The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1882-04-18 00:00:00

EASTER MONDAY AT POOLE AND BOURNEMOUTH.

Englishmen are credited with tiieng their pleasures
sadly. and certainly, if we are rightly informed. the
"taking'," of chomp who catered in the town of Poole
for anticipated
who never cam. , mast hare
been reddening ; f r, we are told by one in a podtion
to know, that nt for many a long year has there been
so quiet a bank holiday in the place. The town was
Insufferably du'l. Somehow or another Ite beauties
do not seem to bi appreciated as they ought to be.
That the proverbial cannon-ball ao old hare been fired up
the High-street, provided it would only hare amour•
mod ited it.elf a the twist, ant turns of that anal') t
thoroughfare, without hurting anyone, I. not to be
denie I. The on, groups of pleasure-seekers t he
seen in the streets were those who were 'flaking their
way for other places as fas, a, porstib e. And the
wilde.t s mod of diselpation that struck upon th• ear
w, the r di of the atittle.b Is as one pose I th we
establishment,' dedicate I to skill and dest-rity. It ta
to be hoped anoth r ye r that one of the numerous
&64.01.611 nis of athletes, of which the town boeets, will
come to its resent
An we here stated, the exodus of thee' cm pleasure
beat was soww4blag mat. About 1,100 Wrote wore

issued at the railway station for Bottrossouth alone,
whilst numbers went to different wanes of attraction
up the line. Of course, there was • great ran Upon
traps, and all the available vehicles had been engaged
weeks In advance. Very gay were most of the
occupant. of these structures on wheel'. There could
be no mistake that some of the noble swells who
" toole I" the piece of horse-fifth committed to their
Imre with such Jehu-like air had been accustomed to
handle the ribbone—at so much per yard. But what
does it in alter? The little Faouies or Nellie', or
whatever their pet names might be, one a iold gee
were filled with admiration at Kdwiird's "style," or
the way in which 'Arty bore himself ass "toff" of the
firat water; and no doubt they all enjoyed themselves
immeusely, at lea 4 we hope they did. home of the ladies
of a in re Ames mien turn of mind, had diolained
masculine aid, and were to be ...a haerillos the reins
themselves. Toe pawner—one in each hand, and
apparently indulging in • game of ese-ww—we need
not dilate upon, but if "much laughter," as the new.-
paper reporters put It, be • criterion of pleasure, all
questioning upon that point may be set at rest. The
humble donkey•trap also figured among the rest, and
we saw one little animal te-ttlog along at the rate of
about seven miles an boor, with father, mother (with
baby In arms), and three youi.getees up behind Toe
smiling old couple in the betake% carriage, drawn by •
, pony ais sleek and contented as theenseives. wee &leo to
Ibe seen. There were not, however, many exldoitiona
of equestriausbip, as the term is generally uodernood ;
about here, this seems to be chiefly eoefiead to
be-striding the improved dandy•horge; sari bicycling
were many aid in good form.
Tag morning hula somewhat chilly, and the mares'
tail. I. the sty betokened windy weather, but, in
'pit, of this, the Telegraph steamboat, chartered by
Binitetit, Idnrrer. Marshall, and Cu., for a
trip to Portsmouth to we the grand review, we.
patronised by • full oompkinent of passengers, some
290, sod they had a most enjoyable trip. As
the day grew warmer and the UM Mee higher
in the heavens, the excursion trains and the
" ordain whs.." began to be heavier and quicker in goo.
cession. Of 0011Illi, at times Ike this, one must put
up with Is little "wronging," as Mrs. Brown would
say, bat travelling io • stuffy Somerset and Doran
carriage, capable of holding " five on each nle," but,
for the time being, giving boa mmodation to 15, in not
ous of the most pleasa.it phasea of life. However,
it is order some such coaditions am these that we find
ourselves at Bocromnotr.h.

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In our optoloo Ute pine-clad village Is somewhat
over-rated. That there are pretty bus of scenery to
be found in and aroun I k, is not to be doodad, but its
boastl temperatu.e. It le equally certain, is invari-
ably from two to three &great below that of its sister
t own of Ita pier, undoubtedly, affords a
delightful medium for tie enjoyment of • fragrant
Henry Clay" on a soft and balmy evening, but its
sands are • failure. As the embed° poet, Oscar
Wylde, said of the Atlantic, they are " disappointing ;
and at another authority, wawa we have before
quoted, would express it, "they be terble tque to
toe ancles." The streets, at the reader knows, are of
the upht.l an 1 down-dae mods of construction—a
plan that in slippery weather is not a material aid to
polptsaive locomotion. The pleasure grounds could
be made • charming resort, but at present, when they
miyht be gay with spring e4wers, they present •
terribly dilapidated appearsece, in spire of the fact
that recently the honourahle Board of Commissioners
(the emetics of the wit and wisdom of the oleo')
recently went to the extravagant outlay of £5 foe
shrubs I

