Mexico weekly ledger., 1899-06-15
A GREAT FLOATING PALACE
WHERE ALL LUXURY Is
TO ER FOUND.
4 LETTER FROM ER. R \. VHIE
Written when Nearing Antwerp
Few Faets Regarding the work
i1gs Of a Great Ocean
Steam snip

my - ~ l41e oAta cut nom
New YoEk and should reach Antwerp.
tomorrow or next day, Il nothing
happenE We have had fairly good
weather and all on beard are wen.
The ships doctor has had an easy time
Of II, only one passenger being in the
hospital for two days.
An ocean liner has become q great
hoating hotel, with every Injury and
convenience Of the land. II Is, how
ever, much more than ahotel, with lite
boundless enyirons Of the ocean. II
seems 70 place one In conscious~ on
tact with the universe. while heavens
own breezes blow up fresh from out
the ethereal depths There d an in
describshle charm ~ one Gomez to
feel his relation to such q setting. It
Is something quite apart from any ex-
perisncs Of the land And the delights
aheadl How widely varied As
widely, indeed, AZ are those who look
forward to them.
To the invalid 1t ia the balm in the
soft air Of the Riviera; to the art lover,
galleries Of Florence, the Madonnas a.
Dresden; to the musician Ii is perhaps
the quaint old house in Bonn where
Beethoven was born, or the chapel
whose walls heard the little Mozart Is
he played mis- hearers into ecstasy; to
the student it Is Leipsic or the Sor-
bonnie; TO the hnancier, the Bourse in
Paris, Lombard Street in London, or
the old banks of Bremen and Berlin;
and so it holds for each q special
charm meeting the hearts desire. The
Old World it lie, in fact as in fancy,and
with so vast a store Of history, Of art,
of music, Of all that men prize, that i,
can bestow to the ~enriching Of al
sorts and conditions Of men. Out over
the sea, therefore, one can always sal
to the satisfaction that win I'LL his
soul.
That same restless and indomitable
inventive genius which gave to mari
time commerce Its first steamship has
produced in successive order the
thousand and one mechanical and
electrical component parts which
united in the ocean leviathan OF to-
day, make It q typical example Of the
advanced progress OF the century, and
the one thing In which, more thar
anything else, is concentrated all o.
the wonders Of mankind's handiworh
and genius.
Electricity II is utilized In a hun
bred ways, and the ships dynAmos are
powerful enough to operate a hug;
factory. It transforms the vessel
when darkness gathers. into Q fairy
land Of brilliant lights. Itmakes inter
RfRp1 BetsetH afrp6rts ofthlS fSsfi5I
world instantaneous and certain. 4
panders to the luxury of man in {
score Of ways. It puts such strength
into the huge cranes that they lift the
thousands of tons OF cargo In and on
Of the deep, dark hold as easily as /
child would toss a ball.
Steaml Where can there be founG
such concentration Of mighty power
such an illustration Of all that is ma,
jestic in its strength, Is in magnincen'
steamshipsf They sre propelled at al
express train speed across the mighty
waters by engines developing from
1900 70 $1,000 horse power. Thinl
for a moment what this meansl 4
single revolution of the IS ton twin
screw propellers 10 made with mort
force than could be exerted by the
combined strength Of = solid phalanz
of horses, four abreast, and reaching
from the FOOT of Broadway, New York
up TO the northern end Of Manhattan
Island, & distance of over1 10 miles.
Humanity loves g great ship anc
there is a subtle charm, an indeflnabls
fascination attaching to even her sail
ing, which is felt BY all who witness il
those who go and those who remain,
Perhaps 1t Is because there is an ele-
ment Of personality in the ship itself,
an individualism which marks her a
q colossal soul Of iron and steel, in
whose bosom there to be intrusted the
hundreds of human beings for the
flight across the trackles and tireIesl
sea. Be this as it may, it is none the
less true that every great passenger
steamship vending her way down the
harbor and out into the lower bay Il
always followed BY the eyes Of those
who see hsr and friendly good-byes
waved from every passing craft.
Notice that nearly all the ships on
the sea and in the ports fly the British
flag. What we need In America Is ex-
pansion Of our shipping interests, and
there Is no reason why the British
should rule the yea.
We hope to sight land tomorrow,
when we should reach the English
channel Everybody Is getting ready
TO store baggage and "do Europe"
You can "do" a country 30 much
better and quicker and easier when
your baggage is stored
BE WAS NOT eEAEfcK.
On BOARD STEAMSHIP SOUTHWARK,
RED STAR LINE, May 2s.-America