AN AQUARIUM; NEWPORT’S NEED. 
By G. G. KING * 
The City of Newport, as a summer resort, has a distinctive 
character which it can never lose. Held in place by broad arms 
of the sea, and with the ocean lapping its feet, with harbor lines 
restful in their beauty, with hill and dale diversifying its surface, 
and with long, gracefully curving beaches where the waters love 
to play, it has charms for every taste and secures variety for every 
mind. These charms and this variety have long been recognized 
as special to this place. Once remarkable for its commerce, it is 
now famous for its beauty, its healthfulness, and convenience as a 
summer resort. Hither has come much of the wealth and edu¬ 
cation of our country. The result of this influx has naturally 
been in the improvement of the houses and of their longer occu¬ 
pation ; so that, instead of a residence of two months, the so 
called cottage inhabitants remain five or six months of the year. 
The conveniences which these houses afford begin to tempt many 
to spend most of their year here. So true is this, that it seems 
probable that within a few years, Newport may be as well known 
as a winter resort, as it now is famous as a summer one. With 
this growth of Newport, however, arise new needs. To supply 
these needs is to work for our own benefit, for the more attractive 
we make the place, the greater the convenience of our stay and 
the greater our pleasure. One of these needs seems to be a pub¬ 
lic aquarium. 
From the beginning of the world the human mind has ever 
been striving to discover the unknown, and in the beginning 
everything was unknown. Little t by little nearly every part of 
physical science has been elevated from the realm of mythology, 
its strange but natural birthplace, to its present honorable devel¬ 
opment, by the means of the scientists. The steps by which the 
higher planes have been attained are easily recognizable. In 
some branches of knowledge the success lias been greater than in 
others; and modern science points out to us the best aids for in¬ 
vestigation. 
•Read before the Society August 7th, 1S84. 
