i 4 8 TWO DIANAS IN ALASKA 



before her graceful bows, tossing, eddying, falling 

 as a sea-bird on a crest of foam. Behind her trailed 

 a wake of snowy water. Captain Clemsen saluted 

 by running up a small ensign, and I saw it fly out 

 with that wave of patriotic emotion which must, I 

 think, come to every Britisher as he stands beneath 

 the Union Jack. I say "wave of emotion," but 

 afterwards I was a little afraid that the feeling of 

 tremulous excitement was much more hum-drum and 

 prosaic than an emotion of pride of place. The way 

 in which the Lily was acting just then was too much 

 for a fair-weather sailor like myself. 



From the peak of the passing vessel we saw the 

 Stars and Stripes break and batter in the gale. An 

 American cruiser, and a very smart ship she looked 

 as she drove slanting by. 



How I wished, in my distress, that Father Time 

 would jump the next twenty-four hours, and then 

 stand stock-still awhile, or give me back the 

 glorious harmony of yesterday. No, not yesterday. 

 Yesterdays are yesterdays, and but ' ' light us fools 

 the way to dusty death." A wonderful to-morrow, 

 pray you, Father Time, to make up for this most 

 miserable to-day. 



We had to put back to the shelter of a rocky cape, 

 where a tiny cove granted sanctuary. Here Nature 

 had outdone the art of any engineer, and built a 

 most effective rocky breakwater. 



On the surrounding rocks countless birds resorted, 

 in numbers almost incredible. The murres out- 

 numbered all the others by quite ten to one. Each 



