fVhere to Spend the PPriinter PFhe re to Spend the PFinter The JVintcr Climatic Resorts of Three Continents. By William Smith Brown. [From Harper*s New Monthly Magazine.\ J~fOR nearly forty years it has been my lot to travel much, for business, health and pleasure. I am not a physi- cian, and I wish it distinctly understood that my opin- ions of matters and things pertaining to invalids and health resorts are merely those of a non-professional man. For the benefit of those who cannot by personal visitation and exami- nation acquire the knowledge for themselves, I am induced to write my impressions of the winter health resorts of three con- tinents, especially those sought by persons suffering from af- fections of the throat and lungs—the most common causes, perhaps, of the many that annually drive thousands from their homes and employment in search of health. My object is simply to disseminate what I suppose to be facts acquired by many years of travel, and by an earnest effort to learn from those I have met the results of experience, and to point out dangers and obstacles which all invalids cannot be supposed to know, and which many are obliged to learn by an expensive and regretful experience. I feel confident that I have learned that no one climate is adapted to all cases, and that no resort should be chosen by a consumptive until the exact character and condition of the disease is ascertained as reliably as it can be from a competent physician, and it is ascertained what kind of climate such particular condition seems to require. THE UNITED STATES. 1 will now consider the climatic resorts of the United States. For a cold and dry climate, invalids now seek Colorado, Min- nesota, northern Michigan on Lake Superior, the Adiron- dacks, and Lakewood, New Jersey. All the resorts in Col- orado known to me where one can obtain the comforts of life essential to improvement are at an altitude of several thousand feet, and this fact or some other unexplained cause seems to create a necessity requiring those who improve or recover there to continue their residence in order to maintain their improvement. I cannot claim that this theory has been proven, but it is sufficiently believed to demand consideration. So many invalids have been sent to Colorado only to die, be- ing beyond the possibility of recovery anywhere, that I think additional knowledge from careful observation of results is 3 essential to the formation of a satisfactory opinion in regard to the effects upon those seriously diseased. For those slightly diseased, or with a delicacy arising from hereditary ten- dency, Colorado seemingly ought to be one of the best re- sorts. It has one marked advantage in having its mountain resorts and high altitudes for summer within a few hours from Denver. The air of Colorado is exceptionally fine and bracing, both in summer and winter, and very comfortable places to reside may be found for both seasons. For such as have seated throat or lung disease, life may be prolonged and made more comfortable, if the case be not already too serious for such a result to be attained anywhere ; but, beyond that, Col- orado does not, so far as I can learn, offer any reasonable hope. Minnesota has a very dry but very cold winter climate ; the days are exceptionally bright and clear all the winter, and in St. Paul and Minneapolis, where comforts and luxuries abound, invalids needing a cold and dry air may get along without much loss until the winter begins to break, when the season proves very trying, and it is a long and tedious journey to reach any genial or safe climate for March and April. The same remarks will apply to Marquette and other places in northern Michigan on Lake Superior, except that one cannot find there the comforts to be obtained in Minnesota. The Adirondacks from June to November I regard as one of the most desirable health resorts to be found ; in fact, I know of none in the country I would sooner seek for health- giving properties ; but one should try and spend several months there consecutively, entering early in June and re- maining until late in October. From November to May it may be less objectionable than the homes of many consump- tives, as the air is unquestionably dry and cold, but the break- ing up of winter is very trying, and there is a serious lack of comforts and diversions outside of one little colony of invalids, which, from its composition, may tend to have a depressing effect upon its members. Lakewood, New Jersey, is located on a very sandy soil, sur- rounded by pine woods, and has secured to it a comparatively dry air, because of its having a soil so porous that both rain and snow disappear quickly, leaving a dry surface and no damp exhalations ; this fact enables its residents to walk and drive almost daily in winter, when they would be shut in at any other point equally near New York or