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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 hack 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 Africa. 
Consequently the passengers are about equally di¬ 
vided between the English and the Germans, with 
