Samuel Breck Diary 1814 – 1840
From the personal diary of Samuel Breck:
July 21, 1825
Last evening Judge Peters called upon me, long after dark, coming from the dinner given to Mr. Rush, late minister to the British Court, to request me to breakfast with him this day at his house (Belmont in my neighbourhood) in company with Genl. Lafayette. The heat was then intense and the glass had been for many days above 90 degrees; yet, to meet that great man, I arose early, and met at the Judge’s beautiful seat the following company: General Lafayette; George Washington Lafayette, his son; Monsieur La Vasseur, his Secretary, and Monsieur Le Compte de Lyon, who accompanies him as a friend; Chief Justice Tilghman; Mr. Nicholas Biddle, President of the Bank of the U. S.; Mr. Thomas Biddle; Mr. Roberts Vaux; Mr. R. Haynes; Mr. Warder; Mr. Richard Peters, Jr.; Mr. Joseph L. Lewis (chairman of the Committee of City Councils appointed to attend upon the General during his visit to Phila.); a French count, whose name I forgot, but who is the son of the Prime Minister of the King of Sardinia; & some other persons whose names I do not recollect.
We had a splendid dejeune a lafourchette after which the General and his suite did me the honor to pay me a visit of 3/4 of an hour.
I asked this illustrious man to dine with me, when disengaged. He said he could give me only Sunday, the day previous to his departure from Pennsylvania.
July 23, 1825
The glass at 94, higher than I have ever known it in my hall (a fine open space for every breeze that blows). I went to town to prepare for my greatly distinguished guest, who is to dine with me tomorrow.
July 25, 1825
General Lafayette did me the honor to dine with me, in company with Messrs. George W. Lafayette, his son, Mr. Levasseur, Mr. Lyon, Mr. Nicholas Biddle, Judge Peters, Mr. Wm. Meredith, Mr. Wm. M. Meredith, Mr. C. J. Ingersoll, Mr. Henry Wikoff, Mr. Joseph L. Lewis.
In order to give the party a good dinner, and to supply the lamentable deficiency of our common cooks, I had on Friday called on the celebrated French cook (Dupony) and begged him to furnish me with a dinner, and on a confectioner, requesting her to provide a dessert.
Having made these arrangements for a dinner of 20 covers, I supposed every thing would go on very well; what then was my disappointment at past eleven o'clock to learn that Dupony, the cook, had died that morning at 6 o'clock.
With the weather excessively hot, on a Sunday, and 20 people expected at dinner, this was an appalling piece of news; but it so happened that [Charles] Mercer the confectioner took some interest in the entertainment, and sent me out cooks who got thro’ the business very well, and our dinner went off in good style.