this driveway have run straight through the house the circle would have
been perfect, but it had to stop at the big south portico, with its
graceful columns, and resume its sweep from the north one which gave upon
the "office," the overseer's cottage, the various buildings devoted to
the business "ob de gr'et house," as the darkies called it, and away
further to the stables, carriage house, granaries and other buildings of
the estate, with the servants' cabins behind these. All upon the north
side of Woodbine was devoted to the practical, utilitarian needs of the
place, all upon its southern to its pleasures and luxuries, for in the
buildings circling away from the south end were the spacious kitchens,
dairy, smoke house, laundry and other buildings necessary to the domestic
economy of the household. None of these buildings touched directly upon
the main house, but were connected with it by a roofed-over colonnade
upon which the woodbine ran riot, as it did upon all the detached
buildings, producing an effect charming beyond description. The
colonnades described a semicircle from the north-west and south-west
corners of the big house, and led from the kitchen to the big dining
room, and from the office to the Admiral's study. All the buildings were
constructed of rich red brick, brought from England generations ago, the
pillars being of white marble. The effect against the dark green foliage
was picturesque to agreed.

Unlike many of the old southern homes, Woodbine had always been kept in
perfect repair, and by some miracle of good fortune, had escaped the
ravages of the Civil War. Its present owner, Admiral Athol Seldon,
enjoyed a very comfortable income, having been wise enough during the
troublous times of the war to invest his fortune where it would be
reasonably safe. He would not have been called a wealthy man, as wealth
is gauged in the great northern cities, but in this peaceful valley,
where needs were simple and diversions sensible, he was regarded as a man
of affluence and no little importance.

During the war he had served in the Confederate Navy, and served with all
the strength of his convictions. When it ended in a lost cause he
returned to Woodbine to learn in what condition the home he so loved had
come through the conflict, for it was situated in the very vortex of the
disturbance. Finding it but slightly harmed, and having sufficient means
to repair it, he resolved to end his days there. He had neve