Ariginat Commuititatimm
FLORIDA AND THE FLORIDIANS. 111.
BY H. E. C.
Do not believe all that is told you, gentle
reader, in regard to this wonderful country.
Papers reach us from the North, containing ar
ticles on Florida, so over-drawn that we grow in
dignant; and many are the poor invalids, de
ceived by such fine writing, who come here to a
great disappointment. Some of these• glowing
pictures, I very much fear, are drawn by inter
ested parties; and persons are induced to come
here for permanent settlement, who are glad to
•
get away again as soon as possible.
FLORIDA AS A HOME
It would not be my choice, I say frankly and
firmly. I come here an invalid, 'and, for the
sake of regaining my health, am willing to put
up with the many' unpleasant things I encounter;
but what can include any one, without that mo
tive, to leave a good Northern home„ with all its
conveniences, wholesote food, society, means of
education, and.ireligiotts privilege, to settle 'in
Florida, is a gfeat mystery to me. If health
were the object, I could understand it; but when
I see men coming here with their 'families, pur
chasing land perhaps along the river, hastily
throwing up a house, and beginning to call it
home, I am not disappointed to see them, a
year later, broken with chills and fever, sadly
retracing their steps northward, as from a land
of graves. Again and again,' as I have seen
these disappointed people, I have been reminded
of Chuzzlewit's Eden, and have almost expected
to hear some Mark Tapley crying out, " This is
a wonderfully good place to be jolly in." Such a
man settled on the Indian Rive, that Paradise
of Floridian glory, and not long since he was
seen on the wharf' at JacksOnville, waiting for
the steamer to take him North. Sallow, ema
ciated, alone, he pointed to a solitary trunk near
by and said, "That's 'all there is left."
FLORIDA AS A WINTER RESIDENCE FOR INVA-
This is its chief recommendation. The summer
fevers once past, you have a climate, some sud
den changes excepted, the most delightful that
could be imagined. The winter abounds. in
cheerful sunshine, and you can spend much time
in the open air; and such air, particularly, in the
morning, so grateful to the lungs, so delicious, so
exhilarating,' must be breathed in to be apprecia
ted. My best idea of luxury is fulfilled when I
breathe, I had almost said drink, this Florida
air on a fine winter morning. If, therefore,
disease has not progressed too far, an . invalid
often receives great benefit by a winter or two in
Florida. •
JACKSONVILLE AND ATJGIISTINE
These are the most desirable places of resort,
on the whole, perhaps, in the State. If you
push on to Enterprise, or go out upon the Indian
River, you will, indeed, be less afflicted with ,
sudden changes of climate, but your discomforts,
in other respects will be ! greatly increased. An
invalid needs a. little pleasurable excitement.
His mind must be diverted from himself; and at
hese two places he will have sufficient society to
assist in this purpose. But let him not
,judge
either of these places by what he hears at the,
other. • The old town and the new are rivals,
and each tells naughty stories about the other. If
anybody says to you at Jacksonville, that it is.
"manslaughter to take an invalid to Augustine,"
wait a little and investigate for yourself.. And,
if any one at Augustine expatiates upon the
chills and fever at Jacksonville, treat that in the
same way. For persons with extremely. delicate
lungs, the sea-air at Augustine is sometimes irri
tating; but for a large class of patients it is sim
ply exhilarating and bracing. Jacksonville has
better accommodations, however, and is a much
more stirring and lively place.
WHAT SHALL WE EAT?
A very vulgar question, but one you must an
swer ; and one which is for an invalid sometimes
a question of very grave importance. .If you
can rent a small building, and bring your own
cook, and order
,prOyisions from New York, you
will get on very well. If you hire board, and
can not afford to pay very extravagant prices,
you will eat hominy and tough steak, and have
very few delicacies, such as your case may per
haps require. And, as your impressions of a
place always depend,a good deal upon the food
it furnishes, in the latter case, you will call Flu
rida a kind of purgatory, requiring a good many
prayers, and some pretty large votive offerings,
for your deliverance.
