The Portland daily press., 1891-06-18
ACROSS The ATLANTIC.
The Voyage from New York to Ant
Werp.
Interesting Letter from a Portland
Lady.
Correspondence Of the Press.l

Correspondence OF the Pressl
ANTWERP, June LIST, 1891.
The old ocean has borne us over its bosom
as gently as the winged steed Pegasus. |
never knew what it was to really live upon
the briny deep before. Our state room has
been as large and commodious as a small
drawing-room, with SO many conveniences
for hanging and putting away things that we
have been enabled to live as tidy as any
housewife in our thrifty New England. And
as 1t was very smooth for some days, we
divided up the time, not exactly by notches
in candle. as the great King Alfred first
did, but by certain joys In the network of our
| inner consciousness apportioned such part
to reading. sewing, writing or meditating, as
we desired, and, as those who have crossed
the ocean know, not small part Is absorbed
by the vsrious meals Of the day. So life has
been no vacuum except for the business man,
who desired it to be such as relief from a
too crowded life at home. 1t has been indeed
world to ourselves, but we have missed for
the most part nothing from the great world
left behind. and we have for time antici-
pated nothing from the world, so soon to lie
open before us.
The Noordland is the best ship In which
we have ever crossed the Atlantic, not as
spacious as the Etrura and Umbria, and per-
haps a mere trife less elegant than the
French liner, Bourgoyne, 1t Is still the stead
lest and neatest boat believe, on the ocean,
and Its service is the most obliging. The
waves have never once dashed against the
saloon windows, and for days sat In the
open port-h0le of my extemp0rized drawing
room and saw the waters change fro m the
lovely sea.green of the gulf stream current
to the darker hue of mid ocean.
There were two things of which for few
days became very tired-fiowers. and the
capacity In the way of appetite of some who
sat at our table. Flowers are always sup
posed to be delight, but when learned
formed the centrepiece, alone cost two hun
dred and fifty francs, l thought of our almost
bankrupt American Board Of Missions, and
l sighed for the heather, especially when l
remembered that this sum, the price OF these
already whitening rosebuds, would hand
somely support native teacher for one year.
The other matter was one not of religion or
morals, but of the aesthetic as we'll as the
general taste. Why would that young and. as
S Sae, thho1gat' pretty German woman. with that
eating at such length, In her broken, pedan-
tic.English? The illustration oft was already
too much for my ever falteriDg appetite.
was glad she sat no nearer to the head OF the
table.
But life on ship board. they say, is always
the same, and am not about to set up an
opposition to the rather dry articles In the
Scrlbner's magazine. So life there is in the
main, similar--but as one star differeth from
another star in glory, so one voyage differs
from another In degree-degree Of speed, de-
gree OF sea-Sickness, degree of gaiety and de-
gree OF m0notony. / remember one voyage
as the most hilarious. one as the most stormy,
one as the most devoid of incident, and one
the most hlQ which lott
haps the shortest and quickest overland SO
on. The first three ocean voyages thought
could not be long enough, but at the seventh
or eighth there Is an unrest. desire after a
time to be in the active world again, a long
Ing to know what great man has passed
away; what new comet In literature or sci
ence or politics has crossed the earth's orbit
since we shut our eyes In the ships cl0ister
for seven days.
Sunday is the only day at all different, and
yet 1t is so much the same that if you should
ask nlne-tenths of the passengers on Monday
morning, what the day previous had been
they would not be able to tell. This Sunday
was only different to me in the way put it,
and In the failure of what tried to make it.
AS day of devotion it was not success.
During Saturday Neptune had stretched
forth his trident, not to calm but to stir up
the waves. Some of the fair ladies looked
fairer, or at least paler. Some hesds began
to be bowed, as If in grief The appalling
appetite Of the German lady less appalled, me,
for was not all flesh before me. US well as
perhaps. but loathed food.
This was Saturday; but | slept the sleep
| Of the just, Notwithstanding, and in the
morning ignored all the connections. In
place Of the gong my children's voices
not the same sharp-tongued monster on ship
board Virgil describes, that acquires strength
| as 1t goes and leaves nothing unscathed In
its course. It is a harmless little elf which
lets the secrets OF mems souls alone. In
| this case 1t declared that John, our room
steward was sick, badly sea-sick, and that
| James, our 0bliging table boy had left our
table alone TO the mighty "Littimer," having
| to take Johns place at the children's table.
Rumor also said that the French bonnie in the
| state-ro0m next ours. was literally laid upon
her shelf with the same dread malady and
| the cries of her little charges gave evidence
| to the lack OF her gentle voiced care.
had laid out largely for Sabbath of de.
| votiOn for had sometimes thought on land
| that SO many and various methods of wor.
ship distracted the mind to the neglect of
| private devotion, here would be splen.
did chance to look up the Inglis Bible Read.
ings and bestow unusual thought on my
beautiful book of sacred selections. But my
head somehow dropped and sought again the
pillow in utter weakness. All the wounds
| of the spirit for months, came back, and the
thought of the church bells at home and the
steady stream of church goers so soon to
CuinmenCe, WAS zoo mucn TO pear. was III
home sickness or sea sickness. what should
call this utter wretchedness? | could not
find the 10Y and peace" in the Inglis Bible
Headings but only. the long suffering, and
the passage for the day In my book of selec.
tons spoke truly In its beginning, snow no
Christening seems to be joyous but grievous"
| would it ever yield the peaceable fruits of
| righteousness unto them which are exercised
thereby" Just then my daughter came in
and said that game Of HOP scotch was in
vogue on deck and could she play. So mixed
up was for the moment | fancied the hop
| scotch was part of the Church of England
| service supposed to soon take place, and
| said, yes, Out nevertheless she knew better
| than to play.) Is sea-sickness one of Gods
means to purify the soul, as well as the body
| query? AS l said. Sunday is the same on
| ship board as on land, except that people
| are little more sea-sick because little more
| home sick, or rice uerSG. A little more
silent because little, more med,
been making time the hour of lunch came
| just when the bell, at home would cease
ringing. and cur men Of God would enter
into their several temples and break the
bread OF life to hearts more or less receptive
| to Gods truth. How fortunate for Portland
that the GOSPEL has not yet become the old
| fashioned theme for its pulpits, and how for
tunate for the world that there is in New
England, SO stanch and true place as Port
land noticed too, that the voices CT all
Omaha to the sea. were reckoning time and
speaking gently Of the church bells at home,
| life. WA '"''"' ,''e''"'
After lunch, before dinner, there was a
can LOT tne ire department which set all the
chlldren 10 crying uproariously until | N.Y.
sell almost thought the ship was really on
IRE ana Degan 70 call mp all the stereotyped
| always in reserve for such an emergency A0p'
When night came, and this SUNDAY on the
sea was over and ! lay my head yoIuntsrilv
| upon my pillow, the sea-sickness and with Il
| part Of the home sickness for dear old Port.
| land was gone and thought for the first
time that l would write TO you, my dear
friends, and give you one glimpse of our life
on ship board and afterward of our sail into
j iha AnlirLtfl MI Ls.sl. IL x.fxx