For several
years I lived in a house built in the woods around Chaplin, Connecticut,
by subjects of George III. Thus someone living here
could have first heard of a skirmish at Lexington, Massachusetts, of the
Constitution's ratification, of British troops setting fire to the White
House, or the separation of Church and state in Connecticut in 1818. With
so much cultural time to sense in every beam and rock, I, an American, felt
in this house somewhat as a European
might in a Carolingian church, with the difference that I lived here.
A Dutchman staying for a few days walked around muttering,
"mooi, mooi, mooi" ("beautiful" or "pretty" or "fine"). In
fact, everyone who stepped into it felt its spirit and liked it, and some,
like me, venerated it. These
images succeed in communicating with viewers to the degree that they evoke
respect and warmth for tradition, ancestors, and a simple, sturdy way of
life in a new country.