The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1914-02-26
From "Daytona, the Beautiful. -

MY DEAR JOURNAL: l wish to begin
my letter thus because the Journal ar
rives like dear friend each week bring
ing good cheer from home, and again be-
cause to begin "a letter ''My Dear"
somebody 10 an inspiration and helps one
write. Every day, discovering new
charms in and about Daytona, am pos.
sessed with desire to describe them to
those at home, and will attempt to do
collectively through The Journal what it
would be too great task to do indivld-
ually
1t is beautiful day, after few days
of rainy and cloudy weather. When it
rains here it rains and rains and rains,
coming down with the impetuosity of
what at home we call cloud burst,
making ponds and lakes of lawns and
tennis courts, and rivers of the streets.
An hour afterward the streets are hard
and white and dry again, and one forgets
that it ever rained. In the evening after
the last rain the frogs or tree toads. or
whatever in the South answers for one
of these, sang shrilly just as our frogs
at home sing with the first peep of
spring; with the door and window open
behind me, l listened to their music,
rather than to that of the orchestra,
playing in the lobby. Later the orches-
for II hrourhf me- m
first serious pang of inconsistencies by
playing a medley of southern melodies.
In each familiar air seemed to hear the
dear home voices, until-Well the door
and the veranda were behind me-and
outside was the soothing tenderness OF
the southern night. And after time
could ''face the music again.
Speaking of music, we had tragedy
last night, and the voice of our sweetest
singer was stilled forever. Mr.. and
Mrs. Waite have kept their canary hang
ing in a cage on the veranda of their
cottage next door, and as it was Won
derful singer it has added greatly to the
pleasure of the guests. Last night, just
as the sudden darkness fell, great owl
swooped down upor the cage, and when
he was driven away the canary was
dead-probably from fright.
This afternoon l spent an hour or so
with Georgia Ford at the Ridgewood
Hotel and enjoyed the change. The two
hotels are so unlike that there is no com
parison between them, each being per-
feet in its own style of comfort and ele-
gance, and beautiful in its own style of
architecture. The lobby of the Ridge
wood is handsomely finished in dark
wood and carpeted with dark green,
while that of the Despland is finished in
white. and has hardwood floor covered
with rugs Every Wednesday and Sat
urday evening these rugs are taken up,
and there is dancing. These affairs are
very brilliant, with the handsome men and
women the beautiful evening gowns,
the Jewels the music-and the tango.
Georgia and often sit here at my desk
and watch the dancers for an hour or
two and are quite persuaded that we
can tell our friends how to dance the
tango when we return home.
To me the most interesting trip we
have taken was to the beach. A few
Sundays ago, instead of attending church
as usual, we walked over across the new
concrete bridge to Seabreeze and Day
tona Beach. 1t was perfect day, and
as we crossed the bridge great white
pelicans sailed over our heads, busy
about their fishing. They are protected
by the laws here, but later found one
dead on the beach and had chance to
examine him-a beautiful bird, very
much like large white goose. Close to
the Seabreeze side Of the bridge is the
toll house where we paid our five cents
toll-for all the bridges across the river
are toll bridges. AS we walked on
through the towns of Seabreeze and
Daytona Beach we saw grape fruit trees
loaded with fruit, which was sight new
to me. Once as we stopped to look around
a bird with a vivid scarlet plumage
alighted on the wire overhead and burst
into the sweetest song We had ever heard
from a wild bird, and sang for several
moments as though welcoming US to his
southern home. A few moments later
as we reared the beach, we heard the
rattle of an aeroplane over our heads
and saw Miss Marian Law in her airship.
She makes flights daily from the beach
if the weather permits and later that
afternoon we saw her fly again, going
directly over our heads and descending
in front of us. The machine is furnish
ed with wheels and when it lands runs
along like an automobile on the sand to
where Miss Law wishes to stop. She
seems to have it under perfect control
and many people make the fight with
her, paying good price for the privi-
lege; but thought, as l examined the
machine after she came down, that no
money would tempt me to trust myself
up among the clouds in that frail craft.
am willing to wait-and keep on hoping
for wings.
To say that the first view Of the"broad
l,,n r~aau - NTH the Uloam~