machine-gan the 'plane and its period we should have to live ooou pants, who, having ad- on the country. Y.'s principal vantages of ground, replied efforts had been direoted to with vigour. In the midst of providing ammunition and the contest, two other enemy petrol and tyres for the cars 'planes appeared in the air, and the 'planes at Azrak, and and bombed and machine- they had succeeded admirably, gunned the car to such pur though we never had anything pose that it was compelled to like a big reserve of petrol. return after an exceedingly All ranks of the column were narrow osoape of being blown now living on the mutton, to glory, one bomb bursting so eggs, tomatoes, grapes, waternear it that a piece of shrapnel melons, and barley purchased went through the airman's" locally, and the animals got oap; L., too, got a small piece their living by grazing eked in his hand.

out with grain. To the Arabs After this episode, breakfast the food was good and plentiat El Umteiye followed, and a ful, and the same applied great breakfast it was, of por- to the French gunners, who ridge, eggs, kidneys, and were mostly Algerians, and water-melons, and what would the Egyptians and Gurkhas. be known in India " ohu. So far 88 the British pattees." All but the porridge rank and file were concerned, "

, were from looally purchased this looal dietary was rather a supplies, and indeed the ratione pleasant obange after bully that we had brought were

and biscuits—with the exceppractically exhausted, save for tion of the “chupattees.” To tea, sugar, and a few tins of eat flat dough-cakes, made milk. Y.

, who, as I previously without yeast or baking-powexplained, had acted as a sort der, is all right for a time, but of supply-officer-in-chief to the in about a week the European column (his exaot position stomach begins to strike at was diffioult to determine, as suoh treatment, and I rememindeed

every British ber still the real joy with which offioer's, "advice" being, so to we saw biscuits again when we speak, frequently merged into met the British foroes. It “exeoutive action "), had done

the first time I ever wonders in getting as many thought British Army biscuits rations and saoks of grain up were a luxury. as he had done, in view of the We had just finished breakfaot that the drivers of the fast on the day in question supply camels were all hired, when an enemy 'plane appeared and had not only never heard and subjeoted us to a rather of the words “control” or bad bombing, killing some “discipline,” but were wholly animals and wounding two ignorant of the existence of Arab offioers and & French the eighth oommandment; but ganner. This bombing had at he could not do impossibilities, any rate the good effeot of and it had always been real causing the various units to ised that for a considerable spread themselves

the

was

on

plateau instead of all herding endure at least half an hour of higgledy-piggledy round the conversation, limited on my wells, which they had done to side to “Yes” and “No." Each save themselves extra trouble visit entailed a further inroad in drawing water, It also on my rapidly diminishing ridded us of a portion of the store of the admirable Keating's now vast multitude of oamp- well - known preparation, as followers, pedlars, and Bedouin, well as a quarter of an hour's who had come in from the work repitobing my bivy on surrounding country to do a the stony soil, for the horse little trading, learn the news, invariably pulled it down long gossip, and generally relieve before his master was ready to the tedium of existence in the go. It was therefore with Hauran. The gulf between the some pleasure that, after the Englishmen and the natives, bombing of the morning in which even the fraternising question, I observed a great qualities of the British soldier rush for the blue on the part had not broken down in Egypt, of women, ohildren, donkeys, was unknown here; and to the sheep, and the lords of them Haurani peasant, for example, all, who came streaming by us, with our kefias, beards, and not “riding a finish” their overclean sun-tanned faces, we foam-fleoked ponies, and reprobably looked but little garding with amazement the different to the rest of the phlegmatic British armouredArabs; but, however that may car drivers, or the equally be, every one treated us as unconcerned Gurkhas, busy friends and equals. By an cleaning their rifles, seated in illiterate people that exoel in a little oirole on the ground. small - talk, no chance of a Later in the day L. left for gossip is ever missed, and not Azrak to embark on an aeroeven my almost non-existent plane, due to be sent from knowledge of Arabio, at any G.H.Q., E.E.F., in order to fly rate as spoken in Arabia, pre- to Palestine G.H.Q., report vented me from being inveigled what had ooourred, and ask for into long conversations with all aeroplane protection, and rekinds of people throughout the oeive further instruotions. The day. It usually started with Egyptian Camel Corps and a wild-looking man riding up to Gurkhas trekked, as it was where I was sitting, dismount- decided that they had better ing, tying his horse to my bivy. return to Akaba in order to repole, and then squatting at my duce the number of mouths to side and asking, "Lorens be fed, in view of the fact that Wenoo?”i If “Lorens was rationing was bound to become anywhere in the vicinity I a more serious problem each directed the visitor there, but day. The rest of the column if he was not, and if I could stayed at El Umteiye that day, not pretend that he was with but about ten o'clook at night sufficient assurance, I had to General Nuri, the Arab com

a

mander, called a oonference to such a position from the teachdooide on our future action, ings of military history. He which was attended by the further pointed out that the oommander of the French con- faot that we had gone

