quence of the king’s having taken the drums on hoard,
which, being unusual, was regarded as one of his delusive
tricks, and a sign of immediate departure. He had told
no one he was going to the N’yanza, and now it was
thought he would return in the same way. I fired for my
supper, but fired in vain. Boys came out, by the king’s
order, to inquire what J wanted, but left again without
doing anything further.
At my request the king sent off boats to inquire after
the one that left, or was supposed to have
left, for Grant on the 3d of March, and he
then ordered the return home, much to my delight; for,
beautiful as the N’yanza was, the want of consideration
for other people’s comfort, the tiring, incessant boating,
all day long and every day, in the sun, as well as the
king’s hurry-scurry about everything he undertook to do,
without the smallest forethought, preparation, or warning,
made me dream of my children, and look forward
with pleasure to rejoining them. Strange as it may
appear to Englishmen, I had a sort of paternal love for
those little blackamoors as if they had been my offspring;
and I enjoyed the simple stories that their sable visitors
told me every day they came over to smoke their pipes,
which they did with the utmost familiarity, helping themselves
from my stores just as they liked.
Without any breakfast, we returned by the same route
by which we had come, at four miles an hour, till half the
way was cleared, when the king said, laughing, “ Bana,
are you hungry?”—a ridiculous question after twenty-
four hours’ starvation, which he knew full well—and led
the way into a plantain-grove, where the first hut that
was found was turned inside out for the king’s accommodation,
and picnic was prepared. As, however, he ordered
my portion to be given outside with the pages’, and allowed
neither pombd nor water, % gave him the slip, and walked
hurriedly home, where I found Kahala smirking, and
apparently glad to see us, but Mèri shamming ill in bed,
whilst Manamaka, the governess, was full of smiles and
conversation. She declared Mèri had neither tasted food
nor slept since my departure, but had been retching all
the time. Dreadfully concerned at the doleful story, I
immediately thought of giving relief with medicines, but
neither pulse, tongue, nor anything else indicated the
slightest disorder; and to add to these troubles, Ilmas’s
woman had tried during my absence to hang herself, because
she would not serve as servant, but wished to be my
wife ; and Bombay’s wife, after taking a dose of quinine,
was delivered of a still-born child.
1st.—I visited the king, at his request, with the medi-
cine-chest. He had caught a cold. He showed me several
of his women grievously affected with boils, and expected
C ap ta in G ra n t le av in g Harague.
me to cure them at once. I then went home, and found
twenty men who had passed Grant, coming on a stretcher
2 c