St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1903-06-10
A LADY In Zanzibar.

After stroll our guide took as to thu
beautiful gar ems laid out in honor o
the late qutel's sixtieth jubilee; away
out of the narrow, crowded, dirty streets
away from the thronging thoroughiare.
into scene like falryland. Tall, flow
ering trees and shrubs, a pretty stretch o
turf, and a magnificent and extensive
kiosk, with clear, plain English text
"To our Empress Queen" over the portal
met our gaze. We assembled the kiosk
steps, sat down on one of the many
velvet couches, counted the tables, noted
the airy punkales, Tapping idly above us,
and thought that no prettier, more
graceful tribute could have been raised
to the dear old queen. Did she ever hear
of it, / wonder? Did English subjects
tell her they reclaimed this spot from
squalor and dirt and made it peaceful,
restful paradise in honor of her? Had
she ever photograph or sketch of it,
l wonder.
Many OF the trees and shrubs are famil-
lar to us in South Africa, but there were
two, one short, juicy, green plant,
with crest of pink tubular flowers, and
one large Towering shrub with bios
SONS growing like a mass OF pink gera-
NUNS, but larger, feshier and more juicy.
Palms of three varieties, including some
magnificent date palms in full fruit, tow.
cred above us. The coco-palms have
some what bare trunk, but the stem of
the date palm is covered with thickly
incrustated scales and growths, with
here and there orchids and ferns, making
climb to the top an easy matter to the
agile Zanzibaris.
These fine trees in the queens jubilee
gardens are jealousy guarded by the
care takers who also watched us closely
lest we should pluck leaves and flowers.
A Gagged Uganda lion and very savage
with several cages of birds, form
the nucleus of ZOO" The kiosk is large
enough for an official dinner or supper,
or for any public function and is we'll
supplied with luxurious couches, sub
stantial tables and the Tapping fans or
punkales overhead. 1t was a rest to be
in the quiet spot 50 carefully and neatly
kept, but time was going and we pushed
on, past the barracks in fine shaded
street, with magnificent crotons Of every
possible description, growing in front of
the English soldiers quarters. Indeed,
these crotons, red, yellow, notified, pink,
shades of green, coralline and terra Gotta,
grow everywhere most luxuriantly and
add fine masses of color to old ruins and
broken down spots. Passing to the left,
through one Of the many Mohammedan
cemeteries, with their dismal, tumbled
down, yet oft pretentious stones and
mounds, we visited an Arab school.
There two dozen urchins, each wearing
one long, loose, white garment, in every
degree of cleanliness, with sleepy teacher
who was sitting cross legged on camp
chair, had their daily teaching. 1t was
in very narrow lane, with a rough
coral wall one side that we were. The
school children sat on mats and skins on
an uneven veranda, with ragged, torn
roof overhead. Women with water bot
ties and babies crowded near, and amid
the din of their clatter the school chill.
dren shouted out at the top of their
voices, in a screaming, monotonous
sound, verses of the Koran. Then their
teacher had them sing and every pair of
lungs was strained to the utmost. Four
boys had huge leather.bound copies of
the Koran, but all the Others had fat
thigh bones upon which in Arabic char
acters their lessons were traced. The
close, filthy, crowded narrow lane, the
dreadful smells of putrid meat, fish, bad
fruit and burning of all sorts of refuse,
and the want of sanitation made this
otherwise interesting little visit, rather
trying. Two OF our snap shooters took
views which we hope will prove success.
full. Then we wandered through miles
and miles OF bazaars in the native quar-.
Ter where narrow street, FIVE or six feet
across was surrounded almost without
a break by the shops so universal in
these parts. Everybody's aim is to buy
to sell, to cheat, to gain The whole
family squat on the veranda or pave
ment leading to their habitations, and
from dawn till dark all the family life
the daily meals, the buying and selling
takes place on these close, crowded stone
Lodges. When night time comes the wares
are taken inside, the doors barred and
bolted, the shutters put up, beside the
grated windows, and the streets are left
grimy, dirty, dark and deserted. The
wares exposed vary from silver plate
ornaments, jewelry, silks. bronzes, china
garments, cottons, muslins, to fish il
every stage, piles OF meat on sticks fruit
OF every variety, grains, nuts, beads ant
vegetables.
/ think saw more beads and frui
sold, though towards nightfall tamilie
purchased little quantities of meat an
hsh, little basins of flour, and some car
ried away few handfuls OF small cucum
bers and beans, sweet potatoes an,
manioc roots. Some OF the statesmen
were heavy, sensual bloated men; som
1.-THE thin Arabs; some shrivelled oil
hags--all squatting and talking shrilly
while hundreds OF little children toddlet
about and played with fruit, beads o,
some nuts. All the women made teeth
lips and mouth hideous with betel nu
JUICE and most of the men and children
did the same. After some weary hour
our guide brought us out to spot wher
! we went in and secured cups of tea, ;
|. pile of toast and iced drinks, and thel