison. 6 Fisher had recently employed a new farmer and was making changes in his farming pro- cedures at Mount Harmon. 6 William Joseph Dennison (1790-1849), millionaire senior partner in the London banking firm of Dennison, Hey wood & Kennard. 1962 DIARIES 1844-1849 53 July 20, 1845 On Friday evening drove out to Mrs, Barton's.7 Was graciously received and passed an agreeable evening, talking on the piazza & enjoying the sight of the noble trees around the place steeped in the brilliant moonlight. What a fine thing it is to be rich, to possess these glorious beauties of nature & surround oneself with them. To exclude the common, the vulgar, the disagreeable, to live amid delightful sights & sounds, to converse only with the intellectual & the refined. Barton8 has had good luck, at least in the external things of life. Successful in his profession, for a time indeed at the head of it, he has married two fine women of large fortune. His first wife was worth $150,000, his present a million. But he is a vulgar man, with talents, but a commonplace, limited mind & no culture either as a gentleman or a scholar. He is a very respectable person, but a man whose life has been devoted to a mechanical pursuit like surgery, in which dexterity of manipulation is the chief merit & object, is not likely to possess superior tastes & enlargement of mind. He is inferior to his wife, much inferior to what Rotch9 was, a fine, handsome, bold, manly fellow & a gentleman. I pity Mrs. Barton. Her first marriage was unhappy, she has no children, she is estranged from her sister,10 her brother11 can be nothing to her, there can be no congeniality or sympathy between them, and now in the decline of life she has married this man, not surely from love but for the sake of a protector, a companion, as a refuge from utter loneliness, and her only resources are him & his children. Her wealth is nothing. They do not spend a 10th part of their income. She has been one of the most charming women of her time. August 3, 1845 The Aug. interest of the Wilmington road12 was paid by the Directors, chiefly by Henry and at his instance, to save the road from bankruptcy. The amount was $24,000, of which Henry advanced $16,000. He did it because from conversations with 7 Mrs. John Rhea Barton was the former Susan Ridgway, daughter of Jacob Ridgway, from whom she inherited Clermont, a two-hundred-acre estate close to the northern limits of Phila- delphia. 8 Dr. John Rhea Barton (1794-1871), a Philadelphia surgeon who had retired from practice in 1840. 9 Thomas Rotch, Mrs. Barton's first husband. 10 Phoebe Anne Ridgway, the wife of Dr. James Rush, 11 John J. Ridgway, who resided principally in Paris. 12 Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad Company, which was engaged in a controversy with the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Co. 54 SIDNEY GEORGE FISHER January the canal committee men [Chesapeake and Delaware Canal], he thought the chances very much in favor of an amicable arrangement being made when the most influential persons of the Board are in town & can all meet. He determined to run the risk & assume the responsibility & thus probably saved the road from ruin, as indeed he has more than once done before. This, however, was a palpable & signal act, and if the road is saved he will probably get the entire credit of it. At least he deserves it. He is well nigh used up by fatigue, anxiety & excitement. December 31, 1845 Henry ... is very busy & as usual very successful. He has made $35,000 this year, and I think may now be considered worth about $ 120,000, a wonderful result certainly. As he gets $6,000 a year from his English agencies, his income is very large, independent of any profits from operations, which his position & command of capital enable him to make to great advantage. He lives with great comfort & even luxury, keeps a carriage, 3 horses, 6 servants, an excellent table & exercises very constant hospitality, without parade, but with ease & elegance. He deserves it all, for it is the result of industry, energy, talent & honorable conduct, which has gained him the confidence of the community & more influence & power among the monied circles here than any other man. Few operations of importance are undertaken without his knowledge or participation, & of many that are greatest he has the control. I have immense satisfaction in him, the more perhaps because I am not fitted for a life of action myself. January 18, 1846 The town has been very dull until last Tuesday evening when Mrs. Camac's13 Fancy Ball came off. The invitations were out a long while before & ample time given for preparation. Everything was propitious, the weather mild and the night lighted by a brilliant moon. It certainly was a beautiful party. Many of the dresses were got up with great care and expense and everyone was in costume. There were about 200 present, more gentlemen than ladies & the dresses of the gentlemen were more showy & conspicuous for richness & novelty than those of the ladies. Mrs. Camac's was the best among the ladies & was certainly very handsome. It was a court dress of a former century, very rich & costly & her hair was powdered. Miss Willet went as night, a black 13 Mrs. William Masters Camac (i807-1886), whose husband had died in 1842, 1962 DIARIES 1844-1849 55 dress & veil of some light texture, covered with white stars & a diamond crescent on her forehead to represent the moon. She looked extremely well. Miss Randolph14 was a Greek girl, very handsomely dressed & with good effect. Mrs. Butler15 was a tricoteuse, she had her knitting with her, acted the part admirably, & her appearance was as good as any in the room. I think her beauty is more conspicuous in a simple dress than in any other, altho it is also well suited to a rich costume. There were a great many shepherdesses, peasants & old-fashioned court dresses, but I remember none others particularly. The most distinguished of our ladies, who would have given greatest effect to the ball were away, being in mourning. Mrs. Ridgway,16 the most beautiful, was not there as she lost a brother in the autumn. Mrs. Harry Ingersoll, Mrs. Edw'd Biddle, Mrs. Harry McCall, Miss- Mary Wilcocks & Miss Ingersoll17 are also in mourning & these include almost all remarkable for beauty, fashion & attraction in town Among the men, some of the dresses were extremely good. Tom Willing was Massaniello, the costume perfect & suited well to exhibit his fine figure. His brother Edward was in the dress of a Sicilian nobleman of a former period, a very rich & elegant dress got up with great care & expense. Edward Biddle's was the court dress of a Spanish grandee, cloak, doublet & hose of cut velvet, and was perhaps the best dress in the room.18 Pierce Butler's was a very rich velvet dress of an English nobleman of a former century, covered with lace & embroidery. Manlius Evans & Wm. Cadwalader,19 two handsome, well-made youths, had on the full uniform of the present French cuirassier guard, a splendid dress with steel corslet, helmet, heavy sword, & all parts complete. These dresses were correct, having been brought from France by DeVaux Powel. There were a great number of other costumes that I do not recollect sufficiently to describe, an English fox hunter, scarlet coat, white cord breeches &

14 Presumably, Dr. Jacob Randolph's daughter, Elizabeth E. P. Randolph. 15 Mrs. John Butler, the former Gabriella Manigault Morris of Morrisania, N. Y. 16 Mrs. John J. Ridgway, the former Elizabeth Willing. 17 Elizabeth Ingersoll, whom Fisher greatly admired. 18 Edward Biddle (1815-1872), eldest son of Nicholas Biddle, no doubt chose a Spanish dress in deference to his beautiful wife, the former Jane J. Sarmiento, who was of Spanish blood. 19 William Cadwalader (1820-1875) was a brother of Gen. George and Judge John Cadwalader, who are often mentioned in the diary. 56 SIDNEY GEORGE FISHER January white top boots, many uniforms & military costumes of our own & other nations, many old-fashioned court dresses, sailors, peasants, brigands, &c, &c. I hardly know what to call my dress. I did not make up my mind to go until Saturday, not caring much about the party & disliking the trouble of getting a costume. Fisher,20 however, persuaded me that it was a very easy thing, & lent me a book of costumes. Among these were some of Austrian peasants that I thought handsome. I selected one, & with it as a model & some alterations my tailor got me up a dress that passed muster very well. 21 January 20y 1846 Dined at 5 at Dr. Mutter's. Dinner given to Dr. Carter. All the bridal party, I mean the gentlemen of it there, with many others.22 20 at table. Mr. Carter, Dr. Carter, Dr. Tucker formerly President of the University of Va.,23 Gov. Coles,24 Mr. Peter the British Consul,25 Col. Cadwalader,26 Dr. Randolph,27 Fisher, Dr. Page,28 Peter McCall,29 Mr. Rives,30 Robert Hare,31 &c, there. Sat between Robt. Hare & Dr. Randolph. Got along very well. At so large a dinner conversation is never general, but the company collect in little sets. Everything was very handsome. The wine was so old, according to Mutter who as he sent it round mentioned the age, some 80 years, another 50, &c, that it was not fit to drink. The house is large, furniture rich, the table apparatus very elegant, & there was no end to the courses. Mutter has no children & makes a good income

