FLATTERY.
I.
Robert Gregory was proud of his house. A Colonial Bishop, passing through on his way to England, stayed with Gregory; in his bread-and-butter letter he wrote:
"... I think your house the most beautiful and unique in Central Africa...."
Unique perhaps it was, but scarcely beautiful.
When all is said and done, it was merely the ordinary bungalow of which one finds examples all over Africa. In size it was very modest, having only a hall, with a dining-room on one side and a bedroom on the other. There were in addition various excrescences, termed locally "lean-to's." One of these was a pantry, another a storeroom, a third a bathroom, and so on. No, it must have been to the interior decorations that the Bishop referred.
Gregory hoped to marry when next he went to England. During his last visit to the old country, on leave, he became engaged.
The woman of his choice had once remarked to him: "I do hope you have heaps and heaps of curios."