He is now daily seated on the carpet at the right hand of his sovereign, controls all things, commands all men, and, when leaving the presence of his master, he is escorted by all the chiefs to his own quarters, waylaid by multitudes on the road with profound greeting, has the pick of all females captured in war, the choicest of all cattle, and his shares of all cloths, beads, wine, and other gifts brought to Mtesa; for the Katekiro, alias Pokino, alias Magassa, is now Premier, First Lord, and Secretary of State! But what next? One day, while on a visit to my quarters, I permitted him to examine my store of medicines. On explaining the various uses of laudanum, he remarked, to my surprise, with a sigh, “Ah! that is the medicine I wish to have. Can you not spare some for me?” Poor Magassa! poor Pokino! poor Katekiro! He is already watching, while yet young, in the prime and vigour of manhood, for he knoweth not the hour when the Lord of the Cord may beckon to him. It is left for some future traveller to tell us of his interview with Kasuju, the chief executioner. ---------------------------------------------------------------- [_To face page 308._ [Illustration: RUBAGA, THE NEW CAPITAL OF THE EMPEROR MTESA.] ---------------------------------------------------------------- THE “KABAKA” OR EMPEROR. The curtain rolls up, and discloses a hill covered with tall conical huts, whose tops peep out above the foliage of plantains and bananas, and lofty fences of cane. Up the hill’s gradually ascending slopes run broad smooth avenues, flanked by cane palisades, behind which clusters of huts show grey under a blazing sun, amid the verdure of the leafy groves around them. The avenues are thronged by natives, clad in picturesque costumes. White clothes gleam in the sunshine, in strong contrast to red and brown. The people are wending their way to the imperial quarters on the summit of the hill. While no ingress is permitted, they crowd around the gates in social gossip, exchanging morning greetings. [Illustration: AUDIENCE HALL OF THE PALACE.]] Suddenly the murmur of voices ceases, and the long rumbling roll of a kettle-drum is heard, announcing that the monarch is seated on the burzah. The gates are at once drawn aside, and a multitude of chiefs, soldiers, peasants, strangers rush up tumultuously, through eight or ten courts, towards the audience-hall, and in their noisy haste we may see the first symptoms of that fawning servility characteristic of those who serve despots. The next scene we have is a section of a straw house, with a gable-roof— about 25 feet high, 60 feet long, and 18 feet in breadth.