such
luscious peaches and grapes. And all this elegance and luxury, I kept
reminding myself, existed in a part of Africa utterly unknown to the
white man!

Whether it was the novelty of my surroundings, the somewhat perturbing
character of my reflections, or the contrast between the luxuriousness
of my couch and the hard cartel upon which I had reposed for so many
months under a stifling wagon tent, I know not, but sleep was slow to
come to me on that first night of my sojourn in the palace of Queen
Bimbane; and when at length it visited me it seemed that I had scarcely
closed my eyes before I opened them again to find that it was day, and
that Langila was standing beside my couch, respectfully enquiring
whether it would please me to bathe before dressing for breakfast. I
replied that it certainly would, whereupon the fellow filled my bath for
me, and a few minutes later I was luxuriously wallowing in the cold,
crystal-clear water. To towel myself dry and dress was the work of but
a minute or two, and then I sat down to a meal which in point of
elegance and luxury was the equal of that partaken of on the previous
evening.

When I had finished, Langila, who was really a most admirable servant,
respectfully enquired what I next proposed to do; and when I informed
him that I intended to ride to the lower end of the valley, to see how
my servants were faring, and that the wagon and oxen were being properly
looked after, he assured me that I might rest perfectly easy as to that,
but that if I were determined upon doing as I proposed it was the wish
of the queen that I should appear in public suitably arrayed. Thereupon
he vanished, and presently returned bearing a superb doublet of gold
scale armour upon a foundation of doeskin as soft as a kid glove, a
broad belt of massive gold links heavily studded with uncut diamonds,
supporting a gold-bladed sword in a richly chased golden sheath, and a
gold helmet, wadded and lined with silk and surmounted by a splendid
plume of ostrich feathers dyed a deep, rich crimson! And, thus
magnificently bedizened, I presently set forth, mounted upon Prince,
who, in his turn, had not been forgotten, he also proving to be a
beneficiary to the extent of a superb crimson silk, gold-fringed saddle
cloth, and a new bridle of a kind of velvet, dyed crimson, and heavily
studded with gold bosses.

The ride to the lower end of the valley and back proved exceedingly
interesting, for there was n