1 §5 2-53-] FROM THE CAPE TO LINYANTI. 147 



so utterly the children of the devil, dwelling in fear and continual 

 irritation. They bestow honours and nattering titles on me in con- 

 fusing profusion. All from the least to the greatest call me Father, 

 Lord, etc., and bestow food without any recompence, out of pure 

 kindness. They need a healer. May God enable me to be such to 

 them. . . . 



" 3\st August. — The slave-trade seems pushed into the very centre 

 of the continent from both sides. It must be profitable. . . . 



"Se-ptember 25, Sunday. — A quiet audience to-day. The seed 

 being sown, the least of all seeds now, but it will grow a mighty tree. 

 It is as it were a small stone cut out of a mountain, but it will fill the 

 whole earth. He that believeth shall not make haste. Surely if 

 God can bear with hardened impenitent sinners for thirty, forty, or fifty 

 years, waiting to be gracious, we may take it for granted that His is 

 the best way. He could destroy His enemies, but He waits to be 

 gracious. To become irritated with their stubbornness and hardness 

 of heart is ungodlike. . . . 



" 1 3th October. — Missionaries ought to cultivate a taste for the 

 beautiful. We are necessarily compelled to contemplate much moral 

 impurity and degradation. We are so often doomed to disappoint- 

 ment. We are apt to become either callous or melancholy, or, if 

 preserved from these, the constant strain on the sensibilities is likely 

 to injure the bodily health. On this account it seems necessary to 

 cultivate that faculty for the gratification of which God has made such 

 universal provision. See the green earth and blue sky, the lofty 

 mountain and the verdant valley, the glorious orbs of day and night, 

 and the starry canopy with all their celestial splendour, the graceful 

 flowers so chaste in form and perfect in colouring. The various 

 forms of animated life present to him whose heart is at peace with 

 God through the blood of His Son an indescribable charm. He sees 

 in the calm beauties of nature such abundant provision for the welfare 

 of humanity and animate existence. There appears on the quiet 

 repose of earth's scenery the benignant smile of a Father's love. The 

 sciences exhibit such wonderful intelligence and design in all their 

 various ramifications, some time ought to be devoted to them before 

 engaging in missionary work. The heart may often be cheered by 

 observing the operation of an ever-present intelligence, and we may 

 feel that we are leaning on His bosom while living in a world clothed 

 in beauty, and robed with the glorious perfections of its maker and 

 preserver. We must feel that there is a Governor among the nations 

 who will bring all His plans with respect to our human family to a 

 glorious consummation. He who stays his mind on his ever-present, 

 ever-energetic God, will not fret himself because of evil-doers. He 

 that believeth shall not make haste." 



" 2Qth October. — I have not yet met with a beautiful woman among 

 the black people, and I have seen many thousands in a great variety 

 of tribes. I have seen a few who might be called passable, but none 



