Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/56382
Washington, Nov. 22d, 1800 My dear friend, I am this moment returning from hearing the President's speech to both houses of Congress. It is certainly a very modest good speech. He congratulates the People & the Congress that we are now met at the permanent residence of our national Government—to our wisdom he has submitted the necessary laws for the government of the District—and sincerely hopes that the manners & morals of the people of this city may long resemble the great character whose name it bears. Mr. G[ouverneur] Morris and myself have two rooms in one of Mrs.Washington's houses near the Capitol.We breakfast alone, but dine in a very mixed company. This part of the business is very unpleasant, but in other respects we are far more comfortable than I had expected. Mr. Morris & myself propose to visit Mr. Adams after dinner, but our main object is to keep retired. Mr. M. joins me in love to you and Gertrude. Yours sincerely, L. Morris Between 1796 and 1810, a former French military officer turned artist, Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin, created nearly a thousand portraits of notable Americans. This portrait of Lewis R.Morris was made in Philadelphia in 1798. COURTESY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS PRINTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS DIVISION The brief two-page letter that LewisMorris wrote to his friendWilliamMeredith of Philadelphia summarizes Adams's address as a "very modest good speech" and describes his living arrangements in "one ofMrs.Washington's houses near the Capitol." WINTER 2012 THE CAPITOL DOME 25