She was a Zulu Princess and is the only royal widow of the famous King
Buno who had, in all, twenty-six wives. She is the mother of Crown
Prince Sebuza. Lochien is her adviser in addition to being Sebuza's
_chargé d'affaires_ and commander-in-chief of all his impis]
That night I became greatly worried over Dr. Sugden's condition. The
water he drank in the Valley of Heaven had caused fever and violent
dysentery, and he had rapidly grown worse during the last forty-eight
hours. The heat during the day was severe, and it seemed to affect him
so that he was hardly able to recover at night. I had given him
medicine and done everything I could for him, but nothing seemed to
help much. It was very discouraging to have him ill, because his
unfailing optimism and ready wit had helped us over many a hard place.
Next day Tuys and I called on the queen, and were received as
cordially as before. As usual, she was surrounded by maids and other
women of her kraal, and it was interesting to note how affectionate
they were toward her. She is the best liked woman in Swaziland without
a doubt, and this is strange, since it is seldom that these savage
women display any affection for one another.
We asked her how soon Sebuza would be made king. Her face darkened at
the question and I could see that it touched a sore spot.
"Until my son, Sebuza, returns from the mountains this matter is in
the hands of Queen Labotsibeni, whom the government recognizes as
regent," she answered. "But when the prince is a man and is ready for
the throne, perhaps there will be a change!"
I asked her what she meant, but she refused to be drawn out. Instead,
she told us about her last attempt to arrange for the coronation.
"Only seven days ago," she said, "I sent men to see the old queen and
ask her how soon she would be ready to surrender the throne. She
refused to see them, so they gave their message to Lomwazi. He told
them that Labotsibeni would let them know when she was ready, and then
dismissed them."
"When they left the royal kraal at Zombode many of the warriors made
menacing gestures toward them, and they came back glad to escape with
their lives. That is Labotsibeni's answer to the mother of the
rightful king of Swaziland and the royal widow of King Buno!"
She was very indignant. After a little conversation, during which we
complimented her, as was proper, we withdrew. I noticed that there was
a gin-bottle in the corner of the royal hut and realized that Tzaneen
was not different from other kaffir royalty.
Sugden was very low when we returned. He was the finest sort of
patient, however, for the worse became his physical condition, the
more determined he was that he would live. He kept murmuring, "Don't
give up the ship!" but I could see that he would hardly last until
morning.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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