deserted beds, and found them covered to
the depth of several feet with luscious young oysters.

A number of boats ply between Bellport and the Great South Beach,
whither the summer visitors are in the habit of repairing for the
purpose of tumbling in the surf on the outside. In one of these, with a
fair wind and a skipper acquainted with the numerous shoals, it is very
pleasant to sail across the bay, and then turning round Mastic Point to
follow the channel connecting the Great South with East Bay, and so to
reach Moriches. From that point east the shore is broken up into shallow
creeks until Quogue (from _quohaug_, a clam), an old resort of the
citizens of Philadelphia, New York and other cities, is reached. It
occupies the neck of land dividing Shinecoc from East Bay, and is the
first place after leaving Rockaway, about sixty miles to the west, which
has direct communication with the shore of the ocean. The beach there
touches the mainland, and then leaves it again to make room for Shinecoc
Bay. At the most northerly arm of the latter we come upon a place with a
peculiar history and corresponding associations, and there on the
adjacent hills of Shinecoc we may pause for a few moments' observation.
We are now in the township of Southampton, where, with the exception of
Lion Gardiner's settlement upon the island still bearing his name, the
first English settlement in the State of New York was effected.

Toward both east and west the country stretches away as far as we can
see in undulating woods and fields. Had we come by land instead of the
bays, we should have passed through a series of four or five little
villages, Moriches, Speonk, Good Ground and West Hampton, cozily
nestling among the woods--quiet, retired places, given over to peace and
agriculture. There is no particularly prominent feature in the
landscape. Its charm lies in its harmony, and the _ensemble_ is as
nearly perfect as can be imagined. Immediately in front are the knolls
and dales above and below Good Ground, and extending down to where the
Ponquogue lighthouse stands out in clear outline against the sky. To the
south is Shinecoc Bay, and to the north is Peconic Bay, the water that
lies between the forks at the eastern end of Long Island. Below us,
looking west, is Canoe Place, the name given to the narrow neck of land
joining the peninsula that terminates at Montauk to the body of the
island. It is the point at which the waters on the north and so