Page:Travel letters from New Zealand, Australia and Africa (1913).djvu/426

 not sit at the head of the centre table in the dining-*room, but occupies a side seat at a side table Men object to wearing evening clothes because of the stiff shirt. Soft shirts with pleated fronts are generally worn with dress suits on the "Burgermeister," and they are said to be the latest in London. A coat and vest of white duck, the coat as short as a waiter's jacket, are also substituted for the black coat and vest Every little while I meet a man who says he prefers second class to first class on a ship, because of the lack of formality in the second cabin. At Victoria Falls I became acquainted with a man, and saw him again today on the second-cabin deck. He says the informality there is so pronounced that some of the Englishmen spend half the morning in the smoking-room wearing nothing but pajamas. That, it seems to me, is carrying informality too far. When a man travels in the second cabin, he does it to save money, and not because it is "more democratic." I hate democracy when it amounts to impoliteness and rudeness, as is frequently the case There is a burly German officer on board in whom I am much interested, because of the scars on his head and face. The scars were evidently received in a student duel at the university, and I should like to see the bully boy who decorated him so artistically I hear it stated every hour of the day that Africa is a country of "great promise." It seems to me that Africa has been "promising" long enough, and should cease being a game country. The United States turned the buffalo ranges into farms; Africa would also get rid of its game if there were any demand for its land from agriculturists.