The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1882-09-06
OLD VIRGINIA SOCIETY.
The American.


ID joined" The lovely young Virgins
Is captivated an earl by her wit and bea
= ty, but, alas, ''the course of true loy
! did not 'runsmooth, and in the tend
is grace of her beautiful but mournf
J. countenance, we read the story of
d disappointment in love which carrie
ie the fair Evelyn to an early gray
e Fortunately, such melancholy cas-
I were rare, for few Virginia girls wei
4 abroad in the olden time, and, ther
a fore, seldom met fascinating Englis
e earls.
e The fair Virginians, though fond
Q admiration-as all true women are
have always been true to their love
A thousand cases illustrate this, in th
present. The greatest coquette, th
most brilliant belle, the most consun
mate firt, when united to the man c
her choice, becomes a peerless Virgini
dame, fit wife and mother of heroes
statesmen, and presidents. The annal
of the Old Dominion are full of sucl
women. In the rooms of the Virgins
Historical Society, at Richmond, ar
several pictures Of Pocahontas. The,
are not claimed to be authentic likenes
es of the "fawn of the forest" anC
they do not recall the traditional beauty
of the gentle Indian girl
"0ur own dear Pooahontas
The Virgin Queen of the West,
With the heart of Christian hero
In a tinid maiden 5 breast;
who, marrying Master John Rolfe, be-
came the high-born mother of high.
born race, whose prineely Indian blood,
after ooursing through dozen genera
tons, is still visible in some of the best
ladies of Virginia.
The Virginia girl was carefully pro-
tected from all rudeness; her native
modesty was never shocked by anything
coarse; her gentle dignity was never
ruffled by contact with the rough and
unrefned, in that the divinity that
doth hedge king was hers. Hence,
that exquisite delicaey, which is the
greatest charm of woman, has always
been a distinguishing characteristic of
the fair Virginian, past and present.
Daring, indeed, the man who attempted
any familiarity with the aristocratie,
cordial, but digniaed ladies of the Old
Dominion. Their manners, however,
have not that cold, deadly repose
(which stamps the caste of We're de Vere.7
Bulwer said he ''never met real
woman-never met woman who was
not a sham, from the moment she is
told to behave prettily, conceal her SEN
timents, and look fibs, if she does not
speak them" Had the dandy novelist
followed the example of his greatest
contemporary, Thackeray, and visited
Virginia, he might have met among the
descendants of old Virginia society
more than one real woman. There are
in Richmond to-day, real, true, genuine
whose loveliness mer-
its the praise of De Quincy, that, "life
owes half its attractions and all its
graces to female companionship."
Those old Virginia gentlemen were
generous lvers-in fact, they lived too
to live long. Short and
merry were their lives few reached the
age of three-score most of thenE< died |
between fifty and sixty. But what |
splendid fellows they were! What an
elegant, luxurious existence was theirs
Lord of ten thousand acres, with troops |
Of obedient slaves to do his will, the
Virginia cavalier was the most indepen-
lent gentleman in the world. See him |
sitting on his wide portico, smoking the
choicest tobacco, raised on his own plan
-ation, and holding in his hands a
yolumne of the Spectator, the last poem |
IF Mr.. Pope the last satire of the terri
Die DIR. Swift, or some other literary |
production of the golden age of Queen
Anne. He is clothed in rich velvet,
with white silk stockings, lace rufles,
ong waistcoat, Spanish leather shoes,
and wears an elegant cooked hat His
hair is powdered, brushed back from his
forehead, and tied behind. His smile |
was eourtly, his manners polished but
formal, his hospitality royal in itsNmag-
lifcence his house was large, and its
owner was never happier than when pre-
siding over a crowded table, except when
on his favorite hunter, and
eading gallant company of ladies and
gentlemen in a fox hunt, with the merry
music of the bugle ringing in his ears.
His stable was full of thorough-breds
or the old Virginia gentleman spent
many hours every day in the saddle
md, on Sunday, he rolled gravely to
church in his family carriage, with its
our well-groomed horses.
Williamsburg, the colonial capital of
was place of stately eere-
monies, yice-regal balls, gorgeous cos
umes, and deeorous duliness. The old
Virginia gentleman only went there
when important business called hiR, or
when he happened to be member of
he House of Burgesses. He preferred
he lordly ease and profusion Of his
,aronial estate, where he lived like a
ling. But his oldest son and heir-ap-
Darent (for the unjust feudal law of
,rimogeniture prevailed in Virginia
,rior to the American Revolution eager
y exchanged the monotonous country
ife for the gayety Of Williamsburg. +
lie was not the same bluff, hearty, jolly,
fellow as his father. The
loung squire had been educated at Ok.
ord, had enjoyed gay season in Lon
lon, where he had known Lord Ches-
erfeld, had danced with the beautiful |
lIiss Cunning, and played cards with
he Earl of March, who lived to be the
Id Duke of Queensbury, the infamous
atyr of the London clubs. The young
Eirginian preferred the brilliant life of
london to the studious life cf Oxford.
&c vas more man Of fashion than q +
nan Of letters had cultivated the
races more than the classics was more
1 home ii the club and drawing room
han IN the library and lecture room
1e vas an adept in horse-raees, and had
aid dear for his experience. In dress
Il was peerless, and astonished his sis
eIs and younger brothers BIZ the NUM-
lei and beauty Of bis costumes, repre-
enting the latest style Of Bond Street
nd st. James. He wore d powdered |
,aruke, with queue Of marvellous
ength and tied with gay ribbon. His
heck are rosy, not like his fathers from
onstant exercise Id the open air, COM
= 4 !