Philadelphia. Ad- ded to this important fact, Lakewood has the advantage of an extremely comfortable family hotel, with open fireplaces and wood fires. Exemption from the bad air of city homes intro- duced through under-cellars and heated in iron furnaces, the 4 ability to ride and walk in a drier and purer air, and the pleasant company at Lakewood, have combined, without the aid of drugs, to assist nature in relieving so many people that some are led to regard it as a panacea for all forms of colds. The causes named may alleviate the condition of consump- tives, but beyond that it may well be doubted if Lakewood offers any strong hopes for permanent improvement, as the atmosphere, changes, and conditions are not of a character to justify such a hope, for it cannot properly be regarded as a cold and dry climate ; it is too variable and too near the ocean. Saratoga Springs has not yet become established as a win- ter sanitarium, but it appears to offer more advantages and be subject to less objections for such as need a cold and dry climate than any other place in the United States. The win- ters are steadily cold and dry, without the severity and inten- sity of cold found in the Northwest or the Adirondacks. The soil is very sandy and porous, and there is great freedom from damp and chilly exhalations. The place is exceptionally healthy. It has all the elements of an agreeable residence, free from the dullness and lack of diversion of most sanitary resorts, with a good market and an abundant supply of ex- cellent hotels and boarding-houses, which can be readily adapted, when needed, to the wants of winter boarders. It also has a great advantage in the fact that invalids who need a change in March or April can in a few hours be put on board of a steam-ship for the Mediterranean, Bermuda, Nas- sau, Charleston, Georgia or Florida, with very slight risk from exposure. However great the advantages of California may be for those residing on the Pacific slope, invalids whose homes are east of the Missouri River should seriously consider whether the inducements are great enough to compensate for the dis- advantages. To one in health the ride to San Francisco is less fatiguing than one might properly expect, but for in- valids it is a serious matter to be confined to a car for five or six consecutive days, subject all the time to the unavoidable inhalation of the various particles of matter inseparable from railroad riding ; added to this is the impossibility of securing reliably good ventilation, uniform temperature, or freedom from draughts, closeness and frequent changes. When you add the return journey, the advantages ought to be very great to induce the experiment. Are they sufficiently so ? In sum- mer the climate of California is hot and dry away from San Francisco or other very windy and variable locations. In winter it is very rainy and damp, as the rains all fall between October and May, which is there the season of verdure, the 5 period when their grass grows. For those who are simply delicate, or inherit a tendency to consumption, I know of no country where I should regard the chances better for fair health and a prolongation of life than a residence in southern California, but for such as have a developed pulmonary trouble I would advise careful consideration, unless they decide to go there to make it a home, to stay while they live. The climate of Los Angeles and its vicinity and of Santa Barbara offers attractions and inducements for invalids which I do not wish to underrate, but which I fear have been too highly praised. The variations at night, and from sun to shade, are trying. Each of the sections named has attractions as a residence for invalids not seriously diseased—for those who are simply delicate, or have a hereditary tendency to disease. Santa Barbara is in many respects an attractive residence, but its location in a valley, between the coast ridge and a range of hills extending to the sea, makes it very windy, and causes frequent dust storms injurious to consumptives; it is also subject to fogs. The location of San Diego is apparently a safe one, and its attractions as a residence have greatly improved within a few years ; and Coronado Beach may deserve the strong claims made for it, but they are not yet established. Los Angeles and the country to the south of it should be carefully examined and compared with other sections before the invalid decides to locate. For those who may reasonably hope for recovery, this portion of California offers more advantages and less objections for a permanent residence than most climatic resorts, but such as are seriously diseased are, for the reasons already given, in danger of disap- pointment if they go from the East counting on recovery. North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida all have health resorts which deserve consideration. Asheville, North