Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1881-03-04

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ber, shivering over fire in my Vermont
home, with n hlustcring Northeaster swirling
and twisting the pinrhrinches overhead, and
driving the snow in angry gusts against the
window pane, thought that Il grand exas-
geration How much laror it seems i'll
print than it probably really is How much
more beautiful the pci!rature than the fact
itself! But such is moi the case. think if
one conld embark at Portland and sail di-
rectly to Savannah, as doubtless they can,
and arrive here on such a balmy, warm af-
| ternoon Us we did, thcy would feel bewil-
dered, staggered, for a time, as if they were
| in a different hemisphere. The surroundings
| are essentially tropical. The tall palm trees
| sha ling the avenues, the live oaks, water
oaks, palmeltoes, the yards filled with trees,
tropical luxuriancc and vcrdure or growing
Spanish bayonets, India rubber plants, or,
| perhaps, bananas, all denote almost differ
ent civilization. The heavy perfume of
the magnolia buds fills the breeze with its
sensuous fragrance, and mnglingwith it comes
the fainter perfume Of roses and violets from
the sides of the ilowc. fringcd streets. Life
beneath this blue, so'--akr is transformed
into romance. Remembrance is dulled,
the miseries of life become shadowy and the
world, our world, wears heart of peace.
As we sit on the broad veranda of the
Marshall House, which stands on the prin-
cipal business street, and look down on the
ever changing throns of passers, the scene is
most novel to US. First, the negroes are
a study of themselves. and there are hosts of
them. | can hardly credit the fact that hun
dreds have emigrated North. when | see the
quantity left. They have an entirely differ
ent aspect from their northern brethren.
They are more Oriental in appearance. Many
of them are very light in complexion, Of
bright golden bronze, and are very handsome,
and in their fantastic dress, with orange or red
turbans, they add Il depth of color very re-
freshing.
They gather III groups around the hotel,
sometimes selling banlnas and oranges,
sometimes bearing lovely baskets of violcts
and magnolia blossoms on their heads; again
they loll against the opposite wall, and lazily
gaze out on the street, or they group on the
wharf as the steamer starts away; but every
where they pose themselves in IA charming
manner, as if they had formed an alliance
with nature 10 give picturcsqnrncss to the
scene.
The languor of the tropics pervades every
luluS, dliliNi liit llsI anu liOWCi
incense of these Summer days, was about
to say, time passes So happily. No faint
ness of heart at the real future replaces the
indefniteness OF the present, and to be, to live,
to breathe the soft air and gaze up At the blue
vault above, is enjoyment enough. 1t is best
to enjoy this quiet inctlectiveness with an
outlook Oh the busy world around us, if by
doing SO we can drown the bitterness OF the
past, in this Lcthcln existence of today.
GEORGE Eliot says The best piety is to
enjoy when You can. on are doing the
best TO save the Earth'S character as an agree
able planet" Enjoyment radiates." 1T is
best to believe in glorious things IN a blind
sort of a way. and forget for Il time the sad
ness and misery of life, when you can
We visited yesterday the monument to
Pulaski, in one of the squares. 1t looked
extremely familiar, especially the bas-relief
at the base, where hc il falling from his
horse in his death wound. 1t is a long,
obelisk- like shaft, with full length
statue at the top, and the bas-relef
at the base. 1t is nG very fine
white marble, and in good preservation.
Tie buildings are old, very old-and are
not clothed, as IN Charleston, with the beauti-
full dignity, the vcneralion OF age, but all
seems as if in terrible state of dilapidation
the whole city is general wreck, Occa-
sonally one sees 4 fresh looking structure,
one that possibly might have been built dur
ing the present century but ii looks strange
ly out of place among its Wondering neigh
bors. as if stepping out from them, hurrying
away from the shadowy surroundings. We
were shown the house which Cen. Sherman
occupied US barracks during thc occupation
OF the city by oar Northern troops. 1t bore
no marks of devastation the sual reproach
but looked fresher and in better repair than
those near it. 1t is large, spacious building
and overioohs one oi the many squares. In
one of our numerous walks, however, We fell
in with one Old mansion which bore marks
of the picturesque. II stood isolated in a
remote part of the city, in a narrow, quiet,
almost untenanted street. II had II steep,
dark red roof. with little cyleis Of windows
peering through and had tall red chimneys,
half crumbled away and chokcd and strang
led with ivy. The low, widc-nouthed porch,
too, was covered with ivy. and over the
mouldering garden wall the iessamine boughs
grew in wild luNuriancc. In the garden.
some ld-fashioned, solemn hued flowers grew
in close proximity 10 Tank grass and
brambles, and in the back -"fnund the out
houses were green with their drapery OF
moss 1t was pcri'rt "'udy # quiet, sub
dued color,
A popularity of this city is its numerous
squares. These squares occur not only in the
heart of the city, hut everywhere. Every
other block is square. ihev sometimes
contain fountains, sometimes frrnerles, some
times statues, seldom seats or il 80, general
" of "a most uncomfortable kind, very high
and backless. Water r-ull,s and magnolas
extend their grateful SHADE to the weary
pedestrian, and in Summer the grass is said
to be very green and fresh We can See
very little greenness or grass in the squares
now, the vegetation there is mostly dust
The streets are seldom cleaned as in
| our northern cities, aud never sprink-
| led, | think, at least can not see
any evidence of ii. wish when Gov
ernor Ogilvio designed for the saluhrity
of the city the open squares and parks, he
had also ordered II spginslins machine, but
| am sure he did not. There is one large,
beautiful park, however. which is verh re
| freshing All kinds OF rare cXGtics are kept
in it and fountains grace it with their rain
bow like sprays.
Bonavcnturc cemetery il beautiful rest
ing place for the dead Il il very large and
pleasantly heated, and is shaded by oaks,
magnolIas and curtainrd 10y moss. great
novelty to me is the cotton Gin. | wish |
could describe 1t, but my knowledge Of ma
chinery is So very inadequate that can only
say that the cotton is piled in immense heaps
in an upper room OF the house, whence it is
taken and placed in the cotton gin from
which it descends INTO "a reservoir like room
below, freed of the seeds AMI clcansed from
all impurities. 1t iluticrs down like fast
falling snow storm, and suggests home scenes
very forcibly.
We took u boat the other div for a sail up
| In lao
in grand, ,sinuous grace as il leaves the city,
and teens with vessels OF every description.
As all the large steamers salute carh other in
passing, the scene is very lively.
Looking back, the river prc5cns charm
Ing vista, and the old, Worn ont city, screen
cd by its drapcry of sad spanish mnss. which
droOps everywhere, from the oaks and mag
nollas, seems almost IN illusion.
| was rather disappointed in Fort Pulaski,
or Fort Pulaski, rather, disappointed me.
Perhaps if we had entered ii it would have
worn different aspect, but from the boat
it seemed To be II very ordinary AMI not par
ticularly formidable stronghold. II may be,
however, all that and more and II certainly
proved very scrviccahic during the late
war But the element ui tragedy which
envelopes Sumter is wanting. he inrilaccable
associations are missing The shore was
lined with country houses and fields of lux
uriant verdurc sloped down 10 the water,
edge on both sides of us lhr day was very
beautiful, and the water ~ clear and sun lii
as if an Ariel Lad brushed it with its lumin
Gus wing in passing, and uIr hearts took III,
imprint from this new tIausiturial life.
The hotels, mt least those at Weldon
Charleston and Savannah, are finely sustain
ed and are both spacious and elegant. They
are perfect in their appointments, but i'll tht