. American scenery. now that Blueblack hasgiven us a peep at the romance of the colonial life of Virginia,and you a very charming imagining of her wars with theFrench and Indians—I have a mind, I say, to treat the com-pany to a little glimpse of a later period, by telling themsomething of the history of Gabrielle de St. Pierre, as one ofthe Mothers of the Eevolution. So deeply had our guests grown interested in the characterand fortunes of the fair lady of Le Boeuf, that a general accla- GABKIELLE DE ST. PIERRE. 89 mation of assent followed this proposition; wlien Mr. Deepreddereminded them th
. American scenery. now that Blueblack hasgiven us a peep at the romance of the colonial life of Virginia,and you a very charming imagining of her wars with theFrench and Indians—I have a mind, I say, to treat the com-pany to a little glimpse of a later period, by telling themsomething of the history of Gabrielle de St. Pierre, as one ofthe Mothers of the Eevolution. So deeply had our guests grown interested in the characterand fortunes of the fair lady of Le Boeuf, that a general accla- GABKIELLE DE ST. PIERRE. 89 mation of assent followed this proposition; wlien Mr. Deepreddereminded them that the hour had grown so late, that the storj<; be pursued longer at that time. It can be resumed, we added, at our next meeting. To besure, our field of study will then be transferred to a point yetfurther southward; but, as Virginia is a kindred theme, we maytarry there long enough to pay our brief respects to Mademoi-selle Gabrielle. Satisfied with this compromise of the matter, the CHAPTER V. AsPHALTUM, my dear boy, you must excuse my fear thatyour undue love of tlie past and tlie venerable warps yourimpressions and estimate of the new and the present. Yoursight is dimmed by the accumulated fogs of the dark oldcenturies into which you are everlastingly peering. I cannotbut think that you look falsely, when you look despondingly,upon the condition and prospects of American art. If I see around me, answered Mr. Asphaltum, nothingbut hopeless chaos after contemplating the glories of past tri-umphs, it is only as ones sight may be obscured when turningfrom the dazzling light of the sun; but have we not alreadysaid enough on this point, considering that it is not quite ger-main to the matter in hand? There you are again strangely in error. What can bemore relevant to our theme—the history, the poetry, the man-ners, and the scenery of our country—than the prospects ofthat art which, of all others, must record, illustrate, and perpctuate them? S
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Keywords: ., bookauthorrichards, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, bookyear1854
