Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1893-12-03
THE OLD DOMINION.
Extracts from Tom Pages Article In
Harpsfs Monthly.
yIRGlEIAES, PAST AND PRESENT.
sosneshing Of Their History In War and
Peace 10 Prosperity and Ad-
versity.
Ry Thomas Nelson Page. in Harper's
MnnfhlYl

wiz an energy thHt maze inc flh3o''
dance. I say he was the best OF you
IN "-Thsckcray.
The traveller to-day who takes n run
through Virginia on one OF the roads
which cut across her from Washington
TO the south or southwest gets very In
adequate idea Of that which Is In fact the
Od Dominion
''' From Washington to Petersburg
the railway passes along the former army
track. flom Petersburg 20 The southern
border st Is ia what was known years
ago as the "Hlack Bcit" and neither sec
ton has yet fully recovered.
This region. now so largely grown up
In forest or Ieft os "old fields" was be-
fore the way 0llci with comfortable
homestcads and Well-cultiyatcd farms. 1t
was here that much OF the early history
of odd Virginia" was enacted. 4 single
county produced George Washington aud
au the Lees Jefferson. Madison. Monroe.
and John Marshall were from the Pied
mont. a little nearer tho Blue Ridge. Pat
rick Henry and Henry Clay came from
the same country, lower down. Even
now tho region through which the road
passes conveys. with its leagues OF appa-
ruly virgin forest. but an inadequate
idea Of the Sc within T.. 70 know this
ono must leave the train ana strike out
into the country Thgre he shall find
Virginia ~ is true DE- viii frequently
uu1 Che lands poorly cultivated. If not
poor. De- viii IND oli homosteods DISNEY
.urI ANA worn. anj De Will find the
D.. o. OBJ. inc
ttIty and refinement sadly diiapdatcd
.nI uufumisheI. he wiil Dee struck by
me apparent wan, OF Things To which be
us accustomed elsewhere. and for the pos
aesaiou OF which ready money is needed:
bat FOB 70 little time he viii forget this; ne
vill o. m an atmosphere which viii soothc
his senses ana luu him into a state Of
content ana Doe win become aware that
there is something even amid this sim
pur.iy which he had not before discoy
.reL certain restful feeling with which
the external is In harmony, ami in which
ID is well with the spirit.
When the war had been going on three
reara there was not % fence and scarcely
60 tree lelt standing from Alexandria to
from Alexandria to Dnylle, almost on
the North Carolina border, was little more
than % waste. lu portions of the counties
az Culpepor Fauquier. and Prince VII
Lam there was hardly a house LETT
standing within fy, miles Of tho rail
way on either side. and bill was intro
duccd in the LEGISLATURE empowering the
railway company TO buy the lands within
Ayo miles uu either side.
PROGRESS.
As stated before the lands along the
railways ia this part Of Virginia give
eat an iulidcreutt true idea even of the
tol and Us culture, and what is viewed
4rom "a car window gives none of the life
which Us ite real Virginia Poor as the
s'ii appears Ola the ridges IL is kindly. 1t
g. easily suscepull, OF Improvement and
produces grain AMI tobacco Of peculiar
quality. 10 was IN this eastern part Of
Virginia that the most famous race
horses 81 the country We're raised in old
limos. such as Boston. Nina. Planet Fan
uV Washington. and many others Of the
great plstc-wiuuer-. or late years Fanny
WaFhingtons great son Eoius and his
wonderful progeny have justified the
boast Of the old Nirginlans that this IS
the home OF the thoroughbred. Last year
81, Virginia colt. Moreno won the great
Futuriiy ana four out ~ twelve Viz
ginla entries stood the training and ran
IA the race, "A line test Of bone. muscle,
and bottom. Perhaps nowhere In the
country has the external and material
been less indicative Of the internal or
spiritual than in the Oid Dominion The
life has been SO sequestcred, 80 self-COn-
tanned and tina people have been ~ in
different 10 public oplnlon-at least, or
all public opinion outside Of Virginia it,
self-and have cared 40 little for show.
that from the outward appearance a
wrong conception has often been drawn
OF that which was within. Back from
these ridges along which the railways
run. on the rivers ANA little streams
which empty into the rivers. are peace
ful valleys filled with sweet homesteads.
where the life flows on as calmly and
undisturbd as the limpd streams
which slip SO silently between their
mlrrored willows. This. after all
IS Nirginia.-the Virginia which is
not seen any more than the air or the
perfume OF the fields is visible TO the
eye, but which Is felt and known through
It's silent influence In those secluded
the hustle and din and strife of the world
grew the Nirginian who made the Ola
Dominion what she was.
THE OLD VIRGINIAN.
To understand Virginia and the Viz
ginians II is necessary TO know something
~ her history. That furnishes the key
TO much OF their character. 1t entered
into the Nirginian's life, Influenced his
tendencies. and tempered his spirit. lie
was proud OF being a Nirginian, and he
never forgot the fact To him the Old
Dominion was what she had appeared TO
the earliest Chroniclers: Most plentiful
sweet. wholesome. and fruitful OF all
other" IL was indeed picturesque his
tory that lay back OF him; beginning to
come into being like IA glmmering dawn,
with the mighty figures OF great Eliza
beth accepting the name bestowed as an
honor TO her Majesty. and Sir Walter
Raleigh, courtier, soldier statesman, dis
coverer, historian, poet, admiral, and
shepherd Of the ocean, proud TO style
himself Lord and Chief Governor of Vir-
ginia."
The life In the Old Dominion was not
unlike that In England. and the Nir-
ginian treasured the idea OF resem-
blance. Hawkins and Drake and Gilbert
Ind Greuviltc lad take part IN Nirginas
history. Shakespeare had been inspired
by an event in her romantic story TO
write the Tempest" and before her
limits were curtailed Ariel inhabited the
airs that blew upon her shores.
The master of characterization. the
profound student OF life. the ablest
analyst Of our time. knowing the Old
Virginia lie deemed the Old Dominion IA
worthy refuge and home in his later
years, for Henry Esmond. II there is one
character described In the literature OF
our race by which one would have the
lace judged. IL perhaps is the scholar. the
soldier, the c0urtier, the man, the gentle
Snan, Henry Esmond. Recognizing the
Virtue OF the old Virginia life. the great
novelist deemed Virginia the hitting place
ln which 20 have Colonel Esmond end
ms days and leave his blood. and the
ev4Nel 10 the greatest romance of our
lime he entitled The Virgnians"
The history OF the Commonwealth had
'eit lis strong impress on the Virginians.
ana they, perhaps, still were more like
me hngiish than were the people OF any
other State
COMFORTABLY WELL OFF"
Virginia Vas not even before the war
one OF me rich States liks the cotton and
sst% States Of the South but she Was
~ N@st ialriy well on In those States
ma