ated with for having lead the men, he said he could not
help it--the boys had deceived him in the same way as they had tricked
me.

It was now necessary that I should take some critical step in African
diplomacy; so, after ordering all the seizures to be given up to Maula
on behalf of the king, and threatening to discharge any of my men who
dared retain one item of the property, I shut the door of my hut to do
penance for two days, giving orders that nobody but my cook Ilmas, not
even Bombay, should come near me; for the king had caused my men to
sin--had disgraced their red cloth--and had inflicted on me a greater
insult than I could bear. I was ashamed to show my face. 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. Bombay now wished to go with them
before the king, to explain matters to him, and to give him all the red
cloths of my men, which I took from them, because they defiled their
uniform when plundering women and children; but the boys said the king
was unapproachable just them, being engaged shooting cows before his
women. He then wished the boys to carry the cloth; but they declined,
saying it was contrary to orders for anybody