THE PAYMASTER'S LOSS.

Clutha Leader, Volume XLII, Issue 90, 19 May 1916, Page 1

THE PAYMASTER'S LOSS.

"Gallipoli now seems a country of ghosts," writes a naval officer on board a war-hip off the Dardanelles. "One misses the übiquitous shrapnel o\\ r Fusilier Bluff, and the monotonous boom-boom of the guns. One misses, too, the life and movement that ahvaywent on at tho beaches, interrupted periodically a s it iisik! to be by the burst of an Asiatic shell. One misses, also, tho tents and the smoke of the camp fires in the gulleys and on the southern slopes of "the cliffs. Everything is all so hopelessly still and stagnant now. It, is a depressing place, haunted by the spectres of a great army. Fortunately we have a little fun now and again. There wa s an amusing scene on board the other day. Wo Ind been doing a small 'strafe,' and were just moving out when we were hit by a oin, which had been making excellent practice as us. I went down to seo what damage had been done, and on the way was told that she shell had burst in the paymaster's cabin. "When I arrived I found the fire brigade trying to get in to see what had happened, but there was a most awful smell and the hairy stokers of the fire brigade were all coughing and crying, 'Don't go in, sir!' Someone said, 'lt's one of these 'ere lackeymosery shells. You wants a respirator.' The fire brigade were all struggling into their respirators. Mine, of course, was in my cabin along with my life-saving waistcoat and the other luxuries of that sort we make war with nowadays. However, I borrowed one and got into the cabin to open the scuttle and deadlight, when down came the paymaster to view the wreckage. He sniffed the air and was just going to follow into the cabin iwhen he was stopped by the shell expert. 'Don't you go in, sir without a respirator. These 'ere lackeymo-ery shells give yer fits.' 'Lackeymosery be damned,''shouted the pay. 'lt's my new- bottle of Scnibbs' Ammonia.' And it was even so"