evening tlie king returned all- our rifles and guns, with,
a request for one of them; as also for the iron chair he
sat upon when calling on us, an iron bedstead, and the
Union Jack, for he did not honour us with a visit for
nothing; and the head page was sent to witness the transfer
of the goods, and see there was no humbug about it.
It was absolutely necessary to get into a rage, and tell
the head page we did not come to Uganda to be swindled
in that manner, and he might tell the king I would not
part with one of them.
2d.—K’yengo, who came with Grant, now tried to
obtain an interview with the king, but could not get
admission. I had some further trouble about the disposal
of the child Mdri, who said she never before had lived in a
poor man’s house since she was bom. I thought to content
her by offering to marry her to one of Rumanika’s
sons, a prince of her own breed, but she would not listen
to the proposal.
3d.—For days past, streams of men have been carrying
faggots of firewood, clean-cut timber, into the palaces of
the king, queen, and the Kamraviona; and to-day, on
calling on the king, I found him engaged having these
faggots removed by Colonel Mkavia’s regiment from one
court into another, this being his way of ascertaining
their quantity, instead of counting them. About 1600
men were engaged on this service, when the king, standing
on a carpet in front of the middle hut of the first
court, with two spears in his hand and his dog by his side,
surrounded by his brothers and a large staff of officers,
gave orders for the regiment to run to and fro in column,
that he might see them well; then turning to his staff,
ordered them to ran up and down the regiment, and se.e
what they thought of it. This ridiculous order set them
all flying, and soon they returned, charging at the king
with their sticks, dancing and jabbering that their numbers
were many, he was the greatest king on earth, and