FLORIDA: THE GULF COAST 167 



and subtle in its fragrance as to seem a marvel. 

 Well is it named the moon-flower, adding to the 

 glamour of the silvery night. Then it was un- 

 known to gardeners. We brought back seeds 

 to plant in our northern home, and here its 

 queenly beauty reminded us, for successive sea- 

 sons, of southern shores. 



Fig bushes screened the grove on the west 

 from the winds of the Gulf, and afforded us an 

 abundance of their delicious fruit. The sour or 

 Seville orange was indigenous, and in such quan- 

 tities that a large store of marmalade was made 

 in our tiny kitchen, and proved an acceptable 

 gift to northern friends. We were less isolated 

 than at Halcyon Island. Cracker and conch 

 families dwelt about in the "piney woods," and 

 occasionally a cracker lady came to call on Mrs. 

 Scott. The turkey red that covered the rough 

 walls of our sitting room, the few Japanese prints 

 and scrolls, were of vast interest ; and it was 

 pathetic to watch the women as they touched 

 admiringly our few ornaments. The dust-pan 

 was a curiosity. One dear old lady who came 

 frequently to spend an afternoon never tired of 

 describing her first and only journey by steamer, — 

 from Savannah to Florida. On Christmas Day 

 a dinner of ceremony was given. " An', Miss 

 Scott, they took off one table-cloth, an' thar was 

 another table-cloth, an' they took off that table- 



