TROUBLES. 



37 



chief of the African possessions, was engrossed 

 in preparations for defence. Moreover, this 

 amiable young prince having lately recovered 

 from confluent small-pox, an African endemic 

 which had during the last few years decimated 

 the islanders, was ashamed to display a pock- 

 marked face to the 8 public,' ourselves included. 

 The mainland of Northern Zanzibar about Lamu 

 was, as usual on such occasions, in a state of 

 anarchy. Every man seized the opportunity of 

 slaying his enemy, or of refusing to pay his 

 taxes. An exceptionally severe drought had 

 reduced the southern coast of Zanzibar to a 

 state of famine. 



Briefly, the gist of the whole was that I had 

 better return to Bombay. But rather than re- 

 turn to Bombay, I would have gone to Hades 

 on that 20th of December, 1858. 



NOTE. 



Since these pages were penned the Bombay 

 Gazette of November 11, 1870, announced the 

 death of H. H. Sayyid Majid, Sultan of Zanzi- 

 bar, and the succession of his brother — Sayyid 

 Burghush. 