AGGRAVATING THE CASE
That is•wbat we are doing with ourselves here,
if not upon our guard, every day.. We are here
by the thousand, coughing, comparing symptoms;
now worse, now better, all dreadfully home-sick
at times, every few days some one going home—
in a coffin. Your : sympathies are being constant
ly
worked uppp i . At breakfast it is " How did
you rest last night ?" At dinner, " Have
you taken exercise, and did it bring up your
pulse to a. hundred ?" arid at tea, grumbling a
,
little, very weaiY, a Poor appetite, and, if you
are a lady, a little c'r'y for =something good which
you used to have at home. An invalid needs to
be kept as far as possible from other invalids ;
THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 1869.
but here we swarm together. It can not be
avoided. Pity us, poor home-sink souls, and do
not wonder if we sometimes say, " -would ra
ther die at home than live in Florida."
CHANGES OF WEATHER
Much has been written of the equable temper
ature of Florida. But we are subject to changes
of a very trying character. It may be different
when you go up to Enterprise, or on as far as
the Everglades, or somewhere else where nobody
lives; but at Augustine and Jacksonville, where
most of the invalids go, we sometimes pass, in a
few hours, from a summer heat, to a temperature
in which we need warm fires and our winter
wrappings. The 'last winter has been particu
larly unfortunate in this respect; and if such
fearful frosts repeat themselves as we have just
had, Florida will quite lose its good' name. Of
course these changes are the exception, but they
occur more or less every' winter, and persons.
'coining here for their health should be apprized
of them, and come prepared.' No person should
think of passing a'winter here Without 'securing a
room in which he can haVe a fire,
• Or without
furnishing himself as warm' a winter `outfit as he
would ordinarily need at the North.'
Slavery has left itS blight here, as in all the
South. The negroes swarm about as,' n some
cases sadly putting to flight our airy fancies in
regard to their educational aptitudes and rapid
improvements. A band of great hearted teach
ers are among them, however, and there will be
light. The poor whites are also about us, and
many ignorant whites who have not usually been
reckoned among the poor. Romanism also has
a strong grasp upon us, partioulately at St. Au
gustine; and, as eveiywher%sep i s tkelf against
free schools, and plays upon tlit, superstitions of
an ignorant people. The Redemptorist Fathers
are holding a mission among'us, and.one of them
recently reproved his congregation, who were in
attentive, by telling them of a marvel he had
just witnessed. "`While standing at the wharf,"
he said, "I_ called the name of Mary, and the
fishes leaped up out of the water andbowed their
heads in plain sight." The incredulous Pro
testants call that a fish story.
LIBBABIES , FOR XINING 'TOWNS..
The devil•always has a fit agent ready, in or
der to carry out each and every scheme of evil.
In the matter of selecting and appointing officials
suited to the business in hand, -his Satanic
majesty has become, -by: long and varied practice,
a thorough adept, in comparison with whom Gen.
Grant is as. nobody.: It is -thin ,that ,so few of
his plans for the injury of our race either come
to nought, or fail of their intention. Did the
children of light, use. but Ulf the sagacity and
discretion with the•skill and energY practieed•by
the- evil one, -their- efforts in .belalll :of righteous
ness would not so frequently cramp- up, .dwarf,
and fizzle. . •
DITPR.NG ,TOTTIEL. '
These strange busy 'humanity .scat
tered here and there .through. , the "Great Amori:
can Basin—in Tjtah,, •NeVdda;;.l.dalko, Montana,
Colorado, and parts Of California, are still inul
tiplying, and daily .becoming of greater. kn-.
portance.both to. oar -Atlantic Tand Pacific .slopes.
A more distinct reflexive . .infltience..from. these'
surging centres of , our people, will' at once , ibe .
felt on the comi.letion of the overland Bairktoad.'
Out Christian communities have more att stake
in the miner, than .the amount of gold or silver
he may chance to bring back with him,
The populations of these towns and districts,
are peculiar, sul generts, deeply interesting,
shrewd, intelligent, actiire 'atid 'wicked. 'Man's
demandsgregarious nature for them, in each town,
a place or places for evening congregating. The
miners are generally without families, and their,
individual.accoMmodations for passing- theiricvs
nings often fininviting 'ancUcheerless.' 'Hence,
if a cheerful and comfortable place of common
resort be found, where without intrusioh - their'
leisure hours may be passed, it is almost certain
to be largely occupied. In every such place,
Satan prompts some publican,' for the love of
money, to erect a large saloon, with bar, billiard
and gambling tables ;. having it also well heated,
lighted, and seated: This becomes at once the
Tabernacle of Congregation for the district, and,
with what results, each thoughtful mind can
readily imagine.
