University of Virginia Library

4. CHAPTER IV.

As Mr. George Lee will come occasionally under the
notice of the reader, during the progress of this history,
we think it advisable to devote a few pages to some
special details, relating to his parentage and character.
This interesting young gentleman, the descendant of an
ancient family, was the only son of a respectable planter,
who lived and died upon his own estate, adjoining to
that of Major Heyward, to whom he was distantly
related. The elder Mr. Lee was only distinguished
among his neighbors as an industrious man, who superintended
his laborers faithfully during the day, and
smoked his pipe contentedly at night. He pursued this
life so evenly, for many years, that the only vicissitudes
which marked his days, were those produced by the
revolutions of the seasons, or the changes of the atmosphere—except,
indeed, that he was occasionally induced
to join a hunting expedition in the mountains, or allured to
the lowlands, to participate in a feast of oysters. Having
been reared on the borders of the Blue Ridge, he had been
early instructed in the use of the gun; and long before he
reached the age of manhood, could track the timorous deer
through all the labyrinths of the forest. He had even ventured
upon more dangerous enterprises, and on more than
one occasion had joined the gallant volunteers of his native
state in repelling the incursions of the savage tribe. When
he married, he hung up his rifle and laid aside his mocasins,
but still cherished them as old acquaintances, and

could be prevailed upon at any time, by slight entreaty,
to resume them both. He had many acquaintances
among the lowland gentry, who loved his society because
he had a good appetite and a hard head, was fond of
oysters and apple-toddy, and was an excellent listener;
and, what was perhaps not the least of his good qualities,
he seldom made them a visit without carrying with
him a fat mountain-deer, as a present. He was, therefore,
an occasional, and always a welcome visitor, at
those glorious fish-feasts at which the gentlemen of
Virginia display such consummate skill, in catching,
cooking, and consuming, the inhabitants of the deep.
He was so well pleased upon such occasions, that he
might have become a punctual participant in these festivities,
had it not been for the frequent admonitions of
Mrs. Lee, who observed that her husband, though rigidly
temperate at home, never returned from such merry-meetings
without exhibiting a certain unnatural exhilaration
of spirits, not exactly conforming with this good
lady's notions of propriety. She therefore more than
once hinted that oysters and toddy did not agree with
Mr. Lee; and that gentleman, who had implicit faith in
the penetration of his helpmate, as readily promised to
eat fewer oysters and more trout, and to substitute
brandy and water for toddy. But as this arrangement
neither produced the desired effect, nor satisfied the lady,
he at last compounded matters, like a good husband, by
agreeing to go to the lowlands but twice a year. Under
this convention, which was kept inviolate, matters went
on like clock-work; the plough and the loom were plied
incessantly; the fields grew wider, and the tobacco-crops
more abundant; the negroes were fat and well
clad; and Mr. Lee, as he ripened in years, increased in
substance. The lady, who was the moving cause of
this prosperity, may be sketched off in a few words.
Like her husband, she came of an aristocratic stock;
but, unlike him, she was shrewd, sensible, active, and
gifted with an uncommon knack for managing every
thing and every body around her. She managed the
plantation, the dairy, the poultry, the household, the
negroes; she managed her husband; and what was better
than all, she regulated her own temper and conduct
with great decorum, and managed to be the most popular
woman in the neighborhood. Of book-learning she
had not much, for ladies, in that dark age, were not
taught the sciences, did not visit lyceums, and had no
souvenirs. But then Mrs. Lee had a mind of her own;
her sensibilities were acute, and her ambition great;
and as she carefully improved every opportunity for
gaining information, she became as intelligent as a lady
could well be without the interesting aids above mentioned.

