b'\nIllasti^ated \n\n\n\nliantet^n \n\n\n\nVyiLLJAM H. RAU / \n\nPHILADELPHIA \n\xe2\x80\xa2^\xe2\x82\xac90 \n\n\n\nA \n\n\n\nDESCRIPTIVE READING \n\n\n\nON \n\n\n\nSt. Augustine \n\nILLUSTRATED BY TWELVE LANTERN \nSLIDES \n\n\n\n^ > ^ \xe2\x80\x94 <3> \xe2\x80\x94 ^ \n\n\n\nWILLIAM H. RAU \n\nPHILADELPHIA \n1890 \n\n\n\n<. \n\n\n\nCoi)y right, i8go, by William h. Ran, \n\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS. \n\n\n\n1. Old City Gates. \n\n2. Old Spanish Cathedral. \n\n3. The Slave Market. \n\n4. A Street View. \n\n5. The Oldest House. \n\n6. The Harbor from San Marco. \n\n7. Hotel Ponce de Leon. \n\n8. Parlor, Hotel Ponce de Leon. \n\n9. Panorama from Hotel Ponce de Leon. \n\n10. Hotel Casa Monica. \n\n11. The Fountains, Hotel Casa Monica. \n\n12. Hotel Alcazar and Grounds. \n\n\n\nST. AUGUSTINB. \n\n\n\nThe visitor to St. Augustine may enjoy the con- \nsciousness that the spot on which he stands has be- \nhind it a longer stretch of authentic history than any \nother within the Hmits of the United States. It is \nindeed the oldest European settlement in America, \nhaving been founded by the famous Spanish com- \nmander, Don Pedro Menendez, in 1565 ; forty-two \nyears prior to the settlement of Jamestown, and fifty- \nfive years before the landing of the Pilgrims on Ply- \nmouth Rock. Its history has been checkered and \nromantic in the highest degree ; it was from the very \nfirst a place of considerable note, and the theatre of \ninteresting events ; and it still possesses a curious \naspect and flavor of antiquity. Coming to it from \nbustling, active towns, one is conscious of a complete \nand sudden change of time and place \xe2\x80\x94 as if the brief \nride on steamer and railway had produced magic \nresults, and landed him in some quaint, old, dead- \nand-alive Spanish town of the Middle Ages. The \nlarge influx of wealthy settlers from the north has \ngreatly altered the character of the city within the \nlast few years ; but the smart modern villas still have \nthe air of foreign intruders, and the quaint, romantic \nold city retains at once its individuality and its un- \nlikeness to anything else in America. \n\n1. Old City G-ates. \xe2\x80\x94 All that remains of the an- \ncient defences of St. Augustine stands at the head of \n\n(821) \n\n\n\n82 2 ST. AUGUSTINE. \n\nSt. George Street. Here is the famous City Gate, \nonce a part of the old Spanish wall that extended \nacross the peninsula from shore to shore, and pro- \ntected the city on the north. The gate is in a fair \nstate of preservation, and with its lofty ornamented \ntowers and loop holed sentry boxe$, is a picturesque \nand imposing structure. The ditch befDre the old \nwall is clearly marked, and even yet partially filled \nat high tide. According to tradition a guard-house \nonce stood just within, and a draw^bridge crossed the \nmoat. Only a few yards of wall now remain flanking \nthe gates, and it is not known how far, in its best \nestate, the wall extended. The most formidable of \nthe fortifications defended the land approach, and \nsubstantial earthworks once reached from river to \nriver, the exterior slope of the parapet being covered \nwith a dense growth of Spanish bayonet, through \nwhich it is well-nigh impossible to force a passage. \nOld engravings of the city show it as a completely \nwalled town, and w^e may find on some of the ancient \ntombstones in the cemetery Latin inscriptions con- \ntaining the w^ord oppidinn, which w^as often used to \ndistinguish a walled town from one without such \ndefences. The coquina dwellings of the present town \nare largely composed of material plundered from \nstill older structures, and there is no way of determ- \nining how many roods of the ancient city wall were \ntaken by builders who cared nothing for Spanish \nrelics. \n\nThe present gateway was the principal entrance, \nwas strongly guarded, and repeatedly saved the \ntown from the sudden onslaught of savage or civil- \nized foes. \n\n\n\nST. AUGUSTINE. 