Here had come the
famed Virginia and Maryland beauties of an ancient day, and here still
came their great-great-granddaughters to create envy among the flowers
that steal from the earth to bloom in this valley of delight. Here
came Washington and Jefferson and others whose names will never die so
long as there is an American heart-beat among us; came with their
coaches, their servants, their horses and--their livers: for they had
livers even in those good old days. If one were to call upon the sweet
night air, and spirits were allowed to respond, the fair face of Dolly
Madison would emerge from the shadows, attended by all the wits and
beauties of her luxurious day. Betty Junol, too, held court in this
primitive Spa. Here duels were fought for ladies fair, and here the
hearts of the noblest women of our land were won by gallants who will
live forever.
Beaten roads that stretch off down the valley and wind through the
hills could tell countless tales of those who, in one glorious
century, rode hand-in-hand and unarmored to the lists of love and fell
together in the joyous combat. To this very day the lists are open and
the contenders as resolute, as gentle and as brave as in the ages when
Washington was a boy and men wooed with a sword at their hip.
Pages:
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345