TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 87 This, with a great deal more noisy irrelevant matter from himself and attendants, took up nearly half an hour, much to our annoyance. He ended, however, by telling us that he had left tlie settHng of the affair to Modiba, and returned to the town.

In order that more time should not be lost here, we made an addition to the former present of forty-five bars, coral and dollars, and gave it to Modiba to present, as all we would or could give him. He was then drunk, and not to be seen.

In a short hour after this, Mausafarra, the king's eldest son, came galloping from the town into our camp, attended by five or six people, armed with guns and spears, and, apparently in a great rage, said that he was offended at our not paying him our respects in person, and, although we might think little of him, he was, nevertheless, of as much consequence in the country as his father. We endeavoured to pacify him by appearing in good humour, and was going to give him our hands, when he rode off, in as great a hurry as he came, having first made one of his men throw down a pile of our arms, which was standing near them. He was not contented with this indifference on our part, and shortly returned on foot, attended as before. The first person he met was Private Robinson, lying on