Historic Gardens of Virginia 



died in the house and returns punctiliously to prove the ghost lore 

 well attested. The Wythe house is faithfully pictured by Ellen 

 Glasgow, in "The Voice of the People," as the home of Judge 

 Bassett. 



On the same side of the street stands the white-columned 

 dwelling where the Pages and Saunders lived in early times. The 

 original garden at this place must have been among the most pre- 

 tentious in Williamsburg, and even now the well-defined terraces 

 compare favorably with those of newer design. The hospitable 

 old house stands upon the topmost fall, where the broad lawn is 

 graced by two large magnolia grandifloras and two gnarled crepe 

 myrtle trees. Beneath the shade of an ancient mulberry tree and 

 occasional clumps of Japanese pomegranate, snowdrops, jonquils 

 and blue hyacinths rival each other for bloom. Most years the 

 Star of Bethlehem blossoms so thickly along this fall that it looks 

 as if a billowy bridal wreath had been thrown over and above it. 

 Shade trees, locust and hackberry, grow on the second terrace; 

 this gives way gently to the third, which ends at a picturesque 

 stream. Beneath the old willow which shades this grassy, sloping 

 bank. General Washington is said to have held important con- 

 ferences while drinking spiced wine with officers of high command. 



Across the Palace Green and opposite the Wythe and Saunders 

 houses is the quaint little building once the home of Governor John 

 Page. Near the old theatre, as it was in Colonial days, this little 

 house passed from history into fiction as the home of the heroine of 

 Mary Johnston's "Audrey," and now is known altogether as 

 "Audrey's House." Though its paneled walls are interesting, the 

 stories of its spirit world are more so, and the tragic words etched 

 upon one of the old window panes quickens both pulse and fancy 

 as does nothing else in all Williamsburg. Firmly outlined upon 

 the glass are the words, "1796 — Nov. 23 — Ah, fatal day!" The 

 story the few words tell must have been one of sorrow, of heartache 

 and of love. 



The prim walk up to the house on one side begins under old 



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