after our
long voyage. We have seen nothing but sea, rocks, chalk and sand since
March 18. I see no chance of getting ashore, but nothing would delight
me more than a scramble to the top of the highest peak away to the
west.

I was asking a Royal Naval Officer on board if our occupying Lemnos
involved any breach of neutrality, belonging, as it does, to Greece.
Although Greek, it has been leased by Turkey for years, and we have in
reality seized it from the latter.

In the afternoon we entered the inner harbour and cast anchor in the
middle of a number of transports. This inner harbour is more or less
circular and is about three miles long and two wide.

_April 11th._--Several transports have arrived since we entered
yesterday. When I looked through my port-hole at 6 o'clock this
morning the surrounding country looked very fresh, and free from all
haze, and the bright green of the crops and grass on the hill-sides
would have done credit to old Ireland.

After lunch I met Lt.-Col. Rooth of the Dublins, who gave me some
authentic information concerning the proposed military landing on
Gallipoli. The covering party for the whole expedition is to be our
86th Brigade. The Munsters are in the S.S.T. "Caledonia," (B ii) lying
alongside our ship. The Lancashires are there also. All these, along
with our stretcher bearers, land together from cutters, and the date
fixed is in all probability Wednesday, April 14, or the following day
at latest. A very warm reception from the enemy on shore is expected,
as I gather from the way the Dublin officers talk. It is also said
that we will have to make a dash for it under the cover of night.

Practically due north from where we lie we can see the top of a
snow-clad mountain which must be several thousand feet in height. Is
this in Imbros? (Samothrace.)

A German Taube was seen over us to-day flying very high. Two
hydroplanes went up from our fleet and scouted round us for several
miles for over an hour. Some say another was seen very early in the
morning.

_April 12th._--Orders were issued yesterday that we were to practice
disembarking to-day in preparation for the landing on Gallipoli. The
different units had to line up in the stations allotted to them, ours
luckily being on the saloon deck where we will get use of the
accommodation ladder instead of the rope ladder as first proposed.
Except for our rations, which had not been issued, we had on our full
marching order loads-