40 AFRICAN CAMP FIRES. 



one's self for the day ; and it is very improper 

 indeed to see or be seen after that hour in the 

 rather extreme negligte of the early morning. 

 Also it becomes the universal custom, or perhaps 

 I should say the necessity, to slumber for an 

 hour after the noon meal. Certainly sleep de- 

 scending on the tropical traveller is armed with 

 a bludgeon. Passengers, crew, steerage, " deck," 

 animal, and bird fall down then in an enchant- 

 ment. I have often wondered who navigates 

 the ship during that sacred hour, or, indeed, if 

 anybody navigates it at all. Perhaps that time 

 is sacred to the genii of the old East, who close 

 all prying mortal eyes, but in return lend a 

 guiding hand to the most pressing of mortal 

 affairs. The deck of the ship is a curious sight 

 between the hours of half-past one and three. 

 The tropical siesta requires no couching of the 

 form. You sit down in your chair, with a book 

 you fade slowly into a deep, restful slumber. 

 And yet it is a slumber wherein certain small 

 pleasant things persist from the world outside. 

 You remain dimly conscious of the rhythmic 

 throbbing of the engines, of the beat of soft, 

 warm air on your cheek. 



At three o'clock or thereabout you rise as 

 gently back to life, and sit erect in your chair 



