110 EXPEDITION INTO 



pliant." The usual answer to an order was ^'- Ya, ho, ha" 

 — " yes, my father •" and no one quitting* or approaching- 

 the presence omitted to exclaim " Haiyah !" Any attempt 

 to have taken the king-'s portrait openly would probabl}^ 

 have been attended with disastrous consequences, the art of 

 dra"v\ing" being* supposed to be connected with witchcraft, 

 but I seized the first opportunity of giving" his Majesty a, 

 sitting' unobserved. I exhibited several drawing's of animals, 

 and was surprised to find him so quick of apprehension. 

 He instantly recog'uized them all, repeating- the Matabili 

 name. He inquired if we did not wish to visit the Great 

 Lake in the interior, which he said we mig-ht easily do, as 

 there had been plenty of rain, and he would send a com- 

 mando to take care of us. This was a very tempting* offer, 

 but we replied we were sadly pushed for time, and were 

 afraid of displeasing* the white king* by overstaying* our 

 leave. He rejoined that he would take care and prevent 

 any unpleasant consequences by sending* the ^vhite king* a 

 messao'e about us. 



This afternoon he was reclining* on Richardson's bed, 

 his little dark eyes moving* with restless activity in every 

 direction, when the well-known sound of a box, which had 

 been imprudently opened by the Parsee, drew his attention 

 to the bag*g*ag"e-wag*g*on. He pricked his ears, hastily sprung* 

 from the bed, and, before the alarm could be g*iven, had 

 plung*ed both arms into the bead chest. Never shall I 

 forg-et the triumphant expression of his face at that mo- 

 ment. The lid having* been closed upon his arms, his idols 

 were hidden from his sig*ht, but he consoled himself by 

 feeling* them, and conjecturing- their colour, g*rinning* the 

 while with ecstacy, and, if so mild a term can express his 

 manner of asking*, requesting to have them all. We said 

 that they were all we had left, and that they were broug*ht 

 expressly for him ; but that we must be allowed to keep 



