Morning journal and courier., 1881-01-10

l Homevynrd Bound from Nassau-FIying Fish-The Weather fn Nassau-Factli- ties for ssFun''-The "sea Gardens'' and Other Points of Interest-A Lack of Good Drtves-The Sponge Trade Pfneapples and Cocoanuts-The CeIe- bratfon of Christmas-The Arrival of Steamers.
 ON BOARD STEAMER ''C1TY OF AUsT1N,"l January 1.
 To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 Homeward bound Nassau is beautiful, but there is no place like-New Haven We
 are on deck enjoying the most delightful air
 this New Years morning, and the staunch
 old steamer is making her steady ten or eleven
 knots per hour. Passengers are few, but
 among the few are Mir. Mosely. ..and his
 bride of two weeks, natives of Nassau, bound
 for Australia to take position in the govern
 ment service. felt very sorry as saw their
 friends bidding them goodbye (perhaps for
 eVer) at Nassau, and the grief of the lady at
 the parting with her father. Also among our
 number is captain, whose vessel was wrecked on one of the Bahamas, who lost all he had, and is now on his way home to Maine to commence again. Last night, after I had turned in, the captain of the steamer called
 me to see flying fish he had caught. It was
 beautiful creature, about eight inches long, They fly towards the light, and striking against the glass fall stunned and sometimes dead. Two more were caught afterward, and we had them for breakfast this morning. They make a very nice dish. We have seen several rainbows this morning, and some predictions were made, based on the we'll known couplet-
 Rainbow in morning,
 Sailors take warning
 But when I asked Captain Stevens if that was an infallible sign of bad weather, he said stI don't know; I've got to go to sea some years yet to know what signs mean" In my last letter I mentioned some of the characteristics of Nassau and it's people, but my prolonged stay Give weeks in all acquaint- ed me with many new facts. On the whole like the place. Whatever one dislikes, it is impossible to find fault with the weather, which has been charming, and only three or four hours of rain The temperature has averaged 720 to 75o, which is very comforta- ble for December. There are unfailing sources for recreation in the water trips about Nassau. One of the most interesting is visit to the stSea Gardens,' fine, natural, thriving plantation under. water. Looking | through ttwater glass" you have only to choose what you would like, and in a moment the colored diver is overheard, tugging away l at the sea-fan, brain coral, sponge or fern and bringing it to the surface. Another place of interest is the 'tcoral reef ," and occasionally I party take a sail around the island, dis tance of forty or fifty miles. The water about Nassau never lost it's interest to me. Whatever the depth (from two to six faith oms), it is so clear you can see everything, and l with the aid of the water glass have glimpses of wonderful things. Just over against Mas sau a Baltimore clipper was burned about 20 years ago. She was loaded with barrels of lime; and as the vessel went down with part
 of her cargo, so she lies to-day, and with
 boat anchored over the spot we look at the preserved lime in the form it was packed in barrels, and see the most beautiful fish swim ming in and out of the wreck. Captain | Sampson is the boatman who always took us, and, however good any other may be, none can be more expert than he in managing a | boat, and having sailed these waters for twen- | ty years, he is familiar with every item of l interest to stranger. Grants Town is an
 other attractive place on shore Here most
 of the colored people have their summer | (and winter) residences. Seen from the up- per balcony of the hotel, the place is one
 mass of orange and other trees, bushes, etc, l but as you approach 1t the little huts appear crowded together as thickly as possible.
 Many of the houses would not be used for a
 pig-pen or 8 chicken house at home. Yet here they live, or at least sleep, and the won l der is how they live, for at night every dar-