TCD MS 10516 folio 51 recto
[21st September 1916] lowed in the true road that leads to sensual and eternal happiness.
Friday: September 22 nd. 1916: Hakika
Hove anchor at 7 a.m. The cold water is severe on the Arabs in the early morning so we postponed the start till the sun was in the heavens. Breeze was slight; the entrance to the lake was visible in the distance so that the boatmen had every inducement to put their best efforts into the towage. But progress was very slow; at best, half a mile per hour. The men worked without ceasing, sometimes poleing, sometimes towing, sometimes bending their backs beneath the bellum to raise her off the mud.
At length Hakika was reached at 4 p.m. We had been three complete days in the shallow lake covering a distance of 15 miles. I scarcely ever recollect experiencing three days of slower and more lab-