who is always in the van when a good cause is to be advocated: English women have four limbs, and live in an island, and make sea voyages, and practise sea bathing, and need exercise in the water at school and at home, and go out in boats; in short, run the universal risk in regard to water, therefore they have a claim to be taught to swim.' Very wise words are these, and I beg to commend them to your attention, reader; and that you may proceed to carry them at once into effect, allow me to tell you how.

In Marylebone there is a large bath-house; there, upon a Wednesday morning in each week, you will find in a capacious bath ladies diving from a considerable height, floating, swimming, and, indeed, enjoying all the pleasures of the bath, such as are enjoyed, and have been for many years, by the ladies of Paris in the swimming-school of the Seine, and by others on the beautiful continental rivers.

The Seine baths are a type of the whole. They are far more convenient than this ladies' bath in London; indeed, this was not built for ladies, it is only set apart for their special use upon the day I have named. The water is that of the Seine; it flows into the large inclosed space built in the river. There is a platform nearest the landing-place, making the depth suitable for children; that is a great advantage. Beyond this the water is deep enough for diving, and there is a clear length for swimming of about 40 or 45 yards. The ladies wear very tasteful dresses, fitting close at the neck, with a girdle round the waist, and a kind of Turkish trousers tied in at the ankle; everywhere else the garments are loose. English ladies, about half a century ago, were wont to adopt a dress something after that fashion when they gossiped away with the dandies of the period up to their necks in the vaunted waters of the 'Queen of the West.' How does it happen that in these modern days they have substituted the far less ornamental and convenient shirt?

water. They generally learn as children, and they swim in parties. For the timid there are belts suspended by a ring from an iron rod in the roof; these fasten round the waist, and afford a sure support while the stroke is learned. The stroke is so easy and simple that the girdle is soon dispensed with. An instructor- not tress-attends as an additional security, and superintends the first venture made without leading-strings.

The result of these arrangements is a degree of comfort which induces ladies to remain in the water longer than I should be inclined to consider beneficial. Should their appetites be freshened, there is a confectioner's hard by from whence they get refreshment.

At the ladies' baths in Marylebone the plan is different: there is no instructor. The bathers form themselves into a mutual improvement' class and aid one another, which is far pleasanter than being under the superintendence of a master; not that I suppose, if the presence of an instructor was necessary among English ladies, that they would not employ one of their own sex. But surely it is far preferable to learn from each other, especially as there are some among the fair bathers who are quite adepts-one lady of distinguished family who swims there traversing the bath a great many times with a speed not much surpassed by gentlemen. The crane and rope, with the belt suspended, is adopted there as on the Seine, but the ladies prefer the air-jackets when learning. Since this bath was first opened-at which time an instructress attended, but it was found that her services were not required, and during late seasons the ladies have been left to themselves—a great many have there learned to swim. Why should not all the baths, London and provincial, adopt this plan?

What is the proper season for bathing? I should answer, All. A plunge and a rapid swim for two or three minutes in January, followed by a still more rapid run, is as good as one in June. Not so, says the

"They who bathe in May} Will soon be laid in clay : They who bathe in June

Will sing a merry tune.'

That might have been true before the age of morning baths. However this be, neither ladies nor gentlemen swim much in winter; but in summer how sweet the water is; how luxurious

'to plunge

Into the torrent, and to roll along

On the swift whirl of the new breaking wave Of river-stream, or ocean, in their flow!'

Or lacking these, in the calmer water of the bath, where, as a lady who frequents that in Marylebone informed me, they paddle about, and gossip, and teach one another, and disport themselves like so many ducks. No doubt, if we accept the colloquial in place of the ornithological interpretation of the word.

CHAPTER III.

SOCIETY IN THE SEA.