Carolina, in respect of beauty of location and fine scenery, is unsurpassed in our country by any health resort known to me, excepting Estes Park, in Colorado. It has long been a favorite summer resort by the residents of other Southern States, and is now attracting attention in the North both as a summer and winter resort. Its reputation for health and elevated position gives it strong claims for consideration. For those who are only delicate, without set- tled disease, it offers some marked advantages for a yearly residence. As a stopping-place, both going and returning, for invalids who winter in a milder climate, and also as a residence for such from the middle of April to December, it is deserving of attention. A majority of those in danger from consump- tion or chronic throat troubles, I believe, would find their chances of permanent relief greater if they would remain all 6 the year as far south as Asheville. Boarding-houses and hotels are numerous, and the cost of living is still very reasonable and inexpensive. From December to April 15th I regard the climate too cold and too variable for such as require the benefits of an open-air life, which may be found farther south. Although Asheville has long and deservedly maintained a high reputation for health of location, it is im- portant to bear in mind that it and all other resorts that become popular require an improvement of sanitary conditions in proportion to growth. Aiken, South Carolina, has assumed a prominence for several reasons. It is located on a high ridge of pine and sandy land, with a soil so porous that there is almost a total absence of damp exhalations. It is naturally healthy, has good water and a dry air—too dry at times for some invalids. Its surroundings, as a whole, are favorable to consumptives eight months in the year—from the middle of April to the middle of December. During the other months the town of Aiken is subject, by reason of its elevated position, to high winds, the climate is variable, and changes of temperature sudden and great. The winds may be partially obviated by selecting a sheltered location, but for the variations of temperature there is no remedy, and they are very trying to invalids. As a spring and autumnal resort, or for a stationary residence from April to December, it is one of the best in our country, because the heat is not oppressive, and it is more healthy during the hot season than more southern resorts. The Sand Hills, near Augusta, Georgia, compare favorably with Aiken, and nearly all the conditions in regard to the advantages there are very similar, excepting in extent of accommodations. The near proximity to the city of Augusta gives the additional value of more society and diversion. Thomasville. rHOMASVILLE, in Thomas County, Georgia, is de- serving of careful consideration. Located in the pine belt region, and accessible by railroad, it is at present one of the most desirable localities to be found for a warm and a dry air. It is comparatively free from high winds in winter, and also from the humidity of many portions of the peninsida of Florida. Asa residence, from December to A pril, inclusive, there are very few locations on the main-land offering better climatic conditions than the sections in which Thomasville, in Georgia, and Tallahassee and Quincy, in Florida, are located. At Thomasville, comfort- 7 able accommodations may be had, and probably also at Tallahassee, but at the latter yearly inquiry is necessary. During the months named this region is generally healthy. One is subject here, as everywhere on the main-land, to sudden and severe changes of temperature, but they are as infrequent and probably less in severity than any portion of the South where one can be comfortable, excepting only some places in Florida. The days are comparatively few that invalids cannot go in the open air with comfort; and by dressing to meet the changes, and using a wood fire mornings and evenings and days when needed, they will find it dijficidt to secure any location on the main-land where the conditions as a whole are more favorable to their improvement and comfort. Northern beef and good fresh milk can be had here. The popidarity of this place makes it important for visitors to see that its sanitary arrange- ments keep pace with its growth. And this care should prevail at every place visited. Florida has a winter climate that is very delightful and attractive, but invalids need to be well informed where to go. The lower St. John (as the river runs north, I mean the northern end below Palatka) is too windy and too damp on the river to be desirable for pulmonary troubles. At St. Augustine the winds are too strong and the weather also too variable. The greater part of the peninsula is very flat and low, swamps are abundant, and the atmosphere very humid. Care is needed to avoid malarial localities, and