BLACK DOT OF HORROR.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 1541, 20 April 1916, Page 4

BLACK DOT OF HORROR.

IN THE 'WHITE FOAM. CHASED RY SUBMARINE. Interesting not only for its graphic description of an encounter with a submarine, but tp some extent, also, for its attempt to describe the feelings of those undergoing such an experience, is the account by a passenger on the City of Marseilles '(says a London journal.) It was written hy a lady who was on heard the steamer and is now sale in India.

“I hardly know how or where to begin about the most terrible experience in my life, when we were attacked by a submarine off the south-west coast of Sardinia. 1 could not have written about it that .day or the day after, but now I feel 1 can look at it from a little distance, and perhaps give you some idea of it. We left Marseilles on Monday, and Tuesday morning was beautifully bright and sunny, and the Mediterranean was as blue as it is noted to he. It was still slightly rough, hut not nearly as had as the day before. J and I had just finished breakfast, and were standing looking over the sea soon after 9.30. 1 found myself watching a dark little object miles away on the horizon for fully ten minutes. “I did not like to mention it to J—— at first, as 1 did not want .to make him nervous; hut I felt more and more so mvself, and at last I said. ‘Can you see a little boat or soinethmg right over there?’ Just then others saw it, and there was a slight stir amongst the passongevs at our side, e noticed that the captain was on the alert. As wo watched the little black dot moving on the water we could now see the water splashing in white foam around it, as if it were hurrying towards us as fast as it could. J felt sure it was a submarine. It seemed to have two conning towers, and was evidently very large and of the newest type. Suddenly the captain sailed out;

THK FIE ST OEDEE. '• ‘All put your lifebelts on and get as far forward as yon can.’ I can’t really remember my exact toolings at this moment. 1 have tried since to analyse them during the attack, but 1 can only remember feeling numbed. Other people to whom 1 have spoken also say that thev could not analyse the feelings they bail at the most critical time. My thoughts flew hither and thither in quick succession; I was in England, Scotland, back again on the ship, and everywhere, in a very small space of time—much shorter than it takes to write it down. 1 should think that from the time the- captain told us to put on our lifebelts to the time we again reached the deck not more than half a minute elapsed. . . The submarine had been to our side at first when we spotted her, hut the captain had quickly turned our hack to her, so that now our gun at the stern was lacing it. “The next five minutes—certainly not more than ten—was filled with the swishing sounds of the submarine shells and the great boom of our gun. It was a most awinl feeling being under shell fire and seeing shells hurst, beside us; yet somehow the sound of our gun answering seemed to instil confidence in me, and I expect in all the others also. "When wo first sighted the submarine it was fourteen miles away, but when it opened fire on us it was only about three and a half miles trom ns. I must say that there was not the least, sign of any panic amongst the passengers or crew. Throughout everyone behaved splendidly. “The submarine aimed well, and sonic shells went right over our boat, hut most fell to one side or the other. I, myself, saw three shells hurst, and of course heard the others. At one time J—;— wished to peep round the front of the music-room. 1 begged him not, and it was fortunate that he did not go. as at that moment the cap of a shell fell over the captain on the bridge, just missing him, ami then on the deck below. Meanwhile the crew very quickly made the- boats ready, and carried up large tins of biscuits to put in them. All the crew stuck to their various posts, even the native stokers worked their hardest to increase the speed, and the engineers were thus aide to got a greater speed than the boat had ever previously attained. As \vo stood at the music-room door a young minister quietly said, '.Shall we pray? and offered a prayer for help ami safety; and later, in the dining saloon, where the chief steward advised everyone to go to he safer trom the bursting shells, he conducted a little, service, and this did much to calm the peoples nerves. BROKE INTO SOBS. “After firing our eighth- shot th» submarine disappeared very quickly—in tact quicker than a submarine usually can do; but we have no means ol knowing whether we sank or not. The next twenty minutes were a very anxious time tor all on hoard, as wo did not know whether the submarine was gaining on ns, and it was a horroid suspense- waiting for the boat to he torpedoed. About half an hour after the'firing had ceased the captain came down to say that he thought all was safe, but that lor the present we had better keep on the lifebelts. Through it all I felt most sorry for the mothers. It must have boon dreadful for them, with tiny children to think of, and yet I never saw one uncontrolled, and the children were marvellous. Boor iijttle things—some of them looked terrified, others sat on their mother’s knees wondering what it was all about, j. noticed one little boy, about six years old, who seemed the most nervous of all —his whole face was agonised. lie stood speechless beside his parents, and not until it was a}l over lip broke inio sobs;.and then his mother wisely said that it would do him good to cry, and he sat on her knee and let out all his penferiip feelings. The slowaress eamo round with biscuits for the children; it was just wonderful to see how bravely and calmly all those people perlormcd their duties ami faced what might have been death. Never before have 1 felt so at the brink of life- I remember wondering vaguely, if we landed on some out-of-the-way island off Sardinia, whether we could possibly b > y° u know that wo were safe helore you saw in the papery that our boat bad neon sunk.”