lOS THE KINGDOM OF UGANDA 



as fifteen feet al)ove the water, and interspersed amongst })ai)yrus roots 

 are quantities of fern, of amaranth, or " love-lies-a-bleeding," and the 

 gorgeous red purple Bissotis flowers, a yellow composite like a malformed 

 daisy, and large masses of pink or lavender-coloured Pentas. There are 

 also sages and mints which smell strongly of peppermint, and a rather 

 handsome plant with large white bracts and small mauve flowers. In and 

 out of this marsh vegetation flit charming little finches of the waxbill 

 type. One of them is particularly beautiful, with a body of black, white, 

 and dove colour, and a crimson back. The next ascent of the inevitable 

 hill which succeeds the marsh may lead one through a more wooded 

 countrv, where, amongst many other flowering shrubs, grows a species of 

 mallow {Ahidilon), with blush-pink flowers in clusters, like dog-roses in 

 general appearance. The following descent into the swampy hollow may 

 be one of those plunges into grand tro[)ical forest which have been already 

 described with ill-regulated enthusiasm — for the average reader who attempts 

 to follow these descriptions may not be as deeply moved as is the autlior 

 by these vegetable splendours. 



Perhaps it is by now past mid-day, and the afternoon sun is cruelly 

 hot. Between the traveller and the town of the nearest big chief where 

 he intends to camp is a hill unusually high, and with such steep sides- 

 that mo^t people are obliged to dismount and walk to the summit. Owing 

 to the heat and the stee[)ness of the ascent the climb is punctuated by 

 peevish stops, during which the perspiration is wrung from one's brow. 

 One sits down anywhere, anyhow, amidst the vegetation and fans a heated 

 face ineffectually with a damp pocket-handkerchief. The traveller is here 

 in a mood to make very depreciatory remarks about Uganda, and to wish 

 that he had never set out on this particular journey. Making one more 

 effort, however, the last [)art of the ascent is gained, and suddenly on the 

 apex of the hill, under the shade of a beautiful spreading tree, one sees a 

 sight which looks unreal in its op[)ortuneness — a table spread with a 

 snowy white cloth and set out with tea-things. One or more camp-chairs,, 

 according to the number of Euro2)eans of the party ; a group of smiling 

 white-clothed attendants : a camp-fire over which a kettle is boiling ; in 

 short, all the requirements for a delightful tea-party just at that time of 

 the afternoon when tea would be most welcome. All these preparations 

 have been made without consulting the traveller by the chief or sub-chief 

 of the district, very possibly not even the one he is going to visit. It 

 has been guessed that the white man will find this hill the most trying 

 point in his day's journey during the heat of the afternoon sun, and 

 therefore this spot has been selected as the most suitable one to prepare 

 tea to cheer him on his way. Very possibly one may only guess all this, 

 as the attendants, like well-trained English servants, offer no conversation 