also to secure good and safe drinking water ; filtered rain-water is the safest and best, and should be demanded, for the danger from poisonous water is often as great as from poisonous air. Artesian wells in Florida are now very common, and although safe from malarial effects, may be injurious to consumptives, as they generally contain much sulphur. The railroads have made accessible and continue to open dry sandy ridges in the pine forests at an elevation of fifty feet and more above the sea-level, which, when supplied with comfortable hotels and boarding-houses (some already exist), apparently ought to prove excellent and safe resorts. They are drier, less windy, and less subject to cold and marked changes of temperature than the more prominent resorts of pleasure-seekers so well known on the St. John’s and at St. Augustine. At Winter Park, a few miles from Sanford, on the railroad to Tampa, there are already a number of cottages belonging to Northern occupants, a good hotel, an excellent educational institution, churches, and good society in winter. Altamonte, 8 a Boston settlement, six miles distant, is also a very attractive place, and from Altamonte to Orlando the claims made for the health of this section are strongly endorsed by Northern settlers. It is a dry sandy ridge from fifty to eighty feet above the St. John’s River, a natural pine forest, almost entirely free from swamps and marshes, with good drinking water and numerous lakes which are fed by natural springs. Climatic changes necessitate changes of location, and hence, the best from November to March is not likely to be most desirable for March and April. NASSAU. For such as require a moist and warm climate, I would sug- gest the island of Nassau as the most desirable resort for all English-speaking people. Other sea islands may have an equally good climate, but as Nassau is an English island, with a comfortable American hotel, and largely resorted to by people from our own country, there is less feeling of isolation, and contentment is made easier. Filtered rain-water, fresh milk, and beef and mutton from New York, are all to be had at the American hotel. For those who can bear a moderate heat Nassau offers a climate unsurpassed, its great merit being that it is excep- tionally equable and free from violent changes. But for an occasional “ norther,” and they are neither frequent nor severe, the careless and imprudent in the matter of dress would have nothing to fear from the changes of weather. By dressing warm and keeping housed during the short periods of the existence of such changes, invalids may at all times dress lightly and uniformly. The proximity of Nassau to the Gulf Stream gives the air a delightful softness and dryness, which, except to those who have lived on islands in the ocean, it is difficult to realize ; in consequence of which there is but little for the lungs to contend with, provided the climate does not prove enervating. The heat is not great nor hard to bear, much less than much of our own weather from June to September, inclusive. Although I have known invalids dangerously sick with the early stages of consumption to recover in other localities, Nassau is the only spot known to me where those pronounced by experts as incurable have actually recovered. Of course I have no means of knowing whether the diagnosis in these cases was correct or not, but from the eminence of the physi- cians it should have been. Not to mislead, I should state that those who recovered went to the island in November and remained until May, and continued to go there for several consecutive years to establish their recovery. From Florida to Georgia. EXPERIENCES OF A TRAVELER IN SEARCH OF HEALTH RESORTS IN FLORIDA AND GEORGIA. [Letter in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper.] Thomasville, Ga., February io, 1887. /IFTER a week or more of warm weather in Jacksonville, /X the thermometer on the fourth day of this month ran down suddenly to 370. This set Jacksonville shivering. The piazzas of the large hotels were deserted. No invalid, sportsman or tourist dared venture on the street without the heaviest overcoat. Within doors, fires where accessible, were hugged affectionately. The Liliputian stoves in some of the big hotels were called upon to swallow the Brobding- nagian pine logs or freeze the Northerner, whichever the stove pleased to do, and the stove generally pleased to do the latter, as the easier and nicer process of the two ! Indeed, there is but one hotel in Jacksonville whose proprietor, to use his own words, “guarantees the weather.” As the weather in Florida is warm for the most part after the middle of January, very little, if any, provision is made for the sud- den changes from heat to cold, and as with the ther- mometer at 38° or 40° in Jacksonville, it is much colder proportionately than when at zero or below in