tar;
after which we gradually worked our way up the Mediterranean, calling in
at a number of interesting places on the way. We were at Ajaccio on
Christmas Day; and it was characteristic of our skipper that she so
arranged matters as to spend the day aboard with us, giving the crew a
rare good time and inviting the whole of her officers to dine with her
in the evening.

We left Ajaccio on the evening of New Year's Day, and, passing through
the Straits of Bonifacio, headed for the Bay of Naples, where we arrived
at nine o'clock on the morning of the third of January. From Naples we
proceeded to Messina; thence to Malta, Athens, Constantinople, and
Jaffa, where we were all afforded an opportunity to make the trip to
Jerusalem; and from Jaffa we proceeded to Port Said, where, after
remaining at anchor some four or five hours, we ran through the Canal
during the night, with an enormous searchlight suspended from our
bowsprit end to light us on our way. We anchored at Suez the next day,
and Mrs Vansittart then announced that we should remain there at least
a week, during which the men would be granted daily leave, while the
officers were to make their own arrangements, subject to the approval of
Kennedy, who was left in charge. I thus had an opportunity not only to
visit Cairo, but also to take a run out to the Pyramids and the Sphinx.
As a matter of fact we remained at Suez nearly a fortnight, awaiting our
skipper's return, when we hove up our anchor and proceeded down the Gulf
of Suez into the Red Sea, duly noting Mount Sinai on our port hand as we
passed it.

CHAPTER THREE.

AN INDIAN OCEAN HURRICANE.

I am not writing this story as a mere diary of travel, and will
therefore push on as rapidly as possible to the point where the real
living interest of the voyage began, contenting myself with a mere brief
reference to the various spots at which we touched. We took eight days
to make the passage to Aden, where we arrived early on a certain
morning, leaving at five o'clock the same afternoon, after a visit to
the famous Tanks. Our next port of call was Zanzibar, whence we
proceeded to Durban, in Natal. From Durban we proceeded to Mauritius,
remaining in Port Louis harbour two days to permit of a visit to that
extraordinary natural curiosity, the Peter Botte Mountain.

From Mauritius we sailed for Colombo. The weather was glorious when we
left Port Louis, and for two days afterward, with moderate breezes fro