The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: September seventh, meditating on the mystique of Mustique.

Just three miles long and half a mile wide, the tiny Caribbean island of Mustique is the essence of understated elegance. Located in the Grenadines 18 miles south of St. Vincent, the entire island has been privately owned since 1835. Four decades ago, it was purchased by an English lord, who began turning it into a hideaway for the rich and famous. England's Princess Margaret was the first to establish a residence. Mick Jagger and David Bowie regularly hide out here, and the house built by designer Tommy Hilfiger employs a fair number of the island's residents.

Development on Mustique is strictly limited. Cotton House, originally an 18th century sugar mill, is the island's only hotel and it has just 20 rooms. Firefly, the only other guest house, can accommodate four couples. Otherwise, the only, and not inexpensive option is to rent one of the 52 private villas on the island. Princess Margaret's house, for example, costs $10,000 a week in the off season, which includes unlimited gaping at family photos.

But don't expect glitz. Though each villa is architecturally stunning, Mustique has no paved roads. Residents get around on foot, horseback, or souped-up golf carts. Its nine beaches are fine sand, and there's a coral reef with the wreck of a French ocean liner. But apart from Basil's, a funky beach bar on stilts, there's no public nightlife. Tranquility and privacy are Mustique's main pastimes, and that's how folks there want it.

FMI For Mustique information: Cotton House 800-223-1108 or www.cottonhouseresort.com; Mustique Villa rentals 800-225-4255 or www.islands-specialplaces.com; Trans Island Air 246-418-1654.

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