The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1909-06-04
eoNDoLAs FoR SILVER SPRINGS

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Whether we have much or little,
we ought to make the most of what
we've got. 1t seems to US that nature
has been good to us and that her gifts
have been most bountiful. Climate
soft, soothing. salubrious; altitude
neither too high nor too low-just a
happy mean between the two ex-
tremes; our woods-unsurpasse in
beauty and grandeur Oaks, magnO-
las, hickOries, tall and majestic; they
are, indeed, the monarchs Of the for
ests.
Gradually we are aiding nature by
the skillfuI touches of trained land
scape gardeners and our lawns and
flower gardens are beginning to at
tract the attention of our own people
and the stranger within our gates.
But our real ATTRACTIONS are our
lakes, rivers and springs. The Okla
waha river has no duplicate in all the
world 1t is noted for its weird and
picturesque beauty. Lake Weir is a
veritable Lake Como over which poets
and travellers all rave
But Silver Springs is the crown
jewel of them all. 1t puts to the
blush all other bodies of water that
has been told to us in either song or
story.
Venice has some lagoons. When we
say lagoon the unbeautiful at once
occurs to US, but with her lagoons We
nice has made herself conspicuous in
history and famous throughout the
world.
1t is not the lagoons that the visit
Ors and poets go into ecstacy over.
but it is the gondolas and gondoliers.
What have we done to add to ma
lures attractions at Silver Springs
We have put on a few ordinary fat
bottOmed boats with a one-legged mig
ger to prOpel them That's about all
All the poets and all the travellers
in Europe tell the same story. and
sing the same song about the Condo
las of Venice.
Madame Octavia Walton lie Vert,
whose father Walton county, Florida.
was named for, and one of the most
noted of southern female writer's, af-
ter her trip TO Venice. wrote as fol-
lows:
The gondola, The gondola! Like
the sweet breath of violets comes to
me, as | write, the remembrance of
the joyous hours spent within the
gondOla. II is indeed the perfection
of all lOcomOtion. In it there is de-
lightful repose. mingled with the con-
seriousness of rapid movement. A de-
licious, dreamy feeling falls gently
upon the heart, and disposes the mind
to thoughts of beauty, to thoughts of
love and romance. No longer can we
wonder that all the histories of We
nice are filled with them, or that the
records of deep passion there possess
spell unknown in colder chimes. The
gondolas are long, sharp boats. with
cabin in the center, painted black.
This contains two or four seats, has
windows with latticed blinds, and a
door which shuts one in as complete
ly from the passers-by as though with
in a private room. The seats are
large and softly cushioned, and the
most luxurious of sensations Is ex-
perienced as one throws ones self
back upon them. and behoIds palaces.
domes, turrets and islands glide by
as though they, too, were floating I'D
on the waters. 1t is enrapturing, like
the joy of pleasant dream, when we
meet the dearly-loved and long-part-
ed, we know not how nor where.
I'VE had the same gondola during
all our sojourn, and lucky were we
in our gondolier. He was the most
pictureSque-looking and comely gon-
dolier, they told me. in Venice. with
his velvet jacket. red sash and iaun-
~ cap His name was Augustine.
but we always called him "Anzoletto:"
Tor he might have served as the or
iginal of the faithless lover OF gentle
NConsuelo." Often did We think of
her as We passed along the places so
eioQuently described by that wonder
ful writer George Sand. Several
times, out upon the lagoons. we met
large parties in fleets of gondolas
with the black cabins removed).
They were gaily arrayed, and all the