ng for food, and calling
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 Karague
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 pombe 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 Wichwezi women lived, to whom
everybody 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 Meri's misdemeanour had to be explained, when
she said, "As that is the case, I will give you another; but you must
take Meri 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 Wichwezi 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 Wichwezi 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
everybody, I caught and threw it 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 po