Sinking of the "Titanic," most appalling ocean horror (1912)

Author: Mowbray, Jay Henry.
Subject: Titanic (Steamship).
Publisher: Harrisburg, Pa., Minter co.
Language: English

CHAPTER I.
FROM A DAY OF DELIGHT TO DEATH.
April 14, 1912, a Fateful Date—Lulled to False Security—Peaceful
Sabbath Ends in Dire Disaster—Hopes Sink Beneath
the Cruel and Treacherous Waves of the Atlantic—Man's
Proudest Craft Crumbles Like an Eggshell
The hands of the ship's clock pointed to 11.40. The beautiful
day of April 14, 1912, rapidly was drawing to its close.
A solemn hush brooded over the ocean, the stillness broken
only by the swish of the waters as they protested against being
so rudely brushed aside by the mammoth creation of man. Then,
too, the soft cadences of sacred music from the ship's orchestra
sent their strains dancing o'er the billows to mingle with the
star beam and intensify rather than mar the stillness.
Above, the stars and planets twinkled and glittered as they
beam only in the rarified atmosphere of the far northern latitudes.
The day had been one of rare beauty. A soft and caressing
breeze had kissed the sea and rocked the waves in a harmonious
symphony against the steel-ribbed sides of the world's largest,
greatest and most luxurious floating palace, the majestic Titanic,
the newest addition to the trans-Atlantic fleet of the White Star
Line of the International Navigation Company.
The star-sprinkled dome of heaven and the phosphorescent
sea alike breathed forth peace, quiet and security.
Despite the lateness of the hour, aboard the Titanic all was
animation. A few, to be sure, had wearied of Nature's marvels
and had sought their slumber, but the gorgeous quarters of the
first cabin and the scarcely less pretentious sections set apart for
second class passengers were alike teeming w4th life and light....Read more