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Show Salt Laker Abroad. The following letter is from a charming charm-ing Salt Lake woman very weil known in social and educational circles, who will spend the next year in the old world with her interesting twin bovs: July 27, 1907. Log book. The wonderful sky ijne of Manhattan isle, the fluttering handkerchiefs on the pier, the widening strip of vellow water between us and the dock, the solemn chords of "There's no place like home" from the orchestra, and then an obsequious German waiter with an upturned up-turned yellow mustache bearing a tray of bouillon cups and an array of sandwiches. sand-wiches. The medley of impressions ended end-ed in a debate as to whether it should be cheese or sardines or ham vr tongue or merely a prudential soda cracker. Dear Mrs. Plummer had come up from down Jersey to say good-by. It was good to see her looking so much better in health and so radiant with affection af-fection and good wishes. She had a basket of fruit and some books, the fruit selected with a view to its being more acceptable later in the voyage when food would have more charms. A few minutes before we sailed Piiil ran up the gangway, hot and hurried, glad to see us. bringing apologies from "my wife" and candy for the boys and an urgent invitation to stop and see them on the way home. He was cordial cor-dial and loving, good-looking as ever, and full of inquiries about Lambert and his family and the folks in Kentucky. Ken-tucky. To go back a bit. The first minute we came aboard wc made a dive for our cabins -I nearly said "staterooms" to see if there was any mail. Was there any? My narrow little lit-tle pigeonhole was full (,f boxes "and baskets but the mail: There were papers pa-pers and packages, and hidden in a sort of secretary, when I was in a terror ter-ror for fear the letters had not come, I 1 founri a great pne ot envelopes. There were four telegrams, which I tore epen at once your most reassuring and comforting one; another from Coz William Wil-liam Kelley. one freun Oip and one for Nell from Mr. Orr. Hugging my letters let-ters I went back on deck to talk to Mrs. Plummer, and not until we were out in the harbor did I have a minute to run through the dear yellow Herald envelopes, and then write a line to you and one to sister, to go back with the pilot. We were barely in time, too. Then Nell insisted that before we were too sick we must get out warm things, arrange cabins, etc. She had bribed the steward to exchange our $20 inside cabins for $100 outside ones, with the use of an extra one for baggage. The boxes of flowers came next. It was so dear of Lambert. Then came yours full of roses and sweet peas and a lovely big bunch of lilies of the valleythe val-leythe ones I love best. (Spike) Asa's box had gorgeous American beauties and sweet peas, and all of thorn were as beautiful as could be. We turned them over to the steward, and the whole dining room, as well as our special table, ta-ble, is still gay with them. The basket of fruit from the Kelleys was as beautiful beau-tiful a thing of the kind as I ever saw grapes, peaches, plums, oranges, pears and here and there the ends of tiny boxes of candy. perpermint creams, lime drops, fruit tablets. Before Be-fore we had finished our "puttering" the bugle had sounded the e-all for luncheon, and the twins, wide-eyed and eager, almost breathless with excitement, excite-ment, were clamoring for food. I was a little timorous myself on the food proposition, but the twins plunged gaily into the bill of fare from soup to fruit. Tk result? The mal do mer! I know you"tvant. to know that. Hear me speak softly under the stars (at 5 p. m. Sunday we are all still well, in spite of the gustatory gymnastics of tho twins, who continue to go gaily from soup to nuts, dallying and experimenting expe-rimenting all down the line). The dining din-ing room is gorgeous in a sedate German Ger-man fashion the waiters are lovely creatures, and the first officer is a thing of beauty. Seriously, I like the German servants from deck steward to the maids below they are so smiling smil-ing and so willing. Not until well into the afternoon could I open the letters. There were thirty-five of them! Did anybody have such dear, dear friends? The most of them were from good old Salt Iike. of course, but there were some from Henderson Hen-derson and Louisville, and Evansville, and even Mrs. Ripley in St. Louis had sent a line, and Mr. Moore from Earl-ington, Earl-ington, and Cousin Margaret from Oco-nomowec Oco-nomowec a half dozen or more were from my girls how so many people knew hpw to reach us I can't imagine. I'm going to read them all over again as the days go by. Wish I could quote a line from this one and that to you. Mr. Bailey's bon mot was that there is no 300-mile limit to the real wireless the kind, sure enough friends have, Mrs. Beatty's sweet message, and Mrs. Bailey's and Mrs. Pearsall's reminis-ence reminis-ence of William's sticky good-by kiss. and dear Grace's word. Miss Johnson's little deck steward and memory of the Azores but I can't mention all of them. When I had gone through the letters the 4 o'clock lemonade and curious little lit-tle German cookies were served, and then I lay back in my chair and gloatedmy gloat-edmy heart, warmed by the expressions expres-sions of affection and so tender with thought of dear ones, and with gratitude grati-tude for the good things that have come to me the sea was sapphire-same sapphire-same old sapphire same old wide horizona hori-zona few "traveling mountains of the sky" cross the blue, and peace, quiet ineffable, I bask in it, I gloat over it I don't even want to walk on the clean white deck or meet the people, though some of them look nice, and glory be, there are only a few of them. It is so still I don't see how anybody can be sick, but I suppose we shall all have a taste before the twelve or fourteen four-teen days are over. In the meantime let us gloat. Nell says this is the ninth steamer she has known, and it is much the steadiest. This has really been written on the second day out Sunday and now, Monday