1 869- 7 1.] MANYUEMA. 393 



very great, and sometimes it took an interesting direc- 

 tion. " Do people die with you V asked two intelligent 

 young men. " Have you no charm against death ? Where 

 do people go after death V Livingstone spoke to them 

 of the great Father, and of their prayers to Him who 

 hears the cry of His children ; and they thought this to 

 be natural. 



He rested at Bambarre till the 1st of November, and 

 then went westwards till he reached the Luamo river, 

 and was within ten miles of its confluence with the 

 Lualaba. He found the country surpassingly beautiful : 

 " Palms crown the highest heights of the mountains, and 

 their gracefully bent fronds wave beautifully in the wind. 

 Climbers of cable size in great numbers are hung among 

 the gigantic trees ; many unknown wild fruits abound, 

 some the size of a child's head, and strange birds and 

 monkeys are everywhere. The soil is excessively rich, 

 and the people, though isolated by old feuds that are 

 never settled, cultivate largely." 



The country was very populous, and Livingstone so 

 excited the curiosity of the people that he could hardly 

 get quit of the crowds. It was not so uninteresting to 

 be stared at by the women, but he was wearied with the 

 ugliness of the men. Palm-toddy did not inspire them 

 with any social qualities, but made them low and dis- 

 agreeable. They had no friendly feeling for him, and 

 could not be inspired with any. They thought that he 

 and his people were like the Arab traders, and they would 

 not do anythiDg for them. It was impossible to procure 

 a canoe for navigating the Lualaba, so that there was 

 nothing for it but to return to Bambarre, which was 

 reached on the 19th December 1869. 



A long letter to his son Thomas (Town of Moenekuss, 

 Manyuema Country, 24th September 1869) gives a 

 retrospect of this period, and indeed, in a sense, of his 

 life :— 



