The Colonial Cavalier Part 6

I offer all this testimony to show that our Colonial Cavalier was only the child of his age, when he too shook the dice, and shuffled the cards.

Being short of cash, his bets were generally made in tobacco, or, failing that, in flesh and blood. Many a slave found a new master in the morning, because his old master had been unlucky at play the night before.

In a community so absorbed in the excitement of hazard, the lottery of course took deep hold. The first plantation in America was aided by a grand "standing lottery," with along list of "welcomes, prises and rewards," amounting to more than ten thousand crowns. The declaration sets forth that "all prises, welcomes and rewards drawne wherever they dwell, shall of the treasurer have present pay, and whosoever under one name or poesie payeth three pound in ready money, shall receive six shillings and eight pence, or a silver spoone of that value at his choice."

"The money for the Adventurers is to be paid to Sir Thomas Smith, Knight, and Treasurer for _Virginia_, or such officers as he shall appoint in City or Country, under the common seale of the company for the receit thereof."

The example thus set, was followed whenever the colonies felt a pressure for money. In Virginia a lottery was established to meet the expenses of the French and Indian War--the drawing directed to be "in the Burgesses'

Room of the Capital at Williamsburgh at ten in the morning. Prizes current money from 5 to 2000. The lucky numbers to be published in the _Gazette_."

In Maryland, in the eighteenth century, a "Scheme of Lottery is humbly proposed to the Public for Raising the sum of 510 pounds, current money, to be applied towards completeing the Market-House in Baltimore-Town in Baltimore Co., buying two Fire-Engines and a parcel of Leather-Buckets for the use of the said Town, enlarging the present Public Wharf and Building a new one."

If gambling was a favorite pastime and the lottery a popular excitement, the Cavalier was not a stranger to manlier sports. Of a brave and ardent temper, and a fine physique, he found at once his work and play in the hardy amus.e.m.e.nts of the chase. He had learned from the Indian to stalk the deer, walking stealthily behind his horse till a good chance offered to shoot close at hand, and lay the unsuspecting deer at his feet. Sometimes, in the bright October weather, the air would be blue with the smoke of the fires built to start the game. Now, in his heavy leather boots, he would start afoot after wild hare, or by the light of the moon, with a band of servants and dogs, he would hunt the 'possum and the c.o.o.n. This habit of hunting was so universal that the Colonial Cavalier well merited the sarcasm of _The Spectator_, which described the English country gentleman as lying under the curse p.r.o.nounced in the words of Goliath, "I will give thee to the fowls of the air and to the beasts of the field." Hunting as a sport may not be spiritualizing, but it certainly is not brutalizing, and as much cannot be said for all the sports of that day, in the Southern colonies of America.

The c.o.c.k-fight and the gouging-match never lacked as eager a throng of spectators, as gathers to-day at a football game; yet both were brutal and disgusting. They roused the amazement of every foreigner, that such things should be tolerated in a civilized country. The gouging-match was simply a fight of the lowest order. Not only were fists freely used, but the test of success was the ability of the stronger bully to gouge out the eye of his adversary. The under man could only save his sight by humiliating himself to cry out, "Kings Cruse!" or "Enough!"

Anbury, who witnessed several of these matches, says: "I have seen a fellow, reckoned a great adept in gouging, who constantly kept the nails of both his thumb and second finger long and pointed; nay, to prevent their breaking or splitting, he hardened them every evening in a candle."

So familiar was this brutal practice that it supplied a Southern orator in after years with a rhetorical climax when, inciting his countrymen to make war on the mercantile interests of Great Britain, he exclaimed: "Commerce is the apple of England's eye. There let us gouge her!"

The c.o.c.k-fight was scarcely less degrading than the gouging-match. When a fight was announced, the news spread like lightning, and from all over the country people came thronging, some bringing c.o.c.ks to be entered in the match, but all with money or tobacco to bet on the result. The scene was one of wild excitement. Men and boys cheered on their favorites, and watched with delight, while the furious c.o.c.ks thrust at each other with their long spurs of cruel steel.

