OUR RECEPTION. 



11 



Mohammed bin Xasif bin Khalaf. In bis absence 

 at Zanzibar, we were received by his brother 

 Sulayman, who lay upon his bed shaking with 

 fever : the house was like its neighbours, and 

 the verandah was partly occupied by a wooden 

 ship's-tank. We then took refuge against the 

 sun at the shed called Place of Customs, 

 where we were duly welcomed, whilst cloves 

 were being weighed by the slaves. The Collector 

 of government dues was a nephew of Ladha 

 Damha, this Pisuji was at the head of some ten 

 Bhattias : they are readily distinguished by 

 red conical fools' caps, and by their Indian 

 Dhotis, or loin-cloths. His reception was far 

 more cordial than it would have been in his 

 own land, where Banyans are by no means 

 famous for hospitality to the Mlenchha, or out- 

 caste. We determined him to be an exceptional 

 man, but afterwards, on the coast, we received 

 the same civilities from all the Hindu and 

 almost all the Hindi (Moslem) merchants. Pisu 

 reproached Said for not landing us last night, 

 seated us on cots, and served upon a wooden 

 tray sliced mango and pineapple, rice, ghee, 

 and green tea. An old Sindi tailor, Pakir Mo- 

 hammed, son of a petty officer who had served 

 as a Turkish gunner in Yemen, brought a hot- 



