MAKOLOLO ASTONISHMENT. 175 



The Makololo attendants of Livingstone had shared the 

 kindness which was so generously bestowed on their master. 

 They had time to indulge their curious amazement, gazing on 

 the houses and churches and out on the sea where the various 

 ships were anchored. And when Livingstone was sufficiently 

 recovered to go with them, they were invited to visit an Eng- 

 lish man-of-war. The stories of foul play practised so fre- 

 quently on black men made them a little timid ; but they had 

 confidence in their " father," and soon the kind attentions of 

 the generous sailors made them feel perfectly assured. Their 

 confidence was almost reverence when they learned that these 

 men and their ship were here to put down the trade in slaves. 

 And they were delighted when they were permitted to fire off a 

 cannon, and told " that is what we put down the slave trade 

 with." They were amazed at the size of the ship. " It is not 

 a canoe at all," they cried ; " it is a town ! " They called the 

 deck the " kotla," but the rigging perplexed them, and they 

 were heard to say, " but what sort of town is it that you must 

 climb up into with ropes ? " They had at last proven fully the 

 faithfulness of Dr. Livingstone ; they had absolutely wandered 

 all through the great ship which they had been taught to dread 

 as the dreaded, cruellest bondage, as more horrible than death ; 

 they had been kindly entertained by other white men, and han- 

 dled without injury their great guns. They gathered about 

 their friend with absolute trust and affection. 



The recovery of Livingstone was too speedy to be permanent: 

 a severe relapse confined him again to the bed of his noble host, 

 and a long and wearying illness cut him off from his followers 

 and held him a prisoner in Loanda. But Mr. Gabriel's kind- 

 ness was unwavering and most assiduous. He not only nursed 

 his guest faithfully, but assumed again the care of the Makololo. 

 These active men won the admiration of those who saw them 

 by the promptness with which they engaged in their self- 

 support, though strangers and visitors. In the absence of other 

 employment, they began a brisk trade in firewood, which they 

 brought in from the neighboring forests on their shoulders. 

 They were then employed to unload a cargo of coal. This fur- 

 nished them with something to tell when they returned to their 

 own people. It was a wonderful thing to be working hard a 