20 Joshua Francis Fisher (1 807-1873), cousin of Sidney George Fisher and always referred to by the diarist simply as "Fisher." 21 Dr. Thomas Dent Mütter (1811—1859), professor of surgery at Jefferson Medical College. 22 Dr. Charles Carter, a Virginian, had just married Emily Blight of Philadelphia. Emily was to die of consumption after a long illness on Feb. 26, 1848. 23 Dr. George Tucker (1775-1861) had retired from the University of Virginia in 1845, and lived thereafter in Philadelphia. 24 Edward Coles (1786-1868), a Virginian who settled in Illinois, served as governor, 1822- 1826, and moved to Philadelphia in 1832. 25 William Peter (1788-1853) was British consul in Philadelphia from 1840 to 1853. 26 Col. Thomas McCall Cadwalader (1795-1873). 27 Dr. Jacob Randolph (1796-1848), professor of surgery at the University of Pennsylvania and the leading surgeon in the city, "a very estimable man." 28 Dr. William Byrd Page (1817-1877) of Virginia, who settled in Philadelphia after gradu- ating from the Medical School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1839. 29 Peter McCall (1809-1880) was a prominent Philadelphia lawyer and mayor of Phila- delphia, 1844-1845. 30 Identified in the diary as a young Virginian, a son of William Cabell Rives (1793-1868), former senator and minister to France. 31 Robert Hare (1781-1858), professor of chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania. 1962 DIARIES 1844-1849 57 by his profession. He is, however, a good deal of a humbug, and has to great excess the bad habit of puffing himself. To this, however, I imagine he chiefly owes his success zMarch 8, 1846 The winter seems to have gone like a dream, I scarcely know how. I have lived in much the same way every day. Breakfast at 10, reading, writing letters, accounts, occasional business, a walk, perhaps a few visits, now & then a game of billiards at the Club,32 then dinner at 5, & thro the evening reading at home alone, or an hour or two at Henry's or a party till 12 or 1 or 2 as the case might be. This was varied by now and then dining at Henry's or elsewhere and by having a few friends dine with me. All this, combined with fine health, comfort & absence of care, is not a disagreeable life, and I have certainly passed a pleasant winter. But it is without action, without the excitement of purposes accomplished, without the satisfaction of progress. May 10, 1846 Important news came to town today. The army of occupation as they call it, sent to Texas & posted on the Rio Grande, has been surrounded by a Mexican army 3 times as large, its communication cut off, one of its reconnoitering parties defeated with great loss, and there is every prospect of a serious engagement & a disastrous result. Our people had only 15 days' provisions & no means of speedily obtaining supplies or reinforcement. This may be considered as the first bitter fruits of our rapacity & injustice. A long train of ills will probably follow. This news makes one important fact certain. We are at war with Mexico, a weak power certainly & of herself incapable of serious efforts to injure us. But it is a war produced by an act of unjustifiable aggression on our part, the sympathies, wishes and moral sense of the civilized world will be against us, and what new relations & ultimate consequences may grow out of it, no one can say. The cry will now be raised by the demagogues for the conquest of Mexico. But will European nations permit that, will the North & East of our own country consent to it. December 27, 1846 Henry is on the high tide of prosperity. He has actually made $100,000 this year. If he knows how to make it he also knows how to spend it, liberally & like a gentleman. He lives very handsomely & abundantly, with every luxury but without 32 Fisher was a member of The Philadelphia Club in 1846 and 1847, then located at 919 Walnut St. 58 SIDNEY GEORGE FISHER January foolish ostentation. He gave a dinner yesterday, 12 at table. After the cloth was removed, 8 kinds of Madiera wine were produced, all of high quality, some very remarkable. December 30, 1846 Went up to Henry's. Sarah Ann very unwell. Threatened with a miscarriage. Was attacked very suddenly this morning. I did not know she was enceinte. On what a fragile thread does happiness depend. A single life severed and a scene of joy & prosperity is at once converted into the deepest woe. Henry has been so fortunate, so constantly successful in all things, that I often dread some misfortune for him. He has had no troubles or griefs, no ill luck. This cannot continue always, or at least it rarely does. I trust, however, that no such dreadful stroke as the loss of his wife is reserved for him or is now impending over him. January 24, 1847 The Mexican War still remains in statu quo. Mr. Polk has caught a tartar. He finds a people, roused by unjust invasion, are not to be subdued in a day. He is getting alarmed at the enormous expense & small progress made & is now very anxious for peace. A new element has been introduced into the affair. A Mr. Wilmot has brought forward a bill that slavery shall not be permitted in any territory acquired by the war.33 The North has the power & the will to carry this and it has greatly cooled the patriotic ardor of the South for "annexation" of territory. Thus, already, appears the wisdom of those who opposed the annexation of Texas and the Mexican War. February 28, 1847 Slavery is a question which involves the existence of the South, which touches every man's property and fire- side, upon which the whole people think & feel as one man. There is no difference of sentiment among them about it, the slightest interference with it produces a tempest of indignation, and every Southern man is ready to shed his blood in defence of the system. Whilst such is the feeling among the slave states, in the North the abolition opinions, efforts and movement are constantly increasing. . . . April 18, 1847 The town is in a ferment about the news from Mexico, which I heard nothing of in the country. Before I went we

33 When Polk asked for $2,000,000 on Aug. 8, 1846, to make peace with Mexico, David Wilmot (1814-1868), a Pennsylvania congressman, offered a proviso that slavery should be prohibited in any territory so acquired. Adopted by the House, the proviso was defeated in the Senate. 1962 DIARIES 1844-1849 59 heard of the battle of Buena Vista & Taylor's victory there. This has been followed by the surrender of the City & Castle of Vera Cruz to Genl. Scott. The affair seems to have been skilfully conducted on our part, but there was no great resistance. Our shot & shell battered the town very much & killed a great many women & children. Very few were lost on our side. Genl. Taylor is now regarded as sure of the Presidency. It is thought that he will be elected by acclamation. Nothing can resist the popular enthusiasm he has excited. His successes, his prowess, his moderation & quiet prudence, saying nothing himself & letting his deeds speak, have completely defeated the administration in their base attempts to destroy him. Their efforts have recoiled with immense effect upon themselves & have excited a feeling of profound contempt & indignation throughout the country. They got up this iniquitous war for party purposes, & by the war & its consequences they will be defeated. They found that Taylor was becoming popular, that his victories & the fine qualities he exhibited were rapidly transferring to him all the credit & glory to be acquired by the war, to him a Whig & upon principle opposed to the war. They abused him therefore in Congress & in the press, took away his best troops, superseded him in his command, did all they could to injure him & thwart him, and now behold, he is again triumphantly victorious in spite of their efforts and his influence & reputation are increased a hundredfold. In honor of the victories the city is to be illuminated tomorrow night. This was proposed by the Whig Councils, purely for party effect, to court the mob, to take from the democrats the credit of "patriotism" as they call it, that is of rejoicing in the successes of the country whether the cause be right or wrong. . . . They have no right to recommend people to illuminate, thereby implying censure upon all who do not & pointing them out to odium & possibly to unpleasant difficulties. Many will join in the humbug merely to save their windows from being broken, tho I do not think there is much danger of that. There is no very strong feeling in favor of the war even among the vulgar. April 29, 1847 The illumination was very successful, however ill advised. The streets were generally lit up, the public buildings in a blaze, hotels, etc., decorated with all sorts of transparencies & the effect very good. The streets were thronged & perfectly quiet. A more 60 SIDNEY GEORGE FISHER January orderly crowd was never seen. I heard of no disturbance or accident of any kind. Some of the private houses were beautifully lighted, the windows all open & filled with lamps & candelabra. Henry's was very brilliant. I did not intend to light mine, but I found that Ann & Levin34 had got everything prepared, so I let them have their own way. The 'Princeton war steamer arrived on the evening of the illumination from Vera Cruz with Commodore Conner35 & other officers on board who took part in [the] siege of the city. It must have been very agreeable to them to arrive & find the town illuminated in honor of their own victories. Among the rest Harry Ingersoll was on board. Not having heard of his arrival, the morning after I called to con- gratulate Mrs. Ingersoll36 on the appearance of her house the night before, and to my surprise found him there. He is a lucky fellow. He went as a volunteer after applying for orders without success, occupied a distinguished post at the taking of the city, and now has come home to enjoy his fine fortune. He placed the first gun that was landed in battery & fired the first shot. A man was killed at his side & the same ball tore away part of his hat. Dined some days ago at Gerhard's in company with George Meade, who has also just returned from Mexico.37 He has been in all the battles from Matamoros to Vera Cruz except Buena Vista, that is in four, & distinguished himself in all. He was most of the time in Genl. Taylor's staff, and led several charges. He speaks in the highest terms of Taylor, of his talents, amiability, manliness & simplicity of character. He says he had a very pleasant time, that the climate was delightful, that they generally lived extremely well, that there were very few hardships or privations & those only occasional and that the whole campaign was a scene of enjoyment from first to last. He disapproves of the war, thinks it most unjust & says that most of the officers are of the same opinion. He says the regular army

34 Fisher's servants. 35 Commodore David Conner (1792-1856), veteran naval officer who ably managed the landing of Scott's army at Vera Cruz. 36 Mrs. Charles Jared Ingersoll. Harry Ingersoll (1809-1886) was her third son and wealth- ily married. 37 George Gordon Meade (1815-1872), the future victor at Gettysburg, had returned from the war because of the superfluity of topographical engineers which restricted his opportunity for further active service. Meade's host was Dr. William Wood Gerhard. 1962 DIARIES 1844-1849 6l has been treated shamefully by the government. That the grossest favoritism for party purposes has been shown, & men from civil life, demagogues, without knowledge or experience, been put over the heads of officers of long service & approved talents. That the army is disgusted. Meade seems a gentlemanlike sensible fellow. He has the merit of prudence & modesty in his conversation, says nothing about himself or what he has done & avoids the slightest appearance of boasting or exaggerated description. zJtiCay I2, 1847 Living after the usual fashion, weather pleasant but dry again. On Monday went to the farewell dinner to Mr. Rich'd Rush,38 given by subscription by his friends. Was asked to subscribe, & tho I did not approve the man or such a compliment paid to one who does not merit it, did not like to refuse. The dinner had no party character. At 5 went to the Columbia House.39 About 50 gentlemen assembled, a highly respectable set. Dinner very handsome, well cooked & well served. Indeed the best dinner of the size I ever saw. Room large & brilliantly lighted, armchairs, plenty of servants, good wines. Sat next to George Smith,40 opposite to Henry Gilpin41 & Pierce Butler. When the cloth was removed there were plenty of toasts & speeches, none of them very good. Mr. Joe. Ingersoll42 presided with much grace & tact. Mr. Rush's speech was long & commonplace. He has no claim to superior talents, but has good manners & a pliant morale. He bows & smiles well. He will do very well for minister to France as long as no important business is to be transacted, but it shows how little merit is required to succeed in this country when the best place in the government, certainly the most agreeable, is bestowed on a man of such small abilities & insignificant character. He cannot speak a word of French. Most of the speeches were what is called "patriotic," & there was no end to the praises lavished on ourselves, on the greatness, glory, valor, intelligence, freedom, etc., of the United States. A great deal too, as apropos to the occasion, was said about France, our ancient ally and