Sir Walter Scott narrates in one of his novels-I forget which, and it is not material-how, arriving suddenly in the vicinity of a house, one of his heroes came upon a party of maids engaged, I believe, in the not very classical occupation of washing, for which purpose they had removed their shoes, and were making use of their fair feet after the fashion in which an article known to laundresses as the Dolly,' is brought to bear upon linen for the purpose of purification. A rustle of falling skirts, and a good deal of blushing, was followed by the precipitate retreat of the damsels from the spot. A harder fate was mine last autumn at a pretty place on our south-western coast. Wandering along the shore under rocks, the passage of which was very difficult-indeed, as I afterwards learned, it was even dangerous-I saw, but I am afraid it would not be quite polite to say exactly what I saw, so I will make a plain narrative of facts, relying, as I know I may, upon the gentle reader's sympathy for me in the unfortunate position in which I was placed. Passing by a narrow ledge in the rocks round a promontory, I

leapt down on to a lovely beach, and found myself in presence of what might have been a group of graceful nereïdes indulging in a game at 'follow my leader,' for the better prosecution of which a series of planks forming a spring board had been erected; up these they were chasing one another and leaping into the sea. The bathing costume adopted by English ladies is not very elaborate or extensive; theirs formed no exception to the rule. The supposition that they were veritable sea nymphs was somewhat favoured by the fact that one of them was engaged in twisting her long locks, which had escaped from their net, preparatory to replacing them in confinement. As I had leapt boldly down, my presence was of course immediately known. There being a long reach of beach between the ladies and the dressing-house (which I now discovered, and an angry old true blue, weather-worn, and portly mistress of the baths, such as was the terror of my infantile days ere I had learned to take to the water kindly,' approaching me), flight in that direction was out of the question for these perplexed mermaids; so they set up a sharp scream and fled into the sea, there remaining with nothing but their shining shoulders above the level of the waves. I did the most I could under the circumstances, turned my back upon them, conceiving a sudden interest-I am not a geologist-in the substratum of the rocks: seeing this it was really cruel of them to continue screaming. Meanwhile la maîtresse des bains de mer approached with angry gestures, and I prepared to beat a retreat, but, alas! I had leapt down from the shelving rock, and to get back again was impossible. I tried my best, and am not a bad rock climber, but nothing under a sea-gull could have got up, so my best failed, and I had to meet the irate mistress, who wore a great blue 'ugly' (I believe that to be the technical name), over a flaming red face, with hair but a few shades lighter, bare brawny arms, and naked feet and ankles (such ankles!) to match. Keeping my back to the nereïdes, I faced her.

'I wonder you 'arnt 'shamed o'

yoursel',' she said, 'to come a clim'in' round them rocks to stare a that'n at them young ladies a bathin'.

'I'm sure -'I said.

"A riskin' o' your life, too,' she went on, never heeding my attempt at an explanation; and I presently fell into a state of conjecture as to what countrywoman she could be with her strange dialect, which seemed a medley of all the known provincialisms. 'It's a wonder you didn't slip, or the rocks didn't give way a bit, and slip your sacrilegious carcase in the sea, and get you drownded at onst. That's what it is, and served you right.'

My

I had all the time felt a strong inclination to laugh, and had only preserved my gravity by gnawing my nether lip to a dangerous extent; but here the ludicrousness of the situation became too much for me, taken in conjunction with the bad English and the angry gestures, so I gave way, and fairly burst out laughing, whereupon my custodian— who had stuck her arms akimbo and planted herself between me and the only way of retreat unless I turned my face toward the fair bathers, who had now become quite quiet, doubtless looking upon this woman, who was menacing me, as a guardian angel-became more angry. back was toward the sea, and as at every sentence my Nemesis brought her face so much nearer mine, that I was under the necessity of retreating a step backward, there really seemed no reason to doubt that in the process of time she would drive me into the sea, thus doing herself what the rocks, according to her opinion, ought to have done in the first instance. To say sooth, I once or twice thought of retreating into the sea and swimming round the rock I could not climb. This I should have done but for a due appreciation which I entertained of the misery to which tourists soaked in sea water are subjected. Moreover, it was morning, and I had but my evening suit besides that which I then wore. Why should I spoil the day for a little over-scrupulousness?

A shower of expletives to the reproduction of which, in this place,

the editor might object, were hurled, literally hurled at me by the infuriate guardian angel of the nymphs; and being really anxious to get out of the way, I controlled my laughter, and tried to speak again and again, but was not allowed. A subtle thought came to my aid just as I was being threatened with that eternal resource of the illiterate'lawing.'

'I'll have the law on ye,' she said; 'that's what I will.'

'But,' I said, 'you are keeping all these ladies' (with a jerk of my thumb in the supposed direction of the naiades, who having recovered their equanimity were keeping up a chatter like a flock of finches), by far too long in the water.'

