Middletown transcript., 1881-07-29
An Ocean CITY Trip.

s drew his Semi-annual dividend from the
G Citizens National Bank, wrapped a
a smoked herring in a copy Of the New
= York Herald, for lunch, and started of
;. for days dissipation by the sea. He,
: the aforesaid local editor, does not dissi-
4 pate often, but when he does, he dissipates
4 to pretty much Of considerable extent.
Y Before leaving, it was our intention to
t borrow a half dollar Of Joe Gary as a reserve
t fund in case the semi-annual dividend
e was exhausted, but he had gone out into
r the country after muley COW for Satur-
DAVIS sirloin steaks. We took the Ocean
. City train-or it might be better to say the
: Ocean City train took us-at 6.51. We are
not used to early rising, usually depending
on the dulcet tones of the bell of the Mid
dletown milkman to allure us from sweet
dreams The sound of the milkman's bell
} issweet and soothing to the ear, particularly
} when breakfast is waiting for the milk. If
we were poet we would write poem on
the milkman's bell; it rhymes so well
with dell, sell, well, and its sound always
reminds one Of the azure skies Of dewy
} morn-a Very dewy morn. "Azure
skies" are pair Of mighty good words for
poet, too.
But while we have been moralizing, the
train has arrived and is pretty well filled
with people in search of salt water and
fun. Middletown adds her score Of ex-
cursionists. Middletown people are al
ways ready for an excursion-in fact, are
the greatest excursion goers in the State,
North of Sussex county, where they al
ways have two spring chickens in the
stove ready for a seaside trip. We had
no band on the excursion. That was the
first thing the local editor went through
the cars and looked for. An excursion
without brass band is an aching void to
some extent. Had we in time been in
formed of this omission on the part of the
railroad company, we should have en-
ployed band at our own expense. When
one dissipates, it is folly to do it in half
way manner. Why should we care for
the expense when the Citizens National
| Bank is paying a semi-annual dividend of
four per cent, clear Of taxes, and green
apples are selling at five cents peck?
Dover only turned out four excursion
lists, and dog. Below that point there
were pleasure-seekers in abundance. |
Every station platform, with its bright |
summer hatsand fluttering ribbons, looked |
| like fiower-garden, and we saw with
pleasure that Sussex county's crop of
pretty girls this season was fully up to the |
ovarara IF 1va x1-ara forty WOO PC 1,our,rrnY
and single, and wasn't bald-headed from
our noble brow twenty-three degrees west |
by south, thence in a northerly direction
back to the place of beginning, we would
be satisfied to 60 down to Sussex and live
hundred years on spring chickens and
huckleberry pie, and not think the world
all vanity and vexation Of spirit either.
Delaware. has good reason to boast of her
pretty girls, but most Of them have moved
south of the Chesapeake and Delaware
Canal, along with the peach belt.
At Seaford we get big number ofexcur-
sionists, and it is here we cross the Nanti-
coke, beautiful stream of water that we
never see but we have an intense longing
to steal it and bring it to Afiddletown,
crabs, eels, splatter-docks and all. Judg-
ing from samples along the railroad, we
think the Sussex corn crop is short. We
do not know how far it runs into the
ground, but that part of it that sticks out
is Uery short. Near Seaford our train
stopped at Ross berry patch while the
passengers got out and ate a mess. The
officers Of this railroad try to be just as
accommodating as they can, and we know
the excursionists enjoyed this little berry
lunch until they saw man coming from
Ross with big dog. Then they got
aboard.
Our train crossed the Sinnepuxent with
more than five hundred excursionists,
and each of the hotels, when they saw us
coming out Of the cars, ordered two hun
dred spring chickens assassinated.
There are lots of nice people at Ocean
City, including the usual allowance of
Judges, Generals, foreign Counts, and
minor dignitaries that help to make life
bearable at summer resorts. We were
disappointed to learn that no sea serpent
had been discovered here this summer
out to sea serpents to spend the season
close enough to be seen by aid Of an opera
glass. However, without the sea serpent
the two principal hotels, Congress Hall
and the Atlantic House, are full OF guests.
Though Congress Hall has been consider
ably enlarged, there was not vacant
room on the occasion of our visit. Under
the proprietorship Of Mr.. Selby and the
management of Mr.. Farley it has, almost
in one season, become the most popular
house on the island, and the owner will
have to put another big addition to it be-
fore the opening next year, because he is
not the kind Of man that wants to hang
his guests on coat hooks in the corridors.
Shortly after our arrival at Congress
Hall we remembered that we had eaten a
few cucumbers week before last, and
fearing they might disagree with us, we
called on DIR. Sam Bradshaw, the physician
connected with the hotel and had him
prescribe for US. He is very busy this
season, but as he practices on the principle
that the fourth of a tumbler-full Of preven-
tive is worth gallon of cure, the general
health Of the guests is remarkably good.
Well, Sans good fellow, and if you are
ever at Ocean City and believe that you
are liable to be struck by the cholera
morbus at any time in the near future,
ask him to feel your pulse, note your
temperature and respiration, and pre-
scribe for you.
]. Harry Goodwin is i'll the office at Con-
gress Hall, very busy, but always polite
and accommodating to excursionists, as
well as to regular guests. There are some
people at Ocean City who don't think ex-
cursionists amount to much, because thev
only spend five hours and eat one meal bv
the sea, and can walk around the porches
OF the hotels and pick their teeth on as |
large scale as though they were the
proud scions of some wealthy city SOAP
boiler who never earned an honest dollar
in their lives. But excursionists are al |
| yVaVS kindly fraotad