The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1889-08-01
holidays ABROAD.
From He'll Gate to Havre---A Section
Of France AfOat---Age of Electric
Lights, KodakS and Photographs.
instantaneous Views en- Voyage.
Special Correspondence NATIONAL TRIBUNE.

II one has some knowledge of French and
would Rccustom his ear to the speech that has
no pauses or paragraphs, he will take French
| mail steamer from New York to Havre, If his
destination is Paris. If he will do so he il
stupid student of language if he does not make
| himself Mt home in the tripping tongue before
| his eight days voyage is ended.
It is the middle or June. We have bought
| our steamer chairs, our heavy wooden rugs
and cushions and with armfuls of heavy wraps
and trucks full of packing cases and valises
arrive at the quay. Then good-by, United
States and the Presidents English An army
of trim garcons, or walters, In neat blue trow-
sers aud short jackets, each with linen towel
swung from his armand you never see
| French waiter without one-cOme filing down
the gang-plank and take possession of"your eff
fects, chattering like magpies
In few moments we are on board the great
| iron steamer, double-screw, four-mast vessel,
| 800 feet long, sumptuous in equipments, with
| electric lights, baths and all the appointments
OF Grst-class hotel. Strange dark faces are
all around us--a vertable Pentecost of tongues
and nationalties. French predominates, with
picturesque admxture Of Spanish, Italians,
| German Jews, Cuban Creoles, Greeks, South
| Americans, Swiss. and an occasional representa-
| tive of England. Ireland, Scotland and other
| English. speaking countries, with West Indian
wife and brood of alf-breed children. OF the
| 1000 passengers OF the several classes but a
| handful are American bred aud born.
The heir direct of the great Aston estate. of
| New York. John Jacob Aston, jr.. is one of the
latter. Over six feet taxi lean. lank, Ratchet
| faced and brawny, with stumbling gait aud an
afniabe manner. he is n figure among men and
courted by ambitious young women. He
| changes his satin neckties daily, and wears n
seed pearl pin and ring studded with soii-
| taires; but This bit Of masculine coquetry IL
pardonabe from the fact that he Is neither
dodo nor q dude.
There are merchants from the West Indies
and Guatemala, q priest from st. Domingo,
three or four Sisters of Charity; Mother Alb
| bess, Superior of the Poor Glare Coliotines,
driven from Georgia because she admitted
black girls TO the schools she established, and
the Father General of the Catholic Order OF the
Holy Ghost. The latter, the Rev. i. Huretys,
Blackjack, Dublin, returning from ST. Do
mingo, where the order has been affected by
the internecine strife, proves to be the life of
the company. Intellect is King, and outranks
money any day.
To dine table d'hote on o French mail
steamer weuld lead one to believe that stom-
| aeh was King-12 or Is courses and all the
wines one cares TO drink. THE stomach 10
King" says one. who points out Marcs one of
New York's celebrated caterers, who takes a
whole family of daughters to Paris to be edu-
Gated.
Life on shipboard must he monotonous
never show their heads on deck. But whoever
makes up bis mind to spend his time in COM
pany with the ever varying panorama Of sky
and sea win find that even the monsters OF the
deep will rise up TO afford him entertainment.
Sitting amidships in our steamer chairs, near
enough the railing TO catch the frcshcning
breeze and feel the salt spray our faces,
one drinks in health and inspiration wholly
lost to the sea-sck grumbler. Schools Of por-
poises gave us the salute the first day out; and
swarms of flying fish and shoals OF dolphins
popped up from mid-ocean 10 remind us that
Charles Kingsley's Water Babies " are still
on their travels.
1t is rare sight to sec tho dolphina sporting
in the waves. They go In large schools with
a leader, like flock OF sheep, and dart from
wave TO wave like the tumblers nc circus.
There must have been hundreds In the last
school We saw and they weFc bent a race
with the steamer. They were jolly crowd,
and seemed 10 do their lnvel best to outskip
one another. But steam, as usual. was ahead
OF pluck and ambition was laggard in the
race. The last VIC saw Of them they were still
lashing the blue waves with foam, ready IN
tackle whaling vessel, lying like phantom
ship to the leeward.
A few friendly gulIs greeted ua of Sandy
Hook and left as nc tho New Fonndland Banks;
save an isolated pair that came now and then
from nowhere and seemed bound 20 no-piaee-
in particular. Our last day out they came In
great numberHs with our first sight Of the
Scilly Island lighthouse, and famed IA 30 safe
haven, Tapping on broad wings for 300 miles.
American invention has benefited aud bright
ened every route Of travel. Electric bells aud
electric lights are AIaddin's wonders on sea as
we'll as on land. We went aboard La Bre.
tagnc" at night in New York 10 sail with The
tide at early morning. Nothing could exceed
the carnival of lights made by tile inunmer-
@sble boats, great aud small, as they dArted back
and forth and up and down tho bay, the tower
ing statue Of Liberty Enligbtening the
World " holding her haring electric torch over
all.
Then, presto change 20 the gided salon,
where beneath electric lights the tables giowed
with flowers Of every hue. the parting gifts of
fricnds TO friends; TO the single cabins, where
at the touch Of electric buttons the beautiful
white light or the smiling valet came and
went at your pleasure.
We had q Baroness and Baroness daughter
Warehouses Marquise aud an Ethiopian
Princess. merchants. bankers and celebrities,
great and small but the American girl with
the Kodak. taking her instantaneous views and
the scientist with the photograph, going TO join
Edison ut Paris, outshone them all. Every
body wanted 10 DO "k0daked,p from the ghIps
Captain, stiff and starchy, 10 the ships cook,
cnriy-headed and handsome as Apollo Bel.
Yiderc.
Kodaks are plenty. We take our little bilou
and 20 down to the Storage. What beauty
and picLuresqueness among those neglected
creatures Three Greek sisters little girls of
Ia, IL and 10, with dark eyes, regular features.
and heads poised like Venus do Milo; Flor.
entine woman with Etrusean earrings and
coral beads around elironnded neck. n
group OF handsome Spanish boys and cluster of
French, German and Swiss peasants are among
the trophies we secure. These are from the
steerage deck, and the poetic side.
We have fancy 10 90 below, as we have
heard sad tales of how they eat and sleep in
the steerage. The picture cannot be too darkly
drawn. The dormtory. which Is also theplace
for eating, is divided into two parts each part
| lined with double rows Of bare shelves like a
Chinese dive On these shelves are coffee sacks
Of various sizes filed with straw no bedding
| Is provided. There are narrow aisas between
| and in these close dark quarters men, women
and children arc crowded promiscu0nsly. No
tables arc laid. but bread aud soup are passed
| around ut the dinner hour, with a morsel of
meat for each person. Bread Is d0lcd out morn
ing aud evening, and once day coffee il passed
In wooden pails from which every one fortunate
| enough TO have his own cup may have a sip. If
some humanitarian would undertake to reform
the evils of thB Storage he would stand at least
as good chance of distinction as q Comstock or
a Berg. The horrors Of sea sickness and stormy
weather, under such conditions, are too awful
| oven to be limited at by writer Of holiday
| pleasures.
We are in the English Channel, after our
beautiful seven and half days journey, and
the Captain has given na fete-day dinner