her 'wish, and the child vowed she would not leave me
until force compelled her; hut I had really no other way
of dealing with the remnant of the awkward burden
which the queen’s generosity had thrown on me. K’yengo
went to the palace with fifty prisoners; but as the king
had taken his women to the small pond, where he has
recently placed a tub canoe for purposes of amusement,
they did no business.
17th.k*rl took a first convalescent walk. The king, who
was out shooting all day, begged for powder in the evening.
Uledi returned from his expedition against a
recusant officer at Kituntti, bringing with him a spoil
of ten women. It appeared that the officer himself had
bolted from his landed possessions, and as they belonged
to “ the church,” or were in some way or other sacred
'from civil execution, they could not be touched, so that
Uledi lost an estate which the king had promised him.
We heard that Ilmas, wife of Majanja, who, as I already
mentioned, had achieved an illustrious position by services
at the birth of the king, had been sent to visit the late
king Sunna’s tomb, whence, after observing certain trees
which were planted, and divining by mystic arts what the
future state of Uganda required, she would return at a
specific time, to order the king at the time of his coronation
either to take the field with an army, to make a pilgrimage,
or to live a life of ease at home; whichever of these
courses the influence of the ordeal at the grave might
prompt her to order, must be complied with by the king.
I called at the palace with Grant, taking with
us some pictures of soldiers, horses, elephants, &c. We
found the guard fighting over their beef and plantain
dinner. Bombay remarked that this daily feeding on
beef would be the lot of the Wangfiana if they had no
religious scruples about the throat-cutting of animals for
food. This, I told him, was all their own fault, for they
have really no religion or opinions of their own; and had
they been brought up in England instead of Africa, it
would have been all the other way with them as a matter
of course; but Bombay replied, “We could no more throw
Palace Guards a t Dinner—Uganda.
off the Mussulman faith than you could yours.” A man
with a maniacal voice sang and whistled by turns. Kat-
umba, the officer of the guard, saw our pictures, and being
a favourite, acquainted the king, which gained us an
admittance.
We found his majesty sitting on the ground, within
a hut, behind a portal, encompassed by his women, and
took our seats outside. At first all was silence, till one
told the king we had some wonderful pictures to show
him I and in an instant he grew lively, crying out, “ Oh,
let us see them ! ” and they were shown, Bombay explaining.
i Three of the king’s wives then came in, and offered
im their two virgin sisters, n’yanzigging incessantly, and
beseeching their acceptance, as by that means they them-
2 E