It is pleasant to turn away from such scenes and sports as these, to read of the _Knights of the Golden Horseshoe_ riding up into the wild fastnesses of the Blue Ridge Mountains with Governor Spotswood. It was a right knightly expedition, and one of the most picturesque in American history. They wound through the forest, and forded the rivers, and climbed rocky mountains, and took possession of peak after peak in the name of "His Majesty George the Third." Their horses were shod with iron, which was not usual in those days, and on their return, Governor Spotswood presented each of the Cavaliers as a memento of the journey, with a tiny gold horse-shoe, set with jewels, and bearing the legend, "_Sic juvat transcendere montes_." The thrifty old king disapproved of this extravagance, and left the Governor to pay for the mementoes out of his own pocket.

Riding on horseback was the chief recreation, as well as the chief mode of getting about, at the South. As the planters grew richer, they delighted to own fine horses and outfits. Washington's letter-book contains an order sent to London for elaborate equipments: "1 man's riding saddle, hogskin seat, large plated stirrups, double-reined bridle and Pelham bit plated. A very neat and fashionable Newmarket saddle-cloth. A large and best portmanteau, saddle, bridle and pillion, cloak-bag, and surcingle. A riding-frock of a handsome drab-coloured broadcloth with plain double gilt b.u.t.tons. A riding waistcoat of superfine scarlet cloth and gold lace, with b.u.t.tons like those of the coat. A blue surtout coat. A neat switch whip, silver cap. Black velvet cap for servant."

Washington, as methodical in private affairs as in public, kept in his household books, a register of the names and ages of his horses and his dogs. Here we may read the entire family history of _Ajax_ and _Blueskin_, _Valiant_ and _Magnolia_, or of the foxhounds _Vulcan_, _Singer_, _Ringwood_, _Music_, and _True Love_.

There was a peculiar intimacy between the foxhounds and their master, for they were a.s.sociated with some of the happiest hours of his life, and when they came in from a field-day, torn by the briars through which they had struggled or limping from thorns in the foot, they were tenderly cared for, bandaged, and looked after. No amus.e.m.e.nt so delighted Washington as riding across country with Lord Fairfax in one of the hunts which that gentleman and sportsman was so fond of organizing at Greenaway Court. On a brisk yet soft autumn morning, through the blue Virginia haze, the gentry for miles around came to the "meet." The huntsmen might be heard urging on the dogs with cries of "Yoicks! Yoicks! Have at him! Push him up!" till the fox, which had doubled on its tracks, round and round the thick covert, at length broke away, and the cry was raised of "Tally-ho! Gone away!" The huntsman blew his horn, the whipper-in cracked his whip, the hounds were in full cry, and the entire field of scarlet-coated riders broke in, in a mad gallop, through brush and briar. A strong fox will "live" before hounds on an average of an hour, but sometimes the hunt lasted all day, and covered thirty miles or more. The lessons of endurance, of woodcraft, and of hardy strength, which the Virginia gentlemen learned in these hunts, stood them in good stead in the life-and-death struggle on sterner fields.

A great lover of animals was Charles Lee, who was always surrounded by a troop of dogs, and who made himself somewhat unwelcome as a visitor, by insisting on bringing them into the house with him wherever he went. "I must have some object to embrace," he once wrote to a friend. "When I can be convinced that men are as worthy objects as dogs, I shall transfer my benevolence, and become as staunch a philanthropist as the canting Addison affected to be."

Apparently he never changed his mind, but died still devoted to his dogs and his horses. Men who loved horses, of course loved horse-racing as well. The Carolina Jockey Club was a famous inst.i.tution. Its annual races drew crowds from the neighboring country, and the population gave itself up to several days' festivity, ending in a ball. In Virginia, the sport was no less popular. _The Gazette_ of October, 1737, announces that "On St. Andrew's Day, there are to be horse-races and several other Diversions for the entertainment of the Gentlemen and Ladies at the Old Field." The programme of this entertainment recalls the days of Merrie England.

