Page:Travel letters from New Zealand, Australia and Africa (1913).djvu/487

 for the gossip of the day. The "Canada's" barber is a German, but speaks French and English. He lived in London four years, and told me today that he found, after learning English in London, that Americans could not understand him very well. Which corroborates my statement that the people of the United States and the English do not speak the same language The man on the "Canada" who has least to do is the barkeeper. I have not seen a single drink ordered in the dining-room. On the "Burgermeister," nearly everyone ordered something from the bar at luncheon and dinner, and paid extra for it, but on the "Canada," two kinds of wine are furnished free. The profit from liquor on the German ship must have been enormous. Two kinds of keg beer, light and dark, were sold, and nearly everybody drank one or the other. The weather was very warm nearly all the time I was on the "Burgermeister," and the cold beer was particularly agreeable. But on the "Canada," I have not seen the barkeeper fill a half-dozen orders. The weather is chilly, and we wear our heaviest winter clothing; besides, there is no German beer on draught This is the sixth day out, and we have had strawberries every day. It is surprising how fresh and palatable the cook manages to make everything taste. We are paying about seven dollars a day each for our accommodations on this ship, which include two rooms on the best deck, a private bath, three of the best meals I have ever eaten, and bouillon at 11, and tea at 4 We would be charged about the same price in the second class on the big Atlantic liners. The "Canada" is a new ship, working for a reputation; that is the only