New-York daily tribune., 1851-09-27
SUMMER NOTES OF A HOwADJI.

NEWPORT.
exrss spondence a The " Y. Tribune

MY DtAh JIDllOh. Nv tOiuth <N'"~
begin to fame along the road sides and IN the
pleasant gardens OF Newport, the gorgeous Dan
has and crisp Asiers marshal the au;amhal
splendor Of the year. The first chill orea'h o'
September has blown away the froih oi iasiion'
and the cottagcrs anticipate with deiigih 'i'e
cool serenity OF the shortening days Inc giofy
has utterly gone from that huge yeio" ragou9
factory, the Ocean House The crop mas aiieh'
the audience is departed, the hgn'S are eA'lh
pushed. and II were only to be "lsheo 'hal 'he
house rigbt vanish with the season, ana not
ham, the wears last hours With that meian-
cholv aspect Of shrineless, deserted temple.
In. I fear that not only the glory OF season.
Nm, NJ success, has left the Ocean The
asme Of fashion that burned there year or TWO
.,nce. burned 100 intensely to last. The tickle
Goddess. whose temple 1t IS, rs already weary oi
democratic, congregational worship ana anects
now the privacy OF separate oratolres Ana
they rise on every hand. For Fashion dweii' IN
cottages now, and the hotel season is broi and
not brilliant. The cottagers will come indeed
and hear the Germania play, and hop IN the par
lor. but they come as from private palaces to
public hail, and disappear into the magnificent
mystery OF Cottage lle."
When first knew Newport it was southern
resort for the Summer. The ols Bellevue, and
,he present Touro House, then Whltheld's sui-
feed Cor the strangers twas before the PolKa'
before the DAYS of music after dinner, and when
the word " hop" was unknown even at Saratoga.
Everybody bathed In those days and all Datheo
,ogetber. There was little bowling, some
driving and riding, but no fast horses or last
mon. above all, no fast women. The area on
,he hin. Of which the Ocean House Is the center,
was an unsettled region. There were not
dozen cottages, and the quaint little town dozed
quietly along It's bay, dreaming only OF the
southern silence, which the character OF It's
climate aud of the visitors, sympa'hethlcahy at
tracted by that climate, naturally suggested.
Newport was the synonyne of repose. An IN
penious commentator would surely have traced
,be Van Wrinkles to Newport origin, although,
as surely the Rip" was soubnquet OF pro-
phetic omen
In those good old days New York loved Sara
toga, and Newport was name OF no significance.
But the Diana of that Ephesus looked suddenly
sea.ward and flood tide of fashion rose along
Narragansett BAY and OyerfiOwed Newport. SIN
yular are the deposits 1t leit and Is leaving. TINS
amorphous Ocean :" this Grccian Atlantic )
this Bellevue enlarged out of all recognizable
proportions this whrl of fashionable equibages,
these hats and coats, this confused din OF dane
ING music, scandal, Irritation, serenades, and su'
preme voice ofthe sea breaking through theiog anu
dust, this singing, dancing and dawdllng lnces-
sanity, this crushing INTO month IN the country
that which crowds SIX months IN .he town
these arc the footprints of Fashion upon the
.ea sbore.-thcse the material with which We
build the golden statue to our Diana.
Beyond doubt, Newport is the great water
ing place of the country. And as such, as
assembling yearly the allied army OF fashion
able forces from every quarter, 1t Is the
most satisfactory point from which To review
,he host and mark the American aspect OF Fash
ION A very little time viii reveal It's Character
,stic to be exagreration. The intensity which
,s the natural attribute OF a new race, and which
finds in affairs, an business It's due direction, ana
achieves there It's truest present success, he
comes ludcrous IN the social sphere, because
II has no taste and no sense of proprety So
c,ety is as much sphere OF art as any OF
he more recognized spheres. To be rich, ana
To yis, certain persons, no more hts a man or
woman for society than To be twenty years old and
10 have palette fits one to be an ar,St When,
therefore, a boy enbarks IN business at ten years
Of age and retires at forty OF fifty with a
fortune, he is in the situation OF one who IN the
passiona,e pursuit of the means has pu, the end
out of his attainment lie has been so long
making his shoes that by inacuon his feet are
wi,hercd, and he cannot walk. Yet tins same
man, who can never be an addition or an orna-
ment TO society, which demands the harmonious
play of rare gifts, shall be very eminen, and use
ml in business which requires the stern labor OF
very different powers.
Thus as wealth Is primal necessity oi socle-
", as giving II pedestal and allowing lss gen
crous whims and iancies full play. 80 wherever
wealth is not all antccedent, but mus; be ac-
quired, the force and maturity OF talcn, Will
always be swallowed up IN the pedestal, and the
statue will be slight and imperfect, or, what IS
worse an lmbecilC mutation. In a society formed
under such circumst anceS, wealth will always
ENJOY an unnatural and undigni6ed considera-
ton. Now the test OF man Is his manner OF
using means. not OF acquiring them. ANY adrot
laborer may quarry marble, but how many men
could have wrought the Apollo or the Venus
And how many men who have made fortunes
spend money well | do not imply that they
are not generous, and even lavish, bat how
much does the expenditure advance the great
common interests OF men In this country
where fortunes are yearly made and spent,
what general artistic results oi that spending
have We ~ show We have carriages. snd
upholstery, and dinners, ANA some elaborate
houses, and young America has a gorgeous blaze
OF charms upon Its Ner, remarkable wNSicoats'
and returns from abroad with knowledge ci