22 HOME LIFE IN FLORIDA. 



what the Florida home may be made, what the settler must 

 expect to meet, and how to make the best of his or her sur- 

 roundings. We want the every-day realities of the new 

 home to be known, so far as it is possible for our humble 

 pen to reveal them, and in the telling of it all it shall be 

 our earnest endeavor to adhere strictly to facts and to point 

 out all sides of Florida life, good, bad, and indifferent. 

 Happily we can truthfully say that the former largely pre- 

 dominates. Those who come to Florida "to stay," seek 

 health, wealth, and a happy home, and these they will find 

 if they are sought for in a reasonable, sensible spirit. We 

 trust that when our readers lay down the pages of this book 

 they will have gained a correct idea of Florida home life. 

 Very many still hold to the same utterly unjust and 

 erroneous opinion of Florida's true inwardness that was 

 once uttered concerning her by that most eccentric states- 

 man and senator, John Randolj)h, of Roanoke. It was 

 when the question of the purchase of Florida from Spain 

 was being considered by the United States Senate, and 

 Randolph was bitterly opposed to it. ' ' What is Florida ?" 

 he exclaimed. "A land of swamps, everglades, filled with 

 frogs, tadpoles, snakes, terrapins, alligators, mosquitoes, 

 gallinippers, and ague and fever ! AVhy, sir, a man would 

 not emigrate to that county, even from purgatory ! What, 

 then, do we want Avith Florida?" And all the John Ran- 

 dolphs are not dead yet, but they are dying rapidly. Flor- 

 ida kills them all ofi*, one after the other, as fast as they 

 look upon her fair, honest face. One glance does it ; but 

 the trouble is that so many do not take that one glance, 

 and hence, if they pay any attention to the subject at all, 

 are liable to be deceived, whether they believe all or be- 

 lieve nothing. Those who know Florida as she is, are 

 those who love her best, and are most willing to tell the 

 truth about her, without fear or favor. 



