THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 109 



inspection." "My heart," he said, " is troubled because you 

 will not give me your magic horn the thing, I mean, in your 

 pocket, which you pulled out one day when you were discussing 

 the way ; and you no sooner looked at it than you said, ' This is 

 the way to the palace.' ' It was Sepke's chronometer, the only 

 one he had with him, that the old fellow was angling for. The 

 instrument was very valuable, and could not well be spared, so 

 he beaded the kin<* to wait until he could go to the white man's 



oo o o 



country and send him another. "No, I must have the one in 

 your pocket," said Kamrasi ; " pull it out and show it." Speke 

 reluctantly obeyed, when the impetuous savage seized chronome- 

 ter, chain and all, and deposited it on his own greasy person. 

 The next day Speke sent a message to Kamrasi asking that he 

 might be allowed to depart. The king, thinking him angry for 

 having taken the watch so rudely, took fright at the message, 

 and sent the chronometer back by an attendant, but in a badly 

 damaged condition, as he had used his fingers in showing his 

 people how the hands worked. 



AFRICAN TWINS. 



A GREAT deal of superstition surrounds the birth of twin chil- 

 dren in Africa. If one should die the mother continues to milk 

 herself every evening for five months, in order that the spirit of 

 the dead child may have plenty to eat and not persecute her. 

 Twins are not buried as ordinary people, under ground, but are 

 placed in earthenware pots and carried to the jungle, where the 

 pots are left, mouths downward, near the roots of a tree. Among 

 some tribes, on the death of a twin, the mother ties a little gourd 

 around her neck, and puts into it a trifle of everything she gives 

 to the living child, lest the spirit of the dead one should become 

 jealous. In some localities, on the death of a child the mother 

 smears herself with butter and ashes, and runs frantically about, 

 tearing her hair and bewailing piteously ; while the men of the 

 place use toward her the foulest language, apparently as if in 

 abuse of her person, but in reality to frighten away the demons 

 who have robbed her nest. 



Delays and broken promises at length so exasperated Speke, 



