Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - II. The White City
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has been proofread at least once.
(diff)
(history)
Denna sida har korrekturlästs minst en gång.
(skillnad)
(historik)
gnat nibbles at a dead chafer. The Danish flag over
the stern shines like a poppy in the sun.
Far out ahead are countless columns of smoke, great
pines rising skyward like hundreds of factory
chimneys. This is one of the highways of the ocean.
Under the smoky pine nearest us rises a hull coming
our way. It passes us, disappearing in its own wake -
and again one, and another, and so on forever. Great
ten-thousand-ton steel monsters push their panting
masses forward with the aid of twin screws, spew forth
ugly yellow water from their sides, and drag along a
wake of cinders, kitchen-garbage and shining coal dust
over which the choking smoke pall hangs suspended
blue-black like a stormy sky. These are the great
coal ships for Gibraltar, Malta and Port Said.
There comes a festive glow over the water; polished
ivory and gilding, bright brass trimmings and the
twinkle of countless moon-like portholes. The four
chimneys of this great hull emit no smoke, only
warmth. The two promenade decks, one above the
other, are filled with fashionably-dressed ladies and
gentlemen strolling about or reclining in deck chairs;
black-clad waiters dart to and fro among them. We
hear the orchestra from the saloon as the ship passes
us by. Over the white water of its wake hover lovely
sea-gulls which catch in the air the bits thrown to them
from the after-deck by little children with golden locks
and bare knees. It is a steam packet proceeding to
India with English military officers and government
officials on board; it passes by like a glad vision and is
gone from sight in half an hour.
Many little steamers are met, are overtaken by us -
or they overtake us. About half of them are
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
