The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1894-11-23

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After starving for day or two, we re
VOTED and demanded a change of food fr0u
the steward We were informed that sec
ond cabin was nothing but improved steer
'head would roll In the basket" In vaiI
we tried to show him that little fruit was
preferable to meat as we'll as cheaper, he
said it could not be granted because we
were not frstcIdss passengers. Then
mentally vowed that IL ever got hands on
the ticket agent l would raise his scalp in
the twinkling of an eye. To quell the mu-
tiny, the steward sent us some apples, but
neither love nor money could induce him to
allow us a bath. The idea that cleanliness
might conduce to our comfort seemed never
to have entered his English head.
Such sticklers for red tape as these Eng
lish are! 1t was with only the greatest diff
Guilty that could obtain piece of ice to
make little lemonade, and further you can
only obtain food at a certain time. Ii you
fancy little cruel in the forenoon, you will
have to wait till o'clock in the evening be-
fore you can obtain it, because that is the
time when cruel is served. The same rule
applies to everything. even to the bed linen
which has remained unchanged because for
south 1t is not washed until we reach port.
This lack OF proper attention is not due, in
my opinion, to lack of means. but simply
| bacauea vva yyara en- stunid nc IN to,a tho
wrong class. Anyone who in future takes
intermediate I'D cabin) on board an Allan
steamer deserves all l have suffered.
Choose between Storage and first-cabin and
thus save both money and trouble Between
first cabin and intermediate there is great
gulf fixed over which no man can pass.
LazarOus in the Storage must not be al
| lowed to disturb Dives in the saloon. On
Sundays however all assembled in the saloon
and there had my first view of English
society in all its grades. A lord, bishop and
three priests, the Canadian Minister of Fin
ance, Foster by name, an English Knight
Sir Cassimir, doctor of medicine, a very
fat and rich butter merchant, several
motherly looking women and fair sprnk-
ling of younger people, comprised the cabin
passengers.
Most of the intermediate passengers were
young Englishmen who had been farming in
the Canadian northwest. A young Irish
man and myself were the only Americans
on board. Could our Canadian cousins hear
the contemptueus remarks passed upon their
land, l tear their excessive loyalty would
be slightly cooled. But with wheat at SO
cents, even Manitoba does not furnish spoils
and England is consequently being revisited
by many scape-graces and hayward sons.
They all profess great admiration for the
United States and for Americans, and con-
sidering their chances, are not bad fellows
at all. You do not find much talk about
culture and refinement among them, they
are not greatly interested in social reforms,
but they can eat and drink more than twice
as much as the Yankees -Four meals a day
is what is required for them and they per-
form their duty regularly, though most of
them heave up their meals half an hour
after eating The last meal is at p. M,
limited bread and cheese. Every English
man, unless he is a ''tetotaler," finds six
pence at this time to buy a bottle Of beer and
as they gorge themselves their tongues be-
or Eore hours.
The man from North England can scarce.
ly understand the one from South England,
while the old lady from Lanarkshire is un
derstood by no one. OF course 1t is anus
ing to a stranger and have had a splendid
opportunity to study their dialects. Nearly
all of them drop the article to a much
greater extent than Americans. Afllrma-
ton is variously expressed by such sounds
as awh, ees, aye and yes, while they still
follow the good old custom of calling
spade spade and not an agricultural istru-
ment There is hearty, good fellowship
about them which is very refreshing to a
stranger; they chat away and pass the time
with no thought of the morrow; are quite
confidential and really are far more con-
tented than Americans.
Many have their wives with them and
hen-pecked husband would feel like marry
ing all of them, so devoted are they to their
husbands. Babies are also plentiful and
partake Of the rosy looks of their mothers,
on whom indeed devoves their entire care
as their liegc lords do not understand domes-
tic economy. The ship barber summed it
up in nut shell when he said in England
women are brought up to wait on their hus-
bands-when man works hard all day he
thinks the least his wife can do is to blacken
his boots but in States, avn, man. the
women haven't enough spirit TO appreciate
their husbands labor"
The last grade in ship society is composed
of the steerage passengers, and l found
them of special interest. Such buxom lass
es and brawny lads; such broad fun and
jolly good humor amid unpleasant surround
ings made one think that all poor English
men were Mark Tapleys. They gave two