Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1892-01-13

with their rickety mule carts, and the
d ,rk laughing faces of the irrepressl 10
darkies In the marshes, thick grown
with giant bulrushes and sawGrass anu
bordered with dark cypress trees. great
White heron make their homes; the
plumed night heron is also seen and
sometimes a roseatH spooublll, the most
beautiful bird found in Florida. Gray,
shining alligators sun themselves on
bare logs and slide Iazily into the water
at the approach of a boat; fish abound
in the streems as toothsome rs any
speckled beauty or gamesome grayllnS
found in the Northern va 'ers, while In
the deep mazes of the forests deer may
still be found and an occasional wild
cat or the unctious possom, beloved OF
the colored race.
One should not leave the South with
out visit to the African churches,
where the quaint simplicity of the wor-
shippers, and the earnest unsophlstI-
Gated language of their preachers will
bring an amused smile to the lips,
though their evident and deep sincerity
should eff ctually check all levity. the
fervor and music of their songs COM
bined with the rich melody of their
voices, quite carries one away. Some
of these ''jubiIee" songs seem quite
meaningless, while others such as
Swing low, sweet chariot" and ''The
year of Jubilee" are full of tender
pathos-
To receive the full benefit of the
climate and to fully appreciate the
beauty of the Florida winter. one shonld
go down Just before the holidays when
the change from the sharp sting of
early winter to warm, south winds and
sunny skies is doubly welcome. As
the holiday season nears and
''Sweet with all the scents of June
And gentle with the breath of May
And passionate with harvest calm
Dawns the strange face of Christmas day,
We scarcely recognize the season.
Strange, indeed, it seems Gt this time
when all our memories are of snow,
and cold and leailess trees, to walk IN
the warm, golden air and see the
churches trimmed with flowers and
green branches and sprays of Ameri-
can holly and mistletoe fresh from the
trees; to eat strawberries and ice cream,
summer daiuties, and hear the street
children shouting and yelling as they
touch off lunches of fire-crackers and
torpedos. 1t seems as il Christmas
and Fourth of July had become mex
trically mixed up and you shake your
selves to see If you are not dream
, ing.
We may sit on the broad piazzas in
February breathing the soft, soothing
air and watch the progress of the va
grant, slip shod Florida Spring come
lifting along, as who should say, "Here
there is never any hurry" The de-
| ciduous tree. drop their leaves slowly
and as slowly put on their new livery
lazy lizards bask in the sunshine and
the dear, tame little 'chameleons'
watch for flies and shift their changing
colors for our admiration.
In April or May one should travel
leisurely homeward, stopping here and
there at points of interest and reaching
| northern latitudes in the fresh spring
| time. AS we are greeted with tales oi
| blizzards and snowstorms and ther-
mometers at some unusual depth below
zero, we will not look back at our last
winter" with regret, but resolve that
as often as the state of our finances
will permit, so often will we drop this
wild season from our lives and spend
the frosty time in dear, sunny Floridi
where ice and sIeet and winter never
come.
In the volume which formed th,
starting point for this backward
glance over one of the green oases oI
life, the talent of poet and artist hai
combined to form one of the most ex
guisite souvenirs imaginable of the
"Land of Flowers" "Lost Just here
the sense of winter" accompanied by {
sketch of the gates of the ancient anC
beautiful city, is apretty conceit anC
one can imagine ones self wandering
forever down the shady street with the
golden air made more golden with the
wealth of yellow jessamine, in al en-
chanted land under an enchanted sky
and we feel that
"Many, many years shall learn
| To blush and bloom as young years mag,
| But only once the soul forget
| All else but its C&yu Florida