The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1877-04-13
Miscellaneous.
THE WEST PIER.
CHAPTER |.
A TAE IN TWO CHAPTERS.

A hot summer night at Brighton, night
when there was no wind and no stars, n
night so intensely black that the restless.
moaning waste Of waters below was hardly
to be distinguished from the moveless, silent
vault above, save when now and then break
in the inky curtain of the latter showed Il
tawny, orange-colored gap and the geaio-
ing of IL crescent point showed fainter or
ange glare on the languid roll Of the sea- Il
paer CLEAN on the wet shingle of the beach
| Very still that beach was Just then. Th"
| shingle, a few hours back scattered over with
! children, red-cheeked and short.skirle9,
shrieking, laughing, beating each other with
little wooden spades or splashing bare-ieg
ged in the surf and foam-with loose-haired
pymphs in classicaly tiuttering attire-with
trim nursery-maids, and wet-legged, blnwsy,
semi masculine bathing women-was silent
and deserted now abandoned to the white
bathing machines and gaily painted boats
hauled up high and dry, out of reach of the
mischievous element with which they had
been battling all day and scarcely to be
distinguished in the darkness. Very silent
and dim the parade, so gay with carriages
and horses, and crowded with pedestrians
that very afternoon. More silent still, and
still more dim and dark the town behind.
All Brighton seemed to have gone TO sleep
and been buried behind its rattli ug bow
windows and brown paper walls. All
Brighton seemed to be awake and Ii Vely on
the West Pier.
No silence there mo darkness. de sertion
or desoation From end to end of the huge,
frail- looking erection nothing but glitter
of lamps, green, white, and red, nothing but
a sea of people crossing, re-crossing, meet.
ing and re.mee.ing one another, sitting on
the benches talking, laughing. eating ices,
flirting, fooling, perhaps God knows ,
greying to the langud airs of "La Travia-
,, Ia" or the "Blue Danube" as performed by
the band of the Colds,resms or the huShed
and signing mHrmur of thesea. People OF all
ages, sexes, nations, and degrees; wealthy
publicans with portly wives and overdressed
daughters; Jews in profusion, male and ie
male easily distinguishable by too much
, nose, too much full red lip, too much curly
E hair too much gau6y color and sham jewel
! ry; ladies of the ''kaute monde" in dinner
dress, shrouded in shawls and cloaks, anc
9 carefully protected by white crayatted hus
y bands and brothers ladies of the Genri-mon
de, in war paint and plumes, and not shroud
! ed at all in any way children in Hghlan'
! plaids or sailor costume scampering about
4 and getting under every ones feet Rotten
: Row "swells," eyeglass in eye and drawi OF
!. lip; naval officers, happily unconscious
!, the nauticality visible through every stitcl
r of their ready shore garments; vol
!. unteer officers, brstling in full uniform al
my officers, rigidly disguised in the Severes
: "mufti," and supremely obliyious ofthe am
: ateur comparisons all these and a thousan
= Others making up the gay-colored, happ
looking swarm coDgregated abovethe eIasti
= timbers of the West Pier.
Rather apart from the crowd, centere
round the band at the further end Of the pie
two young men of the last meniioned tyI
of individual leant against the railing cha
ting in low voice-Captan Garsford of II
err -th, a big, dark, good lookiI
er man, without much strength of charact
er written in his handsome face, and his frier
er Cyril Granger, smaller, square built, isl
er er haired, fair.faced young fellow in the san
~ regiment, soldier all over, trinity put
AT gether, with pair of piercing blue eyes a.
eh square resolute chin which belied the me
rs boyish blondness and delicacy of his HI
ali ali and skin. There was. pause in the mus
lis ~, and many people who had stood still to
IN ten to a triumphant finale" reeommenC
w. their slow promenade These two, howev
seemed more lazily inclined The nil
was hot, and Mr.. Granger had been rid
all the afternoon; it was pleassnter TO lou
An that quiet corner, putting faint cloud