The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-07-30

enormous vessel. There were wavings of
handkerchiefs and farewell shouts, and so
the City of Chester moved from Pier a. on
the Hudson, to the middle of the stream,
where the tug was cast off. At o'clock
of bright morning the great screw began
its ponderous vibrations, and we were off
for the long voyage to Queenstown and
Liverpool.
About fourth of the passengers seemed
to be in tears or very near it as we moved
down the bay; at least half of the gentle
men showed too plainly that their friends
had "seen them off, the night before by
way of preparation for seasickness, while
the remainder were simply raving dis
tracted. They wanted everything done at
once-al their luggage attended to as
promptly as if they were at the Hoffman
house, and all the comforts of home pro-
vided before we passed Sandy Hook. l
meet just about so many people of that
sort wherever I go. The bay took on a
new beauty as l realized that l was seeing
it for the last time in months; but even
before we passed Staten Island a mist
arose, and all the towers and pinnacles of
our loved New York faded out of sight.
Three hours later Sandy Hook was astern,
and soon after the last land had sunk be-
low the horizon. And the next experience
was a general and most agreeable disap-
pointment. Almost every one ex pected to
be seasick-very few were. l suffered a
few qualms, ending in one grand, soul
searching catastrophe" and thereafter
all was serene-"a calm and heavenly
frame" But there came a fee almost as
bad as sea sickness, namely, monotOny.
1t is amusing to note the intense interest
excited by the smallest appearance in its
calm surface. 4 steamer running on line
with ours for half day set all the men to
betting and all the women to straining
their eyes through glasses. "Off the banks"
of Newfoundland a little fishing boat
aroused a perfect furore Of inquisitive in
terest. On another occasion a great cry
arose that something was floating past.
All rushed to the rails and saw large pine
board part of a grocer's box, with the word
Liverpool" in big letters on it and a name
too small to make out. A score of ingen-
ious speculations resulted. Some were
positive a vessel had been wrecked and all
the crew and passengers lost. Then
mutual acquaintance began to relieve the
situation. The ladies read books they
wouldn't have looked at at home, the
smallest impromptu joke made the per-
petrator hero for the day, and in the
pleasant smoking room the gentlemen
laughed Historically at stories which were
old forty years ago in the Wabash valley.
We soon discovered, however, that we
had some u-commonly clever people
aboard, and as we all became as one fam
lily and put them under contribution l
must mention some of them in gratitude,
if nothing else. At the head of the list, By
common consent, for imperturbability and
persistence in doing something, was Pro
fessor Dixon, of the English university in
Japan, who had been eleven years among
those Yankees of the Orient" and had
married young lady of an English mis-
sionary family there, with whom he was
on his first visit home. He melted the pas
sengers to play at all the games possible on
deck, the chief of which consisted of SHOW