Besides the race of twenty horses for a prize of five pounds, the advertis.e.m.e.nt gives notice:

"That a hat of the value of 20s. be cudgelled for, and that after the first challenge be made, the Drums are to beat every quarter of an hour for 3 challenges round the Ring, and none to play with their left hand.

"That a violin be played for by 20 Fiddles, no person to have the liberty of playing unless he bring his fiddle with him. After the prize is won, they are all to play together, and each a different tune, and to be treated by the company.

"That 12 Boys of 12 years of age do run 112 yds, for a hat of the cost of 12 shillings.

"That a flag be flying on said Day, 30 feet high.

"That a handsome entertainment be provided for the subscribers and their wives; and such of them as are not so happy as to have wives, may treat any other lady.

"That drums, trumpets and hautboys be provided to play at said entertainment.

"That after dinner the Royal Health, His Honor the Governor's, etc., are to be drunk.

"That a Quire of Ballads be sung for, by a number of songsters, all of them to have liquor sufficient to clear their wind-pipes.

"That a pair of silver buckles be wrestled for, by a number of brisk young men.

"That a pair of handsome shoes be danced for.

"That a pair of handsome silk stockings, of one pistole value, be given to the handsomest young country maid that appears in the field--with many other whimsical and comical diversions too numerous to mention.

"And as this mirth is designed to be purely innocent and void of offense, all persons resorting there are desired to behave themselves with decency and sobriety."

There is a delightful heartiness and simplicity about all this racing, and chasing, and dancing, and jigging, and fiddling. Folks had not learned to take their pleasure sadly. They still found clowns funny, and shouted with laughter over the efforts to climb greased poles and catch slippery pigs, and, above all, they delighted in the barbecue. At these great open-air feasts animals were roasted whole over enormous fires. Huge bowls of punch circled round the long tables spread under the trees, and when the feast was done the negroes gathered up the fragments and made merry, late into the night.

All the English holidays were observed in the Cavalier Colonies in addition to some local festivals. Eddis writes from Annapolis in old colony days: "Besides our regular a.s.semblies, every mark of attention is paid to the patron saint of each parent dominion; and St. George, St.

Andrew, St. Patrick, and St. David are celebrated with every partial mark of national attachment. General invitations are given, and the appearance is always numerous and splendid. The Americans on this part of the continent have likewise a saint, whose history, like those of the above venerable characters, is lost in sable uncertainty. The first of May is, however, set apart to the memory of Saint _Tamina_ (Tammany); on which occasion the natives wear a piece of a buck's tail in their hats, or in some conspicuous situation. During the course of the evening, and generally in the midst of a dance, the company are interrupted by the sudden intrusion of a number of persons habited like Indians, who rush violently into the room, singing the war-song, giving the whoop, and dancing in the style of those people; after which ceremony, a collection is made, and they retire, well satisfied with their reception and entertainment."

In addition to such festivities as these, the King's birthnight was celebrated with illuminations and joy-fires, and Christmas in Maryland and Virginia recalled the gayety of the dear old home festival. The halls were filled with holly and mistletoe, which refuse to grow in the chill New England air, but may be gathered in the woods of Virginia as freely as in England; the yule log was kindled on the hospitable hearth, and the evening ended with a dance.

It was a dancing age. None were too old or too dignified to join in the pastime. We have it on the authority of General Greene that on one occasion Washington danced for three hours without once sitting down.

Patrick Henry would close the doors of his office to betake himself to dancing or fiddling, and Jefferson dearly loved to rosin his bow for a merry jig. The story is told of him that once, when away from home, he received news of the burning of his father's house. "Did you save any of my books?" he asked of the slave who brought him the tidings. "No, Ma.s.sa,"

answered the negro, "but we saved the fiddle!"

