My Wonderful Year | Page 2

in Great Britain, or to parallel and verify the knowledge they already have derived from English literature ; others are for those who have never crossed the ocean, but have a pleasant and wholesome curiosity regarding British ways and sights. Miss Turner's book is of this kind. She went to England an impressionable stranger, ready for a whole experience of the world she had known in literature. That experience she has recorded as amply as her space permitted, and with an explicitness and clearness to make good reading for anyone. She has given a general impression and at the same time has not despised small details or customary daily performance. Through it all she has conveyed the enjoyment and gratification the year afforded her. It is pleasant to read of so happy a year.
On one point Miss Turner is especially to be commended, and that is the courtesy of her manner. So many have written superciliously or pertly about England, sometimes with more egotism than real observation, that it is a special merit to carry politeness all through the account. One can see that England has had an agreeable visitor, who has appreciated to the full the charms and hospitality of the older country.
Margaret Lynn

TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. LIFE ON SHIPBOARD
II. ENGLAND
III. COLLEGE HALL
IV. LONDON
V. LONDON LANDMARKS
VI. THE ROYAL FAMILY
VII. THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
VIII. ENGLISH SHRINES
IX. THE ENGLISH COUNTRY-SIDE
X. BONNIE SCOTLAND
XL GERMANY
XII. BELGIUM AND HOLLAND
XIII. FRANCE
XIV. HOME AGAIN

My Wonderful Year
CHAPTER I
LIFE ON SHIPBOARD
My first big thrill of the anticipated trip to Europe came on December 30, 1934, when the members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority were guests of the N.B.C. Studios in New York City, and I heard my name broadcast as the recipient of the Fourth Alpha Kappa Alpha Foreign Fellowship.
With a very happy heart, I left my home Kansas City, Kansas for New York City on September 15, 1935, accompanied by my mother and my cousin, who were more thrilled than I, for they were going to see the World's largest ship, while I was going to make that ship my home for several days, but a home that might not be very pleasant, for lurking in the recesses of my mind was the dread thought of seasickness.
If I had any fear about going so far away from my family and friends, it was immediately dispelled when I walked into my cabin on September 24, and found flowers, telegrams, letters, and gifts.
The Normandie is the world's largest and fastest ship. It can accommodate two thousand passengers and has a crew of thirteen hundred. For entertainment one can find almost as many pleasures as there are in a big city concerts in the grand salon, bridge tournaments, cinemas, mechanical horse races, a night club in the cafe grill, a library with books in all languages, shops, a game room, a gymnasium, a swimming pool, a lounge, a sun deck, and for one's more meditative moods, a chapel.
My cabin Number 828 had accommodations for three persons, but I was the sole occupant. The color scheme of green was very restful. For furnishings it contained two four poster beds, one upper bed, three wardrobes with full length mirrors on the doors, a writing desk, a book shelf over each bed, a wash bowl with numerous gadgets, two comfortable lounge chairs, one desk chair, a luxurious rug on the floor, and lights very conveniently arranged.
If you enjoy being catered to and waited upon, and I do, there are numerous people at your beck and call on shipboard. In fact they do not have to see your beck or hear your call. There is the cabin steward, who among other duties such as taking care of the cabin, brings you the daily paper, which is printed in both French and English. One does not have to lose contact with the outside world just because he is in mid-ocean. The fernme de chambre or chambermaid offers any personal assistance one may desire. For me she arranged my flowers and turned down my bed each night- A petit gargon or young messenger boy, who is quite handsome in his uniform, is on duty in the corridor. > I had nothing special for him to do, but he brought me some mail and a package one afternoon, and then it was my turn to acknowledge his presence. Taking a bath on board ship is somewhat of a routine. One tells the femme de chambre at what hour one would like to bathe, then she tells the bath attendant who comes to tell you that the hour is convenient, and about five minutes before the hour he notifies you that your bath is ready. While on deck, a deck steward hovers about you. It is his delight to keep you well wrapped in your beautiful, wooly blanket.