Diary: Isabel R. Farquhar, 1906.

ON

THE CRUISE

OF THE "ARABIC",

1906.

[pencil note 91.84.4] On The Cruise of the "Arabic," F. C. Clark, Conductor.

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Arrived at Stateroom No. 161 about 11:30 P. M., Wednesday, Feb. 7th, 1906.

Thursday, Feb. 8th. Weather so cold we nearly froze all night; far too cold to sleep soundly, therefore the various noises incident to embarking were amusing. Two or three girls in the stateroom next to us chattered like magpies till the "wee sma' hours," and we certainly, and they probably, were sound asleep when the good ship slipped her moorings at 4:40 A. M., left "Liberty" behind, and introduced us, six hundred and forty-five strong, to the rigorous discipline of shipboard life. Let him laug^h who will, but reely and trely truly," as the little girl said, no passenger on shipboard is free. You see a lovely place where you want your chair to be, out of the wind, put it there, (or your husband puts it there, which amounts to the same thing) and directly somebody comes to you and says: "Madam, you are not allowed to put your chair there." You go through a long, long passage ("companion-way" is it? I don't know) on your way to the deck, only to find the door locked, and you wearily traverse the passage again, to find some other exit.

We have seats at the "second sitting," which is all right for lunch and dinner, but a nine o'clock breakfast is "a long time coming."

To day has been as smooth as possible, with the lovely, friendly Sun shining down upon us. As far as we can judge, our fellow-pasengers are up and well. The library is packed, and quite naturally, for it is the only place inside, except the dining-saloon, where ladies can go;

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it is on the uppermost deck, and necessitates lots and lots of going up and down stairs.

Friday, Feb. 9. Alas and alas! our calm sea of yesterday is transformed by a high wind into "the billowy deep" and when an advertisement says: "This ship is especially steady, and there will be little if any sea-sickness", do not be deceived. The stewards and stewardesses are going in all directions, carrying trays. This evening there were many vacant places at dinner, though we are now in the Gulf Stream, and we see many persons on deck without wraps, and when the wind goes down it will be lovely. When there are over six hundred people on one ship, some of them are sure to be ailing, though it may seem that the ship is full of well people. Not a cozy nook or corner away from "the madding crowd" can be found unoccupied. We have all things in common, smoke and talk and laughter, children playing vociferously, somebody everywhere. H. has a good time talking to the various Washington people on board, and I know not to how many others. I hear his voice from different points while I am sitting in my chair watching the waves. It is so good to have it warm enough to enable us to dispense with wraps. Will the wind ever go down?

This morning a small freight steamer loomed up ahead of us, but in a short time we left it behind. It seemed almost swamped by the waves, and it does surprise one always that so small a craft can safely traverse the mighty ocean. This morning a tremendous wave suddenly broke over the deck, drenching the lady next me, and soaking

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my cap, coat and rug, and forcing us both to run for shelter. Thus the library very soon becomes "too full for utterance."

Saturday, Feb. 10th. Out on deck most of the day, though the continuing high wind took all the pleasure out of being there. The sun would not come out; the ship that "is so steady that there is little, if any seasickness" lurched and rolled, and vacant places at the table, and some breathing space in the library, (even after the rain drove us inside) sufficiently attested the effect of these agencies. Talked with a lady who took this same cruise three years ago, who told me that then they had sunshine every day of the tour. The sailors are reported to say that this bad weather is exceptional. Who is the Jonah?

Sunday, Feb. 11th. Cold, cloudy, windy and rainy. H. found a cozy nook for me, sheltered from the wind, and then he went -- to church in the dining saloon. Out of the thirty or forty ministers on board only one preached, though others took some less important part in the services, which was perhaps more gratifying to the audience than to the ministers. About noon the sea became much calmer, and by dinnertime so many persons had recovered from the "mal de mer" that the ship again seemed crowded. A "service of song" in the evening in the forward dining-saloon was very well attended, and very pleasant. Mrs. Harris, of Boston, had the music in charge, and herself sang a solo.

Monday, Feb. 12. Still windy and cold, with spurts of rain. About noon today a small brig or schooner met us, and the wonder grows that such a craft can outride a storm. Besides the usual "conference"

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this morning there was a celebration this afternoon in honor of the birth of Lincoln. Of course "America" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" were sung, and the usual fulsome speeches made, but in this case two of them, one by Dr. Croffut and the other by a man who had been a member of the President's escort party in Indiana, in February, 1861, were really interesting. In the evening nearly all appeared in their "good clothes" in honor of a complimentary euchre party in the dining saloon. We were of the minority who took no part in it. Had a pleasant chat with Mrs. Power.

Tuesday, Feb. 13. Weather not a bit nice. Cold winds prevailing to such an extent that walking on deck was just impossible, and as for sitting there -- one does not want to freeze, but also on ship board one does want to breathe pure air, so there was continual flitting between the deck and the library. This evening Dr. Power gave an address to a very full house on Granada, Seville and Cadiz. It was extremely interesting, even if encyclopaedic, and everybody enjoyed it. In the ^afternoon Dr. Croffut read the "Arabic Bugle", which was to have been printed, but it was found that the type had been left behind, so there was nothing for it but to assemble the multitude and read it to them. The "Bugle" sparkled with wit from start to finish, and if there were any drooping spirits present surely they must have ^been pulled out of the Slough of Despond. Mrs. Harris showed us a couple of albums filled with pictures pasted on each page, indicating the title of some book, with the name of the author written underneath. They were extremely clever, and I am glad to say that we guessed many, in fact almost all