Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-10

On occasional rare days in the city
the salt breeze from of the ocean.
Immediately there floods back a Sc
ries Of memory pictures, In which
sandy beach, dunes, sunshine, ocean
and that salt breeze are imperishably
mingled.
Even greater than the seashore sun
is the Seashore breeze. II 1t were not
for the brisk aerial LAYING which the
| wind gives, there could be no proper
| enjoyment OF the sunshine.
1t Is comparatively easy to get well
sunburned Tor suntanned, II you are
q woman) at places where the breeze
keeps one cool.
Memory pictures keep coming back
Of long. white beaches, dotted with
figures In bathing suits, spotted with
white dogs running here and there,
backed by the restless, ever-changing,
yet ever the same breakers, foam
! crested, mounting up, curling over, fiat
tening out for the run up the beach,
always pushing to the front the old
foamy line.
The little children back away from
the advancing water, which rushes
I swiftly at first, but becomes slower
and slower, until finally the point ar
rives beyond which the original mo-
mentum cannot push 1t. For a sec
ond it stops, then the slope Of the
beach gets in Its pull, and back goes
the game water, leaving another out
| line Of wet sand, with curious little
shells, and bits Of seaweed as a sort
Of natural edging. !
X X \
1t Is customary to call beaches white.
but as a matter Of fact most of them
are not white at all. The color of
the average sandy beach along the At.
lantic coast Is a practically indescrib-
able cross between yellow and gray, the
exact shade depending upon the time
OF the day, the season Of the year.
whether the sun is shining, and how
much rain has fallen.
Reflections from sea and sky come
to a halt on the beach, there working
changes which professional painters
| hesitate to attempt. Have you ever
noticed how few paintings you see Of
| sandy beaches? Not that there Is none,
for there are some fine ones, but they
are few in comparison with the number
OF paintings Of rocky coasts, straight
marine scenes, etc.
The answer to this paucity is that
the fiat sandy beach is difficult to paint
on account OF the color Of the sand and
the difficulty OF giving to 1t that smooth
real life.
In the paintings which one Is likely
to find Of such. beaches a child with
wind-blown hair usually is placed, In
order to give human interest to so wild
scene. Even in the smallest canvas
which Is nothing more than a memory
picture materialized-a stretch Of beach
Is Of wild nature. It does not take
40 miles of beach. marked at 10-mile
intervals by lighthouses, to give the
spectator an impression Of ruggedness.
Here, in the few feet depleted, we
see rolling waves, sun-kissed clouds,
sand, salt breeze-yes, actually see the
breeze, at least in effect. as we watch
the children's hair standing out around
their tanned faces.
x \ -
What is more refreshing, more vigor-
Gus, more careSsing, than the true ocean
breeze? One wakes up on hot nights In
the city signing for It, and during the
day the imaginative will recall its i'm
palpable yet firm touch, although more
years may separate one from it than
miles.
Its memory rushes back most easily on