J.

Sa or the St George

p U .'' f h, house. p^rng directly i:
Vi. .A what might r, b. paft of a
t- rrae or patio ar the south, wiser
shutters ki pt out the hot afterno
that lawts tone howi. the; Pw, and A shuttS.d p gave ... "
southeast coiter at St. lBv*ras and i to nce to t e rose .arden.
C(,.a Sta eet was knm, n e As e .C Stairs leading up from this ~
ig the Pedra Ic' outte d the trance way gave immediate en,
,come of MI iss tgAt e*net It may trance to the spacious sitting room
have I.nd oh'n r .,ienta. nt ,.-te at on the second floor enthusiastically
S .,e tirpne bat these t %Ionate recalled by Miss sabel's intimates.
At. AUitorar. Its handsome furnishings were
While recoBleetsn. *' Miss Isabel visible evidence of the position
are vividly related v rnesv. there Pedro Benet had made for himself,
are s i vera' of the o at rat e born j since he had been left fatherless at
who enn speal of -".j or King, 14 to help b jg up the younger
Benet as he became ,or*n. children.
H bca-ne a pmr "ful "Bops" r,f. Sometimes Miss Benet's visitor
hi; time, so powerlf' iri d. 'i t wanted to talk again of the two1
any dared sfsftgnt aie -i e n i Benet boys, that Estel,an and
adherents knaew cent ryv to his Pedro, adventurous pair, who de-
policies, at. oi.e the *- erendent cided they could no longer endure
one was warned "O !,a Pedro their stepmother an! so ran away!

care for Pedro Ben. group o.f Miss inabel's visitors -: -
Many n. a strugled for a could ai-' ie whether the father of
Mea.LIr Pf r-.wer ic d .w.s-b. iraw\ax buys had been Spanish
Peadwso ihe orpiy hom ar\ o F rai. ome sad it was from'
FIsuh don- .Ance i. lqar era ir Caralna, where there
\ M -> i sr'It i- w e man' y t rer the Provecal, that
nt.,ain m e san ... a he had goe o Minorea. But this is
lediro. the ..s sh all a" rly records have gathered
Pedro." r.. . "
pa" 1-- rnO a- nf ee 'a ph no ih
o it ., ,P es a..'. ,e '. v. a, id r ,f :tie ri, "wa s, Esthan,

!ienfelrt. ap''or. ... v ; .. ng ,. ; Wt *n ing trade. He
, a W on )I:, . "phr. ..e :t as ha{d vc e ss. s feoten going to
tIe house his '.ig}h' -c lavi;i e hi brother. Pedro.'
After t). de. i of .,, he stee- ; fl a1 ai ived. He had
Jua.) ri :sini .. itc'gone r e Spa'.. -h Na vy, became
.ere so .rranget- t M Isa- Capf neF'tet a'd the family story
reminded in ile rto s: rat of t1 irun he was in command of
old coquna house. > rave! s i .ha, when assa-/
was at the inamedia' e ,,' the stnatl(, I avana. Tis Pedro .t .-
ground fl .r. instsaau oh, hal-. narr a i 'a soa a, profes-
nerf second floor a- reght have sor '. u-, I', .ertt,' in Havana. "
been expected nle...s e-w fnew her J t"n atr P?('i. rina tiernan- I '- .
thoroughly. She ..n, int ensi ,".'- h-ere t St. "ugutine and: .;,
interest in all the happening of the ulght th t ler ho Cuna a de .
n .eihbornood and think corner room t Geour;, t.:et -"'n D,,n An-j
Kgae her vantage f,.r keeping in uifnie Ierts. who t. h: ad :t from "
toe,-h vith aIt that happened near- At -' atti daring the first -
by. 'lihis k-.n conce n in all the} ruh ,-f e Slpania r > return when
comings an! goings f her world the Ft n. were vur.g Au-.
was sometimes belieea- -., have adi gus'r e he iz.e a, ,' atyle f the
some weight is her .d-; .on to rwe- thoe 1 Ia his su tutc to three world when si ,. had en a "i..f time i-, lat -
in the convent, a few -nn ;h's. O other t crowned. wa(s't le," would i
maintabied the -tate of her health ia: crun'. one iaf MlI. Isbel's list- "


