MY JOURNEY CONTINUED TO ASHAKA 217 



forced marches of carrying live-stock, these large dashes are 

 a doubtful blessing, and one invariably has to give a present 

 of greater value in return. If one attempt to return a 

 part, so as to regulate the size of one's own gift, one's reputa- 

 tion dwindles proportionately in the eyes of the king. I have 

 known officials get out of the difficulty by selHng the present 

 the same day for what it will fetch in the market of the very 

 town whose king is entertaining them. To my mind this is 

 an act to be deplored as an infringement of those laws of 

 hospitality, which the simpler native keeps so well. In saying 

 this I do not wish to infer that individuals are so much to 

 blame, but merely to express regret that the necessities of 

 a businesslike administration should ever make it impossible 

 to respect a fine old custom. 



The King of Goram stood in great fear of the Emir of 

 Bauchi, who had sacked his city four years before, killing 

 his brother, who was then the king, and driving the present 

 king to seek safety under British protection at Zunguru. 

 He now rules by virtue of British support, but this does not 

 free him altogether from the persecution of the Emir, who 

 systematically sows disaffection among his subjects and 

 saps their loyalty with threats. I found him sitting iii lonely 

 magnificence in company with a few faithful followers. He 

 poured out his woes to me with a genuine appreciation of his 

 pathetic circumstances, which succeeded in arousing my pity 

 and I did the best I could for him. I told him to summon 

 all his people, and when they were assembled, sitting facing 

 I harangued them in the most impressive voice I could com- 

 mand. The simple mind of the Fulani, like that of all 

 Eastern peoples, sucks up a shower of similes as the desert 



