, 1873-05-18
). AMONG THE ISLES OF SHOALS.

AlnUH0-lnE toLEo Uf .oaUAlS.
Sis,. : ,--
Eztraettton Celia Thartev's new book.
In q series of paperB published not many year,
ago, Herman Melville made the world acquainted
with the !" Encantadas," OF Enchanted Islands,
which hs describes as lying directly undcl
the equator, of -the coast Of South America
and ;of which he saya: ut is tt
| be doubted whether any spot Of earth can, il
desolateness, furnish parallel to this group
But their. dark volcanic cragB and melancholy
beaches can hardly seem moro desolate than dc
the low bleached rocks of the Isles Of Shoals tc
eJeR that behold them for the first time. Yer1
BAD they look, stern, bleak, and unpronising, yet
are they enchanted Islands in better sense oi
the word than arc the great Galapagos Of which
Mr.. Melville discourses so delightfully."-.
There is q strange charm about them, an indo-
scribab1e influence in their atmosphere, hardly
to be explained, but universally acknowledged.
People forget the hurry and worry aud fret OF
life after living there awhile, and, to an imagina-
tive mind, all things become dreamy IS they we're
to the lotus-eaters, to. whom -.
The gushing Of the wave
- Far, far away did seem to mourn and raye
On alien ahores- -
: The eternal sound OF tho sea on every side has
q tendency to wear away the edge Of human
thought and perception; sharp outlines become
blurred and softaned like sketch in charcoal !;
nothing appeals to the mind with the same dis
tinctness as On the mainland, amid the rush and
stir Of people and things, and the excitemeuts Of
social life. This WAS strikingly illustrated dur
ing the late war, which, while it wrung the heart
OF the whole country, and stirred the blood Of
every man, woman, and child on the continent,
- - The handful OF human beings upon these
lonely rocks almost untouched The echoes OF
woe % ana terror were so faint and far, they seemed
waters they crossed, and reached nt.1ast tha in
dlnerent ears they sought with no more force
than spent wave. sA10N' A'.eo ..
ss..-~ g,;les Of the Atlantic Ocean intervene be-
coast Of New bRs fFe Rpe1
point the coast-lino recedes gradually, III dim
and DINNER distance, to Cape Ann, in Massa-
chusetts, twenty-one miles AWAY at the south
Hest,: and to Cape Neddock, in Maine, sixteen
miles distant in the northeast lin clear wcather
another cape ia family distinguishable beyond
this), and about one-third Of the great horizon
is filed BY this beautiful, undulating line Of
change, is almost as plastic as tho clouds, and
wears a new aspect with every turn Of wind and
weather. ,>.
Swept by every wind that blows, and beaten
by the bitter brine for unknown ages. we'll may
the Isles Of Shoals be barren, bleak, and bare.
At first sight nothing can be moro rough and IN
hospitable than they appear: Tho inccseant in
1uences OF wind and SUD, rain, snow, frost, and
spray, hare SO bleached the tops Of the rocks,
that they look hoarY as il with age though in
t;n, hra.i.a 49, ~ thare ha s4arn ort1snaa
+ia;r rnooed aenec. VI
o4 az farh;d ara ta;r shores y seerns scarcely
worth while to land Upon them heaps
Of tumb ling granite in the vide and lonely
eoa,,,r,od -o,-;a1a.r10 or tha Isndn lea res1v
to,roo the yoyager back again, and welcome
h1B returning prov, with pleasant sights and
tno 'au nv To the hnnoan crest,r Who
hos % ovna % thot vii sce end ~ aars that viii hear
nan esos aa'a ~" sr,ci, nova1 c.rn, ~
~ bos,1tv of tha iopd is half fnrrot
ta o ha1n-s ona 10 .wsra fts smeet carns mi
Of color and perfume. # it's rich woods and softly
enj a6vorv -' meadows ~ arc no rongar dear
a snd desroh,e for tba andarfn IN .un'A eonnd
~ tba sea ] dr31a the ,oe1norv of nII 1,aet I'M
nrass;ons @ ~ and seems tn fn1f11 and - aatisfv ali
present pest nneds I LANDING for the 1rst t;ma the
strsneer Strange is struck onIy by ~ the re- sadness Of tho
n1sca Stha %a.t 1onaine9a. 70 ~ thars ara MT
aran treca h whiener v;th Familiar ro;cea ~
,,nii;n,- hr,t a1<v MI aoa a1a -ocl-a m tba
% Terv Wiidness 81 and id desolstion M on reveal strange
beauty to him. Let lin wait til evening comes.
| 3isa ID saase: purple @ .seta'5s @ ~ ii The ~ss!s.
and he will ind himself slowly succumbing to
the subtle charm OF that sea atmosphere.
He sleeps WITH au the raves OF the
~ 4a ~ IN nus ear ana wa wa19s M
seems as morning we're =. made for the
hrst nme. tor me Nofio - IKE neW,nloTn
tSs0, a1 - suo ~ ~ 10 s.auus' VIII
tne ca gEelue , muelo " tue "aseI u o1eaA 'no
aHna ne.1r otnS sue ~ h1ss RorAaPs
nW bs 49, saa a ~ rns1 "4n1g and IKE W 81
bare, bleak rocks These are lovelier than tho