iS 4 i-43-] FIRST TWO YEARS IN AFRICA. 63 



consideration : first, as evincing the depth and tenderness 

 of his love for these black savages ; next, as showing that 

 it was pre-eminently Christian love, intensified by his vivid 

 view of the eternal world, and belief in Christ as the only 

 Saviour ; and, lastly, as revealing the secret of the affec- 

 tion which these poor fellows bore to him in return. The 

 intensity of the scrutiny which he directs on his heart, 

 and the severity of the judgment which he seems to pass 

 on himself, as if he had not done all he might have done 

 for the spiritual good of this young man, show with what 

 intense conscientiousness he tried to discharge his mis- 

 sionary duty : — 



" Poor Sehamy, where art thou now 1 Where lodges thy soul to- 

 night ] Didst thou think of what I told thee as thou turnedst from 

 side to side in distress 1 I could now do anything for thee. I could 

 weep for thy soul. But now nothing can be done. Thy fate is fixed. 

 Oh, am I guilty of the blood of thy soul, my poor dear Sehamy 1 If 

 so, how shall I look upon thee in the judgment 1 But I told thee of 

 a Saviour ; didst thou think of Him, and did He lead thee through the 

 dark valley 1 Did He comfort as He only can 1 Help me, Lord 

 Jesus, to be faithful to every one. Remember me, and let me not be 

 guilty of the blood of souls. This poor young man was the leader of 

 the party. He governed the others, and most attentive he was to me. 

 He anticipated my every want. He kept the water-calabash at his 

 head at night, and if I awoke, he was ready to give me a draught 

 immediately. When the meat was boiled he secured the best portion 

 for me, the best place for sleeping, the best of everything. Oh, where 

 is he now ] He became ill after leaving a certain tribe, and believed 

 he had been poisoned. Another of the party and he ate of a certain 

 dish given them by a woman whom they had displeased, and having 

 met this man yesterday he said, ' Sehamy is gone to heaven, and I am 

 almost dead by the poison given us by that woman.' I don't believe 

 they took any poison, but they do, and their imaginations are dread- 

 fully excited when they entertain that belief." 



The same letter intimates that in case his family 

 should have arranged to emigrate to America, as he had 

 formerly advised them to do, he had sent home a bill of 

 which £10 was to aid the emigration, and £10 to be 

 spent on clothes for himself. In regard to the latter 

 sum, he now wished them to add it to the other, so that 



