Sheftel v. Lebel

Over a century and a half ago, Herman Melville noted the irresistible attraction that the seashore holds for our species:

“But look! here come more crowds, pacing straight for the water, and seemingly bound for a dive. Strange! Nothing will content them but the extremist limit of land .... No. They must get just as near the water as they possibly can without falling in. And there they stand — miles of them — leagues! Inlanders all, they came from lanes and alleys, streets and avenues — north, east, south, and west. *176Yet here they all unite. Tell me, does the magnetic virtue of the needles of…