Such a crowd of happenings and impressions have been rushing pellmell at me.... [The ship's concert] was the biggest fiasco imaginable. . . inimitably good, so bad, so screamingly fimny.... Its purpose of amusing was achieved ... #22.11 for the Seamen's Orphanage at L'pool [Liverpool] .... Mr. Crankshaw ... saw his cabin partner asleep on the floor half undressed, his legs under his bunk & his head resting on the legs of a campstool .... There was also a mighty disturbance when a lot of glasses were upset over one or two men etc .... I saw nothing of all this, but slept on gaily.

Suddenly there appeared on the horizon a huge whale-or what looked like one. Land! Land! It was the first view of America .... The sleeping boat became animated ... impossible to find anyone not jumping about & bustling excitedly until we left the boat. There is a peculiar fascination about it: one feels bound to go from one part of the deck to another to try to get a better view . . . an intensely interesting picture was gradually unfolded. You have no idea what it seems to mean as soon as land is sighted .... every thought of the past five days disappears & one reckons everything from land outwards. The whale got bigger & became a hilly island.

Very soon the coast line of Long Island stretched as far as the eye could reach, with its gleams of white representing large watering places. Details became every minute more distinct. Prominent hotels and towers appeared [and] in a short time we were feasting our eyes on Long Beach, Rockaway Beach, Manhattan Beach and the great and only Coney Island with its big wheels, huge towers, etc., at first through opera glasses & then with the good unaided eye. On the other side were the wooded heights of Jersey County. Still a long way out-many miles from N.Y. but always with the feeling that one is already there-we picked up a pilot who threaded us thro' a very narrow channel. We passed the St. Paul going to England with apparently not more than a dozen passengers on board. Numerous tugs dragging out raft barge arrangements of garbage looked very queer. They seem to cart their refuse out to sea & then topple it in.

Harbour of N.Y. It is a glorious harbour once you get thro' the narrow comer past Coney Island. It is as busy a piece of water as I have ever seen. The immense number of huge ferries that cross it in all directions connecting up Jersey City, Brooklyn & N.Y., the Statue of Liberty, a colossal green thing, some islands scattered about such as Ellis Island, the immigration quarters, Covemors Island, the distant Brooklyn Bridge, in the distance a graceful structure, but mostly the nose of N.Y. itself, known as the Battery.

The effect of this in the sunlight is perfectly indescribable. Until you are quite close up to it, it looks like a mighty mountain of massed masonry,.... So every single building is 20 to 30 stories .... It is about as impressive an introduction to the special genius of the American people that one can imagine & one that fairly took my breath away.

FROM THE PRINCESS IRENE, Genoa-New York-1907

An old Atlantic swell, and compliants of headaches came fast and furious. Every baot leaving an Italian port is compelled by Italian law to take for the Italian emigrants a doctor and a Royal commissioner.
....Meanwhile the old boat is jumping about like a mad thing...I think she would roll in dry dock.

It is 14 days since I heard anything at all from the outside world and for all I know the potentates of Europe may be assasinated by now.

There is a Captain's dinner tonight, after which packing, tipping, and good-bye ship...Dance was a miserable failure...is spite of the bunting, pretty colored light bulbs, and variegated flag displays, American dancing is very different than English.

On arrival: The Singer Building has just been run up in a year...and baosts of 42 storeys and 35 metres higher than the Eiffel tower.

[ 01-30-2004: Message edited by: joe at travelpage ]

The impressions from Sea as the approach to NYC takes place are most vivid.

Remember even the first first "skyscrapers" had not been built at that time, so the fabled skyline was not as much in evidence as the closer-in settlements, beaches, and such. Beautifully described.

SS Etruria

The Etruria was built in 1885 by John Elder & Co, Glasgow. She was the sister ship of the Umbria. Her tonnage was 7 718 tons, but after rebuilding in 1890 it was 8 120 tons gross, 3 690 net. Dimensions: length 519 feet x breadth 57 feet. She had straight stem, 2 funnels, 3 masts; steel construction, single screw propulsion,— and triple expansion engines, service speed 19 knots; This made the Eutrurua the fastest of the two sister ships. She had accommodation for 550 passengers in 1st class, 160 in intermediate class, and 800 in steerage. In 1893 the accommodation was altered to 550 passenger 1st class, 160 2nd class and 800 passengers 3rd class (steerage).

titanicsteve:

It was "Lusitania" that was sunk by the Germans... May 1915.

In answer to your question:

Every once in a while I will see a post about, or hear someone say, how much they would like to be able to go back and experience a crossing on Titanic (...minus the sinking of course) or Mauretania or some other early 20th century liner.
While being there for a moment in your nice clean outfit might be fun for a while, did you ever think about the reality of life back then and how different it was from today?

What are some of the aspects of life on an early 20th century liner that might get old quickly?

Like also the Italian ship story special the fallowing remark.

quote:

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It is 14 days since I heard anything at all from the outside world and for all I know the potentates of Europe may be assasinated by now.

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The writter give a litle view in all day European politic's. Not noing that his remark would come through only 7 years later. And start the ww1.

Thanks David.