Project Gutenberg's The Tragedy of the Chain Pier, by Charlotte M. Braeme

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Title: The Tragedy of the Chain Pier
Everyday Life Library No. 3

Author: Charlotte M. Braeme

Release Date: February 26, 2005 [EBook #15183]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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EVERYDAY LIFE LIBRARY No. 3
Published by EVERYDAY LIFE, Chicago

THE TRAGEDY OF THE CHAIN PIER

By CHARLOTTE M. BRAEME

[Illustration]

CHAPTER I.

Most visitors to Brighton prefer the new pier; it is altogether a more
magnificent affair. It is in the fashionable town, for fashion will go
westward; it is larger, more commodious, more frequented. Go to the West
Pier when you will, there is always something to see; beautiful women,
pretty girls, fashionable belles promenade incessantly. There are times
when it is crowded, and there is even a difficulty in making room for
all who come. No wonder the elite of Brighton like the West Pier; it is
one of the most enjoyable spots in England; every luxury and comfort is
there; a good library, plenty of newspapers, elegant little shops,
excellent refreshment rooms, fine music; and then the lovely blue,
dimpling sea, the little boats with their white sails, like white-winged
birds on the water, the grand stretch of the waves, the blue sky
overhead, and the town, with its fine, tall houses shining in the
sunlight, the line of white cliff and the beach where the children are
at play. You go down to the wonderful jetty, which, to me, was one of
the most mysterious and romantic of places. There the water is of the
deepest, choicest emerald green, and it washes the wonderful net-work of
poles with a soft, lapping sound beautiful to hear. You can stand there
with only a rail between you and the green, deep water, watching the
fisher-boats out on the deep; watching, perhaps, the steamer with its
load of passengers, or looking over the wide sunlit waves,
dreaming--dreams born of the sea--out of the world; alone in the kingdom
of fancy; there is always something weird in the presence of deep,
s