Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-08-18
CLAUDE BENNETT OF
HIS TRAVELS
TALKS
TELLS OF A DELIGHTFUL VIRGIN.
IA PLANTATION, ALSO OF A
SOUTH CAROLINA
FARM.

reau for the good OF the nation, is worth
fly devoting several days to the renewal
OF Atlanta acquaintance.
In conversation, he avoids the public
questions with which he has business
dealings, but gives some interesting hints
! upon the southern view Of the advantages
| OF life I'm southern rural communities, and
| the curiOsities of travel.
II have lately visited" said he, "a Vir-
| Rfnia country home the knowledge of
/ which should make glad the heart Of ev-
| cry southerner--for IL is as well main
Il tanned now as Il was before the war when
| there were a thousand slaves upon 1t.
Il It IS Staunton Hill. the home of Mrs.
Charles Bruce. on the staunton river, In
Charlotte county. The house-three
stories, thirty rooms. brick succeed, with
marble finishings. looking like Scotch
/ castle out Of Scott novel-rests upon
i magnifcent hill covered with giant trees.
i The original grounds contains a hundred
i acres, surrounded by a rock wall and en-
Il tered through a massive iron gate. Re-
Gently, an additional hundred acres nave
| been added for a pleasure park with
i large swimming pool as its center attrac-
\ ton. Graded walks wind around the Hill
i through the grounds: seats Of iron and
| stone are scattered frequently about; quail
i as tame as average chickens, doves or
| unknown gentleness, all manner OF sing
Il ing birds, squirrels that bark in fun at
the visitor, all the WILD flowers that grow
In that locality and all others that are
Il worth cultivating add TO the beauty and
| attractiveness Of the scene. The stanton
river in easy view winds around the plan
tation as IL a part Of the general plan.
| There are six thousand acres in the plan
tatiOn-
THE most interesting feature OF this
/ place is that its household regulations per-
fectly preserves the ante-bellum life. The
servants 80 through their duties with sur
prising regularity and always joyously.
1 sNTr Charles Bruce, the head Of the
household, who preferred the life Of "a
/ Virginia gentleman to that of president
/ or king, was called 10 his reward several
| years ago. The most earnest eulogies
| ever heard given 70 man are bestowed up
i on him by his old slaves. Any one of
| them will praise old Marster' by the
hour; any one Of them would welcome
slavery back again If old Marster could
| come back to own them. And they are
Just as devoted 10 insists Mrs. Bruce,
| and to her son MOrelle, a very cultivated
and attractive bachelor OF forty odd, who
| now manages the plantation. Here
| negro IS never seen out Of his place; one
IS never heard to grumble or answer
/ back; and perfect discipline harmonizes
| with perfect service. These negroes are
| the heroes OF Thomas Nelson Pages ne
| gro dialect stories; Mr.. Page first mar
| ried Miss Anne Bruce and at Staunton
!
the best OF his inimitable dialect stories.
open always to friends. joyous with the
! laughter of grandchildren, overlooking
with inherited good cheer. preserving with
/ unpretentious beauty the hospitality of
| the good old DAYS Staunton Hill Is about
the best place it has ever been my good
fortune to visit. The farm makes money,
/ too. Probably the biggest crop that it has
| ever produced will be gathered this year.
A field Of corn running for several miles
| along the river viii yield upwards Of 3d.,
OO0 bushels. Some parts Of it will yield
over a hundred bushels to the OGRE. This
is the largest corn crop on any single plan
| tation east or south of the Alleghenies.
Every day visitors from distance come
| to see IL. There are also something like
a million hills of tobacco. and this. 1
think. exceeds any tobacco crop in the
country. Barns for corn and tobocco are
dotted all over the place and fifteen new
ones are now going UP. Several carpenters
are always at work building and repair
ing; a corps OF whitewashers are always
busy adding to the purity and cleanliness
Of the out.hOuses; nothing Is allowed to
so down and the customary farm look Of
dilapidation is nowhere to be seen"
A Model Country Community.
Mr.. Bennett continued in reminiscent
mood:
I'm Florence county, South Carolina,
found model modern country communfA
~. was at the home OF my uncle. DR..
John +. Pearce. who frequently visits At
lanta and considers ii the banner city for
business dealings. The people there, ten
miles from town or railroad have a daily
mail under the free rural delivery sys-
/ ten. The mailman also does an express
| business. ordering and delivering packages
for cents each. Telephones connect the
! country residences with each other, with
Florence, and with many other towns. one
/ anr n y
telephone at 10 in the morning and have
| IL for noon dinner. What better combina-
I ton could there be Of the freedom Of the
country with the convenience of town. +.
A Real Happy Family.
But happiness is in tho heart, as Cold
| smith and most all the poets have often
| told US. The happiest community / have
| seen is in Lincoln county, Georgia, where
| they nave no ante-bellum darkies, no
free mail delivery, no railroad, no tele-
| phones. In a one-story wooden house,
| plain and implanted, with all the space
not filled with children given up TO
friends, I found the sure enough happy
family. Tom Shank is the head Of it,
and his son-in-law, Fred Strother, is an
| important part Of 1t. Outsiders would
mix up the little Strothers and the lit
tie Shanks. but the home folks never
DO. Babe Strother. who occasionally
comes 70 the state senate and The legis-
l AaAAAEH AAkG1 uG@E ny L QOu IelQeIn Der
how many children he has. but his broth
| er, Tom Strother, has eleven. Well, these
three families. who live almost together
and few other visiting neighbors, from
the happy circle, am trying to tell
| about.
Their speciality is music-though, of
course, watermclOns and peaches and
| neighborhood barbecucs have a part in
the life they lead. They spend all their
spare change in fddles and the like
They learn 10 play the fiddle when big
enough TO 60 10 the spring, ana when
they get half a dozen fiddles and banjos
and tambOurincs going TO plano accom-
paniment, there IS joy In the air They
play al the old tunes that have melody
In them. They waste no time on scien-
tihc music, ard the screaming iargon
Of grand opera has never corrupted their
love OF simplc harmony. This company
Of simple natural musicians, with violin
banjo, tambourlne and plano, Will make
more music-and fer better music TO my
| car-Out OF such pieces as Shoe String
The Arkansas Traveller. Nellie Gray, Mol
lie Darling, The Fishers Horn Pipe. and
The Devils Dream, than SoUsa and Theo-
dOre Thomas and the Marine Band and
| Patti and Nordica and the deReskes
and Paderewski and Slavinsld and Kube-
Xix and all their followers.
These people are independent Of ne
groes and independent in everything