Mount Vernon signal. (Mt. Vernon, Ky.) 18??-current, 1918-05-10

of diamonds; no gay parties and
receptions given, that the wes 18th
and worldliness of the average
tourist may be displayed. While
it is not an unhappy party, it is a
serious party and practically
every person on board is going
on a serious mission of some
kind. Y.M.C.A. men and wom-
en-; Red Cross nurses and doc
tors; Salvation Army workers;
Ambulance drivers; Frenchmen
who have been living in our
rOuntry volunteering for service
in France; American, Canadian
and French officers going or re
turning to the front; one hundred
aviato1s for immediate service in
France and another class of which
l do not feel free to tell you.
There are no blazing lights at
night with music and dancing On
Ideck as of old. On the contrary
as soon as it is dark, every win
dow and port hole from which
single ray of light might escape
is closed and if you walk the
deck as l often do, you do it in
darkness. Not even smoking or
lighting a match on deck at night
[ was even kindly ask by the
guard to conceal my wrist watch
which has radium face. 1t
makes you feel little creepy to
| be on deck and feel that you are
a part of this great, dark mass of
steel, with it's human freight of
more than 1900 souls and that
even beneath the waves turks a
deadly enemy seeking their de-
struction. The ship is equipped
with a wireless outfit and we get
a war bulletin every day, but
very little other news. There are
| life boats everywhere and three
guns, one at the front and two
at the rear. There has so far
seemed little need for any of
them. Nothing like submarine
has been seen and the weather
has been SO calm and lovely that
I have not even been seaslck.
Yesterday we entered the war
zone and things changed consider
ably. The Captain stays con.
tinually at his place now and has
his meals carried to him. One
year ago the 18th of this month
this ship was attacked and a tor
pedo fired at her, but the Cap
tain saw it coming and so maneu-
vered the vessel that it missed
it's mark. For this valuable ser,
vice of captain and crew the pas
sengers then on board presented
a bronze statue, which now stand
at the top of the stairway leading
to the upper deck. The gunners
are constantly at their post these
last two days; the watchmen or
the front and rear of the vesse
have been doubled and a lookou
has been stationed in the "crow's
nest" on the mast high above
the ship. The life boats are a
prepared and instead of being OF
the boat. they are swinging a
the side just above the prone
: made deck, ready to lower at
moments notice. We have al
= been drilled in just how to put OIL
our life belts and the quickes
way to reach the life boat ha'
! been assigned US. We had tn
= opportunity to rent one OF thu
;. life saving suits for the small
sum of Five Dollars, but SOM
, one proposed that we go across
;, just as our soldiers go, with tn
T ordinary life belt furnished b.
n the vessel and nearly all the Y
p men followed the suggestion. I
n great many of the passenger
, slept in their steamer chair
r. on deck last night, but my room
X mate, fine Presbyterian minis
h. ter, and I. after he had read
70 chapter from Romans and offere
a word of prayer, went to be-
m in our stateroom and had goo
w nights rest and I am sure feelin
N better than if we had slept in GU
&c clothes on deck.
* We will land at Bordeaux an
I'd ought to reach there by tomol
Id row evening or Tuesday morl
of ing and they tell US we are likel
ut to land on the very pier fro
tn which Count Rochambeau sale