Just
as the door was closed, other pages from the king brought the
Whitworth rifle to be cleaned, and demanded an admittance; but no
one dared approach me, and they went on their way again.
6th. - I still continued to do penance. Bombay, by my orders,
issued from within, prepared for a visit to the king, to tell him
all that had happened yesterday, and also to ascertain if the
orders for sending my men on a plundering mission had really
emanated from himself, when the bothering pages came again,
bringing a gun and knife to be mended. My door was found shut,
so they went to Bombay, asked him to do it, and told him the king
desired to know if I would go shooting with him in the morning.
The reply was, "No; Bana is praying to-day that Mtesa's sins
might be forgiven him for having committed such an injury to him,
sending his soldiers on a mission that did not become them, and
without his sanction too. He is very angry about it, and wished
to know if it was done by the king's orders." The boys said,
"Nothing can be done without the king's orders." After further
discussion, Bombay intimated that I wished the king to send me a
party of five elderly officers to counsel with, and set all
disagreeables to rights, or I would not go to the palace again;
but the boys said there were no elderly gentlemen at court, only
boys such as themselves.
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