he way."

Then turning the subject, in the highest good-humour the king made
centurions of N'yamgundu and Maula, my two Wakungu, for their good
service, he said, in bringing him such a valuable guest. This delighted
them so much that as soon as they could they came back to my camp, threw
themselves at my feet, and n'yanzigging incessantly, narrated their
fortunes, and begged, as a great man, I would lend them some cows to
present to the king as an acknowledgement for the favour he had shown
them. The cows, I then told them, had come from the king, and could not
go back again, for it was not the habit of white men to part with their
presents; but as I felt their promotion redounded on myself, and was
certainly the highest compliment their king could have paid me, I would
give them each a wire to make their salaam good.

This was enough; both officers got drunk, and, beating their drums,
serenaded the camp until the evening set in, when, to my utter
surprise, an elderly Mganda woman was brought into camp with the
commander-in-chief's metaphorical compliments, hoping I would accept her
"to carry my water"; with this trifling addition, that in case I did not
think her pretty enough, he hoped I would not hesitate to select which I
liked from ten others, of "all colours," Wahuma included, who, for that
purpose, were then waiting in his palace.

Unprepared for this social addition in my camp, I must now confess I
felt in a fix, knowing full well that nothing so offends as rejecting
an offer at once, so I kept her for the time being, intending in the
morning to send her back with a string of blue beads on her neck; but
during the night she relieved me of my anxieties by running away, which
Bombay said was no wonder, for she had obviously been seized as part of
some confiscated estate, and without doubt knew where to find some of
her friends.

To-day, for the first time since I have been here, I received a quantity
of plantains. This was in consequence of my complaining that the king's
orders to my men to feed themselves at others' expense was virtually
making them a pack of thieves.

1st.--I received a letter from Grant, dated 10th February, reporting
Baraka's departure for Unyoro on the 30th January, escorted by Kamrasi's
men on their return, and a large party of Rumanika's bearing presents
as a letter from their king; whilst Grant himself hoped to leave Karague
before the end of the month. I then sent Bombay to see the q