C Ihe Ladies c cu. V'VVAN - History and Classics, Department of

12 THE LADIES, THE GWICH'IN, AND THE RATiceberg came drifting by, snow-white and blue, with an excrescence like a teapotspout, rolling over and over in the waves and when nearly submergedlooking like a line of foam.The air grew deadly chill, the fog denser. Strained our eyes to horizon. Wasit a line of foam or low cloud or spouts of steam changing now and then into adarker patch? A world of fog and water "without form and void." That strangeform came drifting nearer, assumed a shape and then came quickly alongside;it was like a huge piece of mainland in ice, cut off and drifting, a sinisterobject with snow-white peaks and edges and dark caves in its face; breakersrolling up against it, hopelessly, uselessly, clouds of fog rising from thebreakers. Strange that a purely cold thing could appear so diabolic andsinister. All day we were watching for those evil white wisps on the grayhorizon. Cold was penetrating and we could not sit still even with three layersof clothing. Talked a good deal to a red-hot Irishman, one Digby Hussy deBurgh. Seemed as if we had been drifting for centuries when at 6 p.m. fogcleared and we steamed ahead.May 2Ist. Cold but sunny. Passed Cape Race at midnight. When it wasgetting dark saw island of Anticosti, gray outline with snow on flattish high topand the gray face of it streaked with snow and again gray sea and gray sky; mostimpressive. Passengers swarming on deck and more sociable.May 22nd. Steamed all day along Gulf of St Lawrence, right bank hidden inhaze and distance, left shore a dismal country, snow patches on brown grassamong brown trees, lines of huts along the bank. Saw a large whale and IIeider-ducks.Sunday, May 23rd. Quebec at 6 a.m., dismal, brown and rainy, desertedwharves. For four hours we were penned, herded, moved about and keptwaiting for train in vast halls where YWCA, Red Cross and every other possibleorganization ever known had little side-rooms. Into the train at last forMontreal.The first lap of the journey was over and we had crossed the Atlantic withoutextreme discomfort. Actually there were two divisions in steerage passengers andwhile we were all berthed aft, the East Europeans, being subject to an infectiouseye disease, were kept by themselves for' ard. In fact, while we were waiting for thecustoms at Southampton a man had come round to all steerage passengers,approaching each one without any warning, to turn up our eyelids and examine