One Was Speared Forcing His Way Through The Fence, But
The Rest Were Taken And Brought Triumphantly Into My Camp.
It
formed a strange sight in the establishment of an English
gentleman, to see my men flushed with the
Excitement of their
spoils, staggering under loads of mbugu, or leading children,
mothers, goats, and dogs off in triumph to their respective huts.
Bombay alone, of all my men, obeyed my orders, touching nothing;
and when remonstrated with for having lead the men, he said he
could not help it - the boys had deceived him in the same way as
they had tricked me.
It was now necessary that I should take some critical step in
African diplomacy; so, after ordering all the seizures to be
given up to Maula on behalf of the king, and threatening to
discharge any of my men who dared retain one item of the
property, I shut the door of my hut to do penance for two days,
giving orders that nobody but my cook Ilmas, not even Bombay,
should come near me; for the king had caused my men to sin - had
disgraced their red cloth - and had inflicted on me a greater
insult than I could bear. I was ashamed to show my face. Just
as the door was closed, other pages from the king brought the
Whitworth rifle to be cleaned, and demanded an admittance; but no
one dared approach me, and they went on their way again.
6th. - I still continued to do penance. Bombay, by my orders,
issued from within, prepared for a visit to the king, to tell him
all that had happened yesterday, and also to ascertain if the
orders for sending my men on a plundering mission had really
emanated from himself, when the bothering pages came again,
bringing a gun and knife to be mended. My door was found shut,
so they went to Bombay, asked him to do it, and told him the king
desired to know if I would go shooting with him in the morning.
The reply was, "No; Bana is praying to-day that Mtesa's sins
might be forgiven him for having committed such an injury to him,
sending his soldiers on a mission that did not become them, and
without his sanction too. He is very angry about it, and wished
to know if it was done by the king's orders." The boys said,
"Nothing can be done without the king's orders." After further
discussion, Bombay intimated that I wished the king to send me a
party of five elderly officers to counsel with, and set all
disagreeables to rights, or I would not go to the palace again;
but the boys said there were no elderly gentlemen at court, only
boys such as themselves. Bombay now wished to go with them
before the king, to explain matters to him, and to give him all
the red cloths of my men, which I took from them, because they
defiled their uniform when plundering women and children; but the
boys said the king was unapproachable just them, being engaged
shooting cows before his women. He then wished the boys to carry
the cloth; but they declined, saying it was contrary to orders
for anybody to handle cloth, and they could not do it.
Chapter XII
Palace, Uganda - Continued
Continued Diplomatic Difficulties - Negro Chaffing - The King in a
New Costume - Adjutant and Heron Shooting at Court - My Residence
Changed - Scenes at Court - The Kamraviona, or Commander-in-Chief-
-Quarrels - Confidential Communications with the King - Court
Executions and Executioners - Another Day with the Queen.
7th. - The farce continued, and how to manage these haughty
capricious blacks puzzled my brains considerably; but I felt that
if I did not stand up now, no one would ever be treated better
hereafter. I sent Nasib to the queen, to explain why I had not
been to see her. I desired to do so, because I admired her
wisdom; but before I went I must first see the king, to provide
against any insult being offered to me, such as befell Bombay
when I sent him with medicine. Having despatched him, I repaired
again to the palace. In the antechamber I found a number of
Wakungu, as usual, lounging about on the ground, smoking,
chatting, and drinking pombe, whilst Wasoga amused them singing
and playing on lap-harps, and little boys kept time on the
harmonicon.
These Wakungu are naturally patient attendants, being well
trained to the duty; but their very lives depend upon their
presenting themselves at court a certain number of months every
year, no matter from what distant part of the country they have
to come. If they failed, their estates would be confiscated, and
their lives taken unless they could escape. I found a messenger
who consented to tell the king of my desire to see him. He
returned to say that the king was sleeping - a palpable falsehood.
In a huff, I walked home to breakfast, leaving my attendants,
Maula and Uledi, behind to make explanations. They saw the king,
who simply asked, "Where is Bana?" And on being told that I came,
but went off again, he said, as I was informed, "That is a lie,
for had he come here to see me he would not have returned"; then
rising, he walked away and left the men to follow me.
I continued ruminating on these absurd entanglements, and the
best way of dealing with them, when lo! to perplex me still more,
in ran a bevy of the royal pages to ask for mtende beads - a whole
sack of them; for the king wished to go with his women on a
pilgrimage to the N'yanza. Thinking myself very lucky to buy the
king's ear so cheaply, I sent Maula as before, adding that I
considered my luck very bad, as nobody here knew my position in
society, else they would not treat me as they did. My proper
sphere was the palace, and unless I got a hut there, I wished to
leave the country.
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