FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123  
124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   >>   >|  
riquets characteristic of their appearance or pretentions. There was one young man from the West, who would have been flattered with the appellation of "dude," so attractive in the fit of his clothes, the manner in which he walked and used his cane and his eyeglass, that Mr. King wanted very much to get him and bring him away in a cage. He had no doubt that he was a favorite with every circle and wanted in every group, and the young ladies did seem to get a great deal of entertainment out of him. He was not like the young man in the Scriptures except that he was credited with having great possessions. No, the principal occupation at Bar Harbor was not fishing in the house. It was outdoor exercise, incessant activity in driving, walking, boating, rowing and sailing--bowling, tennis, and flirtation. There was always an excursion somewhere, by land or sea, watermelon parties, races in the harbor in which the girls took part, drives in buckboards which they organized--indeed, the canoe and the buckboard were in constant demand. In all this there was a pleasing freedom--of course under proper chaperonage. And such delightful chaperons as they were, their business being to promote and not to hinder the intercourse of the sexes! This activity, this desire to row and walk and drive and to become acquainted, was all due to the air. It has a peculiar quality. Even the skeptic has to admit this. It composes his nerves to sleep, it stimulates to unwonted exertion. The fanatics of the place declare that the fogs are not damp as at other resorts on the coast. Fashion can make even a fog dry. But the air is delicious. In this latitude, and by reason of the hills, the atmosphere is pure and elastic and stimulating, and it is softened by the presence of the sea. This union gives a charming effect. It is better than the Maine Law. The air being like wine, one does not need stimulants. If one is addicted to them and is afraid to trust the air, he is put to the trouble of sneaking into masked places, and becoming a party to petty subterfuges for evading the law. And the wretched man adds to the misdemeanor of this evasion the moral crime of consuming bad liquor. "Everybody" was at Bar Harbor, or would be there in course of the season. Mrs. Cortlandt was there, and Mrs. Pendragon of New Orleans, one of the most brilliant, amiable, and charming of women. I remember her as far back as the seventies. A young man like Mr. King, if he could
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123  
124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Harbor

 

charming

 

activity

 
wanted
 
atmosphere
 

elastic

 
reason
 

latitude

 

delicious

 

stimulating


softened
 

effect

 

presence

 

characteristic

 

unwonted

 
exertion
 

appearance

 

fanatics

 

stimulates

 
pretentions

composes

 
nerves
 

declare

 

Fashion

 

resorts

 

stimulants

 

Pendragon

 
Cortlandt
 

Orleans

 

riquets


season

 

liquor

 

Everybody

 

brilliant

 

amiable

 

seventies

 

remember

 

consuming

 

sneaking

 

trouble


masked

 

places

 

addicted

 

afraid

 

misdemeanor

 

evasion

 
wretched
 

subterfuges

 

evading

 

skeptic