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THE SPLENDOR  OF THE OCEAN               221
us. This was also a surprise. I could not believe it to be the same place where, years before, as a very young and struggling girl, I had lost money nightly for that kindest of friends, John McCul-lough, and where I had shed so many tears of disappointment at receiving only discouragement from press and fellow-actors.
San Francisco has the advantage of beinor near
o              o
the ocean—a blessing to its poorer inhabitants and an absolute respite to a band of weary players, who are more than thankful to have the must and dust of the theatre blown off by a fresh salt breeze. Having lived for nearly sixteen years in Kentucky, it was not until I had gone upon the stage and was acting in Charleston, South Carolina, that I first saw the sea. It was in a brilliant mood that day, and the flashing and dancing of its purple, green, and blue waves left me almost breathless at the sight of so much splendor. I loved it at once, and later, on making Long Branch our summer home, it was my habit to pass hours daily watching the ocean under the spell of all the different lights of early morning, noon, and night.
During the San Francisco engagement how refreshing it was, after a weary night at the theatre, to watch from the " beach when the morning was