noon
Anchored a little out was a raft , from which men and boys and a few venturesome girls were diving , displaying the human form in graceful curves . The crowd was an immensely good-humored one , and enjoyed itself . The sexes mingled together in the water , and nothing thought of it , as old Pepys would have said , although many of the tightly-fitting costumes left less to the imagination than would have been desired by a poet describing the scene as a phase of the ` comedie humaine . ' The band , having played out its hour , trudged back to the hotel pier to toot while the noon steamboat landed its passengers , in order to impress the new arrivals with the mad joyousness of the place . The crowd gathered on the high gallery at the end of the pier added to this effect of reckless holiday enjoyment . Miss Lamont was infected with this gayety , and took a great deal of interest in this peripatetic band , which was playing again on the hotel piazza before dinner , with a sort of mechanical hilariousness . The rink band opposite kept up a lively competition , grinding out go-round music , imparting , if one may say so , a glamour to existence .