The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-04-15
BERN UDA.

Disguised Tourist Really Thinks-The Climate There No Better Than That of
 Connecticut-Better Scenery Around New
 Haven.
 1 To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER
 Bermuda is fashionable; Bermuda is
 fad. The climate of Bermuda is de- l Iightful because it is fashionable to
 think so The truth is often very un- fashionable and the truth is seldom a
 fad. It is true there is never a frost in
 Bermuda, and that it is never as cold
 there in winter, and never as warm in
 summer as it is here. Yet between Its limits the climate is quite as changeable
 as in New England, and it's changes are even more sudden. I give the experience
 of one week. I landed naturally wear ing winter clothing. The weather was
 so warm that I was uncomfortable.
 The next day was so cold that I could not go without a spring overcoat. The
 next day could scarcely wear it in the
 forenoon, and could not leave it off in
 the afternoon. The next two days
 were too cold to be without it most of
 the time, the next was so hot that
 not only threw aside the overcoat but
 was compelled to put on a summer suit.
 The next day I had to change back
 again. On one of the warm days I
 drove to St. George a distance of twelve
 miles; part of the way I was much too
 warm with the overcoat, part of the
 way I should have suffered without it.
 It rained almost every day; in short
 showers of from a half hour to an hours
 duration. These showers are very un-
 expected. It is impossible to foresee
 them. One may start upon walk or
 ride under a perfectly cloudless sky in
 broad sunshine, and in an hour be over
 taken by rain This brings me to the
 most serious objection to the climate of
 Bermuda; it certainly is very damp.
 It is especially so indoors. The houses
 are all built of coral rock. It is very
 porous, and absorbs a great deal of
 moisture. The people have no fires in
 their houses except for cooking pur-
 poses. The natural result of the ire
 quent rains Is the houses are very damp. An Englishman, a prominent merchant of Bermuda who has resided there for thirty years, said to me, "There is no disputing the fact; it is very damp here. The houses are very damp" England is not, believe, re- markable for dryness, but 1t was an Englishmans criticism upon Bermuda that it was damp. I was almost all way conscious of a decided chllliness on going indoors. I do not believe that Bermuda is a good place for invalids, those troubled with throat disease or pulmonary complaints.
 Is there no charm about Bermuda? Ne reason for the fad? There are two large fashionable hotels there-many small ones-innumerabl ble boarding houses. There were 2,000 tourists there l when I landed. Yet In the teeth of l this evidence I am compelled to say | there is not much reason for the fad. l The scenery is certainly good, yes, beautiful. But nature has bestowed this 1 favor very extensively; quite impartial | ly. There is scarcely any spot on earth | where it is not beautiful, at least scarce ly any scenery without some beauty. | have visited many islands in the West | Indies. I found them all beautiful, the | scenery in one differing very much | from that on another. The beauty of l the scenery was often unique. It is so | in Bermuda. It is of the quiet kind. | There are no high hills, and none of l those green meadows which give to | New England scenery It's charm. There | is a wonderful tint In the waters-a sort of turquoise blue that have never | seen anywhere else. It Is said that the | waters of Bermuda are bluer than the far-famed bay of Naples. Yet the | scenery of Bermuda is far from being It is not all sublime; scarce y what is called picturesque. It is cer- .ainly beautiful. It is decidedly not tropical. There are but few palms. These, as most of the trees on the stands, are exotics. The cedars, and l .hese are really fine trees of the sort, l Ire the only trees that are indigenous. The tropical trees, of which consid- arable number are planted, do not flourish. Even the palmettoes, which hrive so in South Carolina and Flori- la, have a scrubby look. The tamarinds would hardly be recognized, and the lozen or more cocoanut trees on the stands look sic<ly and stunted. There Ire few Cabbage palms." which re- hind one of their tropical splendor. There is one solitary rubber tree, which las grown to gigantic proportions. One tree of great size is pointed
 ut to everybody. Even this would be ut a poor comparison to the giant ma logany trees of Central America. Tn ny view of it, the scenery of Bermuda 5 not for a moment to be compared ither with that of Jamaica or Domin- oa It's climate is not at all compar- ble to that of Jamaica, Santa Cruz or The last named islands are 1 ot fads, but their climate is superb.
 As view it the climate of Bermuda really no better than our own, and Is scenery much inferior to that which urrounds New Haven.
 Bermuda, actually two islands, prac- ically one, is about nineteen miles long nd from two miles to half mile yide. It does not take long to see it all. he scenery, though peculiar and not rithout a decided charm, is all of one ort, and soon for everybody that goes ' here not interested in fashion, the is lnds become very monotonous It is '
 terrible voyage to Bermuda AL { r bo1 Jo N