The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1874-11-26
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The Marcel. of Improvement.

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5;Flhls .5I;Fhsa March Qf t. improvement. y
The intelligence that the locomotive-that
demon Which Is always shrieking its warning
.saote,in nearly every, ,by7way' Of: the iand-'ls
sabout.to steam and whistle before the gates OF
s.two of: eursmost delightful ancient towns will
bring with it certain pang to all lovers OF the
picturesoue. St. Augustine, in Florida, and
San &htonIIo, III Texas, are soon to be linked
with the outer world by,railroads, over which
Trains, Will daily convey tourists lhe ro-
ance.of the ride in q, rickety volante through
-tks1sicA forests and across the paine metto-strewn
plains of our awinter paradise" to the gates of
81. Angustine-the %ever faithful CITY," of
which, the .Spaniard boasted. so proudly-.gave
way, some time since, to the ungomantic horse
car: butinow,the town is to be- as easy OF &C
lcessefrom the st. Johns river as Long Branch
is from New York. The charm Of the long
;onrney @ in the rattling stage coach over the
rich plains of Western Texas, by day past
adobe. Villages. and long expanses OF road, bor-
sdered with mesquite and chapparal, and by
might through; the perfumed thickets where the
siherdsmeh tahd wagoners, have klndled their
camp fires, will soon vanish before the conven-
ienee of the rapid ride from Galveston to San
Antonio in Pullman car. The 1000 miles
between New York and the venerable city on
:. .ths plain, surrounded with its crumbllng and
;aernate franciscan missions, Will soon oe com,
opletelg covered with iron rails, and tourists VIII
cosider a3yisit to the Alamo-one OF the most
celebrated of the shrires of American liberty
Fan Indispensable pleasure. -.
Yet one might almost wish that it were not
!so.o Itwould be satisfactory know that some
:awhere1in these United States there were corners
G!inywhich at least the ghost of a dead romantic
past fingered never to be frightened away, be-
cause the present. with its buzz OF crowdIng
and vulgarity, was kept at safe distance. But
we live in an age of Saratoga trunks, quick
ionrneys and vast ambition; and the mass of
tourists doubtless resent it as an lmpertlnence
to themselves that ST. Augustine should have
so long 'shyfy discouraged railroad enterprise
and, they will now teach the! old; town a lesson
for her over-modest mien. They will crowd
theplace with new villas, and build ;roadways
along which glittering eqnipages will dash be-
side the long lagoons; they will thread every
thicket and occupy every site they will press
in, tumultuous throngs in winter along the
beautiful beach, and will perhaps carry away
piecemeal moss grown gateWays, the old palace
walls, and the great fort itself, San Marco the
,aamaagnifcent On whose quaint Moorish towers
The he'sunlight of the beautiful Southern climate
ihas glistened for an hundred years, and which
islands on the site of fortications erected by the
-sSpaniards; mere than three centuries ago. Ru-
NOR hath it that there was once a sacrlleglous
proposition to raze the venerable fortitcatlon
and establish a terminal railway station on its
,,r;,ins. And now that the locomotive IS COM
sing in earnest, well may the lovers Of St. An.
Igastinethe fair, the oldest town IN the United
States, for it was settled in 1865, tremble for
the fate of the fast decaying ruins:
When the older Mexican families in San
! roll de
invade their town, they prophesied that there
would shortly be epidemics, fevers, and all
Q manner 1of iuncleanness, among them. They
eshrapk from contact with what seemed in
Their ewes d rude and not oyernice world some
where where outside their gates. :, What cared they
for the increase; of values of their property
Had they not their lovely skies, their wonder
f,f streams running through rich gardens and
along foliage7strewn ebanks, where stood old
stone houses; Sssistica!lg bnilt Had they not
quaint, narrow streets, With here and there
something Exceptionally fine in architecture
And had they not the comfortable sense OF
seclusion, which prompted them to lie lazily in
tie shade, and let the proud world clatter out
side their charmed circe9 What need for them
of Saratoga trunks, and querulous tourists, and
EtIie ror,f Of fashion Could not the consumptive
20 somewhere else to be cured; or must they
!. invade the circle and dispel the enchantment
San Antonio and st.. Augustine contain
within their limits, and in their Immediate VI
cinity, SOME of,the most noted bits OF architec-
cture On Che continent, and the finest IN the
United States. Yet these are swiftly vanish
Ing, and,the railroads will bring the influences
which will finally cause them, almost entirely
to disappear. Theophile Gautier once sad IN
his sad, cynical way, that an ornate and rich
architecture seems to be incompatible with
thigh state Of civilization One may certainly
'sbepin to believe that the highly civilized, at
least Of the Americans, have but little love tor
the ruins which their predecessors left them as
historical legacies for they are doing all that
estfey can to- nodernize even the remotest cor
lonets0f our broad domain. The great missions
and converted Indians toiled SO long and with
such good. intent,l are crpmlbling away with
painful rapidly 1and oneicannot help fancying
that the tide of hasty foreign modern progress
-isfrightening them back to the level of the
soil from which they sprung If San Antonio
must BE Transformed from a dreamy and
charmingly antique town into bustling fash
ion and health resort, where the half invalided
will go to- find renewed lease of life, and the
say to. laxuriate in the delights of perfect
climate, let the missions, whatever happens to
other remnants of the past, be saved: The
railroad companies, which are about to launch
modernism upon the two luckless ancient
towns ought to head a handsome subscription
to restore and care for Che decaying yet splen-
did memorials of the history of this country
which stin exist in Florida and Texas.-N Z
o.lsT4sses.ne 81, .a-,,. 20 iii.t j.
TREATMENT OF BAB1Es.-A baby. is very
tender thing, people say, but most of them are
very far from knowing how tender. Imagine
, how nervous you are in certain states-when
c. y,ho fhn fo nf