CHAPTER XXI
EASTER TIME AT PALM BEACH
Man has set Palm Beach as a gem in a jungle,
which is itself as beautiful in its way as the nacre
of the oyster in which we find the pearl. The
gem is cut and polished till all its facets and
angles flash forth not only their own brilliancy
but the reflected glory of all around them. These
blaze upon you from afar and draw you with a
promise of all delights till you stand in their
midst bewildered with them. The beauty of the
surrounding jungle you must learn little by little,
for it does not seek you, rather it withdraws and
only subtly tempts. Yet when you come away
you do not know which to love most, the gem or
its setting. And all this you find upon a ribbon
of island between the muddy blue of Lake Worth
and the unbelievable colors of the transparent
sea beyond. Unlimited resources of wealth have
brought from the ends of the earth tropical trees
and shrubs and set them in bewildering profusion.
Wild nature in the setting, the landscape gardener
in the gem, have done it all.
