212 



THE MINISTERS. 



whole meine. This being one of the cities for- 

 bidden to strangers, we were led by Wazira through 

 tiniid croAvds, that shrank back as we approached, 

 to four tattered huts, standing about 300 feet be- 

 low the settlement, and assigned by superstition 

 as a traveller's bungalow. Even the son and heir of 

 great Kimwere must here abide till the lucky hour 

 admits him to the royal city and presence. The cold 

 rain and the sharp rarified air, which would have 

 been a tonic in a well-appointed sanitarium, render- 

 ed any shelter acceptable : we cleared the hovels 

 of sheep and goats, housed our valuables, and sent 

 Sidi Bombay to the Sultan, requesting the honour 

 of an interview. 



Before dark appeared three bare-headed Mdoe 

 or Ministers, who declared in a long palaver that 

 council must squat upon two knotty points. 

 Primo, why and wherefore had we entered the 

 king's country via the hostile Wazegura ? Secun- 

 do, when would his Majesty's Mganga or Magician 

 priest find an hour propitious for the ceremony ? 

 Sharp-witted Hamdan, at once and unprompted, 

 declared us to be also Waganga, men whose pow- 

 ers extended to measuring the moon and stars, 

 and to controlling the wind and rain. Away ran 

 the ministers to report the wonder, and whilst 



