New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-09-12
A FRENCH WATERING PLACE
SUMMER LIFE AT DIEPPE.

OF THE FRENCH OVER THE ENGLISH WATERING
TLACFS.
IFRo, THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT or THE TRIBUNE
DIErPE, Aug. 2i-In the Department OF Franco
which goes by the name OF Seine lntcreure there
are tyo Dieppes You will find but one on the
map but that only shows the ncompete mess OF
purely geographical information and neither the
gazetteer nor even the guide-book Will distinguish
sharply enough between the two which really eN-
ist The Dicppe of commerce is one thing. II is
town of 20 900 people with an interesting history
n port of dlicult entrance, but absolutely SAFE
harborage: q fourteenth century church that
would pass for a cathedral if it had but IN cps
copal chair, and which has, what IS better some
exquisite stone tracery and pure ornament OF inc
best pcinted period "a castle: fishery ivory
manufactures in great perfection; a college; no
newspaper; and too many priests nave seen III
a snop an octave book of 800 pages or more uuds-
ing from its thckness). which appears from tlc
ousiCe title page to be History OF Deppe. ana
not open it. and neither from that nor any other
source shall you he troubled with any useful in
formation about the town to which that respect
able treatise Is devoted. The other Dieppe is the
only one which exists for the world that seeks the
seaside in August A Dieppe Of hotels; beach;
casino; and some of the most lovely scenery in
France.
As drove along the quay toward my hotel, |
could not perceive that the first Dieppc had
changed since last saw it, or first saw 1t. his u.s.
| think my fifth visit. There may he n few more
ships in the basin, and the trains now run along
side the steamers and make the wharf dlrtlcr ana
nosier than il used TO he. But dirt ana noise
abounded always III this part of the town. II you
should happen to arrive for the first time by rail-
you would think it the oldest of places for lash
ionablo resort in summer. confusion OF narrow
streets n harbor full of vessels. but absolutely
landlocked and from which no glimpse of the
is to be had squalid suburb known rs lie POllet,
the home of the fishing population Of Dicppe, 4
market crowded with lshwyos in 4 costume almost
ouaint enough to make you forget the smells and
sights that assail your sensrs-thcse are the first
imprc,sions Won would get of Dieppe. In another
moment you have passed up the short street which
leads from the quay, ana the sea opens before YOU
all at once with a splendor that Is dazzling, and
with a sudden sense OF space rs ii you were in mid
Atlantic.
The Dieppo you now enter lies on narrow strip
OF perfectly level land. and faces nearly north On
the west, the huge elm breaks sharply away into
terraces The quay on the east forms one side OF
the narrow inlet of tidal water. beyond which the
cls rise as suddenly as they ceased. The platform
between is rather more than half a mile long hy
fnilons in BREADTH and on this platform stands
cent the space on which is Luilt a siA-le line Of
houses. all this platform goes by the name of the
piogc. which means beach, hut here is applied
especially to the parade or oTcn ground between
tie real beach and the line of houses. \ Dicppe
clroniccr records to this day th proud pcty that
il was the Empress Eugene WhO Transformed the
,lqge. which before her time was only stretch of
turf into an English garden and made it de-
lieiou, promenade. Il resembles an English garden
"a, much as Pllais ROYAL caricatugc of John Bull
resembles ;he actual Briton. Ii boasts, indeed, of
"a f.g ciumps of gray shru5brry and here and there
a bod of flowers behind n picket fence. The
flowers. too wear q Bonapartist livery OF that I'M
wholesome rcd 20 which an lnpcrialIst c0urti,r
gave tie name of Magenta The brine poisous the
sweet grass, the sun scorchcs it yellow, the feet of
myriad pedestrians bruisc it. and Imperial loyalty
is at too low an cbb 10 water it, or even 20 water
the street or the drives along the beach, and the
dust is not quite laid by the spray from the
breakers. Probably it rains at times, and thrifty
municipal council trusts to Providence for the
supply of water just rs il trusts 20 the Army,
which in France holds an equal rank with the BON
Diep for keeping order in the streets.
The cxpansc of bronzcd sward is 50 absolutely
fat that rs you took scaward there seems reason
why the tide should not flow the turf and into
the ground floors Of the houses. The slope of the
In the days before geology, and when there was
nobody 10 insist your taking strictly scientific
view Of the earth's crust sou would have been free
to fancy that this wall of chalk had been
tinuous and that the sen in some moment Of fury
had broken through. But, in fact | suppose no
such out5urst of energy has occurred at this partc
ular spot. The coast line, though broken, lofty
and picturesque. runs from east to west in slight
curve, reaching out hand to the sea westward,
but with no angle to bound inclose the view, or
give any hint that the wide waste of water is not
as limitlcss on either hand as in front. a young
lady of my acquaintance, aged six, being asked
why she was hcsitatng at the edge Of her first
bath, replied that the sea was full. 1t is very
full at Dicppc. AMI then, know not why, the
ocean seems a different thing when the spectator
regards it from an island and when he is conscious
that his feet are planted on n continent. lmagina
ton plays ITS usual part. 1t Is hard to get rid of
the notion, when looking on the water from any |
part of the English coast that the visible belt of
is only moat encompassIng a iortresS-prson |
or TO be that the solid ground on which you |
stand is not the deck of what Dr. johnson called |
prison with the chance of being drowned. The |
humorist who said he was afraid TO walk out after
dark i'll England lest he should fall overheard, said |
Il true thing. The island is NOT big enough to move |
freely in and the moOrs of Yorkshire the |
summit OF Ben Nevis you can hardly draw tull |
breath. No wonder the men whose homes are grt |
by the have propoItionate love of liberty. SO,
| suppose. have those whose homes provided by |
the Statc) are grt with stone walls. They want
10 get ont Going from London TO the Engl sh sea
side for change of air is not emancipation; it is
hardly change; the air is almost the me the
journey is like trip from Murray Hill to Staten
Island; Won may perceive fragrance Of salt in the
air, but You nave not travelled beyond your own
horizon II these fanciful reasons for prcfcrrng
the French seaside TO the English, there plenty
of more practical ones. The climates OF the two
are absolutely unlike. On all the south coast of |
England the air is mild, relaxing, not TO say de-
pressing and the heat during July August, and |