St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-02-12

storms which have caused such ter
rible disasters in the maritime world
had almost deserted the hearts Of the
most sanguine.
In the offices of the French line the
scene when the telegram was received
announcing the safety of the big liner
was a striking one. The cabin Office
was crowded with anxious inquirers
who have relatives and friends on
board the steamer. They had been
standing around with pale faces and
expecting at any moment to hear the
worst When the word came that the
ship was safe, for moment stiffness
reigned which was almost painful in
it's intensity.
Agent Forget for a moment was rem
dered speechless, which evidenced how
anxious he had been for the safety of
the steamer Then he regained him
self and became wildly hilarious. He
| shouted, ran here and there, grasping
/ the hand of this one and that one, and
! fairly Jumped up and down over the
! floor amid the excitement of the mo-
ment. Then he put on his coat and
| started for the French line pier at the
! foot of Morton street where a tug had
been in readiness for days to take him
to meet La Gascogne should she be
| sighted.
| Several of the anxious ones waiting
| for news started from the office to
! board the tug with Mr.. Forget. Many
| wet eyes could be seen in the French
line office when the good news was
! ascertained and the tears We're not
! from the eyes of women alone. Strong
: men Wept as little children. The
strain of days of worry had been too
much for them. One man, Mr. Richie,
| broke down completely and sobbed as
| if his heart would break Mr.. Richie
! has three daughters on board La Gas
| cogne, two of them of very tender
years. He had abandoned all hope
when the joyful tidings came The
news spread quickly throughout the
city.
HUNDREDS BESIFGED THE PIERS
of the company as though they expect
ed that La Gascogne would in an hour
or two be moored at her dock. This
crowd was reinforced every moment.
Friends of French passengers fired
query after query at Mr.. West, the
superintendent of the line. The only
information vouchsafed them was that
the ship was safe. They shook hands
with each other and laughed and wept
with joy. Over a thousand people de-
cided on staying on the dock until La
Gascogne arrived and it was only when
conspicuous announcement was post
ed on the outside of the company's pier
that she would not leave quarantine
until tomorrow morning that the anX-
ious company of watchers slowly went
to their homes. The rejoicing was nat
urally greatest in the French quarter.
The heroism of La Gascogne's captain
was lauded, the sufferings Of her pass
engers, the probabilities of numerous
accidents were all enumerated over and
over again, but the one great feeling
was that of joy at what was considered
by all as nothing less than a miracle.
At the Hotel Martin, the well-known
French resort, the guests in the dining
rooms and the corridors spoke of moth
ing else. Some of the La Gascogne's
passengers were known to many of
them. Two of them, NJ. Xavier and M.
Ribon, were guests of the hotel two
years ago, and are well remembered
by its freQuenters. The unvarying
statement from the lips of all was,
I'VE knew the Gascogne would arrive
safely; we never gave up hopes"