There Is A
Lighthouse At Cape Gatta, Which Can Be Seen At A Distance Of Fifteen
Miles, As From Its
Elevated position the lamp is 190 feet above the sea.
From this point to Limasol the beach is low and
Sandy, and has always
been accepted as the most favourable point for a disembarkation of
troops. With historical facts before us there is small excuse for the
blunder committed in landing our army of occupation, during the extreme
heat of July, at Larnaca instead of Limasol. At the former port there is
not a tree to throw a shade, and the miserable aspect of the surrounding
country must have had a most depressing effect upon the nervous system
of officers and men, while at Limasol the country is agreeable and the
shady caroubs exist almost to the sea-shore, in numbers that would have
sheltered an army of three times the force represented. I cannot
conceive of more deliberate cruelty inflicted upon all grades than an
unnecessary exposure to the burning summer sun of Cyprus in bell-tents,
when shady trees existed in so convenient a locality as Limasol. If the
root of the offence could be traced it would probably be discovered that
the advice had been given by some persons interested in the possession
of property at Larnaca, where rents of houses rose from nil to a
fabulous amount upon the disembarkation of the troops. Altogether this
military enterprise of occupation was effected with the usual British
confusion and lack of arrangement.
The commissariat of course broke down, although special pains had been
taken to supply the troops with luxuries that to a simple mind are
inconceivable; thus COPPER WARMING-PANS in great numbers were sent out!
As the thermometer was above 100 degrees Fahr., these fiery furnaces
were hardly appreciated. It is a reflection upon the want of resource
exhibited by the authorities that these peculiar utensils were not sent
out as regimental stew-pans, as there was a dearth of cooking-pots, and
the warming-pans might have added materially to the comforts of the
insides, instead of the outsides of the men, by reducing the
gutta-percha-like texture of Cyprian bullocks into a savoury stew.
Another comfort thoughtfully supplied by some more than usually insane
authority, who no doubt had passed a severe competitive examination, was
exhibited in countless coal-boxes of cast-iron! These curious devices
were about three feet six inches long by two feet and a half deep, and
the same in width. To my ideas they were only suitable for gigantic
foot-pans or hip-baths, or as an aquarium for a young seal; but their
real object was to contain coal for the supply of the various tents!
What is to become of our country, exclaims the British taxpayer, if this
frightful waste is to continue? What traveller or explorer ever carried
with him a copper warming-pan and a gigantic coal-box, weighing nearly
two hundred pounds? And these useless abominations are to hamper the
operations of our troops, and to wear out our sailors in the labour of
the disembarkment of such disgraceful lumber!
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