With a few more threats, menaces, and a good deal of what the old dame considered to be contempt, but which was, in fact, burlesque broad enough to have made the fortune of any comedian, I was allowed to retreat and escape down a pathway; and as I went I read at every turn-To the ladies' bath. No gentlemen allowed;' and I think there was an intimation to the effect that intruders or trespassers would be prosecuted.

Once thoroughly clear of the grounds, I sat down and had my laugh out. Then I lit a cigar. Next time I go to that watering-place I shall know .better than to clamber over those rocks and cause consternation among such pleasant society in the sea as that appeared to be at the moment I broke the mirth and order of the meeting.

As the mistress would not let me apologize orally I did it by note, going direct to my hotel and despatching it to the baths at once, unsealed and addressed to the fair bathers, so that they at least might have my explanation.

That evening, walking on the Esplanade, I am sure I heard one sweet-looking girl whose auburn hair reminded me of that I had seen in the process of being bunched up, whisper to another in a very awestricken tone these mystic words"That's Him.'

When they had passed I turned round; they were eyeing me surrep

titiously, and pointing me out to another lady who had joined them. Pleasant, certainly!

Nature favours that spot with a little cove under steep rocks, which just adapts it for a ladies' bath, and feeling quite secure of privacy, I can fancy that for a bright warm morning the game which was being played would be very pleasant.

As a rule, society in the sea-that is, the English sea-is of a very limited character. Here and there a few ladies staying in one town and bathing at the same hour, fraternize -can ladies be said to fraternize ?and agree to hold on to their ropes and fling their arms about in that peculiarly ungraceful manner which excites such intense derision in French women who have been taught better, and that is all. The gentlemen are far away if they are bathing, and if not they are lounging on the beach making critical comments which are impertinent.

What a remarkably uncomfortable, inconvenient dress English ladies adopt for bathing! They are prone enough to follow French taste in bonnets and shawls. Why not go a little further, and adopt their really capital bathing costume? It would not, when they rose, Venuslike, from the waves, cling to them, producing that statuesque effect, which I may suppose it is their object to avoid. But this is only a minor advantage. It would only remain for gentlemen, as is the case at the best French watering-places where the use of full costume by both gentlemen and ladies is compulsory, to adopt a similar dress, for us to have real society in the sea; and when this takes place, ladies will soon be swimmers. At Biarritz, a gentleman asks a lady to swim with him in the morning just as readily as he would invite her to waltz at night. Why not in England ?—at Brighton as at Boulogne, in Devonshire as at Dieppe. The ladies have everything to gain by it, the gentlemen nothing to lose.

First impressions are very often false. What first impressions we get of the sea, when the powerful and remorseless ogress seizes us ruthlessly by the arm and dips us three

times, ultimately restoring us to the arms of nurse, half-suffocated, and three-parts blinded! I can recall the day when I stood shivering on the steps, just allowing the water to wash the sole of my foot-about as unwise a proceeding as a bather can be guilty of.

Bathing from the rocks is pleasant, or would be if one were not afraid of running one's head against a sunken rock, at every dive, or maiming one's great toes, or having one's clothes washed away by the tide, which is as bad as the case of the bather who left his dog to take care of his garments, and found when he emerged (the story might suit the author of 'Sartor Resartus') that Nero, or Ponto, or whatever the brute was called, refused to acknowledge his identity, or surrender the clothes except with life. The reader can fill in the consequences according to taste, though I believe there is a sequel to the story, which I have forgotten.

There is another advantage of bathing from the rocks, with the water at a temperature of, say seventy, and the atmosphere at ten degrees higher; you can stay in a long time, luxuriate in floating and swimming, and employ the intervals in searching for shells for the young ladies among the interstices-only beware of crabs. They have such an awkward and disagreeable taste for great toes: not to mention the sad fate of the young man who, upon a solitary coast, had his wrist seized by a great crab while his arm was bent round a fissure in the rocks. Draw it away he could not; free himself from the tenacious claws he could not; and the tide rose, and rose, and still he was a prisoner. His order of release came only with death; and when the tide receded, he was found upon the rocks, cold and torn by his struggles to escape.

Of all bathing give me bathing from a boat, by which I avoid the jolty process over the shingle in a bathing-machine, which has about a thirty-jaunting-car capacity for rumbling; by which I avoid a wet carpet to tread upon, pegs made on purpose to allow hats to fall down, and all such things as