The Sultan of Zanzibar and his Empressions of the BY THE EDITOR. TE Sultan or Seyyid of Zanzibar's visit to this country is now a matter of history. He came to England under circumstances which were likely to secure for him a kindly welcome: and there can be no doubt that his cordial reception was, to a great extent, owing to the steps he had taken to check the slave trade by sea on the coast of Zanzibar, and his prohibition of the public sale of slaves in his dominions. He has already done much to promote the commerce of Zanzibar; and as one result of his visit the products of the country will most probably become more than hitherto articles of national trade. The ivory market of Zanzibar is said to be the greatest in the world; the country is rich in coal mines; we already get our carriage varnish from its inexhaustible supplies of gum copal; and almost all the cloves in the world are produced there. Hides, spices, sugar, cotton, maize, cocoa-nut fibre, are also becoming important articles of commerce. Sir H. Bartle Frere anticipates great results from the application of European enterprise and capital in opening out the East African coast trade. He speaks of it as a field quite as ample and important for cultivation as the opposite shores of India: well situated, and abounding in all that is necessary to support a great population. The most serious drawback is that there are no roads, nor any means of transporting the products of the land, save on the shoulders of slaves. It has been suggested that a system of tramways would do most to remedy the We give a portrait of one of these East African slaves. See page 199. evil, but the Sultan says he is too poor to venture upon so costly an undertaking. From all that occurred during his Highness's visit we have good reason to hope that, aided by English enterprise, he will on his return give himself more than ever to the work of advancing the welfare of his people and country. As he himself expressed it, "he came to England for the purpose of gaining such information as would enable him the better to govern Zanzibar;" and certainly he seems to have lost no opportunity in the employment of his time in carrying out his purpose. He is a middle aged man, about forty, with extremely simple pleasing manners: sensible and very observant. He ascended the throne in 1870. Literature and art have his approval and patronage. He is fond of reading; he delights in conversing with learned men; and he possesses a library which contains all the Arabic books printed in Egypt. There are not any printing presses in Zanzibar, and consequently the rare manuscripts have to be copied by the pen. A printed copy of one of these having been presented to his Highness by Dr. Badger, he immediately exclaimed, "I must have it in the original; I shall set ten clerks to work upon it, for I shall read the book should it cost its weight in gold." Perhaps the strongest feeling occasioned by his visit was an admiration of the Queen. This arose not from any hastily conceived notion, but has grown with his years. He had heard his father frequently refer to Her Majesty in terms of praise and respect, and knew that he had sent her a ship as a present. All the Englishmen who had visited his dominions spoke often of the Queen, and never but in expressions of esteem. Thus his wonder and consequent desire to see this monarch daily increased. The Pall Mall Gazette gave the following account of his impressions on meeting the Queen. Englishmen may well be proud of the testimony borne to their sovereign's worth of character and world-wide renown. "The Sultan said, 'I have now seen with my eyes what I have so long desired to see, Her Majesty the Queen of England. My father often used to talk to us of Queen Vic now tell you why I have so often said that it was the summit of my ambition to see the face of Her Majesty. It was this:-I have met many Englishmen in my time, not only of the Royal navy and army, but also civilians, merchants, and travellers, and I wondered why they all spoke of their sovereign, not in a formal way as did the people of other nations, but with enthusiasm and affection. This made me mentally to liken her to that mountain of loadstone mentioned in the "Thousand and One Nights" which drew the nails out of the sides of the ships which passed that way. Even so did the hearts of Englishmen I have hitherto met seem to be drawn as by a magnet to Her Majesty. I come to England and find the same hearty loyalty pervading all classes. You saw the thousands the other evening at the Crystal Palace all stand up when the music played the Queen's hymn. No one tells them to stand, but they stand up of their own accord from affection to her. And, no wonder; for verily she is the centre of all the glory, all the greatness, all the prosperity of this grand empire. And she is a woman too! Praise be to the Sovereign Creator who endows whom He will with fitness to rule and with qualities to attract loyalty and affection! I fancied that I should have been overwhelmed when I had the high honour of seeing the face of the Queen. I was, indeed, wonderstruck with all the sumptuousness which surrounded her but hers is the simple majesty which captivates, not that which bewilders. Nevertheless she was majestic in her simpli city, and my heart wept for her when I saw the two princesses, her royal daughters, by her side, and remembered that her beloved Consort had been taken to the mercy of God. May that great God bless her and her royal offspring, and the mighty people over whom she rules. I can say no more, for words fail me to express what my heart feels. A thousand times I say, God bless her." Although the Sultan had never before seen the eminent personages of this country he was familiarly acquainted with their appearance. He possessed several large photographic albums in which were their portraits. Consequently he was able to say, "That is |