, 1877-02-03
Description of the, Interesting
Relics of Spanish Kulc.
The Old Fort Of San Ma1co and It's
Dungeons.
Aegrs Funeral In he Historical Catholic Cathe.
dral...Seenes In and Out tf Churth.
4 Land Of Tropical Delights.

zas Rivc:, and, reaching tho strange and for
gotten mystery Of st. Augustine, sinks back |
war.l foftiy and rcvcrcntty into Its natural |
rcstfng-ptacc, tho eternal SCI Tho cot-footctl
galcs, which sweep eagerly down tue coast, an'l
toss tho hiltuws into rage Of foam, md leave
them to die out rrvcngalcts upon tho long,
white reaches Of sand d,-ovcn these pause lii
their career at the low-lyinr Aitastasia Island,
and II they cvcr touch tho nnctcnt Spanish
town bcyonl, their breath Is only
gentle, and tubdued, and respectful.
/ do not say ihts Of my own knowledge or infer
cncc, but give 1t Is told TO me By tho cwcathcr.
beaten old Mfnorran pilot. wbile VIC were rock |
inr on the Wild waves underneath tho whtte |
vail Of the fort; anl the llttlo sa!l tapped with
q raptnruus acEent Of confederation.
ST. AUGUSTINE
can be best described By Saying that It Ia like
nothing else. 1t Is certainly not an American
town; It. ia not oven modern town; it Is d
relic. Stroll!ng aiong the old sea.wall, with
the riazn aud tho Government pa1are, the
ancient convent, tho crumb'nr fort, and the
strangc-ehapcd houses, md the narrow,
crooked streets, oil IN full view, ono
can scarcely bc'fcro that f,o Is IN
active, progressive, ncw-fangfcd America. It
is fortunate that St. Augustinc was planted
here, for here, perhaps, Ut all tho locations In
this broad country, could 1T alone llaYo survived
the rapid changes Of time anil life. Hero 1t Is
In measure Isolated from tho ~orltl-at lcasttt
has bcen so until within the past few years,
since tho railroad to tic st. Johns River 1,as
been in operation; and even now ita absence Of
business facilities is its salvation from tho
spcculntor anti tho Immigrant. How long tho
town will 80 rctnalu It is difficult to foretell;
hut, at tho present ratc, 1t should BIZ preserved
Ia it's present character by the authority Of
Government or tho State as q mcmento Of the
earliest attempts 1T co'ontztng the New World.
THE TOWN
Is about seventy miles from Jacksonville by
Travelled ways. and Is rcncheA by steamer from
that place to Tocoi, whence the railroad before
mentioned transfers passengers ACROSS the fli-
teen miles Of land between the st. Johns
and the ocean. Formerly the land passage was
mat1c hy stage. OF late years ttan1way 'as
bceu constructed, which l,as recently bccn ad-
vanccd to the dignity of q railroad. 81. Angus
t!no itself consists Of four principal streets rum
ming parallel with the beach, FROM which tho
town Is separated by long, narrow island, tho
inner sound or strait being termed thu Afatanzas
River. These four streets are tntcrsectcd by
numerous smaller streets Or lanes 1t Irregular
intervals. This is the outline Of the town In tho
bricfcst language: but 10 convey any idea Of tho
appearance of the streets at1 houses to ono who
ttas mover seen them 10 difficult. It may be
stated, 10 bcgin With, that NIL tho streets, In
Guiding Tofcmato, II. George, Charlotte, and
Bay, asc narrow ard tortuous, scldum tnore
than fifteen feet In width, and often too anlall
for vehicles. In fart, in the good old days OF
spanish rule, no vehicles wcro allowed on tho
streets, which were neatly paved With shells
md concrete, traces Ut theKu materials being yet
visible. There are no storea such ns may be
found In other American t0w,ls of tho eame
size, but there arc plenty Of little. dark, con.
