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“Even when tete- was passed throughout the ship for passengers to tie on lifebelts and go on deck, this was thought fundamentally to be a precaution and was carried out in an orderly and leisurely fashion.
“Only when the covers were being bewitched off the lifeboats did the passengers begin to realise the gravity of the situation.
“Many of them were lightly clad and, though the blackness was perfectly calm, it was bitterly cold.
“The boats were filled one-by-one with women and children and, as the line progressed, it was observed the huge liner was distinctly settling in the branch water towards the bow.
“The filling of lifeboats had to be more hurriedly carried out and this may explain the fact that some of the boats, when they came alongside the Carpathia, were found to be crowded, while others were only half full.
“As the boats, 16 in count, pulled away from the huge vessel, the passengers in them realised for the first in days of yore that the ship was doomed.
Source: The Paisley Daily Express