Elizabeth daily monitor. [volume] (Elizabeth, N.J.) 1868-1880, 1873-09-05
OUR PICNIC.
BY MARIE FLAAcKE.
TcoNcLUDED.1

Ouu LhClO mO MOtO oO w WAN ~
was almost two o'clock, and the fresh
breeze from the water had given us
keen appetite for the long-delayed lunch
promised by the contents Of the baskets.
Have I before remarked that we had re-
solved to cast demure dignity and staid
lady-isms to the winds? 1t would be
such novelty to imagine that we were
boys and girls again-such pleasure to
forget we were young ladies ard geatle-
men Why the very waves, as they
sparkled and dashed upon the shore
the trees as they merrily waved their
branches above our heads-all seemed
to say "Come, romp with US ! Well
dash the white spray upon you and take
all the stiffness out of your manners.
Well catch your hair with our rugged
limbs and disarrange the careful struc-
ture. Can you resist our pleadings ?"
No, we could not, and SO we decided.
And nov that have warned you of our
intentions, pray don't be shocked at our
proceedings. 10 collect fire wood for
our clam bake, was the work of few
moments but just as we were congratu-
lating ourselves upon the success of our
first fire, Captain Jack turned to us,
with countenance replete with anxiety
and dismay, while from his lips fell this
ominous sentence "Girls, we've for
gotten the seaweed p
What contretemps Clearly. a
clam-bake without sea-weed would be a
case of pigeon-pie postponed )" and
yet how could we remedy the evil !?
There was large supply of the article
on the beach, it is true, but between the
beach and the bluff lay the hill Diff
Guilty. We had but just made the as
cent, and Captain Jack and his merry
men had scarcely recovered from the
| fatigue consequent upon the excrtion OF
escorting the demijohn, the sail and
the CLANS. Should we, or should we
not ? We looked at each other, we
glanced at the captain, we gazed down
that steep and dreadful sank bank, we
cast lingering look upon the CLAIMS
"Girls, exclaimed the Princess, re-
solutely removing her gaze from the
seductive array of shawls and cloaks, -
let, as go down. The poor fellows
haven't had time to rest themselves
yet p
So taking very small kettle, we,
with little visible, but great amount
of invisible reluctance, wendell our
weary way through the wooded path.
Deciding to combine pleasure with bust
ness, we thought we'd go down the
steepest place we could find, just fol
fun. Well, we went down for fun, but
came up in dreary easnest.
The Princess, of course, led the way,
We started together, but gained in
speed according to the mode of proce
dure. The Princess walked, our brown
eyed maiden ran, but Flyaway and my
self decided to slide. Upon ice ? No,
but on very slippery sand. Seating
ourselves comfortably, we slipped rapid
ly and easily from the top to the bot
tom, using our hands for paddles and
then, having landed safely ourselves, we
watched the downward trip of the Other
two. And such q scene There was
the Princess, coming down properly
and sedately, kettle upon her arm and
a stick in her hand. Run Not she.
Planting one foot firmly in the sand,
she would insert the other, and attempt
to withdraw the first. Occasionally il
would be an easy matter but usually
she E9pilda stir end sa6sa i ip SgcRt f4@g
with laughter at the sight The kettle
swung, the stick seemed determined to
desert her, and all the way down we
could hear her calculating "oh !-oh
oh, dear !"
Her companions rate of speed was al
most beyond timing. She said she was
going to run, and run she did The
way she came down that bluff challeng-
ed the admiration of her audience. Our
only fear was that she would not be able
to stop before she reached the waters
edge. She did though, so our fears
were groundless. From the nature of
the subject, wouldn't it be better to say
our fears were waterless
In order to recruit before our return,
we wandered about the beach little
while, then filled one untensil with sea-
weed, another with water, and then
started up that awful hill The second
trip was but repetition of the first,
with the exception Of the increase in the
height. At first we considered it sew
enty-five feet, this time we were ready
to affirm that it was three hundred and
fifty.
| Brown-eyes dropped the kettle of wa
ter, spilled the contents upon herself,
and after quietly performing the back
action movement downward, regained
her equilibrium, looking little the
worse for sand and water. / only had
time as scrambled past, to ask if she
was making mud pies. She gave me q
pathetic glance and-slipped down a lit
tie further.
Our merry men met us at the ridge,
and escorted us to the camp. They had
arranged resting place for us, during
our absence, and we gladly took posses
sion. ..
1t was a pretty scene, and grateful
one to our weary eyes. The very high
est point had been selected for oui
ground, and the trees were just thick
enough to shade the spot nicely. The
bluff, out on the edge, was carpeted
with fresh, green grass, unobstructed
| by brier or stone. The view of the
sound with the many white sailed yes
sells upon its cool, green waves formed
o pleasing contrast to the surrounding
hills and bluffs. In cosy nook the
sail had been arranged to prevent any
stray sunbeam from exhibiting too much
curiosity. Out on point where two
trees were growing close together, a
fire had been kindled and the kettle
suspended on the dancing flames. In
| the back ground the clam-bake was pro
l IL. \ y