USA > Virginia > Manors of Virginia in colonial times > Part 12
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fersonian influence; for, once the statesman architect borrowed from the ancient temples, he started a fashion in houses which America has not forgotten, nor ever can. The main portion of the double-fronted mansion has two massive porticos, approached over a series of six stone steps and upheld by four enormous columns ex- tending from the flag-stone floor to the very roof. One-story wings adjoin it immediately, thus greatly increasing the frontage. (See Frontis- piece.)
Within doors the arrangement of the rooms has not undergone the slightest change. An oak-finished hall measuring forty by thirty feet is entered first, and impresses one with its charm- ingly open, light effect, given by two narrower hallways connecting it with the north and south wings. In every room an enviable collection of antique mahogany greets one, interesting pieces being card-tables, pier-glasses, high-post bed- steads, and candle-stands, though none compare in beauty and age with an old china-press filled with rare cut glass, inherited from the Skipwith family.
All told, there are twenty-five large rooms, and upon the walls of many of them hang the like- nesses of some generations of the Coles, whose impassive faces look down upon the present
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owners of their name and line. Of one of these, that of Edward Coles, it has been written: "In the beautiful hall of Estouteville, in Albemarle County, Va., there hangs an oil portrait of Edward Coles, painted when he was still in the full vigor of middle life. It is a good picture as a work of art, and is said to be a good likeness. It represents a Virginian of the best type. A relative of 'Dolly Madison,' a pupil of her dis- tinguished husband, a friend of Jefferson and Monroe, his fine, well-bred face attracts at once the attention of every visitor who enjoys the hospitality of that beautiful home. Looking at his benign features, one is reminded again of how much our country owes to the great men of the Old Dominion, of whom Edward Coles was not the least in intelligence, courage and purity."
Edward Coles, who was elected Governor of Illinois in 1822, wrote the following very remark- able letter to one of the leading papers of the State in reference to its having spoken of him as " His Excellency."
" VANDALIA, December 10, 1822.
" GENTLEMEN :- Our State Constitution gives to the person exercising the functions of the Executive the appellation of Governor, a title
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which is specific, intelligible, and republican, and amply sufficient to denote the dignity of the office. In your last paper, you have noticed me by the addition of ' His Excellency,' an aristocratic and high-sounding adjunct, which, I am sorry to say, has become too common among us, not only in newspaper annunciations, but in the addressing of letters, and even in familiar discourse. It is a practice disagreeable to my feelings, and incon- sistent, as I think, with the dignified simplicity of freemen and with the nature of the vocation of those to whom it is applied. And having made it a rule through life to address no one as his Excellency or the Honorable, or by any such unmeaning title, I trust I shall be pardoned for asking it as a favor of you and my fellow-citizens generally not to apply them to me.
" I am, etc.,
" EDWARD COLES."
In the present age of title-worship, this letter of Governor Coles comes as a refreshing breath, ringing as it does with sincerity and true republicanism.
The interior and exterior of this old mansion have an atmosphere of stateliness rivalled by few houses in the country, while the interesting
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antiques and souvenirs of history contained in it win for it prestige among even older dwellings.
During the Civil War, Estouteville was one of the objective points of the frenzied soldiers of General Sherman's army; but the damage done was soon repaired, and now both mansion and estate live as happily as if they had never been under the shadow of a dreadful war.
In the quaint old garden, or " sweet spot," box-trees have grown to be thirty feet tall, and, lying but a few yards from the house, its vari- colored blossoms lend their bright glory to the landscape in January as well as June. Here among the flowers often wandered sweet Sally Coles, who married Andrew Stevenson, minister to England in 1836, and who wrote to her broth- ers and sisters at home many delightful letters giving intimate glimpses of Victoria as Princess and Queen.
