Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1882-09-03
srV ANCIENT PROSPERITY DEPARTED.

ng Old Fort Comfort, Saratoga, Long
! b. ocean Grove, Cape May, and even
: limo o j an Consy Island, spending
lat each in succession, aud always
having IN the autumn vowing never to re-
,rru. tmay be because am getting along
-. wears. and am past the time of life when
,,.r Is supposed to delight in dancing, dirt
,r. and kindred smusements, or il may be
,re, a growing dyspepsia has gradually
Hanged an originally tranquil and peace.
,.I nature into one
Frame 60 Criticism and Faulf-FindIng.
III, be- il irom what cause it may, il is
none the less certain that all these cele-
Ir,t,d retreats for Over.worked and debil-
,,strd humanity fall To give me that
...,,,. Of rest and tranquil enjoyment
f.rNLi,h my soul Graves. This being the
-.,t must confess II was with some mis-
s.,lllus that l turned my weary footsteps
~ NE direction of Rhode Islands chief
Isy,u II rest one bright morning some two
N,rks ego, expecting TO find there the
r,la, thrung OF chronic watering place vISi-
r.r>-rhe powdered and painted belle, who
IAN ,.uut'' in -, and Is still on the hunt
lbs catch, albeit little discouraged by
: time. the SImpering and giggling miss
Iii H.. who n = just dOnned long dresses
lend made her enIree into society; the fat
Hold uamma, who ever keeps one watchtul
;n-ye Oh the two or three daughters she is
Sehemihg TO Unload
q, some unsuspectiRg eligible with the
r,,u,,lre bank account, and the other on
n.y. lord and master, whose chief aim IN
lie lr the time being at least, appears to
IN, ,n zee how much wine he can drink, and
Nv many evenings out of the week he can
send al the poker table; and last, but not
lfa,'. IN his own estimation, the swell
y,urg man in eye glass aud switch cane,
Who : chiefly emarkable for an impudent
Inn unmeanIng stare, and the amount of
brandy and cigars he can get away with IN
:Ntuly.lour hours. All these | expected 10
ind M the usual quantity, but l
u.u,t confess 10 an agreeable sur
lr,,e The young man IN tight
'-..>rrs, and the giddy female who affects
the r. Uberuu walk are conspicuous by
their absence. and in their stead are TO be
found people who are really agreeable, and
with diem the most fasudiOus old bachelor
could not ind fault. Newport is not pop
u..r' resort with its attendant preten-
i:uu, hustleries, filled with miscellaneous
,-uWd 81
EQUALLY Loud and PretentiOus People.
Inn the tendency here is u what is known
o cottage HE with the consequent privacy,
,DCrptudenCe and freedom 10 seizures. As
g.r,ace OF summer resort Newport has no
ptrr Its transient yiSItsrS are compare
uyrlv lew. the business of the hotels being
sr,uauy less than iorsOme years, butts cot
rage or villa population grows larger every
s,.sson. rs Sh Dwn by the rapid increase IN
the number ui cottages, and the sharp adj
vance in real estate. The situation at con-
yrni,uU drStauue from both New York aud
I.>tuu. and its ease VI access from any
puiut j. to its advantage; but Its
chief reputation rests upon Us SalUDrlty,
its delightful Cuplue>S, It's excellent SOcIe-
q. AMI rs exalted prestige. Newport
should be- fashionable. tor Il has cOnSP'C-
MONS history aud memorable antecedents.
Commercially the old town Is Insignificant;
Ivtlf LA, :,S.,u u be proud OF its past,
sud may he IN some sort justified Tor the
,umpluCeur view IL takes Ot itself. l. should
have bad tn aboriginal name OF the Island,
N4uvuutck Isle OF Peace on which 1t
stands. AquidneCk is apt, pretty and pic
ture>guc while the present name is devoid
Propriety. PerIinenee or Beauty.
Nrwuort was first Settl ed in the spring OF
I..y- The pioneers were John Clarke, Will
liam Cuddington, Anne Hutchinson, and
lew others, who had lied from persecution
IN Massachusetts, Founded upon freedom
and religious tolerance, the little planta-
t.uu crew aud pruSpCred. Very SOOn also
went iAithJr the QUdEerS, whose ears had
lreu cut oil aud whose tongues had been
pierced with hot irons by the Puritans IN
,yiGrnre of thrir hatred Of the persecution
farvhich they had eNiled themselves. The
Quaker influence WAS strong and good, and
remains until this day. The denomination
is larger in Rhode Island, in proportion to
population, than in any other New England
State, and the yearly meeting, which IS an
uUalIy held here in June, Is one OF the lew
IA m a.
shining OF the year came number or
butch Jews, and subsequently some
wealthy spanish and Portuguese families,
WlD
Added Materially 10 the Prosperity OF
the Place.
4 conspicuous figure in the early society
,i Npwpurt was Abraham Redwood, born
on the island of Antigua and carefully
educated in Philsdelphia He married IN
Rhode Island while still in his teens
and lived here until he was eighty,
dying about the close Of the last century.
B.rrrg colonial times Newport hOurIShed
ike green bay tree. IL was rival OF New
lurk and Boston. and was one of the very
trst New England cities in commercial I'M
LortIuCe. It's merchants were prlncely IN
revenue and northumberland gentle
men of the old SChOOl-scruPulous OF ell
Quette. imposing and pOmpsus in manner,
fond Of display liberal in purse, narrow IN
opinion and devOtees of caste they boast
"a Of family, were cOnnOisSeurs OF wine,
initiated the mother country, observed the
OlO.iual forms and exchanged rum for
slaves. The slave trade was very active IN
Newport,
Not Less Than Fifty OfIts Vessels
being engaged in the traffic at one time.
Even QuakcrS were slave holders, and rs
late as 1905, out of POP slave ships, % were
IN Il 81 uyAr
but two others in all the rest Of New Eng
land. In 1880 the town was in the height
Of its prosperity. There was a regular pack
ct line TO London, with over 900 ships ar
irving at and departing from the port At
least 10 of which were foreign. The docks,
extending mile along the shore, were
thrUuged with thou sands of sailors and
crowded with the produce OF the Indies
DiStillsries and manufactures were busy,
and handsome mansions and graceful
gardens decorated the neighborhood.
Gentlemen dispensed generous hospitality
IN SCARLET coats, lace rutties, powdered hair
and diamond buckles, with swords at their
sides; and bellies in broc Ide patches, gilt
tering Jewels and high-heeled shoes danced
the stately minuet 10 the admiration OF
their gallants and to the movement OF
measured music Newport was a gay, so
Clal capital hattered itself upon the pos
session OF the best blood in the land, and
talked cOmp!acently Of a society not ex,
ceIled by any Of the courts OF the old
world. Men drank deep in those daysand
were not always
Delicate In Their Cups,
but they were no worse and often better,
than their kindred beyond the seas. The
Town was the resort of many cultured
strangers and distin guished foreigners, and
II enjoyed a trans Atlantic reputation for
elegance and hospitality that was not un-
Ike that Of some of the capitals OF medIe-
val Italy. The revolution was a revolution
Indeed to Newport The first gun at Lex
ngtOn sounded the doom Of its commercial
prosperity and reduced its population more
than half. During the war the residence OF
the British troops on the island was most
disastrous. Nearly q thousand buildings
were burned, all the trees were felled, the
churches were used for barracks and hos
Iitais, and the public library was robbed
OF ITS most valuable books. Almost
NE sole compensation for Newport during
The revolution was the