Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1870-09-07
At the Beach; or. Hotels Versus
."H"A Earm- m-HOuses.

What do we do all day at the sea shore
Why, we "lay off That is a nautical
phrase, / believe 1t would puzzle Solo
mon to tell, at night, what we have done;
and yet like children, we are happily busy
from morning till night. What with
bathing and getting dry-what with rid
ing and walking, both on the beach and
in the woods-what with seeing the
numbering old stage, and its burly
driver and its leather horses, come and
go, and discharge and take up passen-
gers-what with receiving letters,
and answering them-what with
discussing the war news - what
with watching the young people pair off
in state of bread-and-butter felicity, and
hoping that the wool may continue to be
pulled over their bright eyes-what with
loving the little children and thanking
God for their few weeks of innocent
healthful pastimes, in the fields with the
cows, and on the beach, with the shells
and surf-what with seeing new phases
of human nature at every step, and be-
ing astonished to see how soon some peo-
pie are sounded and how fathomless are
others-what with eating and drinking,
and hating to 90 bed and hating to get
up, hope you understand that we have
enough to do.
1t is my opinion that city boarding in
a farmhouse is failure. Give me big
country hotel and plenty of jolly people
in it. Give me landlord who, when he
buys a new plough, does not try to take
it out of some boarder by "skinniRg
him well for not staying till autumn -
who does not entertain you every time
he can catch you with the narrative of a
wooden pail that he shouldn't have
bought had you not come, or rickety
wash-stand, that might have remained
leaning on one leg forever, had you not
crossed the threshold-who is blind to
tho tainted meat on his table, but in
spects your dimes and dollars with
wooden nutmeg" sharpness, to the
dexterous cajoling Of The same into his
own pockets.
City people are apt to tire Of being
constantly on the defensive against this
sort of sharp practice, when they go to
the country forrest. No honorable man
or woman ever refused TO pay just
claim; and no selfrespecting man or
woman will allow themselves to be bull
lied into, or deeced out of payment for
and unjust one. This kind of peck
measure parsimony has gradually emp
tied farm-hOnses and 6lled country
hotels to oyerHowing. II the latter are
TOO Gay, it is easy 10 take the gayety in
homeopathic doses, and increase the al
lowance when the humor prompts. Then
your letters come and go regularly;
while the farmhouse is often a mile or
so from the post-office, and you may
either hire a horse Of the farmer to
drive to get them-which, by the
way, he won't cry Rbout-or you nisy
wait till he chooses 10 bring
them from the village, which ha will
do after he has lounged round the piaz-
zas of one or two Of the country taverns,
and made half a day Of it at Iedekiah
Higgins grocery, aud JehiGl Scatter
brooks fancy store. and the haF-seslas,
and ather festive places of resort OF that
ilk. We wonder there are only q few
struggling boarders left st farm houses,
with such short-sighted policy a. this.
Ii is all in vain TO attempt 20 detaia
unwilling boarders at such places by
threats, OF try TO extort money from one
or two solitary bosrders, on one pretext
or another. 10 make up Cor vacant rooms,
which are the sure consequences OF this
grabbing. Your "wOoden-natneg fsF-
mer will find out, after q time, that
sharpness won't die With him, aud that
honesty is the best policy.
PASsF FERS.
Miss Lillian Edgarton has achieved
great popularity, the books Of the