The situation: Preedy, a vacationing Englishman makes his first appearance on the beach of his summer hotel in Spain

The situation: Preedy, a vacationing Englishman makes his first appearance on the beach of his sum= mer hotel in Spain

"……he took ca= re to avoid catching anyone’s eye. First of all, he had to make clear to th= ose potential companions of his holiday that they were of no concern to him whatsoever. He stared through them, round them, over them-eyes lost in spac= e. The beach might have been empty. If by chance a ball was thrown his way, he looked surprised; then let a smile of amusement lighten his face(kindly Preedy), looked round dazed to see that there were pe= ople on the beach, tossed it back with a smile to himself and not a smile at the people, and then resumed carelessly his nonchalant survey of space.<= O:P>

But it was time to institute a= little parade, the parade of the Ideal; Preedy. By dev= ious handling he gave any who wanted to look a chance to see the title of his bo= ok-a Spanish translation of Homer, classic thus, but not daring, cosmopolitan too-and then gathered together his beach-wrap and bag into a neat and sand-resistant pile(methodical and sensible Preedy), rose slowly to stretch at ease his huge fram= e(big cat Preedy), and tossed aside his sandals(caref= ree Preedy, after all).=

The marriage of Preedy and the sea! There were alternative rituals. The first involved the stroll = that turns into a run and a dive straight into the water, thereafter smoothing i= nto a strong splashless crawl towards the horizon. = But of course not really to the horizon. Quite suddenl= y he would turn onto his back and thrash great white splashes with his legs, som= ehow thus showing that he could have swum further had he wanted to, and then wou= ld stand up a quarter out of the water for all to see who it was.<= /O:P>

The alternative course was sim= pler, it avoided the cold-water shock and it avoided the risk of appearing too high-spirited. The point was to appear to be so used to the sea, the mediterranean, and this particular beach, that one mi= ght as well be in the sea as out of it. It involved a slow stroll down and into th= e edge of the water-not even noticing his toes were wet, land and water all the sa= me to him! With his eyes up at the sky gravely surveying portents, invisible to others, of the weather(local fisherman Preedy)."