Maugham made the same mistake
Dalrymple confesses to what he calls
a serious omission,
something which
causes me much embarrassment.
He explains that although he was more than three years in the Gilbert Islands,
I never learnt more of the language than simple questions after health.
He offers these excuses, none of which satisfy him:
- he was never sure how long he would stay
- it was a language spoken by only 60,000
- it was a language with no written literature
- the nurses and doctors with whom he had to deal all spoke English
- his social life was almost entirely among the expatriate community
Dalrymple concludes regretfully:
It was laziness combined with an attitude of cultural superiority I should certainly have condemned in others.
The British Resident’s flag
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