Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1907-01-17
A TRIP rs EUROPE
By Miss 6cncvleve Blair
TINE VOYAGE. CONTINUED

TINE VOYAGE. CONTINUED
The great social event on the MeriOI
| was an entertainment given by the cabil
| passengers for the benefit of the HONE
for Sailors Orphans. Then, indeed. w
dragged from the steamer trunks oul
little vanities of attire. and the evening
| found the salon filed with an expect3n
company. The Merton proved to bt
well supplied with talent. for among thu
passengers were three elocl ii pnists, two
yocalists and several pianists. The we'll
| filed contribution box proved that the
audience was not lacking in generosity
One Of the most pleasant memories Of
the voyage. however is Of an evening On
de X. The moon was full and clothed
the ocean in magic splendor The
young pc pie gathered on the deck.
Among them were two singers brother
and sister whose rich, full voices led
the merry chorus of college songs OF
plantation melodies The moonlight
upon the water. the melody Of voices,
and the refrain Of the ocean had an EN-
chan,ment all the r own.
On the ninth day al sea sudden cold
wave sent us all to our trunks for warm
CT clothing and for the first me most
of he passengers remained inside.
There was a rumor rife that we were Ia
touch at Que nStown, Ireland, the next
day. and there was II growing excitement
al the thought of seeing land. The /,
too. at Queenstown we could send ashore
letters 70 rctrace the three thousand
mil, across the ocean. The librarian,
a veriable Englshman. began To sell
English stamps. The passengers. rest.
less from unusual confinement besieged
him on every side Bewildered by the
English C ms and stamps, they ordered
and countermand d. calculated and puz-
zled 1t would have been amusing IL
we ourselves had not been So engag ed In
watching old and young grasp change and
stamps, and with an air of dire confusion,
sit down distressing calcuat ems.
The poor librarian. distracted by the
dense stupidity of his customers and
fled with the assertion that there were
no more stamps but persistent spinster
dragged him back and compelled him to
disgorge few more.
All the next afternoon We were passing
along the coast of Ireland. with its ligh,-
houses aud picturesque bills. Fasnet
Rock. rising perpendicularly out of the
sea and crowned with a tall light house
was our nearest approach to land LIT
err came the Head of Old Kilsala another
rock surmounted by a lighthouse This
we passed at sunset; the soft velvet gray
Of the rocks. the tall white light house
with the back ground OF gorgeous sunset
clouds made an exquist y beautiful pict-
ure. At ten O'Clock we neared Queens
town. Our steamer anchored AN Il
ing ont from shore. The tender"
proved to.be a big steamer, built espe
cially for carrying freight and baggage
and seeming very low and fat beside the
TALL sides of our ship. First our mail
was carried on; next the baega and
last about twenty-five of our passengers
fled d ow n the narrow gang plank
Among these was An Irish lady who had
shared our state room. She had come TO
America thirty-three years before as a
young girl, had married, and had lived
happily in her adopted land A year
before she had lost her husband and was
now returning to Dublin to spend the
rest Of her days. She had pretty gray
hair. big brown eyes. and the warmest
of Irish hearts. We staid with her
till she boarded the tender. She was
intensely excited. seeming to feel that
in leaving the ship she was severing he
last link that bound her to her home
across the sea. A new hoy came ahoard
with the first newspaper we had seen for
ten days. This was the ~ o n Il % n
Weekly Ne,0s. and the only American
item il contained was that pilot had
died in New York After digesting this
item we returned 10 the excitement on
deck. The tender started: the crowd
rtth nh