tting with his women--a large group, by
no means pretty. His huts are numerous, the gardens and courts all
very neat and well kept. He was much delighted with my coming, produced
pombe, and asked me what I thought of his women, stripping them to
the waist. He assured me that he had thus paid me such a compliment as
nobody else had ever obtained, since the Waganda are very jealous of one
another--so much so, that any one would be killed if found starring upon
a woman even in the highways. I asked him what use he had for so many
women? To which he replied, "None whatever; the king gives them to us
to keep up our rank, sometimes as many as one hundred together, and we
either turn them into wives, or make servants of them, as we please."
Just then I heard that Mkuenda, the queen's woman-keeper, was outside
waiting for me, but dared not come in, because Congow's women were all
out; so I asked leave to go home to breakfast, much to the surprise of
Congow, who thought I was his guest for the whole day. It is considered
very indecorous in Uganda to call upon two persons in one day, though
even the king or the queen should be one of them. Then, as there was
no help for it--Congow could not detain me when hungry--he showed me a
little boy, the only child he had, and said, with much fatherly pride,
"Both the king and queen have called on me to see this fine little
fellow"; and we parted to meet again some other day. Outside his gate
I found Mkuenda, who said the queen had sent him to invite "her son" to
bring her some stomach medicine in the morning, and come to have a
chat with her. With Mkuenda I walked home; but he was so awed by the
splendour of my hut, with its few blankets and bit of chintz, that
he would not even sit upon a cow-skin, but asked if any Waganda dared
venture in there. He was either too dazzled or too timid to answer any
questions, and in a few minutes walked away again.

After this, I had scarcely swallowed by breakfast before I received a
summons from the king to meet him out shooting, with all the Wanguana
armed, and my guns; and going towards the palace, found him with a
large staff, pages and officers as well as women, in a plantain garden,
looking eagerly out for birds, whilst his band was playing. In addition
to his English dress, he wore a turban, and pretended that the glare of
the sun was distressing his eyes--for, in fact, he wanted me to give
him a wideawake like my own. Then, as if a sudden freak ha