Rensselaer Republican, Volume 13, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 September 1881 — CAPE MAY SIGHTS. [ARTICLE]

CAPE MAY SIGHTS.

A Vefintatote Leg Show Fartrohized j. . . T.ui !.-Wf thoßht-tl ‘‘Jhtr.-t i 4 rKSSKHwiis jsttwesssfflra StaWs:" Bbttdn' Ifttt Its b«it*ee ahd good ones—Nantucket beach especially —but |.he. water is too cold, people bathe at Newport; but ft? tt !j trio T 6old .(hero,; also, and the frogs are* the bahfe WM&KsRMvm hsite, and drowning! accidents aft numerous. A man by the name of Cobkllhghaa donnod fils bathing suit and deigned to mix with the crowd at Long Branch. Buttheieis aq undertow which is dangerous. Cape May has the ideal beach on the ooast. Safe? Yes, safe as a bam floor, and as smooth. Coney Island, cdWred with deed cats and, debris.of ,aJlisQrts, has no sdrf to compare with the Cape. Itrqtls in from the broad Atlfchtic' with nothing to fluder) and breaks in sparkling foam upon tup hard Band.with the roar of a platoon of artillery or a clap of thunder just overhead, NObody thinks of missing the bathing hour. Not much.. Ho or she May prefer to remain On dry lfind^but. everybody is on the beaeh at midday, taking it all in. And there is lots to take In,' too. A physiologist nan study anatomy from the board walk Which skirts the boach without moving' ten foet. His subjects will come to him, and he can study the curves,b( nature ty his heart’s content, People talk of thet 1 degeneracV of - the stage, and the ballet. Faugh 1 That s nothing. Right here-on Cape. May’s beach; sanctified by the customs of sooiety, is the greatest W-leg show on earth. There is nothing like it, and ii is all free. a Chicago Igi'ri should give a garden party and invite a hundred br two Of heb apuain lances, male and female. Suppose each girl should get herself up regardless, her only object being to display her form to the best advantage. Suppose a single garment should be her only clothing—a garment fitting closely to.lbe neck, belted at the waist, and buckled at the knee-pans. Then supposeher to saunter out under the trees her round, dimpled arms bare above. the elbows; wHli bar long-golden hair falling loosely legd, heft Only. foot) covering. In tirt and patade arouqu for anbour, talking rotfan<J4-obd f no»Bei4«B. What Woiiltf Chicago think of.,U all ft. AmL whatr would society think 6T the girl who gave met garaen patty, and oTthe iirls who attended it? Ai}o yet this is the kind of show yoii can see on the beach any. day- at tfoon. The girls pafftde about with- scant costumes and the Scantier the costume the more society looks ok and applatids. It Wouldn’t be sanctioned for a moment up in the oity upon the Delaware, but here —Well, It is the thing tor do, and that settles it. Let me take you down for an hour or so on the beach. It is 11 o’clock, and already the people are coming down from the hotel ß and cottages. Most of. the cottagers know how to bathe, and enjoy it. Some of ■ tliefljrl* dress; themselyee for toe tori : at noma and carelesaly trip down to, the wateb gird plutrg* in.- A rreMehee ota fweeks , aha many of them can 'float on then:, * backs aud even swim a few strokes.

! the flhttog guepte who MfiPiat the Stockton, and Congress Hall, and Columbia, and thl Windsor*, afitli ttfo 1 JMWftpabje hghals f a}wayjs go to the! bath-houses. . The bath-houses stretch along She drive, facing the Water, for haU a j Ry u-.gQ most of thngirtei are ready to undergo the publio .gaze, By noon all the tethers are I 'on tne bf-ach, pis a lively spot Her* comp; a perfect beauty tapping qown from the bath-house.’ I saw her only an bpur ago op the 8 p ckton piazza, and! somo one poiuted E’er out as the pret tiestgiriat the hotel.' 1 She lfc'from* Baltimore. She is gotten up to kill. Her loose hair is . flowing down her back, only caught’ together slightly with a blue rßfbon; AvL<*i£Hy ffttie straw pat covers her head. Her costume 1* of dark 1 blue flannel, edged with white. most of the bathing suits it falls to her knees only, leaving, her limbs entirely free from all oncutflberance. The most marked feature of her costume is bet. beautiful.* stockings, which must have cost several dollars. They are of a very flue, silk, evidently imported, with the most beautiful ana dainty tracings upon them. A young

man accompanies her, also attired in a neat-fitting suit of blue. She trips oyer the sand,' clutching 1 his arm, occasionally as she apparently stumbles a Httle. per arms are bare to the elbow. Everybody looks at her; Bare arms and well-turned ankles are so common hero that there is ii 6 novelty about them, and it is only when they belong to pretty girls that they attract admirers. The plain or medium girl who go*s into the water as Ifsneenjoy. it could not get a corporal's guards Indeed, doubt if anybody would notice her If her entire clothing cotosisted’of a.linen sheet, or if she had no clothing on at all. At the water’s edge the couple atop and gaze about them. Why don't they plunge In? As I ask myself this question I hear a voice be hind me - murmuring: “Pooh! • She don’t dare to go in the water.” I turn to see who is speaking. Near hy are two youhfe ladies. They are lookerson. “Who is she?”saked one of them. • “I don’t know —Miss Bomebody-or-otber, fromßiltimore. I retimed to bn Introduced to her last night She’s all “Why, fwhat du you mean, Belle?” e«k«*] i number one. Belle smiled significantly and points ed to the tether’s bust. “Corsets,” she. murmured with a slight, sneer. . “Ohi thatfs ndthiog Belleprotested style.” bjDon’f owe i( U ; PW* te BfMe. “You mark my words. She won’t go gtfito-avater, now yon see. Why would aE ftdf to pteeeo M she did. net a fright. That’k her beau with her. Do youaupppee she 4s going to show

she tealfsbam. The water would pull her dices all down and would show every bUofpzddiug about 1L” And auchtyfittg^te' Bdkt is udffti Th <4bcrfu ti rtAh|ft- is on wwwiMijtf , tr3w® g & Tl Vaten injfo thAfiofcn Mxiote .imupon the beach and. with an affected] little scream Jumps back in an instant. “Ob, its so cold!” she cries, although her ankle has hardly been wist Her esoort lent amount of tugging, the girl allows taneif to be dragged in up to her {fittsT But no furtner will she go. In a moment she is out. And then I see a_ *_ *4 -an . , Wannilftsl tOnjUgu I v BIK* IU9 DMuIIIuI Hum stockings ding closer to her limbs, and are prettier than ever. It is a very pretty ankle she has, and everybody knows it. and as the girl and her escort paraded up and down the beach they a rathe center of attraction.