The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1897-12-22

i'cllc Meade
Il was ';eu. V H. Jari ~rn The
owner Of Belle Meade the rtanlr-l
-brre,line establishment H. the
world who a..lrc.~cd me-
We wela ealr,i Oh the piazza of the
elub lon~ q, Cumbcrlau,. parL Nash
WI = nou race ;Yark. watching the
ouct:De races o. The recent fall
::rcting | lady accepted The invi
,:on rz,cnded to me- ami wa fur
,Yr aI,i-ci 10 bring Il friend and that
cen, al would send a carriage to
~ hotel for u at 1.:;U next morn
~.
General jackson bears hi, 30 odd
years lightly. He is the picture Of
g.cgcd health. The kind Of health
and coloring which is indicative Of
.nlch out door life, plenty Of exercise
il the saddle, and trampina the coun
.ry in pursuit Of game
The following morning when We
stepped into the wei appointed surrey
sent for us we thanked God we were
alive 1t was the last day Of the glo
lious Indian summer, which makes
the late fall in Tennessee Il close com
rctitnr for the honors generally ac-
corded to iii autumn OH the riviera.
There was just Il suspicion Of frost in
the morning air. which caused Il crinip
in the leaves and added extra lustcr
t. the glorious autumnal tints.
Belle Meade lies some seven miles
west Of Nashville, out on the Gather
inc pike. The road to General Jack
sons historic home runs past Wander
bilt University, alongside the Cen
tennial Park and through the best
residential portion Of the city, until
the open country is reached. The vi
cinity Of Nashville is happy hunting
ground for the cycling enthusiast
the roads aye Of the billiard table or
der and the latch-string is ever hang
ing on the outside.
1t was truly an ideal day to visit
Belle Meade, and as the sun climbed
over the Tennessee hills the pictur-
cSqucly llaced farm probably
looked itR very best. Just be-
fore reaching the entrance gate we
were very much taken with tho very
unique fence which surmounts the
stone wall surrounding the $500 acres
comprised in the estate. The wall is
five feet in height, with galvanized
iron poles mortiscd in the stone work
and strung together with five strands
OF wire. The purpose Of the added
height is to prevent the fallow deer,
elk and high-strung thoroughbred
stock from breaking bounds. We af-
terwards learned that the stone struc-
ture was in itself monument to the
thrift and enterprise Of eur host, for
every stone used in its construction
had been picked off the domain it en-
cisscd. The generally unrcua,cra-
tive toll of clearing the soil had thus
been turned to profitable account, but
even at that the masonry work for the
construction of this magnificent fence
cost the General $64 900.
But this story has to do with the
hospitnble interior of Belle Meade
rather than it's fence, it's uneuualed
collection of thoroughbred sircs and
dams, its elk and fallow deer and it's
herd of Jersey cattle. Upon arrival
at the driveway Of his home, General
Jackson met us in person and made US
welcome. The house is good exam
pie of the old colonial style which is
to be seen at it's best in Virginia, and
has that impelling sense of comfort
and homclikcncss which the modern
Skyscraper has no use for. Thc Gen
cral conducted us into his sanctum-
half library and half office and be-
fore we had removed our gloves his
head faatofem appeared with tray
carrying examples Of the far-famed
Tennessee toddy Yhe appetizer had
scarcely struck the right spot before
Mrs. Marks, the Generals elder daugh-
ter, announced that breakfast was
served. anc we adjourned to the very
handsome dining the walls of
which are hung with portraits of the
Jackson and Harding families.
General jackson 8 immediate fami-
ly consists Of himself, his elder daugh-
ter, Mrs. Marks; his younger daughter,
Mrs. Ellison, and his only son. Hard
ing jackson. There was room for 20
people at the spacious table, but only
eight sat down that morning to break
fast In addition tosthe family, the
two sons-in-law. my friend and myself