Norris: Diary, July - September, 1904

August Wednesday 31 1904

Weather warm and fine.

Met Dr. Hooker by appointment at his hotel & then went with him to several places, his bankers etc.

Left him and called at American Embassy about 11:30. Gen. Porter out of town. Left card and saw the chargé d'affairs, Mr. Villiers. Talked with him about five minutes and departed. Lunched with Hooker at Marigny & had some of their celebrated Sole. Went to hotel & packed up and drove through the Bois de Bologne & home. Dined at Hotel & called for Hooker & took 9:20 train for Marseilles - in sleeping car.

September Thursday 1 1904

Woke up in Sleeping car amid a complete tranformation of scene and atmosphere. Train stopped for Café au lait at Avignon. Beautiful scenery from there on. High hills pale grey in color blue sky, clear air, temperature 70° F. Ideal day. Arrived at Marseilles 9:30 A.M. on time. Went to "Grand Hotel du Louvre et de la Paix". Good hotel - the best in town I think. Went to Cook's. Then took a cab & drove out to "Parc et Chateau Bocelly" & along the Promenade de la Corniche which is beautiful drive along the Mediterreanen? - White hills, blue water, villas, green patches of trees etc. to The Palais de la Bouillabaisse which is a restaurant with a magnificent view of the Meditteranean? Had a delicious luncheon, very expensive, & ate the celebrated dish to be obtained nowhere else but at this place, as they say, called "Bouillabaise". It is fish cooked in a richly seasoned sauce so blended that it was impossible to determine ingredients of the sauce. Sat on the veranda admiring the view and balmy air for about two hours with Hooker. Returned to hotel & wrote, then took a nap, had dinner at a restaurant near and then sat outside of a café for an hour or so watching the life of the place. It was quite interesting; Soldiers, officers, Moors in their native dress etc. Then retired.

September Friday 2 1904

Ideal day - temperature about 73° F. Embarked about 11:30 A.M. on P. & O. Steamer "Arcadia". Took tender out to her as she did not dock on account of the strike of longshoremen. Nearly all of the shipping of the port tied up but everything quite. Magnificient docks and breakwaters. Steamer sailed at 3:40 P.M. Quite a large passenger list of about 200 mostly all Englishmen, officers and service men on their way to India. The steamer goes to Bombay. Also a few Arabs & Egyptians. One Arab with his three wives who alway sit together & seems to be the best of friends. The sky blue, the water blue & covered with pure white white caps as it is blowing nearly a half gale. The high hills & houses of white with red tiled roofs glistening in the sun.

At dinner, I was separated from Littmann & Hooker and had a seat alone at the captain's table. On my right sat H. H. The Rajar Kumar of Cooch Behar, Then a Mrs White then the captain & opposite sat Mr. K. Burnett & then Mr. & Mrs. Counchman, all English and evidently resident in India. The food good. East Indian table stewards & English room stewards. No moon but beautiful star light night. Retired early. Very large & comfortable state-rooms, wide long promenade decks, in all the most comfortable boat & have ever been on.

September Saturday 3 1904

Weather perfect. Temperature about 73° F. delightful breeze, clear sky, blue water, sea smooth. Passed through the Bonifacio Straits about 6:00 A.M. & then in sight of Sardinia for about an hour & a half. Was invited on the bridge by the 2nd officer, Mr. Kemp in the afternoon & treated very nicely. He rated my watches by his chronometers and gave me a book on navigation to read. Retired early.

September Sunday 4 1904

Weather about 6 A.M. as we approached the straits of Messina was showery, cloudy and sunshiney all at once. Passed through the strait with Italy on one side and Sicily on the other about 7 A.M. Very beautiful with high mountains in sunshine and shadow - fine cloud effects, pretty villiages, and a rainbow spanning part of Sicily and the water. Fine pleasant uneventful day after that, one of those lazy sunshiney days at sea, but weather is getting hotter all the time. Retired early.