1900] Banged upon the Reef 355 



arrival of another ship would be of no use, as we could not be got 

 off. If the wind does not fall, it will not be our pilgrims' fault, 

 for they pray strenuously, with a fine male devotion. The women 

 have been drilled to silence, or at any rate to pray instead of com- 

 plaining, even the little boys shout, ' Allahu Akbar. Ya latif ' ! and 

 the women add prayers to Seyd el Bedawi of Tantah. For my own 

 part I say my usual prayers to the dead and to St. Winifred, who 

 may help me, as she did three years ago, a superstition which quiets 

 the mind. I have been reading the Gospels, too, in an edition Cocker- 

 ell got me for our journey to Sinai, parts of Mathew, Mark, and Luke, 

 the doctrinal parts of which are splendid, and as little like our English 

 nineteenth-century Christianity as it is possible to conceive. How fool- 

 ish my Nietsche correspondent's talk about it is. The water is coming 

 into the cabin, so I must leave off. Miss Lawrence has been altogether 

 admirable through all this, doing her duty to me as a nurse just as if 

 at home, and cheerful and courageous as I never saw anyone. I have 

 just been on deck and got wet through. It has made me feel more 

 indifferent to what may happen, and I contemplate the water filling 

 up the cabin and drowning us without much repugnance. It is the 

 getting wet that one really dislikes. It is now 7.30 a.m., and we hope 

 the wind is lulling, otherwise our prospects are poor. 



"n a.m. — Though things remain precisely as yesterday, and with 

 rather less chance of a good issue, for the wind blows as hard as ever, 

 everybody on board has settled down to the situation. There are no 

 more querulous plaints of the women, and the prayers are less in- 

 cessant. The children are playing merrily in the saloon, the little 

 boy pretending to bastinado the little girl on the soles of her feet, 

 and there is a group of women on the ground gossiping as if at market. 

 This, I suppose, is in all human nature. People go about their affairs, 

 however much there may be an earthquake or any other catastrophe 

 impending. I have settled down to a novel, which I brought with me 

 in case of accidents causing delay anywhere. There is no sign yet of 

 succour from any quarter, and I expect to-night will be critical. The 

 thumping and banging on the reef goes on, and all of our cabins are 

 in a leaky state at the portholes ; fortunately the ship stands pretty 

 steady on her keel, with only a slight list to port. This has kept us 

 fairly dry, though on the main deck the pilgrims must be suffering 

 terribly. There has been no cooking done to-day, as the fires are out. 

 Also salt water has got into the fresh water tanks, and we may be soon 

 short of water to drink. 



" Later. In the afternoon, at Cockerell's suggestion, we moved our 

 quarters from the after-cabin, which is being much battered by the 

 sea, to the upper platform in the centre of the ship. There we are 

 sheltered by a bit of awning from the wind and spray, and the waves 



