1864-65.] SECOND VISIT HOME. 349 



by Sir Roderick Murchison which in the end gave a new 

 direction to the remaining part of his life. It was 

 brought before him in the following letter : — 



"Jem. 5, 1865. 



"My dear Livingstone, — As to your future, I am anxious to 

 know what your own ivisli is as respects a renewal of African explora- 

 tion. 



" Quite irrespective of missionaries or political affairs, there is at 

 this moment a question of intense geographical interest to be settled : 

 namely, the watershed, or watersheds, of South Africa. 



" Now, if you would really like to be the person to finish off your 

 remarkable career by completing such a survey, unshackled by other 

 avocations than those of the geographical explorer, I should be de- 

 lighted to consult my friends of the Society, and take the best steps to 

 promote such an enterprise. 



" For example, you might take your little steamer to the Rovuma, 

 and, getting up by water as far as possible in the rainy season, then 

 try to reach the south end of the Tanganyika. Thither you might 

 transport a light boat, or build one there, and so get to the end of that 

 sheet of water. 



" Various questions might be decided by the way, and if you could 

 get to the west, and come out on that coast, or should be able to reach 

 the White Nile (!), you would bring back an unrivalled reputation, and 

 would have settled all the great disputes now pending. 



" If you do not like to undertake the purely geographical work, I am 

 of opinion that no one, after yourself, is so fitted to carry it out as Dr. 

 Kirk. I know that he thinks of settling down now at home. But if 

 he could delay this home-settlement for a couple of years, he would 

 not only make a large sum of money by his book of travels, but would 

 have a renown that would give him an excellent introduction as a 

 medical man. 



" I have heard you so often talk of the enjoyment you feel when in 

 Africa, that I cannot believe you now think of anchoring for the rest 

 of your life on the mud and sand banks of England. 



" Let me know your mind on the subject. When is the book to 

 appear ] Kind love to your daughter. — Yours sincerely, 



"Kod ck I. Murchison." 



Livingstone begins his answer by assuring Sir Roderick 

 that he never contemplated settling down quietly in 

 England ; it would be time enough for that when he 

 was in his dotage. " I should like the exploration you 

 propose very much, and had already made up my mind 

 to go up the Rovuma, pass by the head of Lake Nyassa, 



