Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/2/1 - January - March 1915 - Part 13

March 21               119
leave him absolutely cold. I cant understand 
that at all. To me the most interesting thing we saw
today was the cuttings in the foot if the northernmost
of the two Colossi of Memnon, the one which was
supposed to sing when the sun rose. There were
perhaps thirty inscriptions - old roman provincial
governors had camped at the foot of the statue for
a day or two, each day being called at sunrise to
hear the statue sing. I couldn't make out all
the lettering. But there was one Claudius, I think,
a freedman of Augustus & procurator of some
province, who said AUDIVIT - he had heard it. I
saw several other AUDIVITs & one Ÿĸouex. It
makes you wonder whether they must not
really have heard it.
Ramsay, who was my stable companion
in the sleeper up there & back, found the old
Dragoman who had shown him round 20
years before, when he was here. The old
chap undoubtedly remembered him. He took
him round next day with donkeys & brought
his son to look after them & would not take a
penny for it – so Ramsay of course gave him
£1 & 10/- for the kid. He _^ Ramsay asked him if the youngster
 

March 21                         120
would not be tired. He said. "I bring him - it good
for his thinkers. If I leave him he stay at home,
he become sleep & eat all day, he become lazy,
cant do any work, same like those other boys.
Best way make him always use his thinkers
- then he grow up always ready to work" -
which was pretty good educational theory
put into simple language. We saw the
tombs of the Kings, Deir. el. Bahri,
Ramesseum, & Colossi this day, & I
wish I had seen the Medinet Habu temple
& tombs of some of the queens also. The
view as you come out from the dry wind
worn valley in which are the tombs of
the Kings, & suddenly reach the Edge
of the precipice about 800 feet above the
plain, & look out, as Ramsay said,
"over all the land of Egypt" - the
little green & black ribbon of
river & cultivation which has before now
contained most of the culture & wealth
of the world, is one of the finest I
have ever seen.
 

March 22                     121
Monday March 22. Came back early
this morning. Jack tells me that a friend of
his, Wright, a cambridge medical (of his
own time both there & at Barts) was dining in
their mess on Sunday. He didn't know J.
was there. He told them that 29 transports
had just arrived at Alexandria carrying
40,000 territorials who had presumably
came to take our place in Egypt. They
also brought _^ some mules for our force. Wright
was enlisted at the beginning of the war
in the London Scottish & was with them
during their _^ first charge. that so much has been
written about. He says that the Germans
are very brave, being coming up in
crowds to be shot down; but that they
are of no more use with a bayonet than
an old woman with a broomstick.
He described them as waving the bayonet
round in circles when they ought
to be sticking it in. He told Jack that he
had seen some fine troops - the London Scottish were
a fine big lot & so were some of the other British
regiments. But he sd _^ he had never seen anything
like our men in size. He was enormously impressed
 

March 23                         122
Tuesday March 23. Had two letters to get off
for the morning & evening papers & sat at
them till they were finished, when it was
5.35 this morning & daylight, got to bed
just as the camp was getting up & slept
in till 11.30.
Received a cable from father yesterday
saying that my little statuette, the little
Greek bronze that I was so pleased with,
was stolen in The Mongolia. With postal
arrangements as unsafe as they
still are it seems to me that the best
way is not to register anything.
Registering, under our postal arrangements,
does very little more than advertise
to every one who comes along that the
registered article is worth stealing.
I got three little registered mementoes up at Luxor -
a small marble torso, a little ancient
Egyptian rag with some _^ Egyptian writing on it,
and a potsherd with some greek writing.
But one scarcely knows how to send
them.
Today I bought in Cairo a small memento
 

March 23. 24                  123
for Peter Schuler, & a little bronze - (9/-) - not
a bad one, to replace my stolen bronze. When
I saw Peter he told me he wasn't going after
all. He had heard that Sir Ian Hamilton was
coming to command the army or at any rate the
British Expedition, & As he knew Sir Ian well
he decided to stop on.
A signal company for the Army Corps Headquarters
arrived out in camp to day. It is a British company
brought out I suppose with the convoy that has
just arrived in Alex. I hear there are French troops
landing in Alex. That look as Of course they are part of
the Expeditionary Force. This Their landing them looks as though
the Exp. force were held up for a bit.
Wed Mar. 24. The Turks attacked A small Turkish force approached the Canal
again on Monday & a force under Gen Younghusband
went out & drove them off on Tuesday.
They were only one regt - the 3rd, part of
the X^th Divn 4^th army Corps - with a little
cavalry & artillery. I suppose life at a
miserable little desert hamlet like Beersheba
with two picture shows as its chief
enlivenment is too deadly for Gen. von Fromer
& he must have an _^ go on an occasional burst.
 

March 24                    124
I hear the 29^th Division is at Alexandria
- part of the Exp. Force; 40,000 or 60, 000 French.
Some say 30,000 British are already at Lemnos.
The Exp. may consist of one or two British
Army Corps & one or two French corps; &
two Russian corps. These last may perhaps
push in through the Dardanelles Asia Minor.
It is said that Peter tells me he hears that
Ian Hamilton is already at here in Cairo
staying with Gen. Maxwell & that Birdwood
has left. It is rumoured tonight that Italy
has declared war on Austria.
 

125
 

DIARY 2
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