482 DAVID LIVINGSTONE. 



cases, the circumstances under which the attack was experienced, 

 the remedies administered, and their effects. In order to ward off 

 the disease in the mangrove swamps, which were justly described 

 as hotbeds of fever, a dose of quinine was administered daily to each 

 European, amounting to two grains, and taken in sherry wine. 

 When an attack of the disease occurred, and the stomach did not 

 refuse the remedies, Dr. Livingstone administered a dose of calomel 

 with resin of jalap, followed by quinine. These remedies were in 

 almost all cases successful, and the convalescence of the patient was 

 wonderfully rapid. The "pills" which Dr. Livingstone often 

 referred to were composed of resin of jalap, calomel, rhubarb, and 

 quinine. It was usually observed that active employment kept 

 off fever, and that on high lands its attacks were much less violent. 

 Where the stomach refused the remedies a blister was usually the 

 most effectual means of stopping the sickness. 



Experience did not confirm the prophylactic action of quinine ; 

 exemption from attack in unfavourable situations was rather 

 ascribed to active exercise, good diet, and to absence of damp, 

 exposure to sun, and excessive exertion. Even while navigating an 

 unhealthy part of the Shire, and while, owing to the state of the 

 vessel, the beds were constantly damp, good health was enjoyed, 

 owing to regular exercise and good fare. 



In the upper regions of the Shire\ Dr. Livingstone says he and 

 his companions were exposed in the early hours of the morning to 

 the dew from the long grass, marching during the day over rough 

 country under the tropical sun, and then sleeping in the open air ; 

 but though they had discontinued the daily use of quinine they 

 were perfectly well, as were also their native attendants. This 

 was one of the considerations that gave him such confidence in the 

 healthiness of the Shire highlands. 



Two or three years later, in writing to a friend, Dr. Livingstone 

 thanked him for having sent him a missionary journal, which he 

 greatly enjoyed — The News of the Churches and Journal of Missions. 

 To show the very unusual pleasure which this journal gave him, 

 he proposed to send a communication to the editor, but said he 

 was somewhat afraid to do so, lest it should meet the fate of 

 many a paper forwarded to editors at an earlier period of his life. 

 Mustering courage, he did send a letter, and we find it in the 

 number of the journal for August 1862. It is entitled "A Note 

 that may be useful to Missionaries in Africa," and consists of a 