FREE - 'REAMING ROOMS
No where else dOes there seem to be such a .
necessity for a 'free reading-robm with Christian
influences, as in our Widely scattered and far
separated mining ' towns. In none ,of these,
however, was I able to find even a"beginning . for
so desirable a result. Were such an accommo
dation offered 'in* each mining centre, it would
prove 'a rival establishment to the saloon, and be
filled every evening..' This 'was the'decided'Opin
ion of every intelligent person: in these Places
with Whoin I conversed` ou this 'subject:'
_Before leaving `the PaCifi r o side; a general un
deiatanding was had' between myself and a, number
of earnest men more Ciiniteaeil - With - mining in-.
tereits; in the neili'a l nd . 4oi!edr'ttilTrea'snre City,
in 'Nevada':' They - that "they .
would provide snitableioonag for rostding, - writing
letters, and eongiggatingT and * - PPrOVide- 'the
library.`-"This 184;riliiiiin"a - .6noini)likb'edi. - tci be not
only for: a. ble'isirig . to{TiihilireOity; bat with ,
/ the MO' that aii1 , 00,3 eitimiil' would be fol
lowed by every other mining town. Thislusi-
ness progresses. As suitable books are obtained
they are sent to Treasure City by mail, as the
readiest and cheapest way of getting them to
that, far away and interior locality.. As the cost
of a library suited to such a place will be con
siderable, those desiring the pleasure of assisting
can have the privilege. All, who know the good
ly influences connected with the free reading
rooms of our various Young Men's Christian As
sociations, will desire to share in such a work.
In every help sent to our Pacific slope, the
Atlantic side of our continent has a ten-fold in
terest. " Westward the star of empire takes its
way," may remain fine poetry, but is truthful no
longer. As the star of the East stood when
reaching Bethlehem; so the star of Empire
stands on the Pacific coast. The tidal waves of
human influence will ere long, from accumulated
strength, roll back from. West to East, vastly
augmented in power, from Japan, from China;
yea from every land of the East.
Are, we fitly preparing for such wonderful re
sults and so near in the future?
A. M. STEwAaT.
Pittsburg, March 29, 1869.
OUR THEATRIOAL AMUSEMENTS.
If, through a miracle, there were to come
down "on this country, a sudden delightful afflu
ence of temporal amelioration, a universal pros
perity, so that all should' be placed in ease and
plenty, it would require another miracle to pre
vent.thia benignity:of heaven . from turning to a
dreadful mischief: These are the words of an
estimable foreign writer. ' He adds, also, in sub
stance, Every one. can safely predict that, in
such a conjuncture, most of us would consume
one half of the-time thus given to Our disposal,
in idleness, vanity or abomination. The'truth of
this assertion has been. frequently demonstrated
among us and in many ways, but in none more
completely than in the way certain classes of our
people rush' to the amusement which, night af
ter night, is prepared for them at 'our theatres.
A' prosperity almost unknown to any other
country has enabled certain classes 'here to follow
their bent. They have appropriated, from time
to time, vast sums to the construction of edifices
for theatrical entertainments. 'Decked in purple
and jewels, they throng these haunts of pleasure,
to witness and enjoy whatever is presented to
them. Were these -resorts fountains, from which
elevated ideas of men- and- things or even ass
thetic refinements and elegancies could be drawn,
there would be leas reason for complaint. But
on the contrary, the entertainments offered are
miserably puerile, when not positively indecent.,
Now the makfel is, how a father can expose his
daughter, or a husband his wife, to the palpable
grossness -they are sure to encounter at these or
gies. It is true that,' by the' ingenuity of the ca
terers to the tastes of our pleasure-seeking
try, their audiences are debauched by degrees,—
that in all-the-decline in the -'haunts of dissipa
tion' from bad to worse; , the worst foot is , not
shown 'first. , But it is' also true that,at last,-they
-have= reachedoehat, to some minds, is utterly in
tolerable. 'What woul(p be bald nonsense or re
volting abomination,' if' produced separately, is
put forth in conibinations.of ' flashy scenes, gro
tesque 'buffoonery,' intisic; and the.:dancing ex
ploits and exposures of semi-nude women.
