Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1875-03-01
lava. Gazette t. Virginia Advertiser.
TILE ISLE OF MAN.

There is a patch Of land 10 the stormy Irish
Sea cslled the Isle of Man, about which many
travelled aud untraveed Americans know
'o,rreIv more than its name. 90 a suany day
,be highlands of Ulster, In Ireland, and oi
Galloway, in Scotland, are visible trom Its
eastern shore, and from the summit OF Snae.
fell mountain busy little England is seen fret
ting ln the golden haze far across the sea. 1t
i not much greater than Staten Island in area
and an ambitious Californian might look upou
il ~ tair-sized ranch But, snall as it is-a
mere speck on the map of Great Brltaln-lt
ha, government of its own, with a House oil
Parliament. a people iotused with noble blood,
and thrilling aud eventful history. HaW-
throne found it out while he was consul at
Liverpool, and has praised it 10 the delicious
prose of his English Note Books: !" Scott
gathered material tor " Pcveril OF the Peak
from its romantic scenery and Legends, aoo
Wordsworth commemorated visit to 1t In
sonnet. But it is not 10 these lew literary as
sociations that its chief interest lies. The his
tory of its varied fortunes and the ancestry OF
its superstitious people have a peculiar interest
dating, as they do, from the thrlllCg age
when the Norsemen were mighty In the west.
In it's greatest length the island measures
about ,hrtythree miles, and IN It's greatest
seventy. FIVE miles, excluding the sDnoslties OF
the bays and 1t contains superficial area OF
about one hundred and thirty thousand acres
and two buudIed aud three square miles. En.
loving the benefits Of the Cult Stream, the eli
mate is sngularly mild and genial, aud there
are few other places 10 the world where the
difference between winter and summer is so
slight. The mean temperature Of summer IS
usu ally about S. II deg; of autumn 46 ~ deg;
OF winter As 9U deg LOT spring A. ~ deg. There
is plenty of rain but very little snow or frost.
Fucbsias grow to the hight of ten or twelve
feet out Of doors, and are found mass OF GRIM
son blossoms 10 the poorest gardens. As to
the healthfulness of the climate, you should
see the native girls, rosy-cheeked, plump, ac-
tive and gleeful, and the men, who are as stall
wart. muscular and handsome race as evel
breathed sea air.
For the most part tho cost is rocky aod wild,
hoar with the foam of the turbulent sea that
surrounds it, and udented with capaclous har-
bors and iuumerable creeks; but in the north
the land sinks into low pasturage, and meets
the water on the glisteping pebbles OF smooth
beach The interior Includes nearly every KIND
of natural scenery-heather- balsamic bills,
plains as richly cultivated as the downs OF Sur
rev, wide reaches of ,prckly gorse as drear as
The euchautment of northern land. dwels IN
its subdued light and on its mist,ccrowneda
heights.
The vikings are fishermen now, and all the
great treasure steamers from Liverpool sail toto
the west without thought or wish of evil to-
ward ,hem. Sleepy villages are perched on the
cliffs where once the beacon fires of the wreck
ers allured many goodly ship to her doom.
In the bays where the pirates bid themselves
hy the white sails of pleasure boats So great
are the changes wrought by time that even the
spell of mist worked by the wizard king has
been broken, and the summer has its share OF
cIoudless days. The invaders are not Romans,
picts, Scots or Scandinavians, but aggressive
tourists bearing knapsack, instead OF eagles,
and walking. sticks instead OF javellns. These
coufron, you 10 pearly every part of the island,
and the primitive character of the nstives Is
fast changing under the influence of the town
manners which the visitors bring with them.
Many of the superstltions have been laughed
away, and hospitality has acquired fair
money value. do not mean to say that there
are no more generous hearts and simple minds
in Mona An old hsherman's wife entertained
me with four bread, salt fish and tea, 10 her
hut at Creg-y- neesh, and Indignantly thrust
me out OF the only door in the house when the
meal was ended because | offered her sbll-
ing. There are not few honest folks, too,
who yet have steadfast faith in mermalds
and fairies -Harper's Magazine.