132 DAVID LIVINGSTONE. [chap, vii 



kiss them for me. Tell tliem I have left them for the love of Jesus, 

 and they must love Him too, and avoid sin, for that displeases Jesus. 

 I shall he delighted to hear of you all safe in England. . . ." 



A few days later, lie writes to his eldest daughter, 

 then in her fifth year : — 



" Cape Town, 18th May 1852. — My dear Agnes, — This is your 

 own little letter. Mamma will read it to you, and you will hear her 

 just as if I were speaking to you, for the words which I write are those 

 which she will read. I am still at Cape Town. You know you left 

 me there when you all went into the big ship and sailed away. Well, 

 I shall leave Cape Town soon. Malatsi has gone for the oxen, and 

 then I shall go away hack to Sebituane's country, and see Seipone and 

 Meriye, who gave you the beads and fed you with milk and honey. I 

 shall not see you again for a long time, and I am very sorry. I have 

 no Nannie now. I have given you back to Jesus, your Friend — your 

 Papa who is in heaven. He is above you, but He is always near you. 

 When we ask things from Him, that is praying to Him ; and if you do 

 or say a naughty thing ask Him to pardon you, and bless you, and 

 make you one of His children. Love Jesus much, for He loves 

 you, and He came and died for you. Oh, how good Jesus is ! I love 

 Him, and I shall love Him as long as I live. You must love Him too, 

 and you must love your brothers and mamma, and never tease them 

 or be naughty, for Jesus does not like to see naughtiness. — Good-bye, 

 my dear Nannie, D. Livingston." 



Among his other occupations at Cape Town Living- 

 stone put himself under the instructions of the Astronomer- 

 Royal, Mr. (afterwards Sir Thomas) Maclear, who became 

 one of his best and most esteemed friends. His object 

 was to qualify himself more thoroughly for taking obser- 

 vations that would give perfect accuracy to his geogra- 

 phical explorations. He tried English preaching too, but 

 his throat was still tender, and he felt very nervous, as he 

 had done at Ongar. " What a little thing," he writes to 

 Mr. Moffat, " is sufficient to bring down to old-wifeishness 

 such a rough tyke as I consider myself ! Poor, proud 

 human nature is a great fool after all." A second effort 

 was more successful. "I preached," he writes to his 

 wife, "on the text, ' Why will ye die V I had it written 

 out and only referred to it twice, which is an improve- 



