But as it was in his heart to be good, he hoped
God would overlook his follies and forgive him,
and send men who knew what was right to
Uganda. “Meanwhile,” said he with a smile,
“ I refused to be circumcised, though the Arabs say
it is the first thing that should be done to become
a true son o f Islam. Now, God be thanked, a
white man, ‘Standee,’ has come to Uganda with
a b o o k older than the Koran o f Mohammed,
and Stamlee says that Mohammed was a liar,
and much o f his b o o k taken from this; and this
b o y and Idi have read to me all that Stamlee
has read to them from this book, and I find that it
is a great deal better than the book o f Mohammed,
besides it is the first and oldest book. The
prophet Moses wrote some o f it a long, long
time before Mohammed was even heard of, and
the b ook was finished long before Mohammed
was born. A s Kintu, our first king, was a long
time before me, so Moses was before Mohammed.
Now I want you, my chiefs and soldiers, to tell
me what we shall do. Shall we believe in Isa
(Jesus) and Musa (Moses), or in Mohammed?”
Chambarango replied, “ L e t us take that which
is the best.”
The Katekiro said, “ We know not which is
the best. The Arabs sa y their b ook is the best,
and the white men sa y their book is the best
— how then can we know which speaks the
truth?”
Kauta, the imperial steward, said, When
Mtesa became a son o f Islam, he taught me,
and I became one; if my master says he taught
me wrong, having g o t more knowledge, he
can now teach me right. I am waiting to hear
his words.” i , 1 1
Mtesa smiled and said, “ Kauta speaks well.
If I taught him how to become a Muslim, I
did it because I believed it to be good. Chambarango
says, ‘L et us take that which is best
True, I want that which is the best, and I want
the true book; but Katekiro asks, ‘How are
we to know which is true?’ and I will answer
him. Listen to me: T he Arabs and the white
men behave exactly as they are taught b y their
books, do they not? The Arabs come here for
ivory and slaves, and we have seen that they
do not always speak the truth, and that they
buy men o f their own colour, and treat them
b ad ly , putting them in chains and beating t em.
T h e white men, when offered slaves, refuse
them, saying, ‘Shall we make our brothers
slaves? No; w e are all sons o f God. I have
not heard a white man tell a lie ye t. Speke
came here, behaved weU, and V v en th .s w a y
home with his brother Grant. T h e y bought^no
slaves, and the time they were m Uganda they
were ve ry good. Stamlee came here, and he
would take no slaves. Abdul t o B e y (M. Linant