National Republican., 1883-09-18


of the conductor When / requested him
with the servile humility had acquired in
dealing with the New York and Boston con-
ductors TO stop at certain corner, he replied
in italics, Indeed, / will. Miss" Aud what
was even more remarkable he did IL. And
when he stopped on aswitch, and while wait
ing entered into friendly conversation with
nm acquaintance sitting on her own doorstep,
aud told her that his wife was pretty lone
some, and that Sarah had gone up TO see her
folks for SPELL with various other items Of
domestic information, il was quito a pleasure
to feel that there was some place whore even
conductors had their weak side.
Tho beach looked very attractive with
floods of sunlight sparkling on the great
brimming blue ocean, boats going and coming,
the lawns that had been green now turning
brown but slopiug smoothly to the sea, and
Frightened with gay hammocks, tennis nets
and great masses of foliage plants, and pic
turesque children swarming by the water the
distant ones black like silhouettes on tho
hard, shining, wet sand. We left it reluc-
family behind us TO take the Fall Rivor train
from Boston, and there we found in their
most startling manifestation the inevitable
and ubiquitous bride and groom. Their
entrance was emphasized by n large
congratulatory party in their wedding
raiment, bidding them farewell at
the country station. Had | been the
gbridc ] would not have cared TO advertise my
condition by selecting white tulle to wear in
voluminous folds round my throat, nor would
have chosen for travelling on cold Sep
tember day white hat, garnished with spot
less white ribbons and feathers. l could have
wished also that her bang had not been quite
so stiiliy curldd and pasted down, or SO openly
and unaiIectodly pinned on. But after all
these were merely questions of taste, and it
was not for mo to criticise what the groom
was so evidently lost in admiration Of And
when they proudly promenaded arm in arm
tho saloon of the Pilgrim conspicuously
comforting themselves as If in u sylvan soli-
tude and lavishing upon each other the most
demonstratiye attentions, il was sight to
touch the hardest heart
If you expect to come down in the Fall
river boat noxt summer / would advise you
by all means to telegraph and secure your
state rooms now, so vast arc the multitudes
who choose that way of coming home. for
eveE on the palatial Pilgrim mattress on
the floor in the ladies' cabin is not bed of
roses. In spite of efforts that were simply
superhuman we failed TO get a state room.
Though deluded by n chambermaid (of whom
it is feeble to say she could vile the bird of
the bush, for she far outdid that achievement
by wiling unnumbcred quarters out of all our
pockets), who held out vague promises of
comfortable quarters, and wrote down our
names, with great care as TO tho proper
unless it was to practice her elegant Spen-
cerian penmanship our only consolation as
we lay on the floor all night was tho reflection
that the Pilgrims progress was always toll
some one, and that it would be out of all
keeping for MS to be carried to New York ION
howcry beds of ease,' as it were.
Before we realized our roomless condition
we had admired the boat immensely, but
seen from tho floor its grandeur lost all its
charms / was never n special admirer OF
the steamboat order of architecture, and
think it quite possible to havo too much
white paint, and gliding, and chandelier but
the Pilgrim is undoubtedly ahead of all COM
petitors in the upholstery line. Tho carpets
are so soft and thick, and such rich, warm
colors, the velvet chairs have such uncom
monty high carved backs, and the boat itself
Is such town for bigness. But most impress
sive of all to mo were the beautiful electric
lights. No where have | seen such lovely,
soft, clear, pleasant light as they shed over
everything, not the least uncertain, not glar-
ing or sickly white, but soft as moonlight and
steady as sunlight, it seemed to me quite the
ideal illumination, and l meditated selling
my gas stock, till l observed one fatal omis-
sion which the electric light men have unac-
countably overlooked; the flame is inclosed
in little glass globe forming vacuum, and
by no possible contrivance can you heat any
| thing to friz your hair. OF course that set.
q
light.
| Have you over noticed in travelling that
that the rudest people you sec arc those who
can only be described by tho slang WORD
''swells," and that the swell man is fai
eclipsed in rudeness by the swell woman
| My attention was called to this in the morn
ing when dense crowd was waiting to land
| Some of us were not in the sweetest tempers
having risen with the lark and found him O
decidedly agreeable bird, especially when
breakfast has to be postponed Tor somC
hours after you make his acquant
ance. In the front ranks of the
crowd was a small widow dressed in the very
| latest possible wrinkle from the unmitigated
grief department., and attended by white
capped and aproned bonne, whom she called
| Pauline, but would have answered with equal
readiness to Biddy. This lady was seized
with an opportune desire to 60 back up stairs
| So dense was the crowd, and so worse than
uncertain their tempers, that Samson would
not have dared to attempt it, but the widow
serenely and triumphantly mashed her way
through bOnne and all.
Vienna coffee did much, and seeing n few
Washington faces in New York did more, tc
restore my temper, but we were not sorry t
| find ourselves on the train for home. | know
that the scenery between Washington anC
New York is unparalleled for grandeur and
variety, but alas! it was wasted on ono unap
preciatiye passenger, who slumbered peace
fully till reused by the brakemau's cry
Washington Change cars for Richmond
and the SOUTH" With silent Thanksgiving
that we were not bound for Richmond aud
the south, we got off in the familiar Baltimore
and Potomac station at home. Il,
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