September, 1907 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



331 



On one side is the drawing-room; on the other 

 the dining-room, while passages opening beyond 

 lead to the other parts of the house. Each is a 

 room of great size, with vast fireplaces, and pan- 

 eled throughout like the hall. The wainscoting, 

 unfortunately, was greatly injured during the 

 Civil War, when much of it seems to have been 

 torn off by seekers for treasure. To complete 

 the sketch of the plan of the house it is sufHcient 

 to state that an anteroom from the drawing-room 

 gives access to four sleeping-rooms, two on the 

 first floor and two on the second; the opposite 

 wing contains the oflice and room of the manager 

 of the estate and two guest rooms in the second 

 story. 



Perhaps no one feature of Brandon is so in- 

 teresting and important as the great gallery of 

 portraits which is hung on the walls of the 

 drawing-room and the dining-room. There are 

 portraits by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Benjamin West, 

 Vandyke, Sir Peter Lely and other celebrated 

 artists, including a collection made in England in 

 the eighteenth century. The portrait of the cele- 

 brated Colonel William Byrd, and the latter's 

 beautiful daughter, Evelyn, are among the most 

 notable of the whole series and among the choic- 

 est possessions of the house. 



In the drawing-room is a portrait of Sir 

 Charles Wager, which hangs above the mantel, 

 and continuing around the room to the right are 

 portraits of G. E. Harrison, Sir Robert South- 

 well, Mrs. Evelyn Byrd Harrison, the second 

 wife of Benjamin Harrison, Lady Betty Clay- 

 pole, Evelyn Byrd, Lord Halifax, Earl Egre- 

 mont. Earl Orrery, Mrs. Fitzhugh and Benjamin 

 Harrison. In a case in the corner is a fan which 



The Garden Walk from the House to the River Was Laid Out by Mrs. Benjamin Harrison 



Refuge by the Families of 

 ked by the Indians 



The Old Garden Laid Out Over Two Centuries Ago, with the Box Hedge Still 

 Tracing the Old Garden Walks 



