The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1902-10-16

| Know IL.
I've often laughed to split my
sides to see how the girls who come
out here on these sands manage to
puzzle the men and get the situation
mixed up, when, in reality, both the
men and the girls are pining for an
identical termination to their little
summer game.
But they are all at cross pur-
poses, and come back to this island
for sea bathing mismatched and I'M
happy, cynical and morose.
'Pve heard so many silly things
said by people sitting on this bench,
and I've crept out on the sand and
observed and listened for so many
years, that l could be very enter
tanning if l choose to give the result
of my discoveries to the public.
why only last week, when those
two | am interested in were out here
chatting, it struck me how grateful
Dick Thornton would be if l could
have made him see that Maude Cam
eron's light badinage was all put on
like her clever, careless society man
ner, just to hide her real feelings
and because she was so deeply hurt,
that he had let week pass without
running over to see her, and had
not even written.
$50 Dick grew formal, and also
society in his manner, and men
toned pleasant call he had made on
Dorathea Spencer. Dorathea is the
tall, handsome girl who was over
here month ago, and looked so
stunning in her striped black and
| yellow bathing suit. | danced over
the sand in the moonlight, and shout
ed with delight at the absurdity of
their misunderstanding each other,
and their mutual indignation over
what never existed.
"Of course Dick Thornton never
explained to her what ! heard him
discussing later on with a friend,
while walking up and down on the
hotel piazza and smoking: that their
firm has been unusually busy with
some cotton shipments, and that the
senior partner is away.
81 travel around a good deal these
bright moonlight nights, specially
when the tide is low. and in that wav
| get to see and know everything
that is going on.
81 run across the sand hills to the
old bench on the beach, then to the
brealtwater rocks--and on such
night as this there are a good many
couples sitting on the rocks-then I
go around by the hotel, where the
band is playing, and big white and
pink oleander bushes grow along the
front of the piazza, in spite of the
drifting sand. | am spare and agile
of limb, and have no fear of my enc
mics, the dogs, when nj ht comes,
the ways of the world.
Last evening when I came out she
was sitting there gazing out at the
sea and absurdly unhappy. She is
much too handsome to sit alone. and
far too spirited to NOPE, so as soon
as fellow in white 1annels came
along Maude frightened and dropped
into her usual brilliant spirits, al
though she was thinking of some
one else half the time.
"They all act that way.
"Now, the man in white flannel is,
| know, engaged to girl-a shrewd,
clever girl-who lives mostly abroad.
[ heard them say. She came to this
island accidentally on account of
some ones illness. She dresses bet
ter than all the other women, and
all the men run after her. She, too,
has sat on this bench frequently.
She criticises the island and laughs
at the sand and is very apish. She
laughs at everything. 1 don't like
her.
Neither does the man in white
hannels, Overmuch, for all he is en-
gagged to her. They are to be mar
ried in New York this fall. Mean
while L heard him flirting outrage
ously with handsome Maude out
here in the moonlight while the tide
was rolling slowly up, and Maude !
she was encouraging him, and all
the time wishing he was. somebody |
else. It's too funny.
Dick is to be over this evening.
and as the night promises to be
glorious, he and Maude will be out |
here until after IL.
III sit out, too, on the sand and |
listen. 1t will be diverting. The |
older | grow, the more 1 enjoy
watching these queer human be-
ings, who are always making them
selves and other people so foolishly,
miserably unhappy over nothing.
81 wonder if that huge Newfound-
land, Royal, will be around? 1
hope not. Pm afraid of him.
There comes Dick Thornton and |
Maude towards the bench. Now we
will see how they are going to patch
up their quarrel, if one can call
drifting apart by that name.
'The night is gorgeous and the
moonlight on the sea looks so peace