UGANDA 241 



Darkness came like a cloud on the scene, but 

 still the turmoil of the waters thundered from 

 the falls, and still that wondrous picture of the 

 birth of the world's most famous river was clear 

 before me. Flashes of lightning now and then 

 brightened the Northern sky, and seemed to 

 call to the river to fly from the heathen darkness 

 of Nyanza to the cradle of the world's learning. 

 They talk of harnessing the Ripon Falls in these 

 days of commercial vandalism. Nile water as 

 it leaps from the womb of Victoria Nyanza is 

 to drive turbines ! What sacrilege ! What an 

 infamous disregard for one of the most monu- 

 mental works of Nature ! 



There are many other scenes of the Victoria 

 Nyanza region which are indelibly impressed 

 on my memory. But undoubtedly the most 

 beautiful of all is the view from the hill which 

 overlooks Entebbe. There below you nestles 

 the toy capital, an outpost of Empire in Lotus 

 Land. Bungalows lie buried in a riot of glorious 

 colour, wreathed in a maze of heliotrope and crim- 

 son, for the flower-beds of Entebbe are tended 

 by the head gardener of God, and the emerald 

 hue of the verdant background could only have 

 been painted by the Creator Himself. Cast 

 your eyes a little farther, and the deep blue lagoon- 

 like arms of the lake channel into the luscious 

 landscape. Entebbe is indeed an emerald gem 

 set in a sapphire sea, a vision of loveliness which 

 might make Killarney envious. 



At night the Soudanese sentries pace the land- 

 ing-stage, and their hoarse challenges mingle 

 with the gentle lapping of the lake. A myriad 

 fireflies flit across the warm sweet air and light 

 the scene with fairy lanterns. It all seems so 

 lovely, but there is the poison of the nightshade in 



