The Humming Bird, 61 



before he left. One would demand the iron camp-stool on 

 which he had been squatting, and another would open his 

 conversation by a request for some beads, or anything else — 

 they were not particular what, so long as it was portable. At 

 Suwarora's capital a messenger arrived from M'tesa, King of 

 Uganda, a personage destined to be heard of very often in 

 future years, but until then a strange name to the outer 

 world. But this ambassador though willing to take to his 

 master Speke's card, in the shape of a red pocket-handkerchief, 

 declined to accept a revolving rifle, on the plea that the King 

 might think it magic, and act accordingly. For the same 

 reason one of the officers of Suwarora refused to carry to that 

 sovereign a five-barrelled pistol. 



A BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY. 

 According to the records of Speke and Grant — gathered 

 during the second expedition — Uganda is in parts a splendid 

 and fertile tract of country. One of the valleys, through which 

 flowed the Victoria Nyanza — a stream which, in a cooler climate, 

 would have been dear to the trout fisher — was clothed with 

 noble trees and all kinds of luxuriant vegetation. Among 

 these the pandana palm reared its head in addition to fine 

 gardens of plantains. The common weeds were large thistles 

 and wild indigo ; and far beyond they could see lines of what 

 looked like extinct cones, resembling those of Auvergne, in 

 France, while still further were the rich grassy mountains of 

 Karagwe and Kishakka. 



THE SOURCES OF THE NILE. 



Speke's exultation at the discovery — or the confirmation 

 of a discovery — he had made, is sometimes described as pre- 

 mature, inasmuch as we now know the Victoria Nyanza to be 

 only one of the Nile sources, and that other lakes contribute 

 their surplus waters to its flood. In reality, time has added 

 to instead of diminishing the importance of the Victoria 

 Nyanza source, for the other lakes, which were at the time of 

 the discovery believed to be as large as, if not larger than 

 it, are now known to be much smaller. It was, therefore, 

 with every right to be jubilant that Speke's party began their 

 journey down the Nile towards the sea H in five boats of five 

 planks each, tied together and caulked with rags," from a 

 point a little below the Ripon Falls, in the hope of meeting 

 Grant. The wanderings of other travellers are either 

 described by Mr. Brown or told by themselves in the succeed- 

 ing pages. The brief summary I have given of a couple of 



