110 LIBERTY AND A LIVING. 



pecially is this the case when the wind is from 

 the north. I have recorded the results of a 

 "norther" often enough to feel certain as to 

 the day's weather on this water ; when the 

 water is smooth, and the north breeze comes 

 in the morning like a zephyr, look out for a 

 squally gale by noon one of the worst winds 

 we have for small boats. It will blow in gusts 

 all day until the sun sinks, when it will die 

 away, and the day will end as it began. 



As we sailed along I gave our friends some 

 details as to the life upon the Great South Bay, 

 its pleasures and its hardships, which may be 

 resumed in a few pages and may possibly inter- 

 est people who know little about this part of 

 the coast and its sports. As between a life along 

 the coast and a life in the hills, I have found by 

 experience my own and that of others that 

 success depends largely upon temperament and 

 constitution. There are people who cannot 

 stand salt air, much as they love it ; and I have 

 known earnest lovers of the sea and the coast 

 to suffer such agonies from throat and lung 

 troubles when living near the ocean, that no 

 amount of pleasure to be derived from water 

 sports could atone for these drawbacks. Every 



