NEW YORK--NEWPORT--DEPARTURE.
Coney Island--Newport--Bass-fishing--Habit of
Spitting--Brighton Beach--Newport--Coaching--Extra
Ecclesiam--Victories of American Horses--Newport
Avenues--Return to New York--Our last day in America.
The special train was detained by the immense amount of traffic on the
line, as we approached New York, and we did not reach Brooklyn till a
little before 11 P.M. on June 21, so that it was past midnight when we
ascended the steps of the Windsor Hotel, which we had selected by way
of a change, and found to be every way commendable, with the exception
of its distance from the busy parts of the city. The following day
was devoted to letter reading and writing, receiving visitors, and
various attempts "to go out," which were not generally successful, for
New York was palpitating with the intense heat. The "heated term" was
in full vigour, but it was now quite temperate in comparison to the
excesses which had marked its advent some time before our arrival. In
the evening we got up strength and courage enough to go to Wallack's
Theatre, a very pretty, well-constructed house, and saw "The World"
excellently acted and admirably put on the stage. Next day, June
23rd, in virtue of a solemn league and covenant with Uncle Sam and
Mr. Hurlbut, the Duke and I devoted ourselves to fresh fields and
pastures new, and ordered ourselves accordingly for Coney Island. A
long bank of sand by the sea-shore has, by an accident, become one of
the most crowded resorts in the world, and to-day there were races in
the new ground. It was not, as we found, so easy to get there. Having
the advantage of two experienced guides, our party of four managed to
break up into two and to miss each other; one taking the boat at one
iron pier, and the other embarking by a different mode of conveyance.
But as we were bound to see Coney Island, the Race course being a
secondary object, our temporary separation did not prove a source of
great annoyance.
The early settlers would indeed have been astonished if they could
look round and see what they have brought the quiet place to in these
later days. They were Quakers persecuted by the good Christians of New
England, who were driven out of Boston as ruthlessly as though they
had been malignants and papists of the worst sort. They settled the
township of Gravesend about 250 years ago, and amongst the conspicuous
settlers occurs the title and name of Lady Deborah Moody, of whom this
deponent knows nothing, but wonders how, with such a title, she managed
to have influence amongst a Society of Friends.
A ship was built, so the Americans say, of 70 tons in 1699, by the
descendants of the Quaker settlers, and less than 100 years later
the bold republicans, abandoning the doctrines of peace, engaged
and captured an English corvette off the island. It was all along of
General How, who landed his troops here and set the people to work on
the fortifications he threw up, whether they would or no. A corvette,
bound to Halifax, anchored off the island, and an old whaler, who,
says the chronicler, must have been smarting under the wrongs he had
suffered at the hands of the red-coats, or who possibly regarded the
work as he would the capture of a finner or a bottle-nose, imparted
to a few trusty friends the idea of "cutting her out." So embarking at
night in a couple of boats, they stole down with muffled oars and ran
up under the stern of the ship. There was no watch, and through the
cabin windows the officers could be seen playing cards. The crews of
the boats boarded the corvette simultaneously, seized, overpowered, and
bound the officers and men, lowered them into their boats, and, having
set the man-of-war on fire, pulled over to the Jersey shore with their
prisoners. It is to be hoped that the demeanour and language of the
captain have been misrepresented by local tradition; but he is said
to have cried bitterly, and to have exclaimed, "To be surprised and
captured by two blooming egg-shells is too blasted bad!"
There was a long period of neglect before Fashion and the populace
found out the attractions of Coney Island. Fishermen, oyster-catchers,
and sportsmen visited the sandy beach from time to time; then after
a while a few houses were run up of a very inferior class, and these
were frequented by the very worst of the scum of New York, so that it
was almost dangerous, and certainly disgusting, to go among them, while
the scenes on the beach, to which the present proceedings afford such
a contrast, were described as being of the most disgraceful character.
The official directions for spending a day at Coney Island certainly
indicate a belief in the possession of enormous physical energy and
indefatigable curiosity on the part of the visitors in those who
compose the code. Having given you sailing instructions by the iron
steam boat to Bay Ridge for the Sea Beach Railway (ticket 35 cents),
you are to visit the Sea View Palace Hotel, the Piazza, the two iron
piers, the _Camera obscura_ (10 cents), the Great Milking Cow, the
top of the observatory (15 cents); then to eat a Rhode Island clam
bake (50 cents), visit the aquarium (10 cents), take a park waggon and
ride over the Concourse to Brighton; see the hotel grounds and bathing
pavilion there; then take the Marine Railway (5 cents) to Manhattan
Beach; visit the Oriental Hotel and take the Marine Railway to Point
Breeze (10 cents) and return back to Brighton Beach Pavilion and take
a bath; then see the Museum of Living Wonders (10 cents), dine at the
Hotel Brighton, hear a concert in the evening, and return to New York
by 11 o'clock. "This trip," observes the compiler, "may fatigue one,
but the excitement soon overcomes the trouble." Coney Island is indeed
an institution.
