MOMBASA. 79 



distance ; near at hand ; dying into distance again 

 slow, dogged, toilsome, came to be to us one of 

 the typical features of the place. 



After breakfast we put on our sun helmets and 

 went forth curiously to view the town. We 

 found it roughly divided into four quarters 

 the old Portuguese, the Arabic, the European, 

 and the native. The Portuguese comprises the 

 outer fringe next the water-front of the inner 

 bay. It is very narrow of street, with white- 

 washed walls, balconies, and wonderful carven and 

 studded doors. The business of the town is done 

 here. The Arabic quarter lies back of it a maze 

 of narrow alleys winding aimlessly here and there 

 between high white buildings, with occasionally 

 the minarets and towers of a mosque. This dis- 

 trict harboured, besides the upper-class Swahilis 

 and Arabs, a large number of East Indians. 

 Still back of this are thousands of the low grass, 

 or mud and wattle huts of the natives, their roofs 

 thatched with straw or palm. These are appar- 

 ently arranged on little system. The small 

 European population lives atop the sea bluffs 

 beyond the old fort in the most attractive bunga- 

 lows. This, the most desirable location of all, 

 has remained open to them because heretofore 

 the fierce wars with which Mombasa, " the 



