The Valley of Virginia 



ladles by much yelling, the smashing of glass and china upon the 

 floor, and the parading through the house with certain articles of 

 feminine apparel waving at the end of rifle and sabre. The timely 

 arrival of a Union officer of American birth stopped all this, and 

 a guard was stationed by him about the house to protect the family. 



One other occupancy of the house by Union troops must be 

 mentioned, because it has to do with the garden. There stands 

 under one of the southern windows of what was then "the chamber" 

 a very large bush, and near it grows a trumpet vine. When the 

 soldiers arrived this time, Mrs. Burwell, from the window above, 

 dropped into this bush a sword that had belonged to her elder son, 

 Nat, who had been killed at the Second Battle of Manassas. Her 

 other son, then a boy, owned some bantam hens and, as all the 

 large poultry had been killed or carried off, the soldiers turned 

 their attention to the bantams. Some of these little fowls ran 

 under the bush to escape capture and the soldiers after them. 

 Sad to say, when the pursuers emerged they had not only the 

 bantams, but the sword, which, of course, they carried away. 



This bush is one of a great many old shrubs, principally lilac 

 and mock-orange, that are still hale and hearty. Scattered about 

 under them and through the grass of the garden are hundreds, 

 perhaps thousands, of daffodils, as well as a few poet's narcissus 

 and grape hyacinths. The ancestors of these bulbs were planted 

 long ago — no one knows just when — and, together with the shrubs 

 and some interesting old trees, constitute what is left of the old 

 planting, though, of course, the terracing and general outline of 

 the garden is still the same. And it Is upon this foundation that 

 the garden is being rebuilt, little by little, the location controlling 

 the character; for it lies north of the house and between it and a 

 line of old stone stables. These, in the days before the railroads 

 came, housed the particular wagons and horses used for hauling 

 farm products to Alexandria, sixty-five miles away, and bringing 

 back necessary supplies for the house. 



Parts of the garden are much shaded by houses and trees and, 



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