88 ACROSS AFKICA. [Chap. 



July, told to wait until he had completed his architectural labors. 

 ^^'^' "When these were ended, he celebrated the event bj a debauch 

 on pombe, and remained in a drunken state for three days. 



After he had recovered sufficiently to resume his official du- 

 ties, he made the extravagant demand of one hundred doti ; 

 but, luckily, his notice was attracted by a pair of worthless blue 

 goggles, which so took his fancy that he insisted on having 

 them. Of course we declared they were of priceless value, and 

 our apparent anxiety to keep them so whetted his desire that 

 he consented to settle the mhongo at twenty doti if the goggles 

 were included, a bargain which we gladly accejDted. 



It was simply a caprice on his part, for had we offered to dis- 

 pose of the goggles we should have been laughed to scorn. I 

 should not advise any future travelers to lay in a stock of these 

 articles w^ith a view to trading in them, as the investment would 

 most likely prove as profitless as Moses' gross of green specta- 

 cles. But it is generally so with uncivilized men when some- 

 thing new catches their eye ; they must have it, eoiUe qui coiite. 

 Yet, a few days later, just like children tired of a new toy, they 

 are ready to throw or give it away. 



Some caravans from Unyanyembe arrived during our stay 

 here. From the owner of one I heard that Livingstone had 

 returned to that place after having started with the men sent 

 up by Stanley, finding that he had not a sufficient number of 

 carriers for all his stores, but had again left, about five months 

 sipce. I could discover no foundation for this story ; and I 

 fancy my informant had only passed through Unyanyembe on 

 his way down from Karagwe, and had not obtained very relia- 

 ble news. 



A great-grandson of Magomba paid us a visit the day after 

 our arrival. He was the heir presumptive, and was better 

 dressed and cleaner than the commonalty, and the nails of his 

 left hand had been allowed to grow to an enormous length, as a 

 sign of high rank, proving as it did that he was never recpiired 

 to do any manual labor. It also provided him with the means 

 of tearing the meat which formed his usual diet, though poorer 

 people could only occasionally indulge in a snuill piece, as a 

 "kitchen" to their ugali, or porridge. 



In consequence of this Nebuchadnezzar-like growth of nail. 