It is a disgrace and - 'burning• shame, that
while the nastinesses of the lewd opera have been ,
interdicted frequently at some'of the theatres of
Europe, they should have ever been permitted to
gain a footing here.
It.has come,. waknow, through the encourage
ment and influence of certain coxcombs of both
genders, whose own or parental means• have been
sufficient to graduate them at Paris. Parties of
this stamp, who "have resided , for even a few
'months in that worst capital- of the world, take
readily, nay, naturally to its frivolities, fashions
and , dissipations,' and are the very ones to aid in'
the importation, and to give Parisian sanction to
just such "refinements - " as these in their native
land. We are well aware that no remarks of ours
can ever 'reach these characters or great numbers
of their calibre and tendencies around us; our only
hope must be to put on 'their guard some who
have not, as yet, been drawn into their ignoble
and degraded vortices.
It has icing been charged that our ladies dress,
a la palais 'royal. Our entertainments, sadder
to say, many of'them, arelrom nabetter source.
Our, theatres, however, and whatever they may
present of vapid' folly or degrading immorality,
after all, Would fail of success among us, but for
the ardent support they gain from the secular
press.: 'Our countrymen have not yet learned
'how Unsafe,-indeed, how dangerous it is, to be
guided by' the' popular press, in anything, but
- especially in all 'Matter§ 'where an , advertising in
terest is to be propitiated. Alas! for .eur coun
try, :when 'the' 'mercenary principle takes the
- reins;' when the (Villeins of those who aspire to
lead, like merchandise, citable' bolight'and sold.
But above-all ; ithen'tfie press'r'uns into irrespon-
Bible licentiousneas E : D. M.
TT' ivas rdsolved'at 'a late ternperance . meeiing
in VPisconain that.t,lie 'absolute temperance is in-:
dispensable to. raise men to. the level of other
animals.
, .DiEftras:an,aAti-Cbinamark Ko-lilux-Klan in
citiiforgia. The organization is sending secret
,circulars to ail who ,cmploy . '9hinsse,'labOrers,
warning ` them to desift or to expect, serioui con-
sequence.
tabit.
Die Publishers will confer a favor by mentioning
the prices of all books sent to this Department.
SERMONS PREACHED BEFORE THE UNIVER
SITY OF OXFORD, by H. P. Liddon, M.A., now
in the third edition, are written from the apolo
getic point of view, and are designed to neet the
current objections and unbelieving tone of feel
ing, as they would address themselves to the stu
dent class of the English Universities. They are
not direct arguments against unbelief, but dis
courses on great moral and evangelical topics, in
which there is a generous recognition of those na
tive wants and tendencies of the human mind
which error perverts and which the Gospel alone
can guide and train aright, but which narrow
minded religions teachers have often discouraged
and denounced. Firmly adhering to the Evan
gelical circle of ideas, the preacher in his manner
of meeting objections preserves the sympathy
between Mmself-and those whoth he would warn
and enlighten. He keeps up the interest of the
reader by - constant reference to questions of pfe
sent and vital interest. His style is calm, thought
ful, and for the most part clear ; without being
decidedly powerful or riveting, it often rises to
true and pare eloquence; lacking the condensa
tion, the glow, the profundity and the charm of
style of great sermons, they are wise, suggestive,
earnest and seasonable. N. Y.: Scribner, Wel
ford & Co. London: Rivington's ; Philadelphia :
Smith, English & Co. $2 25.
SERMONS BY CHAS. WADSWORTH, of the Cal
vary Church, San Francisco, will be received with
great interest by the large circle of hearers in
this city, who can never forget how; they crowded
his church, and hung charmed upon his lips,
with scarce any fluctuation in numbers or in ad
miration, while his labors in the Tenth Church
continued. In these pages, indeed, we hear not
that Wonderful, melancholy-musical voice, we see
not that restrained but nervous gesticulation,
which added such marked interest; and while we
miss them greatly in the reading, there is yet so
much vigorous - thought, so much finely express
ed, spirited indignation at wrong ; so many bold
conceptions, ingenious turns, instances of the argu
ment ad h,orainem, and more than all, the free play
of so rich, (though scarcely a great, deep or power
ful) imagination, that the Sermons make a most
attractive and readable and even elevating vol
ume. Mr.. Wadsworth is quite as averse from
doctrinal rigidity, as he is from dry formalism in
his homiletic style. In his sermon on the " Gos
pel Call," which strikes us as among the most ef
fective on its theme, we have almost ever read,
he says, among many other like, emphatic things :
" God says these waters flow freely unto all men.
