18 EAST AFRICA AND ITS BIG GAME. 
This Sultan, Sayyid Bargash, who I regret to say 
has since died, was a rather dignified-looking man with 
a grey beard, and distinctly fat; this was not surprising, 
as he was never allowed to take walking exercise, and 
constantly lived in the society of his hundred wives, 
who, by the way, were carefully kept out of sight. I 
believe the poor man suffered severely from elephan¬ 
tiasis , which probably affected his temper, for though 
most kind and gracious to us, he bore the reputation of 
being a bit of a Tartar with his own people. His dress 
consisted of a turban and simple white robes with a 
coloured sash, over which he wore a dark Arab coat, 
while at his side he carried a handsome sword with 
jewelled hilt. The scene outside the palace could 
hardly be called grand, but it was gay and animated 
and rendered picturesque by the many coloured dresses 
of those who took part in it; altogether the ceremony 
was interesting as displaying an odd mixture of tawdry 
pomp, semi-barbaric splendour, and downright shoddi¬ 
ness. 
