Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-05-19

friend. Clarence w. Barron. ono of
tho most powerful financial journalists
in America, and my ride was from his
house along almost the entire coast
to the house in which the famous
Colonel House spends his summer
vacation. ilceing from the Impossible
heat OF his native Texas.
To say that j saw Il stream of motors
driving along the roads from Boston
TO the seaside gives but very i'm
perfect idea OF the astounding spcc-
tacle which unfolded itself before my
eyes on that wondrous sunny Sunday.
The speed at which the motors drove,
the absolute uninterruptedncss OF the
stream, so that L thought that / saw
motors not by the hundreds or thou
sands, but by the tens of thousands:
the fierce rush to the sea and it's cool
and it's pleasure; the crowds on every
seashorc so thick that they sometimes
appeared like ants Instead of human
beings. the universal impression of
youth and unbounded gayety that maue
you think OF Il world returned to care
less and joyous infancy-all those
things conveyed to my almost blinded
eyes and dumfounded brain an idea Of
opulence, of Observation-Disclosures. OF ele-
mental herceness i'm the pursuit OF
amusement quite new in my hitherto
rather somber views OF American life
Another impression l must mention.
| have heard Americans themselves
| avow that they had nothing i'm their
country to equal the splendid and or
dered comfort OF our towns such as
Brighton and Bournemouth, or FoIke
stone. TO take few instances. / cam
not now agree with them ! saw on
these coasts OF America a series Of
towns which could challenge favorable
comparison with our own best seaside
resorts. These towns. nesting as close
70 each other as the towns outside
t...r,
on The English coast, seemed to differ
In one being more beautiful than the
other The dwellings. especially, OF
course, OF the well-to-do. were palaces
rather than houses and yet they fitted
wei INTO these seaside sceneries, for,
though large and luxurious. they were
built very often OF wood, and this
gave them lightness that explained
away their size. They had, too in the
fortunate climate OF this land. bal
comics all around most Of them In
some respects these American seaside
! resorts arc more like France than Eng
land There is the same mild bathing,
the same prettiness and variety OF
bathing dress, and the same extension
OF the visit to tho sea TO nearly all the
hours OF the long day: not the hurried
morning dip that is characteristic OF
our seaside manners.
There was another feature OF these
seaside resorts that struck me. It had
already struck me in New York. and
mat was the astounding delight that
americans take in the dance. For
some months l saw people dancing
everywhere. and people OF all ages. old
often as eagerly az the young: and
tho dance as frequent. as continuous
often as Wild in the small hours OF
the morning and in the afternoon as
in the evening. Not the French, not
tho Spanish. no race with which / am
acquainted. compare to tho American
In the love OF the dance. You find
people dancing in the afternoon in
many OF the hotels: you find them dane
Ing after dinner; and often couples get
up In tho middle Of their dinner or
lunch and take a turn on the moor. 1t
may dimintsh-it probably will as the
war goes on fancy IL has diminished
already. But for the nrst few months
or my present visit to America and all
through the summer. America looked
to me as country that had almost
gone crazy in it's devotion to the dance.
II Is part. l assume, Of that restless.
vigorous. nervous temperament which
the extraordinary conditions OF this
wondrous new country have produced
say wondrous new CONTINGENCIES
have realized. as have through this
visit what wondrous new coun-
try il is.