New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1853-12-02
J.fRVIS, THE PAINTER.

Apropos of DR.. Spooners /" Anecdotes Of Pain
ters,'' we the other day said that we thought
the Doctor could add adyantageously to the
stories about this very clever and careless artist,
who might have placed himself high among lin
| ners if he had only bestowed upon his pictures
half the pains he lavished upon his jokes. We
will see if we cannot satisfy DR.. S. that we had
some reason for our suggestion.
We can safely say that Jarvis was justly re-
puted to he skilled in wines. Not, however, that
| he by any means exclusively cultivated q pro-
| found acquaintance with them, and sighted
| brandy. He was, indeed, catholic, universal,
in the art of potation, and his large affections
| embraced even whisky, when good; while his
| charity was such that he could bear with indif-
| ferent: that is, when nothing better was to be
had By-the-by, he exeelled in making hot
punch and like that Irish genius, Dennis Brul-
| gruddery, was blest with quite equal talent
| for drinking it, no matter by whom made.
| Naturally then, people who had that which lies
at the foundation of all right house keeping
need we say, good cellar often desired to
| have his judgments and to hear his stories.
| For, whenever he could pay his shot in no other
way, he liquidated his liquor with his jokes.
| Well; while he tarried las he did long and
| lovingly in Columbia, s. c., he was kept quite
| in practice, by gentlemen who looked much 10
that foundation of house, which we have men
toned The learned and gamesome DR.. Thomas
Cooper, the elegant and festive Professor Mott,
Preston the most charming of takers, often in
voked his decisions and Eve know not WHY
| though never excepting to them, yet gave mani
fest sign of discomfort, by constantly causing
him to re- examine the matter. Indeed, there
were others who treated his DEGREES with the
same unaccountable want of respect
Among these Amphytrions of the town, there
fourshed, in the green old age of French
man, Mons'r H.;who-the earliest rigneron and
one of the best botanists of the State-has left
his name (might ioe attain such monuments! y
upon vine and a rose. This amiable veteran
was the predecessor of Longworth and might be
called the Father of American wines. On his,
he prided himself much fondly imagining, in
his paternal Partially, that they quite rivaled
the growths of the Garonne and of Madeira OF
course, he desired to have the merry painter try
and pronounce upon them His suffrage would,
of course, fortify their fame So he invited Jar
Wis to a computation and with him sundry bot
tle-holders of renown, among whom Though
mere student of such things) we had the honor
to be included
"When come to this place where we all were
to diue,' (as Goldsmith's g Haunch of venson,"
says we despatched the eatables with a perhaps
insufficient regard, as people leap over pre-
face, when they deem that there is a livelier
book behind it. Twas not upon it that our ex-
pectation was fixed. By-and-by, after some of
those usual foreign wines with which the solids
of the table are washed down--such things as
are rather to be accounted the preliminaries of
drink than drink itself, and merely put one in
tune for it-after, that is to say, some skirmish
with the light troops, there was sudden retreat
of these; and several regiments of the line
were thrown upon us. These were the best
troops of Mons. Il. s household forces; with an
attendant reserve of alien Frenchand, out land
ish Spanish bottles, brought on chiefly for
comparison and to finish the battle which the
home born vintage should at once win As the
joys of life, however, are not to be arrived at
without tribulations, and as not even good
Christians can get to Heaven (the Catholics
aver without passing through purgatory, we
drank courageously through Mons. HIS own
wines, in order to arrive at those which were of
exotic growth: we even hazarded our souls by
praising them.
But Jarvis was observed not to commend.
We who knew him well knew that he never fat
tered with his brush nor lied about his drink.
Indeed, he drank honestly and holding to the
truth, an cino ceritas, he spoke of liquor only
as he thought. We were curious, therefore, to
see how he would extricate himself, when asked
his opinion-as he was sure presently to be.
Nor was it long before Mons. H. urged him to
try what he told him was his best manufacture
At this, Jarvis put a most penitential face.
and said that, knowing himself to be a great
sinner, he looked upon fine old Madeira as n
great deal more than he deserved, and so denied
himself better wines
This did not save him, however By-and-by
the old gentleman grew the more determined to
have his Judgment, from suspecting that it was
untavorable, and asked him, in direct terms, to
tell him what he thought of his beverage Thus
cornered, he at last said "Well, Monsieur II |
my opinion of these wines is that they have all |
the excellences of American wine but that a |
man might drink them all night, and be most
beasty sober in the morning.
Nr.,,-