hotel set back under its green
trees and lots of cottages round it. A nice meetin' house too, and
everything else for its comfort. And all the way to the Methodist
place we wuz bound for, fair islands riz up out of the water, crowned
with trees and houses and tents and everything. No sooner would you go
by one, than another would hove in sight. Anon we come in sight of a
little village of houses fringin' the shore, called Fair View, and our
next stoppin' place wuz the Camp ground. I'd hearn, time and agin,
they wuz so strict there you'd have to pay for every step you took
from the ship to your boarding place. And if you said anything, you
would have to pay so much a word; or if you sithed, you'd have to pay
so much a sithe, or breathe deep you would have to pay accordin' to
the deepness of your breath.

But it wuzn't no such thing; we never paid a cent, and I sithed deep
and frequent on the way up from the wharf, for weariness lay holt of
me and also little Delight. She preferred hangin' onto me ruther than
her parents. And I'd hearn that you'd be fined for laughin', and for
a snicker or giggle; but I heard several snickers (Whitfield is full
of fun, and young folks _will_ be young folks, and talk and laugh) and
not one cent did we see asked for 'em. Why, I'd hearn that they
wouldn't let a good smart whiff of wind land there on Sunday. The
trustees kep' 'em off and preached at 'em, and made 'em blow off
Clayton way.

And I wuz told that the Sea Serpent (you know he always duz like
summer resorts), took it into his head to go to the Islands one summer
and happened to git to the Thousand Island Park on Sunday, and wuz
swoshin' round in the water in front of the dock, kinder switchin' his
tail and actin'. And the trustees got wind on't and went down with
rails and tracts and they railed at him, and exhorted him and made him
fairly ashamed of bein' round on Sunday. And wantin' to do a clean job
with him, bein' dretful mad at his bein' out on the Sabbath day, they
got a copy of their laws and restrictions governin' the Park, and they
said when the serpent hearn that long document read over, he jest
switched his tail, kinder disgusted like, and turned right round in
the water and headed off for Kingston.

But I don't believe a word on it. I don't believe much in the sea
serpent anyway, and I don't believe it ever come nigh the Thousand
Island Park grounds--only the usual old serpent of Evil, that the good
Christians there