140 king’s fondness for curiosities.
new moon, lie sat concealed, all but bis bead, in tbe
doorway of bis cbief but, and received tbe salutations
of bis people, who, one by one, shrieked and sprang in
front of him, swearing allegiance. His bead on these
occasions was wonderfully dressed, and made to look
quite patriarchal, with a crown of beads and feathers,
and a false white beard of considerable length, giving
him the look of an Indian “ khitmutgar ” or Jewish
rabbi. He was very fond of curiosities, and amongst
the collection he had obtained from Arab visitors were
stuffed birds, an electric battery, looking-glasses, a
clock with eyes in the cast-iron figure made to roll
with the movement of the pendulum, &c. He expressed
surprise that we had brought nothing to amuse him,
so that all our ingenuity was put to the test in order
to try and gratify his highness. A jumping-jack
made of wood was sent him for his infant son, and
he said he must have me make him one the size of
life before I left the country. He had a three-pounder
brass gun brought bim unmounted from the coast;
and on a picture being sent him, showing how we in
India drag guns into action by means of elephants,
nothing would satisfy him till he had ordered fifty
men to cut down trees, to be made into a gun-carriage.
I protested, saying, “You have no iron—no elephant;
who is to make the wheels?” Here was a dilemma—
a wheel to make before I could be allowed to join my
companion, and nothing to make it with but a penknife
in my pocket! Luckily my friend Rumanika
was not pig-headed, and had compassion on me when
it was explained to bim that ropes of bark, and men
to drag the gun, would not answer the purposes of
iron and elephant.
This sovereign several times came to call while I
lay sick, one day bringing me a fish alive in a jar
from the lake; this pleased me, as the Wahuma have a
prejudice against fish. But his chief delight seemed
to be in medicines and pictures. It was an anxious
moment when our tent was emptied of all listeners,
and we were pressed for a medicinal charm to bring
about the death of his brother Rogeerah. Then,
during the visit, the weight of the mercury, its reflections,
See., were looked at in amazement; the compass
'sS—'“ was there water in it?”—our shoes, our bedding-
all were marvels. With the sextant he looked through
at the sun without fear; and when consulted one morning
by my servant about some strange large animals
that came in at night to our camp, he recommended
that the next time they appeared we should challenge
them three times, and if no answer were received, to
fire at them; for “ depend upon it they were enemies
sent by his rebel brother to lay a trap for him.”
Should they, however, prove to be leopards, they were
not to be molested. For all leopards they have a
great reverence, asDagara, the late sovereign, is believed
to be stiff protected by them; and on an invading army
coming from Uganda, this sultan had the power to
send leopards to disperse them. Their skins are only
worn by royalty or its followers. The sultan, on
seeing the picture of some of his milk-carriers, sent
for the sketch-book, turned out all idlers, and showed
them to a few favourite servants about his family.
His wives were quite clamorous about seeing them,
asking why Rumanika had not been drawn. The
back view of a naked young prince, enormously fat,
with clotted long hair concealing his neck, gave them