Lord Fairfax had not dreamed that Virginia could be so beautiful; and how delightful the task of reclaiming a section of this virgin soil in the midst of the primeval forest seemed to him! How empty and purposeless the pleasures of the city compared with the delights of life and labor in the cultivation of the wilderness! He was never tired of admiring the estate of his cousin. He no doubt had the same feelings as Chateaubriand under the same circumstances, to which he has given utterance in the following words: “What a fascinating mixture of social and natural life reigned there! By the side of a cypress wood, charming residue of the impenetrable wilderness, was a nascent vegetation; ears of corn trembled in golden waves around the roots of a fallen oak; full sheaves, daughters of a single Summer, stood upon the site of the ancient forest; thick columns of smoke rose from the burning woods and floated away over the fertile fields, while the plough slowly cut its way through the roots of the ancient trees. Surveyors were carefully staking out the boundaries of the new estate; the wild birds had deserted their nests, the dens of wild beasts were converted into roomy cabins, and every blow of the woodman’s axe was a prophecy of the blessings which were soon to rest upon these fields.”
So the venerable but still vigorous Lord Fairfax resolved to settle down in the neighborhood and never to return to England. For a time he lived at Belvoir on the estate of his cousin. We must not conceal the fact that in spite of his enthusiasm for a planter’s life, Lord Fairfax had not forgotten to inquire whether the fox was a native of the American forests. He was passionately fond of fox hunting, and if his question had not received a favorable answer, it is more than likely that his newly awakened love for America would soon have waned. However, foxes were very numerous amongst the forest animals of this region, a circumstance which lent fresh charm to the country. But there was still another consideration. On a fox hunt one must have at least one companion; but where should he find a horseman who could in some degree compare with the former dashing cavalry officer, especially in this hilly region, covered with thickets which had never been penetrated by a human being? The reader may perhaps, ere this, have had an inkling that our George may have been a most welcome hunting companion for the grizzled lover of the hunt. And it was so. Lord Fairfax kept horses and dogs in the English style, and when the hunting season began George rode out into the woods with him every morning, and they seldom returned without trophies.