New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-09-10

4
paIors are small-the carpets are beautiful,
medallions of flowers on soft light coloIeu
| ground, and the ceilings are elegantly
| decorated with paintings of cuplds hoIuhg
up wreaths of flowers-decent, American
cupids, upon whose chubby, modestly dis-
POSED limbs the most prudlsh malo hilsh'
Al AItonether tbe Gilsey House is an ele-
! CANT. we'll ordered hotel; and persons who
ike the European plan, and are Wiling 70
| nav donbIe price for certain necessaf1es,
| could not fail to be pleased there;
In New York time flies rapidly at all
| seasons. even in summer, when all VINO can
| afford it are out of town, and there are no
| amusements to be enjoyed but second, third
and so on down to tenth rate ones. ana so,
! although unable TO hear the best talent,
either in the pulpit or on the stage, we man
| aged. between riding out, shopping and
| reading the papers, to pass a week pleasant
| " in the great metropolis. The elite being,
| as has been mentioned, out of town, there
| is, of course, not much information to be
! given about the fashions;. but as the light
| precedes the dawn, so some faint gllmmer-
| ings of what is ito be worn" we've already
lerceptible. ;.
There is, as yet, nothing new in the line
| of dresses or outside garments, but from a
peep obtained into the freshly arrived
| boxes of fashionable milliner, am pre-
| pared to predict high-crOwned hats, trimmed
| with ostrich plumes, turbans, and modi-
! fed gypsy bonnet, very ugly or very stylish,
| according TO the trimming. The HAIR Is
| worn as the wearer pleases the back hair
| mostly in braids, and the front hair in the
| stvle of our great, great, great grand
| mothers; that is, drawn up from the fore
| heads over a cushion or a crown of braided
| hair. Some still wear frizzettes over the
| forehead, when that feature is too high for
| the other style. Gray hair is all the fashion,
| and, over a fair face, somewhat scanned by
| years, it has softening effect. 1t Is very
! irving. however TO dark compilations, and
! TO ali when in the transitionary state; that
! is. when restorers have been abandoned,
| and the hair has notified appearance,
! neither gray, brown nor black, out all
! three together.
To turn from the freaks of fashion 20 the
| everlasting beauties OF nature, from the tur-
moil of Broadway to the restless monotony
of the ocean. the calm variety of meadow
and woodland, or the grandeur Of mountain
scenery, it is only necessary to take any
one of the innumerable steamboats, or rail
road trains which leave New York every
day. Having decided upon a short visit TO
Newport, we took the magnificent steam
boat Providence, of the Fall River line,
which leaves New York every alternate
day at five o'clock in the afternoon, from
u
with its companion, the Bristol, was built
EXPRESSLY for this route. and is finished with
all the modern conveniences. 1t is lighted
by gas and heated by steam-a first class
seagoing vessel, with narrow guards, boilers
below, and water-tight compartments. 1t
is said to accommodate eight hundred pas
sengers. If so, there must have been more
than that number on board when we took
it, for it could not accommodate us with
stateroom. In fact, each one OF its three
cabins was full Of people, and when supper
time came we were not permitted to descend
to the diningroom which was below the cab
ms. until we received notice that there was
room for two at one OF the tables. One
great pleasure of travelling by this route,
namely. the coast view, was very much
diminished on this occasion by drilling
rain, which was enough to dampen the
ardor of the most enthusiastic lover of
aquatic scenery. 1t did not suffice, how
ever, to keep US indoors, and in fact very
few seemed to mind it much, as the guards
were so crowded that it was difficult TO OBJ
tain seat. By the way, men at the North
are not near so polite to ladies as they are
in the South. Here they generally retain
their seats and let the weaker sex enjoy the
undesirable equality of shifting for them
selves 4 fine brass band helped TO beguile
the time to ten o'clock, when nearly all who
had stateroOms retired to them, and the IN
fortunates who had not, settled themselves
TO sleep as best they could.
About two o'clock at night we arrived at
Newport in pelting shower, which elected
from lively lady of the party the witt
cism that it was watering place indeed
Not very bright, perhaps, but better than
grumbling. We rumbled rapidly along in
an omnibus to the Ocean House, one Of the
best in the place. and were soon provided
with q room in the fourth story.
The next morning the weather was clear,
bright and beautiful; so inviting that we
fastened to ride out to enjoy it and TO see
the beauties of the place. There are four
beaches, three of them to the east of the
town having a southeastern exposure; the
fourth on the southwestern side Of the
island, less accessible from the town and
not so extensive as any Of the others.
Together they form a continuous drive
unequaled in extent and beauty. The first
beach is about a mile and half long, and
is the bathing beach, par excellence, the
water being warmer than at other places
on the shore on account OF the nearness of
the gulf stream, which here curves inland
till it almost touches the shore; while the
hard smooth beach, gently slOping into the
ocean, furnishes a safe and pleasant bottom
Of clear sand, free from rocks. As we rode
along, we admired the dashing waves, with
their white feathery tops breaking upon
L
to have them break over me. The sea does
very well to look at, but when there is
question of bathing, prefer tub.
Between the first and second beaches is
the chasm called Purgat0ry 1t is deep
but narrow fssure in the cliff, which forms
one side of the bay, extending same dis
lance inland. and with precipitOus descent
Of nearly q hundred feet to the water
below. It varies in width from ten TO fifteen
nd ha in
narrow channel, and beat angrily against
its rocky side, sending forth loud roarings. !
Not far from the mouth of PurgatOry, we |
noticed plain, gray grave stone, with the |
simple inscription, ii. c. L.. September 9. |
1852. Immediately my imagination wOve |
a romance. Here said |, seating myself |
upon a rock near by which commanded a |
view of the sea, here the |
occupant of that grave used 10 sit, and |
gaze upon the waters. Was it young girl |
pining for lost love, or a brilliant youth, |
to the tyrant consumption on |
the very threshold of life Whichever it |
was he or she loved this spot and loved the |
sea, and wished to be buried here that the |
ever restless waves might chant perpetual |
requiem over his or her grave"
We afterward learned that a son of |
Abbott Lawrence had shot himself upon
this spot, accidentally it was said, and had |
been buried there. SO my romance came to
naught.
Beyond the second beach is a third, finer
and larger than the others, yet less visited,
because of its remoteness On the shore
above this beach, overlooking the ocean, we
noticed a large rock, with recess, sheltered
from the sun. Here, it is said, the celebrated
Bishop Berkeley used to sit and reverize.
We had the more leisure to observe all
these points of interest as well as to enjoy
the general beauty of the scene. during this