Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-21
ny JACK O'DO\\EI.L..

across the Atlantic. All gang pidiihn
but one had been taken in. the last
visitor had gone ashore. Commodore
Herbert Hartley was on the bridge
and the marine superintendent wa
about TO give the word OF command
which would send the great ship on
her way.
Tn to the Gangplank in various
states of excitement and eaSerness
rushed half a dozen men, women ana
bows. all bearing parcels IN their
hands or under their arms. Among
them was a slightly disheveled ana
hreathless girl of 20. She waved a
book and pleaded:
Just minute! This is for one
of the passengers.
She was about to hand 1t TO
steward when she remembered some
thing she had forgotten Hastily she
went through her handbag in search
of pencil. None was there.
Unabashed she took from her vanity
case a vermillion lipstick and hastily
scrawled something on the book s
inside cover Handing the volume to
the waiting steward, she said:
"Pleace get this to him!
The steward rushed aboard. the
eangplank was hauled In and the
big ship began to move.
Later. when Frank Smith, assistant
second steward, began the arduous
task of distributing several thousand
hon voyage packages to passengers
he came upon this book. 1t bore no
address, but on the inside cover was
the message which the sender had
hastily scrawled with her lipstlck. IL
said: Sorry I didn't get down In time
10 see you off. Love and good luck.
1t was signed "Eloise.
Huh" said Smith. Another
chance for me to exercise my talent
as a clairvoyant. All I've got to do
is guess for which one of the 1000
passengers aboard the ship this book
is intended. Looks quite impossible,
doesn't it?"
admitted it did. But Smith
smiled confidently.
The next morning there appeared
In the ships daily newspaper Tst
of names OF persons to whom BON
voyage packages had been sent ana
were waiting in the ID deck office
for claimants. At the bottom of the
list was this note:
also a book unaddressed. sent by
a person who signed the name Elolse.
ANY passenger expecting a bon Noy-
age package from a person with that
name please call at ID deck once.
In the course of the day half a
dozen passengers came and looked at
the signature. Each decided that the
volume was not intended for him.
Finally. however, a blond young man
came and claimed the book as his.
What makes you think it is for
you?" asked Smith.
Because" the young man con-
fessed, II am engaged to young
lady named Eloise, and l know her
handwriting. She promised to come
to the boat to see me or. And be-
sides, the night before we sailed we
discussed this very book and l said
I'd like to read 1t"
The young man signed a receipt
for the volume and walked away
The book, by the way, was Mark
Twain's "Innocents Abroad.
Every year friends of persons sail
ing from New York send approx
mately $6,000.000 worth of flowers.
candy, books, haberdashery. pet birds
and animals, fruit. vegetables and
anti-seasick medicines to departing
voyagers.
An amazing number OF these pack
ages are inadequately, wrongly or IL
legibly addressed. Thousands OF val
liable bon voyage gifts never reach
the persons for whom they are in
tended because of the failure or send
ers or the persons from whom the
things are purchased to spell prop
erly the passengers names, or be-
cause the addresses are written so
wildly that a handwriting expert
couldn't decipher them.
Big department stores are the chief
offenders. Rarely are gift packages
ny~ lay.
IDLY marked. Booksellers and pub
fishing houses rate highest in the es.
timation Of ships stewards. as these
dealers in literature invariably type
write the names Of persons to whom
books are being sent.
In recent years steamship com.
panies have made cOmmendable eff
forts to establish foolproof systems
for the receipt and delivery of bon
voyage packages.
Now and then the failure of bon
voyage package to reach the person
for whom it is intended results in
something akin to tragedy.
A case in point is that OF a young
Bostonian named Cooper, whose
fancee was sailing for brief sojourn
on the Riviera before entering the
port Of matrimony. Mr.. Cooper, be-
ing young business man upon whom
rested heavy responsibilities, was I'M
able to accompany his future wife
to New York to see her off. But he
promised to ''say it with flowers"
He ordered a gorgeous basket Of rare
blossoms delivered to her at the ship.
The basket was delivered all right,
but careless florists clerk, in an
economical mood. used only the lady's
first initial, emitting even the title
Miss. 1t so happened that there were
a number OF passengers aboard that
particular ship whose SurnameS were
the same as that Of the Bostonian's
fiancee. One of these received and
receipted for the flowers, believing
they had been sent by one of her
friends. The expectant fiancee looked
in vain for some sort of message from
her Boston swain, but none was re-
ceived.
There were tears in her eyes when
the ship left the dock, and bitterness
clutchd at her heart. She made many
inquiries at the parcel department OF
the ship and finally went away con-
WINGED that her fiance was thought
less, heartless person, not the kind OF
man she craved as a companion
through life. In Europe, so the story
goes. she entered into the gayeties OF
the season, listened sympathetically to
the wooings Of a French doctor and
eventually married him.
Young Mr.. Cooper could do nothing
about it. The shipping company had
q receipt for the flowers, signed by
person having the same name, even
to the initial. as the addressee. The
fault, Of course, belonged to the care
less clerk in the florists shop, who
failed to write or print the ladys full
name.
IL any one is interested as TO who
are the most popular travellers from
this country-or any other, for that
natter-he may find the answer by
querying almost any ships steward
who handles this happy branch OF the
transatlantic steamship business.