I had promised to wait patiently for his return, and as soon as he did return, I would be sent off without one day's delay, for I was not his slave, that he should use violence upon me.

Rumanika's men, too, would be allowed to go, only that the road was unsafe, and he feared Rumanika would abuse him if any harm befell them.
29th .-- To-day I met Kamrasi at his new reception-palace on this side the Kafu--taking a Bible to explain all I fancied I knew about the origin and present condition of the Wahuma branch of the Ethiopians, beginning with Adam, to show how it was the king had heard by tradition that at one time the people of his race were half white and half black.

Then, proceeding with the Flood, I pointed out that the Europeans remained white, retaining Japhet's blood; whilst the Arabs are tawny, after Shem; and the African's black, after Ham.

And, finally, to show the greatness of the tribe, I read the 14th chapter of 2d Chronicles, in which it is written how Zerah, the Ethiopian, with a host of a thousand thousand, met the Jew Asa with a large army, in the valley of Zephathah, near Mareshah; adding to it that again, at a much later date, we find the Ethiopians battling with the Arabs in the Somali country, and with the Arabs and Portuguese at Omwita (Mombas)--in all of which places they have taken possession of certain tracts of land, and left their sons to people it.
To explain the way in which the type or physical features of people undergo great changes by interbreeding, Mtesa was instanced as having lost nearly every feature of his Mhuma blood, but the kings of Uganda having been produced, probably for several generations running, of Waganda mothers.

This amused Kamrasi greatly, and induced me to inquire how his purity of blood was maintained--"Was the king of Unyoro chosen, as in Uganda, haphazard by the chief men--or did the eldest son sit by succession on the throne ?" The reply was, "The brothers fought for it, and the best man gained the crown." Kamrasi then began counting the leaves of the Bible, an amusement that every negro that gets hold of a book indulges in; and, concluding in his mind that each page or leaf represented one year of time since the beginning of creation, continued his labour till one quarter of the way through the book, and then only shut it up on being told, if he desired to ascertain the number more closely, he had better count the words.
I begged for my picture-books, which were only lent him at his request for a few days; and then began a badgering verbal conflict: he would not return them until I drew others like them; he would not allow me to go to the Little Luta Nzige, west of this, until Bombay returned, when he would send me with an army of spears to lead the way, and my men with their guns behind to protect the rear.