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Top left-hand corner:
Be sure you write to Lil where you left the key. Address her at 11 E. 33rd it will be forwarded.
The rest of the letter:
SS “Canada” - June 20th
Dear Mother:
I presume this will be a diary begun a little late. I have sent three cards with a limited amount of information. We had a very pleasant day in Montreal although it was very hot. We went to the Dominion where I met Mr. McFarlane one of the grand moguls and Capt. Reid. Captain Reid took us to the boat and introduced us to Captain Jones of the “Canada”. After that Miss Dover took us over McGill. It is a fine looking place with gray stone buildings. After dinner Miss Dover took us to call on the Reids and Mr. Kirkpatrick (Mrs. Reid’s father). Miss Toopher and I went to the boat abt nine oclock. We gave our suit-cases to two sailors to carry on the boat and they hunted up our trunks to see that they were put on. The trunks were put on all right but when we got to our rooms our suit-cases were not there. We hunted over the docks and every deck and every place where they might have been put until the room steward told us there was no use hunting any more that night. The next morning Miss Toopher and I made a house to house canvas of the boat. We knocked at every door and if any one was in we asked abt the suit-cases, if no one was there we looked arnd and under the bunks. I felt like an inspector. We did not find it until I asked the steward about rooms 180 and 172 and then he said he would look there although it was the steerage, and that is where they were. Since then life has gone very smoothly and I am enjoying my bags. They are all useful - each one more useful than the last. My room is an excellent one. It couldn’t be better unless it were an outside one. For the first two nights I had it alone but now Miss Toopher is in with me. She was in a four berth room with not very pleasant people so I asked for her to come in with me. We are very comfortable.
It rained the day we were in Quebec while we were out seeing the town. We had had all our money changed to English money except 50¢ so I jewed a cabman from 75¢ to 50¢ to take us back to the boat. We saw a good deal of Quebec before it rained. We took the street cars and then walked wherever it looked interesting and asked what we were looking at. I asked a little boy why certain other lads wore green sashes and he was French and did not understand me. I asked in front of the “Palais de Justice” (Court House) and he said they were students in Laval seminary - a Catholic seminary. What do you think of that for curiosity?
Yesterday was a perfectly beautiful sunny. I forgot that it was Sunday until church services were announced. Of course I went. It was the Church of England service with prayers for King George, Queen Mary, Queen Alexandra and all the royal family. The man who sits opposite Miss Toopher at the table, Mr. Dart of Montreal, conducted the services. I think he was introduced to me as “the Reverend Dean Dart”. Lt. Col. Whitley of Montreal sits opposite me. He is a gay old boy who aspires to be a lady-killer. He makes up for the iceberg on my right, Mrs. Boyle of Montreal. Most of the people on board are from Montreal, I think. At least they are British. I have an infallible test if only I can see them eat. The ambition of my life is to eat a pudding by poking it onto a desert spoon with a fork.
Sunday morning Mrs. Godley came to my room with a letter frm Mrs. Johnson. I have had a fine time with both Mr. and Mrs. Godley. Mrs. Godley is a great deal like Mrs. Braden, especially as she used to be. She is musical and studied music in Oberlin about twenty years ago. She’s very interesting. Mr. Godley is fat and jolly. I am very glad to know them. I have not met a great many people yet. There are countless ministers. There’s a fat alderman from Chicago, Mr. Ryan. There are several babies and a good many children.
Yesterday we saw several whales spouting. They were too far away to show as anything but a black spot. Today it is cold and rainy. It began to rain after lunch and is somewhat foggy. I have needed all my heavy clothes and wished I had my mittens.
I am going for a walk to warm up.
