LIFT UP. THE HANDS THAT HANG DOWN.


comfortable to shelter them at once, and by their own
skill, little by little, be made a neat and pleasant
home.
 Newport, on the St. Mark's, the west side of Flori-
da, is one of these .spots-given up by those of its
former inhabitants who still live ; and yet the tenant-
less, dilapidated houses, and fields run to waste, could
soon be rejuvenated and be made productive, if there
was any one with intelligence and industry to occupy
and improve. To prove that my statement rests on
more substantial foundations than a woman's imagina-
tion, listen while I give you one example. In that one
place alone there are many others of the same general
character, but one will suffice.
 Just across the street from the plantation described
in my first letter, there are two small cottages, better
preserved than most of those lying vacant in that
vicinity. The owners being scattered or dead, and
the heirs making homes or in business elsewhere, both
places, since the war, have stood empty and neglected.
Each cottage has four good-sized rooms, with spacious
fireplaces in each; for, wood being abundant, there
is no need of close economy in fuel. A latticed ver-
anda separates the kitchen, store-roo'ms, and servants'
rooms from the main building. A cemented cistern
or reservoir of ample size is in the rear. A good barn,
hen-house, and yard, all pertain to each place. There
are a few young orange-trees just coming into bearing,
pecan-trees, peaches, figs, grapes, and a few young
apple-trees in good condition. Cape jessamine, crape
myrtle, roses, and many other flowers made the places