New York or Boston, more and better provision should be made for both invalids and tourists. But the gay and rollicksome “Cracker” of Jacksonville cares nothing for such a little thing as a cold day. Indeed, he would tell you very calmly, while his knees knocked against each other with the cold, that, “ I tell you, sir, this is the grandest climate in the world, and a little change like this once in a while braces up an invalid or sickly person and so it does. It freezes the very marrow in their bones, and braces them up to such an extent, that, feeling they are braced sufficiently to stand the northern blizzards, they start for home, where they can enjoy the “ bracing-up ” process far more comfortably. The Floridian labors under a good many hallucinations, but his worst is his belief that he has the only climate on the face of the earth ; one that is without a flaw of any kind ; and he charges for it, at so much per day, compelling every one to pay dearly for its use. Poor invalids who leave the North and go to Florida, but more particularly to Jacksonville, for their health, must remember this, and provide themselves with money in two pockets—one pocket for actual necessities, and the other for climate. This extends to everything and permeates all transactions, even to the buying of a young alligator that has been stuffed or taxidermized in New York, or any other “Florida curiosity” imported from New Jersey and offered for sale in the Bay Street shops. The price of the alligator in New York is, say, one dollar ; the price in Jacksonville, two. One for the ’gator, one for the climate ! It is now summer all over Florida. At Jacksonville it is inconveniently hot during certain portions of the day. It is, however, always cool at night, and, as before stated, subject to very sudden changes at long intervals. The traveler will find no attractions whatever at Jacksonville. It is a good place to start from to visit some of the few attractive places in the State. Jacksonville has neither walks nor drives. Its sidewalks are broken, rotten and uneven, and, save the one thoroughfare, Bay Street, are actually dangerous to walk on. The great bulk of the residents are devoid of all taste, or even cleanliness, if judged by their houses, yards and sur- roundings ; and yet the town could be made quite attractive, if the people knew how to make it so, but it never will be, for its days as a place of resort are numbered. The trains that now bring visitors without stint will soon pass Jacksonville, and going a few miles further, will land them at St. Augustine, where princely hotels will appreciate the visitors, and offer them attractions such as Jacksonville never dreamt of. But Jacksonville can afford to lose her invalids and pleasure- seekers, for she is fast becoming a large commercial city. Great blocks of fine and even elegant buildings are being erected for commercial purposes, and as the State advances in material prosperity, its chief city cannot naturally stand still. The great railroad and steamboat interests centering in Jack- sonville will tend to increase her importance day by day and year by year. It must be stated with great positiveness that Florida does contain some few resorts of great and inestimable value to almost all classes of invalids, but particularly to those afflicted with pulmonary diseases. It must also be stated as positively that there is plenty of occupation for the sportsman, while for the mere sightseer there is a great deal well worth seeing. The facilities afforded by the railways are faultless. The Atlantic Coast Line, via Washington, Richmond, Charleston and Savannah to Jacksonville, is as prompt and as fast and as well equipped with Buffet Sleeping Cars as any line in the country, while the service of the Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway and the South Florida Railway is just as good. 11 THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA. Georgia, the near neighbor of Florida, has also advanced strong pretensions on the score of healthfulness and the attrac- tions of some of her resorts, and upon close investigation these claims must be allowed. Thomasville is only twelve miles from the Florida border, and is but a mere step of four or five hours by rail from Jacksonville. The train passes through Waycross, and when the traveler alights at Thomasville the whole scene is changed. A new vision of great beauty meets the eye at every turn. Instead of unkempt, draggling streets and dirty sidewalks, scrubby yards, broken, dirty fences and general dilapidation, handsome lawns, beautiful cottages, great, wide, scrupulously clean streets and sidewalks, with ample shade trees, and buildings symmetrical and handsome, greet the visitor. One breathes with pleasure the clear, fresh, balmy air from the interminable piney woods. The views in every direction are extensive and