a sense of his duty; and I then told them all I was excessively
angry with Mt^sa for turning back my messenger;
nobody had ever dared do such a thing before, and I would
never forgive the king until my medicines had been given
to the queen. As for my going to the palace, it was out
of the question, as I had repeatedly before told the king,
unless it pleased him to give me a fitting residence near
himseE In order now that full weight should be given
to my expressions, I sent Bombay with the quinine to the
king, in company with the boys, to give an account of all
that had happened; and further, to say I felt exceedingly
distressed I could not go to see him constantly—that I
was ashamed of my domicile—the sun was hot to walk
in ; and when I went to the palace, his officers in waiting
always kept-me waiting like a servant—a matter hurtful
to my honour and dignity. It now rested with himseE
to remove these obstacles. Everybody concerned in this
matter left for the palace but Maiila, who said he must
stop in camp to look after Bana. Bombay no sooner
arrived in the palace, and saw the king upon his throne,
than Mtdsa asked him why he came ? “By the instructions
of Bana,” was his reply—“ for Bana cannot walk in the
sun; no white man of the sultan’s breed can do so.”
Hearing this, the king rose in a huff, without deigning
to reply, and busied himseE in another court. Bombay,
stiff sitting, waited for hours till quite tired, when he sent
a boy in to say he had not delivered haE my message; he
had brought medicine for the queen, and as yet he had
no reply for Bana. Either with haughty indifference, or
else with injured pride at his not being able to command
me at his pleasure, the king sent word, E medicine is
brought for the queen, then let it be taken to her; and so
Bombay walked off to the queen’s palace. Arrived there,
he sent in to say he had brought medicine, and waited
without a reply tiff nightfall, when, tired of his charge,
he gave the quinine into N’yamgundu’s hands for delivery,
and returned home. Soon after, however, N’yamgundu
also returned to say the queen would not take the dose
to-day, but hoped I would administer it personally in the
morning.
Whilst all this vexatious business had been going on
in court—evidently dictated by extreme jealousy, because
I showed, as they all thought, a preference for the
queen—Maiila, more than tipsy, brought a Mkungü of
some standing at court before me, contrary to all law—
for as yet no Mganda, save the king’s pages, had ever
dared enter even the precincts of my camp. With a
scowling, determined, hang-dog-looking countenance, he
walked impudently into my hut, and, taking down the
pombé-suckers the queen had given me, showed them
with many queer gesticulations, intended to insinuate
there was something between the queen and me. Among
his jokes were, that I must never drink pombé excepting
with these sticks; E I wanted any when I leave Uganda,
to show my friends, she would give me twenty more sticks
of that sort E I liked them; and, turning from verbal
to practical jocularity, the dirty fellow took my common
sucker out of the pot, inserted one of the queen’s, and
sucked at it himseE, when I snatched and threw it away.
Maüla’s friend, who, I imagined, was a spy, then asked
me whom I liked most—the mother or the son; but, without
waiting to hear me, Maiila hastily said, “ The mother,
the mother, of course! he does not care for Mtésa, and
won’t go to see him.” The friend coaxingly responded,
“ Oh n o ; he likes Mtésa, and will go and see Him too;
won’t you ?” I declined, however, to answer, from fear of
mistake, as both interpreters were away. Stiff the two
went on talking to themselves, Maiila swearing that I
loved the mother most, whilst the friend said, No, he
loves the son, and asking me with anxious looks, tiff they
found I was not to be Caught by chaff, and then, both
tired, walked away—the friend advising me, next time I