Dhow Chasing in Zanzibar Waters - The Search For Mecca

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PORTUGUESE POSSESSIONS. 253
of the square are groups of cliildren, also
arranged close together in semicuTles, and
sitting down when not under inspection by
w^ould-be purchasers. Children, young as they
are, some not more than five years old, looking
old already. Native children, whom I have
seen in their
homes, and who have not passed
through the bitter experiences which these
miserable little creatures have endured, are like
all children, black and white, fond of toys, even
though it be but an " old shoe" or a " dead
kitten," and the ever-present doll, though
made of a mere bit of stick or scrap of strawmatting.
But these unhappy slave-children
had passed all that ; they had no inclination to
play, they sit in silence, or rise up when
required ; they utter few words amongst themselves,
for they have long lost parents and
friends, and those in the same position sitting
around them are utter strangers, often foreigners,
to them.
In another portion of the square are a
number of women, forming several
semicircles
their bodies are painted, and their figures ex-