And the man who dares to use any - divine attri
bute as an obstacle to any man's salvation, per
verts God's own truth and makes God a A
good word, in thesb days, to come across from
the other side of the 'Continent. The volume is
handsomely printed and bound. Published by
A. S. Roman & Co. San Francisco. 12mo.
PP. 367.
PULPITG:ERMS, by Rev. W. W. Wythe, is a most
pains-taking and praiseworthy, attempt to aid the
sermonizer, in the preliminary stages of , his work,
without,:however, offering a premium to, laziness
by the fullness of-the aid rendered, but rather
stimulating the mind to action by the great va-,
riety of the topics briefly treated. Als to the
mode of treatment of the 455 texts, every one of
which is "opened" and divided into the leading
thoughts of the proposed ,sermon, we find few.of
what might, be called fresh, striking, or ingenious,
plans, and but little attempt is made to hold up a'
single controlling thought et. proposition to give
unity and force to the sermon: Tinted paper,
pp. 219 with Index. Lippincott & Co. $1.50.
Vol. I. of the AMERICAN YEAR BOOS, pub
fished by 0. D. Case & Co., Hartford, and edited
by David N: Camp is the recommencement of an
undertaking involving so much labor and expense,
and so uncertain of practical returns, that one of
our best publishers and most enterprising men,
Mr. Geo. W. Childs, after issuing two capital
volumes, gave it up. We trust that those who
now have undertaken it will be encouraged to
give it a longer trial. Their work is more ex
pensive and on a greater scale than that just re
ferred to. It embraces six parts: 1.-Astronomical
Department. 11. Statistics of the'United States.
111. Foreign States of the World. IV. Reli
gious Statistics. V. Essays on Agriculture, Fi
nance, MiningAbiterature. VI. Presidential
Election Returns by Counties since 1836; Re•
cord of Important Events--Obituaries American
and Foreign. This, it will be seen, is a wide
field, and will cover interests touching almost
everybody 'in some way. Of course accuracy in
all respects is itnpos,sible, but errors must not be
overlooked in criticising the .volume. ' For ex
ample; Ccilleges and Collegiate Institutions Male
and Female; are all grouped together in one tabular
statement.' Under Theological Seminaiies, no
mention is made of Auburn, 'While Blackburn—
al:nem Academy,- is Intedowtr as in operation as
`a• Seminary. The itepOrt.of Public School Ex
penses, for Philadelphia, is given only for 1866.
In the exceedin,gly 3 faultpand' meaningless list of
-i` National-Societies we find General Assemblies
Conventions put;doivn, As well as Missionary ,
'Boards, &n. Thelittle Mission Board of the 0.
S. Reformed Church (Covenanters) is named,
but not one of our denominational schemes. It
seems almost a waste to give page after page of
office-holders, whose places are being vacated even
while the book is going into the hands of readers.
But there is such a vast amount of information
of permanent value, and which every one who
thinks, calculates or writes, needs to have by him,
all brought into manageable shape in this hand
some octavo, and made accessible, with a full in
dex, that we bespeak for it a hearty welcome from
the public.
MY RECOLLECTIONS OF LORD Bvltow may be
described as belonging to the pamphlet class of
books; being simply an extended argument in
defence of Byron's character in every point in
which it has been assailed by critics or compro
mised in his own writings. From the position
and relations of the writer—the Countess of
Guiccioli—it might have been expected to con
tain much unfit for the general reader. The un
&nest is confined, we believe, solely to the fact
that an adulteress should come before the public
with the cool' impudence which takes on itself the
forth of unconscious innocence. While the volume
contains an extraordinary and plausible array of
testimony to the unblemished virtue, ascetic
habits, and undeserved persecutions of its subject,
the force of all is broken by the nature of
the source from which it comes. Besides, the
attempt to exonerate not only the private charac
ter, but even the entire writings of Byron from
the charge of impurity reveals the low standard
of morality which we might expect in the writer,
and serves to justify- and fix the judgment long
since rendered by the community as to the poet
mid the tone of maby of his works. We prefer
Kirke White to this Countess: •
He might have soared, a miracle of mind, &c
JUVENILES.
