"I have never seen or felt the benefits of such royal treatment.
I have heard the captain criticised because he did not
answer telegrams, but all that I can say is that he showed us
every possible courtesy, and if we had been on our own boats,
having paid our fares there, we could not have had better
food or better accommodations.
"Men who had paid for the best staterooms on the
Carpathia left their rooms so that we might have them. They
fixed up beds in the smoking rooms, and mattresses everywhere.
All the women who were rescued were given the best
staterooms, which were surrendered by the regular passengers.
None of the regular passengers grumbled because their trip
to Europe was interrupted, nor did they complain that they
were put to the inconvenience of receiving hundreds of strangers.
"The women on board the Carpathia were particularly
kind. It shows that for every cruelty of nature there is a
kindness, for every misfortune there is some goodness. The
men and women took up collections on board for the rescued
steerage passengers. Mrs. Astor, I believe, contributed $2000,
her check being cashed by the Carpathia. Altogether something
like $15,000 was collected and all the women were provided
with sufficient money to reach their destination after
they were landed in New York.
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