Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1883-09-15
To the Standard
FLORIDA.
"reminiscences of the Land Of Flowers.
Sketch No. l.
BY NoRINE.

Nio'uooiOh "hu VI HiIOiSeb lolOiyi UhuI
feel like Horace Greedy, as if / should |
like to tell "what l know about it,"
though my knowledge is confined to
the western part of the state These
sketches" of mine must necessarily be
"reminiscences, for year has passed
since | left the Gland of Flowers"
and many changes have taken place
there since, as l learn from the news
papers, which find their way from
Pensacola to my home in the Noun
tains.
In November 1881, we bid farewell
to Tennessee and after journey of
thirty>six hours we reached Pensacola,
just as twilight fell, dewy and sweet as
a May evening at home.
We ordered our hickman to the
Santa Rosa hotel, and as we were too
sworn out" to appreciate scenery, he
did not meet with much encourage
ment when he attempted to point out
its beauties to ms. Only once he stop.
ped his horses to give us "small
glimpse Of the bay, and our party were
all eagerness, but resolutely shut my
eyes and vowed that my first "sea-
view" should be large one, free and
boundless enough to make up for all the
''small glimpses" only, of the great
things of life | had gained heretofore
and was amply rewarded for my self
denial, afterwards.
The "Santa Rosa" hassince given place
to magnificent opera house, which
stands exactly on the old site, and its
successor in the hotel line is a splendid
building just across the street. Sever
al other very fine hotels have been
built since then, but at that time Pen
sacola was just recovering from the
ravages of a terrible fire, and the
"Santa Rosa" was the best hotel in the
place, 1t was an old fashioned build.
ing, rather ''ricketty" with creaking
doors and windows, and would have
made an ideal haunted house, had it
been any where except in the heart Of
city. 1t was kept by an old Ger
man couple who gloried in the titles Of
Baron and Baroness Sexaur, and the
clerk was fat old bachelor from New
Hampshire. The three taken together
l think would have tipped the beam al
five hundred and fifty pounds averdu
pois, and made very imposing array
seated at the little (?) CORNER table ii
the dining room, where you might al
ways see them if you went in to you
meals late; and oh! the meals they
did give us for two weeks, 81 think
can almost taste them now" | confes
/ was little homesick when | wa
shown into my room, and found
small apartment with bare floor ant
curtainless windows, its only furnitur
being couple of chairs, a washstan,
with six by eight inch mirror over i
in lieu of bureau, and beadstea
with a mattress on it. This mattres
had about as much elasticity as pin
plank and the pillows were about tn
size of an ordinary pincushion. Yes
did feel homesick, when this met m
gaze, but / resolved to go to sleep an
forget all about it, "a resolution yer
easily kept as was too tired 70 d
otherwise) and SO with the music {
the waves and the thunder of the SUI
sounding in my ears fell asleep
dream of Tennessee and a certain det
little village nesting in the heart Of i
mountains, which seemed SO very fl
away just then. The next morning "
we're all awakened very early by tt
arrival of a carriage load of passenge
from FIVE o'clock train, and as we hs
agreed on walk to the bay befo
breakfast, l hurried through my toile
and joined my friends in the parlO
AS two of these friends are iuseparab
associated with my Florida life, l shs
briefly introduce them as Polly al
Tom. Polly was a little fairy Ill
creature with golden hair and big bl
eyes, face which set you thinking
Raphael, and with more common sen
in her small head than is in t
possession of a great many m