1856-57.] FIRST VISIT HOME. 211 



conveyed by the notes of some of the friends with whom 

 he stayed. For that purpose, we resume the recollections 

 of Dr. Eisdon Bennett : — 



" On returning to England, after his first great journey of discovery, 

 lie and Mrs. Livingstone stayed in my house for some time, and I had 

 frequent conversations with him on subjects connected with his African 

 life, especially on such as related to Natural History and Medicine, on 

 which he had gathered a fund of information. His observation of 

 malarious diseases, and the methods of treatment adopted by both the 

 natives and Europeans, had led him to form very definite and decided 

 views, especially in reference to the use of purgatives, preliminary to, 

 and in conjunction with, quinine and other acknowledged febrifuge 

 medicines. He had, whilst staying with me, one of those febrile 

 attacks to which persons who have once suffered from malarious 

 disease are so liable, and I could not fail to remark his sensible obser- 

 vations thereon, and his judicious management of his sickness. He 

 had a great natural predilection for medical science, and always took 

 great interest in all that related to the profession. I endeavoured to 

 persuade him to commit to writing the results of his medical observa- 

 tions and experience among the natives of Africa, but he was too much 

 occupied with the preparation of his Journal for the press to enable 

 him to do this. Moreover, as he often said, writing was a great 

 drudgery to him. He, however, attended with me the meetings of 

 some of the Medical Societies, and gave some verbal accounts of his 

 medical experience which greatly interested his audience. His 

 remarks on climates, food, and customs of the natives, in reference to 

 the origin and spread of disease, evinced the same acuteness of obser- 

 vation which characterised all the records of his life. He specially 

 commented on the absence of consumption and all forms of tubercular 

 disease among the natives, and connected this with their constant 

 exposure and out-of-door life. 



" After leaving my house he had lodgings in Chelsea, and used 

 frequently to come and spend the Sunday afternoon with my family, 

 often bringing his sister, who was staying with him, and his two elder 

 children. It was beautiful to observe how thoroughly he enjoyed 

 domestic life and the society of children, how strong was his attach- 

 ment to his own family after his long and frequent separations from 

 them, and how entirely he had retained his simplicity of character. 



" Like so many of his countrymen, he had a keen sense of humour, 

 which frequently came into play when relating his many adventures 

 and hardships. On the latter he never dilated in the way of complaint, 

 and he had little sympathy with, or respect for, those travellers who 

 did so. Nor was he apt to say much on direct religious topics, or on 

 the results of his missionary efforts as a Christian teacher. He had 

 unbounded confidence in the influence of Christian character and 



