Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1881-07-14
The Weeping Willow.
How PpoDUor OF TIE GARDEN OF EDEN
EMIaRATED TO THIS Country.

EMIoRATED TO THIS Country.
You have seen and admired the weeping
willow trcc-tho Salix I5abylonioa-upou
which tho captive Hebrews hung their
hnrps when they sat down by tho waters of
tho Babylon and swept when they romem-
bcrcd Nion." It is native of The Garden
of Eden aud not OF America, and | will
tell you how it cmigracd over to this couu.
try.
Moro than $50 ycars ago merchant lost
his fortune. lie vert o Smyrna, seaside
city in Asia Minor, recover it, Alex.
ander Pope, ono of nc great poets Of Eng
lend, was the II .rchant's warm friend,
and sympathizcd lyith him in his misfor-
tunes.
Soon after the merchant arrived in
Smyrna he sent to Pope, as present, box
of dried figs. Al that time the poet had
built beautiful villa at Twickcrham, on
tho bank of the river Thames, and was
adorning it with trees, shrubbery and flow
ering plants.
On opening the box of figs Pope dscov-
cred IN it small twig of the tree. 1t was
a stranger to him. AS it came from the
East he planted the twig in tho ground
near tho river, closo by his villa Tho spo.
accidentally chosen for the planting was
favorable 10 its growth, for tho twis was
from tho weeping willow tree, possibly from
The bank Of Que Of "thc rivers of Babylon !"
which hourishcs the best along the bor,
dcrs Of water courscs.
This little twig grow vigorously, and in
few years it bccamc large tree, spread
ing wide lis branches aud dropping, grace
ful sprays, md winning tho inspiration of
the poets friends as we'll as strangers. It
became the ancestor of all the weeping
willows in England.
There was u rebellion in tho English-
American coloncs in l775. British troops
were sent to Boston to put down tho in
surrection. Their leaders expected to end
it in u few weeks after their arrival. Some
young officers brought fishing tackle with
them to enable them to enjoy sport after
the brief war. Others came to settle on the
couliscatcd land of tho s.rebcs'
Among the latter was young officer on
the staff of Gcueral Howe lie brought
with him, wrapped in oil silk, twig from
Pope's weeping willow at Twckenham,
which he intended TO plant on some stream
Was 'ngton commanded al army before
Boston, which kept the British imprisoned
~ that city long timo against their will.
On this staif was his stcpsou, Juhu Parkc
Curtis, who frequently went to the British
headquarters, under tho protection of flag,
with dispatches for General Howe. Hc
became acquainted with the young officer
who had tho willow twig, and they became
friends
Instead of "crushing the rebellion 10
six weeks" the British army at Boston,
at the end of an imprisonment of niue
months, was glad to fly by sea, for lfo and
liberty to Halifax long before that flight
the British subaltern, satisfied that he
should never have au estate in America tc
adorn, gave his carefully preserved twig to
young Cults, who planted it in Abingdon,
his estate in Virginia, where it grew aud
tlourished, and became parent of all the
weeping willows in the United States.
Some time after the var General Iora..
Ito Gates, of the Revolution, settled on the
Rose Hill farm, on New York Island, and
at tho entrance to lane which led from a
country road to his house he planted a twig
from the vigorous willow ut Abirgdou,
which he had brought with him That
country road is now Third Avenue, and the
lane is Twenty second street. Gates man.
sion, built of wood, and two stories in
height, stood near tho corHor Of Twenty
seyceth street and Second avenue, where
[ saw it consumed by fire in 1878. The
tree, which grew from the twig planted at
the entrance to Gates lane, remained uul!
comparatively few years ago. 1t stood on
the Northeast corner of Third avenue aud
Twenty second street II was direct de-
scendant, in the third generation, of pope's
willow, planted at Twickcnhanl about the
year 1922.