March 28, 1863, The New York Herald
It is currently reported that President Lincoln will visit New York shortly. We hope that this report is well founded. The President has had very hard work at Washington with the hordes of office seekers, and contractors, and Congressmen, and other such troublesome fellows, and really needs relaxation. Let him come on, then, and bring Mrs. Lincoln and Secretary Seward along with him. Secretaries Chase and Welles have just been here, and were received and treated accordingly to their deserts. Consequently they need not come again at present. Secretary Stanton had better be left behind; for if he is caught outside of Washington he will probably be arrested, indicted and sent to prison. There are warrants issued against him already, we understand. The other Secretaries are of no importance, and might as well remain where they are and attend to their departments. The President, Mrs. Lincoln and Mr. Seward will meet with a splendid reception in New York, and will undoubtedly enjoy themselves wonderfully.
It is no joke to be President during such a crisis as this, and Mr. Lincoln must feel that he requires amusement. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” says the ancient proverb. Mrs. Lincoln has labored quite as well in her graceful, benevolent womanly way as Mr. Lincoln has in his, and a change of scene and society will reinvigorate her. Secretary Seward is the hardest worker in the Cabinet, and the most successful, and the President should give him a holiday. We know how wearisome it is to be perpetually writing, and Secretary Seward’s diplomatic correspondence alone is enough to overfatigue any ordinary man. Fortunately New York is now just in the proper trim to entertain her distinguished guests, and to surpass the displays in London in honor of the marriage of the Prince of Wales. The bright sun of spring beautifies everything with its radiance. The pure air, fresh from the sea, will be most refreshing to lungs clogged with the miasmas of the Washington swamps. The Central Park is beginning to develop its charms, and its drives are most delightful. Wind and weather permitting, a fete champetre could perhaps be arranged for the President’s party by the residents of Washington Heights. There has never been a gayer winter in New York, and our fashionable openings are just taking place, and Mrs. Lincoln can delight herself with bonnets and robes of Parisian elegance and taste, while the President admires the brilliant display of toilettes and equipages on Broadway, or combines instruction with amusement by studying the curious pranks of the bulls and bears of Wall street, in regard to which we shall be happy to enlighten him, as we enlightened poor General Harrison, who would have lived till this time had he remained in New York, but who was killed by a month of Washington life.
In addition to all this, the Presidential party will see in New York the best theatrical performances in the country, and hear the best and most complete operatic troupe which has visited us since the time of Malibran. Max Maretzek, the impressario, is an artist, and takes an artist’s pride in his profession. He has the Marti gold mine for his base of operations and, unlike Secretary Chase, continues specie payments to his employees. Medori, the prima donna, is an admirable singer and actress, and reminds us of Grisi when Grisi was young and impassioned and had not yet adopted something of Mario’s inanimate and placid style. Mazzoleni, the tenor, is an immense favorite, and deserves all his success. We have had no such combination of excellent singing with superior acting since the elder Garcia, the father of Malibran, and the great representative of Almaviva, in “Il Barbieri di Seviglia,” and Don Giovanni in the opera of the same name. Without making invidious comparisons with other favorite tenors, each of whom is good in his way, we can praise Mazzoleni, who is good in every way. Bellini, the baritone, and Biachi, the basso, are also wonderful artists and actors, and the whole troupe is perfect and effective. The President may not have another opportunity of hearing operas so well performed for the next twenty years, and should certainly avail himself of this. Besides these, the original members of Maretzek’s company, the President will see the beautiful Guerrabella, who is unsurpassed as an actress, and who would make as great a sensation as Mrs. Siddons or Fanny Kemble were she to transfer her talents to the English stage. The classic drama at Wallack, the sensation drama at our other Broadway theatres, the Bowery drama on the east side of town, and the eight or ten millions of curiosities at Barnum’s will fill up any leisure hours the President and his suite may care to spare from the other glories of this metropolis of the country.
The spring campaign against rebellion is just beginning by land and sea, and the President should bring his best powers to the arduous task before him. A week or two profitably spent, in assisting at the opening of our metropolitan spring campaigns – operatic, theatrical, fashionable and social – will give him new ideas and new energies for the discharge of his onerous and multifarious duties. Mrs. Lincoln, who is in many respects quite equal to Queen Victoria and the Empress Eugenie, will be all the better fitted for the pleasant responsibilities of her high station by a little relaxation in New York. We should imagine that the President, Mrs. Lincoln and Secretary Seward would wish to study one of the most marvellous phases of this civil war in its influence upon the arts and society; and, as this influence can be nowhere so distinctly traced as in the first city of the Union, we respectfully urge them not to longer postpone their contemplated visit to New York. Our word for it, they will return to Washington with a clearer appreciation of the power, the wealth and the resources of the republic which it is their duty to preserve and perpetuate.