GLIMPSES OF EAST AFRICA AND ZANZIBAR 



Masai, Wakikuyu and Wakamba, until they get 

 partly civilised and partially clothed. 



It seemed warm, but not unbearable, when we 

 arrived at Mombasa at the end of August ; in fact 

 quite cool after the terrific heat of the Red Sea, 

 July and August being the hottest months for the 

 sea. But the sun in Mombasa in the middle of 

 the day is very hot, and it is distinctly unwise for a 

 woman to walk about in it then, if she wishes to 

 avoid fever. I remember remarking how the still- 

 ness of the evening strikes one, broken as it is by 

 the sound of countless insects, and it seems very 

 peaceful. One night I was awakened by the voices 

 of men, singing and laughing loudly ; next morning, 

 in my ignorance, I remarked what a lot of noise 

 some natives made in the night. At two in the 

 morning natives are quiet, unless they have an 

 Ngoma (dance) on, and the rowdy crowd I heard 

 was a merry party of bachelors and grass-widowers 

 returning from a dinner at the club, having drunk 

 more deeply than wisely perhaps. I had yet to 

 learn the tremendous barrel-like capacity which 

 residence in the tropics, added to habit, creates in 

 men. 



The hotels of Africa are not remarkable for 

 great comfort, though the one in Mombasa at which 

 we stayed was fairly good, and meals were taken 

 in a pleasant manner on a sort of verandah roof. 



An officer who came out on the same boat with 



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