Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-02-02

4 uNtIuBe ClllZeH. DIG WIS 1Dcl1npu
think that this "most vile and univcrs
hab bit Of chewing tobacco" was the eau
of remarkable popularity in the ma
physiognomy of Americans-th almo
uniform thlnness and compression
o their lips. So often does Mrs. Trollo,
recur to this habit that she manages
give one the impression that this COUNT
| was in those days a sort of huge spittool
The dress of American women irritate
her too. They consulted the seaso
neither in the colors nor in the style
their costumes: never wore mufls no
boots and walked in the middle of wintc
with their pretty little feet pinched into
miniature slipper incapable of excludin
as much moisture as might bedew prinl
rose.
The lack of aesthetic taste was natura
enough in new country ; and it as na
turally annoyed the visitor. Her Englis
friend, Mr.. Bullock, she says, was show
ing to some gentlemen "of the first stand
ing his beautiful collection of engray
ings, when enc among them exclaimed
Have you really done all these since yo,
came here? How hard you must hav
worked !" And another gentleman o
high Cincinnati ton and critical in hi
taste for the fine arts, having DRAWN,
put into his hands representing Heb,
and the bird umquhile sacred to Jupiter
demanded in n satirical tone, "What is
this?' "Hebe, replied the alarmed col
lector "Hebe," sneercd the man of taste
"What the d has Hebe to do with til,
American eagle p Mrs. Trollope's tall
in stage coach with an apparently intel
ligent man, on the subject of art, ludi
crously introduced phrase once very
popular here. He named an American
artist with whose works was very famil.
lar, aud after having declared him equal
to Lawrence Gudging by his portrait o
West, now at New York;, he added, AND
what is more, madam, he is perfectly sc u:
taught. Iprudently took few moments
before | answered for the equalling oui
immortal Lawrence to most vile daube1
stuck i'll my throat but at last l remark
ed on the frequency with which had
heard the phrase seif-taugM used, not as
an apology, but as positive praise. We'll,
madam, can there be higher praise p
Certainly not, if spoken Of the individ-
nal merits of n person without the means
of instruction, but do not understand it
when applied as praise to his works.
Not understand it, madam? Is it not
attrbuting genius to the author, and what
is teaching compared to that p Iwould
willingly if l could give IN idea of the
mixed Indignation and contempt express
ed by our companion at the idea that
study was necessary to the formation of
taste and to the development of genius.
AT last, however, he closed the discussion
thus: "There is no use i'll disputing n
point that is already settled, madam the
best Judges declare that Mr.. H-g's
portraits are equal to that of Lawrence. ,
Who is it who has passed this Judgment.
sir The men of taste of America,
madam. then asked him if he thought
1t was going to rain" A fitting pendant
to this story is Mrs. Trollopes account of
the ''most literary conversation" she ever
held in Cincinnati. Her interlocutor " as
n ''serious gentleman, said to be n schol-
ar and man of reading. "Our poor
Lord Byron, rs may be supposed" =" she
says, twas the bull's-eyc against which
every dart i'll his black little culver was
aimed. l had never heard any serious
gentleman talk of Lord Byron at full
length before, and l listened attentively.
1t was evident that the noble passages
which are gre ven on the hearts Of the
genuine lovers of poetry had altogether
escaped the serious gentleman's atten-
ton it was equally evident that he knew
by rote all those that they wish the mighty
master had never written. / told hlm so,
and shall not soon forget the look he
gave me.
"Of other authors his knowledge was
very imperfect, but his criticisms very
amusing. OF Pope he said, He is 80 en-
tirely gone by that in our country it is
considered quite fustian to speak Of
him..
SAT the name of Dryden he smiled, and
the smile spoke rs plainly as smile
could speak, How the old woman twad-
dies =
"We only know Dryden by quotations,
madam, and these, indeed, are found only
in books that have long since had their
day
And Shakespeare, sir p
Shakespeare, madam, is obscene,
and, thank God, we are sufficiently ad-
yanced to have found it out If we must
have the abomination of stage plays, let
them at least be marked by the refine
ment of the age in which we live.
"Chaucer and Spenser he tied in
couple and dismissed by saying that he
thought it was neither more nor less than
aliectation to talk of authors who wrote
i'll tongue no longer Ineligible"
The remarkable familiarity of her
poorer reighbors was constant surprise
to the lady accustomed to the British "bob
and curtsey." She could not grow accus-
toned to being called "the English old
woman )" nor could she calmly endure
the long and tedious visitations accom-
panied by the statenent that fastened
door would be considered as an aifront by
the whole neighborhood. That any mans
son may become the equal of any other
mans son was the only feature in Ameri-
can society that she recog ,ized as indica-
tive OF the equality professed. The con-
sciousness of this, she conceded, was
certainly spur to exertion on the other
hand, she held that it was also spur to
that coarse familiarity untempered any
shadow of respect which was assumed by
the grossost and the lowest in their inter
course with the highest and most refined
While Mrs. Trollope was living in Gin
cnnati Andrew Jackson, then newly elect
ed President, was publicly received there
on his way to Washington. He passed,
uncovered, through crowd of men each
OF whom kept on his hat in the sturliest
republican fashion. "He wore his gray
hair carelessly,' says Mrs. Trollope, "but
not ungracefully arranged, and, in spite
OF his harsh, gaunt features, he looked
like gentleman and soldier. He WAS
in deep mourning, having recently lost
his wife, they were said to have been very
happy together, and l was panied by
hearing voice near me exclaim as he ap-
preached the spot where i stood There
goes Jackson where is his wife {? An
other sharp voice at little distance cried,
Adams forever And these sounds were
all | heard to break the silence" Mr..
Trollope accompanied the President on
his journey eastward, and afterward wrote
to his wife-"There was not n hulking boy