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[Page 17]
like this that you find the net closest woven and the bonds tied tightest. Tis here you find the spirit of Empire strongest, and the presence of these two British cruisers is just a quiet reminder of British thoroughness to our aspiring Portuguese allies. It has often struck me as wonderful that so many troops could be conveyed all these miles without a single boat meeting with mishap. What a wonderful thing this command of the sea is! but still more wonderful is our management of this command. Have whatever opinion you like of Kitchener's army, but you can only have one opinion of our ever ready navy. It is complete, grand, superlatively superlative. And, voyaging round the world as we are, we pass from one point of strategic importance to another, from one point of continental prominence to another – and the above is the first port which is not British: Sydney Freemantle, Cocos, Colombo, Aden, Suez, Said, Malta Gibralta England; or – Sydney, Freemantle Durban, Cape Town, England. Think of this and you may well be impressed with the "decadence" of British diplomacy. Why it makes you laugh at these would be critics. The same man would now say that England has no longer the supremacy of the sea I suppose. When I think of our helplessness in this troopship, and yet our real safety – thanks to the boys in blue – I say as old Gossip says "Lets take our hats off to the Empire" . Vive l'esprit d'Empire!
To day is Wednesday 11th October, [1916] my birthday. Last birthday I spent in London on furlough & wonder how many more I will see. It is the next birthday I am interested in, after that, well, if I see that I'll probably be good for a few more.
My birthday present was a fine little torpedo boat destroyer, which came from the misty unknown beyond "the purple rim" , and swept round our stern to take up her position off our starboard bow. She has already signalled her admiralty orders and has commenced her sinuous course a few hundred yards ahead. Here she will stay till we reach our port – unless it should be necessary to leave to deal with a tin-fish, as the lads term the submarines. I have a great affection for these mosquitos craft. They are the essence of gracefulness and easy poetic motion. Our small escort the H.M.S. Ariel 37, must be running at about 20 knots now, and was doing easily 25 when we picked her up.
Well we have come to the end of our voyage, for we are off the Cornish coast. It is 10.30 a.m. Thursday 12th October, and in a few hours we will