The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-07-15
TYPES OF OCEAN TRAVELLERS.
CAPTAIN OF An ATLANTIC LINER
DISCUSSES HIS PASSENGERS.


Democrat
Talk bout getting knowledge Of hui
man nature" said the captain of one of
the big ocean liners the otner day there
isut any other business that can give one
In twenty years the experience in reading
character tbat a man can get in six
months as officer of one of the popular
Transatlantic boais. and ne won't have 10
neglect his duties to get il, either, for there
is something about the sea that relaXes
people and 3cts their true natures shine
out.
Il have carried more freaks across the
ocean than one could find in all the dime
museums Of the country put together. 1t
seems TO me that there is no type Of civil
ized creature that doesn't some time or
other find it's way on board boat for Liv-
erpooi. from the thin-legged dude with the
sloping forehead. who always wears gloves
on deck and changes his clothes four times
a day, TO the little earnest-faced girl mis-
eionary who is going to waste her youth
and sweetness ia trytlE to convert Hotten-
tots in some ouuandish place in Africa.
- alling in love. however, is a subject on
which a sea captain can give points to
the sea thai beats spring all hollow ia
making a young mans fancy lightly turn
70 thoughts of love. / can tell from the
droop of a young fellows eyehd which
particular girl he is going to fan ih love
with for the voyage. on one trip / had
bet with the mate that on the first day I
could pair off half dozen couples who
would he promenading the hurricane deck
In the moon light on the fourth night out
and ] struck il right in every case but
one, and that particular SRI was so sea-
sick that she couldn't come on deck. In
finding out hidden afhuties seaman can
give cards and spades TO any matrimonial
agent above ground There are several
happy families that invite me to dinner
with them nearly every time am in New
York on the strength Of their match hav-
ing been made on board my ship.
Though the seaman always has soft
spot in his heart for lovers. they are not
nearly as interesting to the student Of
human character as some of the other
types of ocean travelling. The captains
bette noir is the man with the weather
beaten face. who seems to be crossing the
sea with the sole purpose of watching
the log and giving the captain advice
as to the best way of sailing the ship.
If the log posted up at noon on the main
companion way shows Ten miles less than
schedule time the self-appointed adviser
seeks out the captain and suggests haul
ing up the sheets. Stumbling has no effect
on him. He haunts the foot of the stairs
leading to the bridge. as if pinng to get
his hands on the wheel.
Another ubiquitous type is the man
who prdes himself on the fact that he
is never seasick. He is aggresslvely and
provokngly well when everybody else on
board is i'll and helpless, and he expati-
ates eloquenty on his theory of eating
as much as possible on all occasions as
a fa flfpo ct I4a a.
tlcularly vivid when picturing the joys
OF beefsteak and onions to pale and
souamish ladies who have managed to
drag themselves on deck after days of
misery below stairs.
ION every trip there Is sure to be one
Girl whose special vanity is pair of
beautiful feet. She is generally rather
plain otherwise; but the happy combiua-
ton of a rather short skirt and a windy
deck gives her a chance to display her
good points. She wears the finest of
shoes with the highest of French heels
and it's a wonder that she doesn't fan
and break her neck; but she manages
somehow to glide over the most slippery
deck and take her favorite position, with
one dainty foot slightly elevated on the
lowest rail and the breeze blowing her
skirt away from the other trim little
ankle. The prettiest girl on the ship isn't
in il with this girl as far as the young
men are concerned.
In marked contrast to the girl with the
feet is the amateur palmst She is geuer-
ally pretty girl, with melting, soulful
eyes and white hands. Her nails are al
ways manicured to the queens taste She
generally begins her operations by reading
the palm of another girl in some conspicu-
GUS position where she can be seen by
everybody on the ship. There is something
particularly fascinating about palmistry
on shipboard. Whether it is because ocean
travellers regard themselves as being at the
mercy of fate, or whether the enforced
idleness of a sea voyage makes them glad
OF any diversion which at the same time
stimulates their natural egotism / have
never been able TO determine; but the
palmistry girl is the most popular crea-
ture on board until she has gone through
the entire list of hands, and on a crowded
ship that process takes several DAYS
have had my palm read by every amateur
palmist that ever Travelled on my ship, and
some of their flights of fancy would put
a professional fakir TO the blush. on one
voyage the sbyl told me that I was to
have four wives and be the father of nine
children. on the way back to Liverpool
there was another palmst girl and she
told me that l was to marry for love. be
left a wdower early in life and spend the
rest of my childess days In pinlng faith
fully for the lost one. didn't tell her any
thing about my second wife and four chill
dren IN Liverpool, and didn't give her
away to the other passengers who focked
around her ali day long.
Another distinct type Is the returning
Cook tourist, who has done the whole con-
tinent of Europe and touched Africa all
in six weeks. This person talks learned
of midnight in the Coliseum, the color ef-
fecrs of Algiers. the beer gardens OF Ger
many, the beauties Of the Louvre.
the grandeur of the jung
frau, the beer eaters of the
Tower of London, the odors of Stamboul
and The miseries of the English channel
all in one breath. He or she could give
Payard Taylor or Richard Burton pointers
in the acquisition of mysterious tongues
and II they are of a poetic turn of mind
their dsquisitions are thickly sprinkied
with quotations from 'Chlde Harold and
Robert Browning.
Then there are, of course, the married
people who travel in pairs II doesn't take
much experience to detect that a certain
loving couple are going to EIroDe on ebeir