striking, but it would be out of place to dwell on
it here. It may be caused by the fact that the French Resident is,
as a rule, recalled every six months, while the British Resident
had been at Vila for more than three years. Mr. King received me
most cordially and also offered his hospitality, which, however,
I was unable to accept. Later on Mr. King assisted and sheltered me
in the most generous manner, so that I shall always remember his help
and friendship with sincere gratitude.

I also had the honour of making the acquaintance of the British judge
and of most of the Condominium officials.

It was a dull morning when we left Vila on board the French Government
yacht. In days gone by she had been an elegant racing-boat, but
was now somewhat decayed and none too clean; however, she had been
equipped with a motor, so that we were independent of the wind.

Besides the Resident and myself there were on board the French judge,
the police commissioner, and a crew of boys from the Loyalty Islands
near New Caledonia. These are excellent sailors and are employed in
Vila as French policemen. They are very strong and lively and great
fighters, and would be perfect material for a police force were they
not such confirmed drunkards. Because of this defect they all had
to be dismissed soon afterwards and sent back to their own country,
as in Vila, instead of arresting drunken natives, they had generally
been drunk themselves and were often fighting in the streets. But
on board ship, where they had no opportunity to get drunk, they were
very willing and always cheerful and ready for sport of any kind.

We did not travel far that first day, but stopped after a few hours'
sail in Port Havannah, north of the Bay of Mele. This port would be one
of the best harbours in the group, as it is almost entirely landlocked;
only, the water is so deep that small craft cannot anchor. Yet it
would be preferable to Port Vila, as the climate is much better, Vila
being one of the hottest, stuffiest and rainiest spots in the group,
and its harbour is becoming too small for the increased traffic of
the last few years. Port Vila only became the capital of the islands
when the English influence grew stronger, while all the land round
Port Havannah belonged to a French company.

We spent the afternoon on shore shooting pigeons. Besides a few ducks,
flying-foxes and wild pigs, pigeons are the only game in the islands;
but this pigeon-shooting is a