Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1875-08-11
Correspondence Of me Euening Sar.J

AT THE CAPE, ETC, ETC.
Correspondence Of The Erelling Sar.I
CAPE MAY, August Q.
The "height Of the sea son" at Cape May has
been reached, and o'ertOpplei itself towards
the auturnnaI side. In the number of WISH
tors it has somewhat exceeded that of last
year, but does not promise to be so profitable.
a recent letter from Long Branch spoke OF
the pleasure which came from s.the poetic
surroundings of that resort. Cape Nav has
nut little to boast Ofiu that wav, bur If can
make the stronger claim To an ocean front of
greater grandeur, with beach unriva ted for
the pleasures and comforts OF q sea- -ide so.
jOurn, and season relieved Of much of the
eydneScent folly anu fashion of the former
place The real pleasure of the Sea-Side salt
water bathing, is the exception ar the
bTauch, while here II Is not only the fashion
on mat word must make plea sure univer-
san, bu the custom fully homo. Ell each day
10y lis observance 10 the fullest extent. II IS
not an infrequent sight 10 see from three to
four thousand persons in the surf ari break
erS at one time. Indeed. ON ye>terfay. when
the waves came rolling nigh and fast" IL
Is estimated that The number was largely
IN excess Of these figures. For more than a
mile the bathers stretched their g-otesque
costumes of Haunel and serge along The
Whlte, Eard beach, dotted the sum with their
say cGlOrS, role the big hli lOWS i'm triurrnl
plunged through the Drea KerS, and We're in
turn swept Iandward by the gathered strength
Of ftOOd-tide and d breeze that freSrpnq,'
: a. a
eye cOu III reach. This sea bathIng is a mighty
leYeleT! Whatever of character, custom aud
arr and fashion in dress may give 10 one. eS-
peclaily To the ladies, ~ ruthiesSly laid aside
NO IdlhlEg suits are tied back to show the
female form divine and If they were the
breakers would soon rend the strings aSun-
der The bathing hats are uugainly, and no
neajly-Shaped boOtS cover the other eXtrer.-
ties; ana yet some of these ladies who would
beur3ggle their skirts over a muddy street
crossing rather than show foot. pretty or
not, on the way TO the bath, Will imprint
luclr bare white feet in the bare white sand
and AZ the same time exhibit a SvInmetriCa!
llmb bare to the knee To the gaze Of every
Gne-and think nothing OF it! Others, who
90 not go quite so far, appear in the stocking
OF the period, neatly fastened and shapely TO
the last; bat notice, and do it in common
with others, that both of these classes OF
bathers always have that "mOuld OF form"
which attracts the vOluptuary in art and ma
ture. The majority OF bathers, however
who we IlrSt see in everyday life and then
amid the SpurtS Of the surf. remind us what
shadows we are and what shadows We pur-
sue though there are some like the man i'm
tOppeTneld, who even fail IN make 4 respect
dOie shadow, while there are OtherS-IaiieS,
OF couIse'-Who wear corSets and India rub
Der bustleS, and must say it?) India rubber
busts; though when some high, far->earching
breaker reveals these secrets the fair ones
always protests that they are merely con-
ceaed llfe-pTeserverS, Notwithstanding that
they are not always adjusted according 10
the rules Of the life saving stations of which
Cape May is one.
