578 KENTUCKY BARBICUE. 



his happiness. How the viands diminished under the action of so many 

 agents of destruction I need not say, nor is it necessary that you should 

 listen to the long recital. Many a national toast was offered and accept- 

 ed, many speeches were dehvered, and many essayed in amicable reply. 

 The ladies then retired to booths that had been erected at a little distance, 

 to which they were conducted by their partners, who returned to the 

 table, and having thus cleared for action, recommenced a series of hearty 

 rounds. However, as Kentuckians are neither slow nor long at their 

 meals, all were in a few minutes replenished, and after a few more draughts 

 from the bowl, they rejoined the ladies, and prepared for the dance. 



Double lines of a hundred fair ones extended along the ground in the 

 most shady part of the woods, while here and there smaller groups 

 awaited the merry trills of reels and cotillons. A burst of music from 

 violins, clarionets, and bugles, gave the welcome notice, and presently the 

 whole assemblage seemed to be gracefully moving through the air. The 

 " hunting-shirts" now joined in the dance, their fringed skirts keeping 

 time with the gowns of the ladies, and the married people of either sex 

 stepped in and mixed with their children. Every countenance beamed 

 with joy, every heart leaped with gladness ; no pride, no pomp, no affec- 

 tation, were there ; their spirits brightened as they continued their exhi- 

 larating exercise, and care and sorrow were flung to the winds. During 

 each interval of rest, refreshments of all sorts were handed round, and 

 ■while the fair one cooled her lips with the grateful juice of the melon, the 

 hunter of Kentucky quenched his thirst with ample draughts of well 

 tempered punch. 



I know, reader, that had you been with me on that day, you would 

 have richly enjoyed the sight of this national fete champetre. You would 

 have listened with pleasure to the ingenuous tale of the lover, the wise 

 talk of the elder on the affairs of the State, the accounts of improvement 

 in stock and utensils, and the hopes of continued prosperity to the country 

 at large, and to Kentucky in particular. You would have been pleased 

 to see those who did not join the dance, shooting at distant marks with 

 their heavy rifles, or watched how they shewed off the superior speed of 

 their high bred " old Virginia"" horses, while others recounted their hunt- 

 ing exploits, and at intervals made the woods ring with their bursts of 

 laughter. With me the time sped hke an arrow in its flight, and al- 

 though more than twenty years have elapsed since I joined a Kentucky 



