Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1916-06-28
The Ocklawaha River.
Editor Edgeield Advertiser:

l1ls III
quote him mostly in this article.
1t is a beautiful description of both
the river ard the alligator. One
day, in a magazine published in
Boston, I came across a description
which | discovered in a book that l
had opened for a reference. l had
not seen the article for many years.
I could almost repeat it years ago.
He was a professor of literature at
John Hopkins University. | refer
to his description of the O~cklawaha
river. This is supposed TO be the
most beautiful river in all Florida.
| have travelled up the river as far
as the spring. The water at the
spring is almost like silver-in fact
it is called silver spring; but this
description was SO surprisingly
beautiful that when l read it | did
not care so much about the descrip-
ton of the Ocklawaha as | did for
the soul of the man who wrote the
description-really l felt almost in
a state of worship. Tonight for a
few minutes / want to tell a por-
ton OF that description 70 you to IL
lustrate my idea.
Some twenty miles from the
month of the Ockla waha, at the
right hand edg. of the stream, is
the handsomest residence in Amer
lea" He is talking about an alli-
gator now. 1t belongs to a GER
tain alligator of my acquaintance"
he saws "A very honest and
worthy saurian Of good repute. A
little cove of water, dark green un.
der the overhansing leaves. placid,
pellucid, curves round at the river
edge into flags, lilies, with a curve
Just heart breaking for the pure
beauty of the texure of it.
This house of my saurlan Is
divided into apartments-little sub,
sidiary bays, which are scallored
out BY the lilly pads according to
the sinuous fantasies of their growth.
My alligator, or saurian, when he
desires TO sleep, has but TO lie down
anywhere. He will find marvellous
moses for his mattress beneath
him."
never read such beautiful and
clear, and at the same time tiowery,
language from the pen Of an Add
son.
He never qnarrels with his cook.
He is not the slave of a kitchen,
and his one housemaid, the stream,
forever sweeps his chamber clean.
His Conservatives there under the
glass of that water are ever and
withou, labor filled with the ell
cEantments of strange. under water
growihs. His parks and his Hleas-
ure grounds are bigger than any
kings. Upon my sourlan's house
the winds have no power; the rams
are only a neH delight to him, and
the SHOWS he Will neve see. lie
yarding FIRE, as he does not employ
its slavery, 80 be does not fear lis
tyranny. Thus, al! the elements
are the friends of my alligator's
house. While he sleeps he is being
bathed. What a glory to awake
sweet and cleau-sweetened anu
cleaned in the very act of sleep.
Lastly, my saurian has unnum-
bered mansions, and can change his
dwelling as no human householder
may. 1t is a mere flop of his tail,
and 10. lie is established in another
palace as good as the last-ready
furnished to his liking"
One other paragraph | use. He
says:
Along the immediate edges Of
the stream every tree trunk, sapllng,
stu mp or other projecting coign OF
vantage is wrapped about with a
close-growing vine. At first, like
amending procession of nuns dis
posed along the alsles of a church
These vine figures stand, but as one
journeys, this nun imagery fades
out of ones mind. A thousand new
f~ancies float with ever-new vine
shapes into ones eyes. One sees re-
peated all the forms they have ever
known.
Look! here is a graceful troop of
girls, with arms wreathed over their
heads, dancing down into the wa
ter. Now the vines hang in loops,
in pavilions, in columns, in arches,
in coves, in pyramids, in woman's
tresses, in harps and Tyres, in noun
tain ranges, in dr.peries, fish, drag
ons and dogs. You see Arthur and
Lancelot, with great brands extend
ed aloft in combat. Caesar shrond-