The Discovery of The Source of the Nile [201]
he was collecting all his men to make a search, and, if they do not succeed, the Mganga would be sent; but nothing was done. The Kamraviona was sharply rebuked by the king for allowing K'yengo to visit him before permission was given, and thus defrauding the royal exchequer of many pretty things, which were brought for majesty alone. At night the rascally boys returned again to plunder, but Kahala, more wakeful than myself, heard them trying to untie the door- handle, and frightened them away in endeavouring to awaken me.
14th and 15th.--Grant, doing duty for me, tried a day's penance at the palace, but though he sat all day in the ante-chamber, and musicians were ordered into the presence, nobody called for him. K'yengo was sent with all his men on a Wakungu-seizing expedition, --a good job for him, as it was his perquisite to receive the major part of the plunder himself.
16th.--I sent Kahala out of the house, giving her finally over to Bombay as a wife, because she preferred playing with dirty little children to behaving like a young lady, and had caught the itch. This was much against her wish, and the child vowed she would not leave me until force compelled her; but 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.--I 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 Kituntu, 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.
18th.--I called at the palace with Grant, taking with us some pictures of soldiers, horses, elephants, etc. 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 Wanguana 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 off the Mussulman faith than you could yours." A man with a maniacal voice sang and whistled by turns. Katumba, the officer of the guards, 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; in an instant he grew lively, crying out, "Oh, let us see them!" and they were shown, Bombay explaining. Three of the king's wives then came in, and offered him their two virgin sisters, n'yanzigging incessantly, and beseeching their acceptance, as by that means they themselves would become doubly related to him. Nothing, however, seemed to be done to promote the union, until
14th and 15th.--Grant, doing duty for me, tried a day's penance at the palace, but though he sat all day in the ante-chamber, and musicians were ordered into the presence, nobody called for him. K'yengo was sent with all his men on a Wakungu-seizing expedition, --a good job for him, as it was his perquisite to receive the major part of the plunder himself.
16th.--I sent Kahala out of the house, giving her finally over to Bombay as a wife, because she preferred playing with dirty little children to behaving like a young lady, and had caught the itch. This was much against her wish, and the child vowed she would not leave me until force compelled her; but 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.--I 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 Kituntu, 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.
18th.--I called at the palace with Grant, taking with us some pictures of soldiers, horses, elephants, etc. 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 Wanguana 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 off the Mussulman faith than you could yours." A man with a maniacal voice sang and whistled by turns. Katumba, the officer of the guards, 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; in an instant he grew lively, crying out, "Oh, let us see them!" and they were shown, Bombay explaining. Three of the king's wives then came in, and offered him their two virgin sisters, n'yanzigging incessantly, and beseeching their acceptance, as by that means they themselves would become doubly related to him. Nothing, however, seemed to be done to promote the union, until