The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1888-06-26


| Dear Children: You will
doubtless be surprised when you see whore my
| letter is from; but YOU remember i'll my last
| 1 told you l thought of leaving home for a
! little trip, but would not tell You where / was
| going for fear would not get off but did.
and here / am in the beautiful Quaker city for
| few days, and as promised to tell you all
| expected to see on this trip, will write You a
letter from each place stop, SO you may make
room for me now (as l always see u great deal
when so from home) and will have great
| deal TO tell. Philadelphia is the second city
| of the United States in wealth and population
| 1t is situated on the Delaware river at the
! junction formed by the Schuylkill, whose
| banks it covers. You all know who William
| Penn was; well, this city was planned under
| his eathority in 1923. Large additions have
| been made to the original plat until in extent
| it exceeds not only any city in America but in
Europe, not excepting London. Think of a
| city that is twenty-three miles from north to
| south and five and a half wide. Iwon't weary
| you by telling you how many miles of street
and street railways there are, but will describe
| some of the points of interest. Philadelphia is
| called the "City of Homes" that is because so
many people own their homes. People do not
| live in crowded tenements like they do in
| other cities, but small neat houses are put up
at such moderate prices that even poor people
| who are industrious can soon pay for home
| There are 463 public schools, and the daily at
| tendance at these schools is one hundred and
| three thousand seven hundred and two pupils
| There are beautiful parks all over the city,
| filed with the handsomest flowers and trees
with fountains to keep them cool; they are
always filled with children, who look SO happy
tlo Al, ~. l. Il
| peGes, or play with their dolls. They go in the
parks to enjoy the shade of the trees and get
the fresh air. The most beautiful place in
Philadelphia is Paramount park it contains
one hundred and eighty OF more acres 1t is
laid off in walks and drives; one called the
river drive is along the banks of tho Schuyl-
kill river for miles, and on each side of the
river this beautiful park extends. You cross
over handsome bridge and enter the grounds
where the Centennial exposition was held in
1876. The buildings are still standing, and the
city has bought the grounds and buildings and
they now belong to Fairmount park, which
was formerly only one side of the river. In
the east end of the park is the resavoir and
waterworks, from which THO city is supplied
with the purest and best of water. On the
river drive are numerous boat houses, built by
different clubs who own them and keep their
boats; the houses are built of stone and the
grounds in front planted in flowers of every
kind, beds of bright tulips, roses and gerani-
ums, and you cannot imagine how beautiful it
all is. On one side of you the park filled with
people, riding, walking or sitting enjoying the
evening talking with friends; on the other
side the river, clear, placid and sivery in the
| sunlight, with boats of every description dart
| ing here and there in one we saw eight oars
men dressed in white and red, and along side
| another, with their men in blue and white /,
| they were racing and 1t was beautiful sight
| Each boat has a small flag to denote it's colors.
| Other boats, some large, with gay party of
| ladies and gentlemen, or small, with only one
| lady and her escort, land there were many of
| this kind and they all seemed to be having a
| nice time) indeed the river was full of boats
/ must not leave the park until I tell you that
after leaving the river drive you enter the
most celebrated drive for natural scenery in
America; the road for ten miles or more runs
along the banks of a small stream Zone of the
outlets of the Schuylkill called the "Wise-
hicken." l could not hope to give you any
idea of the beauty OF this drive; on one side
there are mountains and rocks reaching far
above; in some places the stream is very mar
row and you see the large trees either bank
meeting and mingling their branches together,
then suddenly it widens, and as the bright
rays of the setting sun find their way through
the opening boughs the reflection upon the
water gives it the appearance Of golden
river. In little while you again enter into
deep shade, so dense that scarcely ray OF
light can penetrate, and you are in lovely
glade-iust such a place to imagine FAIRIES
dwell-deep shady dells, carpeted with moss
and the wild flowers peeping from beneath
rocks and banks. You feel as il surely fairy
queen will suddenly appear with all her loving
subjects upon such a charming scene; soon
however your thoughts are recalled from fairy
land, for you look and you are coming again
where mortals dwell, for just across the road
is house and sign which reads "catfsh and
waffles," and just driving up is a tally-ho
coach filed with gay party that are going to
stop and eat "catfsh and waflles." These
stopping places are all along this beautiful
drive and parties come out and have picnies
and get ice cream and refreshments at these
houses; but cannot tell you anything that
would give you an idea of the lovely Wise
hicken, SO must hurry and toll you OF some OF
the places visited. First, we went to the
geological garden, the finest in this country.
The grounds are beautifully laid off in flower
beds; YOU will see what is called a ribbon bed,
flowers planted in rows close together, q row
of white flowers, then blue, yellow, red, etc,
It'll they look like long strips Of gay colorcd
ribbon beds of flowers in the shape of q scroll,
or a shield, and even words are formed Of
white flowers in red or green bed. In large
houses are kept animals Of every descrip-
tion-lons, tigers, hyenas and all other kinds.
Houses filed with monkeys alone, houses with
birds, and then out Of door enclosures for the
larger animals elephants, camels, etc. On
the out side Of the house where the lions and
other animals are kept, arc large cages with
gratings in front where the animals come ont
on good days to enjoy the sunshine. There is
door that opens from their cage in the house,
and when the keeper wants them to go out he
opens this door and makes them go through.
1t looked as If each one had front piazza to
his house, and there were the old fellows on
their piazza enjoying the sunshine. 1 said
when began this letter / would give you one
from each city, but 1 see now won't finish
Philadelphia In this letter, for ii Is too long
now, 80 must finish in another letter.
Yours, AUNT SUSIE.
fALL letters for this column must DO adj
dressed to The CONSTITUTION office