It
Was Of No Use To Be Wroth, I Therefore Quietly Replied That I Should Not
Give Them, As Kamrasi Had Failed In His Promise To Forward Me To Shooa;
But That I Required No Presents From Him, As He Always Expected A
Thousandfold In Return.
M'Gambi said that all would be right if I would
only agree to pay the king a visit.
I objected to this, as I told him
the king, his brother, did not want to see me, but only to observe what
I had, in order to beg for all that he saw. He appeared much hurt, and
assured me that he would be himself responsible that nothing of the kind
should happen, and that he merely begged as a favor that I would visit
the king on the following morning, and that people should be ready to
carry me if I were unable to walk. Accordingly I arranged to be carried
to Kamrasi's camp at about 8 A.M.
At the hour appointed M'Gambi appeared, with a great crowd of natives.
My clothes were in rags, and as personal appearance has a certain
effect, even in Central Africa, I determined to present myself to the
king in as favorable a light as possible. I happened to possess a
full-dress Highland suit that I had worn when I lived in Perthshire many
years before. This I had treasured as serviceable upon an occasion like
the present: accordingly I was quickly attired in kilt, sporran, and
Glengarry bonnet, and to the utter amazement of the crowd, the
ragged-looking object that had arrived in Kisoona now issued from the
obscure hut with plaid and kilt of Athole tartan. A general shout of
exclamation arose from the assembled crowd, and taking my seat upon an
angarep, I was immediately shouldered by a number of men, and, attended
by ten of my people as escort, I was carried toward the camp of the
great Kamrasi.
In about half an hour we arrived. The camp, composed of grass huts,
extended over a large extent of ground, and the approach was perfectly
black with the throng that crowded to meet me. Women, children, dogs,
and men all thronged at the entrance of the street that led to Kamrasi's
residence. Pushing our way through this inquisitive multitude, we
continued through the camp until at length we reached the dwelling of
the king. Halting for the moment, a message was immediately received
that we should proceed; we accordingly entered through a narrow passage
between high reed fences, and I found myself in the presence of the
actual king of Unyoro, Kamrasi. He was sitting in a kind of porch in
front of a hut, and upon seeing me he hardly condescended to look at me
for more than a moment; he then turned to his attendants and made some
remark that appeared to amuse them, as they all grinned as little men
are wont to do when a great man makes a bad joke.
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