A Story of War

Yesterday called at Charbar in Persia. Matti (?) buildings and forts. Last night big seas gets up and I am twice soaked in my bunk before closing the port. A regular “repent sinners for the Lord is at hand” night. Muscat today, a small bay surrounded in Waziristan-like crags with piquets and sangars on them, all painted with the names of visiting ships from 1878 – 1941. Helluva swell on. Negroes come out and dive for coins. This must have been a den of pirates once. Round the corner another town, Muttra, looking through the glasses like an illustration in a book of someone’s adventures in the last century. All the ships boats are out in case we meet that submarine, which is supposed to have cut the Indian cable. A bloody cold wind in this Gulf of Oman. Chess with Pete but cannot beat him –