The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1888-02-11
IMPRESSIONS OF ST. AUGUSTINE.
Visit OF Fair Correspondent 10 the Ponce d

Visit OF a Fair Correspondent 10 the Ponce de
editor Of the Paldtka Ne,s.
DEAR SIR;-It was on morning when |
the blue and the gray were mingling |
and parting, chasing and scurrying in |
the heavens we visited st. Augustine. |
For while the gray contended for every |
inch of space and the conflict was more |
than doubtful Then the clouds parted, |
dashes of brilliant blue appeared, long |
sullenly, the gray drifted far out in soft
ening masses until heaven and earth
meeting old ocean gathered the weary
and spent clouds into it's bosom. The
blue touched here and there by linger-
ing shadow softly commingled with it
until all was melted in complete union.
1t was picture worthy of the change
full times of the last two score years.
Ye Ancient City, so famed in Spanish.
colonial and modern times, SO eminently
Southern, is now called ''The Newport of
the South" and the blue and the gray in
commercial, social and clerical relations
mingle and drift together toward the
great ocean of Eternity. Turning from
the heavens fraught with the lesson of
.'Peace and good will to men," we
wendell our way to that marvellous
creation of taste and skill, the Ponce de
Leon. What a revelation! What an in
spiration A fancy, dream, a thought,
a structure so harmonized, so blended as
to leave nothing to be added nor to be
altered. Can one paint the flight Of a
bird, the fragrance of flower, the rush
and war of tempest? Such impossi-
bility attends the picturing of this ere
alton. Combining grace, beauty and
strength, as we'll as the more homely
but essential elements OF commerce.
convenience and luxury.
speak advisedly in placing luxury
last, for is it not the casket which con-
tains the jewels of the preceding ele-
ments As is well known the house is
coquina cemented. The terra Gotta and
natural brick give it soft and pleasant
coloring.
1t was fitting we should first see one
of the beautiful towers and accompanied
by one in happy sympathy with the sur
roundings, we made the decent in one
of the numerous elevators.
Surrounded by towers and turrets, by
roof upon roof of thing, each laid so per-
fectly, SO harmoniously blended in pro-
portion and color as to stamp in their
silent characters the master mind that
permitted no counterfeit work, nor
tolerated any deception, we were almost
prepared in this Alhambra of beauty to
hear the cry of the muezzin, sAllah il
Allah. Below us lay the city gemmed
in its emerald setting and tinted with
golden fruit. The gray line of the sea
wall marked Here shall thy proud
waves be stilled," and Matanzas Bay
bearing on its billowy bosom
the graceful yachts, the gaily
painted and crimson-cushioned sail
boats, the plodding steamers, the
hundreds of darting rowboats rippled
| and danced in treacherous beauty. Be
yond lay the green line of Anastasia
Island, while clearly defined against the
leaden sky arose the circular masonry of
| the light house.
1t was scene to lift the heart to wor-
ship, BLESS the Lord, o my SOUR
Descending to the first floor and view
ing the structure as a whole, one will be
still more impressed in considering the
mind which conceived the skill that
| executed and the taste that completed the
wonderful structure. True, many hands
were employed, but one mind-one
brain-one thought pervades the whole
| and that thought stands embodied-a
living thing-in 1.-THE Ponce de Leon
Entering through the grand entrance
| into court yard we are at once inn
| pressed by the Moorish and oriental
| features.
| The bubbling of the fountain, the dec
orations of the walls, the Arabic SYM
| bols. the gargoyles with their white and
evil eye, the tropical plants, the music,
the passing and repassing of lovely
women and courteous men made it a
scene long and happily to be remem-
bered
| Everything invites to ssthat indolent
repose the bliss of southern Chimes
| A flight of marble steps conducts to
| the main entrance. The mosaic floor,
the walls, the Carystides, carved in oak,
supporting the pillars, the antique in
cense burners, the beautiful vista look
ing through the suite of drawing rooms
to the fountain and grove beyond, the
main office and private office are all and
each separate study.
1 In this beautiful hall the architect has
carried out his ideas in representing the
sea and its creation beyond all descrip-
ton. To the right of the rooms are gen.
tiemen's rooms for smoking, reading,
writing, BARRIERS, billiards, each the per-
lection of workmanship, apart from
their elegance and comfort. To the left
are the ladies drawing rooms, and who
shall describe the harmony, the elegance,
from the beautiful walls and decorated
ceiling TO every luxurious appointment.
Possibly a Sybarite, who would search
IN vain for even crumpled rose lead