Wilmington daily commercial., 1874-08-17
FIRST EDITION.
From Atlantic City.
THR CHARACTER OF THIS POPULAR SUMMER RESORT
ITS FEATURES, TONE, AND STYLE.
Especial to the Commercially


Especial to the Commercially
ATLANTIC Cry, N. ]. August IA.
Six lively, don't put it lovely, printer young
girls, in the front seats of the car, chatterng
without reserve, teasing, bantering, joking, and
saying ''thee" to each other, help to enlven the
passage on the morning train down from Cam
den. The saturnine silence OF the ordinary rail-
way passenger, the greediness of the man who
wants two seats and the grumness of HIM who
gives up one OF them, are relieved by
SOME GIRL CHATTER.
if it il not rude or loud. There was a good deal
of life and good humor in this party of nine
(with their three attendant beaux, and after all
it is thing to rejoice over that there is some
vitality and freshness Of spirits left in this hard
working fate-driven age of Plutus. Let them
laugh merrily who may and can; let them be
cheerful and buoyant Of heart, while yet moth
ing quenches the spirits Blithe girlhood, bound
on holiday should not be dull.
However, there is
NO LACK OF BLITHENEss
at Atlantic City. The temper of the place is a
rich and radiant freedom from care. 1t is warm
with good humor. The style is gay. From the
Excursion House to the Inlet, people are bound
to take life lightly. Atlantic City is, in fast, q
unique product Of American summer holiday
life, "a composite but distinct specimen. There
is something of Continental Europe in it's open
hlr Out-uOOT lbhlur6b, bucu Ab tlle ice cream ana
beer gardens there is something of the Irish
Fair-Day in the rollicking, unconventional
crowds about the Excursion House there is
reminder OF western railroad towns and Rocky
Mountain mining camps in the onestory frame
booths, with fluttering oolors, where various
amusements in the line OF little games are avail
able; but besides all this there driving, boat
ing, fishing and bathing, and a bountiful quanti-
ty of each People do not drive In delicate,
dilletdnt sort of way, as though it were some
thing altogether of y high-toned Sort but they
BOWL ABOUT WITH LoosENEss,
along the beach, and up and down the long
avenues big carriages with big loads in them,
Tom on the front seat with the driver, and Pop
and Mother, Aunt Sarah, Cousin Amelia and
three children inside. Vehicles are plenty, and
prices moderate So of the sailing ; it Is not
stinted Sixty yachts lie out at the Inlet, all
being nice craft, too large and small. People
sail up and down the Inlet, cross the bar, or
cruise inside of it, run before the wind or jeo-
pardze Boreas's optical comfort by working up
into his "eye." There is no bound to the
amount Of sailing, except the limitations which
finance must impose on us all, and visitors do
great deal of it, the ladies going on and on until
they find just how much 1t takes to make them
sea-aick.
This may give you some notion of what term
the unique character of Atlantic City. IL is
somewhat like Long Branch but not so extrava-
giant or 30 concelted and in comparison with
Cape May it by no means concerns itself 30
much about the proprietes. Atlantic City is
independent of the social edicts of Walnut
street, and doesn't care copper whether its do
ings are approved in West Philadelphia. In
fact ii is
pHILADELpHIA's SUMMER GARDEN,
of the people, for the people, and by the people.
And whose does not like it let him pay his bill
and leave.
The substantial and developing character of
the town is very noticeable. Over hundred
new buildings were erected between last season
and this, and while some OF them were large
and expensive, none were shanties. There are
many small cottages, but all are neat. The
"Cottage Directory published In the Daily Re
Uie,U, contains hundred and eighty names, and
all of their homes are tasteful and attractive,
while many are handsome, and some charming.
By such growth, from year to year, of actual
summer ''homes" for families, the place has be-
come real city, and there is over it all an APP
pearance of permanent and comfortable sub
stantialness. The population in winter is COM
parativey small, of course, yet the mere busi-
ness of preparing and building for the next sea-
son affords employment to many persons. The
period during which visitors may be expected
commences earlier and continues later, by rea-
son of the
FINE FISHING AND CUNNING,
and while many come in June, a still larger num-
ber arrive in September, 30 that there il a tran
sent population here for more than the conven-
tional eight weeks which comprise the usual sea-
shore season. The cottages OF which speak
are mostly such al would cost, in Wilmington,
Gland not included from $4,000. to $4,000. A
few doubtless would cost more than this latter
figure, but the great majority will come within
it. Many are rented, bringing from $500. to
$500. year, or something like fifteen to twenty
per cent. on their value.
From living in cottages, people gravitate, next,
| to small boarding houses. There are great
number of these, and some Of most excellent
character. While the description l have gwen
above of the general tone of the city fairly rep
resente it, there elements precisely and espe-
cially distinct. These found in some of the
smaller boarding-houses, which are kept by
| "plain people," whose guests come here for
| quiet seaside rest, and spend the summer in
SOCIETY OF REFINEMENT AND CULTIVATION.
| Such houses are the Chalfont, the Haddon
| House, Fothergilrs, the Seaside, the Clarendon,
| the Shelburne, Dennis Cottago, the Macy House
and others. They can accommodate probably
from fifty to one hundred guests each, ,and charge
generally three dollars day, with aproportonate-
| ly reduced amount by the week. All of them
| are neat, well-kept and attractive houses, some
with tasteful and beautiful, though limited
| grounds about them and containing pleasant
rooms and home comforts. know Of no such
| houses at Cape May-there are perhaps two or
| three similar in general character, but none sc
generally attractive and satisfactory in all partlc
ulars to quiet, refined people, desiring " the
| comforts of home"
| There are, in fact, only two large hotels-the
United States, and Congress Hall, and these
| DO NOT ovERsHADow EVERYTHING ELSE,
| like the two or three great ones at Cape May
| They are in fact, different from the others by
| being more extensive, charging higher price
and cutting somewhat wider swath generally