16 UGANDA AND THE EGYPTIAN SOUDAN.

whether I could persuade him to replenish our larder, which, unfortunately for us, resembled Mother Hubbard's cupboard. He told me that it was a great deal of trouble to him to provide us with food, but that he would do so once for all.

Thereupon he gave an order, which I did not understand, to one of his wives, who went away and presently returned followed by eighteen young women bearing loads of bananas ; they were dressed in native bark cloth, and were, to say the least, by no means bad-looking. They put their burdens down on the ground, and then sat in a semicircle round the door. " There, doctori,'' said the king, "Will that do?" "For a day or two," I replied, "but it is not very much." "But you are very ungrateful," replied Mtesa ; " I mean you to have the whole lot of them, and then the women will be able to feed you ; I cannot." A present of eighteen dusky beauties was rather staggering, but I recovered from my astonishment, and declined the flattering proposal with as much grace as I could summon, and thereby exposed myself to the danger of being treated as Orpheus of old was by the Amazons.

Mtesa's wives did not like the trouble of getting food for us, and all began to clamour their disapproval, and a cloud appeared on the king's face.

" Why not take them," he inquired, " haven't you any women in your country ? " " Yes," I answered, " but they are like us ; we allow only one wife, and