Oct. 27, 1912

Sunday morning and very quiet. Colombo

looks so pretty from the water. It is

raining so no one thought of going on

shore. The natives came to the boat

with ornaments to sell. They are

such odd looking mortals. The

men have long black hair which

they were in a coil and have a 

funny looking comb stuck in it.

They wear very narrow skirts and

loose white coats. The harbour

is dotted with odd looking little

boats.

October 24, 1912, second time around.....

Have been on deck most of the day.

Read, talked, played with baby and

had a nap. Passed Socotra and

quite a number of smaller islands

about noon. Someone said it was 

the last land we would see until

we  reached Columbo. Had a telegram

 from Jim at Aden telling us he had

a furnished house ready for us. Are

still having a pleasant time. Enjoyed

the crowd in the dining room tonight.

Wore my white dress.

Oct. 15, 1912

Have been feeling rather wretched
since leaving Marseilles but am
quite myself again. Reached
Port Said at five P. M. Went on
shore with Mrs. Reid. Took C.(Catherine)
and Jean Reid with us. Mongolia
anchored a few yards from wharf
so we went in in little rowboats
Port Said is a dirty place but
rather interesting. The shops are

very small. The owners stand

at the door or in the street trying

to coax people to buy. We got some

post cards and candy and I

bought a hand embroidered bag

as a souvenier. No twilight at

Port Said so we only had a very short

time on  shore. After dinner we

went up on the upper deck and watched

them (the natives) coal. They work very swiftly
yelled or sang all the time. The only
light was coal burning in braziers.
All the coal was carried in baskets on
their heads.

 

Oct. 4, 1912

Got up early as we had to
leave the house about nine A.M.
There was such a bustle getting

off. Took a taxi to Liverpool station
and the train from there to Tilbury
Docks. The train was so crowded
that we almost lost our tempers
before we got settled. Enjoyed the
train ride out through the country.
Got on board the boat safely. The
water was too shallow for the "Mongolia"
to come to the Dock so we went out
in a tug. It was such a relief when
we got settled. The day was beautiful
and bright and the water smooth.
The boat left about one and we
 went down for dinner. Had a
lot of trouble over our luggage as
our bedroom steward was about
half drunk. Did not get our suit-
cases until dark. Had a large out-
side main deck cabin and with
the exception of a few days we were very
comfortable and enjoyed our journey

very much. For lunch no seats
were given out. Just sat any place
that was vacant but at three o"clock we go permanent seats from the
head waiter. We were at table No. 7 and had such a nice crowd.
Mr. Cornel, Miss Faris, Mr. Faris
Annie and I on one side Mrs.
Reid, Mr. Parker, Miss Parker and Mr.
A Smith on the other. The boat was
not so very crowded when we left London.