e
other ships, who in return for his offer to work as baker was promised
his liberty, which fortunately he has now secured, though no thanks to
the Germans. He baked, under the most difficult conditions,
extraordinarily good bread, and over and over again we should have gone
without food but for this. We were often very hungry, for there was
nothing to eat between "supper" at 5.30 and breakfast next morning at
8.30. The Captain had given each lady a large box of biscuits from the
_Hitachi_, and my wife and I used to eat a quarter of a biscuit each
before turning in for the night. We could not afford more--the box might
have to last us for many months.

We could not buy much on board. The only thing of which there seemed to
be plenty was whisky, all stolen from the captured ships. When our ship
ran short of this, more was sent over from the _Wolf_. We could buy this
at reasonable rates, but the supply was always supposed to be rationed.
Soap and toilet requisites became very scarce or failed altogether as
time went on. We could buy an infinitesimal piece of stolen toilet soap
for a not infinitesimal price, and were rationed as to washing soap and
matches. The currency on board was a very mixed one, consisting of
Japanese yen, both in silver and paper money, English, Spanish, and
German silver, and German canteen tokens--all marked S.M.S. _Victoria
Louise_--ranging in value from 2 marks to 5 pfennig.

Mention has been made of the ship's rolling. Her capacity for this was
incredible--in the smoothest sea, whether stopped or under steam, she
rolled heavily from side to side, and caused great discomfort,
inconvenience, and often alarm to all on board. The remark, "The Mendi
roll, fresh every day for every meal, for breakfast, dinner, and tea,"
was made by some one at almost every mealtime, as we clutched at our
food, gliding or jumping from end to end of the saloon table,
accompanied by the smashing of crockery and upsetting of liquids and
soup. We were hardly ever able to sit still at mealtimes, but were
always rocking and rolling about, usually with our plates in our hands,
as leaving them on the table meant we might lose the contents. Even the
Captain was astonished at the rolling of the ship, as he well might have
been, when one night he, in common with most of us, was flung out of his
berth. No ship ever rolled like it--the bath in the bathroom even got
loose and slid about in its socket, adding to the great din on boa