National Republican., 1883-08-21
SCENES AT OCEAN VIEW.
Some Washington Beauties Attracting At
tentton-The "watcrmIIyun" Man.


tcntion-Tho "watcrmIIyun" Man.
Special Letter.
OCEAN VIEW, Aug. 1S.--Many of the fash
ionable bathers from Old Point Comfort como
over hero by way of Norfolk and the little
railway, and while accounts of their toilets,
&c, do not I'LL the court journals, yet, in u
quiet way, the register of the Ocean View
hotel shows many guests. There is also n
large proportion who came here from Norfolk
on the II a. m. train, take s..bath and dinner,
aud return in time for the o'clock boat to
Washington and Baltimore.
This beach is very fine, with no undertow
or rocky holes, and when tho day is warm
tho bathing is delightful. The view of tho
ocean and bay, tinted in the softest blue, the
dark line of the pine forest melting down to
the waters edge in n purple mist, brigs and
outbound schOOners with their white sails set
moving slowly out to sea, and over all the
August sky bending with infinite tenderness
and beauty, is delightful. Tho hotel table is
we'll enough, the bathing houses cloan, but the
towels have a solemn, black look, as if water
could not be reached without good deal of
trouble, and the bathing dresses are the most
horrible looking woolen rags have seen
lately. The grass plots and shrubbery also
need water, and while a darky, 80 years old,
is doing the gardening to-day, pulling up the
weeds, &C., thore seems to bo no flowers to
reward his labor. The brightest spot OF
beauty in the landscape is the old flag float
ing over the boat house adown the beach.
But old ocean woos the bathers. A dark
Dyed beauty from Capitol hill goes into the
waves with q handsome navy blue bathing
suit Her shapely limbs that would make
Phidius dance, covered with lavender silk
hose, her diamonds glitter upon her taper
fingers, and as she swims out toward the deep
ntaru tIat tHa Ia q
A motherly looking body, with q stomach,
yes, stomach, goes out in short gray suit,
and her appearance makes one wish that a
misty curtain might rise from the foam of the
surf to protect such forms from the notice
they attract
This remarkable bather would not wear an
open sleeve at a theater at home, but down
here she exposes her thin limbs and bulky
stomach, without any compunction of con.
science. Mother, pull down your bathing
skirt" cries her daughters. She pulls down,
instead, her big straw hat, makes shoot
over the foaming line of an incoming wave,
and swims out to meet the Tritons with q
nonchalence truly to be commended. Lead
ing out to the pine woods this morning, we
met an old OK harnessed in shafts to n
''watermilyun" cart with rope, bride
and tugs, and driving this iunny
turnout was a citizen of Virginia, u sovereign
of this great republic, Mr.. Hezekiah Winters,
q very intelligent colored man, who showed
us with much glee Cash Thomas's new paper,
The Wedge, latoly started at Norfolk The
old gentleman laughed heartily at Dezendorf
and the Big Four, &C., and told us confden-
TALLY that he was going to vote with Mahone's
party this fall, for, said he, shaking his head
with emphasis, "Mshone has done moro for
the colored people than any other public
man since Abraham Lincoln"
Our party bought huge watermelon of
the old patriot and then inspected a straw
berry garden of ten acres. The best gardens
are those made in the clearings after the pine
trees on this warm soil are cut down and
burned, the ashes proving great fertilizer,
The truck farms back of this watering place
and those near Norfolk are as lucrative as
larger grain farms in the west. With the
immense oyster beds, truck farms, the rails.
ing and moving of fruit, and thousand Other
industries the colored people have plenty o.
work and are getting wealthy and prosperous
A large wave lands the fat old woman on
tho beach, dainty pair of lavender hose
prances from sea to shore, an Adonis in O
striped clowns suit rises from tho water
claspng a bundle of dripping flannel and 0
sea gull with the whitest of wings will bear
this to the REPUBLICAN with du revOir.
N. G..