EMMA.  “We shall cross the equator before we enter another bay; then, in the parallel of 3 deg. south, lies the Bay of Formosa, on the coast of Zanguebar; and 4 deg. nearer south, is the little island of Zanzibar.  I am a stranger here.”

MRS. WILTON.  “Zanzibar is a most valuable possession of the Imaun of Muscat, on account of its abundant produce of grain and sugar.  The climate is particularly fatal to Europeans, so that the crews of vessels trading there are never allowed to sleep on shore.  But there is perhaps no place, where refreshments are so cheap as in this island:  fowls may be had for two shillings the dozen, sugar twopence, and rice one penny a pound; and a large bullock is sold for one sovereign.”

CHARLES.  “No great advantage to get food cheap in a country so unhealthy that you lack the appetite to eat it.”

MR. BARRAUD.  “No; we will not go there to victual our ship.  Here are the Seychelle Isles almost in the latitude of Formosa Bay; suppose we ‘’bout ship’ and look in upon them.  There appear to be fifteen, and navigators say they are composed of granite rocks.  Their chief inhabitants are French Roman Catholics, who have very little of either religion or morality, but spend the greater portion of their time in dancing and gambling.  All the blacks resident on these isles are unhappy slaves, although their owners live in luxurious indolence.”

GEORGE.  “They are such small islands, and some of them so close that, if I lived there, I would build bridges to go from one island to another.”

MR. BARRAUD.  “The inhabitants do that without a bridge.  They have numerous canoes, built and fitted with much skill and neatness.  In these they pay their visits, and at the close of a party a stranger would be surprised at hearing the announcement—­’Madame le Jeune’s canoe is waiting!’ instead of Madame le Jeune’s carriage stops the way.’  But that is the fashion in the Seychelle Isles.  Torches are at hand; the ladies and gentlemen are lighted to the water, where some stout negroes almost in a state of nudity, await to transport them to their own island.”

DORA.  “That may be very delightful when you are accustomed to it, but I should prefer a carriage.

“There are no more indentations until we enter Mozambique Channel, where we shall find Pemba Bay and Sofala Bay.”

MRS. WILTON.  “Pemba Bay is on the coast of Mozambique, which belongs to the Portuguese.  The harbor of Mozambique is formed by a deep inlet of the sea.  At the entrance are three small islets, which, together with reefs and shoals, render the anchorage perfectly safe in the worst weather.  The city stands on an island of the same name, formed of coral, very low and narrow, and scarcely one mile and a half in length.  The streets in the city are narrow, although the houses are mostly lofty and well constructed; but the place in itself is fast sinking into insignificance, and its finest buildings falling rapidly into decay.  Mozambique, like many other cities of the world, is now reduced from its ancient wealth and vice-regal splendor, to the almost forgotten seat of desolation and poverty.”