Stranica 155 [155]
OCR
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 fairylike 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]
