Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-03-03

NWsW nrenora for the sea
voyage, where to stop in Paris and what to
see in the capital outside of the usual guide
book indications. "Not at all bad idea; on
the contrary, avery good one, said the editor
of THE PITTsBURG DISPATCH when
spoke to him about it; but the subject is so
large that shall have to divide my article
into two letters.
To-day let us find steamer .and pack
our cabin trunk for the voyage. The ques-
tion of which line to patronize is one OF
high Importance, for ships are not all alike,
far from it. Heaven knows, and so do l,
that the best is bad enough, but as there is
no other way of getting to Europe. make the
best choice you can and then, once started,
settle down to trip across the Atlantic de-
termined to do as little growing as possible.
SECURE YOUR PASSAGE.
Let me see, there are no fewer than a
dozen good lines by which you can come
over, and when once you have decided which
one you will patronize go boldly to the office
and book your place or places. In some
offices you will find gentlemen glad to give
YOU information or aid you in making your
choice of stateroom, but in others you will
meet with scant courtesy.
Passage secured, the next thing to do is
to pack trunks and prepare ships clothing.
You will need only one trunk; it should be
small enough to go under your stateroom
berth, but large enough to hold all the
articles and clothing required at sea, as 1t is
not always easy to get at the hold. A lady
should put in it plenty of wearing apparel,
one or two changes of underwear, dozen or
so of collars and cuffs, numerous handker-
chiefs, half a dozen stockings, some combs
and brushes, hairpins (and other kinds),
toilet soap-don't forget this-toothbrush,
nallbrush, button hook, shoes, slippers,
bottles of cologne, and of hartshorn or other
headache stuff, towels and bandages, hat
without feathers, one or two cloth or woolen
dresses-never silk ones-needles, thread
and scissors and three or four novels.
WHISKY SEEMS TO BE NECESSARY.
A man needs changes of underwear,
plenty of socks, handkerchiefs and collars,
a comb and brush, soap, slippers, footwear
shoes with India rubber soles, well CORFU
gated to keep the wet out and the wearers
on their legs, are good kind-some cigars,
or pipe and tobacco, two bottles of whisky,
one or two suits of clothes, three or four
novels, needles, thread, and a pair of
scissors; and for goodness sake, ladies and
gentlemen, don't take lot of fruit on
board, the ships steward has oranges,
apples, lemons, grapes and all that sort of
thing, which you may have for the asking.
These are the things for the steamer
trunk. Take also a small travelling rug or
blanket, ave two of them, small pillow
covered with dark-colored chintz, warm
overcoat or cloak, no matter how old, soft
felt hat, or travelling cap-something that
will not blow of-and a steamer chair. The
sensible passenger spends most of his or her
life at sea in the open air, and urge you to
get out of your cabins and go on deck as
early in the day as possible. Now is when
your warm old clothes and chair come in
usefully. There are fixed seats on deck, and
they are all very well in their way, but that
way is not always the way of the moment.
The sun and the shade and the breeze shift;
moreover, there are varieties of comforts in
position.
STEAMER CHAIR.
A chair that can be moved about to suit
your pleasure is much preferable to a fixed
seat in the shape of wooden frame work
whereon very little comfort can ever be OBJ
tanned. Get yourself, therefore. steamer
chair, and by all means buy one as long as
possible. Have your name painted on it,
and send it to the ship with the other bag
gage. Later on the deck steward will find
it for you, and he will look after it when in
the evening you are obliged to turn in, or
when the weather is bad out of doors.
Finally the hour of departure sounds and
YOU hurry On board where friends, most
likely. have already sent you quantities of
flowers. It is very foolish of your friends to
do this; it is merely throwing away money,
for the chances are you won't ever see the
lovely buds and blossoms once the steamer
has gone through the Narrows. When sea-
sickness strikes you flowers are as disgust
ing as so many garlic stalks, and the nasal
effect of faded roses on the stomach is simply
awful. Happily, though. seasickness is
short lived with most persons, the stomach
soon accommodates itself to circumstances,
and then comes a grand appetite. Hope
lessly sick for one or two days, the third
little pale and still harassed by anxiety; the
fourth-maybe before-no longer fear, no
more of distress or dreadful nausea. Now
you will eat four meals every day and growl
because the head steward does not set the
table oftener.
AN OCEAN APPETITE.
One thing is certain of the sea, nearly
every human being, once he or she gets
over illness, develops an Unsuitable and in
ordinate appetite. There is chronic state
of hunger pervading every Atlantic steam
ship, and the intervals between meals are
filled with yearnings for the next. Whether
this is.because there is a greater percentage
of ozone in the sea air, or whether it is that
our bodies are perpetually struggling, SO to
speak, and there is proceeding and never
ceasing waste of tissue which must be re-
plenished, is more than / can say, for I am
neither chemist nor physicist.
Just as soon as you are able to go on deck
go there Immediately. Have your steamer
chair placed to suit you, put yourself in it,
let some person wrap the shawls and rugs
carefully around your legs and over your
lap, lay there and read awhile, then close
the pages and think how very strange it is
to be one of a mixed lot of human beings
cut off from all the rest of the world with
nothing but sea and sky, ships rigging,
small boats, smokestacks and the captains
bridge, to look upon. This new sensation is
at best but two days wonder then you
give over trying to guess how many miles it
is to the horizon, and become curious to
know who are your fellow passengers. Now
staid men and youngsters turn gossip and
all women listen; and when the well of
public information on this point runs dry
then tout lie monde gradually melts into q
delightful civility which in some few cases
becomes childlike familiarity.
DON'T TRY TO BOSS.
It is necessary to remember that no mat
ter whom you think you may be on shore at
sea you are no persons superior, The
ships regulations must be obeyed, and you
yourself will enjoy the trip only the more if
you succeed in preserving the amenities of
social intercourse. The number OF servants
are necessarily limited, hence you must not
expect to have one ready at your beck and