DR. LIVINGSTONE'S DIARY. 591 



His character on mine. Grace — eagerness to show favour; truth — truthful- 

 ness, sincerity, honour — for His mercy's sake.' 



" And when he loses his medicine-chest in the forest near Lake Liemba, 

 by the desertion of two of his men — a tremendous disaster — we find the 

 incident — which, as he says, was almost like sentence of death to an African 

 traveller — lightly and bravely disposed of by the remark that nothing happens 

 except by God's permission, and, 'perhaps this, too, may turn out for the 

 best by taking away a source of suspicion among more superstitious, charm- 

 fearing people further south.' And then he adds with a sigh, which is as 

 naive as it is touching, ' I meant it as a source of benefit to my party and 

 to the heathen.' When he is very ill indeed, as at the southern end of Lake 

 Tanganyika, he hardly mentions his sickness in his daily jottings, or does so 

 with some gracious word for the attention of his followers. These qualities, 

 it is true, were well known of him, and equally well known is that righteous 

 indignation against the cruelties which he was obliged to witness, travelling 

 so constantly amid the horror of the slave traffic. On the Luongo he describes 

 an incident in words which show what was his foremost purpose in all his 

 African wanderings : — 



" ' Six men slaves were singing as if they did not feel the weight and 

 degradation of the slave sticks. I asked the cause of their mirth, and was 

 told that they rejoiced at the idea " of coming back after death and haunting 

 and killing those who had sold them." Some of the words I had to inquire 

 about ; for instance, the meaning of the words " to haunt and kill by spirit 

 power." Then it was, " Oh, you sent me off to Manga (sea-coast), but the 

 yoke is off when I die, and back I shall come to haunt and to kill you." Then 

 all joined in the chorus, which was the name of each vendor. It told not of 

 fun, but of the bitterness and tears of such as were oppressed, and if on the 

 side of the oppressors there was a power, there be higher than they I' 



"A little further on we encounter an entry of strange interest; it is 

 where Livingstone speculates on his last resting-place. He writes : — 



" 'We came to a grave in the forest; it was a little rounded mound, as 

 if the occupant sat in it in the usual native way ; it was strewed over with 

 flour, and a number of the large blue beads put on it ; a little path showed 

 that it had visitors. This is the sort of grave I should prefer — to lie in the 

 still, still forest, and no hand ever disturb my bones. The graves at home 

 always seemed to me to be so miserable, especially those in the cold damp 

 clay, and without elbow room ; but I have nothing to do but wait till He who 

 is over all decides where I have to lay me down and die.' 



" And to this he adds, ' Poor Mary sleeps in Shupanga brao and beeks 

 foment the sun.' Strange, and sad, and glad at once must appear the way 

 in which the wish of the good Livingstone has been half granted by Heaven, 

 half refused. His bones repose at home with the noblest of his native land 



