The Democratic advocate., 1878-07-13
Correspondence Of The Democratic Adrocate.
NORTHWESTERN HOTEL, IlvEnrooL,


Correspondence Of The Democratic .idrocatc.
NORTHWESTERN H0TEI.. I.IvERPoot..
June 81, 1878.
Here we are at last, after a most uas,nig;.
cent trip across the Atlantic. during which 80
took IN lbut not by forcel the interesting
and wellworth-seelng cities of Halifax. Nova
Scotia, and St Johns, Newfoundland I'm.
til arrived at the last named place, | had
been in the habit, with most other citizens ~
the L. s., of calling it Newfoundland. with
the accent on the second syllable. bnt the
NewfoundlaRders call it Newfoundland. with
the accentuation on the last syllable. which
logically and rhetorically considered, is doubt.
less correct. Geographers, and the teachers
in our public schools, win please take notice
accordingly.
Your correspondent left Baltimore, by the
steamship "Hibernian" of the Allan Line. on
Wednesday morning the 9th of June. a. m.
sharp. The ''Hibernian'' is a MAGNIFICENT
boat of 5000 tons, commanded bv Cautaiu
William Richardson, bonny good Scotch.
man from Dumfriesshire, and a thorough sal.
lor. This boat, in common with all the steam.
ers OF the Allan line, is provided with all the
most recent improvements, elegant state
rooms, and a saloon, the entire width of the
ship. We had quite large party from Bal
timore who saw off number of their friends.
and we went down the sparkling Chesapeake
merry as q marriage bell. But alas the fun
was not destined to last long. About twenty
miles down.the bay, the party of Baltimoreans
left us in the tngboat Maryland amidst the
waiting of hats, caps and handkerchiefs, and
then we were left entirely TO our own resour.
ces and the ships officersl
Somehow or other, passengers on board an
Aflnuf1f ~ ola 60 H.,
nous appetites on the first day out. Every
man, woman and child on board PROMPTLY
put in an appearance at breakfast, luncheon
and dinner on this our first day out. Even
those of frail constitutions secuted the idea OF
sea-sickness, so calm and smooth was the
water, and there was scarcely as much
motion on the steamer as in n railway train.
The Allan line of steamships, are all con-
structed with what is nautically termed a
''broad beam;" hence they roll less than other
steamers of excessive length in proportion to
their width, aud even in a heavy sea, they are
staunch and steady as compared with other
boats in which / have crossed. Congratula-
ting ourselves upon our good luck we all
''turned in at ten O'Clock at night-but few
of US "turned out again in the morning.
During the night, we had passed the cape and
got fairly out into old Neptune's domains,
who rocked us, fatherly-like, in the cradle OF
the deep. Being well myself, could not help
notice that those of our passengers who did
have courage enough to appear at the break
fast table seemed all to have a sudden and
peculiar hankering after 'porridge," or oat-
meal gruel and the delicious salmon steaks.
chicken and lobster salads, lamb fries and
tenderloin steaks, went abegging and were
entirely discarded. There was a universal
demand for porridge in the saloon, and for
tin basins in the staterooms, which kept the
stewards as busy as bees IN the honey season.
At lunching and dinner, much the same state
of affairs prevailed and Baltimore gentle
man who made bold to appear at the dinner
table and partake of sucking pig, which form
ed one of the items of the bill of fare told
me confidently three days afterwards, when
saw him again on the deck as we were ap-
preaching Halifax, that he had thrown his
pig overheard half an hour after dinner. Such
is life on the ocean wave!
