excitement, they turned the palace into a pandemonium ■;
still there was not noise enough, so the band and drums
w e called again, and tomfool—for Uganda, like the old
European monarchies, always keeps a jester—was made to
sing in the gruff hoarse, unnatural voice which he ever
affects to maintain his character, and furnished with pombe
when his throat was dry.
Now all of a sudden, as if a devil had taken possession
of the company, the prime minister with all the courtiers
jumped upon their legs, seized their sticks, for nobody can
carry a spear when visiting, swore the queen had lost her
heart to me, and running into the yard, returned, charging
and jabbering at the queen g retreated and returned again,
as if they were going to put an end to her for the guilt of
loving me, but really to show their devotion and true love
to her. The queen professed to take this ceremony with
calm indifference, but her face showed that she enjoyed it.
I was now getting very tired of sitting on my low stool,
and begged for leave to depart, but N’yamasord would not
hear of i t ; she loved me a great deal too much to let me
go away at this time of day, and forthwith ordered • in
more pombe. The same roystering scene was repeated;
cups were too small, so the trough was employed; and the
queen graced it by drinking, pig-fashion, first, and then
handing it round to the company.
Now, hoping to produce gravity and then to slip away,
I asked if my medicines had given her any relief, that I
might give her more to strengthen her. She said she
could not answer that question just y e t; for though the
medicine had moved her copiously, as yet she had seen no
snake depart from her. I told her I would give her some
strengthening medicine in the morning: for the present,
however, I would take my leave, as the day was far gone,
and the distance home very great; but though I dragged
my body away, my heart would still remain here, for I
loved her much.
This announcement took all by surprise; they looked
at me and then at her, and looked again and laughed,
whilst I rose, waved my hat, and said, Eua hfiri, Bibi
(good-bye, madam). On reaching home I found MariM,
a Mkungu, with a gang of men sent by Mtdsa to fetch
Grant from Eitangulti by water. He would not take any
of my men with him to fetch the kit from Earagu<5, as
Mtesa, he said, had given him orders to find all the means
of transport; so I gave him a letter to Grant, and told
him to look sharp, else Grant would have passed the Eit-
angiUfi before he arrived there. “Never mind,” says
Maribfi, “ I shall walk to the mouth of the Katonga, boat
it to island, where Mt&a keeps all his large vessels,
and I shall be at Kitangiild in a very short time.”
4 th.—I sent Bombay off to administer quinine to the
queen; but the king’s pages, who watched him making
for her gateway, hurried up to him, and turned him back
by force. He pleaded earnestly that I would flog him if
he disobeyed my orders, but they would take all the
responsibility—the king had ordered i t ; and then they,
forging a lie, bade him run back as fast as he could, saying
I wanted to see the king, but could not till his return.
In this way poor Bombay returned to me half-drowned in
perspiration. Just then another page hurried in with
orders to bring me to the palace at once, for I had not
been there these four days; and while I was preparing to
express the proper amount of indignation at this unceremonious
message, the last impudent page began rolling
like a pig upon my mbugued or carpeted floor, till I
stormed and swore I would turn him out unless he chose
to behave more respectfully before my majesty, for I was
no peddling merchant, as he had been accustomed to see,
and would not stand i t ; moreover, I would not leave my
hut at the summons of the king or anybody else, until I
chose to do so.
This expression of becoming wrath brought every one to