William Garden Blaikie

“ It ought, as we have said, to go further; because from what his countrymen say of Livingstone--and to which he only answers by a mere vain negation,--from what he unhesitatingly declares of himself and his intentions, and from what must be known to the Government by private information from, their delegates, it is obvious that such men as Livingstone may become extremely prejudicial to the interests of Portugal, especially when resident in a public capacity in our African possessions, if not efficiently watched, if their audacious and mischievous actions are not restrained. ”

“ But I, who have been intimate with Africans who have never been defiled by the slave-trade, believe them to be capable of holding an honorable rank in the family of man." Wherever slavery prevailed, or the effects of slavery were found, Dr. Livingstone's testimony against it was clear and emphatic. Neither personal friendship nor any other consideration under the sun could repress it. When his friends Sir Roderick and Mr. Webb afterward expressed their sympathy with Governor Eyre, of Jamaica, he did not scruple to tell them how different an estimate he had formed of the Governor's conduct. ”

“ The book was at first to be a little one,--a blast of the trumpet against the monstrous slave-trade of the Portuguese; but it swelled to a goodly octavo, and embraced the history of the Zambesi Expedition. Charles Livingstone had written a full diary, and in order that his name might be on the title-page, and he might have the profits of the American edition, his journal was made use of in the writing of the book ”

“ To be debarred from spending most of my time in traveling, in exploration, and continual intercourse with the natives, I always felt to be a severe privation, and if I can get a few hearty native companions, I shall enjoy myself, and feel that I am doing my duty. As soon as my book is out, I shall start." In Livingstone's Journal, 7th January, 1865, we find this entry: "Answered Sir Roderick about going out. Said I could only feel in the way of duty by working as a missionary." ”

“ I must take Belochees from India, and may go down the lake to get Makololo, if the Indians don't answer. I would not consent to go simply as a geographer, but as a missionary, and do geography by the way, because I feel I am in the way of duty when trying either to enlighten these poor people, or open their land to lawful commerce." It was at this time that Mr. Hayward, Q.C., while on a visit to Newstead, brought an informal message from Lord Palmerston, who wished to know what he could do for Livingstone. ”

“ They have passed, and are passing, through trials, and are encompassed with difficulties which completely dwarf those of our Irish famine, and not the least of them is the question, what to do with those freedmen for whose existence as slaves in America our own forefathers have so much to answer. The introduction of a degraded race from a barbarous country was a gigantic evil, and if the race cannot be elevated, an evil beyond remedy. Millions can neither be amalgamated nor transported, and the presence of degradation is a contagion which propagates itself among the more civilized. ”

“ He offers to go over to Paris at any time to bring Agnes" [who was going to school there] "home, or do anything that a father would. ["I love him," Livingstone writes to Mr. Webb, "with true affection, and I believe he does the same to me; and yet we never show it."] "We have been with Dr. and Mrs. Hamilton for some time--good, gracious people. The Lord bless them and their household! Dr. Kirk and Mr. Waller go down to Folkestone to-morrow, and take leave of us there. This is very kind. The Lord puts it into their hearts to show kindness, and blessed be his name." ”

“ When a formal proposal to this effect was submitted to him, with the additional proviso that he was to be entitled to no pension, he could not conceal his irritation. For himself he was just as willing as ever to work as before, without hope of earthly recompense, and to depend on the petition, "Give us this day our daily bread;" but he thought it ungenerous to take advantage of his well-known interest in Africa to deprive him of the honorarium which the most insignificant servant of Her Majesty enjoyed. He did not like to be treated like a charwoman. ”

“ Webb, he writes _à propos_ of this examination:
"The monstrous mistake of the Burton school is this: they ignore the point-blank fact that the men that do the most for the mean whites are the same that do the most for the mean blacks, and you never hear one mother's son of them say, You do wrong to give to the whites. I told the Committee I had heard people say that Christianity made the blacks worse, but did not agree with them. ”

“ It so happened that I was there to pay the last tribute to a dear good mother." The last thing we find him doing in Scotland is attending the examination of Oswell's school, with Anna Mary, and seeing him receive prizes. Dr. London, of Hamilton, the medical attendant and much-valued friend of the Livingstones, furnishes us with a reminiscence of this occasion. He had great difficulty in persuading Livingstone to go. ”

“ God grant me to be and always to act as a true Christian. "3_d._--Mr. and Mrs. Webb kindness itself personified. A blessing be on them and their children from the Almighty!" When first invited to reside at Newstead Abbey, Dr. Livingstone declined, on the ground that he was to be busy writing a book, and that he wished to have some of his children with him, and in the case of Agnes, to let her have music lessons. ”

“ These appear to have been Livingstone's last public words in his native Scotland.
His Journal is continued in London:
"8_th August_.--Went to Zoological Gardens with Mr. Webb and Dr. Kirk; then to lunch with Miss Coutts" [Baroness Burdett Coutts] . "Queen Emma of Honolulu is to be there. It is not fair for High Church people to ignore the labors of the Americans, for [the present state of Christianity] is the fruit of their labors, and not of the present Bishop. Dined at Lady Franklin's with Queen Emma; a nice, sensible person the Queen seems to be. ”

“ Arnold was a man worth his weight in something better than gold. You know Oswell" [his early friend] "was one of his Rugby boys. One could see his training in always doing what was brave and true and right." "_2d June._--Tom better, but kept back in his education by his complaint. Oswell getting on well at school at Hamilton. Anna Mary well. Mother gradually becoming weaker. Robert we shall never hear of again in this world, I fear; but the Lord is merciful and just and right in all his ways. ”

“ Got over the address nicely. People very kind and indulgent--2500 persons present, but it is a place easily spoken in."
When Bishop Colenso moved the vote of thanks to Dr. Livingstone for his address, occasion was taken by some narrow and not very scrupulous journals to raise a prejudice against him. He was represented as sharing the Bishop's theological views. For this charge there was no foundation, and the preceding extract from his Journal will show that he felt the Bishop's presence to be somewhat embarrassing. Dr. Livingstone was eminently capable of appreciating Dr. ”

“ James Young--Overtures from Foreign Office--Livingstone displeased--At dinner of Royal Academy--His speech not reported--President Lincoln's assassination--Examination by Committee of House of Commons--His opinion on the capacity of the negro--He goes down to Scotland--_Tom Brown's School Days_--His mother very ill--She rallies--He goes to Oxford--Hears of his mother's death--Returns--He attends examination of Oswell's school--His speech--Goes to London, preparing to leave--Parts from Mr. ”