GLIMPSES OF EAST AFRICA AND ZANZIBAR 



be in Zanzibar only a few months. The way to 

 get furniture, really, is to wait, if you can, till some 

 European goes home and sells his things ; most of 

 the furniture has passed through many hands. 

 Some little can be made if you are willing to wait 

 months ; or a certain amount can be imported from 

 Bombay. In the main street there are one or two 

 excellent Indian shops with most fascinating things 

 inside, from India, China, Japan and other Oriental 

 places. A little light Japanese furniture can be 

 bought there, pretty, but rickety, and unserviceable. 

 The ivories are pretty ; Japanese worked silver is 

 also to be had in lovely designs. Tea-sets and 

 cofFee-sets from Japan are always in stock. Two 

 or three Cingalese jewellers invite you constantly 

 to see their wares — the work is rough but not ex- 

 pensive ; they have plenty of pretty jewellery, but the 

 taste is not always to be admired, and they rarely 

 have anything very good — such things do not leave 

 Ceylon, except through dealers. 



I have heard that Zanzibar is noted as a place 

 to buy sapphires, certainly they sell any amount, 

 but of very second-rate quality. I only saw one 

 really good sapphire, and for that they wanted an 

 exorbitant price. It had already travelled to Eng- 

 land, but the jewellers there had valued it at much 

 less than what the Cingalese wanted for it. Tour- 

 malines and opals can readily be had. They mount 

 nearly everything in what they call fifteen carat 



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