Phantoms In Philadelphia (45 page)

The Peale Museum did exist, owned and operated by
Charles Willson Peale and his family. For fifty cents you could go
see the Mammoth known as the American incognitum, and for
twenty-five cents you could see the rest of the museum.

Madam Grelaud’s French School did exist in
Philadelphia and President Monroe’s daughter, Maria Hester, as well
as many other young women with famous relations. As the tuition for
a year was said to be $500, only affluent families could afford to
send their daughters to the school. It had many advantages as the
young ladies were expected to not only learn history, philosophy,
geography, and natural science, but to excel. In addition to their
curriculum, instructors taught art, dance, languages, and music.
The girls were also taught to speak French fluently. For a fee
beyond their annual tuition they could be instructed in more
extensive music or language lessons, and they could purchase
concert tickets. Madam Grelaud allowed the young ladies to accept
invitations to balls, parties, and the theatre with proper
supervision. She wanted them to observe the manners and fashions of
women of high society.

The Culper spy ring was organized under the orders
of General George Washington during the Revolutionary war. The
tasks of the spies was to discover the activities of the British
and get the information by secret channels to George Washington
Invisible ink was used by the spies as a means of sending their
secrets, as was the use of masks. Secret information would be
written into letters. When the receiver of the letter placed their
mask over the letter, it would reveal its secrets. Women were an
important part of the Culper Ring. One woman would hang clothes on
her clothesline, certain colors for certain meanings. The language
of flowers was not used by the Culper spies that I could discover,
but flowers have always been viewed as symbolic, and in the early
eighteenth century the language of flowers was studied by many.

Amalie Vantana wrote her first
story at age seven. When many little girls were dreaming about
being a princess, Amalie was dreaming about being a musketeer. When
she’s not writing adventures, she spends her time with her family,
exploring historical locations, and searching for adventures to be
had. Amalie makes her home in West Virginia with her
husband.

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