THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 81 



term which will be frequently met with, and which it is necessary 

 to use like an English verb. In consequence of these salutations, 

 there is more ceremony in court than business, though the king, 

 ever having an eye to his treasury, continually finds some trifling 

 fault, condemns the head of the culprit, takes his liquidation 

 present, if he has anything to pay, and thus keeps up his 

 revenue. 



No one dare stand before the king while he is either standing 

 still or sitting, but must approach him with downcast eyes and 

 bended knees, and kneel or sit when arrived. To touch the 

 king's throne or clothes, even by accident, or to look upon his 

 women, is certain death. When sitting in court holding a levee, 

 the king invariably has in attendance several women, "Wabandwa, 

 evil-eye averters or sorcerers. They talk in feigned voices raised 

 to a shrillness almost amounting to a scream. They wear dried 

 lizards on their heads, small goatskin aprons trimmed with little 

 bells, diminutive shields and spears set off with cock-hackles, 

 their functions in attendance being to administer cups of marwa 

 (plantain wine). To complete the picture of the court, one 

 must imagine a crowd of pages to run royal messages ; they dare 

 not walk, for such a deficiency in zeal to their master might cost 

 their life. A further feature of the court consists in the national 

 symbols a dog, two spears and a shield. 



With the company squatting in a large half-circle, or three 

 sides of a square, many deep, before him, in the hollow of which 

 are drummers and other musicians, the king, sitting on his 

 throne in high dignity, issues his orders for the day much to the 

 following effect: "Cattle, women and children are short in 

 Uganda ; an army must be formed of one to two thousand strong 

 to plunder Unyoro. The Wasoga have been insulting his sub- 

 jects, and must be reduced to subjection ; for this emergency 

 another army must be formed of equal strength, to act by land 

 in conjunction with the fleet. The Wahaiya have paid no tribute 

 to his greatness lately, and must be taxed." For all these 

 matters the commander-in-chief tells off the divisional officers, 

 who are approved by the king, and the matter is ended in court. 

 6 



