Received the following general stores: 118 lbs. geese, 23 lbs. ducks, 12 bunches celery, 100 lbs. cauliflower, 50 lbs. Brussels sprouts, 85 lbs. beets, 700 lbs. bread, 5040 lbs. potatoes. The home-made poetry inspired by this Christmas in exile seemed to lack the punch of former ballads as sung by the bluejackets’ glee club. One of the productions went like this, with a perceptible tinge of pathos: “It was Christmas on the _Corsair_, ’Neath England’s cold, gray skies, And one and all on board her Hove long and pensive sighs. “Some of us longed for our families, Our wives and children dear, While others wished for their sweethearts And maybe shed a tear. “We sailors, tho’ outwardly happy, Were moved by memory Of mother, home, and sweetheart, So far beyond the sea. “So while the war is ended And gladness reigns supreme, Yet to the boys on the _Corsair_, Peace is an idle dream. “Waiting for sailing orders, The ships all on the bum, This special duty is surely enough To drive a man to rum. “But the sailor believes in the doctrine Of sunshine after rain, And as soon as the job is over, He is ready to try it again. “So when we get back to the homeland, As we will some day, we trust, There isn’t one if called upon, Who wouldn’t repeat or bust. “The destroyers are gone to the west’ard, The battleships, too, are home, But this poor old yacht has been forgot And is left here to finish ALONE!!” On the day after this rather subdued Christmas, the _Corsair_ was informed of her destination, which was Queenstown, Ireland, and her mission was to relieve the U.S.S. _Melville_ as the flagship of Admiral Sims, Commanding the U.S. Naval Forces in European Waters. The _Melville_, the last word in naval construction as a repair and supply ship, had been nominally the flagship during the service of the destroyer flotillas at Queenstown, although the official headquarters and residence of Admiral Sims were in London. During this time the _Melville_ had quartered Captain J. R. P. Pringle, the American chief of staff and his organization which coöperated with the British Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly in maintaining and directing the destroyer force.