The Personal Life of David Livingstone: Chiefly from his Unpublished Journals and Correspondence in the Possession of His FamilyBlaikie, William Garden
Religion
The Personal Life of David Livingstone: Chiefly from his Unpublished Journals and Correspondence in the Possession of His Family
Blaikie, William Garden
Livingstone, David, 1813-1873
But a new revelation came to Dr. Livingstone. Though the Portuguese
Government had given public orders that he was to be aided in every
possible way, it was evident that private instructions had come, which,
unintentionally perhaps, certainly produced the opposite effects. The
Portuguese who were engaged in the slave-trade were far too much devoted
to it ever to encourage an enterprise that aimed at extirpating it.
Indeed, it became painfully apparent to Dr. Livingstone that the effect
of his opening up the Zambesi had been to afford the Portuguese traders
new facilities for conducting their unhallowed traffic; and had it not
been for his promise to bring back the Makololo, he would now have
abandoned the Zambesi and tried the Rovuma, as a way of reaching Nyassa.
His future endeavors in connection with the Rovuma receive their
explanation from this unwelcome discovery. The significance of the
discovery in other respects cannot fail to be seen. Hitherto Livingstone
had been on friendly terms with the Portuguese Government; he could be
so no longer. The remarkable kindness he had so often received from
Portuguese officers and traders made it a most painful trial to break
with the authorities. But there was no alternative. Livingstone's
courage was equal to the occasion, though he could not but see that his
new attitude to the Portuguese must give an altered aspect to his
Expedition, and create difficulties that might bring it to an end.
A letter to Mr. James Young, dated 22d July, near Kalosi, gives a free
and familiar account of "what he was about":
"This is July, 1860, and no letter from you except one
written a few months after we sailed in the year of grace
1858. What you are doing I cannot divine. I am ready to
believe any mortal thing except that Louis Napoleon has taken
you away to make paraffin oil for the Tuileries. I don't
believe that he is supreme ruler, or that he can go an inch
beyond his tether. Well, as I cannot conceive what you are
about, I must tell you what we are doing, and we are just
trudging up the Zambesi as if there were no steam and no
locomotive but shank's nag yet discovered....
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account