Durango semi-weekly herald., 1904-05-05
HOUSE PARTY ON SEA.
William E. Curtis Writes OF Social d.
versions on Trip to India.
BY William e. Curtis.
Special Correspondence Of the Chica-
go Record Herald

o
ON THE INDIAN OCEAN, Jan. %.
A voyage TO India nowadays Is a
continuous social event The passen.
| gers compose house party. being
guests of the p. and o. Steamship
company for the time The decks OF
the steamer are like broad verandas
and are covered with comfortable
chairs. in which the owners lounge
about all day Some OF the more in
dustftous women knit and embroider,
and | saw one good mother with has.
ket full Of mending. at which she was
| busily engaged at least three morn.
ings Others play cards upon folding
| tables or write letters with portfolios
| on their laps, and we have several ar.
| lists who are sketchlng the sky and
the sea. but the majority are reading
novels and guide books, and gossip.
| Ing As birds of a feather flock to.
gether on the sea AS well as on land.
previous acqualntances and congenial
| new ones form little circles and cliques
| and entertain themselves and each
| other. and, after Il day or two. move
their chairs around 30 that they can
| be together. The Americans and Eng.
! lish do not mix as readily as you might
| expect, although there is nothing like
GOODNESS between them. II is only n
| natural restraint They arc accus.
| toned to their ways, and we to ours,
and 1t is natural for us to drift toward
our own fellow countrymen
In the afternoon MEETINGS are hung
| around one OF the broad decks and
games of cricket are played. One day
II is the army against the navy; an
other day the united service against IA
| civilian team, and again the cricket
ers in the second class salon are In.
Fited to come forward and try their
sklli against team made up of first
classers. In the evening there is
dancing. a plano being placed upon
The deck for that purpose and for two
hours 1t Is very gay. The ladies' are
All In white, and several Englishwom.
en- insist upon coming out on the deck
in low-cut and short-sleeved gowns. II
is said to be the English fashion. but
1t is not half as bad as their cigarette
smoking or their ostentatious display
Of jewelry that Is made on the deck
every morning I believe | mentioned
That habit in "a previous letter, blt ON
ihe Mongolia II IL worse than ever.
Several women. and some of them
with titles, sprawl in steamer chairs,
wearing necklaces of pearls, diamonds,
cmeralds and other precious stones,
for
their fingers blazing with Jewels and
their wrists covered with bracelets.
There seems to be n rivalry among
the high life on this steamer az to
which can make the most vulgar dis.
play OF gold, silver and precious stones
and 1t occurs to me that these Eng
llshwomen have lived in India SO long
that they must have acquired from
the iindo their barbarian love OF lew
elry.
My attention was called not long
ago to a cartoon In British illustrat-
ed paper comparing the travelling out
iits of American and English girls
The American girl had carload OF
runks and bags and bundles, a big
bunch Of umbrellas and parasols, golf
sticks. tennis racquets and all sorts
Of queer things. and was dressed In Il
most conspicuous and elaborate man
ner. She was represented as striding
, up and down the railway platform GOV.
cred with diamonds, boa, fashy hat
and fancy finery, while the English
girl. in a close fitting ulster and an
Alpine hat. leaned quietly upon her
umbrella near a small box" as they
call trunk over here. and modest
| travelling bag. But that picture Isn't
| accurate. According to my observa-
| lion 1t ought to be reversed have
| never known the most vulgar or the
| commonest American woman to make
| such display OF herself in public
place as We witness daily among the
| women OF the British nobility upon
| the +. and o. steamer Mongolia, bound
for Bombay. Nor Is 1t exceptional.
| Whenever you see an overdressed wo-
| man loaded with jewelry In public
| place you may take II for granted
( that she belongs to the British nobili-
| " Germans. French. Italians and
| DlHFl NDIutH Ol tDHllltntHI Europe are
never guilty OF similar vulgarity and
| In America II is absolutely unknown.
As | told you in a previous letter.
\ it is customary for everybody to dress
| for dinner, and. while the practice has
| serious objections In stormy weather.
1t Is entirely permissible and comfort
able these long warm nights on the
| Indian ocean. The weather, however.
| is not nearly as warm as we expected
| 10 find 1t. We have been four days
| on the Red Sea and six days on the
Indian ocean. and have been entirely
| comfortable except for two days when
| the wind was so strong and kicked up
| so much water, that the port holes
had TO be closed, and that 1t was very
close and stuffy In the cabin. While
| the sun is hot there is always a cool
| breeze from one direction or another
and the captain tells me that II is Gus.
| tomary at this season.
| The passengers on our steamer are
| mostly English. with a few East In
dians and Americans. You cannot
hoard "a Qtpampr In any mart of the