38 Richard Rush (1780-1859), successively attorney general, secretary of state, and minister to England, had been appointed minister to France where he was to serve until 1849. 39 At Eleventh and Spruce Sts. 40 George R. Smith was Fisher's closest friend. 41 Henry D. Gilpin (801-1860), Philadelphia lawyer, author and editor, and formerly attorney general of the United States. 42 Joseph Reed Ingersoll (1786-1868), congressman and minister to England. 62 SIDNEY GEORGE FISHER January present friend. Now as I hate the French I have no sympathy with the feeling so common in this country, particularly among democrats, of fraternity with them & jealousy of England, when, unexpectedly to me, Mr. Ingersoll called on me for a toast. I rose & said that I could only, as I was taken unawares, express the feelings & ideas then uppermost in my mind. That we had heard a great deal about France, but that I had been thinking of England, the country of which we were in fact a part, to which we owed everything most valuable that we possessed, our government, our laws, our literature, our manners, the sentiments & opinions which govern our daily life. That if we were prosperous & powerful it was in consequence of this moral treasure that we had inherited. If our future was great and promising, it was because the glorious past of England was also our past. I therefore proposed as a toast "Our Anglo-Saxon ancestors & our Anglo-Saxon friends & contemporaries throughout the world." This was very well received. Did not break up till II o'clock. It was certainly a very handsome affair. June 14, 1847 In the afternoon went with Henry out to his place where he is now established. It belongs to one McGargee43 & is on the York Road about half a mile above Wakefield.44 It suits them very well, much better than the one they had last year. The house is new, convenient & sufficiently large, there is a piazza & plenty of space with grass & trees around. They are very comfortable with abundance of servants, horses & carriages, & good neighbors all round. Staid there till Tuesday evening and enjoyed a quiet day in the country with Sarah Ann and the children. Yesterday afternoon Williams Middleton45 came in. He arrived the day before from Carolina. He is looking very well and says his dairy project succeeded in a satisfactory manner & the man who went from here to superintend it proved very useful. I should like to farm as he does. Independent of the rice plantation at Conebakee, he has "Middleton Place," the old homestead which has been in his family for many generations, with all the books, pictures, plate, furniture, 43 Charles Magarge, paper manufacturer. 44 The home of William Logan Fisher. 45 Williams Middleton of South Carolina, brother-in-law of Joshua Francis Fisher, had recently inherited Middleton Place near Charleston. J. F. Fisher aided Middleton financially, and in return was given the Benjamin West portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Middleton and their son Henry, Williams' father. Courtesy of Mrs. James B. Drinker SIDNEY GEORGE FISHER By Thomas Sully, 1833 The Historical Society of Pennsylvania GENERAL GEORGE CADWALADER AT THE BATTLE OF THE NATIONAL BRIDGE 1962 DIARIES 1844-1849 65 Negroes & stock. There are about 5,000 acres, a large portion woodland and half-wild ranges of pasturage, where he keeps 100 cows, & 3 or 400 head of sheep, with the power of indefinite increase. He has 100 Negroes, some of them excellent, trained old family house servants. He can sell calves for $7 each & lambs for $5 to $6, & butter for 40 cts. He was his father's favorite son, & was thus preferred before his elder brothers. The unequal division of the estate produced great dissatisfaction among those who had less than the others, & so they agreed to make their shares more nearly equal. Williams sacrificed about $60,000 to effect this, certainly a very generous thing on his part. He is the best of the family. July 17, 1847 The war continues & no one can form an opinion as to when or how it is to end or what we are fighting for or what the government proposes to do. Scott by the last accounts was on his way to Mexico, & Santa Anna was collecting a force to oppose him. It was supposed there would be another battle before he could enter the city, whilst guerilla bands were forming throughout the country to harass the march of our people and cut off communications & supplies. George Cadwalader46 has had an opportunity of distin- guishing himself. He has had two skirmishes with guerillas & was marching with 2,000 men to reinforce Genl. Scott. He is a brigadier general and a good soldier. He has left a large fortune & a luxurious establishment for the sake of the excitement of this war. So did John Butler,47 who is captain of a troop of horse. He is much inferior to Cadwalader, who has great energy & a talent for affairs that gives him success in everything he undertakes. Butler was a mere idler, with a large fortune, blazee, with no intellectual resources & tired to death of a life of ennui. September 24, 1847 Went August 31, Tuesday, to New York with Henry & Sarah Ann. They went to choose paper & furniture for their new house as these things can be got of a superior quality in N. York. Staid with them till Thursday, when they returned & I went to Newport. Was much pleased in New York. Saw more of the city 46 Gen. George Cadwalader (1806-1879), distinguished Philadelphia soldier and man of affairs. 47 John Butler (1806-1847), a brother of Pierce Butler and brother-in-law of George Cad- walader, obtained a captaincy in the 3rd Regiment of Dragoons and raised a company for it in Philadelphia, having previously served as captain of the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry. 66 SIDNEY GEORGE FISHER January than I ever did. It is becoming a very great place. After being there Philad. seems village-like. Everything is on a grander scale and the aspect of the streets, the buildings, shops, & people indicate a me- tropolis. We drove thro the western parts of the city where they are now building in a style far superior to anything before attempted in this country. The new houses on the 5th Avenue, University Place, &c, are palaces. They are very large and executed in a rich, massy, ornate style of architecture. The material is brown sandstone which has a fine effect. The interior arrangement & finishing are said to be admirably convenient & very costly. We have nothing equal to them here. The shops are superb, particularly Stewart's48 for ladies' dress of all kinds. It is a large marble building, Grecian architecture, & contains 4 or 5 immense halls, beautifully decorated, filled with the most costly articles. Trinity Church is finished & is a noble piece of Gothic architecture. Went with Henry and Sarah Ann to Platt's,49 who is a "decorateur" and furnishes everything connected with the interor ornamental work of houses. Saw quantities of elegant things, furniture, mirrors, picture frames, paper hangings, etc. Had no idea before of the beauty of French paper. The various patterns for draw- ing & dining rooms, halls & libraries were really works of art. The prices are immense, ranging from 5 to $10 per piece, whereas the best American is only $I. Henry chose some of the handsomest for his house. We staid at the Globe, which is not nearly so well kept as when Blanchard had it, & is very expensive.50 Went to Newport on Thursday afternoon at 5 in the Bay State, another wonder of modern art, built since last year. She is of immense size and fitted up in the most complete & costly manner. The machinery is bright as silver & exhibited thro large panes of plate glass set in gilded frames. The saloons, cabins & staterooms are all painted & gilded in the most splendid style & sumptuously furnished. Bril- liant Saxony carpets, chandeliers, marble tables, sofas, ottomans, armchairs of every pattern, well-cushioned & covered with the richest stuffs, silk curtains, French china, cut glass, mirrors, fill every apart- ment. The table is excellent and all the apparatus of the best kind, a napkin & silver fork to every plate, the servants are well dressed &

48 Alexander T. Stewart & Co., dry goods, Broadway and Reade. 49 George Platt, "decorations," 60 Broadway. 60 The Globe Hotel, 66 Broadway, formerly kept by Francis Blancard. 1962 DIARIES 1844-1849 67 well drilled, & order, cleanliness & comfort reign throughout. It seems impossible to add anything to this magnificent steamer, tho no doubt another year will see one produced with many improvements & new embellishments.61 The vast multitudes, increasing every year, who throng the great routes of travel sustain & justify this lavish expenditure whilst competition produces all this comfort & lowers the price. The fare to Newport is only $1 without a stateroom & $3 with one. I had one to myself by applying the day before & slept as comfortably as if in my own chamber. The berths, however, are so good that except in hot weather there is no great difference. Whilst in New York I went to see the celebrated statue of the Greek slave by Powers,62 just arrived. He has sent it over for exhibition on his own account, & I was glad to learn, as he is poor, that the receipts were large, about $200 per diem. It is thought it will clear him in the large cities about $25,000. It is a fine work, beautifully executed, but very different in its character & expression from what I expected. The figure is perfectly naked & the hands are connected by a light chain, which I think a defect as it is contrary to truth. It was done, I suppose, to mark the subject. The attitude is graceful, the form that of youthful but mature womanhood, the expression of the regular features mournful but severe & majestic, altogether of the heroic cast. A Juno or the destined mother of the Gracchi. I expected a smaller figure, a more airy & delicate grace, a softer & more voluptuous beauty. Perhaps he has chosen the more appropriate character for moral effect, tho not the most pleasing. It is a fine work & I gazed at it with great pleasure. They say his Eve is still better and is to be sent here also. Passed the time at Newport after the usual fashion, that is very unprofitably tho not unpleasantly. At the same time, I must say that I suffered a good deal from ennui & want of accustomed reading & occupation. I enjoyed the weather and the society, but had many tedious hours.

