Time Was Drawing On, And As The Queen Would Not Appear Of Her Own
Accord, I Sent To Request A
Friendly conversation with her before
I left, endeavouring, as well as I could, to persuade her that
the want of
Cordiality between us was owing to the mistakes of
interpreters, who had not conveyed to her my profound sentiments
of devotion. This brought her gracious corpulence out all smirks
and smiles, preceded by a basket of potatoes for "Bana, my son."
I began conversation with a speech of courtesy, explaining how I
had left my brother Grant and my great friend Rumanika at Karague
- hastening, in compliance with the invitation of the king, to
visit him and herself, with the full hope of making friends in
Uganda; but now I had come, I was greatly disappointed; for I
neither saw half enough of their majesties, nor did any of their
officers ever call upon me to converse and pass away the dreary
hours. All seemed highly pleased, and complimented my speech;
while the queen, turning to her officers, said, "If that is the
case, I will send these men to you"; whereupon the officers,
highly delighted at the prospect of coming to see me, and its
consequence a present, n'yanzigged until I thought their hands
would drop off. Then her majesty to my thorough annoyance, and
before I had finished half I had to say, rose from her seat, and,
showing her broad stern to the company, walked straight away.
The officers then drew near me, and begged I would sleep there
another night; but as they had nothing better to offer than the
hut of last night, I declined and went my way, begging them to
call and make friends with me.
12th. - Immediately after breakfast the king sent his pages in a
great hurry to say he was waiting on the hill for me, and begged
I would bring all my guns immediately. I prepared, thinking,
naturally enough, that some buffaloes had been marked down; for
the boys, as usual, were perfectly ignorant of his designs. To
my surprise, however, when I mounted the hill half-way to the
palace, I found the king standing, dressed in a rich filagreed
waistcoat, trimmed with gold embroidery, tweedling the loading-
rod in his fingers, and an alfia cap on his head, whilst his
pages held his chair and guns, and a number of officers, with
dogs and goats for offerings, squatted before him.
When I arrived, hat in hand, he smiled, examined my firearms, and
proceeded for sport, leading the way to a high tree, on which
some adjutant birds were nesting, and numerous vultures resting.
This was the sport; Bana must shoot a nundo (adjutant) for the
king's gratification. I begged him to take a shot himself, as I
really could not demean myself by firing at birds sitting on a
tree; but it was all of no use - no one could shoot as I could,
and they must be shot.
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