until we arrived at the Cape on Monday, 20th
November. The Bay was full of transports, and they seemed still to be
pouring in every hour; we did not hear much news except that
Ladysmith was still safe, and we at once entrained for Simon's Bay, a
pretty train journey of about an hour and a half, where the fleet were
lying. Now commenced the bad luck of the Brigade "wot never landed,"
we all got drafted to various ships instead of going to the front in a
body as we had hoped and expected, and my lot was to join the flagship
_Doris_. Much to our disappointment a Naval Brigade had been landed
the day before our arrival for Lord Methuen's force; we ourselves were
therefore regarded for the moment as hardly wanted, and the Admiral
was, we were told, dead against landing any more sailors. So we were
both afflicted and depressed. I had, however, a pleasant time on the
_Doris_, and found myself senior watch keeper on board. At night many
precautions were taken in the fleet; guards were landed in the
dockyard with orders to fire on any suspicious boat, and a patrol boat
steamed round the fleet all night up to daylight with similar orders;
we ourselves often went on shore for route marching and company drill
and had a grand time.

I may mention, in passing, that all the bluejackets who were landed at
Simon's Bay for shore duty were fitted with khaki suits, viz., tunics
and trousers and hat covers, drawn from the military stores. With the
trousers the men wore brown gaiters, and each man was provided with
two pairs of service boots; they all wore their white straw hats
fitted with khaki covers and looked very workmanlike in heavy marching
order. The Marines also wore khaki and helmets, and had stripes of
marine colours (red, blue and yellow) on the helmets to distinguish
the Corps. Each batch of bluejackets that were sent to the front,
about twelve men in a batch, was allowed two canvas bags to hold spare
clothes and other gear, and took three days' provisions and water. The
haversacks were all stained khaki with Condy's fluid, and the guns
were all painted khaki colour.

We saw a great many people at Capetown, and while there, Colonel
Gatcliffe, Royal Marines, the head Press censor, told Morgan and
myself a lot of instructive facts about the work at the Telegraph
Offices, and how all foreign telegrams in cipher to South Africa
giving news to the Boers, as well as those from them, had been
stopped. Some 300 telegrams sent after