61 The next year, when Fisher visited Newport he again used the Bay State, but recorded that it was "said to be surpassed by the crack boat of this year called the 'Empire State.' " Diary entry for Oct. 1, 1848. 52 Hiram Powers (1805-1873), sculptor, was born near Woodstock, Vt., but lived in Florence after 1837. His "Greek Slave," finished in marble in 1843 and thereafter reproduced in at least six marble copies, was the most celebrated single statue of the day. 68 SIDNEY GEORGE FISHER January [Fisher left Newport on September 17, visited Saratoga, and then went to Albany.]

Was much pleased with Albany. It is a very pretty, well-built little city with very much the air of New York. There are many handsome residences, glittering shops, fine hotels, all imitations of the Broad- way style. The public buildings are large and in good taste, built round two nice parks which are kept in good order & shaded by beautiful trees. The legislature was in session. Went to the Capitol and into the Senate & Representative chambers. Nothing of interest was going on. The halls are good rooms, comfortably & handsomely furnished, the members very respectable in appearance & the business seemed to be conducted with great order and decorum. Yet we know that this legislature is the seat of the grossest corruption & that in it radicalism and demagogues reign triumphant. There anti- rentism finds support and encouragement, partizan passions rule & riot and every species of political dishonesty & vice has its familiar dwelling. In the afternoon hired a light wagon & lad for a driver & went round to look at some of the many handsome countryseats in the neighborhood. Nothing can show more forcibly the superiority of New York to any other state in wealth & civilization. Here 140 miles from the city are country residences far superior to any near Philad., and not here only but throughout the interior, to say nothing of those which line the Hudson & the Sound & fill the river counties. The places of the two Van Rensselaers, one on each side of the river, are on a grand scale. Stephen has the old manor house just at the entrance of Albany. It has been much altered since I saw it. It is a very large & elegant mansion, the front of red sandstone, surrounded by extensive grounds thickly planted with noble old trees. His brother William's residence on the opposite side of the river is, how ever, much more magnificent. The house also of red sandstone is a fine piece of architecture of immense size standing in a park of, I should judge, many hundred acres, filled with deer. The boy who drove me said that you could go thro it in one direction 6 miles. It appears to be heavily timbered, & my informant said that it was in fine order, with roads winding thro it. It is bounded on one side by the river, on the other by a public road. I went to the lodge, a beauti- 1962 DIARIES 1844-1849 69 ful Gothic cottage, at the gate, but was refused admittance by a very pretty well-dressed girl who appeared, as Mr. Van Rensselaer was absent & did not permit strangers to enter whilst he was away. In hopes of getting a view I then drove along the road. But the fence was high & of close boards, so that I got only few & unsatisfactory glimpses of the house & grounds. This fence, my driver said, extended 5 or 6 miles. All the land for many miles around Albany belongs to the Van Rensselaers. That is, they have rents issuing out of it. A great deal belongs to them in fee. My boy said that the rents were now paid, tho I have since heard that Wm. Van Rensselaer lives now in N. York because it is not safe for him to reside at his estate (A mis- take, the rents are not paid and he lives in New York for economy.) and quite recently there has been another anti-rent disturbance on the Livingston estate in which the sheriff was shot at and wounded. Such is the misrule and danger hanging like a threatening cloud over the fair landscape of prosperity & advancement which the country exhibits. There can be small enjoyment in the possession of property environed by danger, evil passions & insecurity. Took a drive of six or 8 miles on both sides of the river. Passed many pretty & tasteful villas & cottages, some large & costly, all of them with handsome grounds planted with trees, some with extensive 6 well-kept parks of 50 to 1 or 200 acres. Went in to Prentice's53 and Rathbun's.54 Both very fine, superior to any here. Nice lodges at the gates, gravelled drive winding thro the park to the house, clumps, groves, masses of noble trees, elms, oaks, chesnuts, sugar maples, silver pines, &c, large elegant houses, neat & numerous outbuildings, lawns, gardens, greenhouses, in short, every appearance of wealth & good taste. The influence of Downing's books55 is seen everywhere in buildings & grounds. He has done a vast deal of good in reforming the style of country residences and suggesting new & beautiful embellishments. At seven o'clock on Wednesday eveng went on board the Hendrick Hudson to go down the river. This is a splendid steamer of great size 53 Possibly Ezra P. Prentice's Mount Hope estate. Prentice was later president of the National Commercial Bank of Albany. 54 One of the Rathbone estates, possibly that of Gen. John F. Rathbone, manufacturer of stoves and ranges. 55 Andrew Jackson Downing (1815-1852), landscape gardener, architect, horticulturist, and writer. 7O SIDNEY GEORGE FISHER January & speed and fitted up in the most costly & lavish manner. She was the crack boat last year, but is now surpassed by the Isaac J{ewton. The weather was cool, & it was a beautiful moonlight night. The noble shores of the Hudson were revealed in the silver radiance with an in- distinctness which added to their beauty. The water gleamed like a mirror. Thro the enchanted scene the magnificent steamer swiftly glided like a thing of life, her speed, her size, her power, her splendor and the associations of the wonderful art by which she was produced & impelled according well with the majestic scenery of the mighty & bountiful river. I walked the deck till midnight enjoying the moonlight, the scene and the cool delightful air of approaching autumn. I thought of the time when the forest clothed those shores to the water's edge, when the silence of the wilderness was only disturbed by the Indian & the wild deer. I endeavoured to imagine the future, when these same shores, even now so busy & full of life, would be crowded with towns & cities & the varied abodes of men, when like the Rhine & the Danube they would be covered with historical recol- lections & monuments, of battles lost & won & empires overturned. When this great river, even now echoing with the pant of a hundred steamers & dotted with the sail of innumerable vessels, would carry on its bosom the trade of mighty nations & be thronged with millions yet unborn. All this exists in the future as certainly as N. York & Albany, the Hendrick Hudson & my humble self existed in the future when the Indian built his wigwam where the Albany demagogues now rave & plot, ignorant of the rapacious & conquering white man who has driven him from his home, & of the wonderful civilization which has usurped his dominion, & of which he can neither compre- hend the acts nor partake the benefits. November 1, 1847 The taste for country life is increasing here very rapidly. New & tasteful houses are built every year. The neighborhood of Germantown is the most desirable. It is perfectly healthy & the scenery very handsome. Was at Fisher's two or three weeks ago. He has determined on a site for his new house & on a plan for the house, which will be very large & elegant. He will have a beautiful place. 56 He has had Downing, the author of books on landscape gardening & cottage architecture, to look at the place & advise him 56 This was to be Joshua Francis Fisher's Alverthorpe on Meeting House Road in Abington Township. 1962 DIARIES 1844-1849 71 about the house & grounds. He liked Downing very much. It certainly is an indication of some advance in refinement that a "landscape gardener" can find employment, & constant, profitable employment, in this country. Fisher had him 2 days, Harry Ingersoll one day. He is building a pretty house on a place of 40 acres in Green Lane,57 just back of Fox's.58 He will make it a very nice place. I would rather have such a one than 1,000 acres in Maryland. A man of any education cannot live among farmers in this country. The moment you leave the neighborhood of a city you are in the midst of barbarism, except in a very few spots in America. November 28, 184/ Mrs. James Rush has returned.59 She went abroad with the avowed determination of never coming back. She herself would have preferred remaining in Paris but Dr. Rush was discontented & sighed for Phila. I should think Paris was the very place for her, as she has an immense fortune, no children, & is very fond of society. For several years before she went away we did not speak as she took offence at me for a very trifling cause. She has come back, however, willing to please & be pleased with everyone. I determined that I would not speak first, but that if she spoke to me I would be "sweet as summer." I met her in the street the other day, & she spoke, & I bowed as graciously as I knew how. We met again, stopped, shook hands, made mutual inquiries and she invited me to her house. I am glad our quarrel is made up. I like her. She has talents & cultivation, is very sincere & impulsive, & rather vehement in her likes & dislikes. She has also, I think, generous & good feelings. December I2, 1847 I usually pass an hour or two a day at the Atheneum, looking over newspapers, reviews & magazines. It has been moved to the new building erected by the company on 6th St. opposite the Washington Square, the handsomest edifice in the city in my opinion.60 The lower story is rented out for offices, etc., the 2nd is occupied by the Atheneum reading rooms, the 4th by lecture rooms. Those used by the members are 3—one for magazines, re- 57 The Harry Ingersoll place on Green Lane at Fern Rock Station was called Medary after a previous owner. 68 Champlost had come into the Fox family in 1743, and at this time was occupied by Charles P. Fox (1792-1866) and his sister Mary D. Fox (1807-1895). 59 The celebrated Phoebe Anne Ridgway, wife of Dr. James Rush. 60 The Athenaeum of Philadelphia's new building was designed by John Notman. J2 SIDNEY GEORGE FISHER January views & books in the rear, one for newspapers in front, & between them a small room for chess. The two reading rooms are very large, with lofty cielings, beautifully finished & proportioned, well- carpeted, most comfortably furnished with convenient tables & easy chairs, and heated by flues and lighted by gas. A more quiet and agreeable place for lounging reading one could not have. January 21, 1848 There can be no doubt that our climate is changing gradually, but sensibly. The winters are becoming constantly milder. I remember when for weeks together every year there was skating on the Delaware, which was usually frozen over by Christmas. It is long since such a thing has happened, and skating is an obsolete exercise even among the boys. Last winter there was scarcely sufficient cold weather to fill the ice houses, and so far in this we have not had as yet a week of temperature below 30. For the last three days the atmosphere and sky have been like the finest weather in November. I don't know how this change in our climate is to be accounted for. It is supposed the clearing of the forests, a process constantly going on, has some connection with it. Indeed when we reflect that our latitude is that of Constantinople the wonder is that we have ice & snow at all. There have been a number of parties but none worthy of particular note. The city has been unusually gay. Mrs. Rush is at home every Monday evening to all her friends. She sent out invitations to a great number, many not considered "in society/' The parties are crowded & rather pleasant. February 13, 1848 There have been several deaths among persons with whom I had some acquaintance. Among others, Thomas Gilpin, brother to Henry D., a cousin of mine, by the way. He was consul for this government at Belfast, where he resided many years. I knew him very slightly during a visit he made here some years ago. He was a very tiresome & commonplace, but they say amiable person. John Butler also is dead. He died in Mexico whither he went about a year ago as a captain of dragoons. No man ever threw away his life more foolishly. He went to Mexico merely for amusement, for occupation & to escape the ennui of wealth & idleness at home. He saw no fighting & died I believe of dysentery.61 He was they say a good 61 The records of the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry give the cause of Butler's death as a "malarious fever." 1962 DIARIES 1844-1849 73 officer, but he is no loss to any one except perhaps his wife, daughter & brother, as he was a hard, selfish, profligate fellow, totally without education or intellect. He had, however, the manners of a gentleman & exhibited great taste in dress, house & equipage. February 20, 1848 This afternoon walked with Fisher out to Powelton.62 Mr. Powel is living there now. It is a beautiful place, the grounds extensive & lying well & grouped over with noble trees. The house is very large & handsome, a hall & five rooms on the first floor, all of great size. It is not quite finished or half furnished, & probably never will be in PoweFs life as his income is comparatively small & his family very expensive. Powel's health is much shattered & he is a wreck of what he was, a splendid specimen of the animal man. February 27, 1848 We all met on Thursday at Henry's to witness the reception of Mr. Clay, who came to Jno. Swift's,63 the Mayor, house in 10th St., of which Henry's dining room windows command a view.64 The whole street was crowded, and as he was expected all the other streets thro which he was to pass. He was met by processions & committees, in carriages, on horseback and on foot, and at every point of his progress was greeted with bouquets & gar- lands thrown from windows, by the waving of handkerchiefs & en- thusiastic hurrahs. When he got out of the carriage he ran up the steps with great alertness & turning bowed repeatedly to the crowd & waved two or three large bouquets of flowers amid a perfect tempest of shouts & clapping. He afterwards appeared several times at the windows & said a few words. He seemed in high health & spirits, his face ruddy & his motions quick & alert as a boy's. He will remain in town for a week or two & in a few days will go from Swift's to Mr. Richd. Bayard's.65 He has been formally welcomed by the City Councils who offered him the use of Independence Hall to receive the citizens. At the reception they say the rush & crowd were terrific, & wherever he appears he is attended by hurrahing multitudes.

