The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1913-12-05
Castle-an-Dinas, st. Columb,
Cornwall, England.
Mr. L. w. Nelson,
Dyberry, Pa.

Dyberry, Pa.
| My Dear Uncle Lafe:
After receiving your very kind let
ter, bidding me Bon Voyage" l in
tended writing you at once. AS COM
pared with the climate of the Pacific
Coast, / found Dyberry to be hot
enough, but few days in New York
| City convinced me that Dyberry is
comparatively cool. You can there
fore imagine with what heated i'm
patience l awaited the sailing Of the
"Imperator." However, true to her
schedule, she did sail on the 18th of
July.
/ had made up my mind to write
you all letter while crossing, but
absolute lack of time is my only ex-
cuse. How the moments went feet
| ing by! How the day merged into
night, and the night again broke in
to day, and finally where the week
went TO all of a sudden, 1 do not
know.
l do know that during that glori-
Gus time, could not settle my mind
to anything. My power of concentra-
tion was nil; my thoughts were in the
mizzen-mast. True enough, l can
tell you what l did on board; l can
tell you what l saw, but that incom-
parable feeling of broadness,- that
which / felt, cannot describe. My
wonderment grew and grew until it
expanded and became but an infinite
sinai part of the filmy haze which
enveloped the boat for awhile and
then hung closely about the horizon
until it finally disappeared from our
vision and was seen no more.
From the moment we began to
sever our connections with dear old
New York (to be more accurate,
New Jersey, when one by one from
the many decks of the "Imperator," i"
the gang-planks were cast off, and
slowly and gracefully we slid out of
the dock, passing the thousands of
gay people with their waving hats
and handkerchiefs; when there
surged over me conflicting emotions
and all sorts of foreign thrills were
travelling up and down my spinal col
umn from that time until the en-
gines of the great liner stopped dead
outside Plymouth Hoe, the whole
week was veritable dream of Fairy
land. Even Portland, Oregon, which
has been first with me for years, has
faded into insignifcance, and 1 now
make my prettiest bow to a floating
palace, on a calm sea, under a
cloudless sky;-to the Imperator!
You cannot imagine her. l cannot
describe her to you. You must see
her. Immense in her proportions;
equipped with every convenience;
luxurious in every detail; she is in
deed a work of art, and worthy OF
all the tribute paid her by the thous-
ands who trod her decks.
Life on Board
The Imperator.
Leaving New York, / stood for an
hour in the first cabin, watching the
people. Gowns! Most beautiful tc
behold were thereon some of the
homliest women God ever saw fit tc
create; beautiful jewels of all de,
scriptions; flowers of the rarest va.
rieties; everything in perfect har.
mony with itself and its surround
ings.
1t might seem to you that on ship
board, time would drag on ones
hands But l found it to be just the
opposite. My days were crammet
full, and l found 1 had not hal
enough time to do half the things
had expected.
Every morning at six o'clock, the
little German maid had my batt
ready, after which 1 promenaded or
the deck until breakfast. Every
morning l spent an hour in the Pom
peian Swimming Pool, which in itsel
is masterpiece, with its exquisitel!
carved columns, forming aisles anC
upholding galleries. The water il
the pool is salty, of course, and con
stantly changing, comes in grea
swells and flows out through innum
cradle pink sea-shells which stud tn,
sides of the pool. Between eacl
pillar are marble-slabs where grace
full mermaids like myself reclineC
after an energetic swim. Complet
in every detail, it is an ideal place t.
be a fish. In discussing the poo
with a gentleman on board, he toll
me that he has visited Pompeii an,
seen the swimming baths there, an
has since Travelled extensively, an,
that this is the only exact replica o
the old Pompeian swimming pool
; that he has ever been fortunat
enough to find.
With beautiful paintings and dral
cries, heaVy carpets and great, cas-
chairs, the ladies sitting room an
library is an ideal place to Will
away an afternoon reading or chat
ting. The Ritz-Carlton Cafe an
: Palm Garden absorbed much of m
=. time in the afternoons and evenings
for there wealth and beauty reigne
supreme, and unmolested the home
ly women smoked their fragran
i cigarettes, and we sat and criticize
n them as we drank our tea and lister
e ed to the music.
e The Imperator, as you know, is
n German boat, and while l admit,
did not make great strides with tn
: language, l certainly met with ur
;. qualified success in my Itch lieh
y dich," and towards the end of tn
!. trip, practised supplemental phrase
to this declaration on my more il
innate acquaintances.
NnfohIn DannIn