A WITCH DOCTOR.
Chapter XV
Satu receives a Title
The King sends for medicine--He is told to apply to St. Catherine--The King’s promise--Bakula bids farewell to his white friend--King’s deputy goes with us to Satu’s town--Ceremony of conferring the title--Killing a leopard--Satu redeems his brother--Releases his niece from a hateful marriage--A story: "Appearances are sometimes Deceptive"--A chief asks for Satu’s niece in marriage--Marriage money is paid--The wedding--Satu gains a new slave.
One day Bakula was chatting with the white man in his house when a head man arrived from his majesty, saying: “The King has many pains in his stomach, and he wants some medicine to stop them. Will you send some?”
“No,” replied the white man, “I will not send him any. For several weeks I attended the King during his severe illness, and immediately on his recovery he, at the request of the padres, went to their church and thanked St. Catherine for his restoration to health. Go and tell him that as he thanked St. Catherine for his recovery, he must now ask St. Catherine for medicine to stop the pains in his stomach.”
The messenger could hardly repress a smile as he said: “That is only fair,” and hurried off to deliver his message.
“Will you not send some medicine?” asked the King’s nephew, who was standing by.
“Yes, perhaps by and by, but not just yet,” replied the white man. “He has eaten too much, and colic is the result. It will not hurt him to bear the gripings for a time; and then I will send him some medicine and advice. You know,” continued the speaker, “that I went at sunrise every morning for five weeks to wash his foul, sloughing sore, and bind it in clean bandages; and he was grateful for all that was done for him, and often said that I had saved his life, and now I want to teach him that these saints who have rotted away to dust generations ago cannot help him.”
By now the messenger returned to say that the King will not go to St. Catherine again if the white man will send him some medicine at once.
To him the missionary replied: “Tell the King he had better wait a little longer before making such a conditional promise. St. Catherine may be busy somewhere else, and cannot come to Congo just now, even for a King. You see, she must have a lot to do in all parts of the world, and as she is only a saint, and not God, she cannot be everywhere at once.”