wicked old wretch as it is. One doesn’t so much mind facing the good honest blustering north wind, it is an open foe, and in some way you can defend yourself against it; but the east is a malicious insinuating enemy, it will attack you even in your bed before you have had time to put a woollen nightcap on. Here, however, it is soft and balmy, full of a spicy fragrance; it seems to come down new-born, straight from the gate of heaven, breathing the breath of angels, and laden with the soft airs of eternal spring. Who can tell? Perhaps as it grows older and travels onward it may gather evil by the way, absorb the miasmic exhalations from the earth and from the miseries and vices of mankind till its temper is spoilt, and it becomes as hard, cruel, and bitter as the east wind of our own land--which we must again meet presently. But here all is fresh and delightful. We don’t find in the face of the child the inborn sins of its manhood, so we revel in this balmy breeze, and give no thought to the east wind that may be afar off sweeping our native streets, holding our friends and our foes alike in its cruel grip. Down on the wharf the air is scented with strawberry perfume, for, as I think I have said elsewhere, the great packing-houses are situated here, and trains and vessels fruit-laden come from all parts of the state and disgorge their treasures. An immense trade in fruit and vegetables is carried on--early peas, young potatoes, asparagus, pine-apples, and strawberries being largely exported to the eastern and northern states; business is brisk everywhere, but there is no confusion. Hundreds of hands are busy packing the rich luscious strawberries in the ice-boxes--ice above, ice below, ice everywhere; then they are hermetically sealed and sent to New York or elsewhere, arriving there in perfection, as though they were just fresh gathered. In front of the wharf, lying along the river, are several small pleasure boats and some large three-masted schooners, dipping and fretting and tossing their mastheads, as though they were in a hurry to get their lumber freight and be gone; the huge mill is whirring busily, its iron teeth tearing the king of the forest to pieces as fast as it can, perhaps cutting up and slicing some of that large family of pines we have been lately passing through. Who knows? perhaps they may return one day shaped into the tall strong masts of some noble ship, bearing her fluttering sails on high, creaking and swaying in the wind as though struggling to get to their silent brotherhood on the plains up yonder, and tell them how much of the world they have seen, and what strange peoples they have borne across the seas. The busy wharves, the beautiful river, picturesque streets and Arcadian surroundings, make this first glimpse of Florida delightful. We have nothing to do but revel in the breeze and bask in the sunshine, and we do it.