FIJI-NEW ZEALAND EXPEDITION 25 
The sea was again ‘‘lumpy’’ and the party not so happy. The 
ship rolled a good deal in spite of her size and beam, and it was 
chilly everywhere, about the only comfortable place being our 
bunks or the smoking room, and the latter was not at all attrac- 
tive to those inclined to sea sickness. 
May 24th was ‘‘Empire Day’’ and when we asked the captain 
for permission to decorate our table with British and American 
flags he offered to have it done. On going down to dinner we 
found all of the tables and the walls of the dining saloon gay with 
flags of various nations. Our table had a big American flag in 
the middle and groups of British, American, Australian, Canadian 
and New Zealand flags at the ends. We appeared in full dress 
for the occasion while the other male passengers contented them- 
selves with tuxedos. There was dancing on deck in the evening, 
although achieved with some difficulty owing to the lumpy seas. 
The next day was my birthday and I opened the little packages 
stowed away in my suitcase by the dear ones at home, who had 
given instructions not to ‘‘peek’’ until May 25th; their remem- 
branees brightened the day which would otherwise have been a 
rather gloomy one, in fact a homesick one. At dinner, however, 
a grand surprise awaited me, the result of a conspiracy of our 
party, including the ‘‘adopted ladies,’? Miss Hutton and Miss 
Fanning. I imagine that the Stoners and Thomas, old and tried 
companions of a previous expedition, were the chief conspirators, 
aided and abetted by all the others. 
The table was profusely decorated with red, white and blue 
stripes along the middle of the white cloth, and three groups of 
little flags made bright the ends and center, the largest flag being 
‘‘old glory’’ which never seems more beautiful than when one is 
far from home. There was an Iowa pennant at one end and a 
‘*Niagara’’ pennant at the other. I was so dazed and touched by 
this great kindness that I did not at first see a real surprise 
planned by the chief steward. At the top of each menu ecard 
was printed ‘‘ Wishing Mr. C. C. Nutting many happy returns of 
the day.’’ One of these menus signed by all of our party and the 
two women is one of my most valued reminders of the trip. The 
steward presented each one of us with a similar card in an en- 
velope ready for mailing to the home folks. But the recipient of 
all these honors was to be still more completely overwhelmed when 
a huge birthday cake with most elaborate devices in the way of 
frosting after designs by the pastry cook was brought in by the 
