for nothing from these amiable madmen, it is
to be done. So we made ourselves popular with the fellaheen by hunting
jackals, which had the same predilection for other people's chickens as has
brother fox in England.

We had no hounds, except a fox-terrier who was too fat to run; only our
horses and our prodigious enthusiasm. The method of procedure was to
assemble the hunt near a likely place and send forward a fatigue-party to
dig out the jackal. When he appeared--and he usually did appear in a
hurry--we gave him a couple of minutes' start and then tally-ho! and away
after him over the plain. We had, of course, no fences to leap, but there
were deep nullahs and irrigation dykes wide enough to give one something to
think about. Moreover, the jackals were astonishingly speedy; they would
twist and turn and double on their tracks for half an hour at a stretch,
and they were game to the end.

Christmas came and was made endurable and even enjoyable by the kindness of
the Y.M.C.A., who lent us tables, yea and cloths, in addition to other
things.

But the outstanding event of this period of waiting was the visit of one of
Miss Lena Ashwell's concert parties to El Kubri. It will ever remain a
fragrant memory, for it was the first time we had seen English ladies for
nearly a year and it brought home very near to hear them sing.

They gave their concert in a specially constructed "hall" in the desert.
Sandbags were the mainstay of the platform and a large tarpaulin, G.S.,
formed the drop-scene. The walls were of rough canvas, upon which it was
inadvisable to lean, lest the whole structure collapsed. Primitive, no
doubt, but it suited the environment; and I have never seen in the most
elaborate West-end theatre anything like the enthusiasm here.

You called for a popular song or recitation and you got it, and as many
more as you liked to ask for. One of these talented ladies used to give a
recitation which became a permanent feature of her programme in Egypt. She
would come to the front of the stage and say confidentially to the
audience, "Do you know Lizzie 'Arris?" And back would come a mighty bellow,
"Aiwa!" This rite was always insisted upon before the artiste could
proceed, though she obviously enjoyed it almost as much as we did. She
might probably be amused to know that--such is fame!--amongst the thousands
of troops who heard her recite she was always known as "Lizzie 'Arris."

Early in the New Year the Mecca myth