The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1905-10-12
THE ISLE OF WIGHT.
1T CLEANS LIKE A DIAMOND ON THE
BREAST or THE SEA

The Beauties of COyves. the Fashion
able English Resort, Where Moth
ing Ever Gets Dirty-What One May
See on the Historic Island
The Isle Of Wight is shaped ike a
diamond, and like a diamond it CLEANS
and flashes on the breast OF the sea.
Like a diamond, too, it is the luxury Of
the rich.
As your steamer approaches the road
stead Of Cowes you might well suppose
the little town to be a fashionable ham
let far Inland on the bank Of a river.
The esplanade looks as near to the
water as a towpath, and the green
woods that rise behind the white
houses are as thickly punched and as
brightly verdant as the unsalted trees
of Pangbourne. The coarse beamed,
dark sailed smack OF the sea fisherman
is a rare sight on those social waters.
Everywhere you behold among hover
ing gulls and rocking buoys the craft
of pleasure and the shipping Of de-
light White yachts, with sails as
white as summer clouds, ride there
with the grace Of swans, and white
steam yachts, with brasswork fash,
ing blindly in the sun, rest royalty at
anchor off that little shore
Nothing ever gets dirty at Cosves.
The tamarisk which lifts its fine feath-
ers above walls at the seas edge is as
elem as the sails Of the yachts. The
roads Of red gravel make neither mud
nor dust and lie as smoothly as gar
den paths. The Virginia creepers.
which swarm up the pillars Of white
houses, overspread the tiers Of bal
comics and almost cover the dark red
tiles Of the roofs, are every Whit as
green and every title as radiant as
the shaver lawns beside the. esplanade.
Flowers there are at every point Of
view-red geraniums, golden cafceolari
as, blue lobelias, crimson hyssop, ched
dar pinks, roses OF every hue and ferns
of every form-gFowing in neat flower
beds, lifting their bright c0lors above
garden walls and swaying gently in
baskets hung from balcony and sill
The windows Of the shops are as
polished as q lady's mirror and shine
in the sun. Prosperity waits behind
those counters of plenty and puts itself
completely and genially at the com
mand Of the wealthy The butcher and
the greengrocer announce to the pass
erby that French and German are
spoken in their establishments. The
yacht Of 6he most necessitous million
aire can obtain in those narrow, clean
streets all that she desires. Royal war
rants, as big almost as the shops them
selves, CLEAN over. shop fronts, and ar
tistic signboards obrude from the
smart little doorways. The shine OF
the sweet windows is a magic induce
ment to buy.
On the esplanade, where is tall
white Flagstaff at every few PAGES, and
waiting at the little granite stairs.
washed by green waters You meet no
burly and rough clad fishermen, but
only the white capped, blue jerseyed
hands from the crews of yachts in the
roadstead. Fresh faced, well grOOmed
girls walk there with indulgent papas,
and jolly schoolboys in fannels, carry
ing paper bags Of green goOseberrles
and red cherries, stroll down to the
dingey at the stairs, munching as they
go. There is no haste and no eTertion
at Cowes. At half past u on lovely
morning I heard Ia my hotel the voice
Of the manageress giving an order to
one of the maids. "Her ladyship says, -
she cried, ''that she must half O hip
bath in her room Immediately, or else
she won't be down for luncheon
Foolish and lazy little ladyship tC
lie abed on such a good morning in so
fair a place as this diamond Of the
sea! For it is not only the esplanade,
the bright shops and the pleasure of
saunter TO Egypt point which are
within the reach of the visitor to
Cowes. The whole Wight is within a
drive of the Medina. You must go to
Newport, and, paying the tax which
was demanded of me. not requested,
for entering the church, you may see
the lovely memorial which Queen Vie
toria set there to the poor little Prin-
cess Elizabeth, who died Of a broken
heart beside an open Bible for love Of
Charles I. You may also go to Carts.
brooke and enter the splendid castle
where that poor little princess died
and where her unhappy father was
You may see the donkey
Jacob summoned by a word from grass
nibbling under fg trees to enter the
big wheel Of the well and draw up nine
gallens of water from the invisible
spring at which those royal prisoners
quenched their thirst. But you, if wise,
will quench your thirst with tea under
the spreading trees of the Eight Bells
gardens in the village below,
listening there TO the comments of en-
thusiasbc Americans and watching
the elderly gentlemen playing bowls
on a smooth lawn, as King. Charles
played that ancient game in the castle
on the hil1.-London Mail.