62 Col. John Hare Powel's mansion Powelton was on the west side of Thirty-second St., north of Race St. in West Philadelphia. A classic example of Greek Revival architecture, it was demolished in 1885. 63 Mayor John Swift lived at 107 South Tenth St. 64 Charles Henry Fisher lived on the southwest corner of Tenth and Walnut Sts. 65 Richard Henry Bayard (1796-1868), lawyer and U. S. senator from Delaware, divided his career between Wilmington and Philadelphia. 74 SIDNEY GEORGE FISHER January He is still a candidate for the presidency notwithstanding former disappointments, & his present tour thro the country is with that object. It is thought, however, that Genl. Taylor will be the candidate of the party on the avowed ground that he is the more available, just as, for the same reason, Clay was dropped for Genl. Harrison in 1840, And this forcibly illustrates the working of our government. Clay is eminently qualified for the station, his services, career & talents give him a moral right to the support of his party, this right is fully ad- mitted, he is preferred by nine-tenths of the respectable portion of the party, but the votes of the masses are necessary to success, & they will always prefer a military man. They cannot resist the charm of physical action, of that sort of ability which addresses the senses & the imagination. Tho Mr. Clay's mind & cultivation are not of the highest kind he is still too intellectual for them. If he had the highest sort of character he would never have been heard of as a candidate at all. Thus he was put aside in 1840 for that simple old spooney Harrison, and most probably will be in 1848 for the plain, honest, brave, victorious but ignorant and narrow-minded Taylor. As old Jeremy Bentham says, in a republic not the ablest man is chosen but the one ablest to be chosen. March 9, 1848 On Monday Wadsworth66 & myself were passing Mr. Bayard's & he proposed that we should go in & make a visit to Mr. Clay. We found him in & luckily alone. We had a long talk about farming & cattle, subjects in which he feels great interest as he is a large farmer & has been very zealous in breeding blood stock. He & Wadsworth agreed that the cattle in the region 20 miles around Lexington, Kentucky, were probably the finest in the world, the best animals having been originally imported & the climate & soil producing greater physical perfection than anywhere else. Mr. Clay said the celebrated Kentucky blue grass was the best in the world for fattening cattle & that it grew everywhere in Kentucky in their famous open woodland pastures in the greatest profusion. That he had seen it 6 feet high. He said he had a park around his house of 150 acres of this grass grouped over with the original forest trees. That

66 James S. Wadsworth (1808-1864) of Geneseo, N. Y., had married Mary Craig Wharton of Philadelphia. He was later to serve as a general in the Civil War and be killed in action. Fisher considered the Wadsworth estate "the finest in America." He visited it in 1836 and again in October, 1848. 1962 DIARIES 1844-1849 75 some time ago he sent off to a friend a Durham bull exactly one year old which weighed 1,000 lbs., live weight. Was delighted with Clay's conversation & manner, so easy, graceful & full of earnestness & animation. Never heard such a voice, it is music & full of expression. Don't wonder at what is said of the influence he exerts over everyone who approaches him. It is magnetic. He looks extremely well & full of spirits. He said he was going to N. York the next day much against his inclination but that it was impossible to resist the solicitations he received, that he was tired to death of receptions, crowds, & speech making, & longed for quiet, which, however, he never expected to enjoy on this side the grave. I thought it would be much wiser if he went back to his groves and Durhams at Ashland & remained there. Such, however, is not his taste, whatever he may say. Tuesday dined at Henry's. At 5 o'clock the procession of Mr. Adams' funeral passed.67 The body & a committee of Congress came today from Baltimore by special train. His final resting place is at Quincy, Massachusetts. At each city on his way, he is received with funeral solemnities. There was nothing very imposing in this. The hearse containing the coffin was drawn by six white horses. There were 6 pallbearers and a long procession on the sidewalk composed of the judges, City Councils, all official persons, &c. A long train of empty hack carriages followed the hearse. The body remained for the night in Independence Hall with one of the volunteer companies for a guard. The next day it was conveyed to New York, where it was received with similar ceremonies. April 2,1848 A week has passed away, and how much has passed away with it, how much of happiness to me and to those I love. My darling little Emily, my brilliant & beautiful pet and companion is no more.68 On Tuesday, the 28th of last month, she closed her innocent and happy life. She was attacked on Saturday night with bilious cholic. I dined there on that day, she sat next to me at table, a picture of health & loveliness, gay & animated as usual. On Sunday afternoon I called at the house & Sarah Ann told me that she was very unwell with bilious cholic, but did not seem uneasy about her. On Monday morning I 67 John Quincy Adams died Feb. 23, 1848. 68 Emily Fisher, the diarist's niece, born Oct. 31, 1838, eldest child of Charles Henry Fisher. 76 SIDNEY GEORGE FISHER January called. She had not been relieved by a passage thro her bowels & suffered a great deal of pain. But Dr. Hodge 69 did not think there was the least reason for alarm. At 12 on Monday I walked with Fisher out to Landreth's garden70 to select some trees. On my return called again. She had had a passage & her mother's anxieties were relieved. I went in to see her. She was lying on the bed in a sort of stupor, her face pale, her rich auburn hair clustering in profusion around her head, but there was an expression of languor on her sweet & placid countenance that alarmed me. I was haunted by a vague sense of impending calamity, as indeed I had been all the day. In the eveng I went up again. It had been discovered that the evacuation of the morning was illusory. It was from the lower part of the intestine and an obstruction above, an intercession was feared. They determined to call in Wm. Gerhard.711 went for him. As soon as he saw the child it was evident that he considered her dangerously ill. He came about 9 o'clock. He, Henry & myself sat up in the dining room all night, they going from time to time, as their presence was required, to the chamber where the patient little sufferer lay. Then began the contest with the fell disease, a contest in which the stake was a most precious life. Nothing could exceed the calmness, kindness, prompti- tude & clear decision of Gerhard throughout that dreadful night, except, indeed, the firmness & fortitude of Henry, whose coolness & self-possession never for an instant forsook him, tho his heart strings were wrung. Our hopes fell as each successive remedy failed in producing the expected result. Between his visits to the chamber, Gerhard & myself discussed the progress of the disorder, as his mind ran over the resources of his art. One after another was tried & abandoned. At first he considered her "a very sick child"; then that she was "undoubtedly in danger but that the chances of success greatly pre- ponderated," then the danger was "very serious but he had strong hopes." As the day dawned, he had "slight hopes." At 6 o'clock I went again for Hodge. As an effort of despair, Henry proposed to call a third physician. Jackson72 was named & I went for him. At 9 o/c he

