came to the place. Speke declared that, unless better
quarters were found him, he would return; but the officer entreated that
he would not be so hasty. Rain, coming on, prevented a _levee_ being
held that day. The presents being got ready, Speke marshalled his
procession: the king's officers and pages, with himself, marched on the
flanks; the Union Jack, carried by his guide, led the way, followed by
twelve of his men, as a guard of honour, dressed in red flannel cloaks,
carrying their arms sloped, with fixed bayonets, while in the their rear
came the rest of his attendants, each bearing some article as a present.

He was surprised at the extraordinary dimensions of the palace, and the
neatness with which it was kept. The whole brow and sides of the hill
were covered with gigantic grass-huts, neatly thatched and fenced all
round with the tall, yellow reeds of the tiger-grass, while, within the
enclosures, the lines of huts were joined together or partitioned off
into courts, with the walls of the same grass.

These huts formed the residence of Mtesa's three or four hundred wives,
the rest living chiefly with his mother, the queen dowager. The ladies
were seen at the doors, making their remarks and enjoying their jokes.
At each gate they passed, officers opened and shut them, jingling the
big bells hung upon them to prevent stealthy entrance.

As they advanced, courtiers of high dignity stepped forward to greet the
white man, dressed in the most scrupulously neat fashions. Men, women,
bulls, dogs, and goats were led about by strings, cocks and hens were
carried in men's arms, and little page-boys with rope turbans rushed
about conveying messages, as if their lives depended on their swiftness,
every one holding his skin cloak tightly round him, lest his naked legs
should by accident be shown, a crime which in that kingdom, if happening
in the presence of the king, meets with instant death.

These huts are well-built of reed, which grows to a great height. They
have double roofs formed of thick grass thatch, in order to exclude the
heat of the sun. The outer roof comes nearly to the ground on all
sides. The structure is supported by stout poles, on which are hung
sacks of corn, meat, and other provisions. The interior is divided into
two portions by a high screen, the inner serving as a sleeping-room, in
which a bedstead formed of cane is placed. There are no windows nor
chimneys, and only one door in front.