It is situated on Broad River. The grounds are extensive,
and are filled with magnificent live-oaks, magnolias, and other trees.
We saw one noble old oak, said to be the largest on these islands. Some
of the branches have been cut off, but the remaining ones cover an area
of more than a hundred feet in circumference. We rode to a point whence
the Rebels on the opposite side of the river are sometimes to be seen.
But they were not visible that day; and we were disappointed in our
long-cherished hope of seeing a "real live Rebel." On leaving the
plantation, we rode through a long avenue of oaks,--the moss-hung
branches forming a perfect arch over our heads,--and then for miles
through the pine barrens. There was an Italian softness in the April
air. Only a low, faint murmur--hardly "the slow song of the sea"--could
be heard among the pines. The ground was thickly carpeted with ferns of
a vivid green. We found large violets, purple and white, and azaleas of
a deeper pink and heavier fragrance than ours. It was leaving Paradise,
to emerge from the beautiful woods upon the public road,--the shell-road
which runs from Beaufort to the Ferry. Then we entered a by-way leading
to the plantation, where we found the Cherokee rose in all its glory.
The hedges were white with it; it canopied the trees, and hung from
their branches its long sprays of snowy blossoms and dark, shining
leaves, forming perfect arches, and bowers which seemed fitting places
for fairies to dwell in.
Pages:
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72