In truth, if Munza is the greatest potentate in these regions, he is
also the most civilized of savages. He seated himself on a bench,
and, without displaying any excessive curiosity, glanced at the
various objects displayed for the purpose of attracting his attention
and affording him pleasure. As soon as his eyes fell on a watch, a
compass, a telescope, or, in fact, any one of the things laid out for
his inspection, Delange took it up, and, approaching the King,
endeavoured, through the medium of Nassar, to explain to him its
mechanism, and make him understand its use. Nevertheless, we were
bound to confess that he listened to our interpreter with a very
absent air; his glances, instead of being devoted to things, were
directed more than perhaps they ought to have been, towards persons,
and it was very evident that Madame de Guéran was the object in view.
Sufficiently master of himself to avoid looking at her too fixedly,
he never ceased to cast, as on the previous evening, rapid and side-long
glances at her.
There is no shutting one's eyes to the fact that the beauty of our
fair companion has made a deep impression on Munza. In spite of his
savage nature, he is certainly by instinct, if not by innate
sentiment, alive to the charm of beauty.
He understands that her face, her hair, her hands, and her figure are
superior to all his surroundings, and to all that he has ever seen.
He is lost in wonder, he is under a charm, and if he dared, and were
not restrained by his pride, this pagan would prostrate himself
before this new idol.
All this, I need scarcely say, makes us very uneasy, for what would
become of us if Munza were to entertain a serious passion for our
beloved Sultana?
The situation is by no means new; on the contrary, it is historical,
as the following adventure which befell Baker, and which I will
endeavour to recall, will show.
That traveller was at a few days' journey from Lake Albert, in the
midst of a black tribe ruled over by the chief Kamrasi. Lady Baker,
prostrated by fever, was most anxious to go on for the purpose of
reaching a more healthy district.
Baker, for his part, thought that he was on the eve of attaining the
end towards which he had been struggling for so long—a few steps
more, a few additional efforts, and the source of the Nile, as far as
his ideas went, would be discovered.
But Kamrasi took no heed of the fever which was consuming the wife,
nor of the scientific enthusiasm of the husband. In spite of his
promises and his engagements, he persisted in keeping Lady Baker and
her husband in his kingdom, and refused them the bearers necessary
for the prosecution of their journey. At length, one day, when Baker
was urging him to assist them, Kamrasi said—
"I will let you leave me on the sole condition that you leave your
wife with me."
The English explorer, in a rage, presented a pistol at the breast of
the negro king, who merely replied—
"Why are you angry? What wrong have I done you in asking for your
wife? I would give you one of mine with pleasure if you wished it,
and I never thought you would hesitate about giving yours up. As a
rule, I offer pretty wives to all who come to see me, and it appeared
to me to be a very simple matter to make an exchange with you. Do not
bear me any ill-will; if my proposition displeases you, I will not
renew it."
He kept his word; but Kamrasi was a very amiable native, of a much
more facile temperament than the terrible King of the Monbuttoos.
We may, therefore, find ourselves in a very embarrassing, if not
perilous, position, should, as we begin to think, this African
despot, with his ardent passions, accustomed to satisfy his every
whim and fancy, be attracted by the first white woman he has ever
seen, and the loveliest creature he has ever dreamt of.
The question before us, however, was how best to entertain our guest,
to excite his curiosity, and rouse him when he showed any sign of
forgetting himself in the contemplation of Madame de Guéran.
De Morin had at first recourse to lucifer matches; when he thought
that the King was becoming too deeply absorbed he took out of his
pocket his silver fusee-box and lighted a match. But the operation,
which had served us in good stead amongst other tribes, very soon
palled upon Munza.
From matches we passed to refreshments; a bottle of champagne, the
solitary remnant of Parisian luxuries, was produced and opened in
honour of the King.
The noise, the popping of the cork, the outflow of the froth, and the
sparkling of the wine produced a certain amount of impression on him;
but it did not last long, and, with an astonishing genius for
imitation, he, without the least awkwardness, clinked against our
cups the silver goblet we had presented to him, and he drank as he
saw us doing.
