Page 306 - Neglected Arabia Vol 2

Mrs. Paul W. Harrison

I T is only natural that interested and anxious inquiries have been made
in regard to the sudden death at sea of Mrs. Paul W. Harrison while
recently on her journey homeward with her family to enjoy a fur*
lough in America. ;
Mrs. Harrison has not been exempt in recent years from those illnesses
incident to residence in the tropics. She had, however, recovered from
them and more recently from an attack of malarial fever for which she was
successfully treated in Madras. When ready to set out on their journey
homeward, Dr. Harrison went down from Matrah, his station in Arabia, to
Madras, and accompanied to Bombay Mrs. Harrison and the children, two
of whom were in the school for missionaries’ children at Kodaikanal, South
India. Mrs. Harrison embarked on the steamer in Bombay with all the
family, in happy anticipation of reunion with her family in the United
Stales.
The voyage across the Indian Ocean in the month of May is usually so
hot that many adult passengers sleep on deck, it not being considered
altogether sate, however, for children to spend the dark hours of the night
on the deck. l)r. and Mrs. Harrison therefore divided the night, he spend­
ing the first part on deck and Mrs. Harrison the second. Mrs. Harrison
was thus sleeping in a steamer chair on the deck, near the railing, on the
morning of Sunday, May 4, Dr. Harrison being in the cabin with the chib I
dren. When Mrs. Harrison did not return to the cabin at the usual hour!
in the morning Dr. Harrison, feeling no apprehension, carried out the I,
usual morning duties with the children. When later Mrs. Harrison did
not return to her cabin, he asked a friend to go up on deck and ask her
it she were not ready to come to the cabin. The friend reported that her
chair was empty, but that her kimono, carefully folded, was on the chair.
A thorough search of the ship was then made and Mrs. Harrison wa*
not found.
Carefully reviewing all the circumstances: Mrs. Harrison’s occupancy
of the upper berth in the cabin for the purpose of enjoying more air, neces*
sharing a little climbing; associated with this the fact that she was sleeping
on deck in a steamer chair near the railing of the ship: recalling her prac*
tice of folding her kimono for the purpose ctf ascending to her berth,—
it is a very natural and logical inference .that, partially awaking in the
morning, still drowsy with sleep, and feeling the railing of the deck very-
like that of her cabin, she seized it with the expectation of climbing to the
upper berth, lost her balance and fell overboard. The deep and loving
sympathy of the circle of friends who read these pages will be with Dr.
Harrison in the tragedy of this sudden and great sorrow. We shall publish
further word of Mrs. Harrison’s life and work in the next issue.

14