Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-10-19
Special Correspondence of Gazette and Journal

suggestive Of Proctor Knott and Duluth
1t is to me; have just gotten away from
there. 1t is no light matter to get away
from Tavares, especially in the teeth of
a bowling Worcester. 1t can be done
on foot, but that is about the only way
unless you wait till the next day.
waited till the next day. Like Duluth,
Tavares has its "unsalted seas" small to
be sure but lashed into foam under the
storm which came down as if from
another undrainable sea overhead.
l came to Tavares from Sanford, last
night, 80 miles in two hours and behind
time of course, over q railroad which
has not traffic enough at present to wear
the rust off the rails. They tell me it is
different in the fruit shipping season
soon to open. emerged from the train,
tired and hungry, into the darkness and
storm, to be hailed by an Ethiopian
with the interrogative cry "Osceola
lHouseY AS must go to some hotel,
the name of the old Seminole chieftain
decided me, so / surrendered my grip
TO this descendant of Ham and, he lead
ing the way with lantern, we turned
the station corner and struck diagonally
across street-not through mud, how
ever; there is no mud in Tavares unless
AZ be imported. 1t may rain for week.
the sand will drink it down as fast as it
falls.
Crossing the street, we struck brick
sidewalk and made our way around
huge dark building that doomed up far
above us in the almost impenetrable
gloom. Some big warehouse l thought
III at the time; this mornings daylight
kFau lad 10 aotA ntahr
nearly as large as the Wilmington Opera
House
allow much farther do we go?" l
ask.
Just about so yards, sab, responded
iby sable guide.
He was about right, though it seemed
father in the darkness and rain. We
brought up in front of an imposing
three-story brick hotel where, after
registering, was shown into a large,
long dining room, with five tables set
for 10 guests each and four for five each
10 seats in all, with room for half as
many more if need be. Amid all this
array OF tables, glasses, napkins, china
and silvery-looking ware, took my
seat for supper, the solitary inmate Of
this large room. Nothing surprising
about that, however; it was late and
took 1t for granted that the others had
lsupped an hour before and would be
found, in part at least, lettering some
where about this vast hotel. l may as
well say here that they did not material
ize and that | breakfasted alone this
morning In that same big room with Its
tables set for 70 guests.
The supper, served by a white
aproned African of deft touch, soft
voice and gentle tread, was fairly good;
no fault to find on that score; and
sauntered back into the Office to inspect
the register for the days arrivals.
There they were, dozen or more of
them, headed by somebody from
"Formosa"-though I doubt if it were
the island of that name. There was
another from"N. o." which naturally
took for New Orleans; three or four
from Jacksonville, abbreviated "Jax,"
and the rest mainly from neighboring
Florida towns. But where were they
allP Not in the empty sitting room;
not in the large billiard room, with its
covered tables; not in the bar room with
4ts array of mirrors and cut glass.
probably gone down town or up town,
i unused.
stepped out under the hotel porch;
took a few turns up and down in its
shelter, tried to look through the dark.
mess and rain at each end; gave it up;
concluded there was no use wandering
on and running the risk Of getting lost
IN a strange place on such night, and
went to bed. The maps had informed
kme that Tavares was bounded on the
lsouth by Lake Dora, on the west and
north by Lake Eustis, and on the east
ply a large slice of the rest of creation
tand that 1t was railroad centre where
the +. s., the st. j. & L. E., the s. G. L.
T., the t. o. g. A., and the T. A. g. G.
met, intersected and commingled their
tracks, and that was about all knew OF
the place, but the hotel was sufficient
earnest offurther and mysterious glories
70 be revealed by the morning light
Morning dawned with the storm still
raging. Eagerly l looked out of my
bedroom window upon mass of vegeta
ton, amid which a few new-lookinl
cottages were discernible. Clearly the
town did not lie in that direction. ]
came down and out on the main street
in front of the hotel. 1t is broad street
with wide brick sidewalks extending
eastward to the limit of visibility-the
driving rain did not permit of long dis
lance vision. There were street lamp,
az the corners; fully equipped electric
lighting system would not have sur
prised me. On the opposite side wer
the big theatre and, four or five square
beyond, large three-story and mansarC
brick edifice whose architecture sug
gested bank, but which | learned wa.
the court house-these two building
and nothing morel On the hotel SID,
there was brick store to the west, Will
three squares to the east stood anothe
brick store and tramp in that direction
at the risk of wrecking my umbrella
developed frame "meat market" be
yond; these were all. In what coul
see Of the rest Of the town, l counted
dwelling houses, there may be fey
more, but very few, nearly all ne,
looking, of ornate architecture an
brightly painted. What revelation
Such a hotel, such theatre, such
court house, such an expanse of wild
brick sidewalks, those street lamps, th
appurtenances of considerable cit
and no evidences of more than, at
liberal estimate, 200 inhabitants Their
was only one possible deduction
Tavares had been laid out for larg
city but had died a-borning. As l cor
templated these incongruities l foun
myself humming those impressive an
touching lines:
You may talk of Penobscot and Saco,
Or Memmerimammercook,
But there's none like the Skiddawibb
kooksis
Excepting the Skiddawibbskook.
Surely, thought l, among undevelope
Elites there is nothing like Tavares.