The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1866-11-08
Ghq1at1qNetpts.,
TH1yRsDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER {; 1886.
ALONG THE JAMES.
A JounNEy INTo DREAMLAND.

of interest will attract our attent9li, ala nav
breeze Of the a4 ocean n otsa GiGa aeioss 'uo pAoe
"a IA Va mass, YOU see Cape Charles yonder thrust
inp ;ts low outwater into the crawling toam; ana,
II darkness had descended you would pc attracGea
by Che red eye Of the an tn5o " them s
With 1l long path Of light. THAT is the Eastern
ghoran-ao singular and almost unknown land,
where poesy seems to dwell! OF right and romance e.
is to the manner born; iand o. legenus, tiaul1
1ongshoremen, and haunted houses, looking out
WiEh melancholy window-eyes, on the melancholy
sea. The widest fancies are here possible anu
every spot has it's legend 55@s ,.oa.>:
table people, priding themselves rpon theT %; nne
blood horses, and old houses in @ Eh1ch stu nnger
stories Of the time far away, in A68O, when Bacon
drove Sir William Berkeley to taae Ie1uge nele. a
long, low shore Of the silver sand Where me suges
eflSe ocean come and 60 foreyer-suoh M ls the
land We leave behind as we pass INTO the ghesa-
penke and ascend The broad current OF the James.
"a the mere commercial traveller this stream is
but common river which rses n n ne t Alegnan-
the student the poet it is magical current, upon
whose banks many tragedies and comedies unrou
themselves, and more than one illustrious figure
moves as in the long, deadyears Of other genera,
That lonely tower the ruin Of the old church
Many memories cluster here above the tombs OF
Che Arnnigers, around the crhnnhlng stones. The
great adventurers Of England made their. eagles
eyry here two centuries and half ago, roofing the
Arm Norman foot in the soil Of the new continent
In the old black-letter volumes, writ by Captalne
Iohn Smith, we read the strange and moving sto-
and make acquaintance With t1as
ventrrers all in brig ght steel hauberks, floating
nlnn,es, sashed doublets and moustaches gallant
f. ourled, But, more than all, with that Marquee
rte des Margueites, the Indian Princess Pocahon-
tas g4ody company 1ese aeS4 yS4s Of 81 Dora
do: and foremost Of them ell 10 the founder. Ills
o knightly figure, that of Captaine Iohn Smith, as
We look at him standing there upon the shore; the
bronzea brow KS G grea
concealed by the sweeping nloustache, and the
huge beard resting on the bright steel hauberk
deAning bis sinewy form. He smiles with the frank
smile Of the soldier. think it is OF the sight OF
she comes-a child Of no more than fourteen years;
slender and graceful as fWn of the forest; hall
nude, but modest as statue Of chastity; with the
olive face the soft, dark eyes, the rounded limbs
her ben. raven hair. She stands with one foot raised
the dark eyes peering with sort Of wonder from
among her curle, That is Pocahontas, the Indian
Princess who is going to interpose herbosoIn be-
tween Smith and the war club. 80.
That Is williamsburg is it not beyond the Tor
grown streets you were once the capital OF q ma
Eonl at this London Of Virginia high revel was
aforeime held in the ..good old times when the
royal governors regned, their House OF Lords the
worshipful Burgesses. How these worshipfnls
uGed to light against His ExotMencyl It was one
long battle, as in England. The barons Of James
River, the York and the Rappahannock, we're jeal.
coarse King John, my Lord Dunmore at Williams
burg the new Runnymede, a charter creator than
the Old one It was the Virginia Bill Of Rights,
on whose broad basis, laid by old George Mason,
Of Gunston, rests the fabfio of Constitutional
This may interest the historic student. What
rises to the eye Of the present voyager is, that
brave old social life OF the now grass-grown town,
when the Apollo room, at the Raleigh, echoed, like
the strains Of midnight m1instrelsy; when the
minuet moved slow to the stately music, or
the reel flashed splendidy from end to end Of the
apartment, thronged with DANES and cavaliers in
lace, embroidery and d powder. diamonds pearls pc n
long-gone years Flash on, gay reels Of the old
regimel The minstrels are dead, and from the
bosoms Of the young men and the maidens, How
era have been growing more than fourscore years;
days Before AS the comedy plays, and the voices
sound amid pearls and powder, and bright glances,
can we not discern some figures worthy Of atten-
tion There is young Tom Jefferson, with bus san
her. n aghS S sa1oe mis- aa faant B n shs
future statesman, president and founder Of poll
teal system, ie going to become desperate about
that youthful maiden with the piled-up curls and
lace around the shoulders; to become very tragic
will project visit to Europe consequent thereon,
in his .sail-boat, the Rebecca, returning through
the British Provinces to the northward." All this
he is going torelate in his letters to John Page.
1hoe %ora sse sG a the speotaee e the ne
ings-on Of the gray-haired "sage Of Monticello"
when, he was. young Tom Jefferson and firt-
ed with the girls at "Devilsburg." So he
this t - paladin p Of. Democracy 'n and nigh. nigh.
tervai to mend bis broken heart. Even now there
ls little maidon dancing opposite, who is to sup
ply the cement for that purpose. She lives at the
piano there, while young Mr. Jefferson, the men,
ber OF the Burgesses, accompanies her on the
violin. The long-drawn bow crawls over the
strings, the voice Of the performer mingles with
tradition says upon the porch without while the
scene is played, retire in despair. They have
rightly guessed the event. fires blaze at the ''For
est" q Wedding feast is set; young MIR. Jefferson
is married in the midst Of great froio, as was
set of for Monticello, in the mountains to arrive
there on q freezing, winter night, with no fires
burning and no welcome. But the bride was
.game.' Read how shelaughed anl sang through
the cold, black night in the 'littlo pavilion Of the
wine and biscuit, found bohind the shelves, and
how mirth, and music, and love conquered cold
and darkneBsl
We have wandered from Williamsburg and the
Apollo at the Raleigh Tavern, where Belinda and
her bevy of bright companions still slay all comers
That young lady has declined MIR. Thomas Jefer-
son, OF Monticello; and tho fair little beauty stand
ing near her has i'll like manner discarded young
gentleman residing on the banks OF the Potomac,
3 Mr. George Washington, Of Mount Vernon.
When Belinda and her friend make up their minds
TO- marry they are going to marry brothers
ward and Jacqueln Amber, tho latter to be called
integrity and lonor-so We pass
There rolls within the scope Of our vision state