Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1884-08-28
Mutes 1T fureiau Ttarel.
EMBARKING FOR AMERICA.
THE DIFFICULTIES OF LEAVING PORT.

| THE DIFFICULTIES OF LEAVING fOitI.
| English Baggage Smashers--Peddling on Sun
day-Description Of a Fine Steam VESSEL
John Bulls Fondness for Betting--Thc
Banks of observation-disclosures on the
Ocean--Arriving at New York--The Trouble
of fLanding-Quarantine and Custom House
| Officials.
On the morning of the 26th of July, I left
the Royal Hotel, in Liverpool, and tramped
through the rain down to the docks. On the
previous day had stored my baggage away
in what is known as cleft over baggage
Office" These cleft over baggage offices"
are great convenience to the traveller, and
they are not expensive. You enter the
office, get receipt for your baggage, and
when you call for your baggage the receipt
is presented and the baggage delivered :;
but it will not be delivered without the
receipt. The usual charge is about two
cents per day for each piece of baggage.
| A more unpleasant morning than the Goth
of July, at Liverpool, I never witnessed.
1t was raining, not in torrents, buta genuine
frst-class English rain was falling. 1t nev-
er rains in the British Isles as it does in the
southern section of the United States but
the whole atmosphere becomes perfectly
loaded with moisture, SO that you get wet
under an umbrella and even in a house.
The rain is kind Of heavy fog, which goes
everywhere. Such rain was falling on the
morning of the 26th of July.
On reaching the docks, learned that the
CVy of Rome, the vessel on which was to
embark, was lying some distance down the
river Mersey-six miles some one report
ed-and that the passengers and their bag
gage would be conveyed to it on a tender,
that is, on a small steamboat. About 8
o'clock tender steamed up and the passen-
gers all rushed on board, and the boatmen
began to transfer the baggage from the
wharf to the boat.
It was still raining. Everybody was eth
er wet or clammy. It was soon discovered
that there was not standing room on the
tender for the passengers. Everybody look
ed as if they felt anxious. Trunks and car
pet-sacks were thrown by the boatmen as if
the object was to break them all into frag-
ments. A friend was on board whose trunks
1 felt it my duty to look after, and more
over I felt some interestin one ofthe trunks
because I had deposited in it an article OF
merchandise purchased for a member of my
family. These trunks of my friend I saw
hurled about with such violence that con-
cluded they would soon be broken into
shivers and their contents exposed to the
drenching rain, and thus forever ruined.
Hoping to be able to save the trunks from
destruction, I crossed over from the deck OF
the tender to the baggage room. No soon
er had I set my feet on the threshold of the
room, than was ordered back by boat Of
fetal. He was a large man we'll dressed
and very good looking. told him pleas
antly, had come to look after the baggage
of a friend. In tone which indicated king
ly authority, he remarked that the baggage
would all be attended to if it were placed on
the wharf. 1 replied, 'The man who does
not attend to his own business is fool, and
it will have to rain great deal harder than
it is raining now if leave this place before
I see those two trunks rescued from destruc-
tion." / was in bad humor. Some one re-
marked that I turned pale and closed my
umbrella. The boat official cooled down at
once, spoke pleasantly, and 1 saved the
trunks intact.
This was the beginning Of trouble, but
not the end of it. The rain continued, and
the officers of the boat discovered that the
passengers and baggage could not all be
Accordingly, another tender was ordered,
and all the passenges directed to leave the
first tender and get on the second. l and
few other individuals determined to remain
with our baggage. After a confusion OF
perhaps two hours duration all the passen-
gers and their baggage were placed on
board the city Of Rome.
It was now after ~ o'clock and still rain
ing. At five minutes past o'clock, Lon
don time, the bell rang and the whistle blew,
and away the city Of Rome went. 1t Il
she or the sun he) had not gone far, until it
come to dead stand-still and so remained
until the middle of the afternoon. Again
the steam was turned on, the screw began
to turn, and away the city Of Rome dashed
at the rate of about sixteen knots an hour.
At about s o'clock on Sabbath morning
Queenstown, two hundred and twenty
miles from Liverpool, was reached. From
Queenstown boat came out bringing on it
a number of passengers and their baggage.
This consumed perhaps an hour-and-a-half.
1t was still raining and had been raining
since we left Liverpool.
While waiting for the boat which brought
the passengers from Queenstown, the CHyof
Rome was boarded by a number of young
girls who had walking sticks, and number
of trinkets of various kinds made out of
Irish oak. These were offered for sale to
the passengers. 1t was Sabbath morning,
remember, but Notwithstanding this fact,
the girls effected quite number of sales
l am sorry to say that preacher, a man of
some position in the church, bought some
things. This is a good proof of the fact that
the gospel of Jesus Christ is not of man, or
it would long since have perished from the
earth.
AT IN O'Clock on Sabbath 1norninr and If
still raining, the City Of Rome, with more
out from Queenstown for New York.
AS matter of curiosity, may here state
that the distance from Liverpool to Queens
town is220 miles from Queenstown to San
dy Hook, $3.50; and from Sandy Hook to
New York, Is miles. The whole distance
from Liverpool to New York is ,115 miles.
A ship going from New York to Liverpool,
is reported as landed when it reaches
Queenstown, and in coming from Liverpool
to New York, the time it leaves Queens
town is regarded as the time of its setting
out; and the time that it reaches Sandy
Hook is regarded as the time of its landing.
For considerable part of the Sabbath
day, the coast of Ireland was in view.
Gradually it faded away, and all was wild
waste of waters on all sides. During the
Sabbath and Monday, the weather alter
mated between q genuine Irish rain, and
first class Atlantic fog.
Tuesday morning the sea became rough.
A strong southwest wind was blowing, and
great pillows, ten or fifteen feet high were
dashing against the side of the ship. The
south side of the ship was wet all over.
The water was running in great stream
in the lower deck, the part occupied by
the steerage passengers. When a large wave
Of fhn Chi