A PRESENTATION TO THE SULTAN. 
15 
in uniform. We walked to the palace, the narrow 
streets being lined on either side by the Arab auxi¬ 
liaries armed with long guns richly inlaid, knives, 
swords, and powder horns of beautiful workmanship. 
Through this living lane of brilliant and varied 
colour we marched in single file until we came in sight 
of the palace. I was astonished to find many of those 
we passed quite small lads, and was told that each man 
or youth helping to form this guard represented the 
head of his family. Facing the palace the regulars 
under General Mathews had formed line, and looked 
quite smart in their white tunics and trousers and 
brown leather belts with shoulder straps and their red 
and yellow forage caps ; while, with their backs to the 
palace, a small dismounted troop of Indian cavalry Avere 
drawn up attended by the Portuguese band. Our ap¬ 
pearance was the signal for the latter to strike up the 
National Anthem, upon which all the troops saluted in 
orthodox fashion as, hats off, we entered the palace. 
This large and ugly building has a spacious court¬ 
yard, from the centre of which a wide double Avooden 
staircase ascends, Avith as many turns and twists as a 
Chinese puzzle, to the roof, at least a hundred feet from 
the ground. At the top of the first flight the Sultan, 
attended by his principal Arab nobles, came out to 
meet us and shaking us all warmly by the hand in¬ 
vited us to the audience chamber. Passing through cor¬ 
ridors, lined Avith Persian artillerymen, Ave folloAved his 
Majesty Avhile the band played the National Anthem 
of Zanzibar, the tune of which reminds one rather of 
