Harrogate is a watering–place ; not that it can boast of its harbour, or its ships, for it has neither. The phrase is common, and a few there are in the south who, having heard of Harrogate as such, take its claims into consideration, as they contemplate a possible trip to the sands of one of the many so–called " Queens of English watering–places." Harrogate has no sands, no harbour, and but one " Ship "–that a small inn – yet in its " Stray," or common, it possesses a sea of verdant grass over two hundred acres in extent, situated, we may almost say, in the heart of the town. By Act of Parliament it has been placed beyond the grasp of the enterprising builder, and thus it will ever remain, as it has been aptly described " the lungs of Harrogate." 

The attractions which render Harrogate indispensable to suffering humanity are its curative waters, its buoyant air, its almost tropical brightness, cleanliness, and health–giving comforts. Efficacious as its unparalleled waters are, the air of Harrogate, in a comparative sense, can hardly be appraised at a secondary value. The town undoubtedly occupies the highest table–land in England, midway between the German Ocean and the Irish Sea. The indescribable purity and charm of the air we breathe in Harrogate has for many years been attributed to the ozone borrowed from the ocean breezes. Without venturing to deny the existence of this influence, we have no hesitation in saying that our air derives its chief value from the currents which sweep the moorland reaches, extending from the land o' cakes o'er bracing heather and pine forest. 

Be that as it may, when the visitor emerges from the railway station he can hardly fail to remark the exhilarating atmosphere, the genial air of brightness reflected by its light, cheerful buildings, its dry streets and sandy soil that refuse to harbour water or depress the eye, and its luxuriant foliage. In all these matters Harrogate is invigorating, and the most sluggish liver and ill-conditioned temper, by i11–health disturbed, is not more impervious to Harrogate's bright surroundings than to its efficacious " Old Sulphur." The waters, undoubtedly, have spread the fame of fair sulphurland ; yet the weary man of business, the over–taxed student, the jaded society belle with health hardly impaired, seek, in greater numbers, perhaps, than the bodily afflicted, the relaxation Harrogate affords, returning after a few weeks with brightened eye and rejuvenated complexion, to the bright whirl of fashionable social life, or the busy haunts of commercial activity. 

Time was when Harrogate may have been counted dull, and dutiful children followed afflicted parents to the course of baths and water drinking with affectionate patience, resigned to a hum–drum interval of monotony "till father's better." All that is changed now, and few places can offer more varied attractions, both to the youthful and advanced pleasure seeker, than Harrogate; yet the course of improvement in this direction is never relaxed, but on the contrary, still undergoing constant development. Harrogate has nurtured new generations in progressive thought and enterprise, who are now taking the places of those to whom advancing years have counselled rest; and whilst the early patriots of the community enjoy the retrospect they have created, the younger blood of Harrogate presses forward with a spirit which admits of no rebuff, and a determination that brooks no reverse.