69 Dr. Hugh Lenox Hodge (1796-1873). 70 The Landreths' nurseries and gardens were on Federal St. near the United States Arsenal, and on Fifth St. below Federal. 71 Dr. William Wood Gerhard (1809-1872), a specialist in childhood diseases. 72 Dr. Samuel Jackson (1787-1872), professor at the Medical School of the University of Pennsylvania. 1962 DIARIES 1844-1849 77 came, but before that the fatal words—there is "no hope'—had been pronounced. She was in fact dying. She had a succession of spasms each of which looked like death & were thought by us all to be death as they occurred. And what a scene was that. There she lay, panting, talking incoherently & wildly with a voice of startling strength & sweetness, her beautiful face rapidly changing its expression, assum- ing from time to time as the struggles proceeded, strange, unnatural, ghastly & elfish looks which made us shudder. There she lay & we knew that she was dying. Stimulants were given from time to time to keep among us even this mockery of a life we loved so much as long as possible. On one side of her lay her father bending over her, watching with intense eagerness her fleeting breath & uttering in broken accents words of endearment & despair. On the other side was her mother, her eyes blinded with suppressed tears, in her looks love & grief unbounded, from time to time averting her face with a faint shriek as she saw the strange & unnatural distortions which the ap- proach of death produced on that familiar & beloved countenance, and turning to Gerhard to ask with shrinking beseeching tones— "Is she really dying—can nothing be done?" The bed was full. Mrs. Atherton & myself on one side, near Henry, rubbing her hands & feet. Emily Atherton73 & Mrs. Meade performing the same office on the other. Mr. Atherton sitting by, completely overcome & groaning in despair. This lasted for three hours, and each minute seemed to have a different character & feeling as her countenance altered & life ebbed. She was out of her mind all the time & knew no one. In the intervals of those dreadful spasms she "babbled" of her schoolmates, repeated her French lessons, and talked of her parents, her sisters, her "Aunt Em," all with a sweet, clear, silver voice. At last it was too evident that the moment had come. Ah! How we all gazed at her, with what deep & powerful emotions. Never can I forget Henry's look & voice & manner, all expressing the agony of a bereaved father, of a strong spirit, long resisting, at length over- powered. Just before she died, the distortions of her face vanished, it regained its natural expression, her lips closed and assumed a look of ineffable sweetness as if she was expecting to be kissed, & then immediately followed the paleness, the perfect repose, the calm, settled stare which tells so eloquently that the spirit has fled, that the 73 Sister of Mrs. Charles Henry Fisher, daughter of the Humphrey Athertons. 78 SIDNEY GEORGE FISHER January poor body is left. Just before the last moment came, all the servants, men & women, entered the room & surrounded at a respectful dis- tance, the bed. They were all in tears. Wm. Gerhard was there throughout the scene, watchful & calm. Some minutes before the last he whispered in my ear the single word, "dying." When it was evident that all was over, whispers & restrained sobs were succeeded by shrieks & loud lamentations—they could no longer disturb her. Sarah Ann threw herself passionately on the body & declared she would not leave it. She was carried in violent hysterics into one room. Mrs. Atherton in the same condition into another. The servants and friends present were hurrying about for restoratives & running from one to another. Henry for a moment seemed dis- tracted. On one side was his dead child, on the other, his screaming & convulsed wife. Towards each object he was attracted with equal force. He made a step first towards one & then towards the other. I caught his arm & begged him to go to the only one who now required his care, which he did. I then found myself for a few moments alone with all that was left of the dear little being that I had loved so well. I knelt by her side, bent over her, kissed her and gave way to my feelings. I closed the lids over those large black eyes, now lustre- less, so lately beaming with intellect & joy & goodness. I pressed together those pale lips, so lately rosy with health & wreathed with smiles of love and sweetness. In a little while servants came in and I left the room. On Thursday evening an examination was made to discover the cause of the disease. It was proposed by Gerhard with great reluc- tance, and it cost Henry a hard struggle to give his consent. The idea of that dear body, tho now senseless, being submitted to the knife was harrowing to his feelings. I advised him to yield to the proposi- tion because Gerhard assured me that he felt confident that the result would prove the disease to have been hopeless from the first and that all had been done that could be done to save her. I was the more anxious to have this ascertained because both Henry & Sarah Ann had imbibed another opinion. They thought that Hodge had mis- taken the case, that he had been negligent & unfeeling, & that had Gerhard been called at first the event might have been different. The examination was made in the evening by Gerhard & Geo. Norris74 in 74 Dr. George W. Norris (i808-1875), author of The Early History of Medicine in Phila- delphia, posthumously published in 1886. 1962 DIARIES 1844-1849 79 the presence of George Smith, whose kindness, sympathy and attention throughout these trying scenes was just what we expected from so good and true a friend. It occupied about an hour. During this time I sat with Henry in the library and his emotions were painful to witness. They discovered that the disease was inflammation of the peritoneum, which was necessarily fatal. That this was almost certainly produced by a cause, which the circumstances under which the examination was made did not enable them to discover, but which no remedies could have reached or modified, and that if this cause did not exist, or if it did, the treatment from the first had been correct. This was very satisfactory, for certainly nothing could be more dis- tressing than the idea that anything had been omitted which might have preserved her life.75 On Friday morning at 10 o'clock the funeral took place at Laurel Hill where Henry has a lot. No invitations were sent but the presence of Henry's most intimate friends, male friends, was expected. All came whom he wished to see, in number, I believe, about 25. Many private carriages were sent as a mark of attention, but none went to the cemetery that were not used as Henry wished to avoid all appearance of parade. First, in Henry's carriage, a new & very handsome one, never before used, went himself, Mr. Atherton & I. Dr. Morton76 officiated as the clergyman in a very impressive manner. When we arrived at the ground Henry walked first, alone, followed by Mr. Atherton & myself. He was perfectly calm until the close, when the last look was given into the narrow resting place of his little idol. He bent over the grave, supporting himself on the railing, his frame quivered with agony & the tears ran down his cheeks. When the pitiless clod fell with a dull, heavy sound on the coffin, it seemed as if he had received a violent blow. Mr. Atherton & myself persuaded him to go. He soon regained his composure, which he has since main- tained, as indeed he has done throughout, with a firmness & nerve which has excited my wonder & admiration. He has directed every arrangement, supported his wife & cared for the comfort of others with self-control that never faltered, and, hardest of all, during the most painful scenes was obliged to and did receive men on business, in which the interests of others too important to be neglected or de- layed were at stake, interests which he was bound to protect.

75 The probable cause of Emily's death was appendicitis. 76 The Rev. Henry J. Morton. 8O SIDNEY GEORGE FISHER January uMay 28, 184.8 Found all well at Henry's except himself. He is overworked & worn with excitement. I hope, however, he will soon be relieved from the absorbing toil which has weighed upon him thro the winter. He has arranged his affairs with the Reading road in a satisfactory manner & got nearly clear of it. He alone has saved it from bankruptcy every day for the last six months. Other parties have now come in & its business will probably soon be put upon a safer & better footing, at any rate the burthen of sustaining it will be placed on others. Mrs. Pierce Butler77 returned by the last steamer. She came in consequence of an application for a divorce on the part of her husband. He claims it on the ground of "wilful & malicious desertion." As it is quite notorious that she was driven from his house by his own barbarous treatment, I think he can hardly succeed. It is impossible to predict, however, such is often the difference between the reality & the evidence. The position is certainly a very painful one. She is obliged to return to the stage for a support as Butler makes her no allowance. I shall be very glad to see her again. June 11y 1848 It has of late, why I cannot tell, become a mental habit with me to contemplate death, to think of the subject constantly, to go thro imaginary deathbed scenes. I don't know how I shall make out when the moment comes, but I have an idea that I shall die very calmly. I believe it is not half so bad as we imagine it. It is one of the most common operations of nature, as common as eating or sleeping & cannot be very hard to endure. It is, to be sure, an awful mystery, but so also is life. The future is very uncertain, so it always is whilst we are alive in the world, and the same God, Nature or System of Causation, or whatever other name you give to the idea of a Providence, has charge of us after death as in life, and judging from what we know, we may trust in him with much confidence. The slavery question is becoming more important & alarming every day. The South has made another move on the chessboard. From being defensive they have become aggressive. They declare openly that it is essential to their protection that they should govern the country. That soon they will be outvoted by the North & therefore at its mercy. To acquire this political preponderance, Texas was

77 The actress Frances Anne Kemble (1809-1893) had married Pierce Butler in 1834. Their unhappy marriage broke up in 1846. 1962 DIARIES 1844-1849 8l annexed and the Mexican War undertaken. To defeat their schemes the Wilmot proviso was introduced. The Southern men will sustain no one for the Presidency who does not pledge himself against the Wilmot proviso. Cass did so at the Balti. Convention,78 but at the same convention a portion of the party from New York were refused admission because they are in favor of the proviso. This is a very significant event. It shows that opinion is forming against slavery & Southern dictation. In the Whig convention the subject was avoided. When the question comes to be fairly raised—which shall govern, South or North—then the Union will be in imminent danger. It is absurd to suppose that the South can succeed. Its domination is opposed to all the principles & opinions of the country expressed by none more strongly than by themselves. They are essentially an aristocracy, a collection of landed proprietors surrounded by serfs, their property in slaves is represented [as] the only sort of property that gives political power, and they are a small minority in population of the whole country. Numbers as well as wealth, civilization and power are enormously on the side of the North. On every democratic principle, therefore, the North should govern. It will govern or the Union will be severed. Party leaders cannot much longer control public opinion, new combinations will be formed, are forming, and there is great reason to fear that ere long there will be a Northern party and a Southern party, and that the former, encouraged by the consciousness of strength & exasperated by conflict will not long continue to respect the "Compromises of the Constitution," but will attempt the entire abolition of slavery. This would be the signal for civil war.79 July 22^ 1848 The Reading road still staggers on with Henry's assistance, every day on the brink of bankruptcy & saved only by in- genious financeering, street borrowing & "kiting" and Henry's help. The bonds have been converted into preferred stock, which will re- lieve them immensely as they will not be obliged to pay interest, and if they can keep afloat till the 3rd of August they will then have power to issue new bonds, and then they can work along by paying no

