Charlotte in New York (3 page)

Honfleur harbor at low tide

May 8, 1894

On board the Champagne
Somewhere at sea

I was so happy to see everyone at the dock, especially Lizzy. And Mama brought Raymonde! I would have missed her cooking if she had stayed behind in Giverny. When I asked if she would miss France, she said, “pas du tout,”—not at all—she's on her way to “l'Amérique”!

Raymonde and I are sharing a cabin. Every day, she teaches me some French words, and I teach her some English ones. Toby and I have the upper bunk. I didn't want to put him in the ship's kennel, so I hid him in Mama's hatbox when we came on board. When the coast is clear, Lizzy and I walk him on deck. And we feed him scraps from the table. We put them in our napkins when no one's looking!

I've already met my first New Yorkers: Mr. and Mrs. Havemeyer. They're on their way back to New York with paintings they bought in Paris. They must be very rich. Papa says Mr. Havemeyer is called the “Sugar King.” That's because he owns a sugar company. But he certainly isn't sweet, in spite of his name. When Lizzy and I were singing on deck this morning, he snapped his newspaper and told us to be quiet.

Mrs. Havemeyer is nice, though. She is a good friend of the famous American artist Miss Mary Cassatt and owns a lot of her paintings. She says Miss Cassatt often paints pictures of mothers and children and showed us a small one of her with her daughter, Electra. She says Miss Cassatt gets so seasick she has to be carried off the ship when it docks. Even when it's a calm crossing! Poor Miss Cassatt!

May 13, 1894

On board the Champagne

Lizzy and I have been all over this ship looking for a lady holding a lamp and a book. We've seen many ladies holding books, but all the lamps are nailed (or fastened) down in case of rough weather.

When I got dressed for dinner tonight, Papa said I looked pretty as a picture. Then he painted a quick picture of me. I asked if it would be in the exhibition. He said no, this painting is not for sale. I'm glad—I'm wearing a dress Mama brought me from Paris, the frilly white one with the black velvet sash.

It's our last night at sea, and the captain invited the Fosters and us to dine at his table. He's very handsome in his navy blue uniform with lots of gold braid. When Mama held up a pearl she found in one of her oysters, he said, “Beauty contemplates beauty,” and made her blush.

Raymonde and Toby are fast asleep. I hope I can sleep, too. We'll sail past the Statue of Liberty at dawn—I don't want to miss that! Papa says the statue is a present from the people of France to the people of the United States. And the skeleton of steel that holds her up was designed by Monsieur Gustave Eiffel, the man who built the Eiffel Tower.

Goodnight, fishes in the sea.
Good morning, Statue of Liberty!

May 14, 1894

New York harbor

The ship's whistles woke us this morning. Everyone was on deck to be the first to see the Statue of Liberty. It was so foggy, I was afraid we'd sail right past without even seeing her! Then Papa whispered, “Look for the light in her lamp.” All at once I saw it. “There she is!” I cried. As we got closer, the fog lifted, and we saw the biggest statue in the world. Fifteen stories high, with an island all to herself to stand on! Monsieur Bartholdi, the sculptor, made her out of copper and gave her his mother's face—a very beautiful one.

As we sailed by, I saw she was holding a lamp in one hand and a book in the other! Then Lizzy shouted, “There's New York!” And I saw the city straight ahead. As we got closer, we saw that New York has the busiest harbor, the biggest ships, the tallest masts and the most flags flying. And the longest bridge in the world, the Brooklyn Bridge. More than a million people live in New York, and now I'll be one of them!

Later the same day
Mr. Chase's studio
Tenth Street, New York

There were so many people at the dock, it looked as if all of New York had come to meet us. Even so, we had no trouble spotting Papa's old friend Mr. William Merritt Chase. He was wearing a red Arab hat (a “fez,” Papa says!) and a long black cape, lined with crimson. Beside him stood two enormous dogs—Russain wolfhounds—as white as snow. Toby wanted to play, but they looked down their long noses at him.

Mr. Chase has found an apartment for us to share with the Fosters. We haven't seen that yet—the carriage brought us here instead. I've never had such an exciting ride! Lizzy and I loved it. Mama is still trying to catch her breath. Everybody is in a hurry—carriages, omnibuses, bicycles and coaches race at full speed, ringing bells. Our carriage, with four shiny black horses, galloped past them all! And trains run high overhead. I never saw that before! They clang and screech and leave a trail of sparks and ashes on the street below. Papa says the train is called “the el” (for “elevated”) and that it
runs so close to the buildings, you can look out the train window and see what people are having for dinner.