ON THE WAY TO EGYPT.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 13602, 6 February 1915, Page 3

ON THE WAY TO EGYPT.

CHAPLAIN-MAJOR GRANT'S NARRATIVE/

A bleak morning, a grey sea, and a shrewd air seemed to emphasise the "sadness of farewell" as the New Zealand Expeditionary Force slipped out of Wellington harbor on Friday morning, 16th October,. 1914. At 6.30 a.m. the first transport slipped hdr anchor, and one by one the others followed until all had passed the Wellington Heads. Although there was a certain degree of sadness in our hearts as we moved out into the Straits, headed by our battle cruisers, the feeling of satisfaction predominated-— satisfaction that •after a Jong and vexatious delay and a talse* start, we were at last actually on the way to try conclusions with the enemy. The surrounding hills were lined with enthusiastic spectators, who waved their flags and cheered us on our way. The Duchess, one of the ferry steamers, crowded with passengers, was stationed near the Heads, and cheered each transport as it passed. To the stentorian question of a young subaltern,, "Are we down-hearted P the boys on the Orari chorused an emphatic No. After clearing the Heads, we were formed into a double line of five with a battle cruiser ahead, another on the starboard, a warship on the port, and another in the rear. At night the sight to most of us was quite unique, as it must have been to any observers on the coast. There was no attempt to mask the lights to begin with although later on nothing but the masthead lights were shown. Signalling went on all day. and far into the night To begin with, the ships had considerable difficulty in keeping station i.e., in keeping line "and the proper distance—two cable lengths— from one an- « *?■ A battle fleet practises that kind of thing, but it was quite new for merchantmen for the first time actinjr as transports. By the time we had Xeen a week at sea, however, most of the ships behaved very well, and the day came when the admiral of the combined Australian and New Zealand convoy complimented us on our stationkeeping. The Straits were on their very best behavior, and the dull morning, with its grey clouds and its leaden sea, turned into brilliant sunshine tempered by a gentle breeze. All the boys were in the best of spirits, and speculation was rife as to our route and ultimate destination. One who is cursed with a too vivid imagination could not help wondering how the expedition would return, and how many of these tine, strapping fellows would return to their native shores! As the daylight laded we looked with mixed feelings upon the receding shores, and our hearts were hlled wiih thoughts of home and loved ones, and we do not doubt that even those devoid of imagination wondered when again we should look upon the rugged shores of our fair island home. As we gazed across the watery expanse, many * "God bless them" was whispered into the night, even by men who seldom pray. ' , The Orari was a horse-boat, and our complement was greater than that of any other transport, viz., 723. To look after these we had only 279 officers and men lhe Orari bding a cargo boat, all the accommodation lor the men had to be improvised, and a good deal of it for t*e officers. The only room available was the dining saloon, and that was so modest in its dimensions that it could only accommodate 14 at table Ihere was nothing in the shape of a social or smoking hall. For social purposes ana church parade we gathered on a hatch adjoining one of the troop decks where the men slept, where also we had our piano. When the weather became .too hot; for this part of the ship i we had morning prayers and • church paraue on the iorepeaK. After allowing lor orderlies and others on various duties, one man had an average of five horses -to look after, and when you - consider the, wor* Ue had to do, .eetr j ting tue iorage to the various horaa decKS waternig, feeding, grooming and stables, you may be sure that, the Uran was a very busy ship, and that the men were not troubled /with time Hanging heavy on their hands. It