hen does she
sail?" Needless to say, these interrogatories were answered at least
thrice a day, and were always wide of the mark. Still, we were booked
for home, and could afford to wait cheerfully. Our hut (No. 1),
inhabited by the thirty best men in the camp (any man of that hut will
tell you this assertion is correct), thereupon blossomed forth as the
publishing and editorial offices of a camp newspaper known as the

"LATEST DEVELOPMENTS GAZETTE,"
WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED
"THE COOKHOUSE NEWS."

In this journal shipping intelligence was a speciality, and topical
cartoons a great feature. We claimed the largest circulation in the
camp. The various articles, stop-press news, and cartoons, were stuck on
the walls of the hut and afforded much entertainment. Of course, B.P.
was very unpopular in Cape Town and with us, and had to be dealt with
severely. (Note.--Not the Mafeking man or the "worth a guinea a box"
lot, but the Bubonic Plague).

A few days before sailing I caught sight of a well-known name in the
dread casualty list: "69th Co. I.Y., 16,424, Trooper R. Blake, (severely
wounded, since dead). Hartebeestefontein." "Poor Blake!" He used to sing
at our concerts on the boat coming out, at our bivouac fire when we
indulged in an impromptu sing-song, and at Pretoria, when in the police,
he often appeared at the various musical entertainments held in the town
or hospitals. His mimicry of a growling or barking dog, big or small,
was marvellous and notorious. I remember once how a fellow on one
occasion, accustomed to Master Blake's games, on hearing a persistent
yapping at his heels, at length said "Oh, shut up, young Blake!" and
turned round to see a live terrier there. A verse in the last issue of
our paper, expressed, in a humble way, every man's feelings on such
matters.

We are leaving them behind us,
'Neath the veldt and by the town,
The men who joined and fought with us,
Who shared each up and down.
We are going home without them,
But our thoughts will on them dwell,
We shall often talk about them,
Good comrades all, farewell!

The day before we left, the sketches and other matter were sold by
auction, it having been previously decided to devote the proceeds of the
sale to the last No. 1 Hut annual ball. By way of explanation, it must
be noted that the hut had an annual ball _once a week_, "dancing
strictly prohibited." To be explicit, the annual ball was a weekly
d