IN THE GENERAL PANIC CAME THE CRY, “LADIES FIRST.”
“It was a terrible experience,” Mrs. Schabert added. “I was awakened by the shock of the collision and went out on deck. There was very little excitement and persons were coming from their rooms asking what had happened. Suddenly from the bridge came the cry ‘ladies first.’ This was the first inkling we had that the ship was in danger. I went back to my stateroom and dressed and then as I returned to the deck I heard the horrifying order that women must leave their husbands and brothers. I refused to leave my brother, and finally he was shoved into the boat with me.
“Mrs. Isidor Straus, who had a stateroom near me, and with whom I have frequently talked, declared that under no circumstances would she leave Mr. Straus. As we pushed away from the Titanic the ship started to go down and as she disappeared beneath the water Mr. and Mrs. Straus were standing arm in arm.”
Mrs. D. W. Marvin, who was on a honeymoon trip with her husband, was almost prostrated when she reached the deck and learned that her husband had not been picked up by some other boat.
“My God, don’t ask me too much,” she said. “Tell me, have you any news from Dan? He grabbed me in his arms and knocked down men to get me into the boat. As I was put in the boat he cried. ‘It’s all right, little girl; you go and I will stay awhile, I’ll put on a life preserver and jump off and follow your boat.’ As our boat shoved off he threw a kiss at me and that is the last I saw of him.”
Edward Beane, of Glasgow, Scotland, who, with his wife, occupied a stateroom in the second cabin, declared that fifteen minutes after the Titanic hit the iceberg there was an explosion in the engine room, which was followed in a few minutes by a second explosion.