The Cecil Whig., 1881-06-18

in 4 prominence contrasting happily with
the unmarked site of the halls of his
fathers Crowning the emincncc of Il
height. whose base is washed by the
chatting waters Of the Eivauna. can be
distinctly seen through the now lcatless
groves that surround it. the Rotunda and
the Corinthian porticos OF Monticello.
the mansion where the Trainer Of the
Declaration of Independence lived and
died. From here tradition makes him
and fancy paints him riding along the
road that winds down the valley north
wards towards Washington, with his
Presidential inaugural address sticking
out OF his coat-tail pockets. nm the fa-
nous occasion when the modern enemies
of official pomp describe him as hitching
his mare to the palingS outside the Capt.
tol and walking to the chair of state in
his splashed riding boots and spurs. 10
our LEFT. and lynn, beneath and in sight
ut Monticello stands an old seat Of the
III u
annals since the time of the quaint old
statesman John Randolph, of Roanoke.
This imposing looking pile, with its back
ground Of venerable oaks, and from be-
hind its walls Of ccdars and arhor-vit;r.
looks down upon II wide stretch Of fertile
country that once owned it as its lord,
,,.j,nrn 4,.it, ,.;nnTn,lc nnl nn,yiv
erected homcstcads tell tale now Of Il
chapter of Southern life that is closed
and of another that has begun. The
house itself has been transformed into 4
ladies' school: but the thread Of owner
ship is still unbrokcn. For this the most
popular institution of It's kind in the
State. is both owned and presided over
by ladies who Immediately represent in
their own pe.sons the families OF both
jefferson and Randolph. That the old
home of Thomas jefferson has any ssch
claim on the nation as the only less beau
tiful but more famous spot ON the Puto-
mac where George Washington loved t"
pass his scant days ot leisure, it would
of course be absurd to urge: but still the
complete indifference shown by even his
native State to the memory of an illus
trious son has been only surpassed by
the refusal OF its Legislature in 119I to
honor by one small token tic memory of
its great leader, Patrick Henry. while the
earth was still fresh upon his grave. Mon
tice!lo has changed hands, think | am
right in saying, at a low farming valua-
tion. several times within the last few
years. and las fallen into the hands of
succession of purchasers whose thoughts
were necessarily more bent Oh the cXtrac-
tion of the greatest profit possible from
the dead statesman 5 somewhat ill-used
acres than on the ghosts of those depart
ed heroes To whose voice the now uncared-
for corridors had rung in years gone by
or of Gallc celebrities and Polish enthu-
siasts who lad slipped their Madeira i'll
TIE summer evenings on the now tangled
lawn and discussed those scenes of blood
and revolution with which their host was
ever suspected of sympathiZinS too
strongly.
Few famous men in this OF any other
time have been able from their own will
dows to show their visitors such glori-
UuS prospect of mountain, hill and dale
as Mr.. jefferson, with pardonabie pride,
used to delight in showing his. Few
people. however. would have cared to Sc
lect such an unusual Elevation for the site
of their house, cr to purchase ut the
price of such a climb Il view as slIrpaSs-
ingly lovely even rs this one. Looking
westward over a fertile and umdulatiny
country cay with the rich coloring of
the South the little town of CharlottcS-
vile first arrests the eye. Here. during
the Southern campaign of CORVALLIS,
the State Legislature, driven from Viii
lamsburgh, held their august sittings,
which We're So often the plague of Wash
ingtou's campaign life: and along the
winding road below us dashed one fine
morning Il body of the ubiquitous Tarle-
tons dragons, and scattered those
worthy Senators in such undigniicd coa-
fusion that not one of tllem history re-
lates, found himself on reaching home or
shelter upon his own horse. Upon IN
emincncc above the town stands one of
the great works Of Jeiierson's declining
years, the University of Virginia. Here
again we have the style of building so
much i'll vogue among Southern archi-
tectS of that date, of which Mr.. Jei1er-
son still gets the credit. In this case a
great central rotunt;t towers above every
thing. with long, low, one STORED wings
of red brick, almost hidden behind rows
ot massive white columns supporting
their over-reaching caves. Several acres
of well-kept lawn, shaded by all varieties
of those graceful trees that ilouriShed in
the South, skirted by the professors
houses and other buildings connected
with the university, make in all Il pic
ture, if not strictly academic from our
conventional point of view. at any rate
most pleasing, if only from the beautiful
surroundings among which it lies.
Without the weight, wealthy. or pres
tigc of Harvard or Yale. the Nirginian
University has always stood at the head
of Southern colleges. In ohtc-bClHm days
it was the resort of those of the gilded
youth of the South who did not enter at
the universities of Europe, and year OF
two spent within its walls with negro
servant and a blooded nag was looked on
as fitting prelude to the lie duties of
Il well-boIn Southern youth. Some of
the most pleasant society i'll the State
had gathered around its walls, and the
county Of which it formed the centre be-
ing an especially attractive one, number
ed among its landed proprietors an unu-
sual number Of good people. Educa-
tional institutions of any kind in Viz
ginia have a great pull over their rivals
in the other Southern States. rs the queS-
ton Of health in the matter of young
people is naturally one Of the first to be
gone into. and hundreds Of boys and
girls are sent TO Virginia for that reason.
lust rs their n-wearied seniors seek in
their summer vacations its breezy noun
tains and picturesque scenery.
A Word for the Mother-ln- Law.
Are there no estimablc mothers with