As soon as the last good-bys were said, and the steamer had cut
loose from the wharf, the load of care, anxiety, and responsibility
which I had carried for eighteen years began to lift itself from my
shoulders at the rate, it seemed to me, of a pound a minute. It was
the first time in all those years that I had felt, even in a measure,
free from care; and my feeling of relief it is hard to describe on
paper. Added to this was the delightful anticipation of being in
Europe soon. It all seemed more like a dream than like a reality.
Mr. Garrison had thoughtfully arranged to have us have one of the
most comfortable rooms on the ship. The second or third day out I
began to sleep, and I think that I slept at the rate of fifteen hours
a day during the remainder of the ten days' passage. Then it was that
I began to understand how tired I really was. These long sleeps I
kept up for a month after we landed on the other side. It was such an
unusual feeling to wake up in the morning and realize that I had no
engagements; did not have to take a train at a certain hour; did not
have an appointment to meet some one, or to make an address, at a
certain hour. How different all this was from the experiences that I
have been through when travelling, when I have sometimes slept in
three different beds in a single night!
When Sunday came, the captain invited me to conduct the religious
services, but, not being a minister, I declined.
Pages:
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271