happened; the beads were for the poor beggar who came
to our house yesterday, not to see us, but to beg; and as
we did not desire the acquaintance of beggars, we had
made up our minds never to call again, nor receive any
more bread or wine from the king.
This appeared to be a hit. Kamrasi, evidently taken
aback, said, if he thought he should have offended us by
begging, he would not have begged. He was not a poor
man, for he had many cows, but he was a beggar, of course,
when beads were in the question • and, having unwittingly
offended, as he desired our friendship, he trusted his
offence would.be forgiven. On opening the chronometer,,
he again wrenched back the seconds-hand, and sent it for
repair, together with two pots of pombd as a peace-offer-
mg. Frij, who accompanied the deputation, overheard
the counsellors tell their king that the Waganda were on
their way back to Unyoro to snatch us away; on hearing
which the king asked his men if they would ever permit
K | and, handling his spear as if for battle, said at the
same time he would lose his own head before they should
touch his guests. Then, turning to Frij, he said, “ What
would you do if they came -go back with them V’ To
which Frij said, “ Ho, never, when G-ani is so near; they
might cut our heads off, but that is all they could do."
The watch being by this time repaired, it gave me the
opportunity of sending Kidgwiga back to the palace to
say we trusted Kamrasi would allow Budja to come here,
if only with one woman to carry his pombd, else Mtesa
would take offence, form an alliance with Rionga, and
surround the place with warriors, for it was not becoming
in great kings to treat civil messengers like dogs.
The reply to this was, that Kamrasi was very much
pleased with my fatherly wisdom and advice, and would
act up to it, allowing Budja only to approach with one
woman; we need, however, be under no apprehensions,
for Kamrasi’s power was infinite; the Gani road should
be opened even at the spear’s, point; he had been beating
the big drum in honour of us the whole d ay ; he would
not allow any beggars to come and see us, for he wanted
us all to himself, and for this reason had ordered a fence
to be built all round our house; but he had got no present
from Grant yet, though all he wanted was his mosquito-
curtains, whilst he wished my picture-books to show his
women, and be returned. We sent a picture of Mtesa as a
gift, the two books to look at, and an acknowledgment that
the mosquito-curtains were his, only he must have patience
until Bombay arrived; but his proposition about the fence
we rejected with scorn. The king had been raising an
army to fight Rionga—the true reason, we suspect, for the
beating of the drum.
2 *7 th and 28iA.-*i-There was drumming and music all
day and night, and the army was being increased to a
thousand men, but we poor prisoners could see nothing of
it. Frij was therefore sent to inspect the armament and
bring us all the news. Some of N’yamyonjo’s men, seeing
mine armed with carbines, became very inquisitive about
them, and asked if they were the instruments which shot
their men on the Nile—one in the arm, who died; the other
on the top of the shoulder, who was recovering. The
drums were kept in private rooms, to which a select few
only were admitted. Kamrasi conducts all business himself,
awarding punishments and seeing them carried out.
The most severe instrument of chastisement is a knobstick,
sharpened at the back, like that used in Uganda,
for breaking a man’s neck before he is thrown into the
N’yanza; but this severity is seldom resorted to, Kamrasi
being of a mild disposition compared with Mtesa, whom
he invariably alludes to when ordering men to be flogged,
telling them that were they in Uganda, their heads would
suffer instead of their backs. In the day’s work at the
palace, army collecting, ten officers were bound because
they failed to bring a sufficient number of fighting men.