1847-52.] THIRD STATION. 85 



in motion for the " flitting." Livingstone had to set to 

 work at his old business — building a house — the third 

 which he had reared with his own hands. It was a mere 

 hut — for a permanent house he had to wait a year. The 

 natives, of course, had their huts to rear and their gardens 

 to prepare ; but, besides this, Livingstone set them to 

 public works. For irrigating their gardens, a dam had 

 to be dug and a water- course scooped out ; sixty-five of 

 the younger men dug the dam, and forty of the older 

 made the water-course. The erection of the school was 

 undertaken by the chief Sechele : "I desire," he said, 

 ' ; to build a house for God, the defender of my town, 

 and that you be at no expense for it whatever." Two 

 hundred of his people were employed in this work. 



Livingstone had hardly had time to forget his building 

 troubles at Mabotsa and Chonuane, when he began this 

 new enterprise. But he was in much better spirits, much 

 more hopeful than he had been. Writing to Mr. Watt 

 on 13th February 1848, he says : — 



" All our meetings are good compared to those we had at Mabotsa, 

 and some of them admit of no comparison whatever. Ever since we 

 moved, we have been incessantly engaged in manual labour. We have 

 endeavoured, as far as possible, to carry on systematic instruction at the 



same time, but have felt it very hard pressure on our energies 



Our daily labours are in the following sort of order : — 



" We get up as soon as we can, generally with the sun in summer, 

 then have family worship, breakfast, and school ; and as soon as these 

 are over we begin the manual operations needed, sowing, ploughing, 

 smithy work, and every other sort of work by turns as required. My 

 better-half is employed all the morning in culinary or other work ; and 

 feeling pretty well tired by dinner-time, we take about two hours' rest 

 then ; but more frequently, without the respite I try to secure for 

 myself, she goes off to hold infant-school, and this, I am happy to say, 

 is very popular with the youngsters. She sometimes has eighty, but 

 the average may be sixty. My manual labours are continued till 

 about five o'clock. I then go into the town to give lessons and talk to 

 any one who may be disposed for it. As soon as the cows are milked 

 we have a meeting, and this is followed by a prayer-meeting in 

 Sechele's house, which brings me home about half-past eight, and 

 generally tired enough, too fatigued to think of any mental exertion. 



