The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1882-10-07
At the Seaside.

iouths Companion.
The tonic value of son air and Of salt '''or
bathing to shattered nerves, and In s,nnpaiaS
faded appettea has become 40 VOL known
hat the shores of tie ocean in the vicinity Of
our large Cities arc lined with house, and
hotels, for the accommodation of summer Wis
itors, and vessel cruising alongShore is
scarcely over out of sight of them
Along the New Jersey coast there is tree
less, herbloss spit of white sand 1t yalie, in
width from ono-quarter of mile IA three
miles, and il about ono or two miles from the
mainland. few years ago il was untonnntcd
except by herons and other sea-blrds; one or
two lighthouse keepers, and few lifc-savlnS
men.
The Atlantic surf broke on it with thunder
ous weight, and made constant changes IN it5
shape Hero or there il was narrowed or
widencd One inlet was closed mp and another
opened; the tickle ocean shifting the sands
with amending caprice. II was only when
wreck came ashore that few figures OF vii
layers, ilocking from the mainland IN the hope
of picking mp some of the spoils, could be
seen upon It,
As If by magic this desert beach was changed.
The surf still beats upon it with an uncclsing
roar. Once ina while the herons may be seen
winging their long, weird bodies over the scdSc
on its inner borders, But all along the sands
great hotels loom up. Instead of the solitary
figures of the fisherman and surtman, there
are crowds of summer visitors, and at night
the voice of song, and the music of the dance
mingle with the roar of the sea
In the immediate ncighbOrhOOd of the prin-
cipal cities, also, enormous hotels have been
put up-as at Conoy Island, Rockaway and
Nantasket-whero people who cannot leave
home or business for more than day or an
fp,t l,ig
in the strong, fresh air of the ocean. One or
these hotels is nearly an eighth of a mile long
When seen from the deck of Il Vessel approach
ing the coast, it looks like an immense pro-
montory a Gibraltar lifted agains! the horizon
Several of them can dine from ten thousand
TO twenty thousand persons day.
Americans are, indeed, well provided with
watering places, and they have one which il
unquestionably the queen OF all others
Neither England nor France has 80 charming
seaside resort as Newport, with its contrasts of
rugged seashore and luXuriant gardens.
Down its lanes as leafy as any IN England,
the visitor can pass to wrinklcd and deep
scared cliffs, the tops of which are tended
with all the gardeners art Bodied flowers are
set in smooth, elastic lawns that extend upward
10 magnificent houses of picturesque archliec-
ture which are really palaces The gcran.
iums blaze among the grass aud the mir Is fuil
of the scent of the hOneysuckle. Everywhere
are avenues Of cool verdure; stately trees
throwing ont cmbroiderios of light and shade;
wide expanses of clipped and springy grass,
and deep hedges. like those of England
The society BELTS the place. 1t is quiet and
patrcian. * Carriage-driying is one of the
events of the day. Young ladies' so to the
beach in basket carriages and village-carts
Many of the gentlemen drive four-in-hand
coaches, and in the afternoon Bellevue av-
enue with its equipages, its double line of
arching trees, its Queen Anne mansions and
Italian villas, each set in its ownboautiful gar
den, is one of the most picturesque sights in
the world