New-York tribune., 1891-08-30

All at once long before il seemed possible ZOE
| bumper 10 have been mended, the engine Desah
to heave and make certain noises. and then we De-
gan TO rattle and jerk along again.
My friend remarked cynically that she guessed
from appearances that we should have to find our
way around in 'Sconset alone
| And so it turned out That Young man was
going over to Sankoty Head lighthouse, and in the
interests OF the Associated Press 1t seemed neces-
sary lor MISS Roberts to accompany him. The
elrl explained to us that he au old friend, and
that he was native of Edgartown. Being
native OF Edgartown appeared in some way to
make it all right that there should be no chaperon.
The American girl does not trouble herself much
on the subject Of chaperons And yet / am ex-
travagantly fond and proud Of the American girl.
Still, as these two bade goodbye to us, and
took the public carriage in waiting on the little
bridge, l could have wished that this girl had
| shown more regard for the memory of that lost
| lover.
| The arrival in Sconset is not in the least com.
| plicated There is no network of trains, no
hackmen, nothing to confuse you. The train stops
and you get out and find that there is bluff and
the seas
| We had looked at the sea all the way over.
Now we climb the stairs that lead up from the sta
tion to the top of the bluff. Of course there are
some young men, only very few, however, in
white trousers and short flannel coats. The driver
who takes Mr.. Reed and Miss Roberts to Sankoty
| lighthouse tells US we may go also for 81 so, and
that Sankoty has one Of the finest lights in the
world. But we do not go. We begin to walk
along the queer little street, every portion Of
which has been photographed so many times that
almost every one feels that he knows 'Sconset
There is the town pump and the small house near
it, just Like the pictures. But the trail Of the
GUNNER visitor is over everything, it almost OBJ
literates the original characteristics of the fishing
hamlet. i suppose the summer visitor has his
purpose to fulfil in the world, still that purpose
can hardly be said to suhserve the cause of pic
turesqdeness. The low old cottages seem mostly
occupied by strangers, until wonders where
the owners have fled. Well-bred dogs, evidently
visitors, are strolng along the path. They hob.
mob with the mongrels whenever they have
chance. The summer hotel. in all its prosaic
power, has come here also, and some ornamented
cottages. The mixture Of the modern and the old
is very offensive that the two types appear to
swear at each other constantly. 1t would be hard
to imagine spot so utterly ill-suted TO the hotel
and the cottage. The little group Of houses in
which the fishermen used to live seem to have
grown on the cliff as barnacles grow the sides
of ship they give you the impression that they are
q sort of barnace. Imagine what life must have
been here in the old days when the girl in the
navy cap had not yet heard of 'Sconset l should
like to have been here then. Just think of living
in one of those bits Of houses; of doing up the
work" and then of sitting for hours with some
knitting III your hands, looking over toward
Spain, and waiting for your husband, your son,
or your lover, to come in from the fishing. 1t
must have been good place in which to think.
or 10 grow stupid ard incapable of thought.
Somewhere else in the world things were happen
inn Tba nplv tlnp 10 do bara HUne IN loolr mt
toward Spain.
l wanted to stop few days in Sconset. I
wanted to inhale the salt odor, and wished to
try to find one of the old fellows who could
member wien this place was as solitary in SUM-
mer as in winter. But MY friend could not be
persuaded She said that nothing short Of being
a poet and being able to write ode to the sea
could make her stay. She declared that the mere
incongruity of the place would kill her.
We compromised by staying over one night at
the hotel We had room that did not look out
on anything in particular and which was thus
eminenty suitable for transients." l have often
wondered how a hotel building can be constructed
to have so many rooms that look out upon moth
ing Last evening we spent sitting on the top
step Of rckety fight of stairs that leads down
the cliff. All the people were strolling about.
Somebody was picking banjo somewhere; some
body else was singing "VOi che sapete," and
putting a distressing tremolo into nearly every
note. Two genuine old fishermen were sitting on
piece of ships timber down below us. They were
smoking dreadful tobacco. We learned from them
that the pOrpoises had been driving the buefish
away, but that the ground was inst covered with
soup. We thought they referred 70 the ground
under the water as being covered with soup. The
southwest wind blew; the waves pounded in
from Spain; the heavens gave display of shoot
about after the NJ inner of their kind. At last
the girl stopped singing 1t was very damp. A
young lady going by us with her cap in her hand
told her escort that it was Just awful for crirlps
and she did not know but she should give up try
ing TO crimp.' We did not hear his response to
this threatening remark
A middleaged lady with very artistic gray hair
was wallHng back and forth close to the edge of
the cliff near u.s. She was entirely unattended.
She addressed us at last. 1t need hardly be said
that she asked if this was our first visit. She
then informed us that Sc0nset was not dlstlnc-
Ny Trend responded fervently that that was
exactly what was the matter with tue place; il
was not distinctive The lady went on TO say
that there greater per cent of ozone III the
air here than at any other place she had ever
visited: and ozone was absolutely necessary to
her welfare IN the summer months. She became
SO exhausted by spring that sometimes her friends
thought
e ~ was az 1his point mat some one cailed her
had gone that she was probably an "authoress"
we also agreed that we would have chosen less
ozone and more distinctivenesS.
This morning are contemplating going back
over that railway TO Nantucket, and TO the
woman who lets us room, with conversation
thrown in. She is doubtless lying in wait for
us, and for Der other dodgers. But we shall not
stay at Nantucket. If there is left place on the
Massachusetts coast which has not been made into
resort" we will go TO that place.
NJ L. POOL.