Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1898-01-04


But drop our blessings where we are.
FIN DE Steele OCEAN TRAVEL
On BOARD s. s. "CANADA,') !
DOMINION LINE, I
ATLANTIC OCEAN, Nov. IL, 1897 J
(By your Foreign Correspondent)
They that 90 down 10 the sea In ships,
Thai do business In great wascrs;
There zee the works Of the Lord,
And his wonders In the deep.
For He commanded and rxiseth the stormy
winds,
which lifss.h up the waves thereof.
They mount up TO tho heavens, they 90 down to
the depths,
Their soui IL melted because OF trouble,
They reel % and fro. and stassrr Ike . drunken
man.
Then they cry unto the Lord in their .roab'e'
He maketh the storm q calm.
So that the waves thereof arc still.
Then are they glad because they be quiet.
So lie bringcth them unto their desired haven.
Psalm l07 g 20.
The launching Of ship has ever been.
and ever will be, = thing OF interest. IL
Il the birth Of q new being, as II were,
inanimate to be sure, but none the less
an object about which cluster hope and
expectation, xs well rs fear, JOY and
sorrow-for how many, alas! have sailed
away with their precious burdens TO re-
turn no more,
Naturalists, such as Owen and OAR
win, have often called attention TO the
fact that many OF the wonderful inven-
tons of man are but feeble limitations
OF the wonderful works Of Nature. This
is true regarding the steamship. The
tail OF the tish embodies the principle OF
the oar and the propeller. II has long
been . proverb among sailors, that "a
Gods head and \ mackerel's tall" form
the best design, for n good ship. Hiram
MAxim's theory Of the flying machine is
the bird flying through the air.
The idea Is generally entertained that
the power OF steam II q modern discov-
cry, but we read In ancient history that
Hero OF Alexandra experimented with
Il 40 years b. c. In 1918 David Ram
sey obtained a patent for steam inven-
ton "to make boats for carriages run
ming on the water, swift In calms and
safe In storms" aud . few years after,
other men patented similar plans; but
In 1861 the Marquis Of Worcester was
the hrst to make an actual steam engine.
There are undoubtedly many men and
women living to-day, who went down TO
the pier in New York, and cheered and
waved their hands In tumultuous greet
Ing to the first steamship that ever enter
ed this country from q foreign shore.
This interesting event trsnspired on
April q, 1898, the ship the Great West
ern from Bristol, England. Two other
vessels had previously crossed from this
side, but neither Of them had demon
strated the advantage Of steam craft over
the fine sailing vessels then In use, when
IL came TO long voyage. Thev used
both steam and sail, and were Is days
crossing, and more than one clipper
overlook and passed them on the way.
The improvements In the marine steam
engine have been very great 10 the last
probable TO suppose that by the time the
firts decade Of the coming century IL
ended We shall have ships crossing the
Atlantic 1000 feet long, and capable Of
going 1000 miles . day, and carrying
1000 cabin passengers.
To us who ''plough the raging main"
In this luxurious generation, Il requires
avast contraction of the Imagination 70
20 back to the primitive sailing craft OF
our forcfathers, when they sought our
rock-bound coast, for ''life on the ocean
wave" IL now attended with a. many
sumptuous appointments and luxuries
as can be procured on land.
The staterooms are lofty and we'll
ventilated. You turn Q tap and get
supply Of hot or cold water. You touch
button and your steward instantly ap-
pears without 4 word being spoken, to
wait on you or bring you anything you
wish. You turn q switch and get an
electric light, and II you happen TO want
3 nap or wish TO retire early, you can
turn Il of in an instant. A steward gets
q hot bath OF fresh or salt sea water
ready for you to jump into. Your
breakfast Is brought to you In bed. At
your hand In the library or saloon Il an
electric button which you touch II you
happen TO want cup Of tea or hot soup
which by the way Is delicious, and is
seIved forenoon or afternoon, between
meals, wherever you may be 10 any part
Of the ship. In fact IL is sort Of en-
chsnted existence. You have but to
touch button and everything 10 drop
ped into your lap, as IL were, for an at
tendant appears to bring you . book
from the library, or attend you 10 what
ever capacity desired.
II you happen to be man, there is
smoking room luxuriously fitted up for
your comfort, where you can lounge,
and smoke-and drink, alas to your
hearts content. There IL also q BARRIERS
''shop" fitted up with electrical ap-
pliauces, and In short everything that
can conduce to the comfort Of the most
pampered and fAstidious society man.
No need Of worrying about not get
ting enough to eat, for our larder is
stocked with 10000 pounds Of beef, 500
pounds OF fresh pork, $500 pounds Of
mutton, $50 pounds OF lamb, 500 Of veal,
300 Of saussges, 2,900 corned beef, 1900
salt pork, 400 bacon, 500 hams, 2, 100 fish,
5 600 oysters, 5000 clans, 500 crabs, 300
futile, and other things In proportion.
Every passenger can at least have one
souvenir Of the voyage, for the names Of
the passengers and their home addresses
are neatly printed on follos, along with
a blank chart for recording the progress
Of the voyage. On all the larger yes
sells there Is q miniature paper printed
by the ships printer, which gives the
usual amount OF 'locsl" gossip and hap
peuiugs, peculiar to the surroundings.
Articles are contributed by the passen-
gers, and frequently there Is good deal
Of talent on board. Concerts aud enter
tainments are given evenings, games and
arguments are INDUCED 10, and the time
Il passed agreeably-tf you are not sea-
sick, but unless the voyage Is an ex-
ceptionally rough one all the way over,
that feeling departs after the first two or
three days, and you are ready TO enjoy
to the fullest extent OF being cfthe earth,
but not on it.
Dear readers of the Democrat, when
another voyage across the sea was con-
templxted, 1t was not thought possible
that time would permit Of sending any
more letters to the Democrat, ~ another
paper must have the "llon's SHARE" but
90 many kind words were expressed,
and so much loving interest shown BY
you all, to the former letters and their
author, that now, when seas again divide
us, the heart turns once morn 70 the dear
home land, and I feel you all ~ personal
friends.
A letter cannot be promised every
week, but 40 often ~ time will permit
and may you oil enjoy travelling with
your former feliow-traveler - we en-.
joyed Il before, IL the wish Of
Your FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT.
i A PERsEyRRrxG SoN-N-LAw.-"May