UGANDA AND WEST SIDE OF VICTORIA NYANZA. 221 
pages of the court, who by this time had taken such 
keen and complete mental inventories of my features, 
traits, and points of character as would have put to 
shame even a Parisian newsmonger. 
“ What land is this undressed pagan from ? ” asked 
the pages, loud enough for poor Saramba to hear. 
“ Regard the pagan’s hair,” said another. 
“ He had better not let the KabaJca see him,” said a 
third. 
“ He is surely a pagan slave — worth about a goat,” 
remarked a fourth. 
“ Not he. I would not buy him for a ripe banana,” 
ventured a fifth. 
I looked up at Saramba, and half fancied that he 
paled. 
Poor Saramba ! “As soon as they are gone, off goes 
that mop, and we will 
dress you in white 
cloth,” said Safeni, the 
coxswain, compassion- 
ately. 
But Baraka, one of 
the boatmen, an in- 
corrigible scoffer, said “ What is the use ? If we give 
him cloth, will he wear it ? No ; he will roll it up and 
tie it with a piece of string, and save it for his mammy, 
or sell it in Usukuma for a goat.” 
To my surprise the boatmen endeavoured to impress 
the fact on Saramba’s mind that the Kabaka was a 
special personal friend of theirs ; that all these cattle, 
goats, and fowls were the Kabaka’ s usual gifts to Wang- 
wana, and they endeavoured, with a reckless disregard 
for accuracy, to enumerate fabulous instances of his 
generosity to a number of other Safenis, Sarbokos, 
Barakas, and Zaidis, all natives, like themselves, or 
Zanzibar. Let Englishmen never henceforth indulge in 
the illusion, or lay the flattering unction to their self- 
love, that they are the only people who have studied 
the art of “ chaff.” The Zanzibaris are perfect in the art, 
as the sordid barbarian Saramba discovered to his cost. 
HORN AND FLUTE. 
