New-York tribune., 1880-09-26

in such an estimate ia impossible but this
will he a sufficient qualification of my previous
statement if that too general There are
dozens of other watering places on the Nor
man coast in Brittany. and elsewhere, no one oil
which, however, can pretend to rival either Dieppe
or Trouville. But Partisan friend tells me that
the Parsians of late years have frequented the sea
less than formerly.
Without its Casino Dieppc would certainly be
less popular than il u.s. and the existence of such
an establishment is one point of difference between
Dicppe and Brighton in which latter place the
visitor is thrown pretty much ON his own re-
sources twopenny promenade on the pier ex
copied The Casino at Dieppe is q large building or
group of buildings at the western end of the beach
and lust beneath the castle. comprising theatre,
a concert hall. reading room, club gymnasium.
riding school, billiard room. shooting gallery ,skat-
ing INK cafe. and bathing establishments on con-
siderable scale; the latter including hot baths and
those more complicated methods of applying water
to the exterior surface of the human body known
as hydrothcrapic, in which the Frenchman doth
much delight The club excepted, all this is open
to all the world on payment, and you NAV buy
ticket for single entrance for whole day Tor lo
cents for three DAYS i0 or 60 cents according 10
the dayl for a week (S1 S0l. for month ITO 60)
or for the whole season .S1l 6O; with reductions
for a family There is a separate subscription 10
the theatre by the month or the season. or you
may pay for each performance. For baths. bil
liards gymnasium. riding. and skating, there are
also separate fees but the right of entrance to the
Casino includes admission to all its other privileges
There is concert or dance both. every afternoon
and evening, and the Iii ferenJ rooms are open ali
day and till Il at night. and are generally tlled.
BATHING IN THE SURF.
The bathing is not govd-that is. the beach IS
not good one. being all single but everything IS
done to improve it by plank walks, and everybody
wears sandals The authorities, whoever they may
be- keep careful watch over the safety OF their
clients Nobody may battle unless the.lag is hOisted
on the mast at the entrance Of the Casino, ana
have seen it haulel down when the surf was very
moderate. The French not, for the most part,
bold swimmers and they take their sea baths with
an ininty of precautions, some OF which are sen
sbe enough but some of nature to provoke an
irreverent grin on the countenance OF the Brt0n.
who thinks every man has right to drown nm
self if he chooses and he chooses With all this
excess OF prudence YOU never see boat; possibly
because so few persons rus themselves ont OF their
depth. Within the lim,, of the Casino the beach
has four divisions The extreme east is assigned to
men wearing the old-fashoned calecon only. Next
TO them come male bathers i'll what is called com
plete costume Jersey and drawers in one, reaching
from neck to knees Women NAV bathe here If
theI Ike, as men may III tnc HOAO oco'""' "iAN"
is assigned primarily to women the fourth and
last and furthest removed from the caiecon COM
Daily. being reserved for women exclusively. This
is what is complained of by English critics of the
more prudish sort promiscuous bathing 1t is. IN
fact more strict and decent than is usual on the
English coast. A good deal has been SAID also
about the rament worn 10y Frenchwomen when
bathing; said. / should imagine. by writers who
derive their notions from the caricatnres IN the
French comic journals, rather than from Visit TO
the French sea side. In general. the costume is
pretty much what it ten years ago, before the
moralist lifted his reproving voce-consisting OF a
loose tunic from shoulder TO near the knee. belted
at the waist and loose trousers. Such change as
has been made Is in the direction of shortening the
trousers and barring the arms-the tunic also some
times comes to an end sooner than the regulation
pattern and once in while You may see t0lerably
daring mOdif ratiOns of the standard. The com
many is naturally mixed where the only condition
of admission is fee of two francs. The unmen-
tionable female who arrived from Trouvile for the
races is certainly to be seen on the beach. and she
does sometimes economize the material OF her
tunic But the freest apparel TO be seen here is
modesty itself by the side of many on which the
yirtuous public of Paris and the still more vrtuous
public of London gazes at with complacency when
displayed upon the stage. And either public
opinion or the police both enforce ut all hours
and in every part of the Casino and upon persons
of every description rigdy decorous department.
THE PROFESSIONAL BATHER.
The Frenchwoman commits herself to the water
under the protection of a male assistant; for the
most part professional person. The Oaigneur-I
ci ye him bis French name because bather is not an
adequate translation of the worlds to be seen at
all hours on the line where the sea and land come
together, with the air of marine prodigy who has
come in with the tide, and is waiting for his prey.
He is not however. directly a product Of the deep,
but a fisherman OF a sailor uniformed from head to
foot in blue jersey Overas. thick boots, and SOU
wcster-the last exchangcable for a cap. His prey
comes down to him enveloped in pegnoir. which
she throws of before she reaches the edge Of the
water If you have Dupuis take Jude in lis
arms at the Theatre des Varieties. carry her down
an imaginary beach. and over imaginary waves till
he plunges her softly into An imaginary sea, you
may form good notion of the ceremonies as con-
Quoted here at Dieppe. At Trouvie you might
have seen both Dupuis and Judic rehearsing
Niniche from nature, but neither of them would
venture to appear on the beach in the costume
which passed without criticism on the stageAfme.
Judic least of the two For the rest, the waves
and the water are, in some states OF weather and
tide almost imaginary at Dieppe at the
Varieties IN Paris and the function of the baigneur
is as purely ceremonious thai of fOotman on the
box of coach and -four. He performs it, neverthe
less. with equal sincerity. If his charge does not
wish to be borne aloft through the first breakers,
which may average six inches in height, he takes
her by the hand galantlv. leads her several yards
INTO the ocean until the water reaches her knees.
and then introduces her into ring of other female
bathers whom he has previously established in this
safe spot. They Join hands for mutual protection
against the violence of the sea. and when q wave
bodcr than the rest reaches up to and encirces the
waists of these fair creatures, they give little
startled leap upward and the laughter and pretty
cries of pretended fear or modest shrinking from the