21st. I heard from Kidgwiga that some of those Gani
men now ordered to go with Bombay had actually been
visiting here when the latter shot his first cow at the
palace, but had gone to their homes to give information
of us, and had returned again. Eager to get on with my
journey, and see European faces again, I besought the
king to let us depart, as our work was all finished here,
since he had assured us he would like to trade with
Ehgland. The N’yanswengd—meaning Petherick’s party
—who have hitherto been afraid to come here, would do
so now, when they had seen us pass safely down, and
could receive my guns and property left to come from
Uganda and Karagud, which we ourselves could not wait
for. Kamrasi, thinking me angry for his having taken
the watch so rudely out of my pocket, took fright at the
message, sent some of his attendants quickly back to me,
requesting me to keep the instrument until another arrived,
and begged I would never say I wished to leave!
his house again.
22d. Kamrasi sent to say Bombay was not to start
to-day, but to-morrow, so we put the screw on again, and
said we must go at once ; if he would give us guides to
Gani, we would return him his twenty cows and seven
goats with pleasure. I let him understand we suspected
he was keeping us here to fight his brothers, and told him
he must at once know we would never lift hand against
them. I t was contrary to the laws of our land. “ I have
got no ^orders to enter into black men’s quarrels, and my
mother [the Queen), “whom I see every night in my sleep
calling me home, would be very angry if she heard of it.
Efimanika once asked me to fight his brothers Eog&ro
and M’yongo, but my only reply to all had been the
same — I have no orders to fight with, only to make
friends of, the great kings of Africa.”
The game seemed now to be won. At once Kamrasi
ordered Bombay to prepare for the journey. Five Wanyoro,
five Chopi men, and five Gani men, were to escort
pim. There was no objection to his carrying arms. The
moment he returned, which ought to be in little more
than a fortnight, we would all go together. An earnest
request was at the same time made that I would not
bully him in the mean time with any more applications to
depart. So Bombay and Mabrüki, carrying their muskets,
and a map and letter for Petherick, departed.
23d and 24th. — Kamrasi, presuming he had gained
favour in our eyes, sent, begging to know how we had
slept, and said he would like us to inform him what part
of his journey Bombay had this morning reached—a fact
which he had no doubt must be divinable through the
medium of our books. The reply was, that Bombay’s
luck was so good we had no doubt regarding his success;
but now he had gone, and our days here were numbered,
we should like to see the palace, his fat wives and children,
as well as the Wanyoro’s dances, and all the gaiety
of the place. We did not think our .reception-hut by the
river sufficiently dignified, and our residence here was altogether
like that of prisoners—seeing no one, knowing no
one. In answer to this, Kamrasi sent one pot of pombé
and five fowls, begging we would not be alarmed; we
should see everything in good time, if we would but have
patience, for he considered us very great men, as he was
a great man himself, and we had come at his invitation.
He must request, in the mean time, that we would send
no more messages by his officers, as such messages are
never conveyed properly. At present there was a great
deal of business in the palace.
We asked for some butter, but could get none, as all
the milk in the palace was consumed by the wives and
children, drinking all day long, to make themselves immovably
fat.
25th.—In the morning, the commander-in-chief wished
ns to cast a horoscope, and see where Bombay was, and if