Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-18
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES 3. rRAcEKELL.

when an acuuaintance tells US that
he Is going to the SeaShore Tor his va
cation a certain feeling of regret passes
over us, because we have not seen the
sea for 10 years.
Ten years without sight Of the ocean
That is too much. Friends can go 70
the mountains without leaving q regret
behind In our mind. Farms and great
open spaces" possess no lure.
But the seashore Is something which
instantly calls to US, and we are only
the Sadder for having 1t mentioned 70
us from time to time:
Surely there is nothing quite like the
sea-to the man or woman to whom II
appeals.
By appeal" we do not mean simply
appreciation of a mighty spectacle, or
love Of water sports, or liking for good
times"
The appeal of the ocean is peculiarly
strong to some natures. One may have
lived q life on the prairies, and never
have seen the great seas, yet carry ia
his heart a titanic love for It.
No one can be sure how many sea-
faring ancestors he has. Even the great
books of heraldry run back only a few
hundred years. Behind them, who9
s. y
The love for the sea is a special love.
Rivers and lakes will not do.
They are all right, in their way, but
they lack the elemental something or
other, the grand perspective, the far
flung horizon, which the sea has.
Go to Chesapeake Bay, get out OF
sight of land, which may be done at
several points, still 1t is not the ocean
No, 1t Is not so much that the waves
are not high enough, nor that the air
lacks the special salty tang" which the
genuine ocean possesses. The one thing
which the bay lacks is the ocean itself
You cannot make bay into an ocean
nor yet a lake into sea. The grand
bodies of water, which reach from ma
ton to nation, have an atmosphere OF
their own. They have great liners
great birds, huge fishes, great storms
something Of this quality Of largeness
enters into the soul of the watcher
| though he do no more than stand or
| the shore.
Shore standing was in vogue thou
sands of years before any one ever
heard of tree sitting. Who can forget
the picture of Robinson Crusoe, in every
one of his books standing on the beach
peering over the breakers for q sight OF
the rescue ship?
CruSoe remains as the immortal typt
of beach stander. Every one who love,
the sea knows that one does not have
to be master mariner to love 1t. One
may be timid wooer and yet be re.
warded with the best smiles Of the sea
~ ~
Whenever an acquaintance saws that
he is going to the seaShore for his vaca-
ton, an old plan which has been kick
| Ing around in our head since we were
| 10 years old comes to life.
A purpose held tenaciously for al
| those years ought to be treated with
respect. We handle 1t tenderly, as one
of our oldest dreams, as all old dreams
ought to be handled, because they are
fragile, indeed, but made Of stout stun,
This dream is none less than to live
for at least a year by the seaside, ia
have q cottage stuffed with books and
f1rewood, where ocean gales might blow
yet all would be snug and warm.
Contrast! That is the especial lesson
and glory of the seashore. Many lives
are made intolerable because people
fail to appreciate the necessity fol
contrasts, among human beings and In
all the walks OF life. Many men who
love sports want all their friends to be
athletes, too, but the real sportsman
is able to appreciate the man who is
not Many who like their liquor de-
mand that ali their friends drink, too