tracted shops occupying tho lower t(oors Of the
my rnmblcs through the town have found but
one ,ntxlcrtl l'rick i,o.sc. The others, with tho
exception Of several mansions recently orc:tc'lby
New York mlllonaircs, arc either irnMc With
antique shape, or arc tho
ugNUlNH OLD ooquINA BUILDINGS
that have con,e down frnm former ages tn-
need scarcely be explained, ts tho nanlu given to
aa a e '0ss Sat 0'1Sd n Gs os hs sst09 Il " s s
sca-shells. It Is quarFted on Anastasla
lslnntl, aud has recently como again Into
favor. after atsusc OF osera century. Tho
| co1uina walls, When erected, wcre generally
coate.l thIckly with limo, and wero thus reuter-
Tho exterior nt ono Of these old Spanish
houses Is strlkIn9Iy Interesting: It always al"ts
| lHE 4kENGt+ NHl1 tukEtHEf "NH N& tuIkf EMT{ltu@
wall, clroctually siuts from tho vulgar gazo tho
| domestic AFFAIRS 4 tlccrly-nrclsctl, low tlour-
way affords exit to tho street, and tho ltnr IA
generally adorned with hugo tro1i-knoekcr,
older houses of Philadelphia. Thuru is seldom
| q window OIL thu grnusMl.aoar, except III tu4es
wncre the house has been appropriated
for business uses, and the window
paratiyclY recent date: The roof always tuts
ont towards tho garden, Turning balcuHles.
None OF the older houses, 10 far aa hare seen.
have balconies oyerhangtng the street. The
IN these alays; they had not such opportuntt!cs
for street ltrtatEon a lave their fair dclccna-
ants. strcct.halcortcs ars' found OH many OF
tic franc dwellings,, which. Of coursc, hays M
slopc upward at etecp incline. and there Is
which ts generally heavily suffered.
But ogcf all there hangs
What stories rontd each Of tbeac nnccnt dwell.
ings tell II gifted with tho power ot speech!
What tales Of rassion, Of stolen meetings ut tho
latsec, ga.e Of lovcEs scaling the garden,wa
Tho present occupants are much like their an-
rxstors, IT appearances arc any Indication.
While sisollls.g down one Of tho strccts Inst
evening ! tntnc *rross youth ana maiden
'a s1.S ss t.ss sns es,
IN luycrllkr to,e, Just Ike ttclr grandparents,
for all tho world. / hal not tile Leart u dis
tutb thcn', anil 70 tutucL cunYV1tcnt corncE
and left tl,elu to tlelr llapptnexs.
Tho old tort Vi San Marco ts always the first
object to attraet visitors. II WA ttgun tn lds0,
tho year of tho landhg Of tho rslgrsms. and was
coMipletctl!n !n 11ai, tho lndlaus being forced te
do tho labor OF bullIing. The style of forttfica
lion ID n'edia,val. There !s u mat, Tho inner
onl outer barriers, tho barbteaE, the draw.
bridge, tho portruttIs What contradiction d
associations It seemed, when met IN Indian
pacing up aud iown tic .lrawhrilgo US srl,tinel
There aru about sixty Ut these Indians ut prs
cut col's!ned in Thy tort, and form y no s.nal
fcoturs Of tho .stshts' Ut tho toxin. Tht
wn!ls of tho fort aso Ut co4luina, and incrcd
!hly thHk; yet Oil a.1ullnt of Its old arehttcc
tufc It hos 6ccu abandoned ~ tse'csslu modern
warfare. As y monument. however, 1t Nil
sta1l1 wlile the earth lustk, unlcss destroyed bl
human agcncy. III l8al, while soMe Tcpair1
wcrc being made, certain portion Ut tho sal
eayed in, revealing
| / pAHk AND DEEP DrH0H0S.
Descending Into this. thu engineer In charge Dis
covered broah staIls ecnlentcd tnto purti0'
os the will. Removing thls, lu fouutl 4 still
dcepeF antl darker dungeon, aud Il contatncs
L IL. -