An Outcast; Or, Virtue and FaithAdams, F. Colburn (Francis Colburn)
General
An Outcast; Or, Virtue and Faith
Adams, F. Colburn (Francis Colburn)
Conduct of life -- Fiction; United States -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction; Vice -- Fiction
There is continually coming along some unknown but very distinguished
foreigner, whom the society adopts as its own, flutters over, and
smothers with attentions, and drops only when it is discovered he is an
escaped convict. This, in deference to the reputation of the St.
Cecilia, we acknowledge has only happened twice. It has been said with
much truth that the St. Cecilia's worst sin, like the sins of its sister
societies of New York, is a passion for smothering with the satin and
Honiton of its assemblies a certain supercilious species of snobby
Englishmen, who come over here, as they have it (gun and fishing-rod in
hand), merely to get right into the woods where they can have plenty of
bear-hunting, confidently believing New York a forest inhabited by such
animals. As for our squaws, as Mr. Tom Toddleworth would say, (we shall
speak more at length of Tom!) why! they have no very bad opinion of
them, seeing that they belong to a race of semi-barbarians, whose
sayings they delight to note down. Having no society at home, this
species of gentry the more readily find themselves in high favor with
ours. They are always Oxonians, as the sons of green grocers and
fishmongers are sure to be when they come over here (so Mr. Toddleworth
has it, and he is good authority), and we being an exceedingly
impressible people, they kindly condescend to instruct us in all the
high arts, now and then correcting our very bad English. They are clever
fellows generally, being sure to get on the kind side of credulous
mothers with very impressible-headed daughters.
There was, however, always a distinguished member of the St. Cecilia
society who let out all that took place at its assemblies. The vulgar
always knew what General danced with the lovely Miss A., and how they
looked, and what they said to each other; how many jewels Miss A. wore,
and the material her dress was made of; they knew who polkaed with the
accomplished Miss B., and how like a duchess she bore herself; they had
the exact name of the colonel who dashed along so like a knight with the
graceful and much-admired Mrs. D., whose husband was abroad serving his
country; what gallant captain of dragoons (captains of infantry were
looked upon as not what they might be) promenaded so imperiously with
the vivacious Miss E.; and what distinguished foreigner sat all night in
the corner holding a suspicious and very improper conversation with Miss
F., whose skirts never were free of scandal, and who had twice got the
pretty parson into difficulty with his church. Hence there was a
perpetual outgoing of scandal on the one side, and pelting of dirt on
the other.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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