THE ISLE OF SUMMER 47 



could be duplicated elsewhere. Avalon is a perfectly 

 conducted city without mayor, aldermen, or trustees, 

 or officers of any kind except the major-domo and 

 police in private clothes. 



There are attractive golf links, and up the canon 

 tennis courts, while horseback riding, coaching, good 

 shooting in season, motorboat races, yachting and 

 boating make Avalon a playground where all the pas- 

 times can be enjoyed. Almost everything has a marine 

 flavor. The polo is water polo; the tug of war is be- 

 tween boatmen in skiffs. Then there is baseball on 

 the water, the base men and the batter standing on 

 small floats. There are swimming and diving con- 

 tests. Here are seen remarkable divers who meet the 

 boats and dive for the silver and nickels tossed over 

 by the tourist passengers of the midday boat. 



The little town along the crescent-shaped beach has 

 nearly every kind of store or shop, but no bank. Its 

 curio shops are unique, with their collections of aba- 

 lone shells glistening with every hue of the rainbow, 

 with shells, corals, and fishes from all over the Pacific. 

 The tackle stores contain anything in the tackle line 

 to be found in New York, the best rods, reels, and 

 lines. An institution is Parker's, the local taxidermist, 

 who mounts all the fishes for the anglers — from 

 tunas to swordfish; whose room reminds one of Shake- 

 speare's description — walls covered with big, splendid 

 fishes, eyed and eyeless, nothing but fish. From this 

 little shop trophies go all over the world. In the 

 eucalyptus grove is a tent city where hundreds enjoy 

 camping out with the luxury of perfect neatness and 

 the best of sanitar>" conditions. The sewers lead far 

 out into the ocean ; the drinking water is pumped from 



