FIJI-NEW ZEALAND EXPEDITION 21 
The next morning found us gliding through the brilliant green 
Columbian country, partly shrouded in fog and rain, with ocea- 
sional bursts of sunshine, but the day settled fair and clear before 
we reached Vancouver, one of the loveliest cities on the Pacifie 
Coast, where our agent had secured comfortable quarters for us 
at the hotel St. Regis. 
After breakfast we went at once to the office of the Canadian 
Australasian Royal Mail Line, noting in passing that the ‘‘Nia- 
gara’’ was at her dock. Mr. J. C. Irons, General Manager of the 
line, had made very satisfactory arrangements for our comfort. 
He personally conducted us to the ship, introduced us to the eap- 
tain and showed us the staterooms that were to be our home until 
we reached Fiji. In the afternoon we enjoyed a visit to Stanley 
Park, with its superb display of big trees, mostly Douglas firs, 
that remind one of the pillars of some great cathedral. The eve- 
ning was spent in writing last letters to our families and friends 
and also to university authorities explaining a change of plans 
regarding our return voyage. There is always an oppressive sad- 
ness on the evening before sailing that does not lessen as the years 
go by. Indeed, it is to me the most trying time of any voyage 
and always dreaded more than the actual sailing day, which is 
attended with sufficient excitement to crowd out the thoughts that 
otherwise would be saddening. I wished more than once that the 
evening before sailing could be abolished entirely. 
As the ‘‘Niagara’’ would not sail until near midnight, we still 
had a day at our disposal. Mr. Irons had posted us at the Van- 
ecouver Club and some of us took lunch there. The club house is 
one of the finest that I have seen, commanding a superb view 
over the bay and its shipping, and the service is excellent. That 
afternoon Thomas and Stoner went down to attend to the transfer 
of our luggage to the dock and check up on the packages, all of 
which were accounted for and, apparently, in good condition. 
The wharf on ‘‘steamer day’’ is always interesting, and one is 
impressed with the enormous capacity of a great liner as the huge 
piles of merchandise are stowed away with efficiency and dispatch. 
Most of the freight was billed to Sydney, Australia, and we were 
particularly struck with the number of automobiles that were be- 
ing sent out. There were sixty Buicks and many Fords and 
Dodges, the three makes seeming to be the most popular ones in 
Australia. The busy scene always has its fascination; the rush 
of the trucks, the shouts of the stevedores, the clank of the hoist- 
ing engines, and above all, the efficient codrdination amid the seem- 
ing confusion intrigues the imagination as the great steamer grad- 
ually sinks to the loading line. 
