The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-02
\NE week ago out of Baltimore, on
the good ship Somerset bound for
- Savannah. two young girls TOOK

i the good ship Somerset bound lot
~ Savannah. two young girls took
massage. They were Alabama girls, a
couple of years in their teens-fulI OF
song and laughter and the joy of life. But
they had never before seen the orlhs
deep. and. of course, never before troa
the deck of a steamer.
For all these reasons, and especially on
account of their tender years and laeN
of experience, there should be no wonaer
that they permitted their fear of the
great waste of the ocean to undermine
their nerve, and no wonder that the NOISE
of unloading and reloading at given
point-this in the Silly hours OF the
rght-caused them TO picture the gooo
chip in the grasp of a storm.
ON the morning after, as the man with
the perennial thirst is wont to say-the
pirIs became highly incensed when casual
reference was made to the events OIL
their night of horrors. But when' WIN
the sunshine beaming upon them, they
touched land at the dock of Savannah.
and leaped into the arms of their rather
anxiously awaiting them, they them-
selves told the story and laughed as
heartily as others guardedly had laughed
before.
1t Is not only the very young for whom
thc ocean has its fear. And even those
who do not fear are prone to contemplate
and permit the very serious thoughts 10
drive anight the frivolous. The boundless
tillows of the restless deep in the icy
rtllIncss of the night The thought comes
of the land and OF what is there occur
ring. and one remembers with shock
that the earth might have been destroyeu
without his knowledge, that disease or nre
or plague or ruin might have wrought
it's damage without his ken. And no
locks about him. Nowhere is there sight
af ground on which, in case of peru, ne
might rest himself. The sea bird flaps
lazilv above him, even in the night, and
he hears the chatter OF the fowls. And
old oceans waste beats the boat with a.
tiresome swish-swash, and ne yields HIM
self entirely TO melancholy.
And he pictures the possible storm,
breaking. suddenly, breaking without
warning, without even the proverpial
calm. And he sees the waves now so gen
lie raise their head as IL warlike ana
throw themselves in anger upon the up
per decks. And he sees the ship tossed
about, driven and torn, and finally spit
,,pon the rocks, and himself alone half
drowning in the water, struggling onward
fopelessly!
And these were the thoughts OF the lit
Tie girls as they entered their stateroom
nm the first night of the ships passage
into ocean. But there was no reason
For the wave was calm and as smooth AS
a floor, and over all, as II silent SEN
tinel set to watch the treacherous deep,
hung the frosted moon.
The girls were very serious, however,
for they were very young and very far
from home, and all about them was that
water which rolled and tumbled like
r,orposse and was never still. Very care
fully. as they had done on the preceding
night. they removed from under the
berth the life preservers. They even tried
them on, and with their arms in motion,
showed each other how they would breast
the wave II worst came to worst. But
noon they turned the light. and soon again
wsre sound asleep.
And onward plunged the good ship Som
erset, mmindful that the girls had feared
end unmindful. even that they slept
plunged onward through tho pillows OF
The frstful deep. There was no sound