78 Lewis Cass (1782-1866) secured the Democratic nomination for the Presidency in 1848. 79 Concerned about the issues of the day and the legislation before Congress, Fisher wrote an article called "The Compromise Bill" which appeared in the North American on July 28, 1848, over his pen name "Cecil." 82 SIDNEY GEORGE FISHER January dividends until the business of the road enables them to do so with fairness & propriety. In other words, they are really bankrupt, but it is of immense importance to avoid an explosion. By doing so, the loss from the gradual fall of the stock will be diffused over a long period of time and among numbers, instead of falling with crushing violence on a few. Bankruptcy now would utterly ruin some of the richest men in the country & spread distress & dismay thro large circles of society. The great misfortune is that the affairs of the institution have been fraudulently managed and will not bear telling. Tucker80 has suffered himself to get entangled in the toils of a vulgar villain, a noted stock gambler named George Edwards,81 who has him & the company wholly in his power. Neither Tucker nor anyone else know or can find out the true condition of the institution or what its liabilities really are. If this could be ascertained, everything by a combined movement of parties interested could be soon put on a sure founda- tion. But the accounts have been so loosely kept, the terror from day to day has been so great, there has been so much corruption & shav- ing & plundering of all sorts going on, so many bonds have been illegally issued, that the whole affair is in utter confusion & nobody connected with it has the means of producing order out of chaos of millions of sacrificed property. Henry's position is a very difficult & painful one. He went into the board avowedly to protect Morrison's interest. As soon as he became acquainted with the illegal and fraudulent transactions that were going on, he resigned. Since then he has been obliged to lend them immense sums, for which they always gave him ample security. October /, 1848 When I arrived at the wharf at 9^ o'clock found George Smith waiting.82 I was much alarmed as I was sure something had happened, and was much relieved to find his news, sad & dismal as it was, no worse. Henry had lost another child, the baby, Mary Dyre, about 15 months old. She died that morning with startling suddenness, having been perfectly well the eveng. before. The physicians could not tell what caused her death. She was a remarkably lovely & beautiful child.

80 John Tucker, president of the Reading from 1844 to 1856. 81 Possibly G. W. Edwards, who had an office in the Merchants Exchange. 82 Fisher was returning from a vacation at Newport. 1962 DIARIES 1844-1849 83 This second blow coming so soon after the first is very hard. The gloom that had settled on his house is darkened & lengthened. Tho this is nothing compared with the former, it is a severe affliction, particularly to Sarah Ann, and recalls to all the bitter grief of the recent bereavement with added vehemence. Two only now are left, both of them delicate. November 23, 1848 On Sunday in the morning went to Harry Ingersoll's. First time since they got into their house. They have done a great deal & it is a very pretty place. The house is very comfortable & beautifully furnished. The handsomest country residence I ever saw, in cottage style. It is replete with every convenience & luxury.83 February 25, 1849 I have been made junior counsel to the Reading road, which will give me more work to do than ever I had. It will give me also $500 a year, with the chances of increasing business. Henry's influence got it for me, of course. Am glad of it, for I want the money & don't object to the work. February 26•, 1849 A steamer is in. We live now on steamers, and newspapers have become the most agreeable of all reading, so exciting & wonderful are the movements and events of the age. By the magic aid of steam & Morse's telegraph, the nations think simultaneously, opinion forms itself with unequalled rapidity, and everything that occurs of the slightest public importance is almost instantly known throughout the civilized world. We have every morning news from all parts of the Union up to the previous evening, and every week a steamer comes to astonish us with the wonderful things that are happening every day in Europe. Each arrival is like the rising of the curtain at a theatre for a new act in some interesting drama, and the picture thus daily presented to our view of the exciting present and the vast working of society is so interesting & so instructive that even the eloquent pages which describe the past are forsaken for the London Times or the Zh(ew York Herald. The great event of the day, however, more important than French revolutions or presidential elections, is the discovery recently made

83 John Notman was the architect of the Ingersoll's Medary. See Note 57. After a time, the Ingersolls gave up their town house and lived the rest of their lives at Medary. Harry Ingersoll died in 1886 and his wife in 1892, when C. Morton Smith inherited the place. Smith sold it about 1910. 84 SIDNEY GEORGE FISHER January of large quantities of gold in our newly & dishonestly acquired terri- tories—New Mexico & California. The whole valley of the Sacra- mento & the passes of the mountains, a country some 6 or 800 miles long by 2 to 300 wide, is said to be richly impregnated with the precious ore. The accounts are marvellous in the extreme & at first were not believed, but subsequent information from many & respectable sources confirms them & the excitement produced is unpar- alleled. Many thousands have abandoned their pursuits & gone. Thousands are going every day. Companies are formed & ships fitted out from every port. Every paper has a column devoted daily to advertizements of vessels & parties going to the "gold regions/' Not only here but in Europe the mania exists & increases. In six months a large population of various nations will be collected on the Pacific. . . . This great event will render certain of speedy execution a project often planned and talked of—a passage across the Isthmus of Darien either at Panama or Tehuantepec, thus saving the long voyage round Cape Horn. Already companies have been formed & proposals submitted to Congress for a railroad from Chagres to Panama. Other schemes for plank roads & canals are in agitation. But Congress sees that we must have a more rapid & easy connection than either of these routes if we expect to preserve these countries, separated as they are by thousands of miles of desert or of ocean. It is proposed to make a great national railroad across the Continent in a direct line from St. Louis to San Francisco. It is a great idea & would bring the commerce of Europe and the East across America. For all purposes of communicating intelligence, San Francisco would then, by the aid of the magic wires, be only a few minutes from Washington or N. York, as St. Louis & N. Orleans now are. Across the rails, goods & passengers could be transported in a few days. Will it be done? Most probably, for if in the nature of things it can be done, the Yankees will do it. ^J)(Carch -?, 1849 The news today is that Wm. M. Meredith has been appointed Secretary of the Treasury and I have no doubt it is true, for he went to Washington this morning. It is a good appoint- ment. He has a fine intellect, is a thorough lawyer, but at the same time possesses great general knowledge & cultivation, is a capital businessman & has immense power of work. He is the leading man at 1962 DIARIES 1844-1849 85 our bar and indeed the only man of much mental power among its prominent members. He is much superior in all respects to any other now in practice. He will leave a large business to be scrambled for. I only wish that I had a little more reputation as a lawyer that I might get a share. I regret his going at this time very much. He was counsel for the Reading Railroad & I was his junior. . . .84 aMarch iiy 1849 Meredith is not regarded as a man of very nice moral sensibility. He is time-serving & ambitious, selfish & insincere, so those who know him best say. I confess that he has made a similar impression on me. He rarely speaks with earnestness, but generally ironically, as tho he adopted this mode to avoid expressing his real sentiments. His manner, lively, cordial & agreeable as it is, seems assumed. You see thro it. He is familiar & friendly with persons whose character he must despise, low lawyers and demagogues. I have seen him walking up & down the courtroom with his arm round Hirst's85 shoulder & he withdrew it with an expression of shame on his countenance when he saw me. He is then friendly with such men because he wishes to influence them for his own purposes. He care- fully avoids committing himself on any matter of public importance that excites interest or opposition. Even at the bar he refrains from putting his name to paper if he can avoid it. He rarely gives an opinion, even a professional one. On the other hand, I believe him incapable of a corrupt, dishonest or base act, he has the feelings & breeding of a gentleman, his impulses are kind & generous and he has a fine mind. He is an eloquent speaker, either to court or jury, a sound lawyer & a good scholar and tho in the Senate he would have been more distinguished, he will perform the duties of his office with credit & advantage to the country. I think he will soon be the controlling spirit of the Cabinet. Binney is a man I cannot like. He is too hard & cold & imperious. He has a clear, accurate, highly trained intellect, powerful, sharp, & adroit in its sphere, but the sphere is narrow, he wants imagination & he wants heart, & these are the chief elements of greatness. He has 84 William M. Meredith (1799-1873) retired from the Cabinet on President Taylor's death in 1850. He was succeeded as counsel for the railroad by St. George Campbell, whom Fisher disliked, partly, perhaps, because of Campbell's attention to Elizabeth Ingersoll with whom Fisher was in love. 85 There were four Philadelphia lawyers of this name in 1849—Henry B., Leon B., Lucas, and William L. 86 SIDNEY GEORGE FISHER January no sympathies with others, there is nothing genial about him & he seems to consider himself placed on a tower of knowledge & renown from which he can look down on all the world. He does not so much receive graciously as demand haughtily deference & homage, & always, in his most amiable moods, has the air of instructing one when he speaks & of indulging, when he listens. However, he is a remarkable & fine creature, accomplished, informed, high-toned, & of alert, skilled & powerful faculties. His appearance is strikingly handsome & commanding & tho 70 he is admirably preserved. His eye still sparkles, his complexion is fresh & his figure robust & active. His manner is highbred, his smile gracious, his voice clear & loud, his dress remarkable for good taste, an air of luxurious comfort & spotless neatness. His love of order & accuracy, so evident in business, is seen in his house & establishment, which is very elegant & perfect in all its details. Tho very rich (he is worth at least half a million) he still does a large businesses counsel, tho he never appears in court. He is fond of literature & the arts & is an accomplished scholar. He has held, by common consent, the highest position here for many years, & tho not loved, he is more than respected & Philadelphians are very proud of him & boast a good deal about him abroad. It is a saying that Philad. is celebrated for three things—The Fairmount Water-Works, the Wonderly Butter, and Mr. Binney. I hope his influence may long continue, for it is always exerted on the right side. June 3, 1849 Mr. Atherton died on Monday morning about 3 o'clock. His last moments were entirely free from pain & his death perfectly tranquil & resigned. The grief of his wife was, Henry says, terrible to witness. They had all been wearied out by long watching, loss of rest & anxiety. Henry did his duty to him most faithfully, having been with him almost constantly night & day during his illness & given him nearly every dose of medicine & mouthful of food he took. On Wednesday I called a bar meeting at which the usual resolutions were passed. J. M. Scott presided,86 Henry D. Gilpin was secretary & Josiah Randal87 offered the resolutions. My intention was to have had John Sergeant88 chairman, Gilpin secty., & Scott to

