24 IN AFRICA 



nal station, and a small detachment of troops are 

 the sole points of interest in Perim, and as one rides 

 past one breathes a fervent prayer of thanksgiving 

 that he is not one of the summer colony on Perim. 



They tell a funny story about an English officer 

 who was sent to Perim to command the detachment. 

 At the end of six months an official order was sent 

 for his transfer, because no one is expected to last 

 longer than six months without going crazy or com- 

 mitting suicide. To the great surprise of the war 

 office a letter came back stating that the officer was 

 quite contented at Perim, that he liked the peace 

 and quiet of the place, and begged that he be given 

 leave to remain another six months. The war office 

 was amazed, and it gladly gave him the extension. 

 At the end of a year the same exchange of letters 

 occurred and again he was given the extension. 



I don't know how long this continued, but in the 

 end the war office discovered that the officer had 

 been in London having a good time while a ser- 

 geant-major attended to the sending of the bi- 

 annual letter. I suppose the officer divided his pay 

 with the sergeant-major. If he did not he was a 

 most ungrateful man. 



The Adolph Woermann is a German ship and is 

 one of the best ones that go down the east coast. 

 Its passengers go to the British ports in British 

 East Africa, to the German ports in German East 

 Africa, and to several other ports in South Afjica. 

 Consequently the passengers are about equally di- 

 vided between the English and the Germans, with 