June 22nd
I did not feel like writing yesterday. I was not sick except a little around dinner time but I felt wobbly. We got into the Strait of Belle Isle Monday evening but I was all right then and slept like a log all night although almost everybody else was awake. There was a fog and the fog horn went all night. Besides that the boat stopped about an hour on account of a disabled ship. However four other boats went to its rescue so we did not need to. I did not awaken when the boat stopped or started. We have been on the open sea since yesterday morning and we are still having fog - but not a very dense fog. It was fearfully cold Monday and Tuesday but is a little less cold today. On Monday we saw an iceberg. It was a beauty. It was the shape of a church and was a beautiful pale green. We did not seem to be very far away - I heard it estimated from ¼ to 2 mi probably the latter. I am sorry the sun did not come out and shine on it - I think it would have been even more effective than the moon or the ...t [??? sunset maybe?] If it was not so foggy we should probably see more icebergs.
There are two very pleasant ladies who have chairs beside us on the deck - two widows Mrs. Dale and Mrs. Poustel [???] (pronounced Pōstel). They are from Montreal and are friends of the Reids so they are also at the Captain’s table. We have walked the deck with them a good many times.
We have bouillon and crackers served on deck every morning at 10:30, and tea and gingersnaps every afternoon at 4:00. I had my breakfast served on deck this morning. I did not like the smell of the dining room.
I received a lot of steamer letters: from Lil, Eunice, Sara, Clara Jones, Helen Jorsly [???], Miss Grace Smith, Dr. + Mrs. Cowles, Anne Starr, Grace Charles + a photograph from Edwin. Dr. Coombs had a limerick written for the occasion.
Thursday, June 23.
It was cloudy today but was not foggy this morning. This afternoon it is growing foggy. Yesterday about dinner time we passed the S.S. “Dominion” but could not see her, although we could hear the foghorn. The wind has turned to the north and that may blow away the fog. It is the south wind that causes fog. We are pretty far north, far enough so that it is light until late at night. I went to bed at 9:30 last night and it was still light. I was too sleepy to stay up to see when it got dark.
I saw a woman smoking cigarettes yesterday - a stunning looking widow from Toronto, Mrs. Sankey. Mrs. Godley said she let her little boy and girl take whiffs at her cigarette.
June 25th
We are having rougher weather today. There is a good deal of roll to the boat, but everybody says this is a remarkably steady boat so it isn’t as bad as it might be. I have been eating all my meals but I don’t want much but oranges. It has been less foggy for the last two days, but is rather cloudy most of the time.
Last night we had a concert. They always give one for the benefit of the Seaman’s home. It was a queer concert, but part of it was good. Four men sang solos and that was the good part. The Alderman, Mr. Ryan, presided and made a speech. I never heard so little spread out so long. The Canadians did not like it that he presided - they said “why don’t they have somebody that is somebody?” It wouldn’t have been so bad if he had been a really funny [???] but he was merely pompous and fat. (He has the alderman figure.)
I have had delightful times with the Godleys. I hope to take a picture of them sometime today. They are both very interesting. The more I see of Mrs. Godley the more she reminds me of Mrs. Braden.
Landed Sunday noon, June 27th
In Warwick.
Having a fine time.
Alma.
Send my letter to Eva + Lil + the family
Be sure you write to Lil where you left the key. Address her at 11 E. 33rd it will be forwarded.
The rest of the letter:
SS “Canada” - June 20th
Dear Mother:
I presume this will be a diary begun a little late. I have sent three cards with a limited amount of information. We had a very pleasant day in Montreal although it was very hot. We went to the Dominion where I met Mr. McFarlane one of the grand moguls and Capt. Reid. Captain Reid took us to the boat and introduced us to Captain Jones of the “Canada”. After that Miss Dover took us over McGill. It is a fine looking place with gray stone buildings. After dinner Miss Dover took us to call on the Reids and Mr. Kirkpatrick (Mrs. Reid’s father). Miss Toopher and I went to the boat abt nine oclock. We gave our suit-cases to two sailors to carry on the boat and they hunted up our trunks to see that they were put on. The trunks were put on all right but when we got to our rooms our suit-cases were not there. We hunted over the docks and every deck and every place where they might have been put until the room steward told us there was no use hunting any more that night. The next morning Miss Toopher and I made a house to house canvas of the boat. We knocked at every door and if any one was in we asked abt the suit-cases, if no one was there we looked arnd and under the bunks. I felt like an inspector. We did not find it until I asked the steward about rooms 180 and 172 and then he said he would look there although it was the steerage, and that is where they were. Since then life has gone very smoothly and I am enjoying my bags. They are all useful - each one more useful than the last. My room is an excellent one. It couldn’t be better unless it were an outside one. For the first two nights I had it alone but now Miss Toopher is in with me. She was in a four berth room with not very pleasant people so I asked for her to come in with me. We are very comfortable.
