, 1888-04-12
LIFE AT LONG BRANCH
a DAYS DOINGs At THE FASH
IONABLE SEASIDE RESORT.

| Going to the Early Train-LaYn Tennis
| and Horseback E!dins-Isathiug Begins
| ut II o'CIock-Affcrnoun Driving-Din-
neg and the Evening Hours.
People who live in Rome would find it
| difficult to pass the day as they would in
| Paris, and q New Yorker in Florence
| cannot live day as lie would IN his own
| metropolis. Neither can 4 man, with Sil
| his victories over nature, pass day in the
| Alps as he would On the banks of the
| Amazon. And so Il man cannot carry cat
| = day at Long Branch as he would ut
| White Sulphur Springs. lie does at Long
| Branch what the place permits him to dc.
Generally speaking, the summer popula-
ton is up at O'Clock, because the great
majOrity of the men 90 to New York every
| day TO attend to business and they start
| at about 6.
Going to the train is the first business
of the day. and pretty sight il is to see
the ladies in their fresh, white, morning
gowns, driving their carts and phaetons
down 10 the station with their husbands.
The harness and horses and carriages,
fresh from the hands Of industrious grOoms
and co&chmcB, and unspotted as get by
the dust of the day, glisten under the early
morning sun. The air is cool and invig-
Grating, and the hustle and confusion
about the station Las a fashionable pic
tureSquencss about il that is charming 10
the student of society. Af.er the bust
ness of the morning exodus is done, lawn
tennis comes to cnIiven the day. The
game is exceedingly popular at Long
Branch, where the fire lawns, Of which l
have spoken. furnish admirable courts.
About O'Clock in the morning you viii
in, tz-i,tta H..nnaT-
young ladies in loose gowns running about
on the smooth turf, and entering into the
game with an caTneStuess which fully
atOnes for any lack cf skill. Besides ten
mis-, horseback riding claims attention.
The roads at the Branch are cX-
cellent fer this exercise, and scores
of equestrians may be seen every day
taking morning canter. Many Of the |
ladies choose this part of the day to 90 |
their shopping, and East Long Branch is
made very lively.
About II O'Clock bathing begins to rise
above the horizon. At the hotels the Gus |
tomary time for bathing is at low tide, |
but as the water is seldom so high or so !
rough in the summer that people cannot
battle at all hours, most OF them select the |
.orning for their dip. The refreshing in |
fiuence of the bath prepares one to pass,
with equaninity, the warm hours of the |
early afternoon, before the sea breeze
springs up. At some of the hotels the
bands give morning concerts at eleven, |
and those ladies who prefer to devote their |
afternoons to bathing, sit in the ParlOrs,
listen to the music, ard put forth con
tinuOus flow of small talk. After luncheon
most people at the Branch take the day
leisurely until O'Clock. The afternoon
driving then begins and continues until |
about $50. The scene On Ocean avenue |
at this time of the day is = most animated |
one. At times the drive is crowded so |
that carriages are compelled to proceed |
cautiously in order TO avoid collisions. |
The evening trains from New York |
and Philadelphia come in and carriages
are dashing TO and from the stations, |
while the hotel stages lumber along
laden with incoming guests. The steam
boat lands ut the pier, and there is n great |
rushing from all points of eXcursiOnists |
who have cone down from New York for |
the day and are eager to get seats for tie |
return trip. Sailing vessels of all kinds |
are seen gliding along up and down the |
coast, and southern steamers pass by gen /
orally running close in shore, dipping |
their flags, blowing their whistles and |
firing their guns. The men who have
been ali day in the steamins hot city rush |
down 10 the beach, don their bathing |
suits, and plunge into the surf. The |
whole shore front IS alive and brilliant |
with the handsome costumes of ladies, the |
glitter of mounted harness, and the fash |
of polished wheels.
By and by, IS the dinner hour ap
proaches, the hustle and confusion die |
away, or rather, transfer themselves to |
the hotel dining rooms, where the evening |
dinner is attended to in q manner which |
shows that the sea air is truly provocative |
of hunger. the evenings are usually |
passed in dancing, or looking at other |
people dance. The hotel bands play in the |
parlors every night, and when it is not too |
warm, waltzing is indulged in to a |
great extent. Saturday evening is the |
fashionable night, when people from the |
cottages go to the hotels to dance, and |
some little show Of dressing is made. As /
n general thing, however, people do not |
dress especially for the dancing, and full |
evening attire is the exception. The men |
who spend the day at business do not feel /
it incumbent upon them to put ON their
dress suits for the evening, and the ladies /
are, therefore, compelled to permit them
TO dance in business costume, if they SO |
desire.-W. L. Henderson in Outing.