appearance in the water afterward. Ten o'clock was the
hour for bathing that morning; so we each armed ourselves with our
bathing clothes and a prodigious towel, like the main sail of a fishing
smack, and rushed down to the beach; that is, the younger members; Aunt
Elsie, Mrs. Lawson, and I walked soberly along. Then we popped into
separate bathing houses, still looking like respectable and responsible
members of society, and popped out five minutes afterward--scarecrows!
spooks! animated rag-bags! with the last vestige of our gentility and
good looks departed.

Aunt Elsie had taken leave of a most beautiful brown "front" and
fourteen luxuriant curls, the absence of which gave her an appearance
very like a staid bald-headed owl; particularly as she would keep on her
very round spectacles, and wore a pair of extremely long-fingered green
cotton gloves. The long ends of the glove fingers, waving about in the
water, were not unlike the owl's claws; while her gray woollen bathing
dress might have passed for a new sort of flannel feathers. A mortified
blue sunbonnet, with all the canes out, was perched lop-sided on her
head, and she wore a pair of bathing shoes, like brown poultices. The
rest of us were just as bad, though; I was an ogre in green flannel, Tom
and Jimmy monkeys in red, Mrs. Lawson tolerably lady-like in blue, with
white tape trimmings, and Neighbor Nelly a ridiculous little old jumping
Jenny in white, with gorgeous red facings; and all in hats that defied
our best friends to know us in.

How we laughed at each other, and then made haste over the sand, which
was so hot that it nearly scorched our feet, and plumped into the nice
cool ocean, where ever so many other frights were already hopping about.

Now for a rush into the deep water! here comes a big wave! down, down
now! and over our heads it went! dousing us as it had Gipsey the
Saturday night, only we didn't squeal.

Presently, some people who had come from the next hotel, began dancing
the "Lancers" in the water, ducking under instead of bowing, and
seeming to have such a good time, that nothing would suit the children
but that they must begin dancing, too; in consequence of which a wave
twice as high as usual came roaring up, and carried Neighbor Nelly right
off her feet. Under the water she went, and for an instant we were quite
frightened; but presently up she popped laughing, and trying to squeeze
the salt water out of her eyes.

However, that p