The Portland daily press., 1890-08-21
LIFE AT BAR hARBoR.
An Interesting Letter From Press
Correspondent.

BAR HARBoR, August 18th.
To the Editor of the Press:
Bar Harbor has had and is having sue
cessful and remarkably satisfactory season.
| Not so much stir and hustle is evident as in
the old days, for life here has changed from
that of the free and unconventional type in
| to a society centre Of fashion and elegance.
Nevertheless the anti-worldling can still
walk, drive by blackboard, climb mountains,
enjoy boating and steam-boating and even
be happy in blue flannel gown by morning
and white flannel suit in the evening.
Come with me, la pen and ink, for few
days in this enchanted island. As we ap-
proach on the little steamer Sappho, the sun
set light, and no wielder OF tinted brush had
ever such magic touch, is upon land and sea.
The blue water Of Frenchman's Bay is full
Of motion and sparkle, its islands and its
"three porcuplnes going out to sea-" stand
forth in clear lines and the hills back Of Bar
Harbor are purple and misty in their height.
The hamlet itself with gabled roofs and odd
proportions looks like bit Of Swiss or other
foreign landscape and the eye delights in
the beauty of it all as the Sappho reaches
the pier and friendly hands and voices greet
us with cordial welcome.
Stone walls open irregularly at the top and
bdmming full of uasturtium blossoms, seem
to be feature OF Mt. Desert landscape gar
dening and brighten the surroundings Of
these elegant cottages wonderfully. We
orive about Mr.. Blaine's residence and
through the Vanderbilt grounds and up and
down Mt. Desert street, gay with equipages
with every now and then fair lady hand
ling the reins over spanking pair Of bays.
OFF to Schooner Head and Otter Greek and
the nearer points of interest. Always with
the fine reaches of the bay Turing the sight
to far visions on the horizon, with smiling |
skies, this summer of fair weather, and the |
inVigoratIng salt air sweeping its ozone bear |
ing currents over and through the land.
The Bar Harbor blackboard is an affair |
both comfortable and stylish, and pray is
not that a difficult combination? Six of us,
Of a bright morning, bestow ourselves and
our belongings in one of these desirable We.
hicles and are driven some nine miles to
Jordan's pond. The view Is charming and |
the wood drive full of aromatic, piney sun |
shine. We lunch and ramble and reflect /
and then pursue our way to Seal harbor and /
the Glen Cove Hotel. Here the music hall |
Is decorated with tennis nets hung upon the /
walls and filed with brakes and vines and |
grasses, while red poppies and golden rod |
light the darker hues. 1t is like old Bar |
Harbor. Young men abound who find the |
former place too expensive and too fashion |
able, but who can here try boating and fish |
ing and tramping, and give the cut direct to
Madame Conventionality.
Today, however, music holds sway, in the
afternoon concert given for the little Union
chapel. Visitors from North East Harbor
and other vicinities help to fill full the pleas
ant room. Among those who made up the |
delightful programme were Miss Alexander. |
who played very attistically selections from |
Rubenstein and Wagner; Mrs. Elliott, Mrs. |
Toy and Miss Bradford, who sang finely, as
did Mr.. Elliott and Mr.. Penrose; Miss Thayer /
with silver flute, and Miss Oyington upon /
th either. wonder II the prima donna OF
the II ute would have pursued that special
branch Of art had her lips not presented as /
graceful a contour in playing, as they GER |
tainly did, and whether the sweet tones OF |
the either were not nhanced-certainly not |
lessen ed In effect-by the pretty picture the |
young musician made, her crimson dress and |
little morocco shoes, high heeled and OF the |
same shape, contrasting well with the gray |
day without
Now dawns day made for the ascent Of |
Green mountain. The cllcksome, cogsome |
sound Of the mountain railroad wheels is IA |
mlliar after going up Mount Washington,
but those Of our party not used to this sort
of thing are really tinid and confess after
wards extreme perturbation and an agonizea
frame of mind The view from the summit
is finer than that OF any ascent we have
made, not even Washington excepted, and
no tourist at Bar Harbor should fail to make
the trip.
The Kermess at Rodick's present a bril-
liant picture, in the evening. At the right Of
the entrance Is pretty booth for fruit, Its
rOOf-if one may so term 1t-hung with
green vines and great clusters of grapes and
| its attractiveness made doubly sure by love-
ly girls and matrons In exquisite evening
dress, with bit of head-dress or m official
arrangement Of ribbons to indicate their au-
thority in presiding at the different stalls.
(which is your shop?' says foreign voice,
addressing a radiant creature in rose color,
| ''tell me and will buy something; so Mon
seur or Signor - Is whiTled of to invest
| in Kermess trinkets. Next mantle draped
| in yellow and holding ceramics is inviting
pink does duty for display of fancy
articles. More unusual is picture frame,
feceding, erected the height Of the room and
covered with yellow null. This eneloses a
stall and Is hung with white snowballs.
Other interiors are fitted with Persian
draperies and various graceful notions assist
in making the scene beautiful in detail.
Gowns? pretty clothes? Well, what can
one say upon that theme when there is such
bewilderment of fetching costumes as at
Bar Harbor? Yachting suits this season
are Of white. gold and blue. The stiff cap
has brisk sailOrish air and the model is un-
usually trig and becoming. There does not
seem to be any definite rule about when to
wear dainty gew-gaws. We noted at church
this morning, dress Of white silk trimmed
with bullion, cut rather low at the throat,
with hat OF ostrich tips and boots Of white
undressed kid. IL was little odd beside the
modest, dark Indian silks or light WOODS Of
most OF the ladies present at the service, but
then 1t was at Bar HarbOr and no one
noticed particularly.
The list Of notables this summer includes
cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop Ryan, Secre-
| tary Tracy, General Sherman, the Austrian,
Italian and Portuguese ministers, various
| Dar0ns and baronesses,-in short, no end OF
what our darkey friends call "the high quail
| ity."
| Sullivan are full of interest, giving many
/ new groupings to the unequalled range of
/ this enchanting series Of views. General
/ and Mrs. Greeley are at Sorrento and are Of
| the party which makes the tour Of the entire
island Of Mt. Desert, on the steamer Sor-
rento, by the courtesy Of Mr.. Frank Jones Of
/ Portsmouth.
| Tomorrow means our farewell TO the most
/ gracious OF hostesses, the most homellke OF
1 COLtdees, anu I'd Lne utoeIt lslhuu MhiCH 9Os
blossoms like the rose. Full Of memories OF
| its rushing iwaters and shingly beach, It's
heavy rock bound coast and little harbors
full Of tossing boats, we repeat, with the
| poet,
"What Of the sight and sound cf wheathlled val
| leys? 49,, .. 10
| What of the hill where grows the Yagrant YineY
| NOT there TODAY my restless memory dallieS,
Not there care to taste the sensnous Wine
| Rather with forehead bare and locks encruSted
| with the salt sparkles iercely blown from thee;
| LET me drink deep the cup for which I've usted'
| poYua In thv trimming bedkerS,