The Portland daily press., 1873-08-19
Especial Correspondence of the Press. ]
Old Orchard Beach.
OCEAN HOUSE, Augu

is not an especially attractive one, greater dls-
lance being through Scarboro marshes, with
their carpets of furze and brake and fern, their
scrubby alders and Haunting water-weeds and
hay-ccoks on stills. But the unattractveness OF
the iourney.is capital foil TO the charms of the
popular summer resort. From the long piazza
of the Ocean House one sees the hard smooth
beach stretch away for miles, with scarcely even
rock or jagged point of land to mar its
grand monotony. An island or two with here
and there tree as indicator break the broad
expanse of the sea stretching away to historic
shores. In the background, to be seen from the
other side of the house-encircled piazza, are the
remnants of a New England forest.
The railway has wrought many changes in
the appearance and the life of Old Orchard. To
those with whom picturesqueness is svnono-
nous with solitude it seems to have worked an
irreparable evil. To others it is the finishing
touch to the scene, for it brings to the mind the
feverish rush and haste of our advancing civili-
cation, and renders by contrast the dolce far
niente of the sea-shore life all the sweeter Since
it was opened to travel many summer houses
and restaurants have been built, and every day
crowds of excursionists visit the place.
The resort rejoices in a wealth of fanciful
though sometimes inappropriate names sold
Orchard" itself. brings to you a suspicion of the
pink and pearl blossom of the apple-tree,
hint of the Hebrew garden and the Trojan
war. Tradition says that ia the old colonial
times the ship-masters of York and Kennebunk
delighted to flavor the red distillation of Santa
Cruz with the juice expressed from the apples
which grew in the orchard by the sea. That
was before men had ceased to believe in rum or
hell or any of the good old institutions which
formed our fathers creed. Even to this day
they antiquely spell cider with ''y" at the
beach, and charge forty cents bottle for the
deviation in photography. Close on the sea-wall
to the right of the Ocean House, are Camp Cong
fort and Red Castle, dear to the hearts of the
Biddeford people. Directly in front is the st.
Cloud, fast increasing in popularity. Far to
the right, across the water is the Pool, sugges-
tive of healing. properties, and looking like
fishing village. In the rear is Fern Park with
its fisherman's hut, and its lovers retreat, and
its poets walk and host of other names sug-
gested by the Englishman with the fertile fan
cy and the prosaic name. But the lovers don't
retreat at Old Orchard. They ensconce them
selves in a corner of the piazza or the embra-
brasure of window at the Ocean
House of an evening and unblushingly do
their "spooning'' though hundreds be looking
on. In the day time they stroll on the beach
and write vows of everlasting constancy on the
hard sea sand. An hour after the tide comes
up, and the record is .obliterated. The young
men are wise in their generation, and fully
understand that VOWS written in sand make a
most unsubstantial basis for a breach of prom
Use suit. They say though that one cautious
Springfield youth, who believes in nothing but
Sam Bowles and the Connecticut River and
has no faith in the treacherous waves, wound
I'D his passionate pretestation on the beach by
subscribing himself, "Yours without preju-
Dice"
Of late there has been "a war at the Beach
between the admirers of the blonde and the
brunette,-one party of gentlemen swearing by
the quick glittering glances of 1.-THE brown wo-
men and the other protesting their admiration
for the soft languor of the Northern beauties
The contest seems as absurd as that over the
respective merits.of red wine and white,-both
are good.
The season at Old Orchard is now in its fifth
week. The crowd of visitors has been I'M
precedently large, and appears to be ION the
increase, The fine facilities of the Ocean
House, its firstclass appointments, courteous
attendants and indispensable table cause it to
be extensively patronized by many of the best
class of visitors. The Antinous of the Senate,
Hon. Roscoe Conkling of New York, arrived
Saturday night, with party eof friends from
New York, and will pass the remainder of the
week here. He then purposes going on fish.
ing tour down the coast. Of course he is the
cynosure of all eyes, and attracts the particu-
lar admiration of the ladies. The constant at
tention with which his movements are fol-
lowed seems to seriously annoy Mr.. Conk-
ling, and he looks terribly bored. Rev. W. r.
Alger and family have been here for a week
past, and will remain probably during the sea-
son. Hon. Lyman Tremaine, once counsel for
Stokes, and Carl Zerrahn, the musician, both
habitues of the place, put in an appearance
nearly as soon as the houses were opened
William. b. Astors son, an unpretentious
young man dressed in a sober suit of
gray, and the Rev. s. L. Prime are
among the recent arrivals. Mr.. Prime will
visit Portland this week to attend the meetings
of the Association for the Advancement of Sci
ence. E. c. Ingersoll of Washington, Capt.
Stokes Boyd of Philadelphia and Mayor Fox of
Taunton are also at the Ocean House. There
are several visitors from the Dominion. Tho
the Canadians mostly affect the dear old town
by the sea" many of them stray out as far as
here. The Old Orchard House is their favorite
abiding place. Boston people there are in plen-
IS. One of them once bestowed upon the place
the soubriquet of the Northern Newport and
ever since there have been crowds of visitors
from the "Hub," A few New York families
with sonorous Dutch names and bearing
which betokens the gentle influence of genera
tons of culture are very quietly passing the
summer days in bathing and strolling OF
course the West furnishes some visitors, and
there are one or two from the South. Most of
the loiterers live quietly, making very little
display and taking on no airs but the sea-air,
tho occasionally you see man oppressed with
the sense of boarding at watering place and
correspondingly making an ass of himself.
People here battle and stroll and read and flirt,
and if of the masculine persuasion, smoke.
There is but little boating or shooting. In the
evening the mazes of the inevitable German
are threaded in the dance-hall at the Ocean"
The Ocean House hops, which come off every
Friday night, are very pleasant affairs. The
latest one is said to have been great success.
There were many present from Boston and
Portland, and the costumes were elaborate and
tasteful Taking it all in all life at Old Or
chard is very cosy and agreeable. There is on
ly one drawback, the well water, which is disa-
greeable in the extreme. But then there is very
little drunk.
Sundays services iare holden at the large no.
'eis' at the camp meeting grounds, and sat the
patch OF pitch pines and sand which the exu-
oerant fancy of hotel-keepers has dignifed by
Inc name OF grove. You5are called to prayers
by the hideous din of Chinese gong, there
being no bell> but room-bells at Old Orchard.
Yesterday evening services were held at the
st. Cloud, Rev. Mr.. Prime conducting.
Yesterday, for the first time, a steamboat
was seen at Old Orchard, the Augusta with
w. '. ueiegetes to the French Canadian Conven-
sloh on board. steaming ldown from the pool
SATURDAY ooo French Catholics from Lewiston
were here oman excursion.
Inc eccentric russian who lives on sea-weed.
Is MAKING his head rta o. Al.