From Capetown to New Zealand.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 120, 7 March 1901, Page 3

From Capetown to New Zealand.

Bv C. A. Wilson.

(Continued.) Before closing my remarks about ithe Persic’s accommodation for passengers I must not forged to ■.mention tho very good library which ■existed. There was a fairly large book-case full of well selected works, from the standard work on farming ■to the standard novel, and this was placed in a commodious reading room, comfortably seated and having convenient small tables. Hero was also a good piano, so that tho musical portion of the comm unity might entertain or bo entertained. Many were tho songs rendered (as tho newspapers say) and many and various wore the renderings. They were sung in all keys, from Q Hit upwards, and the pitch depended on the amount of wind that had to bo howled down. Of all those songs — somi-classical and real I v comic —one touching fragment swii lingers in my mind and spurs .me onward, raising my thought- and aspirations far above this dull earth to the region of eternal peace. lda;nii/e fragment, gem of song, set in a rough key and m a rougher voice, I pause a moment ere I scad thou onward once more to make glad the heart of woman and of man. As mv memory serves mo the song deals with tho sad trials of a bachelor who renounced his stated : -iugie hlissedncss to bo taken unto hrrsclf by a woman ; and after ad. his thoughts are < ' gras.-,'' s m fh>-e Aw touchimr ■ ■

fn my sir::,•!('• ■>;• ■'■' >■'■ '•'■ v. ' '...:., Bin. wiieii 1 .LMrrioU .uaria I lumped our, of the f ';iogp m 'pure the bio >mui' Hre. Besides the reading-room, where v,ho ladies so iuc-incd, generally preferred to play rJr re w>!-' a emotting-room ami ear.; zomri undor the poop dock and just oppns : io the wed stocked bar, where tobacco cost osßdperlband cuo.i ••;•'• >s (F ■■■ -:: of •-50, n w loden cijg t- t ■■■■ 'ml Ft ~:■•:ng included. beer ran <i -small bottle, gmgerboer od i'or ■•stone bottles, giugor a!c and .lemonade in glass bottdos -;d. : 8 upper, consisting of bread, bis--cnits, cheese and gruel, was served -■at 8 o'clock. An incident, amusing <to all but thochiaf iioto:-, took place «oae evening juit before supper time. A steward was, after tbm •manner of his kind adrve or • allo.it, engaged in transporting ■<: multitude of pitCes from tbo gsbmy to di He rent taules. Tho \V:i.> a little dirty and the ship conso--quenMy rocked, as the Americans •say, "some." Just as the steward was balancing himself to put down these particular piates, which were filled with gruel, the boat gave a lurch, and dishes and steward Ml to the ground, the steward undermost, the gruel next, an 1 the plates occupying the post of honour on top- The steward was up without •dalay and assistance, bit the laughter of all and sundry was too :iauoh for him, aud, with remarks very painful and free, he debarred ior eKinsing purposes to the " glory :hole," where stewards reside when not otherwise engaged. It is rather hard on the stewards that they have to make good ail breakages among tho crockery during the voyage. Their wagos run from 15s a week up (aud a very little way up), and out of this they find uniforms aud clean white shirts, very often. The breakage of -crockery is generally pretty heavy, but on a rough voyage it totals up a goodly number of shillings per man. One day I was standing in the alley-way which ran from starboard to port, past the readingroom. It was a covered-in passage between one set of bathrooms and vthe reading-room, and the chart -was bung there. A rail ran along the side wall, and to this I was hold-in o ' when suddenly the ship gave a tremendous lurch to port, A ffjoup of-passengers —two young ladies, two ladies not young, and .several of the male sex., fruin the proximity of tho cradle to that of the grave —were discus-ing the weather .-at the starboard Slide, and as the vessel almost lay on her beam ends, they had perforce to follow the slope of the deck. This they ■did with considerable celerity. As .they neared me oue o'd lady tried to fold me in her motherly arms, and the young ladies, probably taking pity on my lonely condition, stretched out their little hands to me, while the gentlemen wanted to take me by the arm —so as to take me for a drink, I surmised. But I •was deaf and blind to all appeals. In the words of the poet, u I wasn't having any " cuddling, and also I wasn't thirsty, so I politely

.stepped aside *nd let them pass. There was a sill some nine inches high at the door. When tbey reached this with one eonseut they flung their arms round each other, «,nd were next moment mixed in one picturesque and partly profane baap among the ssa and other water in the scuppers. The noise from below was as that of a bull in a china shop. The tables were laid ior tea and there were no protecting ledges on the 'side of the table, so that jam. and butter fraternised on the floor with the contents of the cruets, saltcellars, sugar basins and pieces, of crockery, while the voice of the stewards - was heard mourning for their wages, for (up to that date) tbey were not. £&> btcontiwed.)