National Republican., 1885-05-16

Now that the season-of fashionable
migration is drawing near, the demand
arises for pleasant, accessible places, good
accommodations, cheap rates, and some
variety from the hackneyed resorts SO
wearily familiar to summer tourists.
In an idle moment last fall thought Of
Halifax and (although IL was already mid
September and the oquinoctals were over
duel packed up bag and baggage and went
TO Baltimore, whore shipped aboard tho
Hsuoverian. She 10 q great Clyde-built
steamer, steady as o church, and was COM
manded by an EnRlish naval officer and
manned BY n crew Of such canny Soots
that accident was out Of tho question.
Tho first day out was marvel OF clear |
ness. There was n brisk wind that set
the sea chasing in sapphire mountains
crested with white caps, and made tho |
ship plunge like galloping horse. The |
first hours Of enjoyment were unalloyed,
but ono by one the passengers sought the
peclusion Of their cabins, apparently to |
paint thoir faces with sap green and
indigo, for those were the prevailing tints |
Of complexion whom they orept out again. |
OF course, the we'll ones laughed snd the |
gendered by sea-siokness Is comparable TO
nothing under the sun, unless 10 be an
Irishman in Boyno Water fight.
There had been heavy gale somewhere
to the southwsrd, and suddenly there
alighted on tho taffrail dove, spent aud
weary, and seemingly glad ito find whore-
on to rest her feet" She had been blown
out to sea by the wind, and clung to her
perch undisturbed by the EXPLANATIONS
Of wonder and pleasure that greeted her.
In little while she raised her head and
began to utter low, plaintive sound,
showing At the same time signs of agita-
tion. Up from the water, whore tho
great waves curved near his breast and
the spray weighed his tired wings, came
laboring her mate, and 1, was a pretty
sight to watch tho little creatures play
about the rigging, now In the hollow Of
the vast sails, now wheeling ABOUT the
bridge, and even picking their way
daintily among tho passengers, as they
sat and lounged about the hurricane deck.
,Thoy were royalty fed, and IL was not
until nightfall that they drifted away.
The next day brought us sunshine and
two whales, which spouted, not
I in the very least majestieally.
they were "fat and scaut Of breath" like
Hamlet. 1t was great disappointment,
and l felt owed another grudge TO my
school days, for ID was from their geogra-
phies and natural histories that de-
rived my twenty or thirty feet Of expec-
tation.
Sunshine, always sunshine, and blue
and silver by day and silver and black by
night, for the phosphorus burns in those
northern seas with almost tropical splen-
dor. Shuttle board, coil, music, dancing,
cards, chatter, and meals -four and Ave
times dsy) were the chief diversions,
and, as the passengers happened, with
few exceptions, to be clever specialists,
time went all too fast. We had a particu-
larly pleasant remnant of tho British
Scientific Association on board. among
them the author Of "Wave Notions aud
o delightful young radical who talked
Gladstone, Franchise, Parnell, and Tariff
until his brown eyes flashed sparks and
his curls stood on end.
Sighting Sambro light was signal for
q very pretty display Of fireworks.
which lasted several hours; out
bound vessels protlering and receiving
gunpowder courtesies and the various
dignitaries in Halifax having to be sa-
luted and notified Of our arrival in ac-
cordance with the harbor laws. OF course
we saw nothing of tho bay except the
red eyes Of the lighthouses and the sig
nal light on the citadel, which burned
like a star in the night. But daylight
revealed q panorama that made our hearts |
leap with its beauty.
Far below and beyond US stretched the |
seven miles of Halifax bay, blue in tho |
morning light, and dotted with innu- |
merable sails bold headlands, crowned |
with luxuriant foliage, and an herbsge
as fine aud velvety as moss jutted out
nj WI hnl ha IN,
the silver curve of its arm was the ten
mile channel which ends in Bedford
basin. Parallel with these narrows ran a
chain of what the natives call, with par
donable pride. tho prettiest lakes in the
world"-the Dartmouth lakes. visited
them with party Of four-one Irish, one
Swiss, one English, and an American. As
the first two or three opened up their
charming yistas We all exclaimed Like |
Killarney" "the Lake Of the Cantons,
lacking of course, the mountains :"
"Windymere," and Lake George"
SO you can draw your conclusions
The first frosts had kissed the
naples and sumachs, which blushed
such q vivid red that the fiery trail
of the woodbine seemed almost pale.
The second crop of daisies and buttercups
was in full bloom. and the golden rod
and asters added their quota to the rich
ness of color. The intense and abundant
green of foliage aud herbage, together |
with the dancing waters, lent light and
brilliancy to the view surprising in such
cold and frozen latituoes. st. Georges
and McNabb's islands looked like bits of
the mainland gone adrift (for they are as
greenly clad. and far softer in outline), |
and dominant above it oil was the citadel, |
whose Fashioned walls and iron guns give |
mute but sullen warning to strange flags |
to come in peace and not in war. In tho |
harbor foated the tricolor, the grid |
iron," and the Swede's flag; but tho pret-
tiest bunting of all--the flag Of Goods |
country"-was not there, alas!
The two next noticeable features Of
Halifax are the flowers and the dogs. |
The abundance and superb color of the |
first and the beauty and number of the
latter attract the most careless. New
foundlands, collies, stag hounds, Irish |
water dogs settlers, aud Esquimaux dogs
meet one ut every turn, and even saw
there one of the famous aboriginal dogs
aDuxhund. Turnspit, believe, is another |
name for 1t, and 1t is guarded as If 1t was
featherless cherub. Ugly So very
that l could not got up the least respect |
for it as 1t dragged its round body along |
on its apparently broken front legs, and |
looked duly at me with its sad eyes,
Wagging It's blunt head to and fro mean |
time, as If to say; 81 reciprocate, and |
don't think much Of you, either ~
The climate is deliciously bracing, and !
the people delight in out-of.door sports. |
The public gardens are very pretty, and |
the park recently reclaimed from the
forest land by the government and pre-
.sented to the city is more than pretty. 1t
has long sea frontage, and the view
from tho point" embraces tho whole of
Halifax bay, looking southwark. 1t is
illed with picturesque spots, and is the |
fAvorite rendezvous for tho inhabitants. |
The city is not attractive on its face,
for the humidity of the air tolls heavily |
on wood work, and the majority of the |
hnuuaa ara fran,a (nainta,a ,an r,oI-a . |