86 John Morin Scott (1789-1858), a former mayor of Philadelphia and prominent citizen. The bar meeting was held to mark the death of Mr. Atherton, who was a lawyer. 87 Josiah Randall (1789-1866), Philadelphia lawyer and Mason. 88 John Sergeant (1779-1852), distinguished Philadelphia lawyer and public figure. 1962 DIARIES 1844-1849 87 offer the resolutions, and so I had arranged it. But when we met at the hour appointed, Sergeant, when I told him that Gilpin was to be secretary, refused to act with him. I had quite forgotten that they did not speak. The reason was old political quarrels & Gilpin's conduct in the Bank of U. S. affair. So I was obliged at short notice to make the alteration, which I regretted, as Randal is a vulgar man and performed the duty in an ungracious manner, I suppose, because he perceived that he was asked as a last resort. June 8, 1849 Last eveng. to a party at Wakefield given on account of Mary's89 engagement to young Saml. Fox90 to his family. All the Emlens, Foxes, Norrises, Fishers, &c, there. Downing, the writer on landscape gardening, there also. Had a good deal of talk with him on the subject, & described to him the garden at Rose Hill91 & I think gave him one or two new ideas. Like his books better than himself. He is a Yankee & not thoroughbred. Landscape gardening with him is a profession & not a liberal taste, and he talks with a professional air. I dislike "bread-studies" & artizanship, and the smell of the shop destroys my pleasure in any subject however interesting in itself. Downing is on a visit to Harry Ingersoll and went to Wakefield with them. June jo, 1849 On Thursday eveng. went to Mary Fisher's wedding at Wakefield. She has married Saml. M. Fox, a young man of good character & fortune. His mother is an Emlen, sister of Mrs. Scott & Mrs. Geo. Roberts.92 His father, cousin of Chas. Fox. He is an only child, his father dead, & he lives with his mother. He is worth about $60,000 and his mother about $50,000. He has a large estate, 3,500 acres in the western part of Penna. called Foxburgh,93 where they spend the summer. Altogether it is a satisfactory connection. Some 60 or 70 persons were at the wedding—all Foxes, Norrises, Emlens, Fishers, &c, and everything went off well. July 7, 1849 On Tuesday afternoon went out to Henry's again to escape the noise, vulgarity and various abominations of 4th of July

89 Mary R. Fisher (1822-1903), daughter of Fisher's "Uncle William" of Wakefield. 90 Samuel M. Fox (1821-1869). 91 The Thomas Forman estate in Maryland, near Mount Harmon. 92 Hannah Emlen (1790-1869) married Joseph M. Fox, who died in 1846; Mary Emlen married John Morin Scott; Elizabeth Emlen married George Roberts, their only child, Sarah, becoming the wife of Harry Ingersoll. 93 Foxburg in Clarion County is owned by descendants of Samuel M. Fox. 88 SIDNEY GEORGE FISHER January patriotism. On that day all laws seem suspended & riot, incendi- arism, drunkenness and uproar form an appropriate celebration of the anniversary of democratic triumph. The cholera still continues among us. The highest number of cases has been 65. Yesterday there were 34 & 12 deaths, today 44 & nine deaths. It is confined almost entirely so far to the lowest classes. Those who live cleanly & comfortably & avoid improper diet & excesses are in very little danger. If the first symptoms are treated in time, the disease is usually cured. August 12, 1849 Went according to my intention to Mt. Har- mon on the 27th & returned the next day. Geo. Cadwalader on board the boat, going to his estate on Bush River, western shore. Had a great deal of talk with him about farming and the Mexican War in which he played a conspicuous part and exhibited much ability, gallantry & good conduct. He was a brigadier general, was in many actions & distinguished himself particularly in the assault & taking of the city of Mexico. He told me many adventures & described many scenes of which one does not often get an account from an actor & eyewitness. He says campaigning is a delightful life & that he suffered no privations of any kind, but lived well all the time, often luxuriously. Among other things, he said that when cannon shot struck a company of men, you can distinctly hear the blow & the bones crack. He is farming very extensively, having, he told me, 15 farms all in one tract on Bush River, some 5 or 6,000 acres I suppose. He manages nearly all with overseers, & intends to have overseers on all. He finds it profitable & I have no doubt his arrangements and system are throughout judicious & well conducted. He intends to diminish his grain crop & introduce dairies & the breeding of the finest thoroughbred cattle on a large scale. Cadwalader is a remarkable person. He has a fine physique, great strength & activity, a handsome, manly figure & face, an appearance of exuberant vitality & power, energy, boldness, decision of character, activity of mind & tho not capable of thought on abstract or general topics, & without knowledge or cultivation from books, has a fund of sound common sense which guides his judgment with great certainty in all practical things & the relations & questions of business & daily life. Hence his remarkable success in all that he under- 1962 DIARIES 1844-1849 89

takes. He has made a large fortune & lives in more luxury & style than any man in town, he has gained a distinguished reputation as a soldier, performed signal services to the city in the riots of 1844, whilst he is not less eminent as a man of pleasure & a sportsman. Withal he is a gentleman in his manners as he is in birth & breeding. On the other hand, he is uncultivated, unintellectual, selfish & heart- less, addicted wholly to money-making & sensual enjoyments. August 22, 1849 We had a serious riot in Moyamensing a few nights ago. Fortunately, it was promptly put down by the police. Fights and rows are of daily occurrence between the various organized gangs of ruffians by whom the districts are infested. Usually they are suffered to do as they please without interference, our mayor & sheriff being elected by the people & not wishing to lose their popularity. As the disturbance on Saturday night threatened to be of a very serious character, extraordinary efforts were made to quell it. These efforts, however, show the weakness of the magistracy & are of very dangerous tendency & character. The mob was put down by employing the villainous clubs or gangs of a rival district as police, organized & in a body. There could scarcely be worse policy. I had this from the best authority, Geo. Cadwalader, who said it was bad enough but the only thing that could be done at the time. The secret of the increasing tendency to disorder & the constant impunity which attends the worst outrages is that these bands of ruffians have votes and great influence in the elections. As our magistrates and judges are partizans and demagogues, they will not act against them. October 5, 1849 On Monday eveng went to hear Mrs. Butler or rather Mrs. Kemble, as she is now called, read zAs You Like It.94 It was admirable, much better than I expected, notwithstanding all that has been said about these performances elsewhere. I anticipated more of theatrical display, but of this there was very little. The piece, in fact, does not admit of it & I fancy in some of the tragedies she acts too much. . . . I called to see her on Wednesday. She looks well but older. Had a long talk with her. She agreed with me that tragedies & plays of much 94 "Mrs. Kemble" held her Shakespeare readings at Sansom Street Hall. Fisher wrote an appreciation of her performance which was published in the Evening Bulletin over the initial 9O SIDNEY GEORGE FISHER January passion were not suited to these readings, and that of all Shakspeare's, The Tempest, ^Midsummer Right's "Dream, & ^Merchant of Venice were the best for the purpose, as neither admitting nor requiring much dramatic effect, yet remarkable for eloquent & beautiful poetry. She said she intended to read The Tempest here & the Dream in Balti. She makes money rapidly by these exhibitions, having already invested from her profits $20,000. By the terms of her agreement with Butler she is to have $1,500 per annum, so that now she is sure at least of comfort & independence. But she may, if she pleases, & probably will, go on making $10 or $20,000 yearly for some time to come, for an exhibition so highly agreeable & intellectual & unique is sure always to please. There is a reality of excellence in it which few or none others can reach & which never tires. It is poetry of the highest character rendered by admirable art and both these have inexhaustible power to charm. She is to make her permanent residence at Lenox, in Berkshire Co., Mass., among the Sedgewicks,95 who were one cause, I think, of her domestic troubles, for Butler hated them, not without reason, & she would not give them up. There, among beautiful scenery, she has purchased land & is to build a cottage. A life of solitude, however, after all her griefs & with such a vehement & restless temperament, is not likely to be happy.

95 Katherine, Elizabeth, and Theodore Sedgwick. Frances Anne Butler dedicated a book of her poems, published in Philadelphia in 1844, to Katherine Sedgwick.