As Uganda gradually opens up, Ankole will probably become the Leadenhall Market of the Protectorate. Excellent roads have been cut for transport to Entebbe, on the shores of the Victoria Nyanza, to Albert Edward Nyanza and Koki, and the Government has built a strong fort at Mbarara, the capital of Ankole, which is under civil and military control. After years of bigoted opposition to the missionaries, the country has now been thrown open to them. A large mud church had just been completed when we visited there, and a large number of men and women were under Christian instruction. For generations there had stood in the Royal courtyard a large drum, which was absolutely believed to bring death to the King who beat it. Immediately after the baptism of the King, he, Kahaya, in the sight of a large crowd of his subjects, went deliberately towards the drum; then, loosening the sticks, he stood for a moment looking round at his people, who were expecting his instantaneous death. With one mighty swing he brought the sticks down on the drum, which only thundered out, as it were, the doom which fell that day on their old heathen superstitions. Soon after arriving at the capital we went to pay our respects to the Royal Household. Passing out from the new mud “palace” of the King, I went across to the ladies’ quarters. The seven wives of His Majesty Kahaya, who at that time was only an inquirer after Christianity, were all sitting silently in a semi-circle round the inside of their grass hut. The atmosphere was unbearably stuffy, and reeking with odours of rancid butter, for the custom is to rub this well into their bodies, and, without washing off the stale, they rub in a fresh quantity each day. They treat in exactly the same way the bark cloths in which they entirely envelop themselves. Not until I had become accustomed to the dim light could I distinguish the seven shrouded, dusky figures. Then they resembled so many ant heaps. After the usual voluminous salutations, they begged me to take off my hat and show my hair. I agreed, if they, on their part, showed me their faces. Immediately fourteen merry eyes popped out of the oily bark cloths, and a row of fat, smiling faces appeared. After satisfying their inquisitive questions about my clothes, my age, my parents, and how long I had been married, I tried to find out a little about them. From what I could learn, they seemed to spend all their lives huddled together as I saw them, with absolutely nothing to do except to feed. They neither cooked, sewed, plaited grass, cultivated, nor worked at any of the small industries common among other tribes. The Christian women teachers were visiting them each day, and a large number of women had shown a real desire to read. As their minds have been allowed to lie dormant for so long, it is a wonder that they can learn to do so really quickly.