was indeed later on named the "workshop." Un the morning following our. departure "the scene was enanged." Bur- i ing tue night a light drizzling rain set m, the wind freshened and wa began to roll through a choppy sea. There waa a very poor response. at ".Reveille," fP d ■,**;.. tia *»*>les," the blithe hearts of the willing hands of the previous day were conspicuous toy their absence. &ome or the horse decks were almost deserted, the men who should "have d 6^ "^attendance bein 8 "bora de combat. This meant that those who v were nt, or who responded to the call whether fit or unfit, had the work of hvfe and in some cases ten men to do. Most of the. men would have been an easy prev to the Germans. One man thought. he was dying, his only fear being that ha wouldn't.- Another was heard anathematising the author of f< U on . the Ocean Wa ve, a Home on the Rolling Deep," as a person who knew nothing about what he was simrmg. Some of the officers who did not suffer from the prevailing epidemic, volunteered their service* until the men got their sea legs, which wasn't for a couple or three days in some cases. Thecooks had a fairly easy time of it Ihere was no "sound of revelry bv night- during that period,-' only the lamentable sounds that accompany one's first acquaintance with rough motions of the sea. The horses had to move . about m order to keep their legs, and on the whole the little bit of rouA sea did them good inasmuch as it kept them from getting stiff. Ob Sunday morning, although the padre was feeling quite fit the 0.C.. in deference to u? t_ prevaalin S epidemic,, cancelled church parade. Weather condition* were rather worse. We had to moura several vacant chairs at the officers' mess, and it was an effort for some who were present to be moderately cheerfuli .In some cases appetites were not quite as hearty as usual, and one, officer, not unknown to Gisborne missed a meal through "tiredness" and a desire to "discipline his appetite ■ Your correspondent, on occasion a very indifferent sailor, .came through the ordeal with. flying colors. The weather and the sea had a disastrous effect upon the alignment of the tran*. ports. It was interesting to watch their antics as they yawed and plunged and l°^u^ fear ? on *> fashion, trW to hold their stations, but quite failing to ' do so. The whole convoy looked like a school of whales plunging and rolling in the heavy seas. Towards morninf the weather moderated and the me? < bßg^ *? - feel tHat life might yet le ffS^v^Wf- T he recluse! caii out ihto the open, and the talk, although not quite so vigorous as it was to begin^ with , soon came back to normal. Perhaps 1 should explain for the saL of the uninitiated that the horses . were packed in open stalls in rows all round the ship and on four decks. Theresas barely room for a man leading his horse to pass. In some cases two rows faced one another with" just sufficient room for the men to pass with the feed. The cleaning out of the stalls was a particularly dangerous operation to begin , with, untU the horses got used toTha men crawling in behind them. Do horses have a sense of humor? We were inclined to think so one day on ?r^ erVm ? * h ° beh »"or of a particuS tno. They seemed to be enioyine themselves, immensely, and if they didiA exactly wink the eye, one owSTLSSII them doing it. It was during ht£e exercise, and every horse that passed these three got three good nip* & dtf. *"** P«te of his »nftom y rSnd if h e hesitated he got so man/ more. It was a case of "running the gauntlet'* We could wish that one of ouf amateur photographers had taken a piS^of back their ears, snapping, j^iarW pawing, kicking, exhibited an turn jealousy, anger, ij. patience, disappointment, arid finally satisfaction as their box was filled, borne were so hungry and greedy that they would dash their muzzle* into the feed, sending half O f it on to the dM £ Only here and there would you see a quiet patient, gentle creature, who pricked up his ears indeed and looked eagerly towards the source of supply, but otherwise behaved as a well-T>red horse ought to do ! a

