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the north side, Ipswich Bay and the line of coast, backed by the 

 nearer hills and towns of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, ex- 

 tending from Essex, Ipswich and Newburyport, far northeastward to 

 the hills below Agamenticus and the ancient town of York, in Maine. 

 It will be observed, of course, that within this compass of the eye, 

 something more than a score of miles from the northern shore of the 

 Cape, lie the Isles of Shoals. 



As to stretch of sand, Old Orchard Beach is a marvel, but Little 

 Good Harbor Beach and Long Beach, on the south side of the Cape, 

 near the boundary between Gloucester and Rockport, and Coffin's 

 Beach on the Ipswich Bay border of the West Parish of Gloucester, 

 are more than satisfactory, as hard, smooth floors for the wheels of 

 carriages or the feet of pedestrians ; or for the accommodation of 

 picnics and bathing parties ; especially since they are placed in con- 

 trast with granite boulders and ledges, and with pastures of sweet 

 herbage, bayberry and wild-rose bushes, close by them, and with 

 rugged hills but a little farther off. 



As an area for sea-side rest and pleasure and for country shade 

 and enjoyment, at the same time, Cape Ann is incomparable. Here, 

 the tourists, the summer cottages, and the visitors occupying the ho- 

 tels, are delighted with the remarkable blending of the marine with 

 the rural. If they would sail, there are harbors all around the in- 

 dented shore, from any one of which they may go forth upon the sea 

 within sight of pleasant cities and villages, picturesque heights and 

 intervening vales, with wood and orchard and field. From the har- 

 bor of Gloucester city, Fresh Water Cove, or Magnolia, the trip may 

 be to Salem, Baker's Island, Manchester, Lowell Island, Marblehead, 

 or, by rounding Eastern Point, to Thacher's Island. From Rock- 

 port, Pigeon Cove, Folly Cove, Lanesville, Bay View or Annisquam, 

 it may be to Chebacco River, Ipswich River, Plum Island, Newbury- 

 port, Boar's Head, Portsmouth, the Isles of Shoals, or, by doubling 

 the southern horn of the Cape and Straitsmouth Island, to Glouces- 

 ter Harbor ; or, by the way of 'Squam River and the Cut, to Glou- 

 cester Harbor and Massachusetts Bay. If they would ride, from 

 whatever starting place, the most popular route is the " road 'round 

 the Cape." On almost every rod of this highway of fifteen miles, 

 the waves of ocean, bay, or inlet, are within sight. 



Branching from this principal road are other roads extending to or 

 passing through villages or sequestered neighborhoods near the sea, 

 or near the coves here and there. The ride may be varied from day 

 to day by turning into these by-ways, and so driving to Bass Rocks, 



