324 



EXPENSE. 



The humblest dwelling at Zanzibar lets un- 

 furnished for £80 to £100 per annum. Furni- 

 ture of all kinds, porcelain, china, plate, and 

 linen, no matter how old, fetch more than prime 

 cost, and $1 will be paid for a patched and 

 rickety chair worth in London a shilling. Cloth- 

 ing must be brought from Europe : broad cloth 

 is soon spoiled by sun and damp, and shoes must 

 not be exposed to the air — it is well to have the 

 latter one or two sizes larger than at home. The 

 luxuries of life are of course enormously dear, 

 when they are to be purchased. During the 

 Sayyid's absence the women of his harem have, 

 through the eunuchs, sold for a song the valu- 

 able presents sent from Europe ; and after the 

 return of the royal vessels from Bourbon and 

 the Mauritius, watches and chronometers, sex- 

 tants and spy-glasses, have been exceedingly 

 cheap. In both cases the stranger-purchaser 

 would have done well to remember that he was 

 buying stolen goods. 



Another cause of expense at Zanzibar is the 

 present state of the currency. The rouble of 

 Russia is the franc of Prance, and here the 

 standard of value is the Maria Theresa or Ger- 

 man crown, averaging 4s. 2d. Bearing the die of 

 1780, and still coined at the mint of Vienna for 



