Page:In defense of Harriet Shelley, and other essays.djvu/305

 ABOUT ALL KINDS OF SHIPS

a bath by the time you get it. In the hotels there are a good many different kinds of noises, and they spoil sleep ; in my room in the ship I hear no sounds. In the hotels they usually shut off the electric light at midnight; in the ship one may burn it in one s room all night.

In the steamer Batavia, twenty years ago, one candle, set in the bulkhead between two staterooms, was there to light both rooms, but did not light either of them. It was extinguished at eleven at night, and so were all the saloon lamps except one or two, which were left burning to help the passenger see how to break his neck trying to get around in the dark. The passengers sat at table on long benches made of the hardest kind of wood; in the Havel one sits on a swivel chair with a cushioned back to it. In those old times the dinner bill of fare was always the same : a pint of some simple, homely soup or other, boiled codfish and potatoes, slab of boiled beef, stewed prunes for dessert on Sundays &quot;dog in a blanket,&quot; on Thursdays &quot;plum duff.&quot; In the modern ship the menu is choice and elaborate, and is changed daily. In the old times dinner was a sad occasion; in our day a concealed orchestra enlivens it with charming music. In the old days the decks were always wet ; in our day they are usually dry, for the promenade-deck is roofed over, and a sea seldom comes aboard. In a moderately disturbed sea, in the old days, a landsman could hardly keep his legs, but in such a sea in our day the decks are as level as a table. In the old days the inside of a ship was the plainest and barrenest thing, and the most dismal

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