Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-08-08
LIFE BY THE BIG SEA.
Funny Things to Be Found at At
lantic City.
SOME POINTS ON PADS.
DO Women Wear Them In the water?-Bath-
ing Incidents of . Humorous Naturc-Res-
cuing Drowning People-Odd People 1t the
Hotels-Birds and Light Houses.
Of The Evening Star.


ATLANTIC CrrY, August z, 1891.
no WOMEN WEAR PADS IN THE OCEAN,
~ Quite often, if confidence is to be had in
the assertion of the principal bath house keeper
here. OF course, he says, it is exceptional, but
those Of the fair sex who adopt them on land
are compelled to keep them on in the water,
lest the alteration in their figures should be
rendered too apparent. In fact, wet bathing
dress Of the modern pattern goes SO far to ex-
hibit the female shape that the fair bather may
be said to require stufing while taking dip in
the sea more urgently than under any other
conditions. The least vain of her sex could
hardly be willing to emerge upon the beach
| bereft OF her customary embonpoint.
Sometimes it would seem the wearing Of such
aids to shapeliness in the water gives rise to
awkward accidents. There was one young
woman who went in about . fortnight
| ago and was SO knocked al out by the surf
that she came out ten minutes later with all
her pads in the wrong spots. Her hips had
got around in trout, and in other respects her
aspect was seriously marred to outline An
other case is whispered about Of lady whose
| facility In swimming has been discovered to be
due to the fact that her pads are of rubber
blown up, but this may be mere scandal. One
day last week there was great commotion in
the water. A woman out among the breakers
| was evidently in distress and brave men rushed
| to rescue her. Unfortunately. the matter was
| that she had lost an important part Of her Co.'S
tune and thus the embarrassment of the stu
| alton was seriously aggravated. The leading
| lady OF the Ozark Secret" who has been at At
tantic City during the last few days for the pur-
| pose OF practicing in a tank drama on the lRrg
est possible scale, always drops her skirt upon
getting well into the waves and hands it grace
fully to the life guard, receiving it again from
MN when she IL ready to 90 ashore.
| coRsErs FoR THE BATH.
1t Is the women that are anxious about their
figures, lest they become overdeveloped, vino
wear corsets in the ocean. When Won see q
fair bather in stays you may set it down as an
inferential fact that she bants mildly at the
hotel table. Unquestionably they are becom-
ing, but they are not pretty to look at when
hung out upon the bath house line, because
the corrosion OF the steels gives them an ex-
ccedingly rusty and damaged appearance.
Besides, it is always ones old corsets that ono
reserves for the water. George Drew Barry
more who makes her appearance on the beach
at noon each day, is invariably equipped with
| stays. John Drew her brother is hcr regular
escort in the pillows. The other day the little
daughter of an actor friend Of his ran out of
her bathing compartment and sought her
father, saying:
''Oh, papa! I daren't stay in my bath
house, because there's a man in the next one,
putting and blowing and swearing in q way
that frightens me-"
'Nonsenser replied her father there's
nothing to be afraid Of It's only John Drew
getting off his jersey"
All the trouble about mistakes in bath houses
is made by the women, the keepers say. When
man upon coming out Of the water gets by
accident into compartment that has had fe
male occupant his attention is Immediately
caught by her clothes hanging on the pegs, and
he loses no time in making his exit. But q
n snally takaa NJ Ia
parel under similar circumstances nor regards
her surroundings At all until she has disr obed.
Then the situation may be rendered embarrass-
ing temporarily by an infortuitous concatena-
hard to tell Tho statement on the subject Of
those who have the best reason to know is
merely submitted with due respect.
BABY TAKES A SWIM.
There WAS pretty sight on the beach yester-
day morning. Jack Williams, chief among the
life guards, was giving baby bath. The tot
was little girl Of three years and the sturdy
fellow held it in his teeth by the back of its
waistband, standing out among the breakers.
When big wave came along he would dive
through it with the child held so, and she
would come up Growing and gurgling and clap
ping her hands with a gee delightful to wit
ness. Jack gives an unfavorable account of the
ife-saving business, financially speaking. Most
people whom he rescues from a watery grave
uO uOt pay ulm u cent IOT the SERVICE. 1uOSe
who manifest any pecuniary appreciation
average about %, from which it would appear
that the value OF existence is not rated very
high In this age of pessimism. Once he brought
ashore a drowning millionaire from Philadel-
phia and only got So for his job.
I'm making rescue said Williams. ''the
chief difficulty is to grab the person right. l
always try to get a grip on the back of the
bathing suit between tine shoulders. II find
myself in danger Of being pulled under and
do, a ,.s - .l,;,,-
Several times have had the death clutch f1s-
tened on me in this way and have had to break
away by placing my feet against the body and
using all the strength Of my legs. Then l
would fetch the man to the surface and, il ne
cessary, stun him with a blow with my fist.
Such a blow struck upon the jaw will render
any one insensible for time without doing
any damage"
QUESTION OF LEGS.
One the most attractive Of the bathers is the
legless lady from the dime show on the board
walk. When on exhibition in the evening
there is nothing Of her below the waist appar-
emily, but she brings the other half along when
she goes into the water. There is a coarse,
saturnne man at the hotel where these lines
are written who wears gig lamps and a goatee
and Is fond OF making rude remarks about the
gentler sex. He Mortified the female boarders
at lunch today by asserting that many scientific
| men at present believed that womsn were not
| intended by nature to go on two feet. but upon
| all-fours, quoting DR.. Flint OF the Smithsonian
| Institution at Washington as an authority for
! the proposition. Although it was admitted
that four-legged ladies were more desirable
| than ladies with no legs at all, the suggestion
gave rise to acrimonious criticism, despite the
| explanation given that, according to the
| theory, human beings have not rs yet become
properly modified structurally for bipedal
| Iocomotion. this method of progression giving
rise to many disorders, especially in females
| Nor did the discussion around the table become
less heated when it fell upon the question
whether or not it is usually possible to dis
| tinguish married from single woman by
| looking at her. By the way, if you want at any
| time to see vigorous dispute arise. Just sug-
! gest that notion in a company Of both sexes.
Women will deny it Indignantly every time,
while man will invariably assert it with CONT
dence, claiming that there is even a difference
| in the expression of the face between the
maiden and the matron.
This person with the gig lamps, who has pur-
chased and insists upon wearing four finland
necktie made Of rattlesnake skin with the rattes
for a scarf pin appears to enjoy torturing his
wife on the subject Of her avoirdupois. She,
| being very nervous respecting the matter
anxiously inspects the edible conteLte Of eech
birds bath tub set around her plate at the
table. considering the fattening properties Ct
every Wand Said she to her husband at break
fast this morning:
my dear. should you imagine that this