Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-07-22
FOREIGN BATHING PLACES.
English Custcn-o and Fashions Con-
trasted With American Ways in the |
Eriny Ocean.

III lllt Aiihii'4N "i'Nt q e'NitA
coast resorts to battle in the surf at
any place abroad is an experience
fraught with many strange and un-
usual experiences.
1t is not only in the segregation OF
1.-THE sexes that bathing in Europe and
America presents curious contrasts
IN many resorts in England the bath
ling machine or wagon that is moved
in and out with the tide is used IN
Iother resorts the bath house is simply
a tent.
Persons who have spent summers on
both sides of the Atlantic assert that.
in the main, the American method of
the salt water bathing is far more
practical and satisfactory than that
(which is practiced upon the European
side of the big water
| Upon the Continent The best known
bathing shores are at 0stend, in Bel
lgium; Dieppe, Cherbourg, Etretat
ITrouyille and Boulogne, I'm France;
Scheveningen in Holland and Brigh-
ton, F'o1kstone and number of otber
places along the English coast.
| one rarely sees at any of the Enro-
pean seashore resorts such daring cos
tunes as are to be found along the
American coast. The intense heat
along our coast and the undisputed
reign of the summer girl in America
| have resulted In an Independence of
| bathing styles on this side of the At
lantie that has exceiled Eurouean
IDEAS upon the subject Here the use
Of light fiannels. cotton goods. linens
and muslins has advanced far beyond
ANYTHING abroad Upon European
seashores the clothes, as a rule. are
heavy and ugly.
Neither do the people Of Continental
Europe enjoy the pleasures of the surf
with the same avidity as marks the
summer day along the American
coast There is more or less of Gus
tom or fashion to dictate to the tenn
porary dwellers along the seashore.
At most European resorts bathing is
confined in the morning hours. pIsI-
tors from the Old World who spend
the summer along thu Atlantic coast
Iof America express surprise that mid
day is chosen az the bathing hour
here. They claim that Americans
make too serious business of bath
ing The French, for instance. look
upon bathing us frolic. not as a regu-
lar pastime or daily habit. They re-
gard their ffiskng in the surf as
something that marks exuberant
spirits, just as one would feel i'm
PEELED 10 wear a mask or throw CON
iettl upon the occasion Of a festival
Unlike Americans. Englishmen pre-
Ter to have their surf bath before
breakfast They slip ont Of their
rooms and into the surf as a sort of
duty, and prefer a huff bath. or one
without the membranes Of bathing
suh' II they can be fermitted to en-
JOY 1t. With them the bath even in
tht breakers Is more OF duty than
pastime. as it is with the French and
HE Americans
fof years IN certain parts of Eng
lahd man venturing npon the
grounds set apart for women at bath
lng hours would be, ira bic to arrest
IN france mixed bathing has haen
permitted to a much greater extent
thah in England. And yet in Eng
iaha as a general rule. the bathing
grounds OF the two sexes at any resort
are only short distance from each
other along the beach, and both are in
iuli view Of the crowds to be found
there every day.
segregation OF bathing grounds has
naturally led to remarkable incon-
sisteneies IN bathing attire. To the
American visitor in England the bath
ing costumes for women are ant 10
prove rather startling at first sight
oAualiN they are in one piece. skirts
not being considered necessary. As
these outfits are almost invariably
tight in fiji. and the materials more
iiimsy than are seen on this side of
the Atlantic, the effect often argues
strongly in favor of separate bathing.
Even more striking is the usual
garb OF the English man in the water.
It consists practically of the familiar
swimming tights of the American boy.
ana the American visitor who dons
sueh an apparel for the first time and
steps forth from the bath house or
tent feels more like seeking the Sc
clusion of neighboring bushes than
piunsing into the breakers that await.
the bathing machine which is in
use at most European resorts is in
Keeping with the idea Of privacy of
the ocean bath. the bather being en-
ahied to step Immediately into the
the surf from his or her dressing
rooms. instead of being compelled 10
walk across wide expanse Of beach,
as at Coney Island or Atlantic City.
Upon some parts of the Continental
coast. however, as at Trouville, the
| bath houses. because OF the abruptly
! sloping nature of the beach, are sta
| tionary. In such cases the bather is
given a peignoir, or covering, that
| generally consists of a white muslin
sheet enveloping the figure from
| head to foot during the walk from the
! bath house to the waters edge Upon
! leaving the surf the bather is once
more enveloped in this sheet and in
| it returns to the little dressing room.
At Folkstene, in England, is a
mammoth bathing machine that is
pushed out into any desired depth.
| Similar to it, but smaller, is the ''mov-
ing s.bridge" at Saint Malo, France,
which runs on a track laid into the
ocean, and takes party out into the
| depths