The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1882-09-19

A SOUTHERN EDITORS EXPERIENCE, REPLgc
lions. AND sENSLTIONs

IlONS, AND SESsAIlOSs.
III. ". q. in the Atlanta constitutional
Surf-bathing is a revelation. / went in
yesterday with lovely and modest woman
from the North with whom | had but a
short acquaintance, although had seen a
great deal OF her. As We stood awaiting
the coming Of huge wave she clutched my
arm, and posing herself on one foot bend
ed the other leg and pulled her stocking
over her suse, trying yainly to make il
cover a strip Of white. She thought moth
ing Of this, neither did |. In an instant
the wave was on US, and We were riding
the swell rs happy as pair Of ducks.
That evening this lady went sailing with
the same party that had been bathing with
her in the morning. As she stepped over
the side Of the boat she exposed about four
inches OF her pretty silk stockings, and her
face was crimsOned with shame and morti-
fcation.
Now, why thi. difference? It was exact
" the same limb that had been exposed to
the knee all the morning without any
thought OF confusion. A. came into the
hotel corridor yesterday 4 young lady
screamed:
''Shu: the door Quick! There's some
body coming"
She had put on her bathine-sUt for a
trial trip IN her mothers room, and was
Mortified that man should see her in that
fix. \ half hour later she and were lying
on the beach, the waves purling over Us at
every throb OF the sea, and she, with her
shapely figure bendcd, was writing her
name in lhe sand with her tees, while her
merry laugh rang above the roar Of the
Tavc.
But IL the dressing on the beach and the
Inconsistencies with which the 'GO>t
modest Of girls stand the exposure conse-
Queut upon it, j. remarkable. the conduct
OF q crowd in bathing i still more 30.
Thai /, the miracle OF social life, | think.
The glrl- clad in this prankingly pretty
dress-the passing pressure Of the waves
outlining the curves Oi the body-with the
warm flesh glowing and thrObbing beneath
the single garment-the girls thus attired.
run hand-iu-hand in the water with their
Swcethearts. and rOmp, and frOlic, and are
ducked and hauled out by the feet, or are
clasped around the waist, or catch the fel-
lows about the neck a. big wave CONES
and vet there Is not the slightest prurient
suggestion, and no hint OF gallantry.
don't believe n scandal was ever born IN
the surf. | cannot conceive Of sentiment
al attitude amid the swelling breakers.
/ | am compelled to confess that a month
at the seaside does not confirm the genera
idea OF feminine symmetry that all gallant
men are supposed TO entertain. II /, th'
rarest thing to find a girl with straight
limbs, graceful carriage, firm flesh, iui
chest, and unrestrained attitudes and poses
In majority OF cases they are wabbly anC
uncertain: with a stoOp in the shoulders
y minciug step. toes turned i'm Che mum
her of pigeon-tocd girls developed here /
positiyely alarming), and general debility
Of pait and llabbneSs Of attitude.
noted at one Of the resorts several day
ago the handSOme>t woman | ever saw on
the beach. She was tall and slender, bu
diyinelv formed. Her pretty head wa
poised like queens upon a swan-llk
neck that swclled into snowy bust ant
shoulders. \ bathing suit, loosely tee
about the neck, and without sleeves, cav
nerfcct play to her superb body. Blac
INK stockings and feet that lett perfectly
outlined footprint, sct regularly IN IN
sand at about thirty degrees divergence
There was something royal in the uncon
scious grace and beauty of this woman a
.be walked into the water the cyno,ure oi
hundred ewes. Utterly dwarfing her g.
cort she seemed disregardful OF HI pre-
sence. and when the foam was cllisterln
aLout her knees, raised her cleaning arm
Above her head. and went like nash lht
the body OF an incoming breaker.
r Just think Of this schedule for an Augu
e day \ tumble in the waves IN the morn
in:. 4 shower bath in the spray, ride O
the billows, a swim out TO the buoy los
= inc uretty girls about in the salt water,
: header or two under the surface ior
tinishor. A walk to the bath-hOuse with a
T indescribable glow pervadins the VINO
; BODY and tingling every nerve. y leisuT
ly toilet with the salt spray drying on II
>; iesb and making it acrid and cool. Aero
! 70 the bar for little apOllonaris and ci9I,
\ Tp-,tairs to a bed slanted across windo'
/ through the hali-clOsed shutters Of Wni'
i comes A crisp salt breeze, drying the Il,
and tanning the glow out Of the bod
, There. with hali-shut eyes, TO muse on
mercy and goodness OF the Lord, until
!; ihe senses have yielded to the dehcio
l drow-iness that OyerpOwers them ana
slumbrous roar OF the surf beats throui
!. tissue Of dreams, and the waves III
al on The beach coniure from the he
of a deep and sweet sleep the memory oi
- baLv cradled in it, mothers swingl
ar,ns and soothed with lullaby from /
loving lips.