That cape May. with all its crowds, is n
Staid. quiet watering place meet hardly be
repeated here. The OverShadOWing influence
OF Philadelphia. and The nOn-progres> I'VE
Jersey element, have kept 1t pretty much in
one groove Tor a great many years. The
boulevard AMI sea wall. and other improve
ments, are mostly new this season. No
ChamberlalES or MUrrISSeyS have cildeI
palaces here to Tempt the average PhiiaIri-
phl@u, who prefers 10 sit and sun On the
Pia1zas and aInuSe himself with the OBJ tuary
poetry Of mis- daily Le,iyer. The Paris Nh
tuals,' that fare in youl face at SaratoGa
and Long Branch, are unheard OF herp. In
deed, there is no e. changing-
- The !aEgUoT and lily Of virtue
For the roses aud rapture of vice
And yet large and wealthy religious eIe
ment in Philadelphia have built a beautiful
town two miles from Cape May, that they
may he far removed from the fOH.eS anu
fashions of this place
The same evidence OF Tetrencnment, base
upon the new economies OF the people and
growing out of the hard times,'' may b
seen daily here as at Saratoga and Long
branch. While the number OF visitors may
be as large, or possibly III excess Of last sea
son. there is far less extravaganza in dress
and in other Injuries. OF course there are
those who viii splurge ''in their gloss oil
SATIN and GllmmeT OF pearl eXaCtiug min
gled admira lion ard criticism, bat the
greater proportion seek health and pleasure
and more comfort IN palmer and less osten-
tatlOus ways. Wine at dinner, for instance
which a few seasons a go was the rule, is now
the exception-indeed, on some days very
rare exception. With 2 corresponding re-
dUction in the consumption OF liquors at the
bar, the profits Of the summer landlords |
am assured, have been cut down many thou
sands Of dollars. But with this sensible
shrinkage of expenditures, the cost OF a sea
son or half of a season to a guest OF any OF
the leading hotels is too high. The rates in
town and seaside hotels, which rose with the
~ q Of tpr,
come down at an early day To I'LL the de-
fClenCy in the number of visitors or the loss
OfpIoiits in the direction have mentioned
Otherwise the proprietOrS OF summer resorts
Will have 40 profits. Every one of Their
guests knows tn the rate OF ~ 70 OF - per
day merely covers the most different rooms
IN the hotel, the furniture Of which could he
bought anywhere for the price of two days
board. For the best rooms fronting on tne
ocean al the Stockton and West End from
80 TO 3ICG, and at Congress Hall @Gb per
week are charged, whether occupied by one or
two persons. Eligible rooms AZ Saratoga rate
the same
Tie fact that the visitor finds himself viz
tualIy deceived az To the pleasures ana com
forts lie expected 10 secure for an advertised
stated sum, 10 which may be added number
less little ImpOsitiOns that CRATE one, good
nature, and Hen in the long run his pocket
- well caICula' ed TO average the sentiment
of the travelling public IN favor OF d reform
II those particulars. The plan of some OF
in New YORK, of charging = cOrding 10 the
location of the rooms, must eventually te
applied 10 the summer hotels, while rea-
sOnabie profit must take the place of what
are severe eXactiOns, cot b. say eXtOrlIonS
Now that may not be accused OF writing
about "small things" let us see what "a
plunge i'm the pillows OF The old ocean costs q
transient hotel guest. His bathing suit is
fuy cents; bath room fifty cents; taking care
Of suit per week nifty cents, and the usual
fee 10 the boy who brings you a bucket of
water tOI your bathing room. This fOOtS up
the cost OF IL single ocean bath in excess of a
dollar for each person, or for family of
several persons about four or five dollars n
day. Nearly everybody batheS every day
indeed, as have stated, the noon day bath
ing here is the great inspiriting feature of
Cape May-and the expenses i'll the course of
a week reach an extraordinary sum when
the small cost OF the suits and of the rough
board bathing rooms are only counted
against ii. The profit to a hotel OF single
days bathing frequently reaches $500. |
have not added TO the expense of the bath
the almost necessary cOmcOmicant OF q half
dozen salt water oysters and glass of ale
which cost you forty cents mOre-the oysters
being reasonable at fifteen cents AID the ale
rnrer sOnable al twenty-five cents. At New
port, which is an expensive place, the suits
and ba tn room cost but forty cents instead of
q dollar, but ii can be reduced to twenty ii We
cents and still be profitable to the owners of
the wooden boxes and the flannel salts while
in the end the reasonable rates would pro
duce quite as much revenue
There is, of course two sides to this ones
tion of expenses at summer resorts. The
ft,a% ftN hs,.