the country they have to come. If they failed, their
estates "would be confiscated, and their lives taken unless
they could escape. I found a messenger who consented
to tell the king of my desire to see him. He returned to
say that the king was sleeping—a palpable falsehood. In
a huff, I walked home to breakfast, leaving my attendants,
Maiila and Uffidi, behind to make explanations. They saw
the king, who simply asked, “ Where is Bana ? ” And on
being told that I came, but went off again, he said, as I
was informed, “ That is a lie, for had he come here to see
me he would not have r e tu rn e d th e n rising, he walked
away and left the men to follow me.
I continued ruminating on these absurd entanglements,
and the best way of dealing with them, when lo ! to perplex
me still more, in ran a bevy of the royal pages to ask
for mtendd beads—a whole sack of them; for the king
wished to go with his women on a pilgrimage to the
N’yanza. Thinking myself very lucky to buy the king’s
ear so cheaply, I sent Maula as before, adding that I considered
my luck very Bad, as nobody here knew my position
in society, else they would not treat me as they did.
My proper sphere was the palace, and unless I got a hut
there, I wished to leave the country. My first desire had
always been to see the king; and if he went to the N yanza,
I trusted he would allow me to go there also. The boys
replied, “ How can you go with his women ? No one ever
is permitted to see them.” “Well,’ said I, “ if I cannot
go to the N’yanza with him” (thinking only of the great
lake, whereas they probably meant a pond in the palace
enclosures, where Mtdsa constantly frolics with his women),
“ J "wish to go to Usoga and Amara, as far as the Masai;
for I have no companions here but crows and vultures.”
They promised to take the message, but its delivery was
quite another thing; for no one can speak at this court
till he is spoken to, and a word put in out of season is a
life lost.
On Maula’s return, I was told the king would not believe
so generous a man as Bana could have sent him so
few beads j he believed most of my store must have been
stolen on the road, and would ask me about that to-morrow.
He intimated that for the future I must fire a gun
at the waiting-hut whenever I entered the palace, so that
he might hear of my arrival, for he had been up that
morning, and would have been glad to see me, only the
boys, from fear of entering his cabinet, had forged a lie,
and deprived him of any interview with me, which he
had long wished to get. This ready cordiality was as
perplexing as all the rest. Could it be possible, I thought,
I had been fighting with a phantom all this while, and
yet the king had not been able to perceive it ? At all
events, now, as the key to his door had been given, I would
make good use of it and watch the result. Meanwhile
Nasib returned from the queen-dowager’s palace without
having seen her majesty, though he had waited there
patiently the whole day long, for she was engaged in
festivities, incessantly drumming and playing, in consequence
of the birth of twins (Mabassa), which had just
taken place in her palace; but he was advised to return
on the morrow.
8 th.—After breakfast I walked to the palace, thinking
I had gained all I wanted; entered, and fired guns, expecting
an instant admittance; but, as usual, I was required
to sit and wait; the king was expected immediately.
All the Wakungu talked in whispers, and nothing was
heard but the never-ceasing harps and harmonicons. In
a little while I felt tired of the monotony, and wished to
hang up a curtain, that I might lie down in privacy and
sleep till the king was ready; but the officers in waiting
forbade this, as contrary to law, and left me the only
alternative of walking up and down the court to kill
time, spreading my umbrella against the powerful rays
of the sun. A very little of that made me fidgety and