Hansford: A Tale of Bacon's Rebellion

Brief as was the time which had elapsed, the old hall presented a different appearance to Hansford, from that which it maintained when he last left it under such disheartening c...

"Men, high minded men, With powers as far above dull brutes endued, In forest, brake or den, As beasts excel cold rocks and brambles rude; Men, who their duties know, But know t...

"Me glory summons to the martial scene, The field of combat is the sphere of men; Where heroes war the foremost place I claim, The first in danger, as the first in fame." _Pope'...

"Wounded in both my honour and my love; They have pierced me in two tender parts. Yet, could I take my just revenge, It would in some degree assuage my smart." _Vanbrugh._

"Forthwith this frame of mine was wrenched With a woeful agony, Which forced me to begin my tale, And then it left me free. Since then, at an uncertain hour, That agony returns,...

"Let's leave this town; for they are hairbrained slaves, And hunger will enforce them to be more eager. Of old I know them; rather with their teeth The walls they'll tear down,...

"An old worshipful gentleman, who had a great estate, That kept a brave old house at a bountiful rate,-- With an old lady whose anger one word assuages,-- Like an old courtier o...

Dinner being over, the gentlemen remained according to the good old custom, to converse over their wine, while Virginia retired to the quiet little parlour, and with some favour...

It was on a calm, clear morning in the latter part of the month of September, that the little army of Nathaniel Bacon, wearied and worn with protracted marches, and with hard fo...

Great was the horror of the loyalists, on the following morning, at the discovery of the horrible crime which had been perpetrated; but still greater was the mystery as to who w...

Situated, as nearly as might be, in the centre of each of the counties of Virginia, was a small settlement, which, although it aspired to the dignity of a town, could scarcely d...

"Farewell and blessings on thy way, Where'r thou goest, beloved stranger, Better to sit and watch that ray, And think thee safe though far away, Than have thee near me and in da...

Thomas Hansford, in appearance and demeanour, lost nothing in comparison with the accomplished Bernard. He certainly did not possess in so high a degree the easy assurance which...

"Religion, 'tis that doth distinguish us From their bruit humour, well we may it know, That can with understanding argue thus, Our God is truth, but they cannot do so." _Smith's...

The night, though only starry, was scarce less lovely for the absence of the moon. So bright indeed was the milky way, the white girdle, with which the night adorns her azure ro...

"My dear Virginia," replied her lover, "do you not remember that I told you last night that I had something to communicate, which would surprise and grieve you. I cannot expect...

"Yet, though dull hate as duty should be taught, I know that thou wilt love me; though my name Should be shut from thee, as a spell still fraught With desolation,--and a broken...

"'We try this quarrel hilt to hilt.' Then each at once his falchion drew, Each on the ground his scabbard threw, Each looked to sun, and stream, and plain, As what they ne'er mi...

"His heart has not half uttered itself yet, And much remains to do as well as they. The heart is sometime ere it finds its focus, And when it does with the whole light of nature...

The new comers were Lawrence and Drummond, who, as will be recollected by the reader, were left in Jamestown to watch the proceedings of the Governor, and to convey to Bacon any...

There was at Windsor Hall, an old family servant, known alike to the negroes and the "white folks," by the familiar appellation of Uncle Giles. He was one of those old-fashioned...

"A man in all the world's new fashion planted, That hath a mint of phrases in his brain; One, whom the music of his own vain tongue, Doth ravish like enchanting harmony; A man o...

Agreeably with the promise of Bacon, the captured ladies were treated with a respect and deference which allayed in a great degree their many apprehensions. Still they could not...

"In the service of mankind to be A guardian god below; still to employ The mind's brave ardour in heroic aims, Such as may raise us o'er the grovelling herd And make us shine fo...

"But the poor dog, in life the dearest friend, The first to welcome, foremost to defend, Whose honest heart is still his master's own; Who labours, fights, lives, breathes for h...

When Virginia aroused again to consciousness, her eyes met the features of Alfred Bernard, as he knelt over her form. Not yet realizing her situation, she gazed wildly about her...

With the hope that a description of the sports and pastimes of their ancestors may meet with like favour from the reader, we subjoin the following account of this little masque...

"I charge you, oh women! for the love you bear to men, to like as much of this play as please you; and I charge you, oh men! for the love you bear to women, (as I perceive by yo...

"Give me more love or more disdain, The torrid or the frozen zone; Bring equal ease unto my pain, The temperate affords me none; Either extreme of love or hate, Is sweeter than...

Brightly shone the sun through the window of the Garter Inn, at which Virginia Temple sat on the morning after the ball at Sir William Berkeley's palace. Freed from the restrain...

Yes, Virginia! She who had so much reason for consolation herself, forgot her own sorrows for the time, in administering the oil of consolation to the poor, wounded, broken-hear...

The surprise and horror with which the intelligence of this impending attack was received by the family at Windsor Hall may be better imagined than described. Manteo, the leader...

"One mouldering tower, o'ergrown with ivy, shows Where first Virginia's capital arose, And to the tourist's vision far withdrawn Stands like a sentry at the gates of dawn. The c...

"There was a sound of revelry by night-- And Belgium's capital had gathered then Her beauty and her chivalry; and bright The lamps shone o'er fair women and brave men; A thousan...

On the evening which followed the events narrated in the last chapter, a party of half a dozen horsemen might be seen riding leisurely along the road which led to Windsor Hall....

It is permitted to the story teller, like the angels of ancient metaphysicians, to pass from point to point, and from event to event, without traversing the intermediate space o...

It was on a bright and beautiful morning--for mysterious nature often smiles on the darkest deeds of her children--that a group of Indians were assembled around the council-fire...

"Ha! sure he sleeps--all's dark within save what A lamp, that feebly lifts a sickly flame, By fits reveals. His face seems turned to favour The attempt. I'll steal and do it unp...

That evening Sir William Berkeley was sitting in the private room at the tavern, which had been fitted up for his reception. He had strictly commanded his servants to deny admit...

"And first she pitched her voice to sing, Then glanced her dark eye on the king, And then around the silent ring, And laughed, and blushed, and oft did say Her pretty oath, by y...

In truth a young man, well mounted on a powerful bay, was seen approaching from the forest, that lay towards Jamestown. Virginia's cheek flushed with pleasure as she thought how...

"Go to Lord Angelo, And let him learn to know, when maidens sue, Men give like gods; but when they weep and kneel, All their petitions are as freely theirs, As they themselves w...

"How yet resolves the Governor of the town? This is the latest parle we will admit. If I begin the battery once again, I will not leave the half achieved Harfleur, Till in her a...

"Heaven forming each on other to depend, A master, or a servant, or a friend, Bids each on other for assistance call, Till one man's weakness grows the strength of all. Wants, f...

"My life, my health, my liberty, my all! How shall I welcome thee to this sad place-- How speak to thee the words of joy and transport? How run into thy arms, withheld by fetter...

It is not our purpose to trouble the reader with a detailed account of all the proceedings of the famous Rebellion, which forms the basis of our story. We, therefore, pass rapid...

The reader will naturally desire to know what induced the milder counsel recommended by Alfred Bernard to the Governor. If we have been successful in impressing upon the mind of...

The reader need not be told that Hansford, surprised and unarmed, for his remaining pistol was not at hand, and his sword had been laid aside for the night, was no match for the...

Among those who had been driven, by the disturbances in England, to seek a more quiet home in the wilds of Virginia, was a gentleman of the name of Temple. An Englishman by birt...

go, and though he was the nominal ruler of his little household, she was the power behind the throne, which even the throne submissively acknowledged to be greater than itself.