The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-01-19
WAS A ROMANTIC WEDDING
CEREMONK AT MR. 4. D. BALDWIN,s < PACKING HOUSE. |
The Porch Illuminated by Many Laterns- Many Well Known New Haveners Wit nesses of the Proceedings-Other Notes of Interest to New Haveners.


 Rock Ledge, Fla, Jan 13.--Rock Ledge, so beautifully located on the banks of the Indian river, has become miniature New Haven,' with it's large number of guests from the City of Films.
 Last Sunday evening a very romantic wedding was witnessed and enjoyed by number of people hailing from the college city. The groom was MT. John Wilkins and the bride Miss Henrietta Brown, both colored. The ceremony was performed (with the consent of MT. A. D. Baldwin of New Haven) on the porch of his packing house, which is used for the storage of oranges, for which fruit the Indian river country has become so famous. - The porch was illuminated by lanterns and the win dows were festooned with immense pal metto leaves. Gathered in front of the colored company, under the shadow of the trees, were to be seen the familiar faces of the following New Haven peo- pie: MT. and Mrs. Baldwin, Mrs. c. w. Blakeslee, MT. and Mrs. Blair, MT. and Mrs. Brownson and Howard Leighton, while one of the chance arrivals at the ceremony was the Rev. F. l.. Davis, the college friend of the Rev. F. R. Luckey. The conduct of the ceremony by the aged colored pastor was very crude. al though as far as surroundings are con- cerned nothing could have been more picturesque and beautiful. The bride and groom had not enjoyed the advanc- ed ages that usually accompany young ho ct o,,ft hoir lori from the college city, so that various little incidents caused a smile to cross some of our faces After putting the usual questions to the groom the aged pastor abruptly finished the whole job by in forming the witnesses that Mistress Brown accepted John Wilkins under the same conditions. It seemed to be all matter of Honey, do yer Tub yer gal?" One very amusing feature of the occa- sion was the blunder made by the groom in putting the ring on his own finger when it was handed to him by his best man. This amusement was in creased when the fair bride attempted to put the ring on her first finger, and, failing, slipped it on her ''pinkey." The ceremony was closed by one of the col ored lassies singing a. hymn entitled Sowing and Reaping." The entire company pressed forward to congratu- late the happy couple, and in the pale moonlight MT. Davis was seen congrat- ulating the wrong darkey on his auspi- cious marriage. Although the whole affair was crude, still it impressed one that these untutored people were do- ing all they could in their own simple way to add solemnity to one of the sa- cred experiences of human life. May true happiness attend them all along the tangled pathway of their lives!
 The favorite recreation of the guests is that furnished by the noble river, which at this place is over one mile wide. Bordered by it's moss-draped oaks, fan-shaped palmettos and sturdy pines, it seems as though one has wan dered into veritable fairyland. New CT have sunsets seemed so soft and rich as in this fair spot, with its balmy air and brightest sunshine. MT. Horace F. Shares of New Haven, the owner of the New Rock Ledge hotel, and man whose name is synonymous with integ- rity and character, has certainly shown wonderful business ability in the man. agement of his hotel Sis launch, row boats and horses (which are free for the use of his guests) have always at tracted large numbers of people from all over the country. None come but what are enchanted by the beauty of this Floridian paradise, and none go away but what carry with them host of sweet memories of halcyon days. Any fair day the launch may be seen gliding over the shining waters to the ostrich farm, Fairyland or other points of interest, and stealing along the shore among the arching trees may be seen the carriages from the hotel, while here and there are seen the roWboats with their freight of young people, with their happy faces and merry voices.
 To-day a party of us from the hotel tried fishing for drum-ish. These are fish that feed on oysters. These fish sometimes grow to immense size, tip ping the scales, some of them, at two hundred pounds. They are called drum fish from the drum-like sound they make as they are heard swimming un- der the boat. To-day, after two hours fishing, we had secured eight, weighing a total of 296 pounds. These fish take the hook with a strong pull and drive about the boat in all directions. After playing with them several minutes they are enough tired to be drawn near the boat, where they are "gaffed" by the guide.
 We have also had some good luck at trout fishing The following figures in- dicate our last weeks record:
 January 4, twenty-four trout, fifty pounds
 January 5, twenty-six trout, fiftysix pounds.
 January 6, fifty-six trout, ninety pounds.
 January ', thirty-five trout. forty-five pounds.
 January 8, thirty-two trout, thirty nine pounds.
 Yesterday morning gentleman haul ed in a channel bass from the hotel dock weighing thirty-tWo pounds.
 The hunting here is all that has been reported of it. This morning the pho- tographer was to be seen taking the picture of a string of over one hundred quail Later in the season alligator hunts are arranged, and it is rarely that at least one is not secured. With splen- did fishing, fine hunting and such pie turesque surrounding it is certainly the tourists fault if he does not have a