The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1866-11-12
A VISIT TO ,IAGNOLIA.
,,,,v IN GET THERE.

dont. In ashamed to acknowledge themselves I'M
familiar. Attractive however, rs IS this Garden OF
Tho Dead. and belonging sufficiently 10 Charleston
to iustify us in calling feature OF inc clty II ls
neyortholcss situated beyond the limits OF the cor
noratiop and is distant three miles from the centre
of nonulntion and for this reason its messy oaks
,nd ,norbJ, monuments arc seldom seen by the
,oon,o ot ,orro savo when the sharp pain Of pres
ent oref prccludcs all appreciation OF the beauty OF
Tho snot Tho South Carolina and Northeastern
RoiIroads both run within n few hundred yards OF
tho cemetery but the trains do not stop there, ex
cent ON spccial occasions, and consequently VS.
itors to Magnolia must have recourse to the COM
mon highways OF these there arc two, tho King
street and Mcoting- street Roads, The first 1s the
moro freouontcd has more houses along the route,
presents far more appearance OF Life, aud alto
aotbcr has more of the look of q suburban thor
ourhfare; but tho second is more picturesque and
affords an occasional glimpse of the waters and op-
nosto banks of the moandering Cooper In hot
weather, whichever way you go, it is best to ride;
but on cool, bright, bracing day, such as wo had
several times during the past week, if you arc
neither sick nor absolutely lazy, you would find it
most delightful to stroll lesurely up the Meeting
street Road, stopping occasionally to get view OF
the beautiful landscapes that would tompt even
tho eye Of q painter, or to observe the counte-
nances Of the railroad passengers as they fit rap
idly by, or to note the slower progress OF the pom
derous freight trains
About this stroll up the Meeting street road we
speak from experience-for that was the way we
Bcnt to Magnolia; and now that we think Of it We
will give two little incidents Of our walk, which,
while they are of no very great interest in them
Selves will servo to illustrate of tho phases Of
the ne,D era in tho social condition of the South.
Sitting in tho sun by the roadside in lonely place,
with her knees in hor arms, sat q squald dirty,
ragged emaciated negro girl, apparently aboutf four
teen years old Her eyes were sunken, her cheeks
hollow, her expression mcaningless-in short,
she was the very picture of misery, ldleness, and
perhaps starvation. There were no cattle nigh
that she might have been minding; no person
about for whom sho might have been waiting. She
was entirely alone and utterly without occupation.
It might have been our philanthropic duty to in
qure into her condition, and relieve her necessi-
ties as far as we we're able but contact with the
world has taught us to obey strictly the eleventh
commandment, Mind your own business;' and at
the risk of being thought unfeeling, we must con-
fess that we passed on with our mind employed
rather with the negro and misery in the abstract,
than with that negro and that misery in particular.
When We had nearly reached the cemetery, We saw
road, gall, gaunt, aged black man, bareheaded
and barefooted, with his ragged pants tied at the
waist and knees, and with an old stocknet shirt
scantiiy Gov. ing the upper portion Of his person
He accosted uB with Please Massa, give five cents
TO Door old man to buy some bread" We were
not flush. In fn from our own experience we
don't believe that Locals are. We could moi
even spare copy Of that small denomination o'
fractional currency for which the beggar asked
but we threw him biscuit from our lunch, fol
which stupendous act Of generosity we amply re-
paid ourselves by remarking, en- pdssont, that IL
was more than any of his abolition friends would
have given him. That was said in the true spirit
of the Pharisee, we must confess; but we don't Sci
up for pattern saint or Gwen model man.
We are now arrived at the cemetery and before
we proceed further We beg leave to say that We
shall not attempt to make q Magnolia Directory
but only to give interesting account as we car
Of our visit, and Of what we actually saw and no
ticed In order to do this as clearly as possible
we shall describe the various objects Of our obser
yation they appeared to us succsssively in ou,
ramble through the grounds. First, we entered
BETHANY CEMETERY.
This is the burial ground of our German popu
lation, as any will ut once perceive by the in
scriptions on the tombstones, which are all in tn
German Language. The solemn and touching
words, I" Hier ruhet in Cot" greet the eye a
every step, impressng the imagination with reli
gious awe, and forming, as it we're, an ever-pres
ent consecraton Of the halowcd spot. This ceme
terry is beautifully Kept, and its white gravelle
walks shining amid the green shrubbery and tn
blooming flowers, and under the aged oaks, illus
trate well how mature is improved by art. Next t.
the rose tho pink seemed to be the favorite flower
but at this season it has no blossom, and only th
pretty tufts OF lancet leaves were there to give Pre-
mise OF bushing beauty in the Spring. Wewere pal
ncularly struck by the appearance of the graves
children. These were strewn with wresths an
flowers, and often with the toys which had been th
object or their earthly delight On ono we saw I'll
remains of n tin dollhouse, containing sewers
playthings, and among them u candy figure Of
chhd, that was going gradually to decay like il
little owner that lay below. On the grave ian il
tant one year Old was headstono OF puro whit
marble, the lower portion of which was carved
represent irregular blocks, while on the upper We
tho usual inscription, with an exquisitely carve
wreath, and the whole surmounted by two dove
Around several Of the lots we're thick-set hedge
with bright red berries shining through the gree
leaves, and III several We noticed larne specimer
OF the Rama Christi, or castor oil plant. On or
tombstone was engraved an eagle lying away wit
two children, and near by was hugo slab of ma
bic fastened upon the mouth OF vault with rint
and chains. On another. n dove Ind o1obtod :
the head OF q httog girl who lay asleep beneath Il
sh@oe ol 'foo, with bunch Of flowers in h
hand ana q HOOK OF sheep grazing near. An u
ngnt slaD OF cast-iron showed by it's inscriptit
t,ae ~ mArheo ehe grave Of three brothers. Amor