823 \n\n2. Old Spauish Cathedral. ^Near the centre of \nthe city is the Plaza de la Constitution, comprising \nabout, an acre of ground inclosed with a substantial \nfence. This public square was established when the \ntown was originally laid out ; it is a pretty stretch of \ngreen sward and shade trees. Its dimensions are \nvery modest, through the narrowness of the adjacent \nstreets, lend it by contrast, some apparent extent. In \nthe centre of the plaza stands a white coquina mon- \nument surmounted by a cannon ball, erected in 1812 \nto commemorate the adoption by the Spanish Cortez \nof a new constitution, whence the plaza takes its \nofficial name. \n\nThe plaza and its surroundings form the nucleus of \nthe city. Facing it are several noteworthy buildings, \namong them on the north side being the old Spanish \nCathedral, finished in 1701. Most quaint does it \nappear with its Moorish belfry and chime of bells, \none of which bears the date of 1682. Most beau- \ntiful is the legend of this bell : \n\n" Long years ago, so runs the ancient stor^\'^ \nTwo bells were sent from Spain to that far clime, \n\nNew found, beyond the sea, that to God\'s glory \nAnd in his house together they might chime. \n\n^\' And to this day one bell is safely swinging \nWithin its sheltering tower, where, clear and free, \n\nIt hallows each day with its mellow ringing, \xe2\x80\x94 \nThe other bell, the mate, was lost at sea. \n\n" And when, in gentle chimes the bell is pealing. \nThe people listen ; for they say they hear \n\nAn echo from the distant ocean stealing, \xe2\x80\x94 \nIt is the lost one\'s answer, faint yet clear." \n\nSilvery and melodious would be their music if they \nwere properly played as in the olden days, but they \n\n\n\n824 ST. AUGUSTINE. \n\nnow send forth the frequent call to prayer by being- \nrattled with a stick. Through one of the openings \nin the tower we can see the rail of the balcony \non which the ringer stands. Below the upper central \nwindow the sun-dials till marks the hours as cor- \nrectly as when the old Spanish monks held complete \nsway over the entire city. The Spanish cavalier is \nof the past, so also are the duenna, and the senorita \nwhom she so carefully guarded, but in fancy we can \nsee them enter the ancient edifice, and cross them- \nselves devoutly as the mass is chanted by the holy \nfathers. \n\n3. The Slave Market. \xe2\x80\x94 At the foot of the plaza \nfronting the bay is the "Old Slave Market," popular- \nly so-called, though in realty the original structure \nwas a provision market, built in 1840, and used as \nsuch until the city outgrew its accommodations. It \nis entirely different from market-places seen else- \nwhere ; it is neat, airy and attractive. It consists of \na roof supported by brick pillars, six on each side, \nwith a floor of the same material. It is altogether \nunique in appearance. At present it is a most agree- \nable lounging-place. The plaza affords a pleasant \nretreat from the sand which everywhere else covers \nthe place. Here are shade trees, and the firm green \nturf, where one may idle away the hours. In the even- \nings this structure serves as the pavilion for the mili- \ntary band. The cheery music breaking the stillness \nhas a most exhilarating effect. The inhabitants hear \nthe enlivening strains and sally forth ; young men \nand maidens, old men and children, and all the \nnegroes who can muster. \n\n\n\nST. AUGUSTINE. 825 \n\nThe plaza has always been, and is still, the scene \nof public meetings. Here the men-at-arms gathered \nwhen the alarm gun was fired in the old days of the \nFrench, English and American Wars. Here in 1776 \nthe royalists burned Adams and Hancock in effigy, \nwhen the news, a fortnight or more old, came from \ndistant Philadelphia that the Declaration of Inde- \npendence had been signed. Here the Florida volun- \nteers fell in on a January morning of 1861 and \nmarched to take possession of Fort Marion, and \nthence subsequently marched away to four }\'ears of \nfratricidal war and final defeat. And here too, after \npeace had been restored, the Declaration of Indepen- \ndence was read before a mass meeting of approving \ncitizens. \n\n4. A Street View. \xe2\x80\x94 The appearance of St Au- \ngustine is as quaint and peculiar as its history is \nbloody and remarkable. Nothing like it is seen else- \nwhere in this co-untry ; and having been built by a \npeople so entirely different in manners and customs \nfrom our own, it has been surrounded with an interest \nnot shared by any other city in the land. The very \nstreets are romantic and\'characteristic ; being crooked \nand narrow, seldom more than