4 UGANDA AND THE EGYPTIAN SOUDAN.

served a strict silence, so that we had a good oppor-

tunity of looking round and noting the appearance

\ of the king and his chiefs. Place cm roi ! On

; a rich carpet lay Mtesa, supporting himself on his

) right arm on spotless linen cushions. He is a very

fine man, about six feet high, and of well-propor-

tioned build. He has a well-formed oval face, the

deeply marked lines and the expression of which

show to the close observer that he is a great suf-

ferer ; while his large languid eyes, though usually

dull, at times light up with a good deal of fire, as

anger or pleasure causes him to express emotion.

' He was clad in a becoming Arab dress, richly

embroidered with gold and silver braid; his head

was covered with a tarboosh ; and in front of him

lay a large jewelled sword, with the hilt of which

his long nervous hand played. So much for the

king; now for the officers of state. They were

all attired in Arab garments ; a few wore tarbooshes,

but for the most part they afi'ected the small Zan-

zibar cap, or a head-dress made of white linen

cloth, tied up into fantastic shapes, by- no means

unlike the napkins on an English dinner-table. Each of them held in his hand a native stick.

Near the door sat a few Arab half-breeds, an ill-

looking set of fellows, who watched the reception

of the newly arrived Englishmen with marked

disgust.

We had had time to observe our surroundin^ifs