Impressions of Travel 401 



From faded hopes and hopes agleam, 

 It calls you, calls you night and day, 



Beyond the dark into the dream, 

 Over the hills and far away. 



(W. E. HENLEY.) 



The voyage home has little of the glamour of the 

 footlights about it. No one likes the angle of their 

 rooms to be on a slope of twenty or thirty degrees ; 

 no one appreciates the smell of warm oil and cookery ; 

 the decks for exercise are limited ; reading is difficult 

 under the circumstances ; " sweeps " upon the run of 

 the ship lose their interest ; life resolves itself into 

 three solid meals a day, and if possible, beef-tea at 

 eleven and tea at five. 



India fades on the horizon ; for the first few days, 

 beyond being monotonous, the voyage is not aggressive. 

 The oily stretches of the Indian Ocean bask in a 

 placid smile unbroken by a ripple. As Kipling 

 describes it, 



The Injian Ocean sets an' smiles 



So soft, so bright, so bloomin' blue ; 

 There ain't a wave for miles and miles 



Excep' the jiggle from the screw. 

 The ship is swep', the day is done, 



The bugle's gone for smoke and play ; 

 An' black against the settin' sun 



The Lascar sings " Hum deckty hai / " * 



Until we reached Port Said India seemed still with 

 us in the glory of the sunsets. Evening after evening 

 we sat up in the bows and watched where the sun 



* " I'm looking out ! " 



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