The Life, Studies, and Works of Benjamin West, Esq. | Page 4

silver, and, amidst the wrath, the
storm, and the thunder, endeavouring to hold them up; let us not look at
the land of blasphemies; for in the crashing of engines, the gushing of
blood, and the shrieking of witnesses more to be pitied than the victims,
the activity of God's purifying displeasure will be heard; while turning
our eyes towards the mountains of this New World, the forests shall be
seen fading away, cities rising along the shores, and the terrified
nations of Europe flying out of the smoke and the burning to find

refuge here."--All his auditors were deeply affected, particularly Mrs.
West, who was taken with the pains of labour on the spot. The meeting
was broken up; the women made a circle round her as they carried her
home, and such was the agitation into which she was thrown, that the
consequences had nearly proved fatal both to the mother and the infant,
of which she was prematurely delivered.
This occurrence naturally excited much attention, and became the
subject of general conversation. It made a deep impression on the mind
of Mr. West, who could not divest himself of a feeling that it indicated
something extraordinary in the future fortunes of his child; and when
Peckover, soon afterwards, on his leaving that part of the country, paid
him a farewell visit, he took an opportunity of introducing the subject.
The warm imagination of the Preacher eagerly sympathised with the
feelings of his friend. He took him by the hand, and, with emphatic
solemnity, said that a child sent into the world under such remarkable
circumstances would prove no ordinary man; and he charged him to
watch over the boy's character with the utmost degree of paternal
solicitude. It will appear in the sequel, that this singular admonition
was not lost on Mr. West.
The first six years of Benjamin's life passed away in calm uniformity;
leaving only the placid remembrance of enjoyment. In the month of
June 1745, one of his sisters, who had been married some time before,
and who had a daughter, came with her infant to spend a few days at
her father's. When the child was asleep in the cradle, Mrs. West invited
her daughter to gather flowers in the garden, and committed the infant
to the care of Benjamin during their absence; giving him a fan to flap
away the flies from molesting his little charge. After some time the
child happened to smile in its sleep, and its beauty attracted his
attention. He looked at it with a pleasure which he had never before
experienced, and observing some paper on a table, together with pens
and red and black ink, he seized them with agitation, and endeavoured
to delineate a portrait: although at this period he had never seen an
engraving or a picture, and was only in the seventh year of his age.
Hearing the approach of his mother and sister, he endeavoured to

conceal what he had been doing; but the old lady observing his
confusion, enquired what he was about, and requested him to show her
the paper. He obeyed, entreating her not to be angry. Mrs. West, after
looking some time at the drawing with evident pleasure, said to her
daughter, "I declare he has made a likeness of little Sally," and kissed
him with much fondness and satisfaction. This encouraged him to say,
that if it would give her any pleasure, he would make pictures of the
flowers which she held in her hand; for the instinct of his genius was
now awakened, and he felt that he could imitate the forms of those
things which pleased his sight.
This curious incident deserves consideration in two points of view. The
sketch must have had some merit, since the likeness was so obvious,
indicating how early the hand of the young artist possessed the power
of representing the observations of his eye. But it is still more
remarkable as the birth of the fine arts in the New World, and as one of
the few instances in the history of art, in which the first inspiration of
genius can be distinctly traced to a particular circumstance. The
drawing was shown by Mrs. West to her husband, who, remembering
the prediction of Peckover, was delighted with this early indication of
talent in his son. But the fact, though in itself very curious, will appear
still more remarkable, when the state of the country at that period, and
the peculiar manners of the Quakers, are taken into consideration.
The institutions of William Penn had been sacredly preserved by the
descendants of the first settlers, with whom the remembrance of the
causes which had led their ancestors to forsake their native country,
was cherished like the traditions of religion, and became a