Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-09-19
THROUGH QUARANTINE.
WRITTEN FOR THE DISPATCH. +,

LORD BACON, in his essay on Travel,
has a sarcastic remark to make about peo-
pie who keep journals on shipboard and
leave them blank on land. He appears to
think that life on the water offers nothing
worthy of recording. Lord Bacon was q
great and wise man, but he would have
known more If he had lived to be 200 years
OLDER. By that time he would have made
his Journey across the Atlantic; he would
have seen his whale and his iceberg; he
would have become acquainted with the
varied distresses of sea sickness; he would
have attended one or more ship concerts"
and have listened, with more or less strain
upon his charity, to the performances pro-
fessional and amateur which distinguish
those events; he would have staked some
money, possibly, upon the number of the
pilot boat; he might have had experience OF
delays of quarantine, and he would certainly
have been Welcomed with the characteristic
hospitalities of the land of the free and the
home of the brave by the officials of the
New York Custom House. Bartholdi ought
to have put search light in the uplifted
hand of his fine Liberty, and might properly
have extended the other hand in the atti-
tude Of demanding duty! Then Lord Bacon
might have torn up his old essay on Travel
and have written another one, sadder and
wiser, IN which he would have commended
those observant people who industriously
labor at their diaries even in mid-ocean.
AVoyage to Be Remembered.
THE September tourists have this year
found their voyage home anything but
monotonous. We embarked at Liverpool in
the midst of pelting rain, and thus shiver-
ingly Dade farewell to that fair mother
country, whose red roofs and gray towers
linger so delightfully."- in memory. AL day
the green shores of Ireland lay along the
sky line, and the white gulls few about the
ship. The City of Chicago still swung, bat
tered and broken, on the Kinsale rocks, as
we passed. Presently the great circle Of
water was complete, without an Interrupt
tion anywhere. And then we steamed into
the midst of storm. The official state
ment, posted up the next noon On the chart
in the companion way, described it as
moderate gale" but to us unwonted lands
men it seemed as if dozen cyclones and
typhoons were fighting for the possession of
the ship. The Britannia rolled and pitched
and tossed, and did all the other disagree
able things that ship can do. Up went the
PROV into the black clouds, and then down
and down into the black ocean. The deck
were like the two steep sides of house
roof now you slid one way and then the
other, till the chairs had to be tied back to
keep their occupants from making fatal
plunges into the bottomless pit. And it
rained! A combination of salt water and
fresh is one of the most nauseous concoc-
tions in the world; but let it be shaken up
and churned by good stiff breeze, and the
luckless people who have to take it begin to
regret the day when they were born. This
lasted for So hours. During that time the
breakfasts, luncheons and dinners.
After that the weather was celestial. The
full moon never shone more beautifully over
the Garden of Eden. The ocean was like
the sea OF glass mingled with fire which St.
John saw in his vision. The sun went down
in glory indescribable.
Bad News From the Pilot.
THEN came the pilot, who had sailed
with him came tidings OF the pestilence and
we learned how the country was alarmed,
and how the Normannia, the Moravia and
the Rugfa lay, floating yellow flags, at Lower
Quarantine. And we began to look into the
future with some apprehension. Everybody
had guess about our destiny. We would
be held in durance 20 days; we would steam
straight into dock; or it would be five days,
or two. Then we would discuss what the
pilot said, and what the captain thought,
and the opinion of the surgeon and the
purser. We read the New York papers till
we knew them by heart, and were ready to
begin upon the advertisements.
Nevertheless, we had the usual concert,
which was shorter than usual, the Rev. DR..
McVicar of Philadelphia, presiding, the
of the Western University and
MI. J. j. Miller contributing TO the pleasure
of the audience, and Miss Rosina Vokes,
whose name has pleasant sound in the ears
of all good theater-goers, doing her share
and doing it delightfully."-.
Thus we came to Quarantine and dropped
our anchor, our hearts going down with it.
At breakfast we passed the plague ships,
and the sight did not increase our appetite.
All about US, also at anchor, lay a dozen
great ocean steamships, waiting for the
verdict of the inspectors. That was early
Friday morning, and we lay in quarantine
till late in the afternoon of Saturday.
Uncertainties of Quarantine.
THE experience was not a particularly
unpleasant one. Everybody on board was
well. Both days were fine. New York har-
Dor, one of the most beautiful in any waters,
presented spectacle of loveliness night
and day. The banks were green and the
lights in the dark cleaned across the water.
The passengers were more than usually
;ociable and congenial. The White Star
people spared no effort to make us comfort
,ble. The bugle sounded at the regular
hours and we went down to read our gen.
,rous bills of fare and enjoy our meals. The
was cool, with refreshing breezes.
We had no reason to complain, except for
the detention and for the suspense.
The detention we accepted as best we
could recognizing the need of it. 1t was
rue that our bills of health were clean, nev-
,rtheless the Wyoming, which came in about
he same time with us, had an equally clear
statement to make, and was even passed by
he health officers when the plague appeared
n the steerage. We did not blame the men
IL charge for holding us back. The trouble
vas that we did not know, even up to the
middle of Saturday afternoon, how long we
v ould be held. And of that we felt we had
.eason to complain. The Brittanic lay for
I've hours at anchor before she was visited
It all by the health officers The doctor, as
he left, said he would be back the next
about o'clock. He did not return
ill afternoon. We lived in an atmosphere
If uncertainty. Every hour a different
tory about our fate would spread about the
hip. All the time there was the fearful pos
ibility that cholera would appear in our |
crowded steerage, and that we would be
sent down into the Lower Bay to share the
of the Normannia.
Still, most people took even the suspense
We read and talked and
ang and looked at land. We packed our
runks at false alarms and then unpacked
hem. We made verses, somber and dis
,irited, like these:
o, let those pack
Who do not lack
The creduous assurance