Shipwrecks -- North Atlantic Ocean -- History -- 20th century; Titanic (Steamship)
Hundreds of letters have been written to us survivors, many containing
photographs for identification of some lost loved one, whom perchance
we may have seen or talked to before he met his fate. To these
numerous inquiries I have been able to reply satisfactorily only in
rare instances. The next and last time I saw Wright was on the
stairway of Deck C within three-quarters of an hour after the
collision. I was going to my cabin when I met him on the stairs going
up. “Hadn’t we better cancel that appointment for to-morrow morning?”
I said rather jocosely to him. “Yes,” he replied, but did not stop to
tell what he then must have known of the conditions in the racquet
court on G Deck, which, according to other witnesses, had at that time
become flooded. His voice was calm, without enthusiasm, and perhaps
his face was a little whiter than usual.
To the swimming pool attendant I also made promise to be on hand
earlier the next morning, but I never saw him again.
One of the characters of the ship, best known to us all, was the
gymnasium instructor, T. W. McCawley. He, also, expected me to make my
first appearance for real good exercise on the morrow, but alas, he,
too, was swallowed up by the sea. How well we survivors all remember
this sturdy little man in white flannels and with his broad English
accent! With what tireless enthusiasm he showed us the many mechanical
devices under his charge and urged us to take advantage of the
opportunity of using them, going through the motions of bicycle
racing, rowing, boxing, camel and horseback riding, etc.
Such was my morning’s preparation for the unforeseen physical
exertions I was compelled to put forth for dear life at midnight, a
few hours later. Could any better training for the terrible ordeal
have been planned?
The exercise and the swim gave me an appetite for a hearty breakfast.
Then followed the church service in the dining saloon, and I remember
how much I was impressed with the “Prayer for those at Sea,” also the
words of the hymn, which we sang, No. 418 of the Hymnal. About a
fortnight later, when I next heard it sung, I was in the little church
at Smithtown, Long Island, attending the memorial service in honor of
my old friend and fellow member of the Union Club, James Clinch Smith.
To his sister, who sat next to me in the pew, I called attention to
the fact that it was the last hymn we sang on this Sunday morning on
board the _Titanic_. She was much affected, and gave the reason for
its selection for the memorial service to her brother because it was
known as Jim’s favorite hymn, being the first piece set to music ever
played by him as a child and for which he was rewarded with a promised
prize, donated by his father.
What a remarkable coincidence that at the first and last ship’s
service on board the _Titanic_, the hymn we sang began with these
impressive lines:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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