Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-24

first. farthest, and most satisfy
| ing JOURNEYS were astride this imaginary
steed / always collected maps and
preferred the kind decorated with stiff
| little ships, sails bellying in breeze
that looked like comet, with unicorns
or savages to denote the wilderness.
The curly red lines across desert lanoS
had the fascination of magnet. and
hoped, fervently, that the pioneers, VINO
were writing their names over the PLANK
spaces would leave just one small desert
| for me!
"You will live all the stories that
other people write" prophesied an
| emotional visitor, to whom I confided
my ambitions.
;:Don't put ideas into the child's
head" reproved my governess. But the
ideas were already there.
:" In spite of various passions, for hunt
ing, for biographical literature, for
crowded London streets, for number
of lost dogs and lost causes and once,
hypnotized by Italian color, for paint
ing; In spite of flying with Merriam at
Brooklands in a plane like box-kite !;
in spite of the gloom of an attempted
novel. burned In the library fire, and
the depression coincident with an I'M
mature desire to create. the ideas re-
NAMED They were queer and muddled
In them, travel was synonymous with
adventure and there were no FENCES,
laws or inhibitions.
I collected a considerable amount of
Heterogeneous knowledge and no habits.
Habits are our jailers and possessions
our prison walls. A wanderer can have
no household gods and he must also be
Indifferent to such unimportant things
as food, sleep and washing.
I've slept on anything or nothing-on
a sloping shelf of rock above the red
cave city of Petra in the Hedjaz; on a
| table in a Tongan shed; on native mat
| in Fiji; on an opium couch In Siam; on
desert sands in Africa and Arabia; In
| the ammunition wagon OF a Chinese
troop train; in an armored car in Pales-
tine; on the decks of innumerable floors
of as many huts, stables and caves.
I've learned that nothing Is impos-
sible, except a certain brand OF govern
ment official, and even they have been
known to look the other way.
My first real journey began at Dur
ban, South Africa, where 1 landed with
an English return ticket and EGO. Most
| of the money went on the purchase of
| a horse. astride which, with revolver
that didn't know how to use, tooth
brush, comb and clean shirt, start
ed riding north. forget what hap
pened to that horse, but was lent in
Vulnerable others.
Eventually, sleeping in police camps
and native kraals, sometimes escorted
by a friendly chief. Boer farmer or
wandered north to Rhodesia. Here Gov
eminent House put down its foot.
IT want to go across the ZambeZi,"
insisted.
IF you did" retorted His Excellency,
"all we should find of you would be one
spurred riding-boot and a dead lion,
choked by the other" So I was put on
south bound train, which completely
| exhausted my resources. had to de-
eide during the last days whether /
would hire pillow to sleep on that
night, or buy some bananas to eat.
Whatever the vegetarians may say,
bananas are not at all satisfying to the
veld-sharpened appetite of 20, but I
existed on them for 10 hours and
pawned my wedding-ring for very in
adequate lodging at Cape Town till the
| home bound steamer arrived.
X X 4 X
WAR broke out as reached England,
w and I worked as a maSseuse in a
London hospital till the Societe de Sc
cours aux BlesSes Militaires appealed
| for ambulance drivers at the front
That was my chance. took it, and
a 45-horsepower Mercedes that made a
souffe of my inside whenever ! draped
myself agonizedly around the starting
handle.
That machine could kick in more di-
rectionS than mule, but I drove it to
most of those immortal places on the
Western front, Commercy, Belfort and
Montauban, and, finally, into a she'll
4, hole, wherein also deposited good
deal of skin, splinter of bone and
some teeth.
"Take a rest" said the French doc
| tors and dentists who mended me
| horribly publicly in long shed, where
+, in poilus waited their turn and kindly
ignored my anguish. "A sea voyage
suggested a pompous individual at the
| base hospital who was far too solid
ly earth-bound to consider submarines.
collected travelling companion,
Undine, golden-haire and SoulleSS, with
an infallible smile.
She had a marvellous power of get
ting the most out of life and any form
of government official We spent a
wonderful year wandering around the
earth on tramp steamers, river junks
where the log was punctuated by
strange smells of copra and rottine
onion. salt, fermenting rice or oil-stain-
ed. kat-chewing humanity.
We rode anything four-legged, from
an elephant to a water-buffalo, and
when we were too broke even to hire
an "ecca"-a sort of mouse trap or
wheels, popular in Cochin China-we
tramped to the nearest embassy or gov
eminent house and demanded shelter
in the name of four famous and for
tunately far distant relatives. @
It was towards the end of this COM
prehensive journey that began to taki
stock of life Temporarily. I had lef
Undine with some friends in Canadian
ranch, so thought would ride oyei