108 LIBERTY AND A LIVING. 



Patchogue, Bayport, and Sayville among them. 

 The prevalent idea to the effect that Long 

 Island is a flat stretch of sand, is one of the 

 first impressions to disappear when one gets out 

 upon the water here. There are no mountains, 

 to be sure, but we have respectable hills, and 

 when seen from the water in certain lights they 

 give a mountainous background to the country 

 along the shore. To get the full effect of these 

 Long Island hills as an imposing background, 

 one has to sail from the Great South Bay down 

 to Moriches on just such a morning as this. 

 Starting from Patchogue at five or even at six 

 o'clock, if the wind is fair, the entrance to the 

 narrow strait at Smith's Point is reached before 

 the mists rise, and one gets a view of Moriches, 

 which has reminded more than one person I 

 know of a miniature Swiss landscape. The 

 little village seems to nestle at the foot of a 

 range of mountains, more or less imposing, 

 according to the power of the sun upon the 

 mists. Sailing out of Patchogue, we could not 

 imagine ourselves upon a Swiss lake, for the 

 hills in the background were too far off to 

 dominate the town ; moreover, the air was bet- 

 ter than ever blew over Lake Geneva. 



