The state journal., 1884-07-19
"Ah! The Pity Of It. :
By TIGHE HOPKINS.

Many years ago / made stay, extend
ing over a period of months, at a small,
obscure watering place on the southeast
coast. | had Just finished my course as a
student at Guys Hospital, and, under
the combined strain Of severe and not
over pleasant work in the wards and dis
secting room, and ola sharp and exhaust
ing examination, my health had given
way. | was ordered to take rest, and
with il any mild form of recreation that
pleased me best, and being at that time
much straitened in pocket, and having no
inclination to tax the hospitality of friends
/ went down alone to the little seaside
town of Southbeach. | took small rooms
in an unambitious street from which,
when the tide was unusually high | OBJ
tanned an uninterrupted view OF about q
dozen yards of sea. 1t was the middle
of September and the season was wan
ing. The place was crowded. and the
visitors Of both sexes and all ages,
thronged the beach from morn till
dewy eve. Although without friends,
acouaintance or companions, | was not
in the least degree lonely. | entered
thoroughly into the lie Of the place, and
took lively interest in the sports
of the children on the sands;
in the tlirtations, jealousies and
little quarrelingS and peace maklngs
of the young people Of seventeen.
twenty and twenty-five; in the cOnfabs
of the aunts, mammas and grandmam
mas; and in the discomforts and trials.
more or less stocally borne, Of the papas
A II o1D 10 fltn hO1i1nU
lation began rapidly to thin. The
morning train to town was crowded each
day; and the loiterers on the beach
dwindled like the sheep of Wordsworth 5
northern shepherd The brass band per
formed its last tune on the terrace, and
dissolved amid crash of big drum and
Cymbals; the negro minstrels washed
their faces and resumed conventional haD-
liments; the itincrant preacher dlsap-
peared on the same morning that the
donkeys were driven off the cliff; the
perambulators, Which had obstructed the
beach for fourteen weeks, were hOisted
on the luggage train; and the bathing ma
chimes were drawn far out of the wash of
the waves.
By-and-by the sands wore the desolate
look which the banks of the Red Sea
might have worn on the morning after
the annihilation Of Pharoah and his host;
and on such days rs were bright enough
and warm enough for an early dip | had
the wholeEwidc sea to myself Those who
like the seaside only as it appears in mid
July or August, when the seasons brief
fever is at its height, will connect a sense
of the dismal with this description; but
let me hasten to say that for my part l
found nothing dismal or depressing in
the emptiness Of the town or the barren
ness of the shore. The little place quickly
settled down to the life which led during
eghtmonths Of the year, and this in its turn
had gentle charm for me. L had feel
ing Of importance rs | walked through
the High street. the sole remaining visi-
tor, and on the beach of an evening had
full liberty to regard myself as new
Alexander Selkirk and to indulge imag
inings as | looked across the never ending
sea, chat | was monarch of all L sur
veyed" The barber began to take
personal interest in me; the policeman
would halt on his uneventful beat to in
quire kindly after the effect Of the new
tonic l was trying; the tObacconist and
stationer, an ardent amateur sportsman,
took pains to cultivate in me an affection
for the turf; and the young lady at the
postotlice was never IN hurry to retire
behind the screen after she had served
me with a shilling's worth of postage
stamps | had another set of friends
along the beach, where the fishermen
told me yarns which ignoring the ''too
too solid evidence of their apOcryphal
character | accepted as unimpeachablc
gospel; the coast guards unbent so far as
to touch their caps; and the piermaster
more than once invited me into his
snuggery at the end of the pier, where
he kept bottle or two of double extra
proof spirits, of the existence of which
the coastguards above mentioned were
discreetly ignorant / had more friends
now, in Short, than / had when the town
was packed and the beach sWarmed with
visitors, moreover, being of solitary habit,
took pleasure in day-long Tamblcs in
the country which stretched away almost
from the waters edge, and amid fields
still verdant and hedges yetteeming with
life and color. | renewed the botanical
pastimes OF boyhood.
~ SlIlhluR kluAlGGu tllG tllOcL SbIIhiuS
feature of Southbeach was its pier. 1t
was an old, sturdy, wooden structure,
only few yards short of mile in length,
which had resisted wind and wave for
nearly a hundred years. Rugged Otaspect,
its height, length and massy build invested
1t with character almost of grandeur;
and it gave one an idea of strength well
nigh invinciblc to note the steadlastness
Of the piles when the waves rushed
against them, and the storm winds smote
them with a giants blows. In all
weathers and at all times | found the piel
delightful promenade. IL was restfuI
and quieting beyond expression to si
there on a still afternoon
What time the splendor of the setting sur
Lay beautiful
upon the waters At early morning the
air was coolest there, and the sea showed
q hundred colors under the radiant sky
by night the place had a mystic beaut,
ofits own, when the moon clave white
way across the cleaning waters, and tn
pale phosphorescence tracked the swift
Silent motions of the fish. On breezy
or stormy day the pierhead, a mile ava,
from the shore, was coign of vantag
around which the winds eddied briskly o
thundered magnificently, the foam toppe,
waves seething and roaring among tn
timbers underneath.
A day rarely passed on which did nc
visit the pier often remained ther
from morning until afternoon, or fror
afternoon till far into the night, calling t
mind, as far as was able, all that m
favorite poets, from Virgilto the laureate
had penned about the sea, and comparin
the descriptions with the living mOvin
waters; turning then TO the sky and Ions
ing for the pencil Of "a Turner or the qui
of Russian to put upon the canvas {
into words the colors, the texture and th
movements OF the 'unenduring clouds.
In little while it seemed as thoug
the pier belonged to me. stayed on
for hours, hanging over the wooden ra