OCTOBER 25.

[Sidenote: British destroyers fight raiders.]

[Sidenote: The Admiral strict as a Prussian.]

Where did you hear that about two destroyers being sunk off the coast of
Ireland on September 3? False alarm. Of course, you have read in the
papers about the convoy destroyed in the North Sea by German raiders.
The two British destroyers with the convoy stood up to them and fought
as a bulldog would fight a tiger--and with the same result. Somebody was
arguing with the Admiral, our boss, to the effect that it would have
been better for them to have saved themselves, trailed the raiders, and
sent radio, so that the British cruisers could have intercepted and
destroyed them. Said the Admiral, "Yes, it would have been better, but I
would court-martial and shoot the man that did it." He's a wonder to
serve under, as grim and strict as a Prussian, but very just, and runs
things in a way that secures all our admiration--though we may fuss a
bit when, expecting two or three comfortable days in port, we get chased
out on short notice into a raving gale outside.


A BRITISH DOCK YARD, NOVEMBER 4.

[Sidenote: A friend on hospital duty.]

There are lots of our army people here. Some of them are just passing
through, while others are stationed at near-by training camps or
hospitals. I was wandering around the big hotel here, when I saw a