CHAPTER XIV.

PALACE, UGANDA-Continued.

Reception of a victorious Army at Court.-Royal Sport.-A Review of the Troops. -Negotiations for the Opening of the Road along the Nile.-Grant's Return.— Pillagings.-Court Marriages.-The King's Brothers.-Divinations and Sacrifices.-The Road granted at last.-The Preparations for continuing the Expedition.-The Departure.

I NOW received a letter from Grant to say he was coming by boat from Kitangulé, and at once went to the palace to give the welcome news to the king. The road to the palace I found thronged with people; and in the square outside the entrance there squatted a multitude of attendants, headed by the king, sitting on a cloth, dressed in his national costume, with two spears and a shield by his side. On his right hand the pages sat waiting for orders, while on his left there was a small squatting cluster of women, headed by wichwézis, or attendant sorceresses, of fering pombé. In front of the king, in form of a hollow square, many ranks deep, sat the victorious officers, lately returned from the war, variously dressed; the nobles distinguished by their leopard-cat skins and dirks, the commoners by colored mbŭgu and cow or antelope skin cloaks, but all their faces and arms were painted red, black, or smoke-color. Within the square of men immediately fronting the king, the war-arms of Uganda were arranged in three ranks; the great war-drum, covered with a leopard-skin, and standing on a large carpeting of them, was placed in advance; behind this, propped or hung on a rack of iron, were a variety of the implements of war in common use, offensive and defensive, as spears-of which two were of copper, the rest ironand shields of wood and leather; while in the last row or lot were arranged systematically, with great taste and powerful effect, the supernatural arms, the god of Uganda, consisting of charms of various descriptions and in great numbers. Outside the square again, in a line with the king, were the household arms, a very handsome copper kettle-drum, of French manufacture, surmounted on the outer edge with pretty little brass bells depending from

swan-neck-shaped copper wire, two new spears, a painted leather shield, and magic wands of various devices, deposited on a carpet of leopard-skins-the whole scene giving the effect of true barbarous royalty in its uttermost magnificence.

Approaching, as usual, to take my seat beside the king, some slight sensation was perceptible, and I was directed to sit beyond the women. The whole ceremonies of this grand assemblage were now obvious. Each regimental commandant in turn narrated the whole services of his party, distinguishing those subs who executed his orders well and successfully from those who either deserted before the enemy or feared to follow up their success. The king listened attentively, making, let us suppose, very shrewd remarks concerning them; when to the worthy he awarded pombé, helped with gourd-cups from large earthen jars, which was n'yanzigged for vehemently; and to the unworthy, execution. When the fatal sentence was pronounced, a terrible bustle ensued, the convict wrestling and defying, while the other men seized, pulled, and tore the struggling wretch from the crowd, bound him hands and head together, and led or rather tumbled him away.

After a while, and when all business was over, the king begged me to follow him into the palace. He asked again for stimulants -a matter ever uppermost in his mind—and would not be convinced that such things can do him no possible good, but would in the end be deleterious. Grant's letter was then read to him before his women, and I asked for the dismissal of all the Wanyambo, for they had not only destroyed my peace and home, but were always getting me into disrepute by plundering the Waganda in the highways. No answer was given to this; and on walking home, I found one of the king's women at my hut, imploring protection against the Wanyambo, who had robbed and bruised her so often, she could not stand such abuse any longer.

4th. I sent Maŭla early in the morning, with the plundered woman, and desired him to request that the Wanyambo might be dismissed. He returned, saying he delivered my message, but no reply was given. I then searched for the king, and found him at his brothers' suite of huts playing the flute before them. On taking my seat, he proudly pointed to two vultures which he had shot with bullet, saying to his brothers, "There, do you see these birds? Bana shoots with shot, but I kill with bullets." To try him, I then asked for leave to go to Usoga, as Grant was so far

off; but he said, "No, wait until he comes, and you shall both go together then; you fancy he is far off, but I know better. One of my men saw him coming along carried on a stretcher." I said, "No, that must be a mistake, for he told me by letter he would come by water."

Heavy rain now set in, and we got under cover; but the brothers never moved, some even sitting in the streaming gutter, and n'yanzigging whenever noticed. The eldest brother offered me his cup of pombé, thinking I would not drink it; but when he saw its contents vanishing fast, he cried "lekérow!" (hold fast!) and as I pretended not to understand him, continuing to drink, he rudely snatched the cup from my lips. Alternate concerts with the brothers, and conversation about hunting, in consequence of a bump caused by a fall when steeple-chasing, which was discovered on my forehead, ended this day's entertainment.

5th. As all the Wanguana went foraging, I was compelled to stop at home. The king, however, sent an officer for Grant, because I would not believe in his statement yesterday that he was coming by land; and I also sent a lot of men with a litter to help him on, and bring me an answer.

