The times., 1899-11-12
Procure a Passport.


Before starting on this journey, wherever
it may lead, you cannot possibly invest a
dollar TO greater future advantage than
in a square of parchment from the United
States State Department. bearing a more
or less correct description Of your age,
complexion, weight, and inches. 1t not
only shows to all the world that you are a
proud citizen Of the Land of the Free and
therefore to be respected but you will
need it for identification in many foreign
banks and postoflces, and if the worst be-
tide your friends may require it in claim
ing your corpus. notwithstanding the
royal decree of 1862, releasing foreigners
entering Spain from showing a passport
the stranger is generally expected to have
one. and in remote provinces of the penin-
sula is even likely 10 be locked up if he
cannot produce one.
OF course, the American Consul would
soon get you out of limbo and raise rum
pus before which the Dons would tremble
in their shoes, but it is much less trouble
some and expensive to attend to the mat
ter in due form at home. In both Spain
and Portugal the strangers passport takes
! the place of the natives cedula, or author
/ itative paper of Identification without
( which both are regarded as tramps and
/ vagaboDds.
}
/ steamer one is certain to get his moneys
worth in the way Of variety a wider con-
+ trast can hardly be imagined than be-
/ tween the floating palaces Of the Ameri
can and German lines, with their fash
ionable crowds and elaborate dressing for
dinners. and life aboard a vessel Of the
/ Linha PoTtuguezes. However the trip is
not long, and We who are fresh from the
/ wilds OF Spanish America feel quite at
home amid jibbering tongues and odors of
! grease and garlic. The captain sits at the
/ mead Of his table and treats passengers
as honored guests at private banquet
/ while from stem TO stern of the ship the
exaggerated politeness of the Latin pre-
/ walls down to the barefoOted fellows who
scrub the deck and yank their frowsy fore
locks whenever a petucoat appears. Bar
ring Northern prejudices against certain
( oily and odoriferOus components of the
menu the danger is of stuffng, not starv-
ing, with five meals per diem.
Att a. N. coffee is brought to your berth,
with bread and fruit. Breakfast at 10
O'Clock is served in several courses. with
good Oporto wine without extra charge.
Dinner, at p. m, is the great event of
the day. a lengthy and elaborate meal,
adorned with salads, such as Americans
can never learn 10 make, figs grapes, and
olives to remind you of the sunny lands
ahead and wines of somany varieties that
the unwary yOyager who foTgets the Ken
lucky advice against mixing his beverages
is liable TO lose himself under the table.
At O'Clock comes supper, and just be-
fore turning in for the night, mug of
cocoa, chocolate, or tea is handed in.
| Strange to say there is almost no sea-
sickness under this generous regime, which
seems to show that NAL de mer is best
prevented by keeping the nerves of the
stomach, which cause the trouble, busy in
digesting food as pleasant occupation is
said to stave OF hysteria in nervous
females
1t is only seven days from New York to
Oporto-hardly time enough 10 get ones
sea legs on. as the sailors say-to learn
what time il is at eight BELLS and 1--WE
bells" and the meaning OF ''starbOard"
and ''larboard" and other nautical terms.
BY the way we are bound for the lands
whence came those time-honored words.
The early nayigators, who crossed the
western ocean to hunt up America, said
questa borda when they meant this side %
and buella borda for that side" Abbre-
Waited the words stand sta borda and la
borda and naturally the clumsy English
tongue corrupted them TO the words in
present use. They sound so much alike
that frequent errors occurred, sometimes
causing serious accidents, therefore the
admiralty, some years ago substituted the
word port for larboard. Land lubbers on
their first voyage may know which is
which by remembering that ''starboard''
is the right-hand side Of the ship, and its
color is green, while port" is the left
and its color red,
In these days of rapid transit one ap-
proaches the opposite hemisphere regret