"On the hills to our right, a short distance out from Randolph, was the spot where John Randolph of Roanoke had spent the greater part of his eccentric and unha

"On the hills to our right, a short distance out from Randolph, was the spot where John Randolph of Roanoke had spent the greater part of his eccentric and unhappy existence. It would be hard to imagine contradictions more glaring than those that lurked in his environment. His home consisted of two rude structures, erected in the bosom of the primeval forest: one his summer residence; the other a mere log cabin, his winter residence. Yet the lonely occupant of these two dwellings was as haughty an aristocrat in his way as any who ever wore a coronet." -- Below the James: A Plantation Sketch, by William Cabell Bruce, 1918