6th. I went to the palace at the king's command. He kept us waiting an hour, and then passing out by a side gate, beckoned us to follow. He was dressed in European clothes, with his guns and tin box of clothes leading the way. His first question was, "Well, Bana, where are your guns? for I have called you to go shooting." "The pages never said any thing about shooting, and therefore the guns were left behind." Totally unconcerned, the king walked on to his brothers', headed by a band and attendants, who were much lauded for being ready at a moment's notice.. A grand flute concert was then played, one of the younger brothers keeping time with a long hand-drum; then the band played; and dancing, and duets, and singing followed. After the usual presentations, fines, and n'yanziggings, I asked for leave to go and meet Grant by water, but was hastily told that two boats had been sent for him when we returned from the N'yanza, and that two runners, just returned from Karagué, said he was on the way not far off. The child-king then changed his dress for another suit of clothes for his brothers to admire, and I retired much annoyed, as he would neither give pombé for myself nor plantains for my men; and I was farther annoyed on my arrival at home to find the Wanguana mobbing my hut and clamoring for food, and call

ing for an order to plunder if I did not give them beads, which, as the stock had run short, I could only do by their returning to Karagué for the beads stored there; and, even if they were obtained, it was questionable if the king would revoke his order prohibiting the sale of provisions to us.

7th. To-day I called at the queen's, but had to wait five hours in company with some attendants, to whom she sent pombé occasionally; but, after waiting for her nearly all day, they were dismissed, because excess of business prevented her seeing them, though I was desired to remain. I asked these attendants to sell me food for beads, but they declared they could not without obtaining permission. In the evening the queen stumped out of her chambers and walked to the other end of her palace, where the head or queen of the wichwézi women lived, to whom every body paid the profoundest respect. On the way I joined her, she saying, in a state of high anger, "You won't call on me now I have given you such a charming damsel: you have quite forgotten us in your love of home." Of course Méri's misdemeanor had to be explained, when she said, "As that is the case, I will give you another; but you must take Méri out of the country, else she will bring trouble on us; for, you know, I never gave girls who lived in the palace to any one in my life before, because they would tell domestic affairs not proper for common people to know." I then said my reason for not seeing her before was, that the four times I had sent messengers to make an appointment for the following day, they had been repulsed from her doors. This she would not believe, but called me a story-teller in very coarse language, until the men who had been sent were pointed out to her, and they corroborated me.

The wichwézi queen met her majesty with her head held very high, and, instead of permitting me to sit on my box of grass, threw out a bundle of grass for that purpose. All conversation. was kept between the two queens; but her wichwézi majesty had a platter of clay-stone brought, which she ate with great relish, making a noise of satisfaction like a happy Guinea-pig. She threw me a bit, which, to the surprise of every body, I caught and threw into my mouth, thinking it was some confection; but the harsh taste soon made me spit it out again, to the amusement of the company. On returning home I found the king had requested me to call on him as soon as possible with the medicine-chest. 8th. Without a morsel to eat for dinner last night, or any thing

this morning, we proceeded early to the palace, in great expectation that the medicines in request would bring us something; but after waiting all day till 4 P.M., as the king did not appear, leaving Bombay behind, I walked away to shoot a Guinea-fowl within earshot of the palace. The scheme was successful, for the report of the gun which killed the bird reached the king's ear, and induced him to say if Bana was present he would be glad to see him. This gave Bombay an opportunity of telling all the facts of the case, which were no sooner heard than the king gave his starving guests a number of plantains, and vanished at once, taking my page Lugoi with him, to instruct him in Kisŭahili (Zanzibar language).

9th. As the fruit of last night's scheme, the king sent us four goats and two cows. In great good-humor I now called on him, and found him walking about the palace environs with a carbine, looking eagerly for sport, while his pages dragged about five halfdead vultures tied in a bundle by their legs to a string. "These birds," said he, tossing his head proudly, "were all shot flying, with iron slugs, as the boys will tell you. I like the carbine very well, but you must give me a double smooth gun." This I promised to give when Grant arrived, for his good-nature in sending so many officers to fetch him.

We next tried for Guinea-fowl, as I tell him they are the game the English delight in; but the day was far spent, and none could be found. A boy then in attendance was pointed out as having seen Grant in Uddŭ ten days ago. If the statement were true, he must have crossed the Katonga. But, though told with great apparent circumspection, I did not credit it, because my men sent on the 15th ultimo for a letter to ascertain his whereabouts had not returned, and they certainly would have done so had he been so near. To make sure, the king then proposed sending the boy again with some of my men; but this I objected to as useless, considering the boy had spoken falsely. Hearing this, the king looked at the boy and then at the women in turn, to ascertain what they thought of my opinion, whereupon the boy cried. Late in the evening the sly little girl Kahala changed her cloth wrapper for a mbugu, and slipped quietly away. I did not suspect her intention, because of late she had appeared much more than ordinarily happy, behaving to me in every respect like a dutiful child to a parent. A search was made, and guns fired, in the hopes of frightening her back again, but without effect.