SAILOR ASHORE 127
appeasement expeditions, to lend support and a judicious word or two in the right spot.
In the pocket guides published and distributed to the armed services in the present war by the Special Services Division, soldiers and sailors are warned against some of the pitfalls that gape dangerously between them and the natives of the land they find themselves in. The treacherous effects of "poteen" on the unaccustomed drinker are set forth for our men who land in northern Ireland: "Watch it. It's dynamite."
No less explosive is talk about religion, or undue curiosity about the religious creeds and observances of the natives.
This is especially true of the Mohammedan peoples of North Africa and the Hindus of India. The Moslem woman's veil has been a temptation to wandering sailors since time immemorial. Instinctively they feel it must conceal the beauty of a Hedy Lamarr, and are unable to resist the impulse to pull the curtain and take a look. Actually, what lurks behind most of the veils which drape the women who shuffle through the bazaars of Casablanca, Algiers, Cairo, and Port Said is something which makes you understand that the veil is a protection to others and not just to the wearer.
However, this natural impulse, if indulged in, would threaten our relations with the Mohammedan peoples more gravely than any lurking Nazi fifth columnists. Therefore our men are forewarned to curb their curiosity and to give all veiled women a wide berth.
During peacetime our fleets frequently cruise in foreign waters and put in at many friendly ports where the officers are entertained. I remember one such cruise—a prolonged one—in which all of us, after a time, got a little tired of state receptions and dinners given for us by the army and navy of the various countries we visited. But it was a diplomatic good-will tour, and it was part of our duty to be entertained when our hosts wanted to entertain us. When we reached a port, a list of the entertainments was posted, and the officers put their names down for those they wished
