"These ferocious men were the court executioners, and down to the time of Stanley's visit, in 1876, their duty was to strangle such persons as were designated by their royal master. These victims were taken from the group of courtiers or by-standers, and every man who went to the ceremonies at M'tesa's court was liable to be offered up as a sacrifice at the end of the performance. Sometimes ten victims, sometimes five, and sometimes as many as thirty, were strangled in a single morning by the king's order, as an offering to the gods who presided over the destinies of the kingdom of Ugunda.
"All is changed now since M'tesa has embraced Christianity, thanks to the labors of Stanley. The executioners have little to do in their former profession, and their service now is in the less ferocious work of serving as messengers or pages. Occasionally a criminal is put to death by royal command, but the custom of sacrifices has been abandoned, and probably forever.
"Speke found M'tesa a savage, with all the horrid rites of paganism in full sway. Stanley found him a Moslem, wearing the Arab dress, and requiring his court-officers to do likewise, but still retaining some of his pagan customs. We find him a Christian, and with Christian missionaries at work in his dominions. He has abandoned much of his former haughtiness and acquired the manners of Europe far more than we had reason to expect. His courtiers are no longer in the habit of rubbing their necks when they wake in the morning, to ascertain if their heads are still on their shoulders.
"Formerly it was the custom for everybody who approached the king to lie prostrate on the ground and wriggle up to his place, taking care not to expose the soles of the feet either in advancing or retiring. To do this was to offer great indignity to his majesty, and many a man has lost his head in punishment for not being handy with his foot.
"The prostration is no longer required. The courtiers advance, with the head bowed slightly, very much as they might approach a sovereign in Europe, and they deliver what they have to say without any sign of cringing. The courtiers squat or sit on the ground as they used to, and they continue to be particular about the soles of their feet. You cannot expect a complete change in manners in a single decade.
A TREE OF UGUNDA.
"When the king had finished the ordinary business of the court he turned to his minister of state and asked about the strangers. The minister explained, what the king probably had learned already, that the strangers had come from a far country to look upon the ruler of the kingdom of Ugunda. They had brought presents of great value for this mighty king, and it gave them great pleasure to be present at his court.
"Then the king turned toward us, but continued to address the minister, saying he was glad to welcome the strangers, and hoped they would enjoy their stay in his dominions.