Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1896-04-02

look down through the arched passage |
which the driveway makes between the |
oleander hedges to see If perchance the
warmth may not have opened the pink
buds and gorifed the narrow lane with |
their color and beauty.
With deep thankfulness we think of the |
Trinidad on her return trip to New York |
as having Il better passage under these |
conditions; for twenty-four hours she lay |
at the dock, steam up, passengers on board |
waiting for the winds and the waves to-
subside sufficiently to make 1t possible |
for her to get out OF these reefs and com
monce her trip back to New York. This Is |
said to be something unusual and, we are
inclined to believe "the oldest inhabitant' |
that this is the worst winter ever known
on the island. But the moon has changed
and the weather with II, and all nature |
smiles to-day 1t has been impossible to
make any trips to points of interest, for
we have been housed by the storm. If 1t |
has now blown itself out and we are to have |
ordinary Bermudian weather, we shall |
no doubt live out of doors and improve
every opportunity for becoming familiar
with the island both on shore and wave.
| wish 1t were possible to give an adequate
idea of this house where we live. 1t Is at
least hundred years old, quilt of this
coral rock, with old cedar floors, broad
doors and windows with ancient brass
trimmings, and altogether both within and
from an architectural point of view, being
known as the House of Towers. To each
corner OF the main building which Is two
stories high with a roof not sharply
pointed, but built with the gable towards
the entering driveway, have been built
on outside rooms each with pyramidial
roof Tho apex of this roof is about as
high from the cornice as that is from the
base SO that It makes quite
a diversified and picturesque roof-line
when taken altogether. But it is useful
as well, for in this way IL great
amount of roof-surface Is secured
for the collection of rain water
The fresh water supply of the island de-
ponds on storage of the rain-water and
consequently vast cisterns are seen in con-
nectlon with every house. Every roof
as well as every side walk Is kept of
dazzling white by the use OF white-wash
The application of lime Is said to be of
value to the porous stone in making the
surface less absorbent and of course it
Is of the highest Importance that the roof
be Kept pure and clean. 1t Is "a curious
sight TO see men at work in the quarries
saving out the blocks of solid limestone
with hand-saw and evidently not calling
into use any great degree of muscular
strength. The stone is soft before eX-
posure to the air and actually saws easier
than wood: II hardens after exposure and
Is laid In sort of cement mortar, then
treated with lime whenever 1t is exposed
to the weather, becoming gradually very
hard and enduring. The soil is of "A red
dish hue and scientists consider IL the
residue obtained by the gradual removal
of the lime from the surface rock. by the
rain thus leaving the small percentage of
animal matter contained In the coral for
nation as an ash or chemical constituent
favorable to plant growth. The soil is ex-
tremely fertile and with careful scientific
g,utlt .tsyl.t 4.
much greater degree of value. Some of
the valuable fruits have been lost already
and other crops are liable to fail from
want of interest or perhaps energy on the
part of the natives. Certainly on such
soil and In such a climate sufficient fruit
should be raised for home consumption;
but such is not the case, only a small por-
ton of the tilable land is cultivated so
that one is led to infer that the energy,
necessary to produce the best results here,
Is lacking.
March Sth. The day was so fine yester-
day. that the afternoon found us floating
on the waters of the harbor. 1t seemed
little short of a miracle, that the wild
waves of the past week could so soon grow
calm and peaceful: but so it was and all
in the house were ready to accept the
invitation they gave to come out for Il
row and behold the wonders of the sea.
colored man was our captain and oars
man as well; with a heavy boat in which
eight of us easily sat he took us out
among the Islands lying between Hamil-
ton Harbour and the Great Sound, row.
ing when we wished to so further, resting
on his oars when we wished to peer
down through the depths OF water and
with the help of the water-glass see some
what of the life of those toiers of the sea,
whose labour in the past has built these
reefs; pushing the boat up into dark cav
/ W. Gb nod hV hn
waves and with hand and scraper helping
the enthusiastic collectors to pull away
| from the sides such curiosities as they
might discover; letting us all out on a
shelving rock to walk inland toward the
park and grounds of Fairyland the resi-
dence of one of our officers in the Civil
war, General Hastings, and rowing us
out to wrecked vessel whose massive
! hulk we have seen across the bay through
all the storm. Imagine our interest to
learn that this great ship, now rotting on
the beach half under water at high tide
was one of Admiral Nelson's prizes 1.-The
lrresistible"-'How are the mighty fallen?'
comes Inprompted TO the lips for does not
a ship seem always to have something
OF the human about 1t, to call out the
same expression OF appreciation or of
sympathy.
When at length the shades of evening
were approaching we disembarked at the
up through the cedars to our own roof
and supper, we all agreed, that one such
day was worth the living through even
such a week as the last. And now we
learn that the Trinidad lay all night an
chored just outside the reefs and did not
commence the trip to New York till this
morning; almost forty-elght hours be-
/ hind time.
We are glad that the passengers were
given the chance to escape that heavy
night at sea, but remember with some sor-
row. that our letters will not be in Bur
lington for Sunday as we hoped when we
mailed them. In this era of rapid mall
service, it IL rather appalling to be where
there Is actually only once in ten days
an arrival of the mail and an opportunity
to send away mail matter.
We went this morning to a church in
the neighborhood; II proved to be a Free
church of Scotland and was we'll filled
though naturally the Episcopal church is
the acknowledged church OF the Burmu-
das. The parson was groomed and era
waited and stood In Just such a pulpit
rs one may see in the old pictures of
Whiteield or the Scotch divines of a CEN
fury or so ago. Among the audience we
saw other representatives of our little
Green Mountain State and have learned
that there are several Vermonters quarter
ed in this part of the island.
March l4th. The Trinidad has arrived
after another hard trip. The papers re-
ceived from the States report storms and
unsettled weather everywhere, so we will
not complain though the samples of rea
Bermuda weather, which have beer
granted u.s. have been few. Neither will
, undertake to say how wonderfully fine
were those few days when the natives as
sured us with smiles and words of sat
tafa 49,. .