local color, but he is almost stone deaf. His most vivid recollection of the outside world seemed to be of a visit to Charleston, where, as a small slave, he saw the plumed black horses bearing the body of the mighty Calhoun to St. Philip's Church. As John C. Calhoun died in 1850, the old man has held the gates for many to pass.

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The first grant of this tract was made in 1675 to Jacob Wayte. It soon passed into the hands of the Middletons, and in 1740 Henry Middleton, afterward second president of the Continental Congress, sent to England for a skilled landscape gardener, under whose direction. slaves toiled for 10 years to achieve the miracle of terraces, ornamental waters, walks, groves, and fields of flowers that have endured through the vicissitudes of years, the cruelty of wars, the rise and fall of nations. Now, beautified by Time and mellowed with age, they are the precious heritage of a united people.

FAMOUS FRENCH BOTANIST INTRODUCED MANY TREES

Here came the French botanist, André Michaux, in 1785, bringing many new plants and trees from Europe. He is supposed to have introduced here the Japanese varnish tree, the Chinese candleberry tree, the Japanese ginkgo tree, the Asiatic acacia, the Chinese azalea, and many other varieties.

Among the countless Camellia japonica, of all colors and descriptions, now in these gardens, there are three, grown into giant trees, said to be the original importation of this plant into America. As the name indicates, it is a native of the Far East.

The estate was further embellished by Arthur Middleton, signer of the Declaration of Independence, who rests in a large gray mausoleum in the deep shadows of the garden that he loved.

His son, Henry Middleton, 2d, for many years minister to Russia, returned to end his days peacefully at Middleton Place, bringing to the house rare works. of art, several pictures being gifts from the Tsar.

The manorhouse, built in 1740, that once crowned the highest terrace, was a spacious three-story structure, with de

tached wings, or flankers, on either side, all with massive walls of English brick and built in the Tudor style. It was the scene of many patriotic gatherings during those strenuous days that culminated in the Revolution; for, like the Motherland, this far-flung bit of England was governed largely from its countryseats; and so, much history was written in the Ashley River homes.

Both Henry Middleton and his wife. Lady Mary, fair daughter of the Earl of Cromartie, as well as the son Arthur. seem to have early espoused the cause of liberty, and to have made Middleton House a rendezvous for that band of gallant gentlemen who live again in the pages of Sabatini's "Carolinian.”

When British troops held the river they spared mansions that, maybe, recalled "the stately homes of England," but at Middleton Place they cut the head from West's portrait of Arthur Middleton, whom they termed "the damned rebel," and also amused themselves with breaking the heads from the marble statues that adorned the grounds, and by pitching lovely furniture from the high windows.

John Izard Middleton, called the first American archeologist, spent many years in Europe studying, painting, and collecting. About 1825 he returned to live at Middleton Place, bringing his library and a large collection of pictures, among the latter being a painting by Gerard of Madame Récamier, her own gift to the gallant American; also a portrait of Mrs. Middleton by Romney.

MANSIONS LEFT IN KEEPING OF

FAITHFUL, SLAVES

In 1846 the estate passed into the hands of Williams Middleton, who greatly heightened the charm of the gardens by adding the magnificent beds and hedges of Azalea indica. And so Middleton Place entered upon its second century.

But soon came more political gatherings, the mutter of a distant storm; soon the thunder of guns rolled up the river from Fort Sumter and war had come again. The men marched away and the quiet mansions were left in the keeping of faithful slaves.

In February, 1865, raiding bands swept