Along the sea front of the bank for some three or four miles there
has been constructed an esplanade lined with seats, and defended from
the sea by a stone wall. Outside there is a belt of shingle on which
the surf breaks, but not violently, unless in bad weather. Large
bathing establishments, with every appliance, are placed at convenient
intervals along the shore. Here in the season tens of thousands of
people may be seen, all properly and decently attired, disporting in
the waves. At the time of our visit, the hour and the season of the
year seemed not to be favourable to the indulgence. We were too late
in the day. It is an early place, and from 7 till 9 A.M. from the
month of June to the end of September are described as the orthodox
periods. Nevertheless the spectacle was quite unique, and if you can
imagine Brighton with half-a-dozen Pavilions blown out to twice their
size, and the largest hotels multiplied by ten in length, breadth, and
depth, you may fancy what the Coney Island front is, provided always
that you can also conjure up (literally) myriads of well-dressed men,
women, and children perambulating the esplanade or sitting in the
grounds around the various establishments which occupy a large space
inland--pavilions, hotels, exhibitions, restaurants, and club-houses.
There were fireworks going on in broad day; but these were principally
for the purpose of exhibiting very ingenious Japanese figures, which
were discharged from bombs, and which gradually descending were objects
of eager competition amongst the younger members of the enormous
multitude. And with all so much good-humour, so much propriety of
demeanour; none of the brutal rushes of "roughs" which disgust one
with English popular assemblages--none of the brutal horse-play, and
screams, and unmeaning cries of the 'Arrys and the Bills of our popular
resorts.
Looking at Mr. Marshall's excellent book on the United States, which
we found to be copious and accurate, I was struck by what he says
respecting a habit of the people which, according to my experience,
has very much decreased since I was last in the States, but which
he finds in as full force, and repulsive as ever. I am bound to say
I think the habit of spitting has very much diminished, but from
numerous evidences, from the presence of spittoons in every room and
in the passages of the hotels, and from public admonitions, such as
one we saw at some of the theatres, that the audience would not spit
upon the stage, I must believe that it still exists. What the cause
of this habit may be it is not easy to determine. It cannot be in the
race, because it is scarcely an "English" habit. I would be inclined
to attribute it to the drinking of iced water, but ladies in America
use the national beverage quite as freely as the men, and spitting is a
masculine failing. Can it be a result of climate? Scarcely. For in the
States, British-born people do not seem to be affected by the influence
of the habit in those around them after many years' residence. Smokers
and non-smokers alike indulge in the practice, so that tobacco cannot
be charged with the disagreeable custom. I assume that it is as common
as Mr. Marshall asserts it is, but I am bound to say, according to
my own observation and experience on my last visit, that there was no
evidence to show that it was common or national. Chewing tobacco also
appears to me to have fewer votaries than formerly. A remark to that
effect at Richmond brought upon me something like a rebuke from the
gentleman to whom I spoke, a Judge of the land. "No, sir," he said,
"not at all! I rather think we chew more than ever!" And, to illustrate
his faith, he produced a silver box, shaped a plug of no doubt very
excellent weed, and thrust it into his mouth. I do not recollect,
however, meeting a gentleman in the course of our journey who used
tobacco in that way, with that exception.
In the grounds in front of the pavilion, where an excellent orchestra
of some one hundred performers were playing, sat a very large and
appreciative audience, who applauded with discrimination, and were
content with the good performance of each piece.
Our common rendezvous was the Surf Club, one of the numerous convivial
associations for which Coney Island seems to be specially adapted;
and I presume the name had nothing at all to do with any supposed
amusements of the members in connection with the surf on the beach
outside. There was some difficulty in finding our way through a
labyrinth of rooms all filled with guests: with corridors swarming
with people; with vast halls, where at hundreds of tables there were
seated people engaged in the consumption of the _menu_ of a Coney
Island restaurant, abounding in strange dishes and attended by armies
of waiters. At a rough guess, I should say there may have been about
4000 people in the building--and this was but one of several--I think
the Brighton Beach Hotel, but of this I am not quite sure.
