162 AFRICA SPEAKS 



thing more than an excuse to get away from home dur- 

 ing the winter, for "home" to them is never any place 

 but England. 



An even more unworthy group is that composed of 

 the chiselers — bounders who Hve precariously on what 

 they can borrow, wheedle, or swindle from their too 

 trusting or credulous victims. Whether or not the 

 EngUsh term rotter was coined to describe them, it 

 covers their case so perfectly that they surely have pro- 

 prietary rights in the term. Over against the tuxedo 

 toilers and the chiselers are the other two classes; one, 

 composed of government officials: earnest, intelligent, 

 and competent men, some of whom are representative 

 of the highest type of British manhood; the other, 

 made up of honest citizens who strive, too often inef- 

 fectually, to make headway against the spirit that is all 

 too prevalent in Nairobi. How hard is their task I 

 realized full well, for I was six days in Nairobi await- 

 ing the completion of a job that could have been done 

 easily in two. 



During my enforced stay in Nairobi, I was asked to 

 attend a Thanksgiving dinner to which all the Ameri- 

 cans known to be in East Africa had been invited. I 

 was compelled to go in my safari clothes, but when 

 some of the others arrived in the same attire, I felt per- 

 fectly at home. Twenty-one citizens of the States 

 were present at this banquet given at the Salisbury 

 Hotel. The menu informed us that we were to have 

 turkey and other things dear to the hearts of Ameri- 

 cans, but when the meal was served, I again realized 

 that no matter what you give a native cook in the way 

 of ingredients, the result, in so far as taste is concerned, 

 always will be the same. 



