The Van Buren press., 1896-03-07
HE EATS AND WEIGHS.
Bill Arp Writes of E@, Many Pleas
ant Experiences in Florida.
Says lie Has Everything Good to Eat
and the Dinner Bell Is Welcome
sound-Gen. Phillips and
His Fried Tea.

appetite and appetite depends on
health. Down here in Florida the warn
ing bell is always a welcome sound and
the guests gather with alacrity around
the festive board. Change of climate
and change of diet and change from
work to play begets an appetite THAT
some have not known for months at
home. About once a week they try the
scales and boast of the pounds they
have gained. They have their way and
then have their weigh and are happy.
There is no complaining at the table,
no long, languishing faces, no recital
OF their daily pains or nightly woes,
but all come with a bright good MORN
ing or a smiling noon or a grateful even
ing after
THE day is done and the darkness
Falls from the wings of night"
Our daily menu now includes Span
ish macllerel or gulf trout and oysters,
Florida beeformutton and Florida vege-
tables and fruits. Or we can get west
ern meats when wanted The guests
eat anything and almost everything
that is set before them. Chickens and
eggs are abundant and we have stall
fed turkey for Sunday The finest of
oranges are sold here for 25 cents II
dozen. Green peas and strawberries
are in the market. Now, if there is any
better bill of fare for the sick or the
well | don't know where you will find
il. / wish that my wife and the folks
| - I..,I
tiles or mosquitoes here and no nets
have been spread except for fish. Our
old fisherman brought in 600 pounds of
beautiful mackerel this morning that
he caught last night. You will have to
go to the east coast for insects. A
traveller told ME that over there he saw
the man who drives the tramway mule
from the hotel to the station kill 90
big flies ON the way in about Is minutes.
He carries a paddle in one hand and
knocks them right and left as he goes.
As every country has its fauna and it's
flora, so it has its special kinds of food
for man and beast friend of mine
who boarded at a private house in Lon
don for three months says he never saw
any rice upon the table nor any hominy
or anything made of corn. The lady
said she did not know that anybody ate
rice except the Chinese and as for corn
she did not know that it was fit for any
thing but to feed to hogs and horses.
Judge Hillyer, who is here, travelled in
Europe last year, and says that wheat
and rye are the universal cereals for
bread and joint, as they call it, of
! beef or mutton the common meat for
! the rich and the poor.
Speaking of London reminds me that
my friend said he went out in the city
/ to buy a knife, and hunted in vain to
/ find store that had Rogers cutlery to
/ sell. Most of the hardware merchants
| had never heard of Rogers or his cut
| lery. At last he found one man who
said "Ah, yes, there is Rogers
manufacturer at Birmingham who
makes knives, etc, for the American
trade" But" said my friend, she
stamps on his knives and razors, cut
lers to her majesty" He smiled and
said "Well, that is just one of the
/ tricks of the trade and designed to
catch the foreigners. There is no cutler
to her majesty" Rogers knives are "a
little higher over here than any other
make, but how little we know of the
tricks of the trade. The protective
tariff makes all cutlery so per cent.
higher than it is in England and every
man and every boy in the land helps to
pay it, and still Mr.. Mckinley is not
happy.
The fishing is good now-one of our
household, Mrs. Palmer, of Atlanta,
caught Is sheepsheads the other morn
ing in half an hour. She was so proud
of it that she wouldn't let her husband
bring them, but carried the heavy
string all the way home herself. She
will keep us in fish hereafter. 1t is
glorious fun to see a woman catch fish,
hut most Of them want a feller to take
them off the hook and put on fresh
bait.
The little town is looking up. An
other newcomer bought lot the other
morning and is going to build right
away. The bread gauge has come at
] ldSI ana HOW lUt lIdNtitI Cdli toiliS
from almost anywhere without a
change of cars. Less than year age
Mr.. Plant bought this narrow gauge
road that runs from Sanford TO Peters
burg. 1t was a long, slow, tiresome
road with a very light rail and the cars
rocked about till they made an old man
sore trying to keep his perpendicular.
But now it has long. new crossties and
a heavy rail, with spacious cars with q
Pullman attached, and makes good
sppeed from the main line at Trilby
All along the line people gave glad vel
come to the first train that greeted
them. 1t was the dawn of new era
and came on Sunday. Had il been on
any other day we would have greeted
ii with fitting ceremonies. In fact, we
heard il was to come on Monday and
had prepared some broken remarks
that would have pleased Mr.. Plant and
Mr.. Wrenn and Mr.. jolly and the en-
gineer and the conductor and all con
cerned, and our people were to shout
and hurrah and the ladies were TO sing
"lail to the Chief and throw flowers
and kisses, and Mr.. Wrenn was expect
ed 10 make response and say some nice
things to the ladies' and kiss his hand
TO their smiles as the beautiful train
rolled of But railroad men say thai
the change must be made on Sunday
for good reasons, and so my speech wa'
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