We reached Hobart wharf, on Trafalgar Day, Wednesday, 21st- October, the anniversary of the departure from NeAv Zealand. Of the contingent for the Boer w,ar. . Several members of that contingent were on board the- Orari, and would fain have been with, their comrades at the annual re-union. The scenery coming up the Derwent estuary is soft- and pleasing, although the approaches are rugged enough. Cape Kaoul> with its pillar-like strata, reminded us of Staffa. We must have been: an. unique and to those avlio Avere jn ignorance^ »f our coming a 'Somewhat alarming sight as Ave steamed into the harbor hi single tile, a long line of fourteen .ships. The public was conspicuous by its absence, the greater part being at the., annual agricultural slioav. and also, quite ignorant of the fact that we were, coming. In the afternoon the troops from some of the transports Avere taken, for a route march round the suburbs. of the city, but the men from ■the .Orari did not participate. Although no leave Avas supposed to be granted, one or two mysterious disappearances., ' tqok place, despite a guard on the wharf. Next day the Orari men, with the men from the other transports who had not been ashore, A^ent oua, route march through the city and suburbs. -The weather Avas muggy, and. the .pace to begin with decidedly >yarm,. but Ave all enjoyed the outing, and were simply overwhelmed with the kindness o£..the public, By this time the,; news had spread that the New ZeaMnders had' arrived — the people had said { gpodrbye. to their ..own Tasmanian contingent a . couple of days before — aud they, Avere all on the qui vive. The expressions of goodwill quite eclipsed some of. our, experiences in New Zealand. Passing through the suburban and city streets, ;J aii almost continuous fire of tipples, oranges, and bananas had a Spmew.hat disturbing , effect upon the alignment of the regiments, the offers of. cooling drinks being particularly tantalising, to., our own piper and members of.-tin.e.baiid, when they happened to be playing.. They sb.ow.ered not only fruit, but. flowers upon us. Some of the IJobart .flower gardens must- have been Ayeil stripped.. . One of- the foot regi-ments.-looked like a garden as it passed the, saluting base on the return inarch through the city. The ..-Oroi'i piper,, a stalAyart .colonial Scot, from the Wairarapa, received a good deal of attention. A Jady' in a car. threw him a buttonhole^ which, as he Avas playing a martial air,- had' to lie where it fell. 2JQt to. be beaten, she got the gentleman who* ..was seated with her in the car to--.jumß^k)ut and pin it to ,his coat. A-:.bentT-.old lady, who evidently "had lh.e Gaelic,", was .greatly, moved- «tt the sight and-sound of the pipes, and called down blessings on the piper's "curly pow.'!.. The guard at the wharf barrier had., an exciting; time in our absence, through an; unexpected visit- of the Q.0.0. -Some -.members of the party weire in the goods shed; aiid others were very .much" at ease," while the -gallant subaltern in charge Avas being distracted; by <the attentions of some members of .tlWfftir sex* . However, a noble effort was.. made .ta retrieve the situati6n» One member . of the party in his- eagerness to get . into - position tripped and fell full length on the wharf. Another tried to., fix. his. bayonet : and stand at attention, in one act, which - ; was a complete failure.. What the G.O.C. - thought of tho, comedy has not transpired* The only . lefexence, to our presence which the. Hobart Mercury . permitted itself was. in & leading article on the' locaj show, in which, vit said, "Wars/ may" come and droughts may go — shufe may come, and ships may go — meni^ay come and pen may go, but like the brook, the. show must go on as usual." Besides taking part in the ■ route march; your correspondent paid a short visit -to the local hospital to see Trooper Morgan, of Masterton, avlio was ■ being left behind sick. He was. deeply disappointed, of < course, but- bore himself bravely? in the circumstances. Tavo other sick. NeAv Zealanders were lying beside him., «. ... ■

