Stranica 155 [155]
GYE wv ee —
Historic GARDENS! OF VIRGINIA
— = = = — — = —— ee ÉESZZZEE
at every hour and in every weather there is beauty—mayjestic
beauty. The legend is that the small bushes were passed through
the hands of General Wickham, then an infant, by his mother, the
creator of the flower garden. It recalls the dim stretches of a
cathedral aisle. Some prefer the sunlight percolating through the
arched branches and the feeling of uplift and inspiration. Those
who have not seen it in a light snow can scarcely grasp its fairy¬
like beauty, and by moonlight there is romance indeed.
The members of the Philadelphia Garden Club standing at the
entrance were moved to silence, and one of them sent the following
lines in memory of their visit:
HICKORY HILL
A RETROSPECT
“A dream it was, a dream of fairy trees,
Great Box trees, bending o’er our lifted heads
As we gazed skyward, through their bending green,
Or looked through their long vistas, ere we trod
The path beneath them. ’Twas a path oft trod
By courteous and by gentle men and dames
This hundred years which have so changed our world.
Its Season-changing beauty, new to us,
Yet dear from just one seeing, is to them
A heart-close tie, to tie and bind them fast
In deeper love and bond to that dear home,
Where even those who serve, both serve and love.
Nine times has dusky father left to son,
And he to son or grandson of his line,
Duty of service to this blood and place;
Nor could war break nor freedom’s call could win
These from their loyal service, gladly given.”
The most recent poetic effusion inspired by the box-walk comes
from a charming young woman, who looks more as if she belonged
[94]