pleasing, and a sigh of relief involuntarily escapes the traveler from Jacksonville. Thomasville improves upon acquaintance. The glorious walks through the grand woods, with the mocking-birds singing all around you ; the roads themselves, radiating and diverging to every point of the compass, whether for walking, riding or driving, afford pleasure and health no less to the invalid than to the tourist. There are two great hotels—the Piney Woods Hotel, a large, long, wooden structure, and the Mitchell House, a new and elegant ornamental brick structure, containing within itself every possible improvement known to the modern hotel of the highest rank. There are immense piazzas, great parlors, furnished as beautifully as the East Room of the White House, and in every respect it is a hotel of the highest order. It is conducted by the well-known Uriah Welch, formerly of the St. Nicholas, of Broadway, New York, and now of the New American at Richfield Springs, New York. Thomasville contains a large number of extensive liveries, where, at very reasonable prices, saddle-horses, buggies and carriages of all kinds can be hired at any hour of the day. It is nothing unusual to see whole cavalcades of ladies and gentle- men starting out from the Mitchell House for a ride through the piney woods, and a trot of one minute lands them in the shade of the pines. The Mitchell House keeps open every year until May ist. The average of the thermometer for the months of January, February, March and April, last year, was 550, 63°, 65° and 70°. Many Nothern people own beautiful cottages in the town, which numbers about 6,000 inhabitants. There are 12 magnolia-trees one hundred feet high within five minutes’ walk of the Mitchell House, and one of the largest oak trees in Georgia is within a few squares of the door. In the immediate country surrounding the town are to be found the largest pear orchards in the United States. Altogether, it is certain that no visitor will ever regret paying a visit to Thomasville. There are only two hotels in the whole State of Florida—where the table, the service, and all the appoint- ments, both within and without, come up to the perfection of the Mitchell House. Among the guests registered at the House to-day are to be found ex-Governor C. C. Van Zandt and family, Newport, R. I.; Dr. John T. Metcalfe and family, New York ; Dr. H. Goldthwaite, resident physician of the Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York ; Colonel Charles Todd, St. Louis; Mr. and Mrs. Albert Weber, New York ; Dr. W. J. Lord, Boston ; Mrs. Dr. William E. King, Atlanta, Ga.; Dr. R. W. Deaver, Phildelphia ; Dr. W. A. Taylor, Atlanta, Ga.; Dr. C. W. Houghton, Philadelphia; V. K. Hendricks and family, Indianapolis; William Gibson, Cincinnati; Mrs. R. J. Snively, Columbus, O.; Dr. O. Metcalfe, Natchez, Miss.; E. M. Greenway, Jr., and family, Baltimore ; Hon. Salem H. Wales and family, New York; A. J. Carlton and family, Ilion, N. Y.; T. Prentiss and family, Watertown, Wis.; and repre- sentative people from almost every State in the Union. Local tickets from Jacksonville by Waycross, and from Savannah, Ga., to Thomasville, are now issued at low rates, while through tickets by the Atlantic Coast Line, or by the Louisville and Nashville Line, going either north or south, are not vitiated by the passenger stopping over at Thomas- ville. D. J. K. 'Thomasville. PAINTED AND PEN-PICTURED—THE POETRY OF PROSE SOUTHLAND MIRRORED. A LETTER FROM REV. WM. L. BULL, D.D., OF CHESTER, PA. place is an El Dorado to the northern traveler. It is the only one in the far South, not excepting St. Augustine, that classic shrine of antiquity to us mush- room Americans, that I would care to stay at any length of time. The scenery is very attractive—pine forests, rolling and culti- vated fields, where cotton and sugar are soon to be planted— on some farms the sugar cane has been already laid in the ground—one very picturesque river and numerous creeks, while the tens of thousands of pear trees of the famous Le- Conte species, interspersed with the pink-hued peach and 13 woods filled with fragrant yellow jessamine, add a charm to the landscape and laden the air with a perfume which makes this a lotus-eating land, where merely to breathe, smell and drink in the sweet sights and sounds of spring are of them- selves charms such as I never felt before in America. The drives and rides are all that can be desired, and the single- footed pacing, racking, cantering Kentucky riding horses add the last and only needed addition to the place that the most exacting of travelers could demand. Quail abound for the sportsman and deer and wild turkey are occasionally to be found. After returning to Pennsylvania for a three-weeks’ sojourn I found myself again in the South, and while the change in the face of nature between the 21st of February and the 18th of March was not