Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1892-09-12
A SAILING DAY SCENE.
ON THE DOCK WHEN A Big OCEAN
STEAMER MAKES HER START.


eidents Wifnessed - the wharf on .
Day wh~n . Wen Known Steamship
Ii About to Sail
A sailing day at the docks Of any o.
our huge oeean going boats is an inter
esting and atuslsin2 occasion The dock
is nothing more than long shed stretch
ins out several hundred feet into the
river, with two Offices, one on either
side, and Uttered over with casks, bales
and cases Of merchandise, either un-
called for from the last steamer in or
waiting for the next outgoing vessel.
And the baggage. II comes down On
the transfer wagons, and on the hotel
buses and carriage footboards-moun-
tains Of it. Some Of It is labeled cabin"
but most Of it hold and you see 1t run
mp the baggage gangw@y and swung out
over the open hatchway. There is a rat
tie aud crash at the donkey engine as
these American boxes are consigned
to the depth below.
Next in Importance is the hand bag
gage, and this consists not only of bags,
but oyercoats, rugs an1 wraps Of every
conceivable description. The inexperi-
enced traveller has been told that they
weigh all the trunks in Europe and
charge accordingly. 10 he loads himself
down with bundles and boxes galore.
forgetting tl.lt tho first principle Of a
successful g"i-.5 abroad Is 10 travel III
light marching order"
II is surprising, too, how much en-
thusiasm cal be kindled in the breasts
Of your { uds when you are going
abroad. III fact. you never can tell the
measure Of your own popularity until
an occasion of this kind. when they
combine to give you .'sendotf,' often
going So far as to hire a tug and an
"Eyetahan" band of music TO accom-
pany the party going abroad as far
down the day as the chartered steamer
can keep pace with the Cunard, White
Star, Guion or lnman liner, or, what Is
more to the point, when the ''sendoff'
party reach 4 few OF tine white caps and
the inrolling swell from the lower bay.
Some friends have come all smiles and
cheers, others lachrymose and full Of
signs. And there by the rail is party
of five, silent ard constrained amid so
much light heartedness and hilarity.
! II is mother and father and two sisters;
the brother is leaning against a pile OF
steamer chairs. and the wondering,
eager look, that brilliant sunken eye,
and hectic flush on the pale wan cheek,
tell why he, when too late, is going
abroad.
And how manv times some people
will kiss each other. And how many
last messages, and frequently, too, COM
missions which mean an infractlon OF
Uncle Sans custom laws at the end of
the return trip, are exchanged at the
last moment.
In the midst of all this turmoil and
crowding and pushing to and fro, the
old timers, with their record of many
voyages. look on in amused disgust, and
wonder why some people can make
( such fuss about such IA little thing as
/ going abroad.
4 A fortune, too, is spent on flowers.
/ Huge baskets, set pieces, wreaths, bou-
/ quets and cut flowers al infinitum cover
the tables Of social hail. aud make
! the already close atmosphere heavier
I and more unbearable yet by their sweet
/ perfumes. To NE this floral extrava-
I gance means ridiculous waste Of
/ money. In day they have wilted and
/ dropped and are thrown overheard.
/ Here comes an excited group up the
companionway. You hear confused
i l n1t,,,
/ keys left on her bureau, and you are
/ conscious she has left the keys Of her
steamer trunk behind. The man fairly
shoots down the gangway. leaps into the
nearest cab al begins wild drive for
/ those KEYS Meanwhile the woman
| haunts the entrance to the gangway,
and five minutes after the man has gone
she finds the missing key securely
slowed away in her pocketbook. Her
! troubles of going abroad are beginning
early. ~ r..
Now that ponderous whistle deafens
| the ears of all on board. There are final
| tears and smiles and emhracings.a rush
down the gangway by the well dressed
mob and then some climb on the near by
| cases or gather on the outer end of the
dock to eaten the last glimpse Of the
ship Handkerchlefs are tied to canes
and parasols; th"re is much cheering
and last farewells. One young man
! calls ont in 1t stcntorian voice, Give my
/ love ~ Mary" whereat there are cheers
and laughter. Aud now at the far end
of the dock there is rattle and rumble
and two cabs come tearing along. One
contains belated passenger who has
Just time To scramble on board, the
other the man who went after the key.
And as the Lady holds mp the missing
article, conciliatory smile upon her
face. that man sinks back upon bale
Of goods. looking unutterable things.
The key to the situation Is plain to
everybody. Now the "planks'' are down,
and slowly and silently the huge black
ship, that seems so high ont of the wa
ter that she looks like a great warehouse
adoat. backs out of her dock and is soon
III lnidstreaIn. Slowly yet she swings
around and finally squares away, her
nose pointing for the Narrows. A mo
ment she seems to nang and to be taken
aback by the tide, then FORCES ahead.
The flag is dipped, then hauled down
from the flsepole on the dock and those
On board are at last going abroad. =
/ Haruer's Weekly.