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A Ghost Of S Place

A Ghost Of S Place image
Parent Issue
Day
15
Month
February
Year
1895
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

n,nds tbik with nderSr0,wth; Wcodlands w tUlnes9i the stilluess tranquil StL comaratively un'f 8blt H„Sed; roadways lined tilled and bbp trees_such the -tbtalUÍtt-o?horses' hoofs soeDe rtffl hard flooring of the nver i 0Ii' .Siuto noiseless footfalls "ri3gu!híS tur without sound in tfd tbe wheeto w An(lrew-8. Th6 'beyiCÏÏ'gcho-sof countless pines raarwmea cm sgof thecity.s , sbannsis noto, sstheriver. Ahead e Setzen long battallODB of an";!";!"4s med up to their chins ,n !' " i", t brou-h miles of the century old " fruSive trnnks bouud with l'rf asif to veil thescars of ZTZL every twig and traIIChO r!d old oaks! Autunmal ;'""S' ,,l April airs in turns have iWZ Z Wd their mgged boughs, íe0lÍtranks8tandfirm. Scarce r'Íin ho nniform line shows where i-ídier has fallen out of ranks, and, Ctoeíbow, theyguard the ancient Swayfeomenoroachment of forest or fi6Scrö is an old gateway, the entrance (nthe gronnds which once surrounded ," i lev Hall, one of the proudest and „ 't Lcious of the ancestral homes in SpS WepassthroughtheuseSttaadñ portáis into the dnveway ond In tbe 6haded light the aVeDUe E dreatning of tho past, for these S oaks stand guard over the wreek of all they were intended to adora. Of tóe stately home to which their beauty „rmedafit r.pproach nothing now r0SnBtatthecrombling marble steps Ld teil. spirelike chmmeys Little piokaninnies play hide and seek where S the fiowers in my lTa' new in trim lnxuriance. Only the AshL is onchanged as it ripples by on its JL to the sea, its waves as blue and markling as when it bore many a na p.irry trom tna muuaiuü iiUUDD. ' AShley Hall was the scène of a cent and lavish hospitality in lom days lts owner possessed immense nlantationsin Mississippi and Louisiana ia addition to his Carolina estates, and the great halls and spaoious drawing ; -ooms of the St. Andrew's mansion were reqnently tbronged with a gay coraany of the most distiugnished people f the state. ïhe bost was passionately iond of the chase and delighted to asManbto about hini tbose who shared in his love of sport. Deer huuts, partioipated in by famons sportsmen froin all uvcr the south, were features of every éasou. The same open handed generosity that dictated a hospitality so marked ; obtained batween master and slave, and j ibe largo retinne of servants at the hall j were a happy, care free sot. It was j ditional that no oue was ever sent away j empty hauded who appliod for aid at :he doors of this plantation home. This old hall, in which soven generaiions of the same family had dwelt, living almost ideal lives, met with a tragic fate. The organized struggle between the north aud south v?as at an end, but the "raiders" were in possession of this country. Thoy had already sacked and (ïestroyed every house in the parish, with a single exceptiou, and that plantótion was oocupied by an enemy more dreaded even thau demoralized soldiers - naraely, smallpos. That frightened pvei) rough handed rapacity away, and venerable Draytou Hall, tnday famous for lts wouderf ui gardens, was preservad luviolate. Tne knowledge of the fate that had overtaken the homes of his Jieighbors, and which he feit that a few iiours more would precipítate npon his owu, determinert Colonel Buil. (Jalling ior kindling wood, surrounded by his awestrieken üervants, he himself applied the pine torch to his household gods. Picturos, plato, antique furniture, j ned heirloonis - all were sacrificed save j the small number wbich could be tily secreted by trusted slaves when they jearaed of his intention. It is related by an eyewitness tbat the stalwart planter wept tears of infinite sorrow as the sounds of falliug brick and crunibling woodwork sraote upou his ears. Just back of the house is an ancient monument erected to commemorate one of Oarolina's colonial governors, an ancestor of the doughty oolonel. It was on the base of this shaft that the master of the manor sat and watched the t.Jou of his home. We retrace onr way along the ranks j of rare old treas, passing through the j aucient gateway, fit subject for poet's theme, info the open road, where we are greeted by a procession of oaks as j lüctrioal as those we left behiiid. Miles of inoss fringed trees, their somber curtains swayiug far above, and again (looping so as alrnost to touch the earth '.bout their feet, continue even to the cleared strip of hmd immecliately in front of tho bridge. Opposite lies the ty, her cluster turrets and slender spires ontlined against tho evening sky. Asked how we like the oaks, we say tbat they are "beantifnl, " but all the while we aro conscious that thoy have a oharm of their own nottobe iuterpreted in words.

Article

Subjects
Ann Arbor Argus
Old News