le front which the
best sort of men show towards religion. To all of them it means
missionaries and pious talk, and to hear them speak one would imagine it
was something between a dangerous disease and a disgrace. The best they
can say of any clergyman (whom they loathe) or missionary, is, "He never
tried the Gospel on with me." A religious young man means a sneak, and
one who swears freely is generally rather a good fellow. When one lives
in the wilds I am afraid that one often finds that this view is the
right one, although it isn't very orthodox; but the pi-jaw which passes
for religion seems deliberately calculated to disgust the natural man,
who shows his contempt for the thing wholesomely as becomes him. He
means to smoke, he means to have a whisky-peg when he can get it, and a
game of cards when that is possible. His smoke is harmless, he seldom
drinks too much, and he plays fair at all games, but when he finds that
these harmless amusements preclude him from a place in the Kingdom of
Heaven he naturally--if he has the spirit of a mouse--says, "All right.
Leave me out. I am not on in this show."

_27 February._--On Sunday one always thinks of home. I am rather
inclined to wonder what my family imagine I am actually doing on the
Persian front. No doubt some of my dear contemporaries saddle me with
noble deeds, but I still seem unable to strike the "noble" tack. Even my
work in hospital has been stopped by a telegram from the Red Cross,
saying, "Don't let Miss Macnaughtan work yet." A typhus scare, I fancy.
Such rot. But I am used now to hearing all the British out here murmur,
"What _can_ be the good of this long delay?"

[Page Heading: HOW NEWS TRAVELS IN PERSIA]

I am still staying at the British Consulate. The Consul, Mr. Cowan, is a
good fellow, and Mr. Lightfoot, his chum, is a real backwoodsman, full
of histories of adventures, fights, "natives," and wars in many lands.
He seems to me one of those headstrong, straight, fine fellows whom one
only meets in the wilds. England doesn't agree with them; they haven't
always a suit of evening clothes; but in a tight place one knows how
cool he would be, and for yarns there is no one better. He tells one a
lot about this country, and he knows the Arabs like brothers. Their
system of communicating with each other is as puzzling to him as it is
to everyone else. News travels faster among them than any messenger or
post can take it. At Bagdad they heard from these str