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[[preprinted]] Saturday, December 24, 1910 [[/preprinted]] This'll make my fourth Christmas in the East,- one at Aden, one at Mombasa, and two here. And I'm going to take damned good care I don't have any more out here, too. I'm impatient for 1911 to roll around! 25th(continued) at a mint julep at Weddell's reception and fizzy water at the morning soiree of the ETC. Well, I shan't be here to do it again, another Christmas! Got a few [[strikethrough]] [[?]] [[/strikethrough]] presents today, but the most important of all is still off the Benadir. [[end page]] [[start page]] [[preprinted]] Sunday, December 25, 1910 [[/preprinted]] Had our Christmas dinner at the house tonight, and the old Creeper done it proud. There were six of us, Arnold, Whithycombe, Masters, Cooper, Forbes, and your humble and obt. That reminds me of a govt. official here who had to write (on business) to a personal enemy of his, meeting this fellow some days afterward, he explained the closing flourishes of his epistle by saying, "I want you to understand that when I sign myself 'your humble and obedient servant,' I'm bloody well nothing of the [[strikethrough]]kind[[/strikethrough]] sort!" My own dinner wasn't much of a success, for my tummy had rebelled