sailors on the "Sonoma," almost without exception, wear blue overalls, and not the wide pantaloons you associate with sailor-men.
There is a wireless apparatus on board, and every
day news of no importance is posted in the companionway.
The night before Christmas, when we were
twenty-four hundred miles out, a good many passengers
sent messages to friends. . . . When you sit
on your porches at home, on summer evenings, you
hear locusts in the trees. Old-fashioned colored people
call them jar-bugs. The wireless, when in operation,
sounds exactly like a locust buzzing: a good many of
the passengers have remarked the similarity. There
are two operators, one of whom is always on duty.
One of them is a tall young fellow who does great stunts
in the swimming-pool, and the other looks and talks
exactly as Lieutenant Rowan did when he carried that
famous message to Garcia.
We had an enjoyable time at our New Year celebration.
First there was an elaborate dinner, followed
by a concert and dance, participated in by the
second-cabin passengers. At the conclusion of the
concert, we all joined hands and sang, "Should Old
Acquaintance be Forgot?" When the dancing began,
quadrilles soon became the fashion, and the affair reminded
me of "a good time" among neighbors who
had known each other many years. Most of the talent
for the concert was furnished by the second cabin,
although the best two numbers came from first-class
passengers. Refreshments were passed around, and
