We entered, and
presented him with some pictures, which he greatly admired,
looked at close and far, showed to the brothers, and inspected
again.
Pokino at this time came in with a number of well-made
shields, and presented them grovelling and n'yanzigging; but
though the governor of an important province, who had not been
seen by the king for years, he was taken no more notice of than
any common Mkungu. A plan of the lake and Nile, which I brought
with me to explain our projects for reaching Karague and Gani,
engaged the king's attention for a while; but still he would not
agree to let anything be done until the messenger returned from
Unyoro. Finding him inflexible, I proposed sending a letter,
arranging that his men should be under the guidance of my men
after they pass Unyoro on the way to Gani; and this was acceded
to, provided I should write a letter to Petherick by the morrow.
I then tried to teach the king the use of the compass. To make a
stand for it, I turned a drum on its head, when all the courtiers
flew at me as if to prevent an outrage, and the king laughed. I
found that, as the instrument was supposed to be a magic charm of
very wonderful powers, my meddling with it and treating it as an
ordinary movable was considered a kind of sacrilege.
7th. - I wrote a letter to Petherick, but the promised Wakungu
never came for it. As K'yengo was ordered to attend court with
Rumanika's hongo, consisting of a few wires, small beads, and a
cloth I gave him, as well as a trifle from Nnanji, I sent Bombay,
in place of going myself, to remind the king of his promises for
the Wakungu to Gani, as well as for boats to Karague, but a grunt
was the only reply which my messenger said he obtained.
8th. - Calling at the palace, I found the king issuing for a walk,
and joined him, when he suddenly turned round in the rudest
manner, re-entered his palace, and left me to go home without
speaking a word. The capricious creature then reissued, and,
finding me gone, inquired after me, presuming I ought to have
waited for him.
9th. - During the night, when sleeping profoundly, some person
stealthily entered my hut and ran off with a box of bullets
towards the palace, but on the way dropped his burden. Maula, on
the way home, happening to see it, and knowing it to be mine,
brought it back again. I stayed at home, not feeling well.
10th. - K'yengo paid his hongo in wire to the king, and received a
return of six cows. Still at home, an invalid, I received a
visit from Meri, who seemed to have quite recovered herself.
Speaking of her present quarters, she said she loved Uledi's wife
very much, thinking birds of a feather ought to live together.
She helped herself to a quarter of mutton, and said she would
come again.
11th. - To-day Viarungi, finding Rozaro's men had stolen thirty
cows, twelve slaves, and a load of mbugu from the Waganda, laid
hands on them himself for Rumanika, instead of giving them to
King Mtesa. Such are the daily incidents among our neighbours.
12th. - At night a box of ammunition and a bag of shot, which were
placed out as a reserve present for the king, to be given on our
departure, were stolen, obviously by the king's boys, and most
likely by the king's orders; for he is the only person who could
have made any use of them, and his boys alone know the way into
the hut; besides which, the previous box of bullets was found on
the direct road to the palace, while it was well known that no
one dared to touch an article of European manufacture without the
consent of the king.
13th. - I sent a message to the king about the theft, requiring
him, if an honest man, to set his detectives to work, and ferret
it out; his boys, at the same time, to show our suspicions, were
peremptorily forbidden ever to enter the hut again. Twice the
king sent down a hasty message to say 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.
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