It rained the day we were in Quebec while we were out seeing the town. We had had all our money changed to English money except 50¢ so I jewed a cabman from 75¢ to 50¢ to take us back to the boat. We saw a good deal of Quebec before it rained. We took the street cars and then walked wherever it looked interesting and asked what we were looking at. I asked a little boy why certain other lads wore green sashes and he was French and did not understand me. I asked in front of the “Palais de Justice” (Court House) and he said they were students in Laval seminary - a Catholic seminary. What do you think of that for curiosity?
Yesterday was a perfectly beautiful sunny. I forgot that it was Sunday until church services were announced. Of course I went. It was the Church of England service with prayers for King George, Queen Mary, Queen Alexandra and all the royal family. The man who sits opposite Miss Toopher at the table, Mr. Dart of Montreal, conducted the services. I think he was introduced to me as “the Reverend Dean Dart”. Lt. Col. Whitley of Montreal sits opposite me. He is a gay old boy who aspires to be a lady-killer. He makes up for the iceberg on my right, Mrs. Boyle of Montreal. Most of the people on board are from Montreal, I think. At least they are British. I have an infallible test if only I can see them eat. The ambition of my life is to eat a pudding by poking it onto a desert spoon with a fork.
Sunday morning Mrs. Godley came to my room with a letter frm Mrs. Johnson. I have had a fine time with both Mr. and Mrs. Godley. Mrs. Godley is a great deal like Mrs. Braden, especially as she used to be. She is musical and studied music in Oberlin about twenty years ago. She’s very interesting. Mr. Godley is fat and jolly. I am very glad to know them. I have not met a great many people yet. There are countless ministers. There’s a fat alderman from Chicago, Mr. Ryan. There are several babies and a good many children.
Yesterday we saw several whales spouting. They were too far away to show as anything but a black spot. Today it is cold and rainy. It began to rain after lunch and is somewhat foggy. I have needed all my heavy clothes and wished I had my mittens.
I am going for a walk to warm up.
June 22nd
I did not feel like writing yesterday. I was not sick except a little around dinner time but I felt wobbly. We got into the Strait of Belle Isle Monday evening but I was all right then and slept like a log all night although almost everybody else was awake. There was a fog and the fog horn went all night. Besides that the boat stopped about an hour on account of a disabled ship. However four other boats went to its rescue so we did not need to. I did not awaken when the boat stopped or started. We have been on the open sea since yesterday morning and we are still having fog - but not a very dense fog. It was fearfully cold Monday and Tuesday but is a little less cold today. On Monday we saw an iceberg. It was a beauty. It was the shape of a church and was a beautiful pale green. We did not seem to be very far away - I heard it estimated from ¼ to 2 mi probably the latter. I am sorry the sun did not come out and shine on it - I think it would have been even more effective than the moon or the ...t [??? sunset maybe?] If it was not so foggy we should probably see more icebergs.
There are two very pleasant ladies who have chairs beside us on the deck - two widows Mrs. Dale and Mrs. Poustel [???] (pronounced Pōstel). They are from Montreal and are friends of the Reids so they are also at the Captain’s table. We have walked the deck with them a good many times.
