Cobb's Island
July 20, 1888.
This season has been probably the most enjoyable and certainly the most prosperous one here for the proprietor in the history of the island. Cobb's has always been a rough, uncouth place, and strikingly so upon a first visit. Prior to the present management the tri-weekly arrangements for arrival and departure worked to the great advantage of "mine host." "Let me keep a party on the island for twenty-four hours," once remarked Mr. Albert Cobb, "and I am sure to retain them, if it is in their power to remain, for at least two weeks." Yes, the approaches to the primitive structures in the shape of cottages and hotel are simply appalling on a first visit. Yet the charms with which nature has endowed the island and the surrounding waters seem to absorb all one's time and attention, and in their enjoyment the discomforts to some are utterly forgotten.
GO AS YOU PLEASE.
One of the great charms of Cobb's in the past, at least to gentlemen, has been the perfect rest from conventional forms in the matter of dress and the forgetfulness of the busy world, made so terribly distracting in the wear and tear upon the mind by the modern appliances of electricity. Here is no telegraph to suddenly summons one to give up present enjoyment, and the dictates of the Goddess Fashion have hitherto been unheeded even in the slightest degree. It has been the delightful custom of gentlemen and ladies, too, for that matter, to "go as you please" in the way of dress. Indeed, to enjoy the sports of the water, one must be up and about and "on the go" all the while, for "time and tide wait for no man." Thus a flannel shirt has served for morning, afternoon, and full-dress evening costume alike.
THE "BILED" SHIRT INTRODUCED.
There has been noticeable this year some change in the matter of dressing. There is a larger crowd than ever before, and the ladies outnumber the gentlemen. And whenever that is the case the "dear creatures" must vie with one another for the supremacy in looks. It is true the gowns displayed so far have not eclipsed Long Branch or Saratoga. Yet by comparison with past years the toilets have in a degree revolutionized the matter of dress at Cobb's. Most of the gentlemen have been awed by the imperious dame and surrendered their comfort by donning coat, vest, and "biled" shirt for a least meals and the evening.
WHAT WILL IT BE?
It will be a sad reflection for the old habitues of this place to mark such a revolution that the comfort of the lovers of fishing and hunting must be subordinated to the fashionable requirements of an ordinary summer resort. And this thought brings with it the question, What will be the future of Cobb's? From its situation it can hardly be a fashionable seaside resort, for the required outlay for making it such would be more than a man of ordinary business sagacity could hope to realize on. If it is to be anything less with a fashionable tendency it must inevitably be a second-class place. To our mind it should be what its great natural advantages entitle it to be -- viz., a resort for gentlemen and their families who especially enjoy the sports of fishing, hunting, and sailing that here abound. It would be a grand spot for a fishing and hunting club.
THE PRESENT MANAGEMENT.
Within the bounds of his modest pretensions the proprietor, Mr. Albert F. Cobb, has greatly improved the place this year, and yet his accommodations have been taxed to their utmost for the past week or so. The free use of paint and whitewash has added greatly to the appearance of the place. The new building, which is situated between the Richmond House and the little cottage, was opened on the 11th instant. Mr. Cobb had named it the "Norfolk House," but the party who have occupied it since the opening thought it sufficiently pretentious to style it "The Vendome," and consequently they call it nothing else. The beds are good, the bread excellent, and the cooking, all things considered, very fair. Mr. Lucius Cobb, the son of the proprietor, is clerk, and is most courteous and attentive. Harrison Holmes, of Richmond, as head-waiter, is the pride of the dining-room, and Coleman, the cook, also from Richmond, has revolutionized the cuisine of the island.
THE COMPANY.
There is an unusually large and pleasant company here, there being at present upwards of a hundred guests. The following are from Richmond: T. A. Miller and wife, S. H. Handcock and wife, J. E. Warriner and wife, P. H. Baskerville, wife, and child; L. W. McVeigh, Mrs. C. R. McVeigh, Miss Cornelia Taylor, S. G. Atkins, A. B. Tyree, W. H. Cullingworth, J. L. Binly, James F. Netherland, Miss Alice Netherland, Miss Emma Netherland, A. Hunt, T. J. Todd, C. O'B. Cowardin, A. Y. Stokes, Miss H. Leary, Benjamin Quarles, Miss L. Quarles, Mr. and Mrs. John Quarles, Mrs. J. Elliott and four children, H. R. Pemberton, G. W. Warren, Mrs. William Woodward, C. V. Meredith and family, A. R. Gunn, George Lee, George K. Lee, Miss A. D. Boling.
PERSONAL, ETC.
Governor Lee has been anxiously looked for since last Sunday. It is said he will arrive here this afternoon.
Postmaster Cullingworth, of Richmond, arrived yesterday and gladdened the hearts of many friends by his open face and winning smile. He made quite a good catch of fish this evening, and might have taken more only the boat would not hold them and himself at the same time.
The fishing has up to the recent protracted northeasterly blow been the finest for years. The shooting is better than has been known for a long while.
Many fish stories are told, but we were witness to the landing of a four-pound trout by a young lady from Baltimore. It is claimed that Mr. Sturges, of the Eastern Shore, better known as "Sir Walter Raleigh," caught a trout recently which weighed seven pounds. He is ordinarily a truthful gentleman, but our credulity "draws the line" on fish stories.
The weather has been delightfully cool; indeed, the breezes have been rather too fresh.