The consulate soon became a busy place. Two soldiers stood at the door to keep the line of applicants in order; inside, one of us investigated the applicants, and registered the facts of each case in a book, another took the written orders and brought back the stores, which were handed out by a third. It is perhaps superfluous to add that in cases of actual hunger no investigation was attempted. The help of Mr. and Mrs. Heynes was invaluable throughout. It enabled us to send stores to families at a distance, who had not heard of our consulate or were unable to come. Other pitiable cases were brought to our attention by the American and English newspaper correspondents, and by Mr. Frank A. Perret, the seismic expert well known for his heroism at the time of the eruption of Vesuvius in 1906. Meanwhile the United States Warships _Yankton_ and _Culgoa_, the latter loaded with stores, had joined the _Scorpion_ in the harbor. The sailors were detailed to help us clean the house and garden and put up a number of tents for a hospital. Colonel Radcliffe, the British Military Attachè, to whose clear-headed determination is due the chief credit for the admirable organization of British relief work, aided us in countless ways. He was occupied at that time in searching for the body of Mrs. Ogston, wife, of the British Consul. When the remains were found, it was a party of American sailers from the _Connecticut_ that formed the funeral escort. ARRIVAL OF THE “BAYERN.” Then, on the evening of the 8th, arrived the American Red Cross Relief Ship _Bayern_, with the American Ambassador aboard and the American Naval Attachè, Captain Belknap, in command. I am still amazed at the intuitive grasp of the situation displayed by the organizers of the expedition. From inception to completion, in every detail of planning and execution, the cruise of the _Bayern_ was emphatically a success. Messina was not the place, however, where the _Bayern_ was needed. A day ashore convinced the Ambassador and the committee that large distributions of food and clothing were not advisable at the present time. Supplies and a sum of money were given to the Archbishop of Messina, for his hospital; the stock at the consulate was replenished; a trip was made to the Calabrian coast, where the military authorities were given what stores they requested; then, early on the morning of the 11th, the _Bayern_ sailed for Catania. CATANIA.