The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-07-05
THE SOCIAL SIDE
s1Rs. CARTER WRITES


 ms. CARTER WRITES
 The following letter from Mrs. J. p. Cnfter who is visiting Mir. and Mrs F. . Wfthers in Columbia. s. C.. will pc xead with pleasure by those who take nn interest in all historic spots ana in- eidents, especially those pertaining 70 &he Confederacy:
 ~x wonder if letter from Columbia. s. C.. will be of interest to the "oid folks at homer We are guests or the buntness manager of The State e newsraper. you know) whose lovely wife is my niece. They have beauti- fuf house situated on one of the high est points of this interesting historic cifv An we rode through the broad streets under the arching branches of fhe triple rows of trees, the contrast of their grateful shade with .he hot shadeIess streets of dear old Mont. romery made me score one In favor of Columbia.
 "My hostess. herself D. A. R.. who oelones to another "old famiiy"--visit- ed Montgomery few years ago and appreciated to the fullest It's local color and historic significance. so she called our attention to the house across the street as the governors mansion.
 why" exclaimed. that looks like an ante -belium home"
 s'so 1t is" she replied. 'Tt was the famous military school of the state at which our heroes were educated = the arsenal that used to occupy the whole Of the block and part of the one back of tf. The foundry that cast the bull iets for the Confederacy is still stand ing in the rear. This one building es- cnped the Ire and after the war was converted Into the governors man sion. It sits back about fifty feet from the front amid beautiful tress and shrubbery. Is of stucco and looks interesting and quaint. The present Governor. Mir. M. F. Ansei and his fam ily are lovely people and delightful neighhors.
 Next door to my niece is house that was in process of construction during the war by the famous ocuiist. pr. Chisolm. of Baltimore tno longer iiving). The guns of sherman were trained upon the scaffolding around 1t yet the house escaped the guns and the Torch.
 My niece soon found out that care more about people than about things no she suggested that I accompany Ter on a call to a friend just con- ealescent. This lady whom we found living in quaint old-fashioned house proved to be Miss Isaben Martin. the editor of Mrs. Chestnutt's Diary which. an sure you must have read wiht as much enjoyment as I did. As soon as we were presented to her she asked me t I knew the Holts. the Beliingers, the Elmores and the Seibles: we were delighted to find her interested in so many Of our Montgomery folk.
 Miss Martin told us a great many iH- ferestins things about the house across xhe street. It was first Wade Hamp- kt.s IA ...Ja bv the son in law, General Preston. She said that the most thrilling Incident connecting her with the beautiful old home was that she was present when Jefferson Davis stopped over there with Wade Hampton on his way home from Fortress Monroe, and how she and those present wept when the brass band came to play Dixie on the veran- da 10 honor the distinguished and be- loved visitor The house and grounds take up a whole square and I wish the members of the Flower Growers Asso- citation cousa walked with us between the boxwood hedges grown to ten or twelve feet high over which lowered the giant oaka and fragrant tea olives and maguuiias, while vines and flowers help to make 1t a veritable Garden of Eden Mrs Preston, so 'tis told. spent thousands of dollars on just the shrub bery.
 The main building. in q state of per- feet preservation stands unchanged but has had two wings of three stories each added in the rear to adapt 1t to It's present use-The College for Wo- men, After the war 1t came into pos session of Governor Moses. At his downfall 1t was confiiscated by the State. sold by it to a Mir. Dodge; from him it was bought by the nuns who had preserved 1t through the personal Influence of Mother Lynch with Sher- man whose wife was a Romanist and from them it passed to the present owners.
 '.on our way to the college we passed the old Seibles place; this house waz begun of a brick residence but after the earthquake of 1911 the owners were afraid to complete 1t in brick Sd the second story is of wood. presenting the appearance of the Bishop Cobbs old home in Montgomery. The first occupants of the Seible's home were the Haiis's ancestors whose descen