The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-07-01
WOMEN FOLK AND THEIR WAYS.
Some Of the Whims, Caprices and Sc
rious Doings Of the Gentler Sex.

men. Talk about the modesty or immodesty
displayed by feminine travellers in Pull
man sleeper; no sleeping car ever touched
rails which could compare for midnight
effects with the scenes to be witnessed in a
packed boat with the mercury we'll up sky
ward
The exodus from New York and Brooklyn
to points in New England loads the Sound
boats to their utmost capacity. Not infre-
quently it happens that every staterOom for
the nights voyage is engaged hours before
the boat sails Those unfortunates, and
there are scores, sometimes hundreds, of
them VINO come on board too late, when
every coveted key is hanging from some
body's else finger, break for the mems and
women's cabins respectively to secure the
berths ranged along the walls. These extra
accommodations are limited, and still the
gang plank is crowded with passengers
whose choice is between sitting up and lying
on the floor
Until 10 o'clock or half past everything
goes merrily. Then the band on deck stops
playing and those who have beds seek
their repose. The men who have no beds
have tue large upper saloonsin which to dis
port themselves, the women, who very
likely outnumber the sterner sex, gathering
in the smaller ladies' saloon off the main
deck to look at one another with forlorn
eyes. Presently the porters lug in piles of
MATTRESSES aud begin to spread them on the
carpet in regular lines covering the floor.
The stewardes5 apportions TO each mat
tress a blanket and the tired women begin
to grab. She who first sets her foot or
throws her luggage on mattress hers it is,
the rule Of first come first served holding
absolute sway. If disputes threaten to
arise the colored stewardess and her cham
bermaIds settle them summarily, servants
on their way to join families at Newport
and richly dressed ladies yielding obedience
with tne same instant Submission. 1t is on
the stewardess that their last hopes of
comfort for the night depend She can
give one pillow or sue can withhold. She
might even deny the mattress and reduce
one to the ranks of wretchedness still sit
ting in chairs up and down the middle OF the
saloon.
THE MATTRESSES DISTRIBUTED,
the women begin to take off their clothes
They are not, demoralized by their unwont-
ed situation, sleepy; they do not even notice
that their audience is not altogether OF their
own sex. The colored porters are busting
about, and occasionally a white deckhand or
officer may have business in the saloon.
There is a double row of staterooms on
either side of the apartment and the occu-
pants of these. masculine as well as femi-
nine, are coming and going. Neverthe-
less the dress slips of, the corset is unfast-
ened and the masculine spectator has fac
opportunity TO study white shoulders and
varieties OF the species hustle, while rows
of weary women sit on the edges of their
mattresses to uubutton their shoes. Occa-
sonally a scrupulous damsel awakens to a
partial sense of the conventionalities. In
this case she picks up her blanket, Grapes il
toga-fashiOu about her and feels herself then
fully equipped for promenade or a peep
through the windows on the tossing water
outside. Many woman who would feel her
self disgraced if a morning visitor caught
sight of her morning gown, yawns in The
face of IasSing fellow traveller US she
stands unconcernedly III a short white potti-
coat, barefooted, while he takes in the oper-
alton OF combing out her hair.
Ono by one the white figures lie down and
pull the blankets over their shoulders Not
very closely, however, for the saloon is
close and hot. The door is opening. 1t is
one of the porters returning. He Is stand
ing over one of the sleeping women, who
awakens very much en- deshaoille and looks
up lazily into his eyes.
Your husband is outside He's afraid
you'll lose your ticket lie sent me In to ask
you to give it to him."
"All right" comes the careless answer and
the precious piece of pastebOard is pulled out
of her bosom and consigned to his hands.
There are tnroe electrlc HGuUS burning III
the room.
At 2 o'clock in the morning there is
jangle from the electric bell. A woman
travelling alone who has a stateroom off the
cabin is ringing the stewardess up and Incl
IDENTIFY waking the whole roomfal to ask
that somebody will tell her the time.
Down in the women's cabin below, where
no men may enter, the scene is still more
interesting The ballet troupe of specuac-
ular play are among the passengers, and
the ballet girls, who are not at all sleepy,
are sitting up in scanty white draperies.
mixing glasses of lemonade and pelting one
another vita oranges One of them has a
pistol which she points at the stairway,
threatening TO shoot any one OF the porters
travelling about overhead il he ventures to
come down.
In the morning the night spectacle is re-
peated with variations. There are babies
who must DO nursed before their mothers
can dress, but by and by every one is
washed, combed, respectable and conven-
tional again They would hardly believe the
tale OF their own carelessness Of an hour
back if an eyewitness were to tell them
what he had seen.
MRS JAMES BROWN POTTER