When the Prospect Park and Coney Island Railroad was opened none
believed in its success, but the foresight of the projector was
justified; and when it was found that respectable people would go
there, if the vagabonds of both sexes and their associates were driven
away, the police asserted themselves, and swept off the gamblers and
the others of a still more dangerous class, who were to be found there
in increasing numbers every year; and then hotels were erected and
landing-places made for the steamers; and now the electric light blazes
in a hundred halls, and music and rejoicing sound late into the night,
contending with the noise of the surf upon the beach. Bowling-alleys,
shooting-grounds, archery, croquet, sailing and rowing, all invite some
of the visitors, according to their tastes. An amusing exemplification
of the ingenuity of American advertisers is afforded by the sailing
vessels, which display in enormous characters on their main-sails
the names of quack medicines, from which no corner of this continent
appears to be safe.
On June 24th the party, which had been somewhat dislocated, reunited
their scattered forces, and at 2 P.M. started by train after a little
repose, for Newport, R.I. It was a kind of holiday after our travels,
but somewhat out of place, for we were told the Ocean House was
scarcely ready; but we should not have found it out, had we not been
informed of the fact. The newspapers had been on the alert, and soon
after the Duke's arrival visitors began to call and invitations to pour
in--some well-nigh irresistible, for they included opportunities for
experiences of bass-fishing.
_June 25th._--Newport has not yet put on its festive attire. It is
not the season, and we ought not to be here. Nevertheless it is still
so pleasant, and so respectably dull, that one enjoys it amazingly.
After breakfast we walked down to the seashore and sat gazing on
vacancy, and on three yellow ladies collecting clams. Returning thence
in a very hot sun, ran to earth in the hotel where, presently, there
were many visitors; and how kind and anxious to please they were! Mr.
Fearing drove up later on the top of a drag, and whirled us away to
a charming fishing-box on the shore, in order to judge for ourselves
what bass-fishing was like. It was a very pretty drive, and Mr. Fearing
handled his "four" as if he were bent on joining the Coaching Club--not
indiscreetly, as the horses were not accustomed to going together, but
with satisfactory decision--and we all were landed without mishap by
the side of the road, close to one of the best-organised sporting-boxes
I have ever seen, built entirely for the comfort and delectation of
Mr. Fearing and two or three friends who own the bass-fishing stands,
at the end of one of which a gentleman was then busily engaged in his
pastime, for the sea comes rolling up upon the rocks within some forty
or fifty yards of the sward of the green meadows on which the house
is placed. From it projects into the breakers a platform supported
on iron pillars, at the end of which there is an enlargement of the
structure to enable the fisherman and his attendants to stand at their
ease--the one in hurling the bait and the other in preparing it. And
first, as a proof that the labour is not futile, there was exhibited a
terrible-headed monster with great scales, which had been caught that
morning by Mr. Whipple--a bass of 57 lbs. weight, of which I think the
skull and jaws and gills must have weighed a third. The fishing is not,
as I found, to be done at once, but needs a little practice. The art of
casting consists in the double operation of jerking the bait from the
top of a stiff rod, and checking the run of the line without permitting
it to overrun, which it is very apt to do in an inexperienced hand, by
a pressure of the thumb on the reel, just sufficient to let the weight
of the bait carry out the hook to the farthest stretch of the jerk.
The rod, not more than eight or nine feet long, a work of great art,
and costly, is furnished with a reel, also very expensive, containing a
couple of hundred yards of prepared line. At the end is a large single
hook, sometimes secured to a piece of piano-wire, as the "blue fish"
will cut through the strongest cord or gut. To this is fixed a junk of
fat oily fish, of which supplies are kept in a basket close at hand,
to be cut up for ever and ever by the attendant, and ever and anon
pieces are chucked into the sea, and being of a very unctuous nature,
the oil rising to the top, floats away on the surface of the water, and
attracts the bass within measurable distance of the platform. Captain
Fearing threw, Mr. Whipple threw, and the gentlemen at the end of
another pier emulated them, and pounds, perhaps stones, of bait were
thrown into the sea, but the bass, which are capricious, like most
fish, were not to be caught; and so after a time we returned to the
cottage.
I was, unfortunately, unable to accept an invitation from one of the
many hospitable gentlemen in Newport, to go out and spend the evening
on a desolate island, where they are said generally to have exceedingly
good sport, in order to get up before sunrise the following morning
and essay my skill, or want of it, in bass-fishing. Mr. Wright, an
enthusiastic sportsman, availed himself of a like invitation with
great pleasure and with many anticipations of delight, but on Monday
morning he returned weather-beaten back, and boot-less and bass-less
home, although he assured me he enjoyed himself very much, and had very
agreeable company out at sea on the rock.