One of these, dated August 3, 1837, describes a dinner with the Queen:
" Mr. Vaux, whom we found in the office, pre- sented us an invitation to dine that evening with the Queen at a quarter past 7 precisely. Mr. S. was obliged to send an apology to the Duke, whilst I went to see Madame Dedel to inquire as to the costume, etc. At 7 I was dressed all in my
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white crape hat with ostrich feathers-which had not arrived from the milliners-black silk, with black crape over it, trimmed with crape and black rosettes of berries and leaves, jet ornaments, necklace, earrings, bracelets; & at 5 minutes to the time, the hat arrived. And we did not get to the palace until many minutes after the precisely had passed. In trepidation I ran up the grand & magnificent staircase with as fleet a step as was consistent with my dignity, and through the superb suite of apartments, until we reached the grand receiving-room, where all the company were assembled, standing waiting for the appear- ance of Her Majesty. In a short time the glass doors of the next apartment opened, & she came forth in deep black, attended by all her ladies in waiting, maids of honor, & her 'august mother ' (the newspaper language), with her attendants, a goodly train. As we stood in a circle, the little Queen approached us & said something to each person with a calm and gentle dignity, as per- fectly self-possessed as if we had all been statues. Her mother followed, repeating the same cere- monious courtesy, & then dinner was announced. She took the arm of Count Pozzo di Borgo (the Russian Ambassador) & led the way. The fold- ing-doors flew open. The band, which was
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stationed in a marquee below, struck up, and we found ourselves in a magnificent banqueting- room, brilliantly lighted, and the table covered with a service of gold so splendid it dazzled one's eyes to look upon it. The Queen sat midway the table, with her lords-in-waiting at each end. Her little Majesty ate with a good appetite, and did full justice to the rich viands, which were always presented first to her. After the second course, the lord-in-waiting who had led me in to dinner rose and drank the Queen's health. All stood up but the Queen.
" When the dinner was over, her Majesty rose and passed out first. We followed, through the rich and gorgeous apartments, which reminded me of the descriptions in the 'Arabian Nights,' until she reached the grand drawing-room, when she paused, and a circle formed around her. No one must speak first to Majesty; accordingly, each one waited to be spoken to. Her address was now more in the style of conversation. I told her how much I had been disappointed in not being present when she prorogued Parliament, at which she smiled and looked pleased. The Duchess's civilities always followed her daugh- ter's. While this court of etiquette was going on, coffee was handed to us, still standing, and I
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must confess I cast some longing looks towards the soft, luxurious sofas and chairs. After the coffee, a folding-door was thrown open, & the Queen, followed by her guests, passed into a magnificent picture-gallery, brilliantly lighted; but she soon returned to the drawing-room, when, feeling my republican legs about to give out, I glided behind the door, and seated myself comfortably.
" When I returned to the drawing-room, the gentlemen had returned and were taking coffee and receiving the courtesies of the Queen, who said something to each one. When this was over, she passed out of the room into one of smaller dimensions, where card-tables were set out & new sofas placed opposite to each, with tables and candles before them. On one of these Her Majesty placed herself, and invited the Countess Pozzo di Borgo to sit on one side of her, & the Marchioness of Salisbury to take the other. The Duchess of Kent sat on the other sofa, with the Countess Ludiff on one side, and as I held off, she sent a maid of honor to ask me to sit by her. When she conversed with me very amiably, I took occasion to speak of the deep interest I had felt in the accession of her daughter, &c., and when I alluded to her being the hope and the
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object of prayer to the whole nation, the mother's heart, I saw, was full, & her eyes, too, but of course I spoke with royal uneasiness. Tea was then handed, & afterwards the Duchess ap- proached a card-table & invited Lord & Lady Cowley (the Duke of Wellington's brother) to play, and also Mr. Stevenson. They drew for partners, and Mr. Stevenson had the honor of playing with her Royal Highness and of winning from Lord Cowley (who was obliged to play with his wife) 14 shillings. Whilst this game was going on, I had full time to look around. The Queen had sent her lord-in-waiting, who stood at the back of her sofa, for Count Pozzo di Borgo, and directed him to place a chair near her for him. The maids of honor had retired to the farther end of the room and taken chairs. The ladies in wait- ing & the invited guests had found chairs near our sofa, and the gentlemen stood apart, con- versing together. As I sat opposite the Queen, I had a fair opportunity of getting her face by heart. It is one of very sweet expression, though not handsome; her eyes are blue & express soft- ness and intelligence, but her mouth, that feature which always gives so much character to the countenance, is not good. Poor young thing! Whilst I gazed upon her innocent & happy face, my heart involuntarily offered up a prayer for
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her future happiness and prosperity. She looked so young, so innocent & good, I sighed to think of the time when that fair brow would be wrinkled with care, that light heart oppressed with sorrows, and the joyous laugh be heard no more. At least, if we judge of the future by the past, such will probably be her fate. Who would have thought that Marie Antoinette's bright morning would have ended in a night of such utter darkness?
