The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1888-10-03
THE THOUSAND ISLES.
PICTURES OF COTTAGE LIFE ON
THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER.

Visiting ard Marketing in Dainty sldhs--A
Religious Park where tho Laws Are
strict-Pretty Glimpses of River Life.
Young Lovers.
Nowhere is life so unconventional, so cos
mopolitan, so picturesque, fresh and delight
full as in the pretty, quaint cottages which
crest the cliffs, crown the islands and line
tho shores of the st. Lawrence from Clayton
to Alexandria bay. The inhabitants Of this
water grit city are birds of passage that
come with tho daisies and depart with the
golden rod, and hold continuous high carnival
and perpetual holiday. They perch their pic
turesque cottages on the craggiest Of crags,
chain them down to the rocks if need be,
hook on to them tipsy little porticos and fly-
away balconies all fringed with fretwork, as
lady's kerchief is bordered with lace, deco
rate them with oil the brilliant hues known
to the painters craft, spell out the fantastic
names with which they are christened, .Neh
Mahbin,n 'sWawinet,n 'tSans Souci," 'sLin-
lithgow, tsCloud Rest and thousand moro
ON the bastions of rock for the information
of every passing tourist, flinging wide to the
wild breeze yards on yards Of bunting. array
themselves in the most picturesque of apparel,
and troop down to meet every boat with
kaleidoscope scene Of brilliancy, illumine the
river at night for miles and miles with chains
of colored lights, and greet every passing
steamer with o whiz Of rockets and galaxy
of colored stars.
COSTLY SUMMER VILLAS.
Near Alexandria bay, where the largest
and gayest hotels are located, clusters con-
stellation of costly summer villas, In beauty
of architectural design, richness of adorn-
ment and elegance of appointments equaling
the most luxurious OF modern residences.
Their owners, people Of wealth and social
eminence, have here constructed little city
of their own, with all a city's conveniences
and some of its discomforts. Edgewood
Park, the most exclusive and conservative
resort on the river, the Hollywood of the st.
Lawrence, Is adjacent to the bay and a
social center for tho islanders. The mag
niicent club house blazes with beauty and
brilliancy every night, and is crowded with
pretty dancers The wealth and display of
equipage seen at some resorts Is hero re-
placed by tho elegance Of river craft, the
daintiest skiffs, the swiftest sailing boats
and best appointed steam yachts. The peo-
pie live, move and have their being, call,
Whether they go to market or to reception
it is in tho Same floating vehicle, and all
goods purchased are delivered in skiffs.
Fancy your butcher coming up through the
sunset like Lohengrin without his swan, his
paddle cleaning like slice cut from rain
bow and his white apron glorifed with iri-
descent light, to bring your chops for break
fast. Picture your green grocer kneeling In
canoe piled high with glowing green like a
harvest god in festal barge, and your laun-
dryman coming cut of the mist in spectral
boat ladcn to tho guards with snowy linen
cleaning white in the cleaning
The majority of people who frequent this
resort are people of moderate incomes, many
of them from the small northern cities and
country villages in the vicinity Of the river.
They build unpretentious, inexpensive
wooden houses, paint them in gorgeous hues,
ehristen them with romantic titles, drape
them with bunting and decorate them with
colored lamps. Tho interior Is usually fin
ished with pine in its natural state, carpeted
with cheap, bright rugs, the walls fcstooned
with pretty dropping grasses, and bright
soft draperies and cushions of scarlet Canton
flannel or felt, finish the cozy little rooms
Three or four hundred Of these pretty sum-
mer houses line the avenues of Thousand
Island park, which is typical Methodist
park, neat, clean, orderly and prosperous.
The code Of laws Of this institution Is more
rigidly enforced than the articles of an inter-
national treaty. The naughtiest slippered
foot dare not tread the measure Of waltz or
polka in the hotel parlors. and the merriest
s of maidens Unjust remember the Sabbath
day and keep it holy" The main articles of
! social dict hero are religion, excursions and
{ Irritation. Piety is served up in all sorts of
ways, with all kinds Of sauce and all manner
Of seasoning, with little entrees of missionary
work and relishes Of temperance
EXCURSIONS WITHOUT NUMBER.
Excursions are arranged to and from every
wharf on the river, and at such astonishingly
small rates that it is prophosied another year
all people who go on an excursion will re-
ceive q chrome or be presented with IN
island. Lets get up an excursion to the
postofice," shouted pretty girl in car
dinal hat as the mail steamer swung into
port, and away they futtered, a dozen OF the
brightest, plumpest, girliest girls in their
brilliant dresses up the shady walk. The
captains OF the excursion boats seem to run
them Just for joke, and Will stop at all the
small wharves along the line to accommodate
single passenger. One small, sharp proved
steamer, the Island Wanderer, keeps up
perpetual twice day excursion throughout
tho season, and is always filed with most
cosmopolitan crowd.
Around the parks one secs the prettiest
glimpses OF river life. Here young mother
Is rowing little sxif slowly, gently Groom
ing a soft lullaby to her baby Graded In the
bottom of tho boat and rocked to sleep by
the waves; there group OF children in scant
bathing dresses, and with bare legs and arms,
disport in tho shallow water among the rocks,
and dozen moro of them have clanbered
into an old scow that ia full Of pretty faces
as vase is filed with flowers, and are romp-
ing and tumbling about in happy unconcern
as to whether the boat capsizes or not, while
tall young girl in q sleeveless dark blue
bathing dress, with pair of Baltimore
legs" crowded into cream colored stockings,
and arms as shapely and almost as white as
those of the carven Venus in the Milan gal
1ery, swims slowly round and round them,
with her handsome blonde head on her arm;
there pair of lovers come up slowly
through tho sunset, looking in each others
eyes.
Height on height of purple cloud waves,
trimmed with silver and veined with fire, roll
back in the west from O royal highway Of
clear, luminous opal, down which the day
god sinks slowly and YEARLY to rest on the
breast Of the river White hands Of foam
Lift up to welcome him, and the rivers bosom
rises and falls and throbs to meet him. In
the east, where the gray storm clouds Of the
recent tempest still Hnger, a rainbow arches
the river with beauty from shore to shore.
Her eyes are full of glory, and her lap Is
running over with ferns and water lilies,
among whose golden hearts tho small, slender
fingers hutter nervously as they float past
silently into tho great radiance. 1t is a
lovers paradise, for all conventional formulas
are forgotten. Young people 60 about In
pairs, like robins in springtime You find a
pair Of them in every shady nook, on every
sheltered rock, In every secluded wood path.
and in every other skiff. Cor. New York
Sun.
A Lady on Horseback.