ten to twenty feet in \nwidth, and without sidewalks. An advantage of the \nnarrow streets in this warm climate is that they give \nshade and increase the draught of air through them \nas in a flue. Indeed some of the streets seem almost \nlike a flue, rather than an open way, for many of the \nhouses have hanging balconies along their second \nstory which seem almost to touch each other over the \nnarrow thorouc^hfare. The street names, Cuna, St. \n\n\n\n826 ST. AUGUSTINE. \n\nHypolita, Tolomato, St. George\'s and the like have \nan ancient and foreign sound, while the family names \nmark the city as anything but American in its origin. \nIt is blessed with that dear and useful friend of the \ninhabitants of warm countries, the faithful and pic- \nturesque donkey. \n\nThere is not a step nor a turn in this grand old \ntown of other days that is not interesting. The very \nocean seems to roll in an antique way ; and the trade \nwinds that sway through the palms, magnolias, and ole- \nanders seem to be whispering in Spanish or howling \nin the Cautus vernacular spoken four centuries ago. \n\n5. The Oldest House. \xe2\x80\x94 Though St. Augustine is \nstill unlike any other city on this continent, yet it \nmust be acknowledged that many American ideas \nare being introduced and that the innovations are \ngradually effacing the Spanish peculiarities. But \nthere are still monuments of its founders which have \nwithstood time, and whose solidity of construction \nhave not been affected by the elements. Before us \nstands the oldest house in St. Augustine, which still \nlooks as though able to weather the storm of centuries. \nLike most of the old houses and many of the new \nones, this is built of a unique conglomerate of fine \nshells and sand, known as coquina rock, found in \nlarge quantities on Anastasia Island in the harbor. It \nis easily cut in blocks to be laid in courses, and is \nfrequently covered over with stucco. \n\nThe street wall of the house was originally extended \nin front of the side garden, but the upper portion has \nof late been cut away, and lattice work substituted. \n\nThe street is well paved with shell concrete, and \nin the olden days was kept so carefully swept, that the \n\n\n\nST. AUGUSTINE. 827 \n\ndark-eyed maidens of old Castile, who lived in this \nancient dwelling, and led society in the quaint old \ncity, could pass and repass without soiling their satin \nslippers. No rumbling wheels were permitted to \ncrush the firm road-bed, or to whirl the dust into the \nairy verandas, where in undisturbed repose, sat the \nindolent Spanish dons and dames. \n\n6, Tlie Harbor from San Marco. \xe2\x80\x94 Perhaps the \nmost interesting features of old St. Augustine are the \nsea wall and Fort San Marco. The construction of \nthe fort occupied a hundred and sixty-four years, \nhaving been commenced in 1592 and completed in \n1756. The labor of building it was performed almost \nentirely by negro slaves, Indians, and prisoners of \nwar, and every stone of it was cemented with the \nsweat of toiling sufferers. While in possession of the \nBritish it was said to be the most picturesque fort in \nthe king\'s dominions ; and with its esplanade, moats, \ndrawbridges, massive arched entrance, dark passages, \nfrowning bastions, and mysterious dungeons, it is a \nsingularly fascinating spot. Standing on its tower \nwe obtain a fine view of the city, and its surroundings. \n\nThe site of St. Augustine is a flat, sandy, narrow \npeninsula, formed by the Matanzas River on the east \nand the St. Sebastian on the south and west. Looking \nto the east, across the Matanzas River, we see \nAnastasia Island, with its light-house, and it growth \nof scrub palmetto. To the left the land drops awav \nto a beach where Sir Francis Drake posted a gun \none evening in 1586 and as the sun went down, \npounded away at the grim old fortress on which we \nare standing. \n\n\n\n828 ST. AUGUSTINE. \n\nBoating on the bay is a favorite amusement on \nmoonlight nights, and during the day boating excur- \nsions to gather shells on the Anastasia beach, and \ncollect sea mosses and lichens, prove pleasant diver- \nsions. The coast is monotonous, but the sea is ever \nbeautiful in color, and there are always objects of \ninterest for the lover of nature. Off shore the water \ndeepens quickly, and