The Reply Was, That The Medicine Had Not Taken,
And The King Was Very Angry Because Nothing Was Given Him When He
Took The Trouble To Call On Us.
He never called at a big man's
house and left it mwiko (empty-handed) before; if there was
nothing else to dispose of, could Bana not have given him a bag
of beads?
To save us from this kind of incessant annoyance, I now thought
it would be our best policy to mount the high horse and bully
him. Accordingly, we tied up a bag of the commonest mixed beads,
added the king's chronometer, and sent them to Kamrasi with a
violent message that we were thoroughly disgusted with all that
had happened; the beads were for the poor beggar who came to our
house yesterday, not to see us, but to beg; and as we did not
desire the acquaintance of beggars, we had made up our minds
never to call again, nor receive any more bread or wine from the
king.
This appeared to be a hit. Kamrasi, evidently taken aback, said,
if he thought he should have offended us by begging, he would not
have begged. He was not a poor man, for he had many cows, but he
was a beggar, of course, when beads were in the question; and,
having unwittingly offended, as he desired our friendship, he
trusted his offence would be forgiven. On opening the
chronometer, he again wrenched back the seconds-hand, and sent it
for repair, together with two pots of pombe as a peace-offering.
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