The following day (June 26th) was cloudy and cool, and all that was
of rank and fashion in Newport went to All Souls Church. There are
many churches in Newport, and in the height of the season, each is,
I am told, well filled on Sundays. And wonderful it is that there is
neither dissension nor controversy among the congregations. They mingle
together coming and going, affording to me, who have been accustomed at
times to observe the manners and customs of my country men and women
on like occasions in Ireland and elsewhere, ground for wonder, not
unintermingled with an ardent desire that we, nearer home, could learn
the secret of this moderation.
Mr. Bridgman, our fellow-passenger in the "_Gallia_," is enjoying his
_villeggiatura_ with his wife and family in a pretty little cottage.
We were very much pleased indeed to renew our acquaintance with him,
although there was no scope for the display of his fine talents as a
salad-maker. It was not foggy enough for the ladies, who delight in a
thick and moist _brume_ from the Banks, and who sit at the open windows
when it comes on for the sake of their complexions, as it is esteemed
a sovereign cosmetic beyond Maydew or Kalydor. Whether it be rightly
credited with these virtues or not, I can answer for the presence of
many fair ladies in church, and on their way to and fro in the streets.
We dined with Mr. and Mrs. Keene, who reside in one of the best villas
of the many charming dwellings in Newport.
The victories of the American horses in France and England created
an enthusiasm in the States almost as intense as though they had been
won by the national fleets or armies. From one end of the Union to the
other the news was flashed the same day, and we saw the names of the
conquerors in large letters in every newspaper. Unfortunately there
came at the same time reports of foul play to American competitors at
the hands of some English roughs, and there was a good deal of heat
caused by the objections taken to the entry of the "Cornell Crew" at
Henley. These international contests should be very carefully conducted
and judiciously worked, or they will do more harm than good, if indeed
they do any good at all. The injurious insinuations respecting the age
of Foxhall could but excite indignation in the minds of honourable men
against whom they were directed.
There is a State House in the town, and there is also a mansion
occupied by Commodore Perry, but the most useful inhabitant of the
place appears to have been one Abraham Touro, a Jew, who gave his name
to the park, a cemetery, a synagogue, and a street. Altogether there
is rather an old-world air and look in the town; but one must go along
the Avenues to have an idea of the charms which lead so many of the
principal families of the Eastern States to make the place a resort
when they are not enjoying the delights of travel in Europe, or that
blissful existence which endears Paris to our Transatlantic relatives.
Bellevue Avenue is bordered by a number of very sprightly dwellings,
of every order and disorder of architecture, and rejoicing in all the
extraordinary richness and elaboration of American workmanship in wood,
each standing in a little park of its own, generally rich with trees,
shrubs, and an ornamental garden. Several of these interiors, as we
had reason to know, were furnished in the very best taste, and filled
with objects of art, excellent examples of good masters, principally
foreign, and articles imported from all the corners of the globe. Of
an afternoon the ladies might be seen driving, in very well turned-out
carriages, to some rendezvous where lawn-tennis or a picnic awaited
them; and altogether, even at this time of year, Newport presented a
picture of great refinement and comfort, which enable the visitor to
understand how attractive it must be in the height of the season, and
why it is Americans are so fond of life in Rhode Island.
I am not in a position to throw the smallest doubt upon the statement
that the mass of stones in the form of a tower, ivy and moss covered,
and evidently the work of human hands, was not built by the hardy
Norsemen hundreds of years before the arrival of Columbus. There are,
moreover, people who declare that the erection is due to a British
governor of the colony, when it was more prosperous as a commercial
resort, though not so fashionable as it is at present. But American
antiquaries take a great pleasure in propping up the proofs which have
been adduced of Scandinavian enterprise and discovery on the continent,
many centuries before Vespuccius, Columbus, and the English navigators
lived.
We dined on the evening of the 27th at the house of Mr. Shattock,
a gentleman of New York, who had assembled a party of very pleasant
people to meet the Duke, and kindly hastened his dinner-hour to suit
our convenience, as we were obliged to go on board the Fall River boat,
which called at 9.30 P.M. to take up passengers for the Empire City.
There was some difficulty about getting cabins or state rooms as they
are called, but "Uncle Sam," who came from New York to consort with us
quietly, applied himself diligently to telegraph wires, telephones,
and the like, and when the great steamer came alongside the wharf
our dormitories were ready. The night was calm and fine. There was an
excellent band, quite worthy of being called an orchestra, on board,
which played to the delight of a large audience till it was bed-time.