..Just before leaving the wharf some cases of' tinned fruit were taken on board for the canteen. They were passed from hand to hand up the gangway, and stacked upon the deck in the presence, of quite a number of, onlookers. The . tally on the whaaf was correct, but when it came to be compared with tht> v deck tally, three cases/ had mysteriously ■ disappeared — melted into thin air — nor. could any trace of them be found, although the most diligent search was made.

We -left the wharf at 12.20 p.m. on Thursday, 22nd October; the usual late passenger being slung aboard in the bigbt ol a iope, and stavtevl ua ouv voyage across tlie. Australian Bight at 5.50 p.m. At 6 p.m. we dropped our lirst Jioi'se . overboard, several , snapshots being taken of the event. The toilowiiig jriorning at daybreak we were rousetl frbin our slumbers by. the steamer's whistle goVng at intervals of two or three minutes. We had ruu into a fog, wliich lifted in the course of Half an hour.

On Saturday the 24th, October, the fir&;> number oi the "Urarj. Tatler'.'. .vmib published.; had not been many days at sea befpre, the,project of a. newspaper was mooted,. and it was thought, 'that .as the Cjw.plani had less to do with the waking of, thc ; .ship than anyone else on bfs,i'd, v .ne should act ■&& editor. This he consented to. Uo After receiving various pVonuses ,of assistance, , die majority .of w)^eb»V. were • never fulfilled, and, man- j aged to publish onco a week during -the> voyage,. (Oii-Wi about the due date., The cl&qf .difficulty was to multiply tlie manuscript copy, and. alter tlie first number we had to be satisfied with putting a-, copy into each of the troop decks. .. The men were pleased to express their approval of the first issue, the beat, compliment perhaps being, "Not so bad for ■• a. bloomin' parson." Early, hi the voyage it was decided to print all the copies in one publication as a.. souv«nior of the- trip. Whatever may be said regarding the literary merits of the publication the -illustra-tions-were excellent, and if they can be reproduced they will form a very pleasing feature of the publication. Alost of the numbers consisted of a leader, a few. locals, a qolumn of 'On dit,' correspondence, poetry, and an occasional article on a subject of local interest such as "The Engine Room" and the "Wireless." Wo hope to bo able to send a specimen of our work later on. * I should hkve mentioned that before leaving Hobart the G.O.C^. complimented the Orari on the way in which she "kept station" during theriin^from Wellington, a feather in th6 cap of our commander, Captain, Westpn.. v .Thiß leads me to mention that qne pleasant feature of our life on board wan the happy Tolatibns subsisting , between the various authorities. We had a civil- authority in the. person,, of the 0.C., Major Whyte o| the Perman r eht Stag, who had just been, appointed to the charge : of,, the Gisporne' district before the outbreak of. war, and an intermediary between, these on "the, one hand and the Admiralty on • the other, in the person of the. Naval Transport Officer, , JJieut, Jenkins, R.N,I£. , It is «on<ieivabJe.' in such a ..case* that , there might Ijaye been friction at time's, and ,it says much for, the geniah'ty and good sense; all Jcpncer.iled that <there was a 'per^ecfc uiider^ndjng, ibi;t\ye(?n , the heaas of ddjiartments which obviated all trouble. , '

„.One..ofc the chief topics of conversation on the. run froin Hobart to Albany was our probable route. It was intiu'eating as well, as amusing to hear the wiseacres .laying down tho law. Next in; Interest, if not before it, *was.;tho Kihdjen/xiov.QOxild wo withou't. our m&cd of admiration for the dash • and daring of. the skipper when we heard erf his latest exploits. We , understood our Japanese escort was* very keen -to try xjbnclusions with him. ■

( Those , of us who. were on; the _ poop before- JireakiaEft.j.one inq^'inn^ hjuj.-. a ttyirilling', ftvp mmuties. , Looking .astern ■we /wondered to- see. -the Ruapebu suddenly eheer off to port aijd then, alter a - little ..space, come back again and hang broadside on „t o the following ship, the Waimana, which was quickly lessening the distance between them. Foi* a few minutes we felt that we were looking on a possible tragedy, and tha<b the Euapehu was in imminent danger cf being cut in two. From where we were it seemed as thoagh the bows of the Waimana just grazed the side and

boAvs 6f the Ruapelni. We learned afterwards that she cleared tho Ruapehii by about 6ft. It requires littlo imagination to picture the horrors of snch a collision — one vessel's bows on to another's beam. Something had gone wrong with her steering gear, and she lay at the mercy of the following ship. The whole fleet had to sloav down Avhile the steering gear was being repaired On Monday the 26th the Riiapehu again provided us Avith something to think about. The iioavs was passed round the transports of the death of Corporal Gilchrist the preA'ious evening. The funeral ■took place in the afternoon and was more than usually impressive on ,u-. count of tho whole fleet taking part in it. While was in life lie was a mere insignificant unit of, the expedition^ like any of the rest, but dead, he was invested with such majesty that for a little space the pulsing engines of the fleet a'iid convoy ceased their throbbing, while the men on each transport stood "at attention," the bands played {lie "Dead March" and the short service appointed for a burial, at sea Avas read. The Kuapehu . took station as near .as possible in the centre of the .convoy for the service, and that completed" returned to her appointed place behind the Orari.