We have bouillon and crackers served on deck every morning at 10:30, and tea and gingersnaps every afternoon at 4:00. I had my breakfast served on deck this morning. I did not like the smell of the dining room.
I received a lot of steamer letters: from Lil, Eunice, Sara, Clara Jones, Helen Jorsly [???], Miss Grace Smith, Dr. + Mrs. Cowles, Anne Starr, Grace Charles + a photograph from Edwin. Dr. Coombs had a limerick written for the occasion.
Thursday, June 23.
It was cloudy today but was not foggy this morning. This afternoon it is growing foggy. Yesterday about dinner time we passed the S.S. “Dominion” but could not see her, although we could hear the foghorn. The wind has turned to the north and that may blow away the fog. It is the south wind that causes fog. We are pretty far north, far enough so that it is light until late at night. I went to bed at 9:30 last night and it was still light. I was too sleepy to stay up to see when it got dark.
I saw a woman smoking cigarettes yesterday - a stunning looking widow from Toronto, Mrs. Sankey. Mrs. Godley said she let her little boy and girl take whiffs at her cigarette.
June 25th
We are having rougher weather today. There is a good deal of roll to the boat, but everybody says this is a remarkably steady boat so it isn’t as bad as it might be. I have been eating all my meals but I don’t want much but oranges. It has been less foggy for the last two days, but is rather cloudy most of the time.
Last night we had a concert. They always give one for the benefit of the Seaman’s home. It was a queer concert, but part of it was good. Four men sang solos and that was the good part. The Alderman, Mr. Ryan, presided and made a speech. I never heard so little spread out so long. The Canadians did not like it that he presided - they said “why don’t they have somebody that is somebody?” It wouldn’t have been so bad if he had been a really funny [???] but he was merely pompous and fat. (He has the alderman figure.)
I have had delightful times with the Godleys. I hope to take a picture of them sometime today. They are both very interesting. The more I see of Mrs. Godley the more she reminds me of Mrs. Braden.
Landed Sunday noon, June 27th
In Warwick.
Having a fine time.
Alma.
Send my letter to Eva + Lil + the family
audio---images---comment---transcript---~NOTES~---links---site navigation
1.
SS “Canada” - June 20th
https://greatships.net/canada
The greatships website has pictures of the SS Canada and says, in part:
Despite the caption which appears on several of the cards below, the "White Star-Dominion Line" did not actually exist. This was the title given to a passenger service operated jointly by the White Star Line and the Dominion Line, both of which were part of J.P. Morgan's International Mercantile Marine. This service operated from 1908 until 1926, although the Dominion Line effectively ceased to exist in 1921, when ownership of all of its ships was transferred to IMM's Leyland Line. In 1926, when the last of Dominion's fleet was scrapped, this service was renamed the White Star Line Canadian Service.
Canada was one of Dominion's original contributions to the "White Star-Dominion Line." Built by Harland & Wolff, Belfast, she was launched in 1896 and took her maiden voyage, Liverpool-Québec-Montréal, on 1 October 1896. During the Boer War (1899-1902) she served as a troop transport, but otherwise she served Canada during the summers and Boston in winter. In August 1914, while in Canada, she was taken over and used to transport troops to England. Upon her arrival there, she was used as an accommodation ship for German prisoners for the rest of the year. From 1915 until the end of World War I, she was used as a transport ship.
2.
We knocked at every door and if any one was in we asked abt the suit-cases, if no one was there we looked arnd and under the bunks.
So, no locks on the cabin doors.
3.
I asked a little boy why certain other lads wore green sashes and he was French and did not understand me. I asked in front of the “Palais de Justice” (Court House) and he said they were students in Laval seminary - a Catholic seminary.
Wikipedia says:
The Seminary of Quebec (French: Séminaire de Québec) is a Roman Catholic community of priests in Quebec City founded by Bishop François de Laval, the first bishop of New France in 1663.
