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IX. CHRISTMAS, 1915 
70 francs to 35 francs, telling him I had decided on 
this only from extreme necessity. Nevertheless, he 
gave me notice, adding that “ his dignity would not 
allow him to serve me for so small a sum.” He lives 
with his parents on the opposite bank of the river, and 
had been keeping a money-box with a view to the 
purchase of a wife. This had now to be opened, and 
it contained nearly £8 (200 francs), but in a few weeks 
it had all been frittered away. 
Now I have to depend only on N’Kendju’s help. 
He is quite handy and useful, except on the days when 
he is out of temper, when nothing can be done with 
him : but in any case I have to do a good many things 
that Joseph used to do. 
In the treatment of ulcers and suppurating wounds 
I have found pure methylen-violet most useful. This 
is a drug which is known to the trade as Merk’s 
Pyoktanin. The credit of having made the decisive 
experiments regarding the disinfecting power of concen- 
trated dyestuffs belongs to Professor Stilling, of 
Strasbourg, a specialist in diseases of the eye. He 
placed at my disposal a quantity of Pyoktanin which 
had been prepared under his superintendence — so that 
I might test it here — and it reached me not long before 
the outbreak of war. I began its use with some 
prejudice against it, but the results are such that I 
gladly put up with the unpleasant colour. Methylen- 
violet has the peculiarity of killing the bacteria without 
affecting or injuring the tissues or being in the least 
degree poisonous ; in this respect it is much superior 
to corrosive sublimate, carbolic acid, or tincture of 
iodine. For the doctor in the forest it is indispensable. 
Besides this, Pyoktanin does, so far as my observation 
