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IX. CHRISTMAS, 1915 
Our own health is not first-class, though it is not 
really bad ; tropical anaemia has, indeed, already set 
in. It shows itself in the way the slightest exertion 
tires one ; I am quite exhausted, for example, after 
coming up the hill to my house, a matter of four minutes’ 
walk. We also perceive in ourselves a symptom that 
accompanies it, an excessive nervousness, and besides 
these two things we find that our teeth are in a bad 
condition. My wife and I put temporary fillings into 
each other’s teeth, and in this way I give her some 
relief, but no one can do for me what is really necessary, 
for that means the removal of two carious teeth which 
are too far gone to be saved. What stories could be 
told of toothache in the forest ! One white man whom 
I know was in such pain, a few years ago, that he could 
hold out no longer. “Wife,” he cried, “get me the 
small pincers from the tool-chest.” Then he lay down, 
his wife knelt on his chest and got hold of the tooth 
as well as she could. The man put his hands on hers and 
together they got out the tooth, which was kind enough 
to let this treatment be successful. 
My mental freshness I have, strange to say, pre- 
served almost completely in spite of anaemia and 
fatigue. If the day has not been too exhausting I can 
give a couple of hours after supper to my studies in 
ethics and civilisation as part of the history of human 
thought, any books I need for it and have not with me 
being sent me by Professor Strohl, of Zürich University. 
Strange, indeed, are the surroundings amid which I 
study ; my table stands inside the lattice-door which 
leads on to the verandah, so that I may snatch as much 
as possible of the light evening breeze. The palms 
rustle an obbligato to the loud music of the crickets and 
