The Forrest City times., 1895-11-01
IN THE OTHER BERTH.

''This will be your berth, sir, No. 31," Said the berth steward, ushering me into cozy little cabin. Your friend can have 33; the lower berths will not be oc- cupied."
 "So much the better" said my friend" whom 1 had met for the first time at Liverpool street station that evening. He seemed a gentlemanly fellow, and had an endless stock of good stories at his command, so that l was not sorry to hear that we were to be companions for the rest of the journey, and flung my baggage down on one of the lower berths with alacrity.
 We're lucky" he said, as we made our way up on deck; "the boats are usually crowded at this time of year, and it's difficult to secure a cabin to oneself. Have cigar? There's plenty to see up here, isn't there? I've been across some dozens of times.'
 1 took the portly cigar that he of fered me, and for time we wandered up and down the decks, watching the crowd of passengers, Dutch, English, Hebrew and German, who had just come on board. 1t was not until the lights of Harwich were mere pinheads ill the distance that we decided to turn in.
 We undressed in a very few minutes, und, hurting our clothes on the empty Eerths below us, scrambled up aloft. My cabin companion switched of the electric light.
 We shall be half way up the Maas when we wake tomorrow" he re- marked, wishing me good night.
 Good night" l answered, turning over on my side. l recollect thinking for few minutes of the jolly holiday before me ; of Mynheer Van der Denn, the wealthy diamond merchant, and his pretty daughter, whom l hoped soon to make my wife; of skating and sleigh ing galore in her company at Amstcr- dam; of the chance of my host being as ready to give his only child to a compar atively poor young Englishman as he was to invite me to his house; of q dozen other things connected with my 'A1ies aha "iba PoSb Ss NfN branch in Hatton Garden was being started, and the Van der Denns lived in London. And then, suddenly the roll ing of the vessel, the throbbing of the cugines and the fumes of the strong cigar 1 had smoked on deck must have overpowered me, for the next moment 1 seemed to hear the gruff voice of the berth steward:
 Now, sir, it's time to get up, please. called you some time ago, and thought you were dressed. We're just outside Rotterdam"
 l rubbed my eyes drowsily, and darted mp, knocking my head suddenly against the white ceiling of the cabin; and the berth steward, having at length succeeded in rousing me, hurried out to attend to his numerous duties. How on earth had 1 managed to oversleep myself so shockingly? A glance at the tumbled bedclothes opposite showed me that my companion of the night before was already up. l could feel that the engines were beginning to slow down; while, through the port hole, trees and houses on the bank of the river were to be seen. On the deck above could hear the shuffiing of many feet, the excited jabbering of Dutch and English Jews, the guttural tones of Germans, the shouts of the sailors to those on the quay, the pumping down of bags and boxes ready for landing.
 1 wRs still drowsy, but l managed to resist the temptation to lie down again. and began to fish about for my clothes on the berth below me. Twas annoyed with myself for losing the early morn .ns trip up the river, and the sight of the snow-covered windmiIls. the quaint wooden houses, the low marsh lands and the curious little craft that general ly dot the MaAs; l was equally annoyed with my roommate for his kindly con sideration in not rousing me from my slumbers; and l struggled into my gar n,cntx rather viciously. And then. sud denly. it began to dawn upon me that something was wrong.
 What on earth was l 70 do? The clothes that l had ished up from below were not the ones that threw on the berth overnight-they had been changed for others. By mistake or by