forward tingent, J., Y., S., and myself, to Deras and then retired Nuri's point, which I think was would be oonstrued by the looal unquestionably sound, was that inhabitants, on whom we virtuthe Turks, sapine as they had ally depended for food, as been during the last three or set-back, and that they, who four days, were bound sooner all the time were waiting to or later to take some drastio see which way the oat jumped, action in view of the menace to might become hostile to us. their whole line of communi- Moreover, we should infallibly cations that our presence in be bombed again next day if we the neighbourhood oonstituted. waited at El Umtoiye, and the This they could olearly do in morale of the column would several ways, the most obvious not be improved thereby; bis of which was to send a column strongest point of all was that to Azrak to out off our line of he had had information that a retreat southwards by oooupy- Turkish reconnaissanoe from ing the only watering-place on Deraa might be expected at the route, and at the same time dawn the next morning to sending troops from Nablus or endeavour to make us disclose Damasous to Deras to attack our strength. Shorn of us in foroe at El Umteiye. goodish proportion of the local Another possible plan was to irregulars, who had departed send troops along the railway that day as it happened by northwards from Ammon and order, and only temporarily, as southwards from Deraa (sooner well as of the Egyptian Camel or later the railway line was Corps and Gurkhas, our force bound to be open to traffio, as was far smaller than when it we could not continue to de- crossed the railway at Deraa, stroy it indefinitely), and and a reconnaissance would attack El Umteiye simultane- prove to the Turks how easy it ously from north and south. would be to "mop up” a force We, of oourse, did not know whose body was so small, but how the Palestine attaok had whose sting was so annoying succeeded; but, even if the first and indeed dangerous. Up to objeotive of a twelve-mile ad- date, the adventure had suovanoe had been attained, it did seeded beyond all reasonable not make our position any expeotation, but, after all, the easier. The disoussion was whole sobeme was & gamble oonduoted partly in French, pure and simple, and we were partly in English, and partly tempting Providence by rein Arabio; and I remember, maining much longer where when using the first-named

To do so would be language, General Nuri made as if a roulette-player, having use of the phrase,“Nous sommes won eight or ten times runen un endroit,” with some very ning on red, ignored the posapt remarks on the danger of sibility of black ever coming

more

up again. For an hour we

For an hour we armoured-car and other dri- . argued and discussed the vers accepting the prospeot of problem in our several lan. another weary and perilous guages (sometimes in two or night - drive over boulderthree at onoe), and at last it strewn ground with resignswas deoided that we should tion and the expletives (when there and then start out for their officers were out of hear. Un El Surab, a ruined vil- ing) appropriate to the occalage some miles south of El sion. Marohing all night Umteiye, on the way to Azrak. doubtless seems a small hardHere we should be farther ship to those accustomed to & from Dəraa, more than a day's European front, but it must maroh in faot, and, provided a be remembered that, living as column from the latter place we were without tents and had

than a night's with only a few single-sheet maroh to reach us, we were “bivies," the heat in such a pretty sure to have warning olimate and the flies made of its departure. Here also sleep almost impossible in there was

less of a land- the day, however weary one mark for bombing than was was; so a night's march meant afforded by El Umteige, with thirty-six hours at least with. its sentinel Roman fort on out sleep. I have always held the top of a sugar-loaf hill. the view that the conditions At Um El Surab there are under which we fought the the remains of Roman Turk in Sinai, Palestine, and fort and village, but it stands Arabia—with their long days in the midst of a great plain and weeks of exposure to a

a full of small wadis and de- sun, the fieroeness of which pressions, and pook-marked is unnatural to an English

with anoient and modern man, and the mental and grain-pits that afford excel physical strain of want of lent ready-made funk-holes. sleep in a olimate where sleep Um El Surab was obviously is essential to repair the vital

more desirable looation ity of a white man-did somethan El Umteiye, a landmark thing to balance the far greater for miles around.

danger and horror of war in So just before midnight the France. One had only to comconferenoe broke up, and an pare the sallow complexions, hour or so later the column sun-tired eyes, and leanness commenoed its midnight flit. of a leave - draft from the ting, the Arab soldiery re- Palestine front with the wellceiving, with oriental fatalism, favoured, rosy - cheeked men the information that they were from France one saw on the to face their third successive Boulogne leave-boat, to realise sleepless night, and the British the truth of this.

(To be concluded.)

VIGNETTES.

BY ELLA MACMAHON.

IV. THE POSTMISTRESS OF BALLYBOREEN,

THE post - office at Bally. stone bridge with shallow boreen is not conventional, arohes of exquisite yet artless neither is Ballyboreen itself. symmetry. There is beautiful The latter oonsists of a con- air; there are bad roads. glomeration of cottages situ- The post-office is housed in a ated round the oross-roads in thatehed oottage, or, to be pre& oup formed by the enoiroling oise, in two adjoining oottages hills, and bounded on the south standing in a dip at one corner by the winding river. The of the cross-roads, for which cottages have foar white- reason it bears a somewhat washed walls and a thatched secluded air. Its presiding roof, for the hand of modernity genius is Miss Kerrigan. She and hygiene has not yet laid is indeed His Majesty's posthold of Bally boreen; and so mistress, though in truth she your manure - heap may still, knows nothing of Majesty so an' you choose to have it go, remote and so exclusively Engform a feature in front of your lish. It is perhaps part of hall door, through which your the eternal wrongness of the pig and your poultry are at Administration which rules liberty to wander in and out Ireland that the personal tie 83 the fanoy takes them, should be eliminated from the There is no beauty of climbing official government of a peocreeper or blushing rose about ple always profoundly and the cottages of Bally boreen, supremely influenced by the nor any prettiness such as the personal equation. least pioturesque of English vil- Miss Kerrigan is lages oan easily furnish; but, woman with & gaunt look, on the other hand, there is a although in point of fact she wondrous loveliness over it all, is rather stout. She has a -loveliness of blue and violet large, flat, but fleshy face and hillside, of emerald field, of a wide head. Her hair is a brown bog, of tall woods, of streaky grey, and she wears it a wide river wending its shin- partly gathered up into a ing way to the sea. There is bird's-nest ooil on the top of a obarob which is Protestant, her head, and the remainder surrounded by a churchyard falling lankly in straight short wherein Catholios and Pre- looks to her shoulders and testants alike sleep side by side forming a frame for her face. in a peace which polemios will Her eyes are the palest blue, never break. There is an old with very pink - rimmed lids.

à tall