On the 19th June, 1831,1 set out from the city of Norfolk about seven
o'clock in the morning; my departure had been fixed at six: but who
ever sets out at the hour at which he has determined? Nobody,
certainly, in Virginia, where time and punctuality seem to be, in the
opinion of all men, very impracticable abstractions, little worth the
attention of reasonable men. First of all, Zed was too late in
bringing up the horses, and he had at least a hundred good excuses for
the delay. Next, we had forgotten, in buying the saddle-bags, to buy
any straps to fix them to the saddles. Then, no stores--or shops, as
we call them, were yet open to supply the deficiency. And again, no
pack-thread was to be found to supersede the need of straps. Finally,
all the gentlemen of the inn with whom I had formed acquaintance, and
who happened to be up, must needs shake hands and drink a mint-julep
with me before I departed. It seemed the good ancient custom of the
stirrup-cup, and I was fain to lump my companions altogether, and take
one deep draught to their health ere I rode on.
It was a glorious morning; the sun had not yet heated the air, and the
wind blew from the north-west. After crossing the river we journeyed
very comfortably for between two and three hours. Zed, radiant as
Ph[oe]bus, was proud of new clothes, a new master, and a new horse;
and to say truth, rode very well, although not very gracefully.
Indeed, his broken leg, which had been set somewhat crooked,
apparently enabled him to grasp his beast with greater vigour, making
a sort of hoop round the animal's body, which would have been very
difficult to shake off. We made the best of our way while it was cool;
but between nine and ten we began to have indications of what the
weather intended to do with us.
They may say what they like of Calcutta, Jamaica, and the African
coast; but I am sure that Norfolk, in the summer season, is the
hottest place upon the surface of the earth.
I began to feel the perspiration dropping from under my hat; and the
roads seemed full of ruts and irregularities which I had not perceived
before. Suddenly, my horse put his feet into a deep gutter, and made
an awful stumble, but did not come down.
"Ah, massa," cried Zed, who had been keeping nearly in a line with me,
"you hold de middle of de road, or you get into tobacco-ruts."
"Tobacco-ruts!" I exclaimed, "what do you mean by tobacco-ruts? I see
no tobacco, Zed."
My new groom laughed aloud.
"Don't you know, massa," he cried, "people used to grow tobacco on
this road? Take two cart-wheels and an axle, put tobacco between them,
or round de axle, wid two coloured gentlemen to roll it on, and push
for'ard all de way to Norfolk."
"They don't surely do so now, Zed?"
"Not very long ago," replied he. "I recoleck very well seeing hundreds
of tons roll along here. Sometimes dere was a freshet. Den you would
see--oh, gorry--a whole heap of wheels and tobacco, and de gentlemen
all dancing and playing on de banjo on de bank. Oh, dose was merry
times, massa; but dey all become so damn democratic now."
I must here remark upon two points of the negro character. First, that
they are exceedingly fond of expletives, and not very choice in their
selection; and, secondly, that, to a man, as far as I have seen, they
are exceedingly conservative, nay, aristocratical in their notions.
I will not pause to inquire whether they have any very definite ideas
upon the distinction of parties, or whether they attach any
significance to the objurgations they use; but certain it is that they
have an abhorrence for the name of democrat, and occasionally swear
somewhat blasphemously without any special occasion.
We were soon obliged to bring our horses to a walk; but we had made
good speed over the first twenty miles of our journey. At the end of
the next five, we had the happiness of seeing a house on the
right-hand side of the road, which promised us rest and shelter from
the hot sun till the coolness of evening might be expected. It was a
long, low house of two stories--or rather one story and a half, for
the second was only half as tall as the first--with a verandah or
porch extending all along the front. Beneath the shade of this
verandah, in a large arm-chair of plain maple wood, from which he
seemed incapable of rising, sat an elderly man with white hair, leaden
complexion, and a dull, heavy unprepossessing countenance. In girth he
was enormous; and indeed his obesity seemed the effect of disease, for
there was an unhealthy heaviness in his whole aspect which was painful
to look upon. His dress was negligent; his waistcoat and his shirt
were unbuttoned; he had not been shaved for many days; and his hat had
fallen, by accident and negligence, into a variety of curious dents
and twists, which left no vestige of its original shape. A long
tobacco-pipe was in his mouth, from which he continued to inhale puffs
of smoke, slowly and leisurely, without paying the slightest apparent
attention to anything going on around him. He saw us dismount at the
door in the most impassible mood in the world; and as all was still
and silent about the house, I should have doubted whether it was a
tavern or not, had I not seen a tall bare pole in front, and painted
on the frieze of the porch,
BLACKWATER HOUSE. ANDREW GORBEL.