On Wednesday morning, October 28th, j at 10 o'clock we passed between Break- j sea Island and Cape Bald, and dropped our Anchors on tlie seaward side of the great fleet, of transports already in' the outer harbor of Albany. The dullest imagination must have" been stirred by the sight that met. the eye. Excluding our escort we were 36 transports ail toldj tilled with Jiorses and men. Counting the crews o£ the ships there could not have been far short of 34,000 men lying in tho bay. What a mess the Emden could have made of us had she been able to -slip amongst us during the night. We formed a long line three deep, extending from the inner harbor to the entrance of the bay. We expect to. be joined by the. Westralian transports (2) in a day or two, when withour escorts we'll form a fleet of 42 vessels; _The Australian ships are not pamted ah elusive- grey, as ours are, but wear; <the colors of the steamship lines to which they belong. This. lends variety to tho scene. At the same time w«»cannot help thinking that we should have looked much -more formidable had all been painted a uniform color. A general order- was issued at Albany forbidding anyone on board the transports taking a photo without Special Permission';- whatever -that meant. This was a sore trial to our amateur photographers of whom • there were many in the convoy, until it was tacitly? ■understood that it referred ratheV to the i^blication of such photos while w6 were 'en route.' In the afternoon we went into the inner harbor io coal and received many a- hearty cheer as we passed our Australian consorts. No leave was granted at this port except for those on duty. All we saw of Albany was from the deck of the troopsnip. . During the four days Of our stay, however, the men were allowed to get out the ship's boats and had no little fixn and some healthy exercise in rowing from one transport to another. Races were also indulged in by crews representing the different troop decks. Of one boat it was suggested; that they had gone fishing, judging by the number of "crabs" that were cauglit; of another that they managed their craft as well if not, better than tho ship's crew. The greatest fun was found in lowering the boat and shipping the crew, by means of the rope ladder, slung, over the side. One member of the eclitorial staff, who was inclined to be a bit bilious, had the heartiest laugh he has enjoyed for a long time, afr the antics , of the men, and found it better than a dose of medicine. They were like dogs off the chain and entered into the iport like schoolboys. Military terms were used, and shouts of "Left, left," "Qet into your stride mate" and "Dress by your right" abounded. .The crew of i?ne boat had hopes of visiting an Australian transEqrt • one day, and, perhaps, receiving ospitality In the shape of. a drink ot' beer (they had. a wet canteen, on board the Australian transports). When they saw the padre coming dpwn the ladder, one of the crew immediately piped up "Oh lord ! this looks lijce a drink, of beer. I don't think." We were joined here by the battle-cruisers 'and — — . The left us to coal at Perth and afterwards , joined us again with the.. Westralian transports. .Wo luive been strucfc by the appearance of the c6iintry. It looks barren ; but -pretty. The beaches as seen,. from the boat are *a dazzling white, and the slips on the far , hillsides ; look like snow. There must be a lot of limestone or chalk in the. formation of the . country. From where i tl?o .Orari anchored we could seo all the transports, and at night, "the twinkling lights against the dark background of the hills gave, the buter harbor the appearance of a low lying city. During our ..stay we had a visit from tho G.O.C. - and one from Col. Meldrum, O.C. the Wellington Mounted Rifles. Lying in, harbor the horses began to get.imtabie.with the heat and too much feeding jand too little exercise, the iosult being -.that' the*, inen- began -to have considerable trouble in cleaning out tho stalls. One morning a trooper ran a narrow .risk- of being killed, cscapiiig with a number of severe bruises. But if the horses Avere irritable the men Avere patient, and before the end of the trip could do anything with them. Wo had a particularly, willing lot on board the Orari. There were few, if any, shirkers, quarrels wei«e almost unknown arid were soon settled, and there was a capital understanding between officers and men. "The Duke's soil and tho* cook's son" met on the- leVel, and, let us | hope that in the end of the day they will part "on 'the square," having helped to settle tho Germans. At the sametime there are- men, and men ; tempera - meut is revealed in work. It was u trea£ to see with what thoroughness some of the men. swept the horse decks and groomed tho horses knowing though they did that it would all have to be done over again in a few hours. A horse transport is a continual heart break to a. man who is methodical and tidy, yet some of tho horses and^ horse stalls wen; daily as near perfection .as the conditains wottld admit.. On. the Other hand s6me men scuffled round the deck and used the dandy brush and the deck broom, as though they had never seen theni' before. -They seemed' to be .saying within themselves all the time "This is good enough" or "This will pass muster." The monotony of the job began to pall upon the men towards the end of the voyage but they stuck well to their jobs evep in the tropics • when the conditions were extreinely trying.

