Los Angeles herald., 1892-08-22
EAVESDROPPINGS.

weeks ago they crowded the opera house
to witness an alleged farce-comedy that
was very opaque, both in plot and
humor. Last week there was Spanish
opera company that gave better perform
ances. both in music and ensemble,
than have been given here before in five
years, and, with the exception of Car
men, on Thursday night, they played to
empty benches.
just go about their Sundays at the
beach. A week ago yesterday it was hot
enough for Fresno or Bakersfield, but
the attendance was not large at Redondo,
Santa Monica or Long Beach. Yester-
dav, however. was ten degrees cooler,
and vet the population literally poured
out of town. At Redondo there were
from sixty to eighty people in the surf
right along from l O'Clock till 4. And
didn't they have picnic of their own ?
Some fellow had gotten big bulb from
a section of detached kelp and they
started up game of baseball with it,
right in the breakers. Twenty minutes
was all of it that wanted, and I went
out OF the game. But as the tired play
ers dropped out new ones came into the
sport and kept it up for three hours.
The beauty of the game was, that just
as YOU got ready to reach out and grab
the ball, great green sea would come
breaking over your head and, by the
time YOU got the water out of your eyes,
the ball would be forty feet away from
you.
And did the representatives OF young
America enjoy themselves? Fun was
no name for it. The little girls of and
10 years tucked up their skirts and played
tag with the boys of their own ages, but
generally bolted at knee-deep limits. 1t
is SO easy to accustom children to surf
bathing, and 80 easy to frighten them to
death. I saw an example of it there
Yesterday, which shows the right and
the wrong way. There was young
Scandinavian mechanic, whose wife's
face would indicate the Spanish blood,
not far off. They had three boys, the
eldest about 8 years, and the youngest
about 5 months. Both these had the
mothers dark and lambent eyes, while
the second boy had the Norseman's
golden locks and the blueof the sea in
his eyes. In their neat little bathing
suits / could see tho mothers deft
needle-work, and they were beautiful
picture of light and shade as they pat
tered about the sand, while their father
breasted the foaming surf and the moth
or sat on the snowy sand and sung her
baby boy to sleep. 1t was the second
time the two elder boys had ever been
into the surf.
Near us was man who had on a
bathing suit, and had half-naked boy
OF about 6 years in his arms. He
marched out boldly into the surf with
out asking his offspring whether he
wanted to 60 or not. By the time the
third breaker was reached, the boy was
yelling "Murderr' at the top of his
voice. After ducking his child till the
little fellow screamed with terror, he
brought him back to shore. and the
child's mother took him up to the bath
house to dry him off. It's an even bet
that boy grows up to be pitiable cow
ard, and through no fault of his. Just
then the young Scandinavian came
alongside of US, breasting his way boldly
in shore.
sCome along, Eric, vid papa. Freddy,
sit down on der sand; papa come after
you, by-and-by."
4 4 LET me take him out, alongside of
you ?'' l asked.
b swell, allrecht, oof it ist not asking
doc much, you yoost pick him up"
II x*x
The little fellow. less than A years old,
was not bit afraid. / ewung him up
till he stood on my shoulders, and then
bade him sit down astride of my neck.
,Wading out till the water was breast
high, l stood beside his father. AS each
sea would come rolling inward, he and /
would jump up in the air and let the
sea pass under US, just as sixty odd
boys and girls were doing beside us.
At last there came wave higher by
foot than it's predecessors, and before /
could get out of it's reach it knocked me
down, and my little charge too. I picked
the little blue-eyed scamp up, but never
a whimper escaped him. His father,
taller and more stalwart figure than
myself, held the eldest boy aloft. The
latter began to ''josh" his little brother
as soon as his little faxen head appeared
above the waves:
taste 2"
"You know how it tastes, Mr.. Eric.
You've swallowed enough yourself. 1t
tastes youst like corned beet"
Oh, but that young one has got the
soul Of Frithiof or Vasa. Hs'll never
faint under fire, not bit of it. Had he
and l both been drowned when the big
wave knocked US over, he would have
Died as firm as Sparta's king,
Because his soul was great.
But that's just the way that some
parents have of cultivating courage in
child's heart. The father of those boys
had forbidden them to 60 out into deep
water until he returned from his swim
out to the buoy; and by the time he got
back 10 shore, the two youngsters were
nearly dead with eagernees to accom-
pany him out into deep water. The
other man of whom spoke had no tact
in dealing with children, and will have
only his utter want OF Judgment to
blame if his boy grows up to be 30 big
poltroon as to be afraid to go out of
doors in shower of rain. So 1 say to
men who take children to bathe in the
surf, do not force them out into deep
water. Let them venture for them
selves.
49,
There were two cases of cramp yester-
day at Redondo, and in both instances.
the suffering parties owed their rescue
e1aM @ 20 Il AsM p,