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second or third, because this fortunately placed individual generally, for reasons too complicated to be here explained, acquires the greater portion of his sire's wealth, and is chosen to succeed him by the elders of the nation as one likely to be munificent. Somiriali, the present Sultan of Maranu, is quite a young man, and has fifty wives.

On the third day of my stay in his country the Sultan returned from his expedition, and I went to see him early in the morning. After waiting some minutes in a crowd of soldiers and women, a thin, mean-looking youth at length appeared, and advanced somewhat timidly towards me. He took my hand, and I shook his vigorously. Then there was an awkward pause, and after smiling vaguely at one another, Mauki, one of the Sultan's men, called to me from the crowd that I had better withdraw and see the Sultan afterwards in his house. Accordingly later on I repaired to the chief's residence, and there saw him sitting in a close, pokey little compartment, his sleeping-chamber, in fidgety expectation of his presents. He looked on restlessly while the tin box was opened, and, as each fresh thing appeared, he asked, "What else? What else?" The musical-box he somewhat appreciated, and turned its handle by jerks. The cloth and beads were hardly looked at, and the coloured pictures which had so delighted the æsthetic Mandara were received with suspicion and distrust, as savouring somewhat of magic. After many words and fine promises, all of which had little effect on the dissipated youth, who was more concerned about the parasites that infested his person than about the advantages to be derived from the white man's friendship, we withdrew and took our leave; but, shortly afterwards, the Sultan

followed on my footsteps, and appeared in the camp just as I was sitting down to a quiet breakfast. I began to hate him, especially as he entered my tidy tent and sat down in his greasy paint and dirt on my clean bed. Now commenced my difficulties. I wanted, in reality, merely to pass through this man's country and obtain guides for the higher regions, and wished his people to accompany me for the further reason that they would be able to explain to the warlike Wakibôšo, with whom they were allied, the change in my position, and how I had made friends with their chief of Maranu, who was one of the principal leaders in the coalition against Mandara.

The chief, however, looked on my arrival in his country as an excellent opportunity for extortion; and, moreover, wanted me to live permanently at his court, so that my stream of wealth might flow into his coffers rather than his neighbours'. So it was I had to intrigue a little with the Sultan of Maranu as to my ultimate intention of returning to Taveita, and promise anything so that he should remain in good-humour, and give me guides, and let me go to the snow-peaks. Therefore I was obliged to control my repugnance at his filthy presence, and smile sweetly at his inquisitive pryings into my private boxes. At one time he suddenly seized my loaded revolver, hanging up from the tent-post, and, before I could stop him, fired off every cartridge in it at random, fortunately hitting nobody, but only missing my own person by a fluke. Then he would take my greatcoat and try it on, and indeed endeavoured to walk off with it, until forcibly detained. At length he calmed down, and proceeded to formulate his demands, which he desired me to forward by special messenger to Sir John Kirk, at Zanzibar,

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hinting that I should be held a hostage until the goods arrived. I stipulated that meanwhile he should send me up the mountain. He consented, and then I allowed him to give the wildest scope to his covetous imagination. "See," he said, "I want you to give me this bed" (patting my tidy, clean white couch). "Very well," I replied, "when I come back from the mountain." "And this chair?" "Yes, and the chair, too." Very well, now take karatassi (paper), and write down all the things I want the Baloza (Sir John Kirk) to send me from the coast." (I got out a sheet of note-paper and a pencil, and affected to write.) "First, I want thirty barrels of powder." "Yes," I answered with sweet compliance, and wrote busily. "Next, 100 bunduki Sna-ider (Snider rifles), and 100 bunduki za fataki (muzzle-loading guns), and 1000 viassi (cartridges), for the bunduki Sna-ider, and a big' kinanda' (concertina) like the Arabs have, and a little box like this (my desk), and a table and a house of cloth (tent), and thirty loads of big red beads, and thirty loads of fine blue beads, and fifty loads of Merikani, and soruali (trousers-a palpable want), &c." Here he paused to think of some fresh item, and Kiongwe, enraged at his rapacity, could no longer restrain his feelings, so he said to me, in broken English, "This man plenty devilly." The Sultan pricked up his ears, and asked suspiciously, “Eh, what? Kitu gani devilly?" (What sort of thing is "devilly" ?) “Oh," I replied, with much presence of mind, "a sort of coat like this," pointing to my jacket. Very well, then," he answered, "write down two devilly." I affected to do so, and then once more besought the Sultan that guides might be given me the next morning. As his greed was now appeased

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by these lavish promises he assented, and to my great relief, wrapped his unpleasant garment round him and left my tent.

Accordingly it was decided that the following day we should commence our second ascent of Kilimanjaro.

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CHAPTER XIII.

A SECOND ASCENT.

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AFTER a most disturbed night, owing to the howling of the natives, who were celebrating their chief's return by vigorous dancing, I set to work early to pack and prepare for my second ascent of the mountain. It was very hot that morning, and what with the fatigue and worry of distributing the loads and serving out "posho (food allowance), I felt quite knocked up. The Sultan made many difficulties about furnishing me with guides, but as I showed resolutely that I intended to go either with or without them, he gave in, and sent me four men, clamorous ravens that they were. These latter shrieked and disputed about the amount of cloth due to them, and at length I abruptly turned two away. About halfpast one we started, and left the precincts of the Sultan's "court" with little regret. After crossing one fine river and walking through a smiling and fertile country, we began to ascend some thousand feet above the level of Marañu, and passed along intricate lanes of dracoena and by banana groves flourishing at a height of about 5500 feet. After a further ascent of a few hundred feet, cultivation came to an end, and we entered a heathy district, with pleasant grassy knolls and many streams of running

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