84 ALONG THE IIILLSBOROUGU. 



curiosity on edge, nor any sand through 

 which to be picking my steps. 



The river road is paved with oyster-shells. 

 If any reader thinks that statement prosaic 

 or unimportant, then he has never lived in 

 southern Florida. In that part of the world 

 all new-comers have to take walking-lessons ; 

 unless, indeed, they have already served an 

 apprenticeship on Cape Cod, or in some other 

 place equally arenarious. My own lesson I 

 got at second hand, and on a Sunday. It 

 was at New Smyrna, in the village. Two 

 women were behind me, on their way home 

 from church, and one of them was complain- 

 ing of the sand, to which she was not yet 

 used. "Yes," said the other, "I found it 

 pretty hard walking at first, but I learned 

 after a while that the best way is to set the 

 heel down hard, as hard as you can ; then 

 the sand does n't give under you so much, 

 and you get along more comfortably." I 

 wonder whether she noticed, just in front 

 of her, a man who began forthwith to bury 

 his boot heel at every step ? 



In such a country (the soil is said to be 

 good for orange-trees, but they do not have 

 to walk) roads of powdered shell are veri- 