But three or four days at sea will cure al
most the weakest stomach of seasiekness; and
by degrees the seats at the tables became
filled and full justice was done to the excel
lent fare. Ale, Porter and Sherry gradually
usurped the place of Ginger Beer as bever
age, and our captain pronounced the passen-
gers convalescing. There was less demand
for the doctor, but more for cigars and cham
nIEHG. All dAldAGAL llllAlshIGA AEOUp was
formed for the amusement Of the passengers,
of which your correspondent had the honor of
being one of the end men, (my nose is black
vet, because the burnt cork has rubbed into
the skin and wont get of, and we had games
of ''shuffleboard, or "hOnest billiards" as
the sailors call it, on the quarterback every
forenoon. We saw lots of whales, dolphins,
and other fnny animals, and sailed into the
harbor of Halifax Saturday evening, June
9th, where we were to remain till Tuesday
noon, following. This gave us abundant time
to do this interesting city, which we did in
the most approved manner, visiting, in body,
the famous Roman Catholic Cathedral, the
Citadel, the Armory, the Navy Yard, and the
British ironclad "Bellerophon, which is the
flagship of the North Atlantic squadron.
Wherever we went, we were received with
courtesy and hospitality; our only passport
was that of being citizens of the United States,
but that was enough to insure us friendly
reception. Some of us visited the Colonial
Asylum for the Insane, which is situated at
Dartmouth, Just opposite Halifax on the other
side of the harbor, and is of about the same
size, and managed very much like, the Gov
ernment Lunatic Asylum (no joke on the
Capitol y at Washington.
Leaving Halifax at noon on Tuesday, we
arrived at st. Johns, Newfoundland, the fol-
lowing Thursday afternoon, and remained
there about two hours and half. The en-
trance to the harbor of St. Johns is one of
the finest in the world; immense cliffs rise al
most perpendicularly from the water to a
height of six hundred feet, leaving a narrow
pass or entrance just wide enough for two
ships to pass each other. The scenery is
grand and wild; in the town itself there is not
much to see except dried Goldfish and New
,x1 1nrre A Enn hrnaH
can be bought for about dollar and half,
and it might pay an enterprising Yankee to
come up here and buy up cargo of them on
speculation. Wholesale they can doubtless
be bought cheaper
The run of seven days from st. Johns to
Liverpool was atteuded by the finest weather
it has ever been my good fortune to witness
on the broad Atlantic. Seasickness was n
legend of the past, and porridge was nowhere.
The passengers became fastidious and in
dulged in nothing less than sardines, and OK
tail soup, squads on toast, land sich at
meals, and in the evening wei had mock trials,
musical performances, and private theatrlcals
on board. Among our passengers from Hal
flax for England was the Lord Bishop of No
va Scotia with his wife and two daughters,
and on our last Sabbath at sea we had an ex-
cellent service on board, after the Church of
ltlAuAlY WHICH was ueAA ug iitS A-pAA-
ship in the spacious saloon, and to which all
the steerage passengers (among whom there
were "redcoats'' or British soldiers) and sail
ors were invited.
The outlying rocks off Cape Clear, on the
south coast of ireland, were sighted about
noon on Wednesday the 18th of June, and
about eleven o'clock the same evening we
arrived at Queenstown, where we landed some
passengers and the mails. Early YESTERDAY
morning (the 20th) we passed the wreck of
the steamer Idaho of the Williams and Guion
line, which went ashore (without loss of life,
fortunately,) on the Irish coast, on her way
from New York to Liverpool, a short time
ago. About ten feet of her masts could be
seen above water, that was all. Farther up
we passed the place where, some twenty years
ago, the "Royal Charter was lost on her
homeward voyage from Australia, on the
Welch coast, on the other side of Holyhead
coming up the channel, A tall pillar, close
to highwater mark, marks the grave of the
three hundred people who perished here
Next came the smoke of Liverpool hang
ing like black cloud in the distance; we
passed the villages Of Brighton and Waterloo,
on the Mersey, shot by the picturesque old
fort at the former place, and soon were in full
sight of the enormous docks and tall Chin
neys of this, the second largest city in the
United Kingdom. With the exception of the
first two or three days out from Baltimore,
our voyage had been one of unalloyed pleas
ure, thanks to the fine weather, the excellent
sea-going qualities of the ''Allan'' boats, and
the efforts of our gallant Captain; and the