Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1874-08-14
Watering Place Gossip.
orresnondence If the Bnlletin,

NUIIerIsuuChS1 VI vase DuitVNius
LoNGMEADow House., Il. l. Aug. ~.
We fell in love with the situation
here from the first. 1t is in the
country, not :, brick in sight save in
the chimney, which is the only pro-
per place for bricks; not traders
or lawyers or other sign staring ut
you and inviting you to step in and
part with your money; but long
stretches of green meadow all about
except in front, with now and then
a small clunp Of trees and collect
ions of bushes; no glaring white
sand to try your eyes and keep up
perpetual suggestion Of deserts,
and heat, and ari,lity. In front Il
beautiful lawn slopes gently down to
the bay. which is more river than bay,
and on its surface up and down as
far as eye can see, white sails are
spread to the breeze and seem per-
pet,u,lly filled with its refreshing
breath. Across the bay the land
sclpe is diversified with fields, groves
cottages, and a few villages, which
give the impression Of thrift, con-
r! tentmcnt, and happiness; but after
the misery unshcathcd in Brooklyn,
it is rather unsafe to predict from
appearances exactly, where happi-
ness dwclls.
The hotel is not hotel except i'll
name, but home, where you do just
as you please and are not tied down
to any fashions or formalities save
those that are always imposed upon
real ladies and gentlemen. Good
food, tidy rooms, clean beds, free
dom and the salt air give one during
swcltcring hot term about rs great
sense of continual comfort as can
be gained anywhere. The nights
are always cool.
The house has Il wide piazza on
one side and one end, and some
parts of it are always in the shade,
and in the breeze. When you get
here, if YOU come with any proper
motives, you are seized with a spirit
of placid content, tendency to gen
tie repose steals over you, your food
digests, your appetite comes home
from its career of vagrancy, your
liver sets up business again, and con
science stands by with Il certificate
of friendship, sworn to before
Heavens notary and attcstcd by the
seal of the upper Court,-that is il
you are proper man or woman.
About mile out in the water is q
lighthouse, which stands at the outer
point of sand bar, and at low
water the bar is visible nearly
all the way. 1t was near the
end of this bar that during the
troubles preceding the revolution
the British man-of-war G:ispee was
stationed, the vessel, it will be re-
membcred that was successfully at
tackled by the rebcllious Rhode Is
landcrs under the lead of John
Brown Of Providence, who for augh,
we know, may have been the anccs
tor of John Brown Of IIarper'S Fer
~. At any rate, the two Johns were
alike in impetuosity, dcvil-may-caro
audacity, hatred of oppression, and
disposition to take the short cut to
do away with injustice.
On the other side Of the bay We
see the domains and t:,voritte haunts
of that royal old savage King Phil
ip, and every evening about eight
o'clock we can see the Fall River
Steamer emerge from Mt. Hope Bay
on her way to New York. Provi
dence steamers are passing hourl..
during the day, and are constan,
objects of interest in many ways
Some of them have boardcrS at the
house, and half al hour after landing
ut Rocky Point the coach will bring
them with the late news and the new
Corners to wake lis up, and give us
fresh topics for discussion. The new
Corners cannot come without an i'll
spection more searching than is ever
visited upon the baggage Of travel
er by the spies of the custom house
and "what she had on is a fact Of
established prominence in much less
time than it takes to write it. And
yet, our ladies at the house are not
vain gossipcrs or butterflies of fash
ion, but sensible mothers chiefly y
but they don't mean to have theil
children grow up and dress like
fiights, not if they know it. That
won't happen eff the court under
stands herself, and she thinks she
do"
! Of course abound, though there is
no game The fishing is good, and
the bathing answers every purpose
of health, but there is no surf
About three miles away is Oakland
Beach, where is one of the finest no
tells in the country, with all the mod
crn cOnvenicnces. Oakland is u riv'
a! of Rocky Point, and begins to
divide excursions with it, much to
the chagrin of the former, which
f:,ncicd that it was the place and
could defy competition. This notion
made Rocky proud, exorbitant, and
hard-hearted. 1t put up prices, put
! indignities upon customers, gave
them the minimum of accommoda.
ton for the maximum of money,
and did in general as wealth and
hauyhtiness will; hence Oakland, Il
new line of steamers, and healthy
competition. They have clam bakes
ut Oakland, too.
Dog and Snake Fight.