ssage; which no sooner was told than the king, in a hurry,
excited by the prospects of sport, impatiently said, "Very good; I will
send men either by water or overland through Kidi, [19] just as your
master likes; only some of his men had better go with mine: but now
shoot cows, shoot cows; for I want to see how the Waguana shoot." They
shot seven, and all were given to them when they were dismissed. In the
evening the pages came to ask me if I would like to shoot kites in
the palace with their king; but I declined shooting anything less than
elephants, rhinoceros, or buffaloes; and even for these I would not go
out unless the king went with me;--a dodge I conceived would tend
more than any other to bring us together, and so break through those
ceremonial restraints of the court, which at present were stopping all
pans of progression.

25th.--The king invited me to shoot with him--really buffaloes--close to
the palace; but as the pages had been sent off in a hurry, without being
fully instructed, I declined, on the plea that I had always been gulled
and kept waiting or treated with incivility, for hours before I obtained
an interview; and as I did not wish to have any more ruptures in the
palace, I proposed Bombay should go to make proper arrangements for my
reception on the morrow--as anyhow, at present I felt indisposed. The
pages dreaded their master's wrath, departed for a while, and then sent
another lad to tell me he was sorry to hear I felt unwell, but he hoped
I would come if only for a minute, bringing my medicines with me, for
he himself felt pain. That this second message was a forged one I had no
doubt, for the boys had not been long enough gone; still, I packed up my
medicines and went, leaving the onus, should any accident happen, upon
the mischievous story-bearers.

As I anticipated, on arrival at the palace I found the king was not
ready to receive me, and the pages desired me to sit with the officers
in waiting until he might appear. I found it necessary to fly at once
into a rage, called the pages a set of deceiving young blackguards,
turned upon my heel, and walked straight back through the courts,
intending to leave the palace. Everybody was alarmed; information of my
retreat at once reached the king, and he sent his Wakungu to prevent my
egress. These officers passed me, as I was walking hurriedly along under
my umbrella, in the last court, and shut the entrance-gate in front of
me. This was too mu