56 
THOMAS J. COMBER. 
it were all true? Yes! it was quite right. Then 
I told him my heart was very pained, I was in great 
trouble about it, and had come to stop it. I showed 
him how foolish and wicked it was, told him if he 
allowed it he would have to answer to God for the 
blood of the murdered man, told him that as I was a 
doctor I knew what was wrong with the man, and 
knew he was not bewitched, that there was no such 
thing as witchcraft He was convinced, and promised 
to try and stop it, but there were several men as 
powerful as himself, though he was king, and I must 
go and see them. Well, I was successful and glad so 
far ; and went next to see Prince William (no relation 
to King William). He was a hard-hearted, obstinate 
fellow, and we had a long palaver, I sitting down on 
a very low stool he gave me in the hut, speaking as 
earnestly as possible through my interpreter. God 
touched his heart, and he promised. Then there were 
Bertram, Money, Bob Dick, and Bimbia Dick ; and 
they all received me very kindly, and I got their 
consent too. I went home the next morning very 
thankful that God had given me influence with these 
men. The sick man died about a week after, and no 
one was killed.” 
But whilst Mr. Comber entered thus heartily into 
his labours at Victoria, it was in the interior of the 
country he desired to find his permanent work. 
Before he left England, through his reading of African 
travel, particularly the works of Livingstone, he had 
formed a strong opinion of the importance of reach- 
ing and living amongst a people uninfluenced by 
coast trading. All his previous convictions were now 
confirmed by practical experience of coast life. He 
assured the Society at home he felt more than ever 
that if success and progress in mission work are to be 
obtained, and a deeper Christian life and spirit 
amongst the converts, such as would lead to acts of 
self-denial and lives of consecration, the work must 
be with the simple native African, uninfluenced by 
