UP Till: ST. JOHXS RIVER. 97 



connecting the fort with the convent, but it has not been 

 found. In one of the dungeons the &quot;old sergeant&quot; 

 sprang upon us what was evidently a pet joke. Paus 

 ing in his tale until the loiterers were collected around 

 him, and standing in chilly reverence, he told us of some 

 prisoners who, from that very dungeon, had attempted 

 to escape by burrowing under the walls. He told us of 

 the great distance to be undermined before reaching the 

 moat and liberty some thirty yards, I believe. Stand 

 ing with his back to the wall he slowly lighted half a 

 dozen dips as he talked, then turning suddenly aside he 

 threw the concentrated rays into a hole about two feet 

 deep, and curtly remarked, &quot;They didn t succeed.&quot; 

 With this coup de theatre the old gentleman, satisfied 

 that he had ended well, left us to find our way to the 

 outer air and to stroll through the narrow streets of 

 the town, between the high dead walls and under the 

 projecting balconies that characterize the Spanish style 

 of building and- give to St. Augustine an aspect so dif 

 ferent from anything to be seen elsewhere in the United 

 States. The names of the streets, and the signs over 

 the stores, show the Spanish origin of the inhabitants ; 

 for instance, our party were domiciled at Mrs. Mer 

 cedes , Mrs. Hernandez , and Mrs. Seguis , and we 

 shopped at Madame Oliveros . The Spanish cast of 

 feature prevails, too, and a dark-eyed, black-haired 

 brunette, whom I saw leaning over a balcony, carried me 

 back to days gone by, when, in old Spain herself, I 

 have seen her counterpart. A walk along the sea wall, 

 built of coquina (a concrete of shells), which fronts the 

 town, where the fresh sea-breeze brought new vigor to 

 our tired steps, and a cruise among the establishments 

 devoted to the manufacture of palmetto hats, brought 

 5 



