In the days of president washington, the glory of the nations, dust and ashes, snow and sleet, and hay and oats and wheat, blew west, crossed the appalachians, found the glades of rotting leaves, the soft deer-pastures, the farms of the far-off future in the forest. how does this allusion reinforce the meaning of the excerpt? the allusion offers images of nature for the excerpt. the allusion lends patriotic pride to the excerpt. the allusion recounts historical fact for the excerpt. the allusion adds weather detail to the excerpt.