World War, 1914-1918 -- Australia; World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Palestine
Next to the slushie comes the bottle-o; but to employ this it is
necessary to have the above-mentioned rarity, candle. For candle one is
not wholly dependent on the “issue” brand, for it has been known to be
purchaseable at the canteen—when those institutions are in the vicinity.
Supposing the possession of candle to be an established and material
fact, the next necessity is a clear-glass bottle; old lime-juice bottles
are excellent, and they can be found outside any officers’ mess, or the
messes of troopers who “did a trot.” The bottom of the bottle is knocked
out by insistent but vigorous tapping with the marlin-spike of a
jack-knife till a hole is broken through, and then the rest is chipped
off in small instalments till the end is quite out. The candle is then
pared at the bottom end to fit the slope of the bottle neck, and a deep
groove gouged in it, the candle, to admit air. Apply a match to the
candle, drop it into the inverted bottle, and there is your light. If it
is not very windy, of course, all that is necessary is to drop some
melted grease on someone else’s tin hat, and stick the candle in it;
simple, isn’t it?
There are a few of the lesser Edisons who eliminate disturbance by wind
by curling a legging around the candle; but only a very narrow chink of
light exudes from its gaping edges, and the odour of singeing leather is
not pleasant.
One of the finest ideas was a combination of the slushie and the
bottle-o. A squat chutney-bottle that fitted snugly into a toffee tin,
was found, and the quality and steadiness of the light generated made
drawn filament look painfully experimental. Some wire _tibbin_ bands
secure the “globe” to the body, at the same time forming a handle.
The designs, elaborations and embellishments of the original idea are
practically numberless; they range from the primitive cremation of a
religious aunt’s epistles and incriminating love effusions up to the
princely slushie-cum-bottle-o; and they radiate in all classes of
bivvies, and shed their glory on the tangle of the newly erected as
brightly as on the white-stoned splendour of the resident.
With these remarks, and any necessary apologies to the Dinkum Military
Scribe, I shall leave them to shine on the just and the unjust, like
their mighty lord, the Sun.
“SARG.”
[Illustration:
DEFENCES IN THE GHORANIYEH BRIDGEHEAD
]
[Illustration:
THE BRICKMAKER
]
[Illustration:
A TYPICAL ARAB VILLAGE
]
[Illustration:
4th LIGHT HORSE BRIGADE WATERING HORSES AT THE JORDAN
]
A Night March
At twilight, when the air is cool, we prepare for our second consecutive
night march. Overcoats and mufflers are put on, saddles are inspected to
see that all is secure. Later it will be too dark, and we too tired to
attend to such matters.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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