LOJfG ISLAND. Gl 



ran periodically. Into the yielding sand the wheels cnt 

 deeply, and the journey, short as the distance "was, seemed 

 sloAV and tedious. Those who now gain easy access to either 

 side l)y the railroad facilities j)rovided, have small conception 

 of the discomforts of the olden time. It is difficult to realize 

 the magnitude of the improvements made. Once across the 

 line that circumscribes these wastes, and the scene changes, 

 as if by magic, to one of thrift and plenty. Bursting barns, 

 capacious farm-houses, and smihng fields attest the exuber- 

 ance of the soil. City merchants and gentlemen retired 

 from business have seized upon the choicest spots within a 

 distance of fifty miles from town, and made them attractive 

 with every modern innovation and appliance. Even portions 

 of the barren wastes, which, were regarded of trifling value, 

 have been reclaimed, and now " bloom and blossom as the 

 rose." On every hand are stately mansions, back from whose 

 well-kept lawns and embowering shrubbery stretch acres of 

 farm, garden and nursery, all under highest cultivation. 

 There are conservatories filled with rarest plants. Graperies 

 blushing in their fulness of purple and crimson, expose their 

 crystal facades to the southern sun. There are trout ponds, 

 whose cost to fonn was by no means insignificant, with ar- 

 bors and kiosks dotting their grassy banks, wdld-fowl dis- 

 porting along their margins, and pleasure-boats floating list- 

 lessly at their moorings. There are princely barns and car- 

 riage-houses, and stables filled with imported stock. Sub- 

 urljan mansions of the city have been set down cpiietly 

 among the antiquated houses, quaint miUs, shops, and coun- 

 try stores of the primitive inhabitants. Xew ideas and 

 modes of dress and linng have been sown among the simple- 

 minded, yet there seems no jealousy or cklsh of interests. The 

 thrifty housewife in cap and gown and guileless of hoops, 

 looks out from beneath the yellow ears of corn and strings 

 of dried apples hung on her tenter-hooks, to the modern im- 

 provements of her neighbor, and sighs not for his flesh-pots 

 or his fine^}^ Her " old man," in rustic garb and cowhides, 



