INTRODUCTORY. 
15 
taking. Having previously despatched my heavy 
luggage by British India steamship, I left London in 
the beginning of March, 1884, and travelled overland 
to Egypt, spent a week or two rambling about the 
highways and byeways of that unhappy land, joined 
my steamer at Suez, and quitted her at Aden with 
heartfelt joy, after a horribly uncomfortable voyage of 
eight days. At Aden I had a delightful experience 
of what British hospitality can do to cast a halo round 
the most unattractive spots. At the house of the 
Resident and Governor, General Blair, Y.C., I spent a 
most enjoyable interval whilst awaiting the Zanzibar 
steamer. 
I somewhat dreaded the advent of this vessel, for 
after my experience of cockroaches, rats, bad smells, 
and bad food in the steamer which had carried me to 
Aden, I anticipated a renewal of this purgatory on 
board the steamship of the same company which was 
to complete the journey to Zanzibar. But this was 
fortunately not the case. The Java , though an old- 
fashioned and not too speedy boat, was scrupulously 
clean, and her staff of officers were all that could be 
desired in kindness and skill. The fare was excellent, 
the weather perfect, the fellow-passengers few and 
agreeable; and our journey to Zanzibar was more like 
a trip on a friend’s yacht. We stopped at Lamu, and 
lunched with Lieutenant Haggard, her Britannic 
Majesty’s vice-consul, and then at Mombasa, where I 
went off for a lengthy conference with Captain Gissing, 
our vice-consul at that port, who was already kindly 
interesting himself in the equipment of my expedition, 
and engaging porters from the vicinity of that place to 
accompany me, for it was considered best by Sir John 
Kirk that I should start from Mombasa for Kilima- 
njaro. After my first brief visit to the place, however, 
