The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-12-09
The English a Friendly Folk
A Tradition That Hdnt Prove Tme-Lyns and Travel

10 that way and both volunteered to let me
know how to get back to the point l desired.
One Of them added:
Its a baddish locality there. Keep
your coat buttoned over your pooketbook.
Some OF the Lac there are a bit Wild
/ thanked him and he said: Here. here's
where you should get of and take the first
u bus back. It's a shine, sir, he took
you past the locality you desired
1 thanked him and left the bus and stood
On the corner. watching the endless pro-
cession OF buses of all kinds.
Az the blue one came along ! heard a faint
halloo and looked up, and half way down
the block was my cockney friend leaning
over the side Of the receding bus and point
ing the way 70 me with all the kindliness
in the world.
One day ! sat on top Of a bus going home
to dinner with an English friend. l was
~recounting to him the experience that !
and several of my compatriots had had
on the steamer coming over when the ships
doctor insisted on large fees for his services
when any fee at all was in the nature of a
gratuity, he being paid by the company.
In one instance he had charged a man
three guineas for dressing a toe that was
suffering from an ingrowlng nail; in another
he had stood with outstretohed palm like
q waiter in a comic picture outside Of the
cabin window OF a lady who had refused
TO pay him any fee unless he gave her a
receipt for it.
And, by and by. when in course Of time
she trapped him into giving her a receipt.
she walked right up to the captains Office
and showed up the wicked ship doctor.
I had told my friend these things and the
set OF the head in front Of ne showed me
that its ow ner was listening with interest.
He was an Englishman and by all the
traditions he would have died before speak
ing to a stranger. But he SAVIOR heard
that / was an American; turned around
and, disclosing typically English features,
he said: you ought 20 have shown that
man up. He had no business TO take a
penny for his services"
I felt quite sure that IL he had been on
board the ship he would have taken me
under his protection n l would not have
been relieved Of the pounds that wen from
my pocket into that OF the ships physician
who, by the way, was an Englishman.
Not hat l was seasick, but had some
thing of a family aboard and the doctor
onoe he had been called seemed to hear
| people calling him all the while and he
would cave his game of solitaire in the
smoking room and come out on deck to pre-
scribe doses big enough for a horse.
And every time he aid How are you
feeling?" to any man, woman or child on
that ship it was a visit and was worth
from eight shillings to a pound.
Speaking Of s~easickness, / did get a touch
OF 1t on the return voyage where we had a
ships doctor Of the normal and pleasant
type) and / believe that I cannot better
bring these lines to q close than by giving
some idea of the mendacity Of the people
on board our ship.
We encountered heavy seas when twelve
hours out OF Glasgow and when morning
came it found most Of us with ~irretentive
stomachs. to coin a phrase.
There were just eight passengers who
showed up to Sunday dinner, and I was not
| OF the eight. Among those mott present
| was a young man who had eros sed ten times
| and never having been sick had a record
to preserve.
on Monday I met him looking worn and
pallid.
Hello" said 1; 'seasick yesterday
@Oh, no." said he. mo, I wasn't seasick,
| but I had a lame ankle and a touch Of sore
| throat and I thought I'd be better of if ]
stayed in my cabin"
I suppose that when at home he tells the
truth.
Later-muoh later-in the voyage one OF
Of the passengers who had not been present
at Sunday dinner but who wanted an
excuse for the exercise OF his hospitality
| invited those who had braved the dining
| room on the stormy Sabbath to a Welsh
| rabbit supper, and out OF the ITO first cabin
passengers lls showed up. Every one of
us-I mean them-swore to being one Of the
original eight.
There's no doubt of il that travel is de-
| moralizing. II 1t isn't Sunday races in
Paris or Sunday croquet in England its
prevarication on shipboard. Why, take my
own case. Between you and me-, dear
reader, I was very seasick on Sunday. 4
| candid friend told me that 1 was the sickest
man he ever saw, but by the time the sun
had been shining for a day and l had spent
ten hours on deck 1 began to feel hat per-
haps I had been more bilious than seasick.
And two days later l gave voice 20 the
thought.
Three laws from Sunday ! made myself
Cbut, I'm afraid, not my ac~quaintances)
believe that it was more the fear that l
might be seasick than anything else that
had kept me out Of the dining room; and
totally forgetting that l had missed five
meals (and had lost W more) l told a
friend who came to meet me when we landed
that / had been we'll practically all the way
over and merely dieted a little for pru-
dence sake.
I tell you that a record is a tempting
thing, and I'll entur to say that when
friends dropped in to congratulate Moses
on his meekness he said never a word about
that little affair with the Egyptian.