Reef-fishing is full of exciting incidents, but its
chief attraction is the amazing beauty of the sea-gardens as seen
through the water-glass, with sponges and sea-fans of every hue,
gently waving in the current far below, as fish of all the colours of
the rainbow play in and out of them in the clear blue water.
At Bermuda I found my old friend, the Guardsman, established at
Government House as A.D.C. The island is one of the most ideal places
in the world for boat-sailing, and the Guardsman had taken up yacht
racing with his usual enthusiasm; atoning for his lack of experience
by a persistent readiness to take the most hideous risks. The C.O. of
the British battalion then stationed in Bermuda was rather hard put to
it to find sufficient employment for his men, owing to the restricted
area of the island. He encouraged, therefore, their engagements in
civilian capacities, as it not only put money into the men's pockets,
but kept them interested. At Government House we had
soldier-gardeners, soldier-grooms, a soldier cowman, and a
soldier-footman. The footman was a Southampton lad, and having been
employed as a boy in a racing-yacht on the Solent, was a most useful
man in a boat, and the Guardsman had accordingly annexed him as one of
his racing crew, regardless of the fact that his labours afloat rather
interfered with the specific domestic duties ashore for which he had
been engaged by the Governor.
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