Soldiering and Sport in Uganda 



of white butterflies. They swarmed on the face of 

 the marsh, and when I remounted my cycle they 

 hovered all around me, flitting about at haphazard 

 in the most distracting way possible; and as the sun 

 had come out, lighting up their bright white wings, 

 the effect was most dazzling. 



I had entertained some hope that such a broad 

 river as the Katonga would have presented a charm- 

 ing display of running water to please the eye ; but 

 not a bit of it. The usual tall reeds and masses of 

 papyrus had overgrown its bed, and appearing above 

 the water, had completely obliterated the face of the 

 river. 



A few miles beyond I came to Kissossi, where I 

 halted. As the "safari" did not arrive till four in 

 the afternoon, I was ravenous, not having tasted any- 

 thing since sunrise, and so I determined on a good 

 feed, to put it vulgarly. I had been carefully 

 storing up a bottle of old Burgundy, that is to say, 

 about thirty years in bottle, and I was just wonder- 

 ing on what excuse I could broach it, when I 

 remembered it was New Year's Day. This train of 

 thought recalled to my mind what I had at the time 

 forgotten, that the week before was Christmas, and 

 that I had never eaten the fine plum-pudding sent 

 out to me all the way from England by my ever-to- 

 be-esteemed parent. Accordingly I ransacked my 

 chop boxes, and telling my cook to exert himself to 

 the utmost, proceeded to sit down and enjoy myself, 

 although all hilarity was out of the question, as I 

 had only my terrier to talk to. Being a native dog, 



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