er vast
trade with other countries, appearing as bright oases in the desert of
Eastern heathendom and unfriendliness, and ranging in numerical
importance from say thirty to five hundred Europeans, in accordance
with the amount of shipping which flows through them and is their very
life-blood.

Much depends on the residents themselves whether social life in these
miniature colonies is to be very pleasant or only a deadly monotony.
Nearly every man who comes out from home has been selected from among
his fellows for some particular superiority. Either he is smart in
business, has health and physique to withstand the extremes of climate
to which he may be subjected, is clever and has gained his appointment
in competitive examination, or he may have all these qualities
combined; anyhow, he is a picked man, above the average all round, and
as such has a corresponding force of character.

A number of such men being thrown together in a small place either
co-operate and become fast friends, their wives and children, if they
have any, following suit, when existence is rendered charming, or, on
the other hand, with their marked individualities and business
rivalries they may quarrel, in which case the best thing is to forego
all hopes of social pleasures and wrap yourself up in your own
content. A quarrelsome port provides an amusing study for a short
time, but after that, especially during the depressing dampness of the
rainy season when it is too wet to go out, life becomes very
monotonous and irritating, for the space being so limited you are
continually brought face to face with people who are on bad terms and
who try to attach you to their side. Trivial jealousies, mythical
slights and insignificant nothings which would pass unnoticed in a
larger world here assume such alarming proportions that the club
languishes owing to numerous resignations, few attend church because
one of the rival faction plays the organ, and the evening promenade
beneath the trees along the bund is transformed from a pleasant family
gathering into a funereal procession.

In pleasing contrast is a _nice_ port, where people pull together,
where good-fellowship and hospitality make one feel like the member of
a large family, where you walk into the house of your neighbour, smoke
his cigars and drink his whisky, brought to you while reclining in a
long chair on the verandah with the punkah swinging lazily over you,
waiting for the master's return. T