My Wonderful Year | Page 2

and reassuring when we find the same pleasantness
in an American book about England, as we do in this one of Miss
Turner's.
There are two kinds of books about England. Some are written chiefly
to remind readers of their own happy experiences 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.