The Worthington advance., 1876-06-08

Ihere at the ehd OF the clOver-plain,
And pulling daisy star, to try
Whether her love loves back again:
And Will bends over the bars beside.-
Two heads are better than one, forsooth!-
Leaning and looking, eager-eyed,
10 see 1t the daisy tells the truth!
CROSSING THE ATLANTIC.
Mrs. Swisshelms Experience on the Trip.
Correspondence Of The Chicago Tribune
To one whose best idea of an ocean
has been gained by looking on an Illi-
nois prairie, 4 voyage across the At.
lantic might well be subject of dread,
and all my life it has been one of the
few things of which l have been
afraid. All accounts of shipwrecks
and disasters at sea, have been to me
especially horrible, and years ago I
was 50 impressed by visions of the
sinking of the Arctic that became
alarmed for my own reason. So it was
not strange that, when had concluded
to come to Europe, the way should
have been one of anxious cOnsidera.
tion. And first, I resolved never to
cross in any but an English vessel.
The countrymen Of Sir Francis Drake
ought to be the best sailors in the
world, and if they are not, it is simply
disgraceful. Then thought should
come in sailing-vessel, because it has
only the risks of wind, wave, rock and
iceberg, while a steamer has all these
with the danger of steam and machine
ry added but the Plimsoll revelations
show that it is rather uncertain, when
an English merchantmen goes to sea,
whether the owners intend her to
reach her Ostensible destination or the
bottom of the ocean. She and her
cargo, with the folks on board, may
have been sold to an Insurance Com
pany and | fell back upon the line
steamers.
On the Cunard, one would, of course,
be more secure from drowning than on
Plymouth Rock; but the staterooms
were reported to me as below the sa-
loon, and very insufficiently supplied
with fresh air; and in choice Of
death from salt water or carbonic.ac
gas, should choose the former. Next
in point of safety came the National,
on which two of the ships-the Egypt
and Spain-were recommended as un-
usually well-ventilated, and well-man-
aged, and we took passage on the
Egypt, which left New York April lst.
Captain Grogan impressed me as pc.
culiarly fitted for this place, and the
ship as marvel IF strength, and of
that beauty expressed in perfect util.
ity. They inspired me with conf
dence, and l passed two days of sea.
sickness in the comfortable assurance
that we were quite safe and making a
splendid run, Il favorable wind and
plenty of steam.
On Monday began to get about and
look into odd corners, and went by
mistake into a dressing-roOm opening
ont of small vestibule which opened
into the saloon. Here was surprised
to seee a common, two.gallon, tin oil.
can sitting on the wooden rack which
covered thefoor. There was no pre-
caution to prevent its overturning,
and, rs everything else on board was
made fast, l wondered at this excep.
ton; but it sat beside what seemed to
be an oil-tank. Isupposed it had been
brought there to be filled, and resisted
to call attention to it but, during the
thinking Of that oil.can.
During our 5 o'clock dinner, the shi1
made sudden lurch, and heard thai
can rattle around in that room; but
was near the lower end of the table
while the surgeon of the ship, sat in
the stern end, within six feet of the
room with the Oil-can, and concluded
it must be all right or he would have
attended to it. After dinner, the
waves began to sweep over the deck
SO that we had to take refuge below
and the vessel rolled 50 that it was NJ
easy matter TO get there, for the wine
was sideways and she in the trough o1
the waves. We all retired early, an(
after half-an-hour of hard work, on,
of our party succeeded in changing
her clothes, and got into her berth
while I sat facing the saloon and hold
ing on, trying to get my shoes off.
was half-past 8, and everyone had lef
the saloon except a girl and two younl
men who sat talking near the hall doc
letsding to our room, when we wer,
eiectfined 1' by her cry, ''Fire! fire
Inc snip Is on fire!'' More huma,
agony was never compressed into a,
many words, and simultaneously will
the cry there flashed down the saloo,
avid lurid light. We could see Il a,
instant through the latice.work and i
was gone. l did not think of the oil
can then, for it was at the stern O
the ship, and our room quite forward
rs near the center as we could gel
There was steam-pipe running aroun
the saloon, close to the floor, and tn
partition between it and the stat,
rooms.
This was covered with a metal la
tice.work ;. and my first tlougat wa!
that the fire was below, and had burs
up through some crevice about thj
pipe; next, that, with the ship rollin
as it was, we never could get dresse