In The Day's Work At The Palace,
Army Collecting, Ten Officers Were Bound Because They Failed To
Bring A Sufficient Number Of Fighting Men, But Were Afterwards
Released On Their Promising To Bring More.
Nothing could be more filthy than the state of the palace and all
the lanes leading up to it:
It was well, perhaps, that we were
never expected to go there, for without stilts and respirators it
would have been impracticable, such is the dirty nature of the
people. The king's cows, even, are kept in the palace enclosure,
the calves actually entering the hut, where, like a farmer,
Kamrasi walks amongst them up to his ankles in filth, and,
inspecting them, issues his orders concerning them. What has to
be selected for his guests he singles out himself.
Dr K'yengo's men, who had been sent three times into action
against the refractory brothers, asked leave to return to
Karague; but the king, who did not fear for their lives when his
work was to be done, would not give them leave, lest accident
should befall them on the way. We found no prejudice against
eating butter amongst these Wahuma, for they not only sold us
some, but mixed it with porridge and ate it themselves.
29th. - The king has appointed a special officer to keep our table
supplied with sweet potatoes, and sent us a pot of pombe, with
his excuses for not seeing us, as business was so pressing, and
would continue to be so until the army marched.
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