" But to return to Buckingham Palace, in all its light and splendour, & gorgeous magnificence, and to the dullness and etiquette of royalty. When the Duchess of Kent rose from the card- table, the company all rose too, save the Queen, who waited until we had formed a circle in the middle of the room, when she came forward, spoke again to all and each, then presented her soft white hand to the ladies, according to their rank, wished us good night, & departed. The Duchess repeated the ceremony, bowing and courtesying instead of shaking hands, and she also withdrew. When we were free to depart, after looking about and exchanging courtesies with each other, we were glad to find ourselves at our humble homes before 12. Now, my dear friends, I have given you a circumstantial account of this royal dinner, which I hope may amuse you. I
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assure you that even here the curiosity to know how these royal entertainments are conducted is intense. But here everything the little Queen says or does is interesting to her loyal subjects, & it is amusing to think, with all this outward ob- servance, the Queen has so little real power."
John Coles 3rd, owner and builder of Estoute- ville mansion, married Selina Skipwith, daughter of Sir Peyton Skipwith of Prestwould, and a near relative to that famous Lady Skipwith whose wraith trips nightly about one of the most historic mansions in old Williamsburg. With the name of Coles are intermingled those of Stricker, Roberts, Cocke, Singleton, Rutherford, Carter, Preston, Pendleton, and Bolling.
To the historian, the relic-lover, and the ro- mancist, each step about Estouteville is replete with surprises and delights. The great manor- house is draped with legend and romance as with the luxurious rose-vines that climb and twine about its porticos. The home of statesmen and beautiful women, the abode of hospitality and learning, this old plantation, the remains of an opulent past, bids fair to live for æons in its invitingly picturesque location; for the gods were kind to Albemarle County, and seem to have given to Estouteville a life and setting far be- yond the reach of many noble homes.
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LTHOUGH the maj- ority of the most famous country-seats of Virginia were in Tidewater, occasion- ally some of the old Colonists depart- ed from this seeming rule and sought inland estates, partly for the grandeur of hill and mountain scenery, and again for the rich productions of the soil.
In the year 1653 John Madison, presumably the first of the name in Virginia, obtained lands in Gloucester County, near York River, which were inherited by his son, John Madison 2nd.
Ambrose Madison, the son of the second John, without regretting the paternal acres, felt the call of the hill country, and in 1723, with Thomas Chew, patented 4675 acres of land in what was then Spottsylvania, but became Orange County nine years later, in 1732.
In 1721 he had married Frances Taylor, daughter of James Taylor, a collateral ancestor
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of Zachary Taylor, and one of the first settlers in Orange, as well as a very prominent man in the Colony. James, the son of Ambrose and Frances Taylor Madison, inherited most of the Chew- Madison patent, and by purchase at different times acquired the whole, which has come down in history as Montpelier, the home of the fourth President of the United States.
James Madison, in 1749, married Eleanor Rose Conway, daughter of Francis and Rebecca Catlett Conway of Port Conway, King George County, and it was there that James Madison, Jr., was born, March 6, 1751, though his parents were then living at Montpelier.
The estate took its name from Montpellier, France, and was always spelled in that way by the Madisons. The mansion erected by James Madison, Sr., in 1756 was the first brick dwelling in that locality, and was a plain rectangular structure cut in half by a wide hall, on either side of which were two rooms.
After the marriage of James Madison to Mrs. Dorothy Payne Todd, in 1794, plans for re- modelling were considered, and were executed in 1809, the original building now forming but the central portion of the large manor-house, to which the wings built by Madison were attached
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by a later touch. The first addition was under the direction of William Thornton, who drew the first accepted plans of the United States Capitol, and the architecture, as it is seen to-day, displays the symmetrical proportion of the old temples, some one of which doubtless inspired it. Mont- pelier breathes at once simplicity and hospitality, allied to impressiveness.
