THE MANSION OF A GENTLEMAN AND A SCHOLAR.
The site of the Dove Cote was eminently picturesque. It was an area of
level ground, containing, perhaps, two acres, on the summit of a hill
that, on one side, overhung the Rockfish river, and on the other rose by
a gentle sweep from the champaign country below. This summit might have
been as much as two hundred feet above the bed of the stream, and was
faced on that side by a bold, rocky precipice, not absolutely
perpendicular, but broken into stages or platforms, where grassy mould
had accumulated, and where the sweet-brier and the laurel, and clusters
of the azalea, shot up in profuse luxuriance. The fissures of the crag
had also collected their handful of soil and gave nourishment to
struggling vines, and everywhere the ash or pine, and not unfrequently
the dogwood, took possession of such spots upon the rocky wall, as these
adventurous and cliff-loving trees had found congenial to their nature.
The opposite or northern bank of the river had an equal elevation, and
jutted forward so near to the other as to leave between them a cleft,
which suggested the idea of some sudden abruption of the earth in those
early paroxysms that geologists have deemed necessary to account for
some of the features of our continent. Below was heard the ceaseless
brattle of the waters, as they ran over and amongst the rocks which
probably constituted the _debris_ formed in the convulsion that opened
this chasm. It was along through this obscure dell that the road, with
which my reader is acquainted, found place between the margin of the
stream and the foot of the rocks. The general aspect of the country was
diversified by high knolls and broken masses of mountain land, and the
Dove Cote itself occupied a station sufficiently above the surrounding
district to give it a prospect, eastward, of several miles in extent.
From this point the eye might trace the valley of the Rockfish, by the
abrupt hill-sides that hemmed it in, and by the growth of sombre pines
that coated the steeps where nothing else could find a foot-hold. Not
far below, in this direction, was to be seen the Fawn's tower, a
singular pinnacle of rock, which had acquired its name from the
protection it was said to have afforded to a young deer against the
assault of the hounds; the hard-pressed animal, as the tradition
relates, having gained this insulated point by a bound that baffled the
most adventurous of his pursuers, and admiration of the successful
boldness of the leap having won from the huntsman the favor that spared
his life.
With the exception of a large chestnut near the edge of the cliff, and
of some venerable oaks, that had counted centuries before the white man
rested his limbs beneath their shade, the native growth of the forest
had been removed by Lindsay from the summit I have described, and he had
substituted for the wild garniture of nature a few of the choicest trees
of the neighboring woods. Here he had planted the elm, the holly and the
linden tree, the cedar and the arbor vitae. This platform was
semicircular, and was bounded by a terrace or walk of gravel that swept
around its circumference. The space inclosed was covered with a natural
grass, which the frequent use of the scythe had brought to the
resemblance of velvet; and the lower side of the terrace was guarded by
a hedge-row of cedar. Over this green wall, as the spectator walked
forth in fair summer time, might he look out upon the distant woods and
meadows; and there he might behold the high-road showing itself, at
distant intervals, upon the hill-sides; and in the bottom lands, that
lay open to the sun through the forest-bound valleys, might he see herds
of grazing cattle, or fields of yellow grain, or, perchance, the slow
moving wain burdened with hay, or slower moving plough.
The mansion itself partook of the character of the place. It was
perched--to use a phrase peculiarly applicable to its position--almost
immediately at that point where the terrace made an angle with the
cliff, being defended by a stone parapet, through which an iron wicket
opened upon a flight of rough-hewn steps, that terminated in a pathway
leading down to the river.
The main building was of stone, consisting of one lofty story, and
capped with a steep roof, which curved so far over the front as to
furnish a broad rustic porch that rested almost upon the ground. The
slim pillars of this porch were concealed by lattice-work, which was
overgrown with creeping vines; and the windows of the contiguous rooms,
on either side of a spacious hall, opened to the floor, and looked out
upon the lawn and upon the quiet landscape far beyond. One of these
apartments was also accessible through the eastern gable, by a private
doorway shaded by a light veranda, and was appropriated by Lindsay to
his library. This portal seemed almost to hang over the rock, having but
the breadth of the terrace between it and the declivity, and showing no
other foreground than the parapet, which was here a necessary defence
against the cliff, and from which the romantic dell of the river was
seen in all its wildness.
There were other portions of the mansion constructed in the same style
of architecture, united to this in such a manner as to afford an
uninterrupted communication, and to furnish a range of chambers for the
use of the family. A rustic effect was everywhere preserved. Stacks of
chimneys shot up in grotesque array; and heavy, old-fashioned windows
looked quaintly down from the peaked roof. Choice exotics, planted in
boxes, were tastefully arranged upon the lawn; cages with singing-birds
were suspended against the wall and the whole mass of building,
extending along the verge of the cliff, so as to occupy the entire
diameter of the semicircle, perhaps one hundred and fifty feet, sorted
by its simplicity of costume, if I may so speak, and by its tidy beauty,
with the close-shaven grass-plot and its trim shades.
Above the whole, flinging their broad and gnarled arms amongst the
chimney tops, and forming a pleasing contrast with the artificial
embellishments of this spot, some ancient oaks, in primeval
magnificence, reared their time-honored trunks, and no less sheltered
the habitation from the noon-tide heats, than they afforded an asylum to
the ringdove and his mate, or to the countless travellers of the air
that here stopped for rest or food.
Such was the general aspect of the Dove Cote; a spot where a philosopher
might glide through life in unbroken contemplation; where a wearied
statesman might betake himself to reassemble the scattered forces of
intellect for new enterprises; where the artist might repair to study
with advantage the living graces of God's own painting; and where young
beauty might bud and bloom amongst the most delicate and graceful forms
of earth.
The interior of the dwelling was capacious and comfortable. Its
furniture, suitable to the estate of the owner, was plain, and adapted
to a munificent rather than to an ostentatious hospitality. It was only
in the library that evidence might be seen of large expense. Here, the
books were ranged from the floor to the ceiling, with scarcely an
interval, except where a few choice paintings had found space, or the
bust of some ancient worthy. One or two ponderous lounging chairs stood
in the apartment; and the footstep of the visitor was dulled into
silence by the soft nap of (what, in that day, was a rare and costly
luxury) a Turkey carpet. This was in all respects an apartment of ease,
and it was provided with every incentive to beguile a student into
silent and luxurious communion with the spirit of the sages around
him,--whose subtlest thoughts and holiest breathings, whose most
volatile fancies, had been caught up, fixed, and turned into tangible
substance, more indestructible than adamant, by the magic of letters.
I have trespassed on the patience of my reader to give him a somewhat
minute description of the Dove Cote, principally because I hope thereby
to open his mind to a more adequate conception of the character of
Philip Lindsay. By looking at a man in his own dwelling, and observing
his domestic habits, I will venture to affirm, it shall scarcely in any
instance fail to be true, that, if there be seen a tasteful arrangement
of matters necessary to his comfort; if his household be well ordered,
and his walks clean and well rolled, and his grassplots neat; and if
there be no slovenly inattention to repairs, but thrift against waste,
and plenty for all; and, if to these be added habits of early rising and
comely attire--and, above all, if there be books, many books, well
turned and carefully tended--that man is one to warm up at the coming of
a gentleman; to open his doors to him; to take him to his heart, and to
do him the kindnesses of life. He is a man to hate what is base, and to
stand apart from the mass, as one who will not have his virtue tainted.
He is a man, moreover, whose worldly craft may be so smothered and
suppressed, in the predominance of the household affections, that the
skilful and designing, alas, may ever practise with success their plans
against him.