Europeans and honest intentions. In all his composition there was
i n Africa. .. . _ t t t * not