Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1849-1856, 1851-10-09
From tie ~ Y. Tribune.
N1wPoRT Sent 81 1874

+
Its climate is an Italian air, these are
the Mediterranean days. They have
that luxurious languor which belongs to
the South. Only The monotonous and
melancholy coast reminds you that you
are not gazing upon Homer's sea, and
j that the wind is not warmed by African
sands. | heard simple and natural ex-
panailon ofthe soflncss of the Newport
climate, which attributed il 10 the i'm
mediate neighborhood OF the Gull Stream.
! The current suddenly diverges west
/ ward near the island, and, according TO
the story, actually touches it. Hence
! the warmer wafer aud softer airs here
than at spots not far removed, especial
ly Nahant. For upon leaving Newport
the line of the Gulf Stream stretches
westward, leaving ii broad space Of sea
! between itself and the Massachusetts
| shore, into which flows the cold water
from the North, by which the winds
warmed over the current are again chill
! ed. and blow into Massachusetts Bay
with the sharp sting thai gives a name
/ to Boston east winds. Vast quantities
Of sca-weed are driven in upon the New
port coast also indicating the ncighbor-
! hood OF the Guii-stream. II | do not
mistake this course Of the Gull Stream
/ is laid down in Maury's chart
But from some Cause or other the eli
mate oi Newport is very bland and bea, =
| tiiul. 1t is called bracing, but it is only
pure. From any high point of the inte-
rlor Of the island you may see the ocean
any sunny day, baskng and sparkling
in the light, seemingly grding the island
/ with broad visible bet of warmth. II
you see it across smooth, lawn like
slopes, with cluster of trees, perhaps
as toward the SpOUting Horn, it will
| iascinatc you no less than Undlne was
4 fascinated, and draw you to the shore
| Follow il and incline toward the Fort
/ Pass the numerous gates gallop along
/ The hard avenues toward Bateman's, and
push on the shore beyond. Then slow
| y pace along the rocky marge. The
waves tumble in here, fresh and full from
the mid-sea. To the right is the soutl.-
ern shore of the main land, and by the
lighthouse upon Beaver-Tail. pass the
soops and schooners heading toward
the Sound. 1t is not a friendly coast I;
II for some distance in the sea the waves
break and ioam over the hidden rocks
! That ledge is Brenton's Reef and here
in the sand, on the very shore, stand
/ two head-stones, side by side. Their
silence tells the same story az the ireiiul
/ gestlessness OF the rockrent waves be.
yond. II you can cross stream that
intervenes and are not appalled, by stone
walls, you may still Keep tie shore, and
skrting Lily Pond which has the stern
aspect OF u solitary mountain turn, and
is only separated from the sea by a str p
/ Of sand, you emerge upon the crescent
beach OF the Spoutlng Horn, throat of
rock in the cliff, through which, from IA
\ narrow cave below, the water, during
storms, is forced sometimes forty or fii'-
ty feet into the air. Just beyond is the
southern point Of the island 1t is a
rocky bluff, planted now in corn, but
from Tie highest point commanding an
unobstruc,cd horizon, including the
town removed into picturesque distance,
and the intermediate reaches of green
field, sprinklcd with occasional groups OF
trees. The cliffs around the Spouting
Horn are magnificent ocean features,
and the shore of the mainland is visible.
Then The sea-sweep, that satisfies the
eye aud mind.
This is the true site of a Newport res
| idcnce. The situation suggests Il cot
tage Oft the same general character as
the Nahdnt houses. No one could 90
beyond you, no one could interfere, and
Doubt, ss, in the present rapid settle
ment OF the island, it may not be long
before il is occupied A little further on
are the finest cliffs in Newport, upon
which, after southery storms, the sea
dashes Itself in magnificent surls that set
tue shore in flashing foam. These are
| the haunts Of the bass-fishers. We must
| have lett our horses behind, for there is
only II foot path along the cliffs. and
Il walls and fences must be scaled. But
| by happy old condition of the sale of
these lands, the path will long remain
1 public. For when the colonists took the
| land from the Indians, a right Of way
| along the sea was eccured 10 hcm for
fishing and the gathering of seawced.-
! At least so runs tie tradition at New
! port aud the convenient stiles and holes
| IN the walls, even upon properties al
ready settled, confirm lis pracIcai truth,
| Or is ii only, perhaps, that no man upon
! this pleasant island ieels that he has the
! right TO exclude others from the sea
shore, the sea. like the air, beng The on
! ly unquestioned universal heritage IN
| Nature The fields upon the cltls are
Hat and trceless A dry crisp grass car
| pets them quite TO the edge OF The prec-
/ pee. II is thus the finest ocean. walk,
| Tor it is elevated sufficiently Tor the eye
| TO command the water, and is soft and
|. grateful to the feet, like thc inland coun-
| Try No enterprise has yet perceived
| that The true situation for Newport ho-
tel is upon these cliffs. A broad piazza
over tie sea would brook no rival IN at
\ traction, and the citizen who sought the
island for the ocean air and the osean
view, would not turn without sigh, back
into the dusty road, upor which stands,
out Of the oceans sight and sound, the
glarIng. amorphous pie which Is his
II home for the nOnce.
II In the serene beauty of September
weather, the cliffs are doubly beautiful.
Fashion, the Diana Of the summer Sol
stice, is dethroned that golden statue
is shIvered, and its fragments cast back
into the furnace OF the city, 10 be agblil
| fused aud moulded. aud out oi the whlr-
ring dust and din the loitcrcr emerges
| into the medtatlvc autumnal air
"There Is a sadness OF Spring and a
Il sadness OF Autumn" says Colcridgc