mariners, w^ien once they have \ncleared the shoals at the inlet, may confidently run \ndown the beach within half a mile of the breakers. \n\n7. Hotel Ponce <le Leon. \xe2\x80\x94 But all the beauty of \nSt. Augustine is not usurped by the relics of the \nancient military city. Within a few years there has \nbeen erected but a short distance from the old \nSpanish plaza, a group of hotels unequalled in the \nworld. The chief of these, the princely Ponce de \nLeon, revives the architecture of three hundred years \nago, and enriches it with all the luxuries of to-day. \nIt is built in the style of the early Spanish renaissance, \nand is the result of conscientious study of the \nprinciples that have made famous the cathedrals, \nuniversities, and palaces of classic Spain. The \nmaterial is shell concrete, and the great building is a \nstupendous monolith, and was moulded, not built. \nThe general color is a light mother-of-pearl with \nbright salmon terra-cotta ornamentation. The struct- \nure is five hundred feet long and covers nearly five \nacres. At the corners rise lofty square towers, with \npointed finial roofs, shaded balconies, and admirable \ndecorative devices in iron and terra-cotta. The main \nbuilding with its accessory portico surrounds a court \n150 feet square, with a central fountain and beautiful \n\n\n\nST. AUGUSTINE. 829 \n\nbeds of flowers. On three sides of the court rise the \narched galleries, quaint windows and red tiled roofs \nof the main building, while across the fourth side \nstretches the roofed portico, a continuation of the \nmain lower galleries. \n\n8, Parlor. Hotel Ponce de Leon. \xe2\x80\x94 To describe \nthis vast establishment in detail is impracticable. \nJust within the main doorway are the spacious vesti- \nbule and rotunda, opening a fine perspective of \ncolumns, caryatides and rich decoration, and leading \nby a short flight of steps into the dining hall beyond. \nThe pavement of the rotunda and its adjacent corridors \nis a marble mosaic, small fragments set in cement, \nand arranged in tasteful patterns. The wainscot is of \nNumidian marble. The central dome rises in four \ninterior galleries, with arcades agreeably varied in \nthe successive stories. The whole is supported by \nfour piers and eight columns of solid oak, carved in \ncaryatid figures of remarkable grace and beauty. \nThese are arranged in groups of fours, standing back \nto back, and admirably posed to convey at once an \nidea of strength and lightness. \n\nThe parlors on the first floor surpass in number and \nstyle everything of the kind seen elsewhere. The \ngrand parlor is one hundred and four feet long and \nfifty-three feet wide, but is practically divided into \nfive rooms by arches, portieres, and screens. The \nrich carpets and furniture, costly hangings, priceless \nbric-a-brac, beautiful frescoing, and glittering chandel- \niers, combine to produce an effect that is unsurpassed. \n\n1). Panorama from Hotel Ponce de Leon. \xe2\x80\x94 \n\nStepping to the window we look out upon the \n\n\n\n830 ST. AUGUSTINE. \n\nAlameda which gives name to this remarkable group of \nbuildings. On our right is the Hotel Cordova, another \nmammoth structure of Moorish architecture. Direct- \nly opposite us is the Alcazar, an adjunct to the \nPonce de Leon. The fourth side of the square is \noccupied by the Villa Zorayda, the first specimen of \nmonolithic architecture in the city, and also the first \nmodern building to be erected after the Moorish order. \nAll these buildings are made of a concrete of fine shells, \nPortland cement and sand. While in a semi-liqurd \ncondition, the mixture is poured into moulds made \nof boards, where it quickly hardens. By setting up \nthe moulds where the walls of the intended building \nare to stand the whole structure can be solidly built \nup by pouring in successive layers of concrete. \nWhen finished in its natural tint, the wall presents a \nslightly rough surface, cool gray in color, and of a \nsubstance that has thus far perfectly endured the test \nof exposure. While in the semi-liquid state the \ncement readily takes any desired color, and may thus \nbe adapted to nearly all the requirements of decorative \narchitecture. \n\n10. Hotel Casa Monica. \xe2\x80\x94 The Hotel Cordova, \nformerly known as the Casa Monica, was the