The old merchants of New York City / by Walter Barrett.

OF.N'E W YORK CITY.

259

returned to this country, his friends and admirers gave
him a grand dinner at the City Hotel - then the only
hotel of note in the city. It was located in Broadway,
between Thames and Cedar streets, and extended back
to Temple street. Three hundred persons sat down to
the dinner-table at 6 o'clock in the large assembly room.
Such a scene will rarely be witnessed in this city; all
the good and great of New York were there assembled.
On the right of Mr. Irving was his life-long friend,
James K. Paulding; on his left, Charles Kent. The
dinner had been given by Samuel Swartwout, Cornelius Low, Francis B. Cutting, W. B. Lawrence, Chas.
F. Grim, James Renwick, James G. King, Peter
Schermerhorn, George W. Strong, Henry Ogden,
James J. Jones, Richard Ray, Charles Fenno Hoffman,
Thomas R. Mercein, Augustus Fleming, M. C. Patterson, William Gracie, Morris Robinson, Thomas L.
Wells, Charles Graham, Charles L. Livingstone, John
W. Francis, James Kent, Thos. L. Ogden, John Duer,
John Neilson, Abraham Schermerhorn, B. Robinson,
William M. Price, W. Van Wyck, J. J. Waggonen,
S. Verplanck, David E. Colden, John A. King, Charles
King, Peter J. Stuyvesant, N. Low, Jacob Morton,
Ogden Hoffman, Philip Hone, William Bard, Thomas
W. Ludlow.
Chancellor Kent was the president of this dinner.
Philip Hone was the first, and Mr. W. A. Duer was
the second, Professor Renwick the third, Thomas L. Ogden the fourth, and Sam. Swartwout the fifth, ViuePresidents. When it came his time to address the chair,
he rose and said:
"What subject shall I select? To whom shall I
address myself? To you, my friend, the oldest, and
dearest, and most cherished of my youth. Welcome,