In this homestead Madison seemed to solve a question that from time immemorial has been unanswered, wreaking havoc in only too many otherwise happy homes. Realizing the truth of the saying that no two families could live har- moniously under the same roof, but being devoted to his mother, whom he wanted always with him, Madison had apartments built for her that were entirely separate from his own.
In the basement were two kitchens, one for his mother and one for himself. On the first floor was his mother's suite, consisting of drawing- room, dining-room, and two bedchambers, while the great drawing-room, library, dining-room, study, and office were the President's part of the floor. Madison's fad being statuary, in one of these rooms could be seen sculptures from the hands of famous men.
In the second story were eight enormous, high-
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ceiled rooms, fitted with the Empire furniture of the period. In the President's own chamber was the four-post bed with crimson satin canopy brought by James Monroe from the Tuileries. All told, there were twenty-two rooms in the mansion, besides the servants' quarters, which were in another building. The ample wine- cellar which underruns the house bespeaks the entertaining which was so great a feature of the estate in its early days. For this Montpelier was one of the best equipped mansions of the old régime, and perhaps the design of the architect was drawn mainly to that end.
And in all the feastings and gay doings it was Dolly Madison who was the central figure. Much has been written of this first lady of the land, noted not only for great beauty but for mar- vellous tact as well, and who, one writer tells us, was through four administrations the most com- manding figure in Washington society.
Dorothy Payne was the granddaughter of John Payne, an English gentleman who married Anna Fleming, who is alleged to have been descended from the Earl of Wigton, of the Scotch nobility. Their son, John Payne, moved to North Carolina, where he married Mary Coles, daughter of William Coles from Wexford
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County, Ireland, but returning to Virginia set- tled in Hanover County.
Dolly Madison was twenty-five when she married the second time, and of her life at Mont- pelier a gifted pen has left the following annota- tion: "It is a striking comment upon Mrs. Madison's character that she could find happiness and contentment amid such simple surroundings and occupations. A vainer woman would have been miserable at the withdrawal of the adulation which had followed her for a score of years. A weaker woman would have sighed for the excite- ments of town life. Dolly Madison neither sighed nor moped, but set about living in these changed surroundings with a steady serenity, and the cheerfulness of a healthy mind conscious of resources within itself, and capable of setting its own tasks and making its own pleasures."
One of her chief delights was in caring for the terraced garden laid out by Madison just before his retirement from public life. This series of terraces, in the form of a great horseshoe, was meant to represent in size and shape the House of Representatives in Washington. Stiff box- wood hedges edge each terrace, bright with the bloom and blossom of many exquisite plants.
The ice-house, built in 1809 to suit a whim of
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the fair Dolly, was the first ever seen in that sec- tion, and brought wonder and incredulity to the minds of the country folk, who refused to believe that ice cut in the winter could be kept through the gleaming heat of summer. Chroniclers tell that the President, in order to convince his over- seer, made a wager with him of ice for a mint julep on the Fourth of July against a Christmas turkey. We have never been told the result, but it is pleasing to fancy the skeptical foreman breaking the ice for his julep and feeding the finest gobbler for his master's Christmas dinner.
The lines of this little building are more those of a Grecian temple than of a common or garden ice-house, and the upper part, with its dome roof and slender columns, is still used as a summer- house.
The same avenue of pine-trees leads north of the mansion to the circular colonnade.
Madison, being one of the most liberal of men, gave a long remembered lawn fête at Montpelier just after his retirement, to which tradition says every family in Orange was bidden, as well as numerous guests from farther away. Heavily laden and beautifully decorated tables were placed thickly throughout the grounds,
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while those for the most distinguished guests were laid within the house.
Standing to-day, a solitary visitor, on the spot made merry that day, one realizes vividly the beauty of the scene, which, once the inspiration of poets, is now but a bit of history. Beyond the lawn, dotted with wide-spreading chestnuts and walnuts, stretch in sweeping undulations the meadow lands fringed by the forest below. Still farther away, though twelve or more miles in the distance, the main range of the Blue Ridge Mountains are visible, rising majestically to the arch of heaven. At the feet is a carpet of gold- eyed daisies, fair blossoms coming no one knows why nor how. Nature was prodigal in her gifts to Montpelier, and begrudged neither color nor form.
