He Sat Upon A Copper Stool Placed Upon A Carpet
Of Leopard Skins, And He Was Surrounded By About Ten Of His Principal
Chiefs.
Our interpreter, Bacheeta, now informed him who I was, and what were my
intentions.
He said that he was sorry I had been so long on the road,
but that he had been obliged to be cautious, having been deceived by
Debono's people. I replied, that I was an Englishman, a friend of Speke
and Grant - that they had described the reception they had met with from
him, and that I had come to thank him, and to offer him a few presents
in return for his kindness, and to request him to give me a guide to the
Lake Luta N'zige. He laughed at the name and repeated it several times
with his chiefs, - he then said, it was not LUTA, but M-WOOTAN
N'zige - but that it was SIX MONTHS' journey from M'rooli, and that in my
weak condition I could not possibly reach it; that I should die upon the
road, and that the king of my country would perhaps imagine that I had
been murdered, and might invade his territory. I replied, that I was
weak with the toil of years in the hot countries of Africa, but that I
was in search of the great lake, and should not return until I had
succeeded; that I had no king, but a powerful Queen who watched over all
her subjects, and that no Englishman could be murdered with impunity;
therefore he should send me to the lake without delay, and there would
be the lesser chance of my dying in his country.
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