Such had been the prosperous condition of this family
for several years, when the oppressions of Great Britain
began to awaken her colonies to a sense of their rights.
Mr. Lee, for a long time, turned a deaf ear to the murmurs
which surrounded him. Having been in the habit
of waiting on all occasions for Mrs. Lee to go foremost,
it never occurred to him to be discontented, while she
seemed to be satisfied. He was as happy as a clam.
His horses thrived, and his corn yielded famously; and
when his neighbors indignantly repeated their long catalogue

of grievances, he quietly responded that King
George had never done him any harm. But no sooner
did that good lady take the patriot side, and incautiously
drop a rebellious expression in his hearing, than he
began to examine the case with different eyes. By
degrees, as the wrongs of his country were more clearly
developed, a radical change was operated in his feelings
and habits. He became a frequent attendant at public
meetings, employed an overseer to conduct his business,
and took to reading the newspapers; he lighted his pipe
more frequently than usual, and walked to and fro, for
hours, on the lawn before his door, with the air of a
person in great perplexity. His wife observed all this
with silent anxiety, for she was not in the habit of
crossing his humors, but rather of directing them skilfully
to the accomplishment of her own purposes; and
after some days she ventured to ask her husband what
engaged his thoughts so busily. Mr. Lee, like a boy
who is about to ask a boon which he expects will not be
granted, had not courage to face the question when thus
suddenly presented; and hastily replying that he hardly
knew what he was thinking about, put on his hat and
sallied forth to his accustomed promenade. After marching
about for several hours with unusual agility, he
returned with the air of a man who has made up his
mind, and sitting down by his good lady, said, “I'll tell
you, Mrs. Lee, what I have been considering about.
I think that King George is neither an honest man nor
a gentleman; and if he sends any more of his soldiers
to murder their fellow-subjects in these colonies, I'll be
the first man to shoulder a musket against them.” To
his surprise, his excellent better half not only applauded
this spirited resolution, but complimented his patriotism
in the most flattering terms.

As we design to write the history of the father only
as introductory to that of the son, we shall not ask the
reader to accompany the former through all his campaigns.
Suffice it to say, that he was a brave, though
not an active officer; and that after serving his country
faithfully during the whole war, and attaining the rank
of captain, he retired, when the struggle was over, to his
beloved retreat among the Blue mountains. Besides
some honorable scars, he brought back with him several
new propensities. He rose at day-break, and having
swallowed a mint-julep, sallied forth bareheaded, in his
slippers, and without his coat; and having cooled himself
in the open air, repaired to his station in the chimney-corner.
This, which he called “turning out at
reveillè,” he practised at all seasons. He had, more-over,
learned several military and political maxims,
which, as a soldier and a revolutionary patriot, he felt
bound to live up to. One of these was, that a captain
should command his own company, a proposition which
he failed not to repeat to Mrs. Lee, whenever he suspected
her of intruding upon his authority; and another
referred to the “indefeasible” right of pursuing happiness,
as laid down in the Declaration of Independence,
which guarantied to him, as he supposed, the privilege
of entertaining as much company as he pleased, and of
eating as many oysters, and drinking as much brandy,
as he found pleasant and palatable. His pipe became
his inseparable companion, and the management of all

his affairs devolved on his wife. He was a diligent
reader of the newspapers, and pored incessantly over
the numerous political tracts which issued from the
presses of that day. He became a great talker; and
described the various scenes of the war in which he had
been engaged, with a minuteness which nothing but
their intense interest could have rendered tolerable. Of
his own personal adventures, he spoke sparingly, and
with great modesty, though his merits had been great.
Once or twice only, he informed a confidential friend,
that he deserved to have been made a general for his
exploits, and would undoubtedly have attained that rank,
had it not been for his want of talents and education;
but he ventured such remarks with great caution, and
never until after dinner.

It will be readily imagined, that Mr. George Lee,
junior, was an apt pupil in the school of so meritorious
a parent. The heir of a large estate, he early learned
that he lived only to enjoy it, and to spend it like a
gentleman. The descendant of a revolutionary hero,
he felt it incumbent on him to support the dignity of his
family. Accustomed to see his father's table loaded
with a profusion of the bounties of nature, and surrounded
by crowds of welcome guests, hospitality became,
in his eyes, the chief of the cardinal virtues. His
father, doating upon the beautiful boy, who was said to
be the exact image of himself, carried him with him,
not only in his daily walks and rides around his own
plantation, but to the numerous parties and carousals
upon which he was now a regular attendant. Before
he was twelve years old, this precious youth could follow

the hounds at full speed through the woods, with the
dexterity of a practised fox-hunter; at fourteen, he was
a member of a fishing-club, and an excellent judge of
cookery and Madeira; and at sixteen, when his worthy
progenitor was gathered to his fathers, the accomplished
heir took his place in society, qualified in all respects to
fill the void occasioned by this melancholy event.

