The
King Jokingly Looked At Me And Laughed, And Then At These Strange
Creatures, By Turn, As Much As To
Say, What do you think of them?
but no voice was heard save that of the old wife, who croaked
Like a frog for water, and, when some was brought, croaked again
because it was not the purest of the lake's produce - had the
first cup changed, wetted her lips with the second, and hobbled
away in the same manner as she came.
At this juncture the Mgussa's familiar motioned the Kamraviona
and several officers to draw around him, when, in a very low
tone, he gave them all the orders of the deep, and walked away.
His revelations seemed unpropitious, for we immediately repaired
to our boats and returned to our quarters. Here we no sooner
arrived than a host of Wakungu, lately returned from the Unyoro
war, came to pay their respects to the king: they had returned
six days or more, but etiquette had forbidden their approaching
majesty sooner. Their successes had been great, their losses,
nil, for not one man had lost his life fighting. To these men
the king narrated all the adventures of the day; dwelling more
particularly on my defending his wife's life, whom he had
destined for execution. This was highly approved of by all; and
they unanimously said Bana knew what he was about, because he
dispenses justice like a king in his own country.
Early in the morning a great hue and cry was made because the
Wanguana had been seen bathing in the N'yanza naked, without the
slightest regard to decency. We went boating as usual all day
long, sometimes after hippopotami, at others racing up and down
the lake, the king and Wakungu paddling and steering by turns,
the only break to this fatigue being when we went ashore to
picnic, or the king took a turn at the drums. During the evening
some of the principal Wakungu were collected to listen to an
intellectual discourse on the peculiarities of the different
women in the royal establishment, and the king in good-honour
described the benefits he had derived from this pleasant tour on
the water.
Whilst I was preparing my Massey's log to show the use of it to
the king, he went off boating without me; and as the few
remaining boats would not take me off because they had received
no orders to do so, I fired guns, but, getting no reply, went
into the country hoping to find game; but, disappointed in that
also, I spent the first half of the day with a hospitable old
lady, who treated us to the last drop of pombe in her house - for
the king's servants had robbed her of nearly everything - smoked
her pipe with me, and chatted incessantly on the honour paid her
by the white king's visit, as well as of the horrors of Uganda
punishment, when my servants told her I saved the life of one
queen.
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