■. "0n Sunday morning, IJoyember Ist, the flagship of the Australian convoy, the first an imposing line of transports, jstjejamett slowly, past , us , and By nine o'clock the. whole, expedition, had 'cleared, the heads.^ . . , . jCho formation , »« this stage ..of 6iir journey was as follows': — We, liacl a battle pruiser ahead, and ono each on ei,ther flanls, none in the rear. The Australian, ships were in , three lines, of seven, nine, and to,h: We |ollowed in a double Hue of fiv'e^ as -, before. We had a most auspicious start for -this -the third stage of our jqurnej. Albany Bay looked its loveliest, and -the sun, 1 .was tempered by a., gentle breeze. We must have been a. magnificent sight to any onlookers who witnessed, oui" departui'O, but of these -there seemed t<> be few. ,We Avere not long, out when wo were informed that our next port of call was to be— riot Colombo — but Capetown ! Next morning, wp learned that Jiritain had declared war- against Turkey. We judged .that, this would pio- ■ bably mean the end of Turkey in Europe, b.ut that: it might a,lsp : mean, i f the situation were not carefully handled, grave complications an India, and Jsgypt. W« 4i'd;, iii't doubt that the hands of our Imperial, statesmen, had been .forced by Turkey's open and insolent disregard of the lavvs of neutrality. The r same jnoniing. the ship's adjutant, ; Captain Spragg, read fpr our benefit the general 'orders regarding the .censorship ;tof correspondence, »nd .intimated on th«^ aaithority. t of the . naval transport, officer thait" oui' course had been altered and that we were now heading straight f or Colombo. A welcome break in the somewhat monotonous round of duty took place' the same evening, in the shape of a capital concert organised by the N.C.O.'s and the men. We hoped to have many s«c" during the trip, but between the heat and our work it was

found impossible 'to have another. That same week a series of boxing contests were begun, but the heat' also interfered with them and the finals never came off. Some very good bouts Avere witnessed. A man reveals his temperament in boxing just as he did in brushing and grooming and as, later on, ho will do it in fighting. One man falls upon his opponent like a flash and rains blows upon him like a fury. His opponent, cool and steady, wards them off as best he can, and, waiting his ppportunity, plants a, staggering blow that has all his weight behind it. One man starts slowly, almost stolidly, until he is stung into action by a smartly delivered dlow, from the man in front of him. Another is so. much on spring wires that he ties himself up in a knot and sprawls in the ring,, but he is tip again in a flash, darting at his antagonist like a wasp on, the AA'ing. Yes, boxing, like some other things is a fine thing to discipline a man's spirit. The angrier he get the more he puts himself at the mercy of a, good boxer, the Avarier arid cooler he is the better chance lie has to v give a good account of himself.

One morning we A\*ere startled out «{ out slumbers by «. succession of tremendous rolls. For the space of sonic minutes we seemed; to be wallowing in the trough of a big sea \and almost standing on our beam ends. 'Hie horses got a. big surprise; b*it soon settled down to the swaying motion. .Some sensational stories Avere told of 'narrow' escapes from . serious accident. The movement did not last Jong.Some accounted . for it on the ground of a subniarino disturbance — jiot of the German variety. Another morning some speculation was caused.. by the disappearance of our flagship over the horizon. We learned, later on that she, had left her station"; : for: an operation for appendicitis,. Avhich was successfully performed. Out from Albany four or five days wo began to feel, the , heat. Awnings were erected to protect the heads of the horses from the sun, and openings made in the. stalls for the ingress of air. Bedding was brought up on the deck, and most, of the men from this time on camped in the open air, although to begin with they often had to seek thfe shelter of the troop decks.

