The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1894-02-08
SCOTLAND NECK N c. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY g. 1894

tnem eIHS Il-SdH- Will i'0 II
symmetrical cone and hey yond. IN long
extended vistas. the lines that close IN
the lofty SUBMITS Of the Bal-am
Mountains, more than six thousand feet
in height. Down 10 the right, toward
the rorth the eye follows the valley,
backed bv It's never absent mountain.
until far away they blend in misty
distance with the Smoky Range.
Then sweeping to the northeast,
the valley of the Swannaroa spreads
itself in all its placid beauty at the foot
of its ever present guardian mountains,
stopping along the margin in gentle
reverence then receding in lofty
majesty until they erect themselves III
all the grandeur of the unriyalled Black
| Mountain chain. To the right the
graceful Swannanoa Mountain, and in
the far distance the Swannanoa gap,
through which the railroad has invaded
Western North Carolina. Toward the
south, where all is gentle, peaceful and
in charming color, the mountains
| withdraw to distance, leaving an open
| country dotted with farms, until far
away, the hazy curtain made by the
| indistinct forms of the Blue Ridge,
along the South Carolina border, is
drawn upon the scene.
NO LACK OF INSPIRATION.
at is little wonder that upon viewing
such scene the inspiration should
have come to Mr. Vanderbilt to here
erect palace which should emphasize
the work of man as this beautiful sec
| ton does the work OF OOu.
'The extensiveness and the elaborate
ness of the castle which Mr.. Vanderbilt
is building are way and beyond any
thing which Americans have yet in
their own country.
| IMAGINE IT ALL.
"The imagination of the reader may
run riot and he will not be far out Of
the way. Let him, as basis, take into
consideration the ideal location, then
the vast wealth of the owner, and his
lnquestioned taste, house of such
dimensions that it is possible to have
in it a banquet hall with ceilings
sixty-five feet high, and library as
large as an ordinary church, a reception
hall into which a city house could
easily be put, stone stairways so broad
and massive that regiment could
march down them, loggias with their
score of richly carved pillars and grace
full arches, and all surrounded by a
private park of nearly a hundred thou
sand acres.
This large area is to be treated as a
whole, and never was presented to
Landscape artist finer field for the
display of genius. 1t IS a broad canvas,
with the groundwork, the outlines and
the coloring all ready at hand all that
remains for art to do is to blend, har-
monte, soften and polish.
"The canvas is spread and the artist
is found. for Frederick Law Olmstead
who handled the brush with such
exquisite skill and judgment in the
subiugation and adornment Of the
Worlds Fair grounds at Chicago, ane
earlier at Central Park, has been In
trusted by Mr. Vanderbilt with th'
vast undertaking of laying out thl
G great domain into suitable divisions.
PLENTY OF GAME.
"Macadamized roads are being built
and from the private nurseries OF MI
; Vanderbilt at Asheville (said to be tn
: largest in the world more than milllo
y shrubs and ornamental trees have bee
. transplanted into the parks the pas
season. The game preserves VIII b
extensiye. and several hundred dee
u will run at random through the forest
When this great enterprise OF NJ
Vanderbilt shall have been complete
it will, as whole, undoubtedly be tn
finest estate in the world
q .CRACKERs" AND "MOONsHINERs.
It is right in the heart OF the abot
Nortb Caro11 n a