At the entertainments in the "Palace" at Williamsburg, the Governor himself opened the ball, with the most distinguished lady present, in the stately figures of the minuet. Afterward young and old joined in the livelier motions of the _Virginia Reel_. This dance, in spite of its name, did not spring from Virginia soil, but was adopted from an old English dance known as "The Hemp-Dressers," whose figures represent the process of weaving, as its couples shoot from side to side, then over and under, like a shuttle, and finally unite, as the threads tighten and draw the cloth together.

The Governor's palace did not absorb all the gayety of Williamsburg. Who has not heard of the Raleigh Tavern, with its leaden bust of Sir Walter, and its crowning glory of "The Apollo Room," named doubtless for that famous "Apollo Room" in the "Devil's Tavern," Fleet Street, where Shakespeare and Jonson held their bouts of wit and wine?

If we could have crept up to the Raleigh Tavern some night, early in the last half of the last century, and peeped through the small-paned windows of "the Apollo," we might have seen a party of gay collegians making merry with their sweethearts and friends. This tall youth, with sandy hair and gray eyes, is Tom Jefferson, who is offering his awkward homage at the shrine of Miss 'Becca Burwell. Near them is Jefferson's most intimate friend, Jack Page, dancing with his Nancy. Yonder, near the wide fireplace, between Sukey Potter and Betsy Moore, stands Ben Harrison, a mere boy still, though soon to enter the House of Burgesses, and over there in the corner, gravely surveying the dancers, is the uniformed figure of the young soldier, George Washington. Should we have read in these youthful faces a promise of the parts they were destined to play on the world's stage? Probably no more than we should have foreseen this gay ballroom turned into the hall of a political a.s.sembly, where the first birth-cry of American freedom is heard.

We can get whatever impression we choose of Williamsburg and its society by selecting our authority judiciously. Burnaby, who visited it in 1759, describes it as a pleasant little town, with wooden houses straggling along unpaved streets; while Hugh Jones writes, thirty years earlier, that many good families live here "who dress after the same modes and behave themselves exactly as the Gentry in London." "Most families of any note,"

he adds, "have a coach, chariot, Berlin or chaise."

The city, so he says, is well stocked with rich stores, and "at the Governor's House upon Birthnights and at b.a.l.l.s and a.s.semblies, I have seen as fine an appearance, as good diversion, and as splendid entertainments in Governor Spotswood's time as I have seen anywhere."

When Governor Botetourt (p.r.o.nounced after the English fashion, _Bottatot_) came over to Virginia, he took the oath of office here at Williamsburg, and rode in state in a great coach drawn by six milk-white horses. After the oath had been administered, a grand supper was given in his honor at the Raleigh Tavern. _The Gazette_ gives a full account of the affair. An ode was sung, beginning:

"He comes! His Excellency comes To cheer Virginia's plains.

Fill, your brisk bowls, ye loyal sons, And sing your loftiest strains!

Be this your glory, this your boast, Lord Botetourt's the favorite toast.

Triumphant wreaths entwine!

Fill your b.u.mpers swiftly round, And make your s.p.a.cious rooms resound With music, joy and wine!"

The air being ended, the recitative took up the strain of effusive compliment:

"Search every garden, strip the shrubby bowers, And strew his path with sweet autumnal flowers!

Ye virgins, haste; prepare the fragrant rose And with triumphant laurels crown his brows!"

The virgins thus called forth, appeared from their "shrubby bowers,"

bearing roses and laurel, and singing, as they advanced toward the hero of the evening:

"See, we've stripped each flowery bed-- Here's laurels for his lordly head, And while Virginia is his care, May he protect the virtuous fair!"

As I looked on Lord Botetourt's statue, and marked its moss-covered figure and its fatuously smiling face, robbed of its nose by the stone of contempt, I remembered this festival, and mused on the vicissitudes of fame.