Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-09-15

Wnlle l)dteT JdDlttfdS, perhaps, indulges
in fragrant cigar or a little juice OF the
rye.berry. After the lapse Of an hour
and visible effect having been made
on the contents Of the baskets, the appa.
lttes of all having been sharpened h7
! the hour and bali sail and the bris :
! sea-breez9, preparations are made for 6
grand bath all round. The little ones
/ have all brought suits with them, but
! the old folks get suits from the batnirg Q
/ MASTER which includes the use OF tH q
| lOck-fast bathing houses, for half a dol
| lar, and in few minutes the entire fanl-
| lily march timidly down, in grotesque
| dresses, toward the surf, and each one
/ gFGsps the hsnd-rOpe, which is fastened
to bu6y some distance out, and
made fast to post far in
shore. All move slowly and cautiously
out till they are about kuee-deep, when
at the word of command sll face the
shore and the heavy spray Of ''spent
breaker" rolls over their nesds, making
all jump to their feet with a sudden
"ugn." :" as they splutter and tiutter and
empty their mouths Of sand anu salt-sea
wa.ar. This is repeated dozen times,
and then the dripping procession is re-
| formed, and ali return to the bathing
houses, don their clothes, and come
forth with bloom of health on every
cheek that Is beyond purchase. Let
the reader figure two or three thousand
ali engaged in this operation 81 the same
time, with half dozen Thousand look
ing on, for they visit the Ro 3kawsy
beach by tens CT thousands on Sunday,
and some idea of q scene of eXLraoIdi-
nary animation may be imagined-it
cannot be described. TIE writer spent
three weeks at Failing's Ocean hO-
tel on the beach, where one could
'fchuck a biscuit" from his bedroom
window into the surf. The guests OF the
hOtel-the regular bOerders-make pp
parties to epiJya cCOl bath before break
fast The majority, male and femsla,
have most fanCiful costumes, the mSlcs,
when attired 70 visit Mother OCnsn,
LOOKING like circus aCTObats or escaped
cOnvicis from Sing Sing while the fair
sex, in their tunics, loose tTOwsers and
cOmical straw hats, present all the ap-
Dearance of female Japs Or Chinese
Many OF the latter are capital surf.
swimmers and take to the water like
ducks, while others proceed with the ut
most caution. Many cOmicsl incidents
occur, which are provocative OF much
mirth to all but the principal performer.
An individual whose name for the
2ouce shall be "Mag"-but that isn't it
went oat one fine morning for his
second bath. He had for q guide,
philosopher and friend, young naval
lieutenant, who promised to see him all
safe. Taking him good distance, the
officer caught firm hold of Mac and
allowed the heavy breakers to roll over
his devoted head, his back being toward
the sea. Observing that Mac had firm
grip of the haul rope, and telling him to
hold on firmly snd jump when the big
waves came along, he swan Oft Sea-
ward. A couple of minutes afterwaTd,
a big wave carried Mac completely off
his feet, and to his CONSERVATION he saw
his toes on level with his nose, as he
held on like grim death to the shore
line. Every attempt to call tor help
was choked in the utterance by
mOuthfuls of saltwater, and Mac,
whom all around thought was CIV
ing o fine specimen Of his fl 1at-
ing powers, was all the time
thinking he would soon be a "fiOateT"
lit for the coroner. He was to be seen
on the crest Of a wave or going through
it at the rate Of forty miles an hour as
he spluttered and made wOeful attempts
to make known his peIilous position.
At last a lady near at hand saw there
Yves something evidently the matter and
sounded the alarm; the lieutenant rush |
Ell to the spot, placed Mac firmly on
his feet again, and as he had got more
than he bergained for, advised him to go
ashore, which he did, and was sfterward
heard declaring on the hotel porch, half
an hour after, that he would not have
70 iS
bath for q ten dollar bill. Only two fatal
accidents have been reported at Far
Rockaway or RockaWsy beach this sea-
son, and this could be distinctly traced
to the timidity and carelessn6ss OF the
unfortunate persons themselves. One
could swim and his companion wac a
novice in this respect. This did not,
however, prevent him from venturing
out OF his depth in the water, his COM
rade swimming and keeping firm hold
OF him. Both were caught III the fatal
undertOw which swept them out to sea,
where they sunk under the briny waves.
There is very little danger if
the slightest care and precaution
is used. At Failing's Ocean
house your representative witnessed
something in hotel life that appeared a
little strange to an old stager. That lit
tie bO5telTies was never full on Satur-
day night, when hundreds came by rsii
or boat TO stay over Sunday. There was
always room for one more, and ii was
truly astonishing when "the guests OF a
nightn turned out for breakfast, and
crowded the tables, to imagine, or try ID
calculate where all had roasted during
the hours allotted to slesp. New Workers
from home are, however, easily PUT up,
and if they are only allowed to smoke
mild cigars, talk politics, and abuse the
powers that be while they wash down
their ideas with draughts OF lager, they
seem to be perfectly cOnteDted. By the
way, it is pleasing to observe that lager
is rapidly taking the place Of stronger
beverages, but the writer has yet to find
anything like the first class beer dis
pensed hy Quentel, Lurhman, Hauck,
in Memphis. It seems TO want that
the Bluff City beer. 1t was, however,
very paIatable at "Failing's," and went
well with CLAIMS law, a-ted, baked or
frttered. R0ck8wsy is famous for CLAIMS
and blue fish, and 10th are prime arti-
cles of daily consumption. so much
FOR Long Branch and Rocksway beach
with the vagaries thereuntO belonging.
The next epistle will be from the EN-
pire City, and il time Snd space permit,
will comprise some notes regarding both
the theatrical and political circles which
revolve, move and have their being IN
the great city of New York. D. NJ. P.