We saAr A^ery little animal life on the trip, either in the .air or in tho sea. One afternoon ■ some cici^exneiit . Aras caused by a. smudte of smoke- Avhich /we dcs-. cried on the far horizon immediately behind the coiwoy, which indicated that^ a vessel, df some 'sort wps oA-er-hauhn^ us. The cruiser in our rear, which with t&e— -. aricl the Westraliaiis had. joine'd us on.,tho preceding day, left her. station and.' travelled in the direction of the stranger, and find-" ing all .Correct returned."; Very quickly; the smudge grew xmlil it materialised 1 into the R.M.3. Osterjby. \ We. must j have been an unique sight to the .pasisengers.on board, of Avhoni there seemed to be a. goodly nxunber. .We Avon«ered whether she Avould remain Avith ts r or go on. and take the risk' of the j Ehndcn. She Arent on. It was suggested that the ..Admiralty Avas using her as a decoy, arid that if sh«*- sighted the Bmden she would scurry back and the cruisers would hurry forward ! We Avero always conscious of the possibility .of running against the Emden or havincr her run in amongst us during the night. This no doubt accounted for life belt drill which a*o had ofteiiei' .than once in th o Indian Ocean. About this time the Orari troopers became to all appearance a. cross between a lunatic t asylum and a penitentiary ! The craze fr>r shaven heads,, which spread even to the officers' quarters, and is usually a conspicuous sign, of jo, mental patient, combined with the. denim overalls, I many of Avhicli were decorated Avith the broad arrow and a number, • went far to justify the, conclusion. It was about tho same time that t\vd -horse jjick'ets were discovered one night laboriously putting a horse's forelegs under hiin Aj-hh the object' of getting him up! Those who from choice like a, late Ayell-known writer, or from necessity like .the shepherd on the hills, the settlor in tho back blocks, the' sentry and the sailor man have to witness the breaking of the day, are not without their compensations; and thbso of us Arho have been sleeping oil/ deck have been privileged tt> witness some avoiiderful sunrises. To many, sunrise and sunset mean nothing but a splash of color in the sky, if they oven mean that: Like Wordsworth's yokel: —

"A primrose by the river's, brim A yellow primrose was to him, Ami nothing , more." ' A sunrise to them is nothing moro. than tho. opening of a new day — its mystery and witchery, its liivstic beauty are hidden from their t-yes. Some. -of ua at. least Avere Able to' feast our eyes, on ,the inimitable pictures 1 which the Great ..Artist is for ever 1 pain ting on tho sky. One or two sun-! sets live in my memory, and one which' was seen in . fcho tropics avj'll also live. The transformation of color and form cannot be described, but hero is what I saw at one stage of the painting. A broad rivey of red molten gold. On the* far side inlots running between, groat: bluffs, and on the near side well defined sedges and umbrageous tiecs^ Jn the upper reaches of the river a land locked basin with a great aN" riding! at anchor s'and in the lower reaches stretching into the fur distance . thousands of islets of every coiiccivable shape and size ; the whole western sl<y a' radiant riot of Harmonious color. * On on<; occasion, we had a finb display of the Aurora. Australis. The cloud effects in tho morning hav<> boon particularly fine. Once or twice it was difficult to believe- that we were not in sight of Jahd. One morning a trooper was bo positive on tjho Subject, that he risked money on Ins conviction, ;i net live minutes later was a sadder and a wiser man. Another, day the clouds on the horizon, represented in a most extraordinary way a scene from the Arctic regions. Under a curtain of dark cloud the sun could be seen shining on the. ice fields and the icebergs. On Saturday, 7th Nov., the sun was directly overhead, and considerable disjcomfort was experienced from the neat, any little breeze we had being following I wind. Many of tho men toolc to "1-lic-landmeu's breeks," and some of the officers and most of the men to "silk" stockings. One advantage we enjoyed from haying no ladies on board was J,he privilege of wearing, the primitive dress of our forefathers when the weather justified it. 'Down in the lower holds the horse pickets had a most trying time. Your readers can partly imagine tlie atmosphere of a stable with littlq ventilation and the glas« standing .at anytlmig beivee^i 95 100 degrees. And .yet,, be it said to tljoir credit, our Oisborne boys, and every trooper on. board "played i the game." They stuck ' to a disagreeable task without a gi'owl, and worked with the l^qrses like . Trojarts to save them from the. iU effects ■ of . the heat. Permit me now, to make a couple of extracts from my diary: Sunday, Nov. B— "'ifa'ts ( 'we'v-p worn, to-day, at c|iua-ch parade, ai^d ih& . se'r\ r \cp was 'shortened on acliouVit of th\o lieat. Tho battle cruiser .■'—■,; ■ passed . through the, lines this riiorning", and after spealc^nig" the