so great as one would naturally have ex- pected in the region lying between Washington and Charles- ton, yet as soon as I crossed the Savannah river a marked change in vegetation and foliage could be noticed, and on reaching Thomasville, instead of the white and pink blossoms of the pear and peach trees, I found the gardens—and every private house has its garden here—filled with the queen of flowers, the rose. The Marechal Niel, Lady Banksia, Cloth of Gold, La Marc, the Cherokee, and the old and exceedingly pretty salmon-colored Japanese rose abound in the richest profusion. Picture to yourself not merely rose bushes but rose trees, laden with flowers as large as after-dinner coffee saucers. One tree I measured and found it to be thirteen feet high, another in front of our hotel—the Mitchell House—bore last year, I was told, four thousand buds. I have never seen, either in Florida or in Southern Europe, anything that could compare with the luxuriance and magni- ficence of the roses here. The fruit trees seem to be equally prolific. On a pear branch two and a half feet in length there were seventy-nine small pears, while the average yield of an eight to ten-year-old tree is twenty bushels. Last year one tree netted its owner thirty-two bushels of culled fruit. In the pine woods the jessamine had almost disappeared, and in its place could be seen what is at the North as well as in the South, one of the harbingers of spring, the Cornus Florida. Pardon the vanity I display in the use of this botanical term ; it is the only one I recollect of those I learned in my school days, and means in ordinary English the dogwood. I never considered its flowers beautiful until I saw them here where the trees are literally masses of whiteness, and as I rode on horseback through the dark green forests and saw them scattered here and there, I imagined myself in one of 14 nature’s art galleries filled with the bronze frock-coated figures of nineteenth-century heroes, suggested by the tall dark gray and brown trunks of the pines, intermingling with the antique white marble statues of a Venus, a Diana and a Psyche, symbols of love, purity and immortality, so radiant, chaste and almost unearthly was the virgin whiteness of the blossoms. It made one feel as if the great Artificer, tired with waiting upon the slow steps of nature, had sent His angel down to tell His children of the North that spring had indeed come, and that as His messenger sped along between earth and sky on his welcome errand he had dropped some of the celestial dust of his wings upon the leaves of the dogwood tree, thus binding earth to heaven and giving one a glimpse of that purity which they must have who are to see God. The gates of Paradise stood ajar and one could almost see, as certainly he could feel, the transcendent purity and loveliness of that land where even the garments of its inhabitants must be washed and made white by Him who is its Lord. In conclusion allow me to add for the information of any who may be desirous to visit the South during another season, that the accommodations are as good as in the best hotels of New York city, the drinking water is excellent, and the table could scarcely be better, the meats being brought down from the North. There are two large hotels in the place—the Piney Woods and the Mitchell House, both admirably kept. The latter I can especially recommend, as my party stayed there six weeks, and it has the advantage of being built with brick instead of yellow pine as in the case with most Southern hotels. Hoping that another season may find at Thomasville, not two or three Chester county families only, but all those who in quest of a balmier climate than our home March weather, shall seek for it in the sunny South, the latter half of February and the first two or three weeks of March being the most desirable time to be there. I am very respectfully yours, Wm. L. Bull. Christmas in Georgia. THOMASVILLE, GA. TTT'E find ourselves here almost by accident, having started ry for Florida ; but, on the way, heard such glowing reports of Thomasville’s superior attractions, that we yielded to the experience of our advisers, and, changing cars at Waycross, in a few hours found ourselves in this delightfully dry and balmy climate. From the sounds of last night one could easily fancy himself at the North, celebrating the Fourth of July in the good old-fashioned way; but the light of day reveals a very dark cloud of witnesses to the contrary. “ Ladies and gentle- men” of color are everywhere, and all are happy, for this is Christmas, the one day of the year for those living out of town. They come flocking into the city like huge blackbirds, perched upon any kind of old cart, drawn by mules, tiny oxen, or skeleton horses, all arrayed in their Sunday plumage. Most of the old ones wear blue gingham sun-bonnets, and aprons to match, and smoke