516 LAKE LIEMBA. 



extends with breaks all around, and there, embosomed in tree- 

 covered rocks, reposes the lake peacefully in the huge cup-shaped 

 cavity. 



" I never saw," continues the great traveller, who had looked 

 on so many lovely scenes, " anything so sAill and peaceful as it 

 lies all the morning. About noon a gentle breeze springs up, 

 and causes the waves to assume a bluish tinge. Several rocky 

 islands rise in the eastern end, which are inhabited by fisher- 

 men, who capture abundance of fine large fish, of which they 

 enumerate about twenty-four species. In the north it seems to 

 narrow into a gateway, but the people are miserably deficient 

 in geographical knowledge, and can tell us nothing about it. 

 They suspect us, and we cannot get information, or indeed much 

 of anything else. I feel deeply thankful at having got so far. 

 I am excessively weak — cannot walk without tottering, and 

 have constant singing in the head, but the Highest will lead me 

 farther." And after being two weeks by it he writes again : 

 " This lake still appears as one of surpassing loveliness. Its 

 peacefulness is remarkable, though at times it is said to be lashed 

 up by storms. It lies in a deep basin whose sides are nearly 

 perpendicular, but covered well with trees ; the rocks which 

 appear are bright red argillaceous schist ; the trees at present 

 all green : down some of these rocks come beautiful cascades, 

 and buffaloes, elephants, and antelopes wander and graze on the 

 more level spots, while lions roar by night. The level place 

 below is not two miles from the perpendicular." 



Sick as he was he could not be satisfied with only the general 

 knowledge, as we see by the following, extracted also from his 

 "Last Journal : " "Latitude of the spot we touched at first, 2d 

 April, 1867— Lat. 8° 46' 54" S., long. 31' 57"; but I only 

 worked out (and my head is out of order) one set of observations. 

 Height above level of the sea over two thousand eight hundred 

 feet, by boiling-point thermometers and barometer." 



It may be noticed that the figures of Dr. Livingstone differ 

 with those of Speke, who made this lake eighteen hundred feet 

 above the level of the sea. The doctor explained to Mr. Stanley 

 that he was satisfied that Speke wrote eighteen hundred only 

 by mistake through the habit of putting A. d. 1800. He made 

 his examination, knowing Speke's observation, and found the 



