Putnam patriot. [volume] (Putnam, Conn.) 1872-1962, 1929-03-21

shin. The usual completely innane
cries are being called from ship to
shore. Well. never mind, for US the
old tub can't sail too soon.
We wander below. The comfortable
little cabin is wreck Glasses and
BEETLES and cigarette stubs. 4 butch
er's knife might cut the collected
smoke. The devil in the next cabin is
still singing Ramona" The musical
comedy lady is weeping loudly.
The ship becomes fairly silent. We
call for Jones, our Yorkshire steward
and together we sadly mop up the SOU
venirs of those who came down 70 see
us off. We sink into bed. exhausted.
At seven we awake The shin Is
strangely quiet We rush 20 the port
hole and instead OF the broad, swelling
waves Of the Atlantic we are looking
at the side Of the pier at Fifteenth
Street. The ship hasn't sailed az all.
Then suddenly the siren sounds The
ship qnivers, we slide out into the
river. and. seven hours late. the biggest
ship in the world sets out on her six
day journey
Near noon, when New York has sunk
into the sea and the land has faded
from sight, We staFt out on tour OF
investigation. Ii is more of a tour
than you would imagine for the "Ma-
jestie" is big in every sense of the
word. A couple of blocks from eur
cabin we come upon the offices and then
the grand stairway. We mount 10 the
recreation deck. Here is lounge
that puts the ample proportions of any
hotel TO shame. Here is the Ritz res
taurant with its attendant circular
coffee room. On the deck itself the
''chair-hounds" are already cnveloped
in rugs, cycling suspiciously their fell
w-passengers. The indomitahle walk
ers have begun their steady course
round and round the ship. There is a
faint roll, soon TO become healthier and
more persistent, and those green-faeed
ladies who collapse at the slightest
movement of a ship are huddled in
their seven-day agony.
Way up forward, on the very top
deck, with wide windows looking out
over the bow and over the sea we find
the most comfortable. the best-ventilat-
ed smoking room we have ever en-
countered on a ship. This is to be our
nook. Here we have hot hors-d'oeuvres
before lunch and dinner. Here. too,
the inveterate bridge and poker play
ers spend their hours. Here the quiet
readers tuck themselves in a corner
and turn their backs to their fellows.
Here is comparative calm and quiet.
We find friends aboard, and Wind
ham County friends at that. There is
the lady who visits Pomfret annually,
and with her is her dog Rufus" Ru-
fus Is delight He frisks up and
down the deck. wiggles his tail, banks,
and has better time than any passen-
ger in a palatial suite Here. also, are
two charming Bostonians known 20
our corner Of the state. There is the
lady of business making her fifth trip
Of the year. And so our circle is
formed and the davs begin 70 sin
away. We meet for lunch. We walk
in the afternoon. We read in quiet
corner. We dine. We watch the
dancers staggering about the floor as
it tits this way and that. We take
bit of air and then 10 bed.
Gone on the great ships Of the sea
are those days when Messengers he
came easily acquainted, formed cir
eles for deck games and other pas
times, INDUCED in card tournaments
and parted on landing as the best of
new friends, surely to meet again
but seldom remembered afterwards.
The great floating caravansary has
abolished all this. Old friends stick
closely together. They eye their fell
low-passengers curiously. The gaud-
ily dressed buyers en- route TO the
Paris dressmakers form a prominent
group. There are myriad represen-
tatives Of that race that seems TO
travel without eeasing. There are
the English in chubby circle. The
musical comedy lady has bevy
about her. active, nervous young
men. they are, in "beret" and golf
trousers and canvas shoes. In the
evening they dance and dance and
dance. There are the group Of Ameri-
cans bound for Ireland and the hunt
ing. There are bankers going 20 the
Preparations Conference and there
are the quiet souls who are crossing
just 'to get away from il all" OF
such are ships companies made.
Tonight there is excitement aboard.
II is New Years Eve. Below in the
great dining room there is a gala din
ner. In the Ritz all is quiet and
sedate. These exclusive souls await
the gala supper at midnight. In the
lounge a hideous orchestra is playing,
undoubtedly Ramona, and gay
souls float about the fitting floor.
There Is a rough to high following
sea. We are in the devils punch
bowl" mid-Atlantic Once in while,
the Majestic" dips her great nose
into the sea. the propellers rise out Of
the water, the ship quivers from stem
to stern. The dancers are thrown in
a laughing. screaming mass down 70
the end Of the room. And still the
band plays,-usually Ramona"
a.