The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1857-09-26

| .SrLrRGIN" has been to the sea>hore. and.
he gives, in the subjuined letter, q full account
of what he saw and what he experienced
while there. His experience is not much
differ ut from other peoples, but he has n
different, way of exp'e ssing it, doubtless
because his time has been more devoted to
the cultivation Of the Soil than of litera.
ture.
rrespondence of the Public Ledger.)
| Letter from the Sea.Shore.
Mr.. LMger-With yur permissnoun take
up my pen. in hand t" r tie yu these iu iines
"pin yu are eniOvin the same state of hralti,
us | AIN at this ritin down on the ocean
shore, all txceptn the mu>keeters and the
green headers; Jcru>alem, aint them green
headers some til a bite a? The mnskeet,rs
is thick, but the green headers is sharp.
Them chaps as is alters rtin for papers rite
mighty nice things about the big hotels,
warm weather every other other place, and
SIGH like, a fourshing big dicsionary words.
| Amt got my Spelin book along, and l have
| to take it, as the schoolmarm says, hit or
miss, but yu can make it all rite in yur paper
without them correspondents knowing any
thing about it. Now don't intend to say a
word about the hotels, the people, nor the
wether, them's all rte enuf; intend to dive
rite into the natur of things and come to
the pint. never seed the sea before; live
away up in old Pencilvany, and l thought
I'd take run down across the Jarscys and
take look inter the CRATE deep, as the poet
says in the song, says he:
though dark roin sea,
Gently gently swellin
cant jist recollect the whole, but WI can
find it in the book. Them words struck me
pat when l seed the wimen bathen in them
striped frocks and trOwsers; they were u
frolickin like lot of yourg yearins in clo-
yer Geld. All, what fun it must be for them
fellers holdn on to Their hands and duckin
them, and a splurgin and kickin and a cho
kin and latin. But Amt got no gal now.
Maybe you never seed the sea- YOu chaps
as have to work every day and sit up every
mite gittin yur paper ready to sell in the
mOrnin, haven't time to excrutiate and frol-
ick away down here in the sand. 1t costs an
orful site of money to splurge round here;
never seed how the small change goes, its
wuss nor hos race.
When l first seed the ocean, my eyes, SAYS
l, it rises up jist like a long ridge a sowed in
grass and moved close off; l looked round
for them big waves running mountains high,
as I've heard SD much about, bit l couldn't
see ncthin; it was all as smooth as hill side
clover field; them little waves that come up
on the shore and break all to pieces in white
frOth, amt of no account. | tell yer was
disappointed, and don't care who knows it;
| expected to see somethin grand, somethin
dredful to look upon, surblime and awful; it
isn't anything but a lot of green water a lyin
Their as quiet as big mill-dam Then the
roarin' Of the sea that I've heard so much
about brought lot of cotton along to
stop my ears, expected to be defened with
the TREMENDOUS roarin'. WHY it's a regular
swinde, ther amt no roarin' at all. Them
little rpples tumbin' and b-eakln' up on
the sand makes little noise, but not half so
loud as yer falrmount dam in filadeIfy. And
then yer can't see nothiu' on the tother side
the sky and the clouds come rite down close
on the W.T. ter, and yer can't see under nor
through them-yer can't see only .ist around
along the edge of the sky; it amt near so
wide as the pctur books make it out On
the other side of wher the sky Comes down
on the water, it must be awful dark though
| shouldn't like to vcntur out Their, but reck-
on shirs can't git through the sky onter the
out side, for | seed the sails kinder rub
bin along the clouds .jist like a boss runnin'
close to the fence try in to brake out inter
the other pastur. Them breakers is nice to
go in, but yer can't swim, thcr alcrs tossn
and tumblin' and splashin; and then the
taste Of the water, Oh Jemlma, amt it bit
ter; the fust time went inter the breakers
| forgot to shet my mouth. l was a lookin
at somethin' fiat like maxim apperiently for
my big toe; thought I'd .jist watch and see
what the old Teller was AFTER, when ker-splash
came one Of them surfs and knocked me
down, and the water run down my throat in
great gobs. l had't tasted it afore, and oh
but it made me sqnrm; kicked and tried
to cuss, but couldn't; the water was run
min in and out of my mouth jist like a spout;
| couldn't shet it, cause the water wanted to
come out, and more kept a runnin down;
howsumcver, got straitened up on my pins
acin, yer better believe made tracks for the
shore.
The water is tetotally spilled, there's some
thin nasty in it, and it amt fit for nuthin, ex-
cept to make CRATE bi" pond, that's all its
good for emmy how-and the shore, why its
nuthin but sand. wouldn't give our new
clearn for all the whole sea and shore and
sand together; it's of no account, yer couldn't
raise nothin in it; it's poorer nor Jobs turkey,
and wus nor clear slate and mullin stalks
If the shore was fit for anything, there is
plenty of water along side of it, if it wasn't
so nasty the water comes rite close up on
the shore, and kinder runs up and down, n
back and forrid on the sand all the time, that's
what they call the tide. butts of no use as l
can see. l reckon Their will he plenty of
water for some timc Them little birds as run
along the beach a loOkin for worms and
things is cuteness Their little legs 90 so quick
you can't see them a workin if you have a
gun, you can't get near them; if you haven't
a gun you come rite up to them almost, they
don't care more nor if you was a crab
crawlin along the sand. Them green headers
is the sharp 'uns, when you come out of the
water they bite on you and take the piece
right ou' Wi h their niprer ther kind of
cross between the boss fly and the musketer,
with green heads and ravenous apetltes-
But the musketers thems the boys as will
make you dance. l went back inter the
bushes, about mile from the shore, and they
were so thick yer couldn't sec the sea if yer
struck yer arm straite out yer could see
hole where It come out of when yer drawd it
b ok agin. The musketers don't like the sea-
sho e close up, may be the waite: don't agree
with ther delicate constitutions they amt
the strongest lookin critters, hut ther alters
wlllin. The eaten here is CRATE though, and
:, er appetite gifts as sharp as steel trap and
as ravenons as a saw mill. The fish and oys-
tiers is glori JUS, and the game superb, and
that makes up for the dsapintment in sise of
the sea ard them other matters as talked
about. Yourn till death,
PETER SpLuRGIN.
"P. L. B."-lf the following provokes from
the reader as violent laughter as it did
from us, we hope he may have ribs of cast