The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1902-10-16
BY S. RHETT RON AN

at HE day is soft and misty, bright,
L and a breeze blows the foam of
Che waves over the sand.
Tide is high, and the water
washes up shells and star-fsh, and
spurs of drift wood, along the edge
of the beach, and children troop out
&rom the big hotel to pick up the
pretty play things, while grown peo-
p!e sit on the half-buried, water
soaked masts and logs, and watch the
restless play of the ocean, and the
Hitting shadows of the clouds as they
shift by in the summer sky.
They sit idly on the beach and
say foolish things to each other, and
Eaugh, and half the time do not rea-
z!ze the poetic grandeur of the scene
Before them, the wondrous combin-
Hng line of tints and colors or the
tsubiimity of the play of moon beams
con the rolling, restless water
The children run about and shout
and gambol, gather shells, and dig
holes in the sand-my sand-with
fheiT toy shovels, and then quarrel
over who was first to see a piece of
seawood, or corral broken from the
FLORIDA reefs; or they sit down and
Guild houses, shouting with glee as
Ehe wind sweeps them over, and they
melt away. Their elders, absorbed
IN themselves, talk of their puny am
2ttions, their plans and prospects,
@lleir shallow loves, and short lives,
all of which | hear as | peep out
There is bench, close down by
che waters edge, near my favorite
haunt. Every evening at dark
come out sly1y, knowing the pale
Eight will confound me with the gray
sand, so that no one, not even the
dogs will snap and snarl, and dig in
to the shifting hillocks in pursuit of
me, can distinguish my slight, agile
form when night falls.
Il come out slowly and stealthily,
and laugh at the big New Found
lands, and querulous, over-fed pet
dogs, rambling along the edge of the
water, while their mistresses stroll
by, and the wind blowing against
chem, shows pretty feet, tipping
from under rutIies and laces, and soft
strands of hair, little curls and
%endrils which no comb or ribbon can
keep in place, on our long stretch of
swind-blown seashore.
Il watch the young men and the
girls as they saunter along, and al
ways guess rightly which ones are
going to pause, and sit down on the
bench. Oh, | never make a mistake.
There is a certain couple I've
grown to know quite well. She's
been here all summer She's pretty,
very pretty, and holds her head high.
He comes over from the city fire.
G7uently, very frequently of late, for
Ihe summer is waning fast, and will
soon be over, and then they will all
$50 away from the seashore and back
10 their everyday lives, and, as far
as can judge, will forget each other
completely.
II like to watch men and women,
and | remember faces. Often the
same ones come back and renew
their walks on the beach. sit on the
cocks of the breakwater and occupy
shis decaying old bench near the
beach, but it is seldom that those of
the year before are again together.
Il know, because it is quite anus
ing to watch them, and it makes me
laugh until 1 grow tired and positive
ay weak, to hear the same old foolish
talk repeated over and over again.
The only difference is that when the
seasons change they change compan-
ions.
"And, strange to say, they all love
10 pirate disdainfully of the changing