By this time I had learned that such symptoms indicated an inn; and
while Zed led away the horses, Heaven knows where, I stepped up to the
fat smoker, and asked where I could find the landlord.
"I'm the proprietor," answered he.
And, without even asking if I wanted anything, continued puffing away
at his pipe with the utmost indifference.
The fact is, that the people of this country are too thinly scattered
for anything like what we call attention and civility. There is no
competition amongst them. They feel that other men are more dependent
upon them than they upon other men, and they are determined to make
those whom they supply with anything feel that it is so. This is a
good deal the case in the cities, but ten times more so in remote
country places, where the solitary inn has the power of laying every
traveller under contribution, or inflicting upon him the penalty of a
long and inexpedient ride. I have come to this conclusion from
remarking that in spots where commerce is beginning to centre, and two
or three taverns have been set up side by side, the landlords,
yielding to circumstances, have put on as much civility, if not
obsequiousness, as any in the old world.
Nothing like competition, my dear friends. It is what bows down most
men to the worship of the golden calf, but is very comfortable and
convenient for travellers.
"Pray, sir, can I get any dinner here, to-day?"
"I dar say you can." Puff--puff--puff--not a word more.
"What's the dinner hour?"
"One o'clock, if the lads have come back." Puff--puff--puff.
"Can I get anything to drink? I am very thirsty."
"Just in there you'll find the whisky-bottle, on the shelf in the bar.
There's water in the pitcher, I think."
I was turning away, to satisfy my thirst, when my fat friend hallooed
after me--
"Hie! Will you jist hand me that newspaper off the bench."
With a smile I could not repress, I did what he required, observing,
in somewhat of the country language,--
"You seem somewhat troubled about the limbs, Mr. Gorbel."
"No, not a bit," said he; "my limbs is as strong as ever. It's what's
above 'em is the trouble; they have got too much to carry. It's all
come on in these cussed last three years, owing to the dry weather and
the weevil, I think."
I walked away, rather inclined to conclude it was the drought of his
own palate, rather than that of the weather, which had brought him
into that condition; and, with such an example before my eyes,
contented myself with the cold water, without troubling the whisky.
About a quarter past one o'clock, till which time I amused myself as
best I might, I espied two young men coming up a cross road, or rather
lane, through the wood, and another walking leisurely along through a
field of Indian corn. On approaching the house, they walked at once
into what the old man had called the bar, and rushed at a large tin
washbowl. One washed his face and hands, and another did the same. All
wiped on the same towel hanging behind the door, and most of them
combed their hair with a universal comb which lay on the window-seat.
All this was done in profound silence; for in this country, as well as
most others, hunger does not tend to loquacity. Before the three first
had finished their unfastidious ablutions, another and another had
entered, till the bar-room was fuller of human creatures than I had
imagined the whole country for twenty miles round could present. As I
had come thither, I had seen nothing but forest and swamp, with the
exception of a small village here and there, and a scattered house or
two near it. A group of negroes, indeed, once or twice was seen
looking over a ragged fence; but nothing of white humanity had been
visible except in the aforesaid villages.
Now, however, there were at least twenty white men about me. In a
moment after, a little tinkling hand-bell rang, a door leading out of
the bar-room opened, and in rushed the crowd, jostling each other like
a pack of hungry hounds, into a large, low dining-hall, where each
seized upon a seat, and helped himself to what was before him. It did
not seem to matter what it was; to save time was the great object; one
man seized upon a dish of cabbage; another snatched some pork and
beans; a third thrust his fork into a potato; and a fourth emptied a
dish of pickles upon his plate. In the meantime, a black lad of about
sixteen, end two mulatto girls, were going round from guest to guest,
repeating some mysterious words in a very quick tone, which caused
each of the gentlemen to thrust out his plate, loaded as it was, with
a single word of reply. When the boy came to me, I discovered that the
talismanic words were simply, "roast mutton; corn beef; boiled mutton;
roast shoat; roast turkey; chicken pie!"
Happily, I had been warned as to the nature of shoat; but out of the
rest I contrived to make a very good dinner, which, though it occupied
not more than ten minutes to complete, was so slow of accomplishment
in comparison with the time the others allowed themselves, that I
found myself at the end left alone with the rotund landlord, who had
rolled into a chair at the head of the table, and had gone on eating
pork and cabbage up to that moment in profound silence. When I first
perceived him, he was making a sign with his thumb over his shoulder,
to the black boy, who instantly disappeared into the bar-room, and
returned with the bottle of whisky in his hand. Mine host nearly
filled his tumbler, and then pointed to me, saying, in a husky voice--
"Will you take a drink?--Good old rye--capital stuff--twenty year old,
that. Though, may be, you'd like a julep. But I don't go in for
juleps--the mint's over-heating, 'specially when one's dined."
