LAND AND .WATER. 
June 12, 1915. 
bsmined her mind. Her vision cleared to probe a Ijad-grej 
murk, vfhkh was hah" u:^'>t, Half day. 
She wa3 a prisoner in Man's lair, tlie frowsy parlour of 
the village pot house. Half-kitchen this, half lounging place 
for topers who had credit. The slate hung obvious on the 
wall. It was Ul-lit, ill-furnished. Low tables flush against 
the walls, littered with beer-stained tumblers; low benches 
running past them; a sink; two greasy roller towels; a copper 
with a blazing wood fire under it; the walls huug randomwise 
with gear, with pans, with sieves, with colanders. The ceiling 
crossed with rods of iron, from which iron hangers dangled, 
and bore the weight of bacou-sides, and sausages, and hams. 
The chimnev-piece was dominant. It rose pyramidal 
from a twelve-foo't base, with hinging flaps to case or loose the 
draught, with sto%e and elbow-jointed flue. A scent of curing 
thickened in the air, the juniper that had embrowned the 
hams. , 
Three loafers sprawled half-fuddled round a table. Man 3 
mate, full-breasted, red of face and arm, made racket at the 
eink. The crockery chinked, the tin-ware clashed and jangled. 
Husband and children helped— and hindered her. Margot 
was for the children — at a price. 
The cage was dumped down roughly, rattling the dreg- 
fouled, finger-printed tumblers; and Man lurched round in- 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
quisitive. 
Arms swung, hands clapped together; and Margot s 
terror-stricken eyes froze in a rounded stare. 
The children's fingers ventured through the bars, offering, 
imploring friendship. But Margot saw a threat in them, and 
backed av/ay, and cringed. 
Though baby fingers had no claws, fear kept her sharp- 
edged beak tight closed— fear of the chink and jangle of the 
glass, fear of the drowsy lolling heads, the bulldog necks, tha 
liquor-swollen bellies. 
What bird of prey was terrible as Man t 
These ogre mouths drained at one gulp the measure of an 
ox's brimming mud-print; these gobbling jaws would bolt her 
whole, engulf her in a maw unfathomable. 
That Man was enemy she knew. What of Man's tools 
and implements? The flashing knives, his instruments of 
death, whose blades clove crusted slabs of bread like lard; the 
copper- ware which jangled at a touch; the grids; the high- 
suspended tube of iron, from which she seemed to catch the 
stench of smoke, and memory of soft bodies dangling limp. 
So fear of the unknown joined strength with fear of tha 
unseen; but worse than these, more singular, more torturing, 
was the unnerving sense of her own smallnesa. These sprawl- 
ing, lounging bodies towered colossal; they surged gigantic 
from the void, they fined away in mystery. Above them hung 
the heavy-cloistered darkness, which seemed to totter over her, 
the darkness of the impenetrable ceiling. With head hunched 
back between her wings, she shuddered at each grinco of 
plate or tumbler; she shuddered at each scraping, creaking 
footfall, which marked the lurching come and go of 
Man. But in this nameless stress of mind, this vague 
delirium of fear, she found a grain of comfort. The cage itself 
was, in a sense, protection; the mesh-work rampartof the wires 
was proof against assault. She had not long to wait for dis- 
illusion, but for the moment this strange hope sustained her. 
The day trailed past, its every moment haunted. Man 
came, swung glass to mouth, and went his way; and Margot 
only saw his smacking lips. 
Yet no one sought to harm her. A few, the mischievous, 
caught up her cage and twirled it round and lauglicd at her 
bewilderment. 
This strange assault made whirlpool uf her senses. 
It was the walls that spun about, the tables that up- 
reared themselves, the men vflio swayed and danced like 
wind-bent boughs, the pots and pans which leapt at hsr, in 
dizzying whorls and spirals. 
Night came at last, and Margot's eyelids drooped. She 
was worn out. Her roosting-time was past. Hunger and 
fear and weariness drowsed into broken sleep. 
But suddenly she started. A draught of air had swept 
across her eyes. A human hand was near her ! was groping 
round her body ! v/as fingering her ! was grasping her 1 
Then came a click — the prison door recloscd. And 
Terror grinned afresh at her — across the futile bars, and 
turned her blood to water, and swept her mind adrift from 
its sheet anchorage. 
The cage, her fancied stronghold, had been breached. 
Her mind reeled under this fresh torment. 