a. m., I must finish the entry. About 4 p. m. Sunday, George grew more and more glassy-eyed and grouchy, and finally went below. William Wil-liam was lonesome, not sick, and followed, fol-lowed, and the two had a fight in their cabin then George went to sleep, luckily. luck-ily. I went to see him from time to time, but he slept on until I wakened him to undress at 10 o'clock. He woke up bright and happy and repentant. He has been calling himself "Paw'V-the "Paw'V-the big man of the expedition. "Well," he said with earnestness, "Paw has seen the folly of his ways. No more fat, greasy pancakes, etc., for Paw. Ho wants easy food." This morning, he is all right, but cocoa and eges were all he dallied with at breakfast, and the candy box knows him no more. The rest are still well and 'appy. July 29. We've been watching some Italians in the steerage dance the Tarantella Ta-rantella to the accompaniment of a wheezy accordeon. (I hope the dancers on the other side will be cleaner and prettier.) We had some dancing in our own part of the vessel when the band played this morning. The boys began their French lessons today. They are greatly stimulated by the ease with which Nell tajkg in German to the servants serv-ants and In French and Italian to some fellow-passengers, and ask constantly.. "what does that mean, auntie?" It reminds re-minds me of the "'hat's at?" (what's that?) period of their existence. Xell is much pleased at the progress they have already made, the start they have and the way they take hold. July 30. The luxury of it all: The waking to a silvery trumpet call, the smiling chamberman who brings you hot "wasser" to drink the delightful deep salt water bath to which a pretty fraulein conducts you, the leisurely breakfast, and then a whole day with no engagements to meet and nothing to do! Last night a star shone through my porthole so sort of bright and cheery and companionable, and the same blessed old moon beamed blandly and .comfortingly, as if it said, "I'm doing the same thing for those mountains moun-tains of yours out there it isn't such a big world after all." A lonely German lad some 22 years old returning from three months in our country to do his year in the German army, walked and talked to mo tonight. to-night. "You are such a fine modder." he said, "to have init your boys. American Amer-ican modders, they are better than German ones; they see and know and help their kinter more. You should hafe fine men and women in your land." His own mother and father he had lost as a child. Father Newman is an Irish priest at Nell's left in the dining room. He lives at St. Joe. Mo., but he is so Irish we can't understand him. Then there's a patronizing Xew Yorker in white flannels at our table, and this German lad not a wildly exciting ex-citing group. There are a few people who look interesting. Our Virginia doctor and his wife are real charming. charm-ing. They want to take William hi the carriage with them to see Gibraltar. Gibral-tar. The little rascal knows everybody on board. George continues to be a little bilious, but cheery for the most part. Xell has picked up amazingly. She is beautifying tonight curling her hair a new way. and she is so weil anil cheery and interested in the boys and in everything. July 21. The (wins have discovered shuffleboard and quoits. The quoits consisting of coils of rope, and it is with great difficulty they held them-selve's them-selve's to the French lesson this morning. morn-ing. The air is so soft and sweet every breath like a caress, a touch of fairy fingers on hair and face and the sea is as still almost as Salt Lake. A little flag on a big map marks our progress from noon to noon. Today-says Today-says we are 1.000 miles from New York, with a limitless horizon eif ocean and nothing between us and the fathomless depths save the decks of the Konigin Luise. Heaven preserve her-and usl August 1. Last night a party on deck were singing "In the Good Old Summer Time." and had just come to "Tootsie Wootsie," when a German officer of-ficer passed. He paused. "Vat- iss a Tootsie Wootsie?" he inquired, politely. polite-ly. A man in the party told him to inquire of some girls close by. The girls blushed and balked, and then the German was informed that "Tootsie Wootsie" is a kind of a sandwich! He answers now to no other name, but takes it smilingly and in good part. And so we fool the time away. Dr. Railand looks like George Lawrence, and is a most interesting Episcopal clergyman, first assistant rector in Grace church. New York. August Just a week from the day we left New York! It seems longer, and yet we are in no hurry for the ship's journey to end. Yesterday we sailed along the Azores. All day it had been misty and we were so fearful of not seeing the islands at all. but the mist finally rolled up like a great gray curtain and there was the stage set for grand opera! This particular island was fresh washed and everything was in place the white and yellow houses, the checkered fields all hedge-bordered then precipitous cliffs with a waterfall water-fall or two leaping in spray to the sea, and a bit of a cove with its church spire and clustered dwellings. You only needed the tenor to come out and wail his woes to firiish the scene as we lay back in our steamer chairs and watedied througn the field glasses. Monday we are due at Gibraltar, and this will he mailed. We plan to stay over several days at Naples, going to Capri, Sorrento. Pompeii, etc. Then on to Genoa by the next Lloyd steamer. I may do a couple of days of the Riviera Ri-viera with Dr. and Mrs. MeGuire. our Virginia friends, and let Nell and the boys push on alone to Geneva. And so endeth the Atlantic letter. August 5. This afternoon comes Gibraltar. Gi-braltar. The men gave the funniest vaudeville in women's clothes original songs and dances for the ladies Saturday Sat-urday night, and we women spent our Sunday writing the "Konigin Luise Foghorn," to be printed today by the purser and presented to the men at dinner. The people improve upon acquaintance. ac-quaintance. I did not want to be sociable, so-ciable, and here I am gregarious as always! |