en his servant told her that
he had saved the life of one of the women, she seemed astonished at the
daring of the stranger and at the leniency of the monarch. The king's
servants had robbed her of nearly everything in her house.

The most barbarous orders of the despot are obeyed with the utmost
alacrity by his officers, who would to a certainty, if they hesitated,
be themselves put to death. His horrible little pages are his chief
emissaries. At his command a dozen start off together, each striving to
outrun the others, their dresses, streaming in the wind, giving them the
resemblance at a distance of a flight of birds. On one occasion, Speke
having given Mtesa a rifle, the king, after examining the weapon, loaded
it and told a page to go out and shoot some one, to ascertain if it
would kill well. In a moment a report was heard, and the urchin came
back grinning with delight at his achievement, just like a schoolboy who
has shot his first sparrow. Nothing was heard about the unfortunate
wretch who had served as a target, the murder of a man being by far too
common an incident to attract notice.

Many of the people expressed the greatest horror of the king's cruelty;
but all his subjects were abject slaves, and no union existed among them
which would have afforded them any hope in rebellion or in bringing
about a better state of things.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

SPEKE AND GRANT'S TRAVELS CONCLUDED.

SET OUT FOR KAMRASI--ATTACKED BY THE WAGANDA--REACH THE NILE--THE ISAMBA
RAPIDS--THE RIPPON FALLS--THE SOURCE OF THE NILE--RETURNS TO
URONDOGANI--THREATENED DESTRUCTION--MARCH FOR UNYORO--KAMRASI'S
RECEPTION--THE MAGICIAN AT WORK--KAMRASI RECEIVES A BIBLE--LEAVE
KAMRASI, AND PROCEED DOWN THE KUFFO TO THE FALLS OF KARUMA--THE GANI
PEOPLE--THE MADI--ARRIVE AT PETHERICK'S OUTPOSTS--SPEKE AGAIN SETS OUT--
THE BARI COUNTRY--GONDOKORO AND NILE BOATS SEEN--SIR SAMUEL BAKER--
VOYAGE DOWN THE NILE TO KHARTOUM--A BANQUET--BERBER--ARRIVE AT LENGTH IN
ENGLAND.

By the 7th of July the arrangements for their journey were made. The
king presented them with a herd of cows for their provisions, as well as
some robes of honour and spears, and he himself came out with his wives
to see them off. Speke ordered his men to turn out under arms and
_nynzig_ for the favours received. Mtesa complimented them on their
goodly appearance and exhorted them to follow their leader through fire
and water, saying that, with such a force, they