Like Jefferson before and Monroe afterward, Madison suffered from too many guests, of whom he said, " Some were bounties and others taxes." As the home of a public man, Mont- pelier was never without many visitors, who came and stayed whether asked or not. The follow- ing letter written by Mrs. Madison in 1820 gives a good idea of the way they were imposed upon: " Yesterday we had ninety persons to dine with
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us, at one table, fixed on the lawn, under a large arbor. The dinner was profuse and handsome, and the company very orderly. Many of your old acquaintances were here-among them the two Barbours. We had no ladies except Mother Madison, Mrs. Macon, and Nellie Willis. The day was cool and all pleasant. Half a dozen only staid all night, and are now about to depart. President Monroe's letter this morning an- nounces the French Minister; we expect him this evening, or perhaps sooner, though he may not come until to-morrow; but I am less worried here with a hundred visitors than with twenty-five in Washington."
It was to one of these many guests that Madi- son, always a good talker and a man of refined wit and humor, made the now celebrated play upon words. Being at this time very feeble, the ex-President, who was on a couch in his library, requested his caller to take a chair near him, adding, " Strange as it may appear, I always talk better when I lie."
Madison died June 28, 1836, at the age of eighty-four, and was buried in the old graveyard at Montpelier, where he had spent the majority of every year of his life. His tomb, erected
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about 1856 by private subscription, bears the sim- ple inscription :
" Madison. Born March 16, 1751. Died June 28, 1836."
It may still be seen, in a setting of riotous blue myrtle and sombre ivy, and as June follows June, marking anew the anniversary, the roses near him bloom their brightest, bending in fragrant saluta- tion towards the marble monolith.
One who had lived in the house with this man of parts, who had been his guest and played his host, has left perhaps the most natural description of the mere man apart from the statesman: " Mr. Madison was small in stature, but in every respect a well-bred Virginia gentleman, very hos- pitable and liberal in his entertainments, with great powers of conversation, replete with anec- dotes, and well constituted to shine in society. He dressed in the old style, wore powder, small- clothes, and buckles, and was unostentatious in his manners and mode of life."
Montpelier, with all other personal property, was left to Mrs. Madison, whose brightest days were over, as from then on her life was sorely
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troubled by her worthless, wayward son, Payne Todd. After a life of more than eighty years, the much-loved, much-courted Dolly Madison breathed her last, July 8, 1849, and now she sleeps beside her " great little Madison " in one corner of the old graveyard. Above the low brick wall, mossy with age, rises the simple white marble obelisk placed by her nephew, Richard Cutts, and inscribed :
" In MEMORY of Dolley Payne wife of James Madison Born May 20th, 1768. Died July 8th, 1849."
The spacious grounds of Montpelier are now more beautiful than ever, for a gilded wand has been waved above them in latter years. But many of the old landmarks still remain, and across the rear lawn yet stands the gabled stable built by Madison, in a grove of trees.
The path which leads up to the garden terraces
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is bordered with the old boxwood hedges, now five or six feet in height, and from the upper terrace is the same unrivalled view of the ninety-mile chain of mountains, the cones of which cut sharply into the sky.
The estate has changed hands more than once since it left the Madison family, but the present owner takes the same pride in the beautiful acres and charming old mansion as they who placed its name in history, to live long after their call had come.
BERRY HILL
HE many acres of the Berry Hill estate, in Halifax County, date back to the time of the redskins, from whom they were claimed by Colonel William Byrd of Westover, who first saw their beauty and appre- ciated their value in 1728, when he was one of the Commissioners who ran the boundary line between Virginia and North Carolina.
In his " Westover Manuscripts " it probably is to a part of this very estate that Colonel Byrd refers when he says: " All the land we travell'd over this day, and the day before, that is to say from the river Irvin to Sable Creek, is exceed- ingly rich, both on the Virginia Side of the Line and that of Carolina. Besides whole Forests of Canes, that adorn the Banks of the Rivers and Creeks thereabouts, the fertility of the Soil throws out such a quantity of Winter Grass, that Horses and Cattle might keep themselves in
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