The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1910-07-22
Miss PaTkeI's Foreign Letter
On s. S. Romano . INV | !

On ;. ). Romanlc, July |, IL
Dear Stay-at-homes:
If ever | wished | were one of you
it was a few hours Monday after
noon, the 9th, but that is not the
beginning of the story.
Saturday was a perfect day for 6
sailing, and after the Romantic dis.
charged her superfluous cargo Of
visitors, she was a very comfortable
ship. At twelve, noon, we began tc
slide away from the dock, with a
mingled sense of apprehension and
anticipation, as our friends on shore
became mere colored specks. 1t
was just a little hard to wave cheer
fully from the rail as father, sister
and friends merged into nothingness
and we sailed out to sea.
Right soon, there was occupation
plenty getting the flowers arranged
in the stateroom, hunting up steam
er letters in the dining saloon, and
packages anywhere you happen to
see lot punched together. There
seems to be very little order to it
and each one takes what is to be
found without asking any extra
questions. | kept finding mine un-
til Sunday morning.
The next anxious duty is to get
the baggage located in your state
room, but if you are wise you won't
be in a hurry to lean over it much,
until you find out if you are a good
sailor, for then may come a time
when clothes seem of minor i'm
portance. Finding your place at
the table and the position of youF
steamer chair, you at last let yourN
self settle down for the trip across.
The sea stayed calm all Saturday
with hardly ripple to be seen. We
had a glorious sunset and an equally
beautiful moonrise. Miss Shipman
and l stayed on deck until quarter
of two watching the variations in the
broad path which the moon cut
across the water to our feet. We
asked the little deck steward how
long we might stay out and he said |
we might stay out all night, but, he
added, "there, will be so many |
'feelebusters' about, you will not like
to mingle with them" Evidently, |
he meant the deck hands.
Sunday, too, was a perfect day, |
and the old man of the sea gave us
no intimation of his possibilities.
The only excitement was the church |
service, and sitting on deck watch
ing for other craft, one freigh-
ter, and one African brig, with all it's
white sails set. 1t was away off on
the horizon and looked the part of a
painted ship upon a painted sea to
perfection. The ocean, after all,
does not seem so large when you are
on it as it is hard to convince your
self that land does not Turk off in the
mist on the edge of things.
The ship, itself, seems much like
hotel, only for the continuous wash
ing of floors and the smell of sulpho-
napthol, which greets your smellers
from every direction. So much
like hotel does it seem that l heard
one woman telling another about
going out on the other porch,
when in reality she had been on the
other deck.
On Monday, we found out what a
" choppy" sea meant. Early in the
morning, we began to see white caps;
by the time the orchestra began the
program the whole sea
seemed to be filled with dancing
doing a scarf dance, the
breakers as far as we could see look
ed like gauzy scarfs waved for
second in the air.
BY the time the chicken broth was
served, we felt little queer Cat least
| did; by luncheon, several of us
looked a little funny; by afternoon
tea time, food began to be dis
tasteful; and by dinner time, many
of the passengers were in their
berths longing for death, andthe rest
Of them were on the deck, thinking
of the hard road to travel to their ;
heavenly home. Neptune beck ;
oned for my dinner" long and
without getting it, al
though l was perfectly willing: and
the return of the swallows" was
a frequent event in the ships life
hat night.
Nothing can adequately describe !
/ sea-sick ship but,
I'm leaning Ger the rail,
And feeling very pale; :
Looking for a whale?
No, I'm notl
I'm my mothers only daughter
Casting bread upon the water
IN a way l hadn't orter and that's
whatP'
,oes quite a way toward describing .,