She backed and cowered as gleam and spurt of flame 
flung blaze of gold and crimson to the roof, and framed a 
vault of flickering lights and spectre-haunted shadows. 
(To be continued.) 
SUBM.\RINES. 
To the Editor of L.\nd and Wa.tek. 
Sir, — The activity of enemy submarines has no doubl 
drawn considerable attention to this style of craft. That some 
eflicient means may be found to locate submerged vessels and 
thereby assail their comparative security from attack may be 
inferred from the fact that it is possible by microphonio 
means to hear the beat of their propellers. It remains to 
discover some system by which, either from variation in in- 
tensity of sound received or some other differential, aa 
accurate determination of their position can be found. 
A point, however, which has to be considered is the case 
of a submarine which, having taken up its position, silently 
awaits the approach of its intended victim. In such instance 
this method fails. The remedy necessitates the change from 
the measurement of direct to reflected sounds, and the effec- 
tiveness of such method will be appreciated by those who, 
travelling by train or car, have observed the variation ia 
intensity of sound produced by such reflecting surfaces as 
walls and trees. 
A further improvement in the means of determining the 
slight differences in intensity of sound from submerged sur- 
faces consists in the measurement of their cumulative effects. 
On such principles it is suggested that a reliable instru- 
ment could be constructed which would take from the sub- 
marine her means of self-defence and thwart the " f rightful- 
ness " it was her mission to inspire. — Yours truly, 
DsTECToa. 
GUN-DHAFNESS. 
To the Editor of Land and Water. 
DiJ.VR Sir, — In a recent issue an interesting letter ap- 
peared from Mr. Oldfield Thomas, with whom I have since 
been in correspondence, relating to gun-deafness. He recom- 
mends as " beyond comparison the best " preventive an car- 
plug made as follows : 
" Take a little piece of muslin, scrape off into it some of 
the wax of a candle, fold it up into a little pill the size of tha 
ear opening, tie it round close above the pill with some thin 
thread, leaving tags; cut off the spare muslin, and that is all. 
The resulting plug, which looks like a miniature grenade, can 
be pushed into the ear at any time, fits itself accurately 
owinc to the warmth of the body keeping it just neither hard 
nor soft, and can be pulled out again readily by the tags." 
I have consulted an eminent ear specialist, who entirely 
approves of the idea of supplying these ear-plugs to the Army 
and to the Fleet, and I am willing to arrange for them to be 
made in considerable quantities if I can first be assured of a 
demand for them. I should therefore be glad to hear from 
officers in command of regiments and ships before putting tha 
v/ork in hand. I should also like to hear from any ladies 
who would care to help me should the scheme be taken up. — 
Yours faithfully, 
(Mrs.) Anne F. Masst. 
Hazelhurst, Sway, Hants. 
THE SAILORS' AND SOLDIERS' TOB.VCCO FUND. 
To the Editor of Land and Water. 
Deas Sir, — We should be extremely obliged if tha 
officers in command of hospitals where there are wounded 
soldiers would kindly communicate with us in the event of a 
donation of tobacco being acceptable. 
It is a rule of this fund only to supply at the request of 
commanding officers, &c., in order that wo may be quite sura 
that there is no waste. 
Donations will be thankfully received to enable us still 
further to extend the scope of our work, as we have great 
difficulty in keeping pace with the demands that are madq 
ujion us. — Yours faithfuilj', 
EoY HoRNiMAN, Chairman, 
MR. HILAIR2 BELLOCS WAR LECTURES. 
Mr. Hilairs Bdloc will givo a further scries 
Queiiii's Hall on Tuesday, June 22, Tuesday, 
July 27. Seats may now be booked. 
Mr. Belloc will lecture at the Town Hall, 
Monday, June 21, and at the Winter Gardens, 
on Jlonday, June 23. 
Mr. BcIloc will lecture at Edinburgh (Iho 
Aberdeen, June 17 ; Stirling, June 13 ; Ajt 
Paisley (evening), Juno 19; the To-A-n Hall, 
Monday, June 21 ; and at tha Winter Gardens 
on Monday, June 23. 
of three lectures at tha 
July 13, and Tuesday, 
Hove, at 8 o'clock on 
Bournemouth, at 3.30, 
Ussher Hall), June 15; 
(afternoon), June 19; 
Hove, at 8 o'clock on 
, Bournemoath, at 3.30 
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