their pipes sitting upon any perch that presents itself. The plumage of the younger is too varied for description. Every new feather to-day has an airing. The height of style with the males seems to be a white vest, left unbuttoned to exhibit the grand expanse of shirt bosom, and cravat hanging loose. We go out on the street and mingle among these amiable creatures, and until now I never realized the meaning of the words “ Merry Christmas.” Little street-corner auctions give them great amusement, and they make their penny bids, enjoying the trifles gained with real delight. I heard an old German remark, “ Dey ’muse dersels like childs.” Looking over the trees toward the Mitchell House, this morning, we were attracted by something that looked like a fleecy white cloud, brooding as a spirit of peace over its vast proportions, but a second glance proved it to be white bunting, unfurled to-day for the first time. Knowing that our friend, Mr.Uriah Welch, of St. Nicholas fame, is proprietor, we went to wish him a merry Christmas, and take a peep through the house. Stepping upon the broad veranda, we were carried back to pleasant memories of the seashore, for there in all their comfortable rotundity were veritable beach chairs, intended to shield the delicate ones from draughts, and as a substitute for the warm sand, were radiators for the feet. The doors open and we enter the spacious office, rejoicing to find ourselves again on Wilton carpets. In the centre is a mammoth table of black oak, supporting a palm, whose fronds stretch upward to the rotunda, around which is gallery a la sud. Beautiful sofas and arm-chairs, with crimson plush cushions, invite us to rest, while waiting the arrival of the proprietor. We wish to see the private parlors and bedrooms, and, tak- ing the elevator, we find ourselves in the gallery, which is made a pretty sitting-room, with its lounges, rocking-chairs and card-tables. Passing on to the rooms en suite, one is surprised at their unusual size. In some I counted five win- dows, Many of them have baths, and nearly ail two large clothes-presses, and most of them fireplaces. All have pretty carpets and beautiful furniture of sycamore, cherry, walnut or 16 ash, and a few of olive wood and Honduras mahogany. The beds and lovely fresh blankets made me quite green with envy. Having made the rounds of the upper rooms, we descended and are shown the dining-room, where we again see the English oak everywhere. Tropical plants, delicate china and polished silver meet our gaze. We seat ourselves and wish to stay, especially when informed that the steward and cooks of the “ States,” at Saratoga, are to minister to the inner man, but alas ! circumstances over which we have no control prevent. Leaving the house, we met crazy old Aunt Flora, the largest property owner in the city. Perhaps she considers herself land-poor, for she is always bare-footed and bare-headed, excepting a tremendous turban of false hair. Her fingers are covered with brass rings and strings of shoe buttons. Around her waist are small chains. She is demanding “ rent,” says she must have money to buy tobacco, claims that the hotel, and all the stores belong to her ; but nobody pays any- thing ! On our way home it was proposed that we go into one of the negro huts. I stepped in first, but as these cabins have no windows, all was darkness, except a glimmer of fire' on the hearth, from one side of which a lank arm was thrust out, and a voice from somewhere called “Christmas gif’.” Thus directed, we saw the whites of some one’s eyes and the dusky outlines of an old woman, and, coming near, were startled by her frightful wool standing out from her head in every direction at least twelve inches. Her clothing was very scanty. One hand held out at arm’s length was grasping the air for the Christmas gift, with the other she was rubbing her knee. “ What’s the matter, aGnty ?” “Rheumatiz—rheumatiz, honey. Ten year.” “ Do n’t tell me it is rheumatism, aunty; why, people come here to get cured. That is why I am here.” “Can’t get cure, chile, when you lib dis yere way. See der big cracks ?” “ Who cares for you, aunty ?” “ I libs yere an’ my old man. Son done gone sho’ white man ter git quail. Daughter takin’her Christmas. Can’t gib yer a char, honey, eberyting coverin’ white folks washin’. Don’t ’spec much mo’; big laundry gwine up ; po’ niggar gwine ter starve ; der fence and der bushes no good. No mo’ clos ter hang on ’em, and der ole pot git no washin’, git no dinner.” Poor old aunty was in a melancholy mood, but we cheered her up wonderfully with a “ Christman gif’ ” and gladly breathed the sweet out-door air. Firecrackers on every side ; to-night will be more noisy than last. Banjo, singing, whisky, covenant meetings and fireworks.—Pansy, in N. Y. Home Journal. GILLISS BROTHERS & TURNURE, THE ART AGE PRES8 400 & 402 WEST 14TH STREET, N. Y.