6 INTRODUCTION. 



more importance to the moral influence that might be 

 exerted on the minds of the natives by a well-regulated 

 and orderly household of Europeans setting an example 

 of consistent moral conduct to all who might witness it ; 

 treating the people with kindness, and relieving their 

 wants, teaching them to make experiments in agriculture, 

 explaining to them the more simple arts, imparting to 

 them religious instruction as far as they are capable of 

 receiving it, and inculcating peace and good will to each 

 other." 



It would be tiresome to enumerate in detail all the 

 little acts which were performed by us while following 

 out our instructions. As a rule, whenever the steamer 

 stopped to take in wood, or for any other purpose, Dr. 

 Kirk and Charles Livingstone went ashore to their duties : 

 one of our party, who it was intended should navigate the 

 vessel and lay down the geographical positions, having 

 failed to answer the expectations formed of him, these 

 duties fell chiefly to my share. They involved a con- 

 siderable amount of night work, in which I was always 

 cheerfully aided by my companions, and the results were 

 regularly communicated to our warm and ever-ready 

 friend, Sir Thomas Maclear of the Eoyal Observatory, 

 Cape of Good Hope. While this work was going through 

 the press, we were favoured with the longitudes of several 

 stations determined from observed occultations of stars by 

 the moon, and from eclipses and reappearances of Jupiter's 

 satellites, by Mr. Mann, the able Assistant to the Cape 

 Astronomer Eoyal; the lunars are still in the hands of 

 Mr. Gr. W. H. Maclear of the same Observatory. In 

 addition to these, the altitudes, variations of the compass, 

 latitudes and longitudes, as calculated on the spot, appear 

 in the map by Mr. Arrowsmith, and it is hoped may not 

 differ much from the results of the same data in abler 

 hands. The office of " skipper," which, rather than let 



