ve to the
Dardanelles. I wish the War Office could hear Gouraud; Gouraud, that big
sane man with local knowledge. How strong he used to be on the point
that Greece lay altogether outside the sphere of any military action by
the Entente. We can't feed Russia with munitions through Salonika, nor
can we bring back Russian wheat _via_ Salonika,--not much, seeing we
would not be able to feed ourselves were we fifty miles into the
mountains. Salonika is a military mare's nest.

Scatters Wilson and Captain Cheape dined and stayed the night. The
King's Messenger arrived with the Mails.

Three cables:--

* * * * *

"(No. M.F. 654). From General Sir Ian Hamilton to War Office. Only two
machine guns per battalion are being brought by the City of London
battalions, the balance, by order of General Officer Commanding, Egypt,
being handed over to Chief Ordnance Officer, Egypt. The former
telegraphs that this has been done by your order. There is nothing that
is more important to my force than an ample supply of these guns. I
would therefore request that early authority should be given to General
Officer Commanding, Egypt, to send on these guns."

"(No. I.D. 116). From General Headquarters, Mediterranean Expeditionary
Force, to War Office. My No. I.D. 110. Please inform me whether Murdoch
has arrived, and whether my information was correct as regards his
carrying a despatch for Sir Harry Lawson from Ashmead-Bartlett."

"(No. 8108, cipher). From War Office to General Headquarters,
Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. Your No. I.D. 116. A despatch
answering the description has been taken from Murdoch at Marseilles. You
should delay action, however, until we have seen it and you hear from us
further."

The despatch should have been censored here and ought, therefore, to be
sent back here for censoring. The War Office, I suppose, want to have
first look in!

_22nd September, 1915._ Scatters and Cheape sailed back for Suvla at
6.45 a.m.--just in good time to avoid a raid on our Headquarters carried
out by three Taubes between 7.50 and 8 a.m. A dozen bombs dropped; no
serious harm done.

Heseltine, King's Messenger, came to dinner.

Bad news from Bulgaria. She is mobilizing, not, we may be sure, for the
sake of helping those who do not help themselves. Well do I remember
Ferdinand, as long ago as 1909, turning to me and saying as he pointed
to a picture of himself in the robes of a Byzantine Emperor