4.
It was the Church of England service with prayers for King George, Queen Mary, Queen Alexandra and all the royal family.
King Edward VII had died only just recently, on May 6.
5.
We got into the Strait of Belle Isle Monday evening but I was all right then and slept like a log all night although almost everybody else was awake.
Strait of Belle Isle - Wikipedia says:
The Strait of Belle Isle (/ˌbɛl ˈaɪl/; French: Détroit de Belle Isle [bɛl il]) is a waterway in eastern Canada that separates the Labrador Peninsula from the island of Newfoundland, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The strait is the northern outlet for the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the other two being the Cabot Strait and Strait of Canso. As such, it is also considered part of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system. The strait is approximately 125 kilometres (80 miles) long and ranges from a maximum width of 60 km (37 mi) to just 15 km (9 mi) at its narrowest, the average width being 18 km (11 mi).
6.
The last bit - Landed Sunday noon, June 27th In Warwick. Having a fine time. - was written in less leisurely handwriting, so I assume Alma was now in Warwick, England, since Warwick St. in Liverpool is not next to the water.
SS “Canada” - June 20th
https://greatships.net/canada
The greatships website has pictures of the SS Canada and says, in part:
Despite the caption which appears on several of the cards below, the "White Star-Dominion Line" did not actually exist. This was the title given to a passenger service operated jointly by the White Star Line and the Dominion Line, both of which were part of J.P. Morgan's International Mercantile Marine. This service operated from 1908 until 1926, although the Dominion Line effectively ceased to exist in 1921, when ownership of all of its ships was transferred to IMM's Leyland Line. In 1926, when the last of Dominion's fleet was scrapped, this service was renamed the White Star Line Canadian Service.
Canada was one of Dominion's original contributions to the "White Star-Dominion Line." Built by Harland & Wolff, Belfast, she was launched in 1896 and took her maiden voyage, Liverpool-Québec-Montréal, on 1 October 1896. During the Boer War (1899-1902) she served as a troop transport, but otherwise she served Canada during the summers and Boston in winter. In August 1914, while in Canada, she was taken over and used to transport troops to England. Upon her arrival there, she was used as an accommodation ship for German prisoners for the rest of the year. From 1915 until the end of World War I, she was used as a transport ship.
2.
We knocked at every door and if any one was in we asked abt the suit-cases, if no one was there we looked arnd and under the bunks.
So, no locks on the cabin doors.
3.
I asked a little boy why certain other lads wore green sashes and he was French and did not understand me. I asked in front of the “Palais de Justice” (Court House) and he said they were students in Laval seminary - a Catholic seminary.
Wikipedia says:
The Seminary of Quebec (French: Séminaire de Québec) is a Roman Catholic community of priests in Quebec City founded by Bishop François de Laval, the first bishop of New France in 1663.
4.
It was the Church of England service with prayers for King George, Queen Mary, Queen Alexandra and all the royal family.
King Edward VII had died only just recently, on May 6.
5.
We got into the Strait of Belle Isle Monday evening but I was all right then and slept like a log all night although almost everybody else was awake.
Strait of Belle Isle - Wikipedia says:
The Strait of Belle Isle (/ˌbɛl ˈaɪl/; French: Détroit de Belle Isle [bɛl il]) is a waterway in eastern Canada that separates the Labrador Peninsula from the island of Newfoundland, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The strait is the northern outlet for the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the other two being the Cabot Strait and Strait of Canso. As such, it is also considered part of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system. The strait is approximately 125 kilometres (80 miles) long and ranges from a maximum width of 60 km (37 mi) to just 15 km (9 mi) at its narrowest, the average width being 18 km (11 mi).
6.
The last bit - Landed Sunday noon, June 27th In Warwick. Having a fine time. - was written in less leisurely handwriting, so I assume Alma was now in Warwick, England, since Warwick St. in Liverpool is not next to the water.
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