The SS Ethiopa drew into a grimy Port Glasgow dock at 3 o'clock this morning, delayed eleven hours by a storm of such ferocity that Moville was closed to all movements; and when we were eventually able to leave, the four hour crossing had taken twice that time. Mary was sick from the swell and it was with some relief that we at last reached our hotel, the Tontine in Greenock.
We had spent a glorious fortnight meandering the lanes and byways of Northern Ireland, and Glasgow was to be the starting point for the second chapter of our honeymoon. It was far too early for certainty, of course, but I was sure that I had glimpsed a mother-to-be glint in Mary's eye. Our few short weeks of married life had been blissful; but little did I know how quickly this was to change. I took the telegram handed to me by the bell-boy at the reception desk; and when I saw the signatory "Ochs", I knew at once the importance of this message. The owner of the New York Times had deemed this matter of sufficient urgency to contact me directly and instruct me to travel with the utmost haste to China.
I had been keeping a journalist's eye on the developing situation, and I was aware of the growing threat from the Boxers, and that the Legations in Peking were in imminent danger of being overrun. I was familiar with the general concerns, but little of specific note had appeared in the British press; and in Ireland it had proved difficult to find news from America. The bell-boy was able to find a two-week old copy of the New York Times and from the words of the Peking Correspondent, it was clear that the situation was, in fact, critical and that I must leave immediately.
Mary read the telegram and The New York Times article several times and I knew that she understood the inevitability of our urgent departure. This had ruined our newly-wed time together, though, and under no circumstances would she accept my plan to return to Port Glasgow before we had even unpacked. We could have made the departure of the SS Astoria, leaving for New York at 8 o'clock, but she refused and for the first time I saw the mix of hurt and anger that was another side of her; a side I neither knew nor wished to see more of. We agreed instead that we would join the SS Furnessia, leaving at 10 o'clock the next morning. This would see us in New York by July 5th; then to the Lamson family home in New Jersey where Mary would stay for the duration of my trip. I would then take the train to San Francisco, arriving on the 9th or 10th.
This itinerary left little room for time-slips but it was a workable plan and, in truth, I was excited at the prospect of another commission, in another theatre, in another country. I knew, though, that there would not be many more; tinged by the regret of being apart, the excitement would never be the same.
We had spent a glorious fortnight meandering the lanes and byways of Northern Ireland, and Glasgow was to be the starting point for the second chapter of our honeymoon. It was far too early for certainty, of course, but I was sure that I had glimpsed a mother-to-be glint in Mary's eye. Our few short weeks of married life had been blissful; but little did I know how quickly this was to change. I took the telegram handed to me by the bell-boy at the reception desk; and when I saw the signatory "Ochs", I knew at once the importance of this message. The owner of the New York Times had deemed this matter of sufficient urgency to contact me directly and instruct me to travel with the utmost haste to China.
I had been keeping a journalist's eye on the developing situation, and I was aware of the growing threat from the Boxers, and that the Legations in Peking were in imminent danger of being overrun. I was familiar with the general concerns, but little of specific note had appeared in the British press; and in Ireland it had proved difficult to find news from America. The bell-boy was able to find a two-week old copy of the New York Times and from the words of the Peking Correspondent, it was clear that the situation was, in fact, critical and that I must leave immediately.
Mary read the telegram and The New York Times article several times and I knew that she understood the inevitability of our urgent departure. This had ruined our newly-wed time together, though, and under no circumstances would she accept my plan to return to Port Glasgow before we had even unpacked. We could have made the departure of the SS Astoria, leaving for New York at 8 o'clock, but she refused and for the first time I saw the mix of hurt and anger that was another side of her; a side I neither knew nor wished to see more of. We agreed instead that we would join the SS Furnessia, leaving at 10 o'clock the next morning. This would see us in New York by July 5th; then to the Lamson family home in New Jersey where Mary would stay for the duration of my trip. I would then take the train to San Francisco, arriving on the 9th or 10th.
This itinerary left little room for time-slips but it was a workable plan and, in truth, I was excited at the prospect of another commission, in another theatre, in another country. I knew, though, that there would not be many more; tinged by the regret of being apart, the excitement would never be the same.
New York Times - June 9th 1900
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