first of \nthe Alameda group. Like its neighbors it is mono- \nlithic, but its style of architecture differs from theirs \nin that it is suggestive of the arts of war rather than \nof peace. The motives for the heavy battlemented \nwalls and towers are found in the castles of Moorish \nSpain. Ihe northern entrance is an adaption of the \nPuerto del Sol of Toledo, and the balconies are after \nthose which originated in Seville, and are known \n\n\n\nST. AUGUSTINE. \' 831 \n\nas " kneeling balconies." They are said to have been \ndesigned by Michael Angelo, for the convenience \nof devotees who desired to kneel during the passage \nof religious processions. \n\nThe architecture of these buildings is such that it \nreally requires the sight of the American flag to \npersuade the visitor that he is not in a city of sunny \nSpain. And one instinctively expects to see some \nhigh-born Spanish dame step from the shadow of the \nportals and lofty porticos. Can we sufficiently com- \nmend the taste of the men who in erecting these mam- \nmoth modern structures have been guided by the origin \nand traditions of the lovely old city that for so many \nyears lay slumbering in the sun ? \n\n11. Tlie Fountains, Hotel Casa Moni\xc2\xaba.\xe2\x80\x94 The \n\nhotel is built about a hollow square, and this inner \ncourt is most beautiful. It is ever flowery the year \nround with perfumed orange blossoms, scarlet pome- \ngranate, yellow chaporelle, myrtle, and innumerable \nvarieties of other blooming plants, gladdening the \neye with their cool, fragrant beauty. The fountains \nare altogether unique. The silvery central shower \nand the side jets keep up a musical rippling, \xe2\x80\x94 a fitting \naccompaniment to the delightful day dreams one is \nwont to indulge in this land of flowers. The trellis \nwork arching the water is interlaced with gorgeous \nflowery creepers and vines, and all about are drooping \nmosses and lichens. \n\nBeautiful as the garden appears in the sunshine, \nhow surpassingly lovely must it be in the evening \nwhen the pale moon sheds her silver rays abroad. \nAnd it seems to be generally moonlight in St. \n\n\n\n832 ST. AUGUSTINE. \n\nAugustine ; for the smallest portion of moon gives \na very strong light on account of the great clearness \nof the atmosphere ; whether cressent or waning moon, \nit lights up the place with astonishing brilliancy. The \nmoonlight nights are the glory of St. Augustine, for \nthe old Spanish city is then most charming ; all its \ndefects are hidden and all its beauty enhanced. So \nbright and cool the atmosphere, so soft and balmy, \nfew can resist the enjoyment of a stroll, or the \ndreamy delight of sitting out on the veranda listening \nto the echoes of the band or the tinkling of some \ndistant guitar. To the delicious moonlight nights \nmany people attribute the unusual number of mar- \nriages here, which seems to keep the population in \na continual flutter of anticipation and excitement. \n\n12. Hotel Alcazar and Grounds. \xe2\x80\x94 Facing the \nPonce de Leon, on the opposite side of the Alameda, \nis the Alcazar, an adjunct of the main hotel, and like \nit in the Spanish renaissance style ; and the two, \na magnificent unit, unite the old and the new, the past \nand the present with wonderful splendor and effect. \nThe Alameda, facing the hotel, is a rival to the old plaza, \nand is laid out with asphalt drives and footways, with \nsparkling fountains and parterres of tropical plants. \n\nThe name of this hotel is from the Al-Kasr, House \nof Caesar, but the design is original and wholly unlike \nthat of the famous palace at Seville. The building is \nin the form of a hollow square, and surrounds an \ninterior court with a garden and fountains. Around \nthe court are ranged arcades, shops, offices, and a \nlarge restaurant. Beyond are magnificent swimming \nbaths of water drawn from an artesian well, aerated \n\n\n\nST. AUGUSTINE. 833 \n\nto free it from the odor of sulphur, and turned at once \ninto the bath, where it falls in a sheet of beautifully \nclear greenish water, exactly at the right temperature \nfor swimming. Beyond the bath are courts for tennis \nand croquet, where there are held matches and \ntournaments of interest to all lovers of these games. \n\n\n\nLIBRftRY OF CONGRESS \n\n\n\nI \n\n\n\n014 541 345 ft \n\n\n\n\n'