As a "sight" for a foreigner, nothing could be more striking than
the vast saloon, brilliantly illuminated, with hundreds of people on
sofas, chairs, and benches, reading or conversing in the intervals
of the music, and presenting infinite varieties of type and class,
yet all so orderly and well-behaved; and if you moved quietly through
the crowd, your ear caught many strange languages interpolating the
American speech--German, French, Polish, Russian, Italian, and, perhaps
the natives would say, British. There is some care observed in the
locking up of cabins, and I believe there are detectives and police on
board the boats; but it is said they do not look after the morals of
the passengers, and concern themselves only with vested interests in
portable property. There was no sea on, and the only motion was caused
by the beating of the paddles and the throbbing of the engine, and
early in the morning of the next day we were at our quarters in our
comfortable hotel in the Fifth Avenue.
_June 29th._--And yet more excursions. Bound by a long-standing
engagement, a small detachment of our party set out this evening to
visit Mr. Barlow at his country place, Long Island, which travellers,
perhaps, have not much occasion to see. The Mayor of New York (Mr.
Grace) and Mr. O'Gorman were on the steamer which took the Duke, Mr. S.
Ward, Mr. Hurlbut, and our host down the Sound, and were introduced to
us by Mr. Barlow. The first-named gentleman I mentioned in one of the
early pages of this diary in connection with the vigorous efforts to
purify the civic atmosphere made by him on his accession to office. I
learn that he has since obtained a large measure of success, and let me
hope corresponding thanks from his fellow-citizens. Attacks on corrupt
influences are apt to receive lukewarm support from the politicians.
The power of the respectable classes, which hold aloof from politics,
is not large. Mr. Grace had more opposition than help from his own
countrymen, who have been long nearly omnipotent in New York, and who
monopolise a large proportion of the civic offices and employment.
Mr. O'Gorman, one of the traversers with O'Connell in the famous State
trials, is one of the leading lawyers of New York, and is held in much
respect by his fellow-citizens. The "old Country" is still dear to him,
but I seemed to gather from his remarks that he shared in the distrust
which American lawyers generally expressed respecting the principle of
the Land Bill then under discussion as far as interference with the law
of contract--"the very foundation of social life"--was involved. Glen
Cove is a beautiful place, standing high above the level of the sea,
and commanding charming views of the sound and of the opposite shore.
It is surrounded by trees, ornamented by woodland and fine natural
groves, broken up by ravines, through which trickle streams of water.
The mansion is furnished with every comfort and luxury, and we had a
garden to saunter about in the morning, and a genial hostess to talk
to, and her fair daughter to sing for us, so that it would have pleased
us well to have made a longer sojourn at Glen Cove. Here we passed two
very peaceful days, part of Wednesday and Thursday, and in a pleasant
drive with our host in the early morning had some slight outlook on
umbrageous Long Island. "_O! si angulus iste!_" It is 115 miles long
and 14 miles broad, and quite big enough for me! And there be deer
in the woods and trout in the rivers, and fish in all the creeks,
and game in the wooded lagoons, and forest, lake, and civilised life,
and many things to please the eye; and then the comet was so good as
to display his glories and his tail before Glen Cove. But our time
of departure from the States was drawing near, and there were still
things to be done in New York, and many engagements to be kept, ere we
started on our homeward journey on July 2nd; and at 12.35 on the 30th
June the Duke and I took the "cars" at a rural station, and reached
New York at 2.35, in time for a run through Tiffany's and some little
shopping and visiting. There was a dinner arranged by "Uncle Sam" at
"Sutherland's" in honour of the famous city restaurant. The house is
one of a type which has, I believe, disappeared in the "City," where
once flourished famous establishments such as Williams' Beef Shop
in the Old Bailey, Dolly's in Paternoster Row, the Billingsgate Fish
Ordinary, Jacquet's, &c., like it in character. Great New Yorkers do
not disdain to cross the threshold, within which they find admirable
fare and excellent wines--the national delights of clam chowder, clam
soup, soft-shell crabs, and many other Transatlantic delicacies--at
the far end of Broadway, still holding its own against the fashionable
restaurants. Of the party who dined there with Chancellor Robertson
and others in 1861, only "Uncle Sam," Mr. S. Barlow, and I survive; but
the host, a granitic sort of man, with a kindly Scottish heart warming
the case inside, seems capable of presiding over his feasts for another
generation.
_July 1st._--It was difficult to realise the idea that this was our
last day in America, but the truth was forced on us by the practical
duties of getting the baggage ready and settling up generally, ending
with a dinner at the Turf Club, where we met Mr. Keene, of Foxhall
fame, who had also entertained us at Newport, Mr. Jerome, Mr. Stuart,
Mr. Travers, and other fathers of the New York sporting world, which
seems very like our own, and had to drink madeira of all but fabulous
antiquity and excellence.