Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1894-04-27
A FLORIDA
CASTLE.

some one has SAID, "A lanu WiunouU
ruins is a land without memories, " and
that saying has In IL the very quintessence
Of TRUTH for gazing at a bit OF crumbled
wall or pile Of time worn stones involun-
tarily we ask: What were theyi Who
placed them therei" Then the ancient
guide or perhaps the white haired patri-
arch OF the place will pass his hand across
his brow and say, II remember, / remem-
ber, z" while soon comes forth the story.
About six miles from the village OF
Greenvillo and close To Sunset Bridge there
hourished one Of those grassy glades pc
culiar To Florida. Hundreds Of oaks, stur-
dy and sweeping and green, interlaced
their moss laden branches with tho fes-
tooned boughs of countless. oedars, while
high above them all rose the slender pines,
signing and moaning always over the APP
preaching doom Of their jungles. The
prickly burs and shedding cones fell In
grass as soft to the feet as Persian car
pet, and rays of the sun stealing through
the thick underbrush showed patches OF
daisies and marigolds and wee white stan
flowers, while violets and yellow jasmine
blossomed everywhere.
In 1850 or thereabouts all this "ham.
mock" was purchased by o young man
named McGehee-he was Judge McGehet
afterward, well known to all Floridians.
Shortly after his purchase Judge McGehee
commenced the erection Of Queen Anne
cottage, which soon became known Al
the "McGehee CASTLE" In that wilderness
of luxuriant flora this was the one sign OF
human existence--this house. which rose
from the very heart Of the tropical YER
dure. The avenue leading to the road
showed turrets clear penciled against the
blue sky, and there were towers gray and
strong.
The exterior was most carefully finished,
and the effects were pleasing and artistic.
Fine carving, delicate tracery and a sug-
gestion of refined tastes were the charac-
teristio features. 1t was a blending OF
Queen Anne with gothic architecture, and
the result was highly satisfactory. There
were innumerable guest chambers, their
tiny windows cleaning out from the SOM
Der walls In prismatio hues. Violet, scar
let, green and yellow glowed In the panes,
soft and luminous as the rays from sink
ing sun, and the balconies bloomed with
potted plants aud swinging vines, while
gay coated parrots or sweet voiced canaries
hung In gilded cages where the light was
best and the breeze balmiest-a baronial
estate Of antebellum peace and prosperity,
NLlCn WIN PiluO bhO hctAAb VI AOo
youthful owner.
That was the ''castle" In the halcyon
days, before time stamped upon IL the seal
of decay. Now 1t stands moldering mon
ument to his memory. Its turrets are
gone-broken by the storms Of many win
ters-beaten and bare are its walls, and
the wind blows unobstructedly through It's
paneless windows The soft yellows and
blues and reds have faded, and there Is but
one color In all the place-the weather
beaten gray Of ages. A crumbling mass Of
ruins which has shared the fate Of all
things temporal and stands isolated and
by many unremembered.
Judge McGehee died In 1884, and after
his death many curious incidents and In
teresting stories were related Of him. One
Of them was that legend mentioned and
runs on In this wise:
% 'Tis said that life was lonely at the
CASTLE so one day he brought home a
bride. She was a gentle lady, the first
mistress Of tho 'Sastle, and after supper he
nee is must show her through the house.
So up the grand old stairs they passed
through halls whose hangings glowed
with an oriental spicndor each one OF the
countless rooms was seen, each tint was
praised, the candles lit to test the softness
of their light till IL seemed to her the whole
was a bit of magic land where he reigned
fairy prince. Her eyes were dazed, she
said, and down In the grand salon she
stood by the marble mantle and fingered
the Spanish tiles, while he told her over
and over again what 1t all had cost-the
whole house was imported-the polished
floors, the windows there, the great hall
doors, each smallest .piece was stamped
with foreign name, and these were hers,
a wedding gift from him.
"Then she came and knelt by his side,
and out there In the dark the pines kept
moaning and signing, for, you see, the
wind had risen, and once 1t wandered round
among the towers and gray gables and
sobbed like soul In peril. But he and she
were happy, and she kissed his hands and
said, This Is as near heaven as ever wish
to be- Then there came an awful crash,
and a shrek went out through the bright
hued windows to join the voice Of thestorm.
The servants who came into the room saw
lying on the floor the white, dead form of
the one day bride, while kneeling by her
side was the half crazed husband. After
this two nieces lived at the castle with him
for time, but the family was broken. He
drifted out among strangers and left the
uOust 10 uesOldJlOn anu uetdy. lHo bcrN-
ants fitted away, for they say that on a
stormy night when the pines sigh most
strange sounds are heard from the gables,
and out from the paneless windows there
comes q shrek such as ear never heard be-
fore.
Even now the tragedy Of that bridal
night clings to the crumbling house. No
where could tenant be found. Oats, rye
and corn grow up to the very steps, and
ghosts hold nightly carniyals in the spa
cious halls and empty parlors. Bats fly in
and out through the windows of the guest
rooms, and the walls have long since ceased
to be a yellow or pink. The rattlesnake
coils on the Spanish tiles or hangs from
the marble mantel. The wood mans ak
has leveled oak and cedar and pine, and
along the dusty road black eyed Susans
nod and wave and live and die. But that
is all. Violets droop in the chilly atmos-
phere, and the sweet star flowers shrivel
and fade as there passes over them the
sound OF startled cry" For thus the
story goes-that nothing fair and beauti-
full will grow near the haunted place, and
that all flowers are cursed except the Su.
sans-her namesakes. IT'S only legend,
but there is bit of truth In all legends,
and the house is true You may see it even
today. y.-Elizabeth A Hines In Atlanta