much that may be found, this box, thanks to good care and con¬
stant clipping, is particularly broad of girth, the polished leaves
being as thick upon the inner as on the outer side. And though the
garden has been rearranged by the present owners, under the
cuidance of Charles F. Gillett, its old lines have in no way been
destroyed, the new ones only serving to enhance the charm of many
years ago.
The latter-day flowers blooming here lend the accent of com¬
parison to their old-fashioned sisters which grow in greater profu¬
sion. And the garden calendars the seasons as they come and go.
Tall hollyhocks and riotous sweet peas glorify the garden in June,
while masses of lily of the valley and violets bloom in a sheltered
corner before the May flowers come. All the flowers, every shrub,
each tree is planted in accord with the dominate feature of the
garden—the stately boxwood lifting its head along the center length.
Screened by a fragile wall of clematis and morning glories, the
orchard adjoins the flowers. Near here grow many varieties of
small fruits and old-fashioned herbs. Down toward the branch
of the river which waters the estate lies a fairy forest where
trumpet vine runs riot among the trees; where hawthorn has its
day in June and Jack-in-the-pulpit nods his sprightly head among
a phalanx of splendid ferns. A tiny hill which slopes into the
stream has in its season a carpet of frail wood lilies, while among
the birch and maple trees the pink moccasin flower blooms in bold
rivalry to its sister orchid.
When the Federal troops marched through Orange and Cul¬
peper when the Civil strife was aflame, Pope’s army brought
desolation to fair old Horseshoe. Soldiers rifled the barns and
stables; they destroyed waving grain fields and burned outbuild¬
ings. But it was when they entered the house by battering down
doors that they wrought their greatest injury. Maples and the
long avenue of other trees beneath which we stroll today were
leafless when news was hurriedly brought to Horseshoe that a body
of Pope’s soldiers was marching towards the place. Silver was