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pears C. ir rinsr rsamw
< .P WHIn _e-atte- .romsa Cn W
Church and. .t 2only t .
11. tat i it2he b "
a" tens "At frt
e In s bm Charleott $e

wau bonm i ........
to speak oaf thbr er,
his college 0 ,a weding? tAwe
1PM witE AWt RaymoR4
4oae Bh t Iobft, married. '
*tphBen's atnhn
It mtit ha ee blen the sitht o' so
many officers areand St. Augustine
during the Semisole war days that
decided Pedro to ask Delegite Levy
-ftor an appoiptment to Wet Point
for Stephen and the young man
obediontlytwent quite utdreamting
,of the military dignities that would
come to -him.
His own two sons followed in thB
tradition and James Walker Benet
beitama Colonel while Laurence
V. Beaet. Another enet grad:iate of
West Point, joined the Hotehkiw
tArss Company in Paris, where N,
spent half a century. He finally b.
came hed ofa tie firm and ft'
Amerlcfmn were better known ft "n
pone end of Europe to the other. Ki.
lips never been in St. Augustiin- btt
one of the oldest residents tel.1 h.c.
his father, the famous genert .
the federal army, came to St A u
*gustine after the war to ke e ,h
parents whom he had not ber:n a,'~r
to visit for some yo**r and how #:
army men in the cr',' tipid hint sh ...
.repects but orPc of the ao
*ainlies, till unr.er ?ilted 4 .i
come toeee him. A dold Pidw & ,,
not ftoet the slig'
When iW I." tart4 * ?.
was no end to *t torImN t s-.,-
Benet fami as 4oe ait .l>
.Stephen w~K a i4 B t-h. He ,. -.
of the O W ssW NOthter, ai .
Psdre had berwe r *te. B fived Is
N ataa in Ct -s a sha hatt
Plllyi~li;-~ c .~~e ~C.*t


" active in
M- hern soldier I
at the family min both
thing that hapef
personal concern, .
There was one re ste4
traction the house and tii
had for the devout women of the
Cathedral Parish. It is difficult to
ysantte what might be fact fr'
what might be fancy. Butter i
a trace of an itut who wa- the firAst
recognized owner of a statute f the
Bleassed Mother. Tradition
that in several times of
danger to the city this states had
been borne in Procession through
Sthe streets.
Many women it is said have had
their prayers before the statue
happily answered. Iti was held ;n
devout esteem and reverently eared
i for.
Sometimes, so it is said, the aunt
had brought it with her from some
vague foreign country Others say
a sea captain brought i to the aunt.
That wre! m- iht be .:ice the orig-
inal Esteban was a sea captain. But,
the aunt's vienta,.. n,'. e: ecemrqiit,'
clear. Wh-en she died she left. the
statue to Mi;:ss Ishael. Many women
brought oft'erMgi to it and wov.ald
gladly care fr its rol.es. On,,
family relates a da0ht 'id eTene,
whein Miss i ab.l Icam, ringing
the statue to tth dying man. who
:efused M:ss l:-:abe's rek-,testt and
died without r last offices of the
church.
When Miss I.-abl died in 1915
the fi, :o'e passed into the care of an
;'agd relative and her children and
it is no',, in their home )here in St.
Augusin;,- Still tht1 older women
relate its history as they have heard
it. Still they ave pleased to pay it
lov ig reverence. .
it is not enosibl to tell half oa
rL-4 iv.r n.ts of I4.hg Pedro and hiai
relatives and hi-- house. As eOrn<-
plete a !Lihtory, however, as can be
(o!lected is b g prepared for the,
files of the Library of the St.
Augustine Se torical Society.
Stephen Pcent Benet's St. Au-
gustine sts "Spanish Bayonets"1
didn't appear quite soon enough to
give happiness to Miss Isabel. But
if old Pedro and Miss Isabel oould
have known how William Rose
Bonet qnd -terhen Vincent Benet
wer:' going to achieve in the World


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of letters 1tirre is n, doubt :he,)
would have felt the old coquina
hboi ;. was honored.
1' h, House ? It was not torn down
until1 after Miss Isabel's death. It
included asme of the beabt features
of the sec ,ud Spanish regime. Its
roof linen .sre interesting It was
one of a largest on St. George
Street &i the great ,uftters on
both sturo,& *fs the south ead added
to its pit s- squene.s. the rose
.arden %%s the south aid the ad
joining bhasMOr ~a aro of the
otrillard Vilfa #Wferty added to
te sttractkhiwm of that ast s
of the bleOk.
lAnd what's t here w o T
ant Cuna Steitarn