NANTUCKET IN APRIL 71 



lie just where she stranded when the ebb began. 

 So they rest today, jumbled together in friendly 

 neighborliness or slipping down the tide toward 

 the harbor on the one hand and toward the wide 

 high seas of the downs on the other. The town 

 melts into the open either way and belongs to it, 

 merging gently with no possibility of shock or 

 rudeness. So it is with the people, the real Nan- 

 tucketers. Each intensely individual they yet 

 blend in a wholesome harmonious whole that 

 joins the outside world with little friction. The 

 sailor instinct is strong in them, and they bring 

 their barks alongside the dock or the stranger 

 with a pleasant hail and without a jar. 



As the silver-toned Lisbon bell of the Unitarian 

 church tower dominates the sounds of the town 

 so the gilt dome of this church tower dominates 

 the town to the eye of the inbound mariner, as 

 he swings round Brant Point. So, too, in more 

 than one way, since its building in 18 10, this 

 strong tower has dominated the home life of the 

 city. Its glassed-in crow's nest has been the 

 city's watch tower for a century and more. 

 And so in a measure it is today. The fire alarm 

 system, now modern and electric, warns of fire 



