Weekly national intelligencer., 1851-10-25
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER.
N AHANT t.

SEPTEMBER 3, 1851.
NAuAsr is a shower of little brown cottages fallen upon
the rocky promontoy that terminates Lynn beach, has
hotel upon its finest urthest point, which fashionable
Of years since. But the beaux and bellies OF
these mes the parents Of other beaux and bellies, have
long esed into the pretty cottages, whence they can
contemplate the hotel which has the air OF quaint, broad
piazzaed hosey with the naked ugness Of cotton
factory added to it, and fancy the monument of merry but
dead old days. The hotel is longer ashonable Nshsnt
no ,hronged Its own career has not been
unlike tkst Of the bellies who eqnented it for although the
hurry and glare and excitement Of merely fashionable water
ing place past there has succeeded quiet genial employ
men, and satisfaction which far peasanter. Some sunny
morning. when your memory busy with Wiss sparkling
stories Of Nshant life quarter of century ago, and with all
the pleasant verbal tales you may have collected your
deripgs then step the hotel with end whose
maturity may well seem to you the flower Of all that the poet
celebrated in the bud and she will reanmate the spacious
and silent piazza with the forms that have made famous
And asyou stroll and sen eyes will wander across
the irregular little group Of cottages and prohibit your fancy
ing that the romance is
This is kind Of sentiment nsepaIsbe from spots like this.
They concentrate during brief me many and such
persons and unite them closely in the constant
ship and pursuit Of pleasure, that the personal
association with the spot becomes profound, and, when the
space very limited, Nahant, painful II is not
surprising, therefore, that many who loved and eQuensd
Nahant years ago rrco from it, and only visit with
the fascinated reluctance with which they regard the
faded Of years removed that they seem to have
detached themselves from their lives: This will explain to
you much of the surprise with which Bostonians listen to
your praises of Nahan Is any thing left say their smiles
and looks ! it is cup we drained so long ago.
Yet city has ocsangaley 80 near, so convenient
and rapid Of access complete and satisfactory in character
isics Of the sea- Boston in Nshant You step upon the
in the city, and in less than hour you land
Nahant and breathe the untanted air from the "borea pole
and gaze upon sublime sweep whose vision rereshes
thn~ eko Var EnA onvslvono dpof
no commotion. You crowds Of carriages of
curious and gossping people, No fast in velvet
trong fast horses You Of the disagreeabe
details Of fashionable watering place. but sunny silence
broods the realm Of little brown cottages They stand
apart easy distances each with its rustic piazza with vines
climbing and blooming about the pillars, with windows and
doors looking upon the In the midst Of the clusters
where roads meet stands small temple 1t is church Of
graceful proportions but is unhappiy clogged with wings
Is eclectic church, for all services held there in
ation from the picturesque worship OF the Roman Catholic
faith to the severes form Of Proeetantm The green land
slopes away behind the temple to row OF willows in path
the field whence you cannot the ocean, and
and sheltered like inland DELL that the sound of
the to it only pleasant fancy. This pretty
path ends in the thckest part of the settlement But
here has village air is STILL and there are shops
and the finest trees upon the promontory here You join
the road that gradually climbs the hill and then descending,
it leads you across little Nahant to Lynn beach.
The Of Nahant is very small From almost any cot
tage porch you survey the whole But has these
two great advantages for scournan air Of entire
Tepoe, for there be opportunity convenience
for any other than lite of leisure and the perpetual presence
Of the At Nahant you cannot fancy poverty labor
Their appearance is edsd from the landscape Taking the
tone Of your reverie from the pescefu little temple, and
gancng the simple houses with the happy careessness
OF order 10 their distributions and the entire absence OF smoke,
dust dn you needs dream that Peces and Aspasia
have Withdrawn from the capital with choice court Of friends
and lovers pass month Of Gecian gayety upon the
The long day s~ims by nor dsturbs that dream If haPy
upon the cliffs sunset s,raying by ",he loud astounding
sea- you catch glimpses OF hgure whose lofty oveness
should have inspired and saeler strain in that old
you feel only that you have Apasa and Aspasa
head wreahed with folds Of black splendor that pure
Greek hyh with Spanish stainor cordial Saxon smiles
and ringing laughter dissolve Grscan dream into West
ern reality.
For sea- too Nshan is unsurpassed. You cannot es-
cape the here. is in your eye and n your for
ever. At Newport the ocean is luxury. You live away
from it. and drive 10 it you drive to the lake at Saratoga
and in the silence Of midnight you withdraw from the
pokng paro you hea calling the solitary fields
wailng your life and wondering it, At Nahan the
supreme The place is small that you cannot build
your house out Of the ocean, and watch the splendid
play Of its life is satisfaction and enjoyment enough Many
of the cottages built directly upon the rocks Of the Shore
OF there few trees, except the silver poplar which
thrves uxurany in the salt and which, waving in the
fresh wind and turning its glsenng leaves to the sun, is
like tree in perpetual blossom. Flowers cherished
abou, several Of the houses and they have auumna gor
and douby dear and beautiful the edge Of
the salt waste.
The air which the ocean breahe over the spot electrical
No other cir is exhiIarang After breakfast Ma
hant said Mot feel like Ceur de Lion and burn give
battle to the Saacens But the brave impulse ends in smoke
and musDg and chatting, and fascinating hope with aerial
architecture You oe away the day upon the pszza ending
by climbing about the cliffs at sunset gslopng the
beach.
Thus the ocean and the cliffs the natural goes Of Ma
hant and the sky which you from the deck Of ship,
and wleb adequately completes the simple outline Of the
world from those rocks The cliffs grand They
the jagged black edges of the rock with which the pro-
monoy the Chased by the tempests beyond the
daaes n and leapng upon the rocks lsshes them
with tie fury of its 10 great gale the whole
drives upon Nahant. One day the came, suen and
showery from the east scuddng in binding mists the
sea, breaking toward the blue struggling, wang, bowling,
losing the blue again, with sharper chill in its breath, anda
dreareI dash Of the surf Then awful lu impenetra
bic mist and the hoarse gathering Of the The
day darkened and sudden sprays OF ran like voeys sharp
ratified gusty against the Windows and dull BOOM
ing thunder aened and dispersed n the thick moisture
OF the air But the gusness and pauses of the wind and
rain the bodefu Of the constant and increasing
was invisible except in the long flashing line Of surf that
momenty plunged from out the gray gloom of the fog, and
that surf was like the advancing lines Of ncomprhensbe
enemy 6ingng itself upon the shore Behind the mighty
rush Vt uuitiuonuus awful Imagination
than any mere natural sound could be- all the dead and
lost all who sailed and Shore all who dreamed
and hoped, and struggled, and down. and world of
Joy with them all their wo in the oceans wall the death
shriek OF as much happiness lives. And the storm
gathered terribly the sea- In terror commensurate with
the seas vasness and awunese and beat upop Nshan ike
hail Of fire upon besieged etsde The nex, day as chill
en seek upon battle field the buttons and that
adorned the heroes here figures bending along the
shore to fnd the delicate, almost mpapabie rses that the