The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1894-02-16
CORRESPONDENCE.
THE SOUTH IN wINTER.-III.
PASADENA, Fla, Feb. 8, 1876

Previous to starting for our southern
| trip, we were told we could not expect to
| find hotels and restaurants supplied as
| in the North, consequently we were pre-
pared for the inevitable. With few ex-
| ceptions our previous information was
correct. In this country II. r. H. does
not stand for His Royal Highness," but
instead, "HOg, Rice, HOmlny," and are
what might be termed standard dishes
One can bank on having the above com
bination at nearly every meal with a GER
tainty unquestioned. Their absence in
dicates low larder. However, one soon
becomes accustomed and before you re-
alize it have "pitied and embraced" We
hand you menu as taken from our table
at random, and while not elaborate, yet
goes to show that one should be able to
keep soul and body together to say the
least. We have ice cream occasionally,
and it seems to remind US of our far
northern home. Were it not for our
county papers and weather reports, we
should be in doubt as to the Sc Json. 1t
is one continual summer here, and in
fact, warmer than the average one at
home. Heavy flannels have given way
to gauze, and overcoats are relegated to
the bottoms of our trunks. Windows
are kept down at the top and up at the
bottom until they occupy the place of
one sash, and this at night, although as
rule the nights are damp.
We note the absence of twilight. Once
the sun is out of sight 1T is dark, and the
mornings come all too early and at once.
1t is so with the towns. You 90 for
miles through pine forests, and wiGh no
apparent line of demarkation you come
on village nestled alongside sheet of
water. The main street will end abruptly
at its edge, a cottage comes in view, next
the ever present orange grove, another
house, surrounded in nearly every case
with flowers of every hue, again the
grove ad lib. perhaps four or five more
houses, all scattered, and again you enter
primeval forest to be lost to view.
This average village is generally given
the high-sOunding name of -- City,
Dade City is to the north of us three
miles, and is the county seat. 1t num-
bers $3.50 inhabitants, contains court
house and ever necessary Jail, weekly
paper, some eleven stores, Masonic lodge
and bank
In looking over the orange, lemon
peach, pear and plum orchards, we re-
marked how much larger some were than
others. Yes, and the larger the or
chard the larger the mortgage in yOnner
bank Sthe native will answer. This ratio
would not pleAze an average farmer
North, we opine, but here seems to be a
foregOne conclusion, borne out by facts
all too true.
We visited, in company with three
brothers from as many different states,
a Masonic lodge at Dade City Saturday.
Meetings are held here in the afternoon,
enabling members to reach home at an
early hour, and that on Saturday, as one
would as soon expect to work here on
Sunday as on Saturday. 1t took from 10
A. M. until l2:15 to examine us. Our
Masonic brethren will smile at this, and
also at the fact that the lodge was held in
an upper story consisting of one room,
the only separations for the necessary
three or four rooms being board par
tition running up some six feet, like the
hotels at the worlds fair, with cracks
averaging an inch between each board.
The hall was not ceiled, leaving the
stu 1ding, rafters and shingles in view,
Offering every inducement for the nu-
merous family of chameleons to run up
and down and in and out. We secured
one and shall endeavor to keep him sep
arate from the few others we are collect
ing and have named him Hiram" and
he is a full fledged Blue Lodge Mason,
having seen the three degrees exempli-
fed Here, in the Blue Lodge, as in all
Masonic Lodges throughout the world,
one meets with that hearty greeting and
hand shake, that brotherly spirit, which
is one of the principal tenets of our in.
stitution, that at once makes him feel at
home and among friends. Had we never
received a particle of good or benefit out
of the order previous to coming South
we should feel amply repaid, for the
kindness in which we have been received
in every lodge south of New York land
we have visited many, has shown us
that it matters not what your religious
or political afiiliation may have been,
trulv we "meet upon the level and part
upon the square" when among the
brethren. When one stops to think how
people here look upon hide bound Re-
publican and one who plainly stated his
views, this bIotherly spirit counts for
something. We must say for our south
ern bTethrea that their kindness is only
exceeded by their extreme generosity,
and hope any who visit the North may
receive the right hand of fellowship.
Many of these brothers were wealthy
'befo' the wa" but are now "existing,"
it can be called nothing else.
Last year, when times were good
North, money and people were here.
This year both are wanted. The state,
as a whole, depends upon the influx of
northern men and means, and their alb
sence is easily detected. One can hardly
step off the car before he is importuned
to buy an orange or a grove. THAT
way we live, on yo' Yanks," they say.
One need be here but short time to be
able to pick out Cracker" They are
generally small, poor in flesh, detected,
rather dark complexion and have sort
of cadaverous look, and were born tired.
OF this latter fact there can be no sue
ccssful contradiction. If the chewing of
the string determines the quality of the
pudding. like reasoning, in another sense,
convinces us of the last assertion.
A few days past we visited San An
tonic, Catholic settlement on the Or
ange Belt railroad, some four miles west
of here. This settlement is now seem
ingly in its death throe. Once it con-
tanned some twelve stores and had city
like air, but blight seems to have struck
it and it looks like deserted village''
surely. At one time it imported more
goods than any station from Sanford on
the st. John to Tarpon Springs on the
Gulf coast. 1t is the seat of a fine col
lege and ladies' seminary, and some nice
residences and near nv is the resistance