Evening journal., 1910-02-07
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
PreSentment that Saved the
Noted Steamship Umbria
BY "Holll nd"
BY "HoII, nd"

At the time, in the late eighties,
that the steamship Umbria was the
queen of the Atlantic ocean, she was
commanded by Capt. Thomas Dutton,
an old friend of mine, who is now liv-
ing near Liverpool, having retired
upon comfortable pension A day
or two after he had once more at
tracted international attention to his
ship by causing her TO break her own
record, ! sought out the captain to
extend my congratulations and in the
course Of the conversation that fol
lowed he told me Of the presentiment
that had saved the Umbria from dis
aster some months previously. He
enioined me not to make use of the
story at that time and have kept it
to myself until now.
1--WE sailed from Liverpool at the
hour fixed" said the captain, carry
ing practically the capacity of the
ship for first and third class passen-
gers; the Umbria had never had a
larger steerage passenger list. The
weather was fine when we sailed, al
though the barometer indicated that
it might thicken up before we we're
long under way.
'It did in fact. begin to thicken,
and there came on a fog. And then,
suddenly, and for no apparent reason,
the impression came over me that
there was something wrong about the
ship. Try as I would, could not rid
myself of the idea, not even when
told myself that the fog-hated OF
every steamship captain-had got on
my nerves and was making my Brain
act contrarlly
AT last, was so completely domi
mated by the idea that l sent for the
engineer and asked him il his engines
we're working all right His reply
was that they we're behaving splendid
ly And everywhere ] thrned after
that. while inspecting the ship from
stem to stern, found everything as
it should be.
"Sull, I could not quiet that idea
gnawing away in the back of my
brain. Instead Il became more and
more insistent, and finally, and to be
on the safe side-because Of the fog
I told myself ordered the vessel tc
be slowed down And no sooner thi.
had been done than there flashed intC
my mind the thought that the some
thing wrong on the ship was to b,
found in the chief compass.
This instrument, of course, haC
been properly tested and boxed be
fore we left Liverpool, and thl
CHANCES were all against anythinl
being wrong with It. But giving reil
to my feeling. minutely examined II
and while I learned that It did no
agree exactly with the other com
passes. yet I could find nothing Il
prove to me that there was anythin,
wrong with It. Neither could tn
other officers whom had examin
the compass.
But that idea in the back OF m
brain wouldn't let me alone, an
again and again examined the con
pass. In my desperation, I had on
OF the officers bring me a powerfr
magnifying glass. Carefully, I used
on every part Of the compass coul
find nothing out Of the way.
Il was getting ready to turn ava,
satisfied at last that there was notl
ing wrong on the ship after all. whei
almost involuntarily, I took anothe
look at the compass through the glas
And what, then. do you think I saw
A little fiber OF silk thread Of gossi
mer-like thickness. and not quite a
long as the middle joint Of my littl
finger-the something that was wron
on the ship--a wee bit Of silk (whic
is a good conductor of electricity
playing havoc with our chief compass
"At once the thread was remove
Instantly the compass behaved pro
erly-and you can imagine how than
ful I felt when later on made Il
additional discovery that II we ha
continued 10 steer for an hour or tv
longer by the erring compass, Il
, Umbria would doubtless have bee
impaled on the rocks OF the coast
Wales.
, ''To this day cant explain how
happened that I was seized with q
strong impression that something W;
wrong on the ship, and was cor
s PEELED TO follow that intuitive feelir
4 until I discovered the little si
| thread. invisible TO the naked eye an
! barely to be seen with the glass. n,
can ] explain how the thread got I'M
the compass. though my surmise h;
always been that IL must have straye
in in some strange manner after v
left Liperpool"
- Copyright 1902 by f. j. Edwards)