Then de Morin, bent upon using every possible means to engage his
attention, took down his fowling-piece, and aiming at a splendid
parrot which was sitting in a neighbouring palm-tree, brought it to
the ground.
The King, on hearing the report, very naturally sprang up, but he
speedily recovered his composure, and, as his frightened subjects
were shouting in alarm and rushing towards our palisade, he hastened
out to reassure them and tell them to be quiet.
When he rejoined us, our flags, waving in the wind, attracted his
attention, and, after looking at them for a moment, he called Nassar,
and said—
"What is the use of those things?"
Nassar, prompted by us, explained that they were flags, and that each
nation had a different one.
"Then," said Munza, "you do not belong to the same nation as the
other white man did? His flag was not like these."
We endeavoured to make him understand that the territory peopled by
white men was of immense extent, and divided into several kingdoms,
Schweinfurth having come from the east and we from the west.
Delange, taking advantage of the opportunity, told Munza that he
ought to have known our flag, seeing that he had already received at
his court a man belonging to the same nation as ourselves.
"No, I have never seen but one man, the leaf-eater," was the reply,
"and he had not a flag like these."
The Monbuttoos had nick-named Schweinfurth the leaf-eater, because,
as a botanist, he had spent his leisure moments in making a
collection of rare plants, which, they assumed, were eaten by him.
Notwithstanding his evident wish to remain with us longer, Munza's
pride induced him to bring his visit to a close. He left us, after
taking a long, stealthy look at Madame de Guéran.
Our escort again presented arms, and our drummers, adding their
uproar to that made by the trumpets of the Monbuttoos, allowed him to
make, in theatrical parlance, an effective exit.
The information collected by Nassar soon convinced us that the King
had spoken in all good faith when he said that he had not received
any white man at his court subsequently to the visit paid him by
Schweinfurth.
As our interpreter had imagined, the Baron de Guéran must have passed
through Munza's dominions without stopping, so as to reach without
delay the province governed by Degberra.
In this latter district alone, therefore, can we get any reliable
information. But how are we to get there without the consent of the
King? How, even, ask at once for that permission, without displeasing
our host, who heaps favours upon us and condescends to visit us?
Alas, these visits, which are day by day becoming more frequent,
convince us, to our great sorrow, that the African monarch has really
fallen in love with our dear companion, and will certainly not allow
us to depart.
We had never calculated, I confess, upon complications of this sort;
we had reckoned on the natural difficulties of our route, on possible
attacks by the natives, the desertion of our escort, fatigue,
sickness, discouragement, hunger—we had admitted to ourselves that
any or all these obstacles might, perhaps, stand in the way of our
success; but it had never entered into our heads to suppose that the
love of an African sovereign for our beloved Sultana would bar our
onward progress.
We had, as we thought, foreseen everything, and had made all due
allowance for accidents of all kinds, whether provoked by the
hostility of the elements or of man, and for all obstacles proceeding
from Nature herself, ever ready to say to the over-bold—"Thus far,
and no further;" but we had never taken into consideration those
human passions which, nevertheless, spring into being and burst forth
under the burning skies of Africa just as radiantly as they do in our
own more temperate clime.
A thousand and one rumours confirmed our suspicions, and heightened
our fears. Munza, according to common report, was no longer the
somewhat indolent sovereign, passing his life in the contemplation of
his treasures, in compelling the admiration of his subjects, dressing
himself up in fantastic costumes, and dancing before his court.
He now made preparations for war on a large scale, collecting and
stowing away in his armoury weapons of all kinds, his temper was
becoming uncertain, he was restless, and occasionally gave way to
violent paroxysms of rage.
How will all this end? None of us dare hazard even a guess.
June 20.—I fear that Miss Poles has been up to her little pranks
again. Just as I sat down to write Nassar hurried to me, begging me
to go to her assistance as quickly as possible.