VACCINATION. 15

chiefs and wives. On one occasion, after I had

shown him the hand, and the muscles which moved

the fingers, he said, " What a wonderful thing ! I

could not make it, and I ought not to destroy what

I could not form." I replied that he certainly

should not, and seized the opportunity to give him

a short lecture on his propensity for cutting off

hands, ears, and noses. He promised that in the

future he would do so no more ; but I fear that he

has not kept his word. On several occasions the

king asked me to perform operations for him to see,

and said he should like me to practise vivisection in

his presence, but, as I did not possess a human

vivisection licence, I could not gratify his desire.

Vaccination much interested him, so I vaccinated

myself and two boys ; in return he made me a

present of a fat goat, and on another occasion I

received one as a sign of his pleasure at seeing me

with my hair cut short. At certain times he shaves

his head, and his wives and chiefs in true courtier-

fashion follow his example. I had been wearing my hair rather long ; so when I came in with only

about a quarter of an inch of hair on my head, he

was quite childishly delighted, clapping his hands,

and, as I said, ordering a goat to be sent home as a

sign of his approbation.

This reminds me of the difficulty we had some-

times in inducing Mtesa to provide us with food. On one occasion I went up to the palace to try