St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1899-10-18
LIFE ON THE OCEAN WAVE.
Editorial Correspondence


Editorial Correspondence
1t was the morning of the seventh
day when the great ship Furst Bis
marck reached the beautiful harbor of
Cherbourg on the northwest coast
of France and the ocean voyage of
5000 miles was over. To the sur
prise of everyone it had been a re-
markedly smooth passage and |, for
one, was sorry it was so soon
over. The Oceanic had come in the
week before and met heavy gales,
and the Lucania, the greyhound of
the liners, had encountered such
severe storm that the steamer chairs
on deck were washed overheard. But
we were spared the gales, and aside
from the continual pitch of the boat
and the slight rolling motion one
could almost fancy he was riding
down the St. Lawrence or up the
Hudson. The fifth day and night it
was different, but we had accustomed
ourselves to the motion of the ship,
and only few were forced to "seek
the seclusion which the cabin grants"
That night the ten course table
d'hote dinner was interrupted by &C.
casional exchange ofdishes with your
neighbor at the other end OF the
table, and in the upper berth of an
outside stateroom | tried in vain to
calmly lay me down to sleep. AS l
cushion.carromed in my berth that
night recalled how feelingly DR..
George Clark used to sing that song,
and l wondered then if either he or
the author of the song was ever
rocked in the cradle of the deep" in
the wake OF North Atlantic gale.
We left the dock at Hoboken at
1920 a. m. in pouring rain. l had
just paid my cabman So, the regular
price, for the same service that costs
only one-tenth as much in London or
Paris, and the great steamer backed
out of the dock alone and glided
gracefully down the harbor unaided
by any tugs. Mingled with the
patriotic strains Of the German band
on the upper deck were farewell
messages to those gathered on the
dock and the vain entreaties of be-
lated passenger to get on board
where his baggage had been safely
stored an hour before. Soon after
passing the North Atlantic squadron,
which was waiting to greet Admiral
Dewey, we left the pilot at Sandy
Hook, the fog lifted and there was a
great calm upon the face Of the deep.
Do you recall what the Vermont
SAKE says they do at Saratoga:
"They eat and they drink and they sleep and
they pay
And that's what they do at Saratoga"
Well, that is about all there is to dc
on steamer. You have the appetite
of a shark and the Hamburg Ameri
can line gives you three big meals a
day. While it is true that the Cunard
line has never lost passenger, those
who have patronized the line say il
is equally true that they have never
fed one. You drink on board ship
for the deck steward serves bouilor
at ten a. M, Russian tea at four D
m, and black coffee-if you want il
at 6 a. m. and 10 p. m. You sleeI
on deck in your steamer chair by tn
hour and then sleep at night as i
you had never slept during the day
And you have to pay for all thes
luxuries, but with 6rst.class cabil
accommodations at $50 you ar
crossing the pond cheap and getting
lots of fun and health for your money
OF course you can pay as much NOR
Tor your room as you choose and tn
captains room costs $500 per trip
The rush is all to America now, TIL
Furst Bismarck brought 1900 peopl
to New York the middle ofSeptembe
; and on the return trip we only ha
100 first cabin and about 200 in tn
; second cabin and Storage. 1t is har
to realize the size ofthese great boat:
The one / crossed on is almost 60
, feet long or five times as long as tn
height of the old flag staff at Under
clyffe. The same line will have boa
ready for the Paris exposition nearl
100 feet longer and the Oceanic is,
believe, 740 feet long and made ii
: first trip to New York with 201
? souls on board. The cost of til
s Oceanic was $5,000,000.
f The German lines are very popula
II with A,,ov;caoe baoo,sa +ba,, Ia .,