American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1875-10-23
A SEASIDE ADVENTURE.

WAS in rather poor state of health,
caused by long and assiduous attention to
business in the firm to which l belonged
in Criticized Friars. My doctor recon-
mended rest and sea air. / was to go to
some quiet spot on the seaside, live SIM
ply, avoid late hours, and all causes for
harassment. 1t would be great thing if
I could, night after night, get a sound
sleep, and be for time free of any anxiety.
Rest for the brain was to be the sovereign
cure. Acting on this pleasant advice, 1
chose Lulworth, in Dorsetshire, as quiet
and dull a place as could possibly be dis
covered. To help the cure l was med
ically recommended to avoid the glare of
sunshine, to wear blue spectacles, and to
have my hair cut short; all of which, with
other advice, / attended to. Passing
over any account OF the journey, behold
me at Lulworth, poking about for lodg-
ings, and finding accommodations at an
old-fashioned cottage kept by one Mrs.
Cruxley. As for dullness, nothing could
match the situation. The only living OBJ
jects to arouse curiosity were a lady and
her daughter, who, walking about, seemed
to be borne down by some awful sorrow.
I saw that the daughter was an extremely
interesting girl, with a pair of eyes which,
as they met mine, impaired, even through
my blue spectacles, a peculiar sensation.
For days and days I spent the most mo-
notonous and regular life, by degrees ex-
tending my walks along the cliffs, and
making the acquaintance of the coast
guard, ensconced in his turf shelter just
above the cove. Wherever 1 went there
were the two ladies, peeping about and
exciting curiosity in their movements.
They appeared to be forever on the look
out for some object on the horizon. There
was a mystery about them l could not
fathom.
Well, three weeks passed, and one after
noon, after heavy sea-fog which had
lasted six and thirty hours, 1 strolled
away across the downs, and struck the
coast almost at the extreme western end of
the range of tall, chalk cliffs. It was
much the farthest point had yet reached,
and it revealed the altered character of the
country, which here gradually fiattened
out until it was nearly dead level,
stretching toward the distant town of Wey-
mouth. The solitude of the spot, the
balmy, autumnal air and pleasant beach,
all suggested bath. Clambering down
the rocks, / was about to undress under
the lee of the cliff, when I was startled at
hearing, as I imagined, a footstep on the
beach. Yet no human creature was WISH
BILE. concluded that the sound was a
the full enjoyment of delightful bath in
the placid ocean before me.
Swimming out to some rocks that
rose above the sea, abandoned myself to
the pleasant novelty of the situation.
Only by chance did cast my eyes east
ward, and there, to my vexation, was a
stranger on the beach. 1t must have been
his fOotstep had heard, and how he had
concealed himself / could not divine
Yet there he was; and to add to my con-
sternation, he began to take off his own
clothes and to dress himself in mine.l NY
first impulse was 10 call out, and next to
swim hastily to the shore and give chase
All my efforts were in vain. Before I
touched the beach the stranger, or thief
must call him, had donned my garments
and vanished among the cliffs. l was
naked and helpless. My only resource
was to put on the clothes which the wretch
had left as his own.
Here was an extraordinary source of
perplexity. The thought of having to
put on those clothes filled me with dis
gust. A more motley and coarse attire 1
had never seen, only fit, as l imagined,
for mountebank of the lowest character
There was, however, no choice, unless /
wished to walk to Lulworth in the cos
tune of our first parents. 1t was some
consolation that this incomprehensihe
dress was tOlerably clean, and was not, on
the whole, bad fit. The odd thing was
the diversity of colors and marks. There
was conspicuously stamped the letters
p. g., and below them the figures 5755.
Ridiculous as was this strange attire, it
was clear that 1 should hasten to the
nearest coast guard station and give no.
tice of the robbery. As the afternoon was
waning, there was no time to be lost.
On struggling, hatless, up the side of
the cliff, noticed two figures watching
me curiously from above. They were
boys, who, as l approached them, waved
their caps, and with sudden shout ran
off at the top of their speed.
Gaining the crest of the high down, /
again caught sight of the boys, still rum
ming. Presently two men met them they
spoke together, the boys waved their hands
excitedly in my direction, then all adj
vanced toward me. /, in my turn, moved
toward them, and as l approached l saw
one was a coast guardsman, the other a
policeman. As we neared each other the
boys fell back behind the men, and the
men themselves halted, seemingly hest
tating md irresoIute