DEPARTURE FROM LONDON 



and bills, working out quantities, loads, etc. As the 

 question of tinned supplies and of tents is of the greatest 

 importance, I may state, for the benefit of future travellers, 

 that the former came from the Army and Navy Stores, 

 and the tents from Edgington. We each got our rifles 

 and ammunition from our own particular gunmaker. My 

 battery consisted of — 



1. .256 Mannlicher with telescopic sight. 



2. .400 cordite D.B. ejector. 



3. 8-bore D.B. hammer, taking 10 drams 



(these three by Jeffery). 



4. 1 2-bore Paradox (by Holland). 



After the usual rush to collect things forgotten or 

 not delivered, at the last moment, a small group of our 

 respective relations and friends saw Harrison, White- 

 house, and myself, accompanied by Clarke, off from 

 Charing Cross on the morning of Wednesday, 25th 

 October. Butter, his servant, and Perks, had already 

 gone on by sea. We had with us a collection of small 

 parcels, including several instruments lent by the 

 Royal Geographical Society. At Boulogne, although 

 we showed our tickets to Aden by the P. & O. sailing 

 next day, the Customs officials made a great fuss over 

 our impedimenta, but finally let us off, after weighing 

 and charging for a fishing net and some cotton soles. 

 We continued our journey by ordinary train, having 

 decided that the P. & O. so-called "train de luxe" 

 was a fraud. When we arrived at Marseilles, none of 

 our registered baggage was to be found, and after 

 hunting everywhere for it, and interviewing every 

 possible and impossible official, the only information 



