Year: 1873

Tho numerous letters from places OF Sum
NOR resort. printed in THE TRIBUNE to-day,
hear a general wall of distress from the Sum
NOR botcl-keepers. "A late season and dull
"time.r SAYS each and every man of them. We
are now hard upon tho month of August, the
Summer solstice is waning; yet the managers
and clerks of the mountain and seaside cara
vansories cannot credit the evidence of their
senses. They cannot believe it possible that
the people will not come. They are as weary
waiting for the coming guest as was ever
Mariana in her mOated grange. Still, the
sad refrain is sung: He cometh notp We
are not sure that the hotel people know ex-
actly what is the matter; but the cause of the
depression is not far to seek. Ii is two-fold:
too much style and too high charges. 1t was
said in one of our Long Branch letters, the
other dav, that it must be acknowledged that
that watering-place, at least is no longer ac-
cessible to people who cannot or will not
spend a great deal of money. The same remark
is true of every one Of the prominent watering
places in the country. There is snoneed to go over
the familiar list of grievances and annOyances.
Their bitterness has entered the soul of
every anxious plcasure-Sceker. The horrible
discomfort of the sleeping-rOOms, the high
prices for poor living, the jeweled insolence
of Office, and the unfragrant cxtortion OF the
dining-room-al these are all too familiar to
the weary pilgrim in search of rest; and many
VIII confess to sense OF gratilied revenge that
the gorge0usness Of these Summer palaces is
wasted on thin concOurse Of customers. 1t
really looks as if the impatient dons of the
hostclries had killed the goose that laid their
golden eggs.


But we may observe that there is 10 COM
plaint of late season at Cuttyhunk Colorado
Springs, and the AdrOndlcks. These and
thousands Of other primitive places Of resort,
where there is good and wholesome sport, and
where there is neither style" nor cXtOrtiOn,
have their fair quota Of visitors That is to
say, multiudes of those who once frequentcd
the fashionable watering-places are widely
scattered through the unknown and almost
unnamed rural retreats Of the country. These
find wholesome rest without the worry, fuss, and
ceaseIess parade which have become the principal
features of the great Summer resorts. In many
instances, unfortunately, the good fortune OF
these explorers only serves to point the way
to the pioneers Of the nuisance of watering
place fashion. But thousands of happy peo-
ple have found in the wIlds of New-Ensland,
Northern Ncw-York, and the heart Of the
Continent the balm, rest, and seclUsion which
were denied them in more pretcntious places.
1t has been found impossible to heal the
bruised spirit with the same livcries, equip
ages, billiards, and millinery at Long Branch
and Newport which helped to charm the fast
flying Winter hours on Murray Hill and Beacon
st. New-York and Boston vie with each other
in the search after crisp novelties in the un-
trodden wilderness, in secluded messy farm
houses and by the solitary sea. To be sure,
thousands have gone to foreign lands; but
these are as a drop of the ocean which annu-
ally flows somewhere out of the great cities
of the North The ayaricious and improyi-
dent managers of the great Summer resorts
have seen their best days. Owners Of villas
and country seats may awhile give tone and
color 10 the drift that sets in that direc ton ;
but the impression is gaining ground that the
big hotels are fearful destrOyers Of money and
comfort. Our increasing volume Of Summer
letters from obscure haunts shows that sum
mer pleasuring is no longer abnOrmally gre
garious; therefore, there is more pleasure.