To be brief—George Lee was a good fellow, a thorough
sportsman, and a most hospitable man. His
purse, his horses, and his wine, were always at the
service of his friends. Too good-humored to make an
enemy, too generous to envy others, and too feeble of
intellect to lay any plan beyond the enjoyment of the
present moment, he had no desires which extended farther
than the next meal, nor any anxieties which a
bumper of Madeira could not dispel. His mother had
long since abandoned the hopeless task of training his
mind to any serious pursuit, or any solid excellence,
because it was impossible to cultivate that which did not
exist. But he had affections, which were easily moulded,
and through these she obtained all that in such a case
was practicable: the entire management of his estate,
and the accomplishment of any temporary purpose on
which she set her heart.

It was in consequence of a plan early matured by this
politic lady, that George Lee attached himself to Virginia
Pendleton. The latter was an orphan, the niece, not of
Major Heyward, but of his wife. She was adopted by
them in her infancy, and as they had no children of
their own, became the idol of their hearts, and the
acknowledged heiress of Major Heyward's fortune

When Mrs. Heyward died, Virginia was quite young,
and Mrs. Lee supplied, to some extent, the place of a
mother to the orphan girl, by giving her advice from
time to time, and directing her inquisitive mind to proper
studies, and correct sources of information; and often
did she wish that she had found in her son a pupil of
equal docility and intelligence. It therefore very naturally
occurred to her, that if George was deficient in
intellect, it was the more necessary that he should have
a highly-gifted wife, who could manage his affairs, and
by her talents and personal charms acquire a decided
influence over himself. For this office, Virginia was
eminently qualified; and to this important station, Mrs.
Lee had the kindness to devote her, even in her childhood.
They were thrown together continually; the
affectionate appellation of cousin was used between them,
and their intercourse was that of brother and sister.
Virginia, grateful for the kindness of Mrs. Lee, the full
value of whose friendship she had the discernment to
see, and the sensibility to feel, became sincerely attached
to George—but with an affection precisely similar to
that which she felt for his mother and Major Heyward.
They stood to her in the place of relatives. And such
also were the feelings of George Lee, until he was nearly
grown to manhood, when the judicious hints of his
mother, pointing out the eminent attractions of Virginia,
the suitableness of their ages, tastes, and tempers, and
the contiguity of their estates, opened his eyes to a new
idea, which, once indulged, remained for ever implanted
in his heart. Not that he, for a moment, entered into
the spirit of his mother's calculating policy; he was too
careless of wealth, too improvident, and too generous,
to form a sordid wish; but when the possibility of a
marriage with Virginia was suggested to his fancy, her
own matchless charms warmed in his heart a love as
fervent as it was disinterested.

Virginia discovered this passion, in the altered manners
of her young friend, with unaffected regret, and
with a determination to discourage it by every means in
her power. She continued to treat him with the same
kindness and confidence which had always characterized
their intercourse; while she endeavored to withdraw
herself from his society, as much as was practicable,
without exciting observation. With Mrs. Lee, she was
more explicit; and when that lady, at first to feel her
way, and afterwards to advance a project which seemed
feasible, threw out repeated hints, which at length
became so broad as not to be misunderstood; she replied
to them with a frankness, an earnestness, and a spirit,
which convinced the female politician that she understood,
deplored, and disrelished, the whole plan.

But Mr. Lee was not so easily repulsed. He was not
sufficiently keen-sighted to discover the bearing of a
gentle hint; nor were his sensibilities delicate enough to
be wounded by a slight repulse. He remained true to
his first love, following the idol of his affections into
every company, besieging her at home, and urging his
suit with pressing importunity, whenever a favorable
opportunity—or an unfavorable one, for he was not very
particular—occurred. More than once was his suit
kindly and respectfully, but decidedly, rejected. After
a repulse, George betook himself to his horses, his dogs,

his gun, and his wine, with unwonted assiduity. No
one discovered any evidence of despair in his voice or
look; his laugh was as loud as ever, and his song as
joyous—but the number of foxes that he took, and the
bottles that he cracked, after each refusal, was marvellous.
A few weeks, or at most a few months, brought
him back to Virginia's feet. Such was the state of
affairs, at the period which we have chosen for the
commencement of this history.