Art could add nothing to its lessons , but Nature might . He had , therefore , visited a world whither none of his professional brethren had preceded him , to feast his eyes on visible images that were noble and picturesque , yet had never been transferred to canvas . America was too poor to afford other temptations to an artist of eminence , though many of the colonial gentry on the painter 's arrival had expressed a wish to transmit their lineaments to posterity by moans of his skill . Whenever such proposals were made , he fixed his piercing eyes on the applicant and seemed to look him through and through . If he beheld only a sleek and comfortable visage , though there were a gold-laced coat to adorn the picture and golden guineas to pay for it , he civilly rejected the task and the reward ; but if the face were the index of anything uncommon in thought , sentiment or experience , or if he met a beggar in the street with a white beard and a furrowed brow , or if sometimes a child happened to look up and smile , he would exhaust all the art on them that he denied to wealth . Pictorial skill being so rare in the colonies , the painter became an object of general curiosity . If few or none could appreciate the technical merit of his productions , yet there were points in regard to which the opinion of the crowd was as valuable as the refined judgment of the amateur . He watched the effect that each picture produced on such untutored beholders , and derived profit from their remarks , while they would as soon have thought of instructing Nature herself as him who seemed to rival her . Their admiration , it must be owned , was tinctured with the prejudices of the age and country . Some deemed it an offence against the Mosaic law , and even a presumptuous mockery of the Creator , to bring into existence such lively images of his creatures . Others , frightened at the art which could raise phantoms at will and keep the form of the dead among the living , were inclined to consider the painter as a magician , or perhaps the famous Black Man of old witch-times plotting mischief in a new guise . These foolish fancies were more , than half believed among the mob . Even in superior circles his character was invested with a vague awe , partly rising like smoke-wreaths from the popular superstitions , but chiefly caused by the varied knowledge and talents which he made subservient to his profession . Being on the eve of marriage , Walter Ludlow and Elinor were eager to obtain their portraits as the first of what , they doubtless hoped , would be a long series of family pictures . The day after the conversation above recorded they visited the painter 's rooms . A servant ushered them into an apartment where , though the artist himself was not visible , there were personages whom they could hardly forbear greeting with reverence . They knew , indeed , that the whole assembly were but pictures , yet felt it impossible to separate the idea of life and intellect from such striking counterfeits . Several of the portraits were known to them either as distinguished characters of the day or their private acquaintances . There was Governor Burnett , looking as if he had just received an undutiful communication from the House of Representatives and were inditing a most sharp response . Mr. Cooke hung beside the ruler whom he opposed , sturdy and somewhat puritanical , as befitted a popular leader .
The ancient lady of Sir William Phipps eyed them from the wall XXXXX ruff and farthingale , an imperious old dame not unsuspected of witchcraft .
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