We were not long away from land till a fairly heavy swell made some of the uninitiated sea voyagers feel all the pangs of that nauseating illness, _mal de mer_,--seasickness. One of the nurses sitting in a deck chair, looking away off over the swelling billows, said languidly: "If the Germans torpedoed us now, I wouldn't even put on a life preserver." And another traveler, a Tommy with a markedly Jewish cast of countenance, as the ship took a more pronounced dip than heretofore, exclaimed loudly: "My God! She's a submarine!" The usual sympathetic roar of laughter was the only solace that he received; but one of his pals who saw him leaning over the ship's side, giving an excellent dinner to the fishes, stepped up to him and, giving him a resounding slap on the shoulder, said: "What's the matter, poor old Ikey? Are you seasick?" "Am I seasick?" Ikey roared, glaring at him. "What da hell do ye tink I'm doin' dis for? For notting?" We had not proceeded far on our voyage when a cast-iron order was issued that all must wear their life-belts at all hours of the day. And shortly, life-boat drill became a daily occurrence at irregular hours. A bugle call to drill would be given, a call that might be real for all that anyone knew, and each company, section, and unit took its apportioned part of the deck, to be inspected by the higher officers. Life boats were kept conveniently hanging over the side of the ship for emergencies, and certain officers were detailed to each boat whose duty it was in case of mishap, to maintain order during the loading and launching of that boat. Before long this drill was carried out with the most exact precision. There were a few other parades daily for the different sections. A sick parade was held each morning, and a hospital established for those too sick to stay up and about. The medical officers and nurses were detailed in turn to do duty in this institution. But nothing of a very serious nature turned up on the voyage. Otherwise time was whiled away much as usual on shipboard. Some of us took to the gymnasium, trying out all the exercises from throwing the medicine ball to riding the horse, at which some of the cavalry officers would give that excellent piece of advice to those beginning to learn to ride: Keep your head and your heart up, Your hands and your heels down; Keep your knees close to your horse's side, And your elbows close to your own.