CHOLULA, or the YOUNG MEXICAN, is an ad
venture in an entirely new region of juvenile fic
tion. The historical events on which the story
is founded belong to the conquest of Mexico by
the Spaniards. The heroine is a Mexican maiden
who is represented as having been led to the Sa
viour through the teachings of a good - priest who
came with Cortez. The incidents of the arrival
of Cortez and the conquest of the City of Mexico
are well rehearsed, and the customs and social life
of the people reproduced with care. The story
is unpretending, and without great invention in
the plot or discrimination or force in the char
acters; but its novelty will commend it to young
readers. It is as suitable for the Sunday School
as nine tenths of the books that go there. Skelly
& Co. •
LITTLE FREDDIE FEEDING HIS SOUL, by Say
`Putnam, is one of the most captivating stories of
child-progress in the knowledge and love of Jesus,
that we have ever met. It is natural and health
ful in every part, and doubtless pibtures an actual
instance of original and genuine piety in very
tender years. CARTERS; for sale at the Presby
terian House.
MRS: SHERWOOD must be recognized as one of
the founders of that department of literature
which has grown to such vast proportions and
which- is commanding such a wide and brilliant
array-of talent in our generation—that of juven
ile books. THE LILY SERIES, just issued by
CARTERS, is a republication of those choice sto
ries, from her pen, which recall some of the hap
piestassociations of the-men and women of forty
years 'or thereabouts. The first volume of the
six, FLOWERS QF THE FOREST used to be called
"in our day," the LILY OF THE VALLEY. Few ,
stories of modern origin can vie with it in the
elements of legitimate interest and in wholesome
evangelical tendency. The other five are : The.
Young Forester, The Little Woodman, The Little
Beggars, The Two Orphans, Joan. They are
packed in a neat box,, and each volume is hand
somely illustrated, with full paged wood cuts. For
sale at the Presbyterian Book Store.
The ininiitable BESSIE BOOKS are continued,
BESSIE AT THE MOUNTAINS having just appear
ed. In new places and circumstances and under
new joys and trials, the attractive group of young
and old people is again presented to us. Bessie
is still a quaint and wise little darling, but older
and less of a kitten, and scarcely so surprising; as
before. The highest lessons of duty are inter
woven with perfect naturalness in the gracefully
told story. Some of the illustrations are fine spe
cimens of wood-engraving. 18mo. pp. 356.
$1.25. Published and for sale as above.
THE CLERGY OF AMERICA, Anecdotes illus
trative of the character of ministers of religion in
the United States, is apparently a reprint of a
volume somewhat antiquated. No recent inci
dents are recorded, and many stories are what
might be called musty. Still among so many
there are not a few gems, and being rendered ac
cessible by table of contents and index, the
whole, in place of a-better, is worth possessing.
12mo. pp. 478. .1". B. Lippincott & Co.
PERIODICALS AND PAMPHLETS
BLACKWOOD FOR MARCH, contains : Histori
cal Sketches of the Reign of George 11., No. X.,
The . oveliit (Richardson); Doubles and Quits,
A. Comedy of Errors V ; New Zealand and its
Gold Fields; The Northmen, Heathen and Chris
tian; A Whist Reminiscence, by an Old Hand;
Stage Morality and the Ballet, [A. Cry for Re
form The Arts in the Household. New York:
LEONARD SCOTT PUBLISHING. CO. Phila.: W.
B. Zieber. $4.
THE LONDON QUARTERLY RENEW for Jan
uary contains : Lord Campbell's Lives of Lynd
hurst and Brougham; Realities of Irish Life;
Earthquakes; Mr. Gladstone's Apology; - The
Ultra Ritualists; Lord Liverpool and his Times;
Efficiency of Alas Navy; Dean Milman and St.
Paul's ; Animals and Plants . ; Politics as a Profes
sion,; Published as above. , 64. Blackwood and
Quarterly, $7. [The delay in 'iSsning these re
prints, is on account Of We strike among the book
printers of ,NewiYork-City.]
(Continued on Page 115.)