"An hour and a half passed away after the first messenger had arrived from Kabba Rega to announce his visit. One after another, messengers had hurried to assure me that the king was just now approaching; but still the troops remained in expectation, and no king made an appearance.
"At length, after this long delay, he sent Rahonka to say that 'if it was all the same to me, he would rather see me at his own house.'
"This unmannerly young cub was actually suspicious of foul play, and was afraid to enter my tent!
"I immediately told Rahonka that his king was evidently not old enough to have learnt good manners, therefore I should at once dismiss the troops, who had already been waiting for nearly two hours to do him honour.
"I ordered the bugler to sound the 'destoor,' and the troops at once obeyed the signal.
"Terrified at the sound of the bugle, which was known to be some mysterious order, Rahonka implored me not to be angry, and he would at once bring Kabba Rega to the tent. The troops resumed their position.
"In a few minutes a great din of horns, drums, and whistles announced his approach, and we observed him walking down the road with an extraordinary gait. He was taking enormous strides, as though caricaturing the walk of a giraffe. This was supposed to be an imitation of M'tese, the king of Uganda, whose ridiculous attempt to walk like a lion has been described by Speke.
"Kabba Rega thus stalked along, followed by his great chiefs, Kittakara, Matonse, Rahonka, Quonga, and a number of others. Upon arrival opposite the band, the bugles and drums suddenly commenced with such a clash of cymbals that he seemed rather startled, and he entered the tent in the most undignified manner, with an air of extreme shyness half concealed by audacity.
"He was trembling with nervous anxiety, and with some hesitation he took his seat upon the divan that had been prepared for him. His principal chiefs sat upon skins and carpets arranged upon the ground.
"A crowd of about 2,000 people had accompanied him, making a terrific noise with whistles, horns, and drums. These were now silenced, and the troops formed a guard around the tent to keep the mob at a respectful distance. Every now and then several men of Kabba Rega's body-guard rushed into the crowd and laid about them with bludgeons five feet long, hitting to the right and left. This always chased the people away for a few minutes, until, by degrees, they resumed their position. Everybody was dressed up for a grand occasion, mostly in new clothes of bark- cloth, and many were in skins of wild animals, with their heads fantastically ornamented with the horns of goats or antelopes. The sorcerers were an important element. These rascals, who are the curse of the country, were, as usual, in a curious masquerade with fictitious beards manufactured with a number of bushy cows' tails.