The Palatka news and advertiser., 1916-11-24

The Old Fort, with its neighbor-
ing Lombardy populars, climb of
Cherokee roses and other adorn-
ments of Time and Art, bristled in
the morning sunlight The colonial
home it enclosed bore as calm and
benignant front as it had during
the morning the regiment tossed up
the piles of red clay into the form
of a hollow square.
Those were stirring days for the
Old Fort, when its owners were
crowded into the attic room and Of
fcers sprawled upon the elegant fur
nishings of the lower floors. Then it
was that the Old Fort bristled with
the point of bayonet and infantry
guns, or crumbled beneath the tread
of soldiery.
The reason why it sank in size
each year, until at last it resembled
a smooth green terrace, only viewed
from the inside it was 4 terrace
turned upside down, may have been
because it had known no real war
fare. The Colonel who held Hol-
mans Hill as a vantage point from
which to watch the approach of
Price and his men, was ordered to
evacuate, and his soldiers, folding
their tents in the daytime, with ev-
erything else they found available,
marched away. Then the Master,
the Mistress and Little Son, with
their remnant of colored servants,
So
Camilla Holman was thinking Of
all these things. She sat in a rock
inging chair in the broad hallway
which ran like dividing line
through the great house, unbroken
except by a mahogany staircase. A
new purpose forced her to be rem:n-
iscent.
Camilla was fair-haired and good
to look upon. She was gowned in
blue. with a dainty, wide-spreading
white collar. She was known local
ly only as "Miss Camilla" There
was an air of plentitude and case
about her bearing, which explained
the peculiar significance of her title
for truly there could be but one
such charming, capable woman as
Camilla Holman.
The great plantation, for obvious
reasons. was not prosperous after
"de civilized wah," as old black Pi-
ETY. persisted in calling the famous
struggle, yet Holman's Hill was te.
naciously held by its owner. The
home had been racked by the en-.
campment, its growth dwindled to 6
survival of the fttest, even itE
name irretrievably lost, for it was
ever afterwards known as the Ole
Fort.
That promise of age, the only son
grew into a hopeful youth and ther
Law down and died. Years later the
Mother, placing a little girl in he1
husbands arms, reached out hel
white hands in another world tt
greet her frst-born. Camilla re
called the faithful care given by
Piety, and her fathers tender affec
ton. They had been so close t.
each other, she and Far, that unit
the day of his death she did MOI
know he would have wished her tt
be otherwise. When he left hel
forever, his parting speech was
"Child, I wish you had been SON
Camilla signed; she smoothed 6
crease in her blue, felt tenderly OF
her brooch with the weeping willow
on it and rocked back and forth
with an emphatic motion of hel
chair. She considered she had done
we'll since she left college, if she
was of the undesirable sex. Al,
waste places were filled, many i'm
provements added, including the cir
cular driveway and ornamental ap.
proach to the house. Even the Ole
Fort had been slashed in its mid
most parts and handsome iron gates
placed front and rear in the open.
ings. Not one foot of the origina,
home site had been sold, though she
often felt selfish because of the fact
for the village had grown to young
city which crowded restlcssly about
its base. "Miss Cameele, she she
do know how" was the complimen.
tary speech in which Picty often
referred to her ubiquitous knowl.
edge.
Camilla did not personally remem,
ber the history of those early times
The Fort and a stray ball in the
front door lamb told some things
Piety and Jere Jackson the rest. She
came along later, just in time to out
live family sorrows and reap the
rich reward of timber grown on the