As we enter therm gardens we hoar the sweet notes
of the Italian band, and although these southern :
gentlemen are for the most part arrayed In thick top
amt., there are plenty of limners sitting on the ear.
roan ling chairs, apparently seilsoonvioced that because
ills Bournemouth there is net the rem,teet chariee of
catching cold. After the pleasure of listening to •
delighttul selection by this. artistes we ooms out into
the road facing the Pier, and here the town band, in
brilliant uniform, are attracting large crowds by their
excellent rendering of popular music. The scene now
I. • little more animated. We have the itinerant
tradesman in all his varied forme—the vendor of
oranges, each of which, be assures us, is equal to •
glass of sherry; the dealer in Blue Rocks (uysteriN
not pigeons) and the iouigeetibgi, but fondly loved of
the to polle4, whelk; the pet ambulating past_ ryeook,
whose goods are rapidly becoming, as an Irishman
would say, sugar-coated with the dust ; Of the seller
of questionable sweatments, which get stickier sad
stickier as the run pours down upon them. All these
are here, and by their Imp's-tunings help to make up
the sum total of the miseries of • public holiday.
The graceful and elegant Pier is thronged (over
ten thousand we bear, paid to go on), and very
much by the same wit of people as one would meet
if they happeued to be at this particular moment on
the West Pier at Brighton or the , • pieties, pier " of
Hastings. Young men and maidens of the landy.des
dab cut, more elderly couples whose pocket., you can
tell from their contented ex 0., are well lined,
and quarrelsome, noisy children doing their best to
make you fall over them. The splendid expanse of
bay is of • glorious pale blue, matched by the now
cloudless sky overhead, while • alight breeze ripples
the surface of the water uatil 111, one mass of dauciug
brilliancies. Its bosom is dotted here and there with
the white canvases of the pleasure yachts, and the fine
steamers, the Kmprees and the Elgin, make perio lical
excursions. Old finery and his wife stand out but
dimly in the misty distance, but to the lover of nature,
if he can but abut out from his senses the yelling,
shooting crowd around him, the vision is delightful.
The sands resemble Frith's painting of Brighton on
a small scale. 'There are at .east • dozen artists in
photography who would oonvince you, if thly could,
that no handsomer picture could be conceived than
Toir own manly form as transferred to glass by them
for the small chsrge of one shilling or two positions
tor elehteeupeuae. A good l•wiglaw Italia. girl,
&twee I in the picturesque costume affected by these
people, singe • mournful ditty In her own language,
and seeds • pretty little child to beg "a ,
apey."
Punch and Judy d a roaring trade, and again and
again rehearse to admiring crowds the somewhat
quest' ,noble it .ry of wickedness triumphing
over justice. D (four-legged) and goats,
with their carriages, meet you at every step,
the animals for the most port gaily decorated,
and thanks probably to the kin Ily interest shown by
the pliilat.throphists of the place in their treatment,
gmerally in excellent condition. You may, if you are
that way inclined, bays either • shy at a cocoa not or
at a row of figures, ma le of some gaudily t-ol sured
fluffy material, which, if you succeed in hittiog, and
the 1).11 doss art g through the stuff—the chances in
fay.iur of whch .rs about 1,000 to I—entitles you to a
cigar, whicu, p •rhspa, for your own future comfort
you had better fOr.,W into the eta I H see you a lean-
ing towards art! There is a peep-show with the" very
latest p .or-traie of the removed Jumbo 1" If of a
blo ii-tnirsty turn of mind, pear mise• shooting-gallery,
and fancy your m ther-in.law is at the end I Would
you care to carry home the delightful sensation of -ea-
sieltuese W thout deride the dangers of the ocean? Too
investaneut of • modest penny in a merry-go.roun I or
• swing will almost every purpose. You may try your
luck a, a r ulette table, or listen to a gOatitOliO, who,
to the aotl .meanimeut of a tosojo requests you t be
kind enough to put him in his tittle bed. And you
must not forget the beuevoient Individual wh n .0 thi I
0x.a."2 only, haring pu,cnased • large lisnkrapt
stock, will sell y iu • g .14 albert, a reel meerchain, and
• set of gold slit Is for the re liklus low c'i srge of a
shillun'.

But probably the reader, like nuraelvm. will no c sre
to bug ranolo,/ thief) sic Aries, s we will tak another
turn in the g .r lan, hear one m ir I piece by the Italian
Baal, and 'bra bsck to Poole for • walk up amsultu•
tiondtill, where view. of exquisite beauty reward us,
and help us forget the drawbacks of a Lubbock'.
feast-day.