"I thought you Virginian gentlemen took all your liquor before
dinner," I answered, helping myself to a small portion of the whisky,
which was, indeed, excellent.
"Some do, and some don't," he said, rather shily. "For my own part, I
only take a glass or two of apple-jack before dinner; but I always
have my glass of whisky-and-water after;" and, he added, about a
spoonful of water to the tumblerful of spirits. "You see I'm a great
sufferer from the dispepsy--indeed, most of us are about here."
I thought it was no wonder, if they all ate as I had seen the people
at that table. I literally saw one man pile up his plate with the
following articles, in the order I put them down:--About a pound of
boiled pork; the same quantity of cabbage; two large spoonfuls of a
sort of French beans; a whole plateful of raw, undressed cucumber, cut
in slices; a quantity of pickles, and a slice of ham. All this was
consumed, I recollect, in the space of five minutes. However, my
worthy host seemed to become gayer and more communicative upon the
strength of his dinner; and in the course of a long chat with him in
the porch, I obtained a good deal of information in regard to all the
families for many miles around. He told me he had lived there for
thirty years; he had built himself two houses, and knew everybody in
the neighbourhood--man, woman, and child; white, black, and yellow.
Amongst the rest, he had been well acquainted with Aunt Bab; and from
some facts he told me, I am inclined to feel glad that I came over
here--not, perhaps, to enrich myself, but to spoil a very nefarious
scheme for the appropriation of her property by others.
Besides much other intelligence, I learned that the spot about which
was congregated most of my hitherto unknown relatives, was still at a
distance of some twenty-five to thirty miles; and, consequently, as
soon as the sun had declined sufficiently to throw some shade upon the
road, I looked eagerly about for my friend Zed, and directed him to
bring out the horses. Not a little patience is needed all over the
world in the minor affairs of life. I do believe they affect us more,
and more permanently, than those of greater importance. We cut the
diamond with dust, which we cannot even scratch with steel; and I am
confident that many a man's spirit is worn away and brought down with
petty cares and small annoyances, who would have struggled manfully
against great evils. The kind of servitude, too, of this country is
peculiarly abundant in such trifling discomforts, proceeding from the
character of the different classes of people and their relations to
each other. As far as I have seen, there is no order, no system, no
regularity;--a total absence of that military discipline and
punctuality which makes everything roll smoothly.
My friend Zed was full three-quarters of an hour before he had brought
out the horses and got everything else ready. First, he had forgotten
what they call here the hitching-reins, for tying the horses up to any
fence or gate where it may be needful; then he had left in the stable
my gun, which I had given him to carry; then he had got one of the
girths twisted; and, in short, there were innumerable little things to
set right which should never have gone wrong.
The day was intensely hot, however--more so than any one out of
Virginia can possibly conceive; and, though resolved to cut this sort
of thing short at once, I could only speak a few words of
remonstrance.
"Beg pardon, massa," said Zed. "Things not got accustomed to me yet;
they'll all come right by-and-by."
Trusting that it would be so, I rode on.
The next five-and-twenty miles seemed the longest journey I had ever
made. I will not attempt to describe it, for that is impossible. The
air was suffocating. Not a breath of wind moved the trees or came
along the road. The long unwatered dust rose up at every footfall of
the horses; the poor beasts were in a lather, though going at a very
easy trot, and I myself was in that condition which, though it may be
healthy enough, is very ungentlemanly in its aspect. What would I not
have given for the coldest breeze that ever blew across the Scottish
moors!--What would I have given for a good heavy gray cloud!--What
for a drenching shower! But none of these things were to be had; and I
went on with a sort of desperation, knowing that unless I slept in one
of the marshes, where the evening frogs were already beginning to
croak, I had no place of refuge for several miles ahead.
All this while, Zed looked as cool as a cucumber. It was really quite
provoking to see the glossy black shining of his skin, and his crisp,
white wool, while I was dropping from every pore, "and larding the
lean earth as I rode along." But the good man seemed really to have
compassion upon me; and, about half-past five o'clock, he pointed with
his hand to the left, saying,
"You look tire, massa Richard. Dere's a house. Better go in and stop
dere."
"But whose house is it, Zed?" I asked.
"Don't know, massa," answered Zed. Then, in pity of my ignorance, he
added, "Nebber mind dat. They very glad to see you, whoever it be. All
gentlemen do de same."
I looked in the direction in which he pointed, and clearly enough
could see the house of which he spoke. His suggestion came at a very
opportune moment, for we had just got out of the forest and come upon
a large space of open ground some thousand acres in extent, which
seemed rich and well cultivated, and the sun, then declining in the
west, threw his full beams upon us, almost blinding me. The house
seemed inviting, too. It was a large, red, brick building, somewhat
like an old English manor-house, with a number of sheds and stables
and outhouses scattered irregularly around it, and a backing of copse,
not forest, but apparently consisting of orchards and shrubberies. I
could not resist it, and, turning to Zed, asked, "Where is the road?"
"Oh, pull down de fence," answered Zed, "and ride straight ahead."
He was off his horse in a moment to perform the office he proposed;
but the fence was not high; my horse took it easily, and Zed and his
nag scrambled over the best way they could. The house was about half a
mile from the road; and, not liking to ride over the grain, I had to
thread my way through a somewhat narrow path, which made the distance
greater. This path, however, led into a road, and that road to the
bank of a very pretty stream, over which was a bridge of rather
primitive construction. A gentle slope led from the little river to
the front of the house, covered, if not exactly with turf, with
green grass, shaded by fruit trees. The whole reminded me of Old
England--dear, never-to=be-forgotten Old England! There was so much of
a home-look about it that I felt sure of a welcome, and, throwing the
reins to Zed, sprung off my horse and mounted the old stone steps to
the door.
I had no occasion to ring any bells--my coming had been espied. The
door was open before I could stretch out my hand, and, besides the
nice-looking negro who opened it, I could see two black girls going up
a large oak staircase and looking over their shoulders.
"Walk in, sir," said the man; "massa very glad to see you." And,
without more ceremony or inquiry, he opened a large door to the right
of the hall. My only hope was now that I should find the master of the
house alone, for I began to feel all the awkwardness of the
proceeding. It was not to be so, however. The scene presented, as I
entered the room, was very pleasant in the abstract, but not
altogether so in the circumstances then existing. I had evidently come
upon a little party of gentlemen just after dinner. The room was a
fine, old-fashioned room, large and lofty, with the windows all open
and the blinds all shut. In the centre was a mahogany table, large
enough to seat ten or twelve people, though only four now surrounded
it, and on that table were some dishes of preserves and early fruits,
glasses and decanters, and some curious old articles of silver ware.
The gentleman at the head of the table was a tall, dignified,
hale-looking man, with hair nearly white, an aquiline nose, and rather
heavy eyebrows. His dress was somewhat between morning and evening
costume. He wore a narrow black handkerchief around his neck, and a
snowy white shirt, with a collar cut a good deal back from the chin,
and a small, neatly-plaited frill in front. His coat was black and
swallow-tailed, but he had on leather breeches and top-boots. The
upper part, with its white waistcoat, might have graced a lady's
evening drawing-room; the lower part was quite fit for cover-side. On
the right of him was a gentleman in black, with a very thick white
neck-cloth, hair like spun silver, and a mild, benevolent face. On the
other hand was a gentleman of rather odd attire and appearance, with
his hair combed flat and far down upon his forehead, who, in
expression, rather than in features, reminded me more strongly of a
parrot than any human thing I ever saw. A good-humoured,
jolly-looking, fat fellow, about ten years younger than the rest, with
a blue coat and bright gilt buttons, sat a little lower down, and
completed the party.
I would have given all Aunt Bab's fortune to be out of the house
again. I am not by any means habitually shy; but there are moments
when a cloud of shyness will come over me, and then, I believe, I am
as stiff as a poker.
I was soon, however, set at my ease. The master of the house arose (be
was six feet three at least), and with an air of the utmost cordiality
and urbanity, came forward to meet me, holding out his hand.
"Very glad to see you, sir," he said. "Pray take a seat. Will, put
some glasses for this gentleman." (This was addressed to the servant.)
"We have had a very hot day--singularly hot for this early time of
year. That is Madeira; that is claret. But I dare say you stand in
need of other refreshment. Let me order you some dinner."
All this was said with an air of unceremonious ease and kindness which
broke down all restraint; and I answered with a slight laugh:--
"Three minutes ago, my dear sir, I would have given a great deal to be
out of your house again; but now, I am very glad I believed the report
I have received of the hospitality of Virginian gentlemen. I must
apologize first for appearing here in this traveller's guise, and next
for appearing here at all. The truth is, I have ridden a long way,
and, not accustomed to such tremendous heat, felt quite exhausted by
it. Moreover, I knew not my road very well, or where I might find
accommodation for the night."
"Where but here?" said my host, with a frank laugh. "I understand it
all, my dear sir; make no further explanations. These things occur to
us every day, and very gratifying they are; for, besides breaking a
little the quiet routine of our country circle, they occasionally
introduce us to pleasant acquaintances which sometimes ripen into
friendships."
