Adams' enthusiastic
outpourings in regard to Richmond Hill. She was, in fact, never tired
of writing of it. A favourite quotation of hers she always applied to
the place:
_"In this path,
How long soe'er the wanderer roves, each step
Shall wake fresh beauties; each last point present
A different picture, new, and each the same."_
That entire neighbourhood was rich in game,--we have already seen that
the Dutch farmers thought highly of the duck shooting near the Sand
Hill Road, and that Minetta Brook was a first-class fishing stream.
Birds of all sorts were plentiful, and the Adamses did their best to
preserve them on their own place. But too keen sportsmen were always
stealing into the Richmond Hill grounds for a shot or two. "Oh, for
game laws!" was her constant wail. In one letter she declares: "The
partridge, the woodcock and the pigeon are too great temptations for
the sportsman to withstand!"
And please don't forget for one moment that this was at Charlton and
Varick streets!
The House on the Hill was the home of quite ceremonious entertaining
in those days.
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