— — : — disappeared over tho horizon, it is said that she has left, lis "for -good, and that would seem - utraftge' uh we must now be -well' .within the danger /.one. She will, however, be in wji>l^ss toiicli for some days. W<* fxp»;rt to pass lh> C^o'cos islands t)Vi.s '•ve'i'iin';*, but-not near enough to (>et n sig it :.f them/'- (-The I'/mden iniased iis i'v. or 50 miles.) Nov. 0th — "This i : < d lo be* th o Into King .Kd ward's- li/ "clay, but will hencofovth. Ims. marked in, tlio annals <il' the Australasian Expeditionary Force as a 'red letter' day. To-day th'o" Australian navy got it-s baptism, of blood. This morning at daybreak the Sydney disappeared over the horizon, thereby causing a. good deal of speculation. ' Then about ft) o'clock the and tho — , flags flying and decks cleared for action, raced oft" in the.samo direction? What did it mean? Wo were not left long in doubt. It was reported that we were being chased by two German cruisers, probably the Eniden and the Konigsberg, and the order for the - transports Mas 'full speed ahead.' Wo felt quito confident that oar escort j was 'able to deal with the Germans, land experienced only a pleasurable ex- ' citament in anticipating th© result, vvhi'.h camo to hand much sooner than

we could have anticipated. We- were reassured to begin with by seeing the and retrace their course. Then the tidings were .flashed thrpugh the convoy that the enemy had been beached to save herself from sinking, and that the Sydney Avas chasing her collier. Later, that the Emden was sunk and done for; and later still, casualties on the; Sydney 2 killed and 13 wounded. Needless to say there was no little excitement throughout the convoy at these great and welcome tidings. It seems that the Emden had no conception that Ave Avore in the neighborhood, and the Sydney overheard her calling up her collier, and raced after her with the above result. We hear that the Sydney's guns were handled in great style, and that the second shot carried away n great part part of the Emden's top hamper. There will lie great rejoicings iii Australia and New Zealand to-day Avhen the tidings are flashed over the wires." On the following day avc had a. message from the Sydney to say that she avouM sail to join the. convoy as soon as she had embarked tbe (ierma-ii wounded and prisoners, Arhich might take another 24 hours, as it presented consider^ able difficulties, ilor some dai's, as you may suippose, the naval engagement formed the chief topic of conversation. Two days later the an arrned auxiliary cruiser, passed us on her Avay to relieve the Sydney of her wounded and prisoners! The same day the said good; bye to us, and we were left in the sole

care of tlto »- : — . On the day Ave crossed the line some of the. men Avould fainhave had a visit from Father.Neptune*, but our ship was too busy for such frivolities. We had to leave, : those ceremonial touches to ships which had! fewer horses aud more .men. On the same day orders Avere received 'for the New Zealand convoy to take station' ahead of the Australians and to proceed in that order to Colombo. Our sloAvest boat Avas a little bit faster than the slowest Australian boat and so Ave had the. privilege of forging ahead. In the morning the . British, cruiser emerged out of the Scotch mist that enA*eloped us to .aid in our protection* The doctors were busy for a couple of days oncers and men for typhoid. There were a, feAv objectors, and 'these^ if ' ijftey still prove obdurate, Avil! be returned . to NeAv Zealand Avith tho , medically unfit. „A member^ of the creAv hearing of what was going on, said to one of the engineers : "Mr — — —> is ihat right Ave all 'ave to be evacuatedf' ■ Bt. MacLeau started lectures on first aid before the be top, hot for meetings of any kind. After ;a lectiu'e on the. bones of the body, a lance corporal sjiid to his inate, who was a . bit of a wa%: "Where do you think ,iny cranium js?" . "We.ll A I don't exactjy lcrio.Av, but I sa^w, it hanging .over the ship's side about a fortnight ago." Here is one tyf .our. conundrums. There is a mysterious part of the ship which every officer .find mtfti carefully avoids, but not olAvays. successfully. One night, as. a trooper was scuttling below, taking, refuge.. from,, a tropical shower, his blankets under hia arm,, the lookout hailed the bridge ,- .with "All's well." "All's. Avell, be blanked,'* he. cried. . !Tm.. wet through." These little criticisms may seem quite puerile to people living in the --busy .Avays of life in the great world, but Avhen you are hemmed into the narrow space of a cVoAved ship, it takes very little to please you, arid the srii'allest ripple of humor is hailed with joy as a Avelcomebrcak to the monotony of the day's work. - - „ .> .< - ,-.■.'