2 and 3, gives admission to three
galleries, two running forward towards Steerage No. 1, and the third
aft towards the engines. The starboard forward gallery is the second
cabin. Away abaft the engines and below the officers' cabins, to
complete our survey of the vessel, there is yet a third nest of
steerages, labelled 4 and 5. The second cabin, to return, is thus a
modified oasis in the very heart of the steerages. Through the thin
partition you can hear the steerage passengers being sick, the rattle
of tin dishes as they sit at meals, the varied accents in which they
converse, the crying of their children terrified by this new
experience, or the clean flat smack of the parental hand in
chastisement.
There are, however, many advantages for the inhabitant of this strip.
He does not require to bring his own bedding or dishes, but finds
berths and a table completely if somewhat roughly furnished. He
enjoys a distinct superiority in diet; but this, strange to say,
differs not only on different ships, but on the same ship according
as her head is to the east or west. In my own experience, the
principal difference between our table and that of the true steerage
passenger was the table itself, and the crockery plates from which we
ate.
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