434 LIFE OF DA VII) LIVINGSTONE, LL.D. 



Central Africa, in a crimson cloth, arranged toga-like over his shoulder, and 

 depending to his ankles ; and a brand new piece of Massachusetts shirting 

 folded around his head He greeted us graciously; he was the prince of 

 politeness ; shook hands first with myself, then with my head men, and cast a 

 keen glance around, in order, as I thought, to measure our strength. Then 

 seating himself, he spoke with deliberation, something in this style : — ' Why 

 does the white man stand in the road ? The sun is hot, let him seek the 

 shelter of my village, when we can arrange this little matter between us. 

 Does he not know that there is a king in Ubha, and that I, Mionvu, am his 

 servant ? It is a custom with us to make friends with great men, such as 

 the white' man. All Arabs and "Wanguana stop here, and give us cloth. 

 Does the white man mean to go on without paying ? Why should he desire 

 war ? I know he is stronger than we are here ; his men have guns, and we 

 have but spears and arrows ; but Ubha is large, and has plenty of people. The 

 children of the king are many. If he comes to be a friend to us, he will come 

 to our village, give us something, and then go his way.' 



" The armed warriors around applauded the speech of Miovnu, because 

 it spoke the feelings with which they viewed our bales. Certain am I, 

 though, that one portion of his speech — that which related to our being 

 stronger than the Ubha — was an untruth, and that he knew it, and that he 

 only wished we would start hostilities, in order that he might have good reason 

 for seizing the whole. It is not new to you, of course, if you have read this 

 letter through, to find that the representative of the Herald was held of small 

 account here, and never one did I see who would care a bead for anything 

 that you would ever publish against him ; so the next time you want me to 

 enter Africa, I only hope you will think it worth while to send 100 good men 

 from the Herald office to punish this audacious Mionvu, who neither fears the 

 New York Herald nor the ' Star Spangled Banner.' 



" I submitted to Mionvu's proposition, and went with him to his village, 

 when he fleeced me to his heart's content. His demand, which he adhered to 

 like a man who knew what he was about, was one good bale of cloth, 

 apportioned between the king, himself, his wife, three of his chief men, and 

 his son, a little boy. I went to bed that night like a man on the verge of 

 ruin. However, Mionvu said we would have to pay no more in Ubha. Not- 

 withstanding this, a brother of Mionvu's levied black mail on the traveller at a 

 village further to the west, and further exactions were eluded by starting in the 

 middle of the night, and keeping clear of the villages." 



At last they are at " the base of a hill, from the top of which the 

 Kirangozi (a native tribe) said we would obtain a view of Lake Tanganyika. 

 . . . On arriving at the top, we beheld it at last from the spot whence 

 probably Burton and Speke looked at it, ' the one in a half-paralyzed state, 

 the other almost blind.' Indeed, 1 was placed at the right, and as we 