Just as he spoke, who should put his head into the door but Master
Zed, asking, unceremoniously, "Where shall I put de saddle-bags, Massa
Richard?"
"Ask for Will, uncle, and tell him to show you the blue room," said my
host. Then turning to me with a somewhat puzzled air, as if the
familiarity of my servant prompted the question, he observed, "You are
not a Virginian, I think?"
"No, sir," I answered; "I am an Englishman, come to wander for a month
or two through the Old Dominion."
"Sir, you are most welcome here," responded my new friend. "My name is
Thornton--Henry Thornton. This is my reverend friend Mr. Alsiger.
This, Mr. Hubbard; and this, Mr. Byles--familiarly known amongst us as
'bold Billy Byles;' for a bolder man at a fence, a swamp, or a
cane-brake, is not to be found between this and Charleston."
This was said with a good-humoured laugh, and a nod to the gentleman
in the blue coat and gilt buttons, who, for his part, shook hands
heartily with me, and filled my glass full of claret. But nobody asked
my name; and I was glad to find that this remnant of old chivalrous
courtesy still prevailed in hospitable Virginia.
After a pause of a few moments, such as is naturally produced when
conversation has been interrupted, and has not had time to resume its
course, Mr. Thornton observed:--
"I am always glad to meet an English gentleman, for my mother's
brother married a lady from that country, who died not long ago; and
the dearest, best, most charming old woman she was that ever the world
saw."
"She was indeed," echoed the clergyman, from the other side.
A smile, though it might be somewhat of a grave one, came up in my
face, to find that I had so unexpectedly dropped in amongst dear Aunt
Bab's connections.
The quick eye of my host caught sight of the smile directly, and he
readily drew his own conclusions; for he gave it me back again with a
very slight inclination of the head, saying, _sotto voce_----
"Ah, ha!"
None of the rest took any notice; and the wine continued to circulate
round the table, until, suddenly, I heard from another room the tones
of a piano, apparently very well played.
"Bessy thinks we are too long at our wine, and that is the way the
gipsy calls us," said Mr. Thornton. "But we won't let her saucy tricks
interrupt us. Fill your glasses, gentlemen. I will give you a toast.
Here's eternal peace and good-will between old England and old
Virginia; and may the kindred streams which flow in the veins of both
never warm to anything but mutual friendship."
All drank the toast with apparent alacrity and good feeling; and,
although I am quite sure, from what I have seen and heard in this
country, that a great many Americans remember with sore and irritable
feelings, not only the war of the revolution, but the last war; and
others who, for the purpose of pandering to the worst feelings of the
basest of the population, affect enmity towards England; yet the
majority of the wise and well-thinking would fain cultivate a good
understanding between two countries, each of which bestows benefits
upon and receives benefits from the other; ay and many, who have not
forgotten all kindred ties, still look upon Great Britain as the
birthplace of their race.
Remembering, at length, after a very pleasant hour, that it was the
custom in this country for a stranger to take the lead in departing
from any scene of festivity. I rose, and proposed to retire to my
room, saying:--
"I am not in fit guise to join any party of ladies, Mr. Thornton; but,
if you will permit me, I will change my dress, and join you presently
where those sweet strains are pouring forth."
"Let me show you the way," he said, taking a candle from the table;
"and remember this is a place perfectly without ceremony. If you feel
too much fatigued to-night for society, we shall expect to see you
to-morrow at breakfast. If not, there is the room where you will find
us assembled till ten o'clock this evening."
And he pointed to a door on the other side of the hall, which was
shut, notwithstanding the heat of the night.
He now guided me up the stairs to a large, handsome room on the first
floor, where I found everything that could be required for comfort, or
even luxury; and, setting down the candle, for it was now twilight, he
was about to leave me, still without asking my name. I stopped him,
however; and a slight explanation ensued, which, notwithstanding my
previous determination, I found myself bound to afford to one who had
received me with such courteous hospitality. But I abstained from
disclosing my name.
He did not suffer me to go on long. "Say no more," he replied; "say no
more. Your secret, if it be one, is safe with me. I dare say you have
your reasons for remaining _incog_.; and, to tell you the truth, I am
both glad you are come, and glad you are come quickly; for you have a
good deal to hear and see about this place, and, perhaps, a little to
do, which may require some thought as to the mode of doing it. My
domestics will look to your general wants; and your own servants, I
dare say, will take care of your more particular requirements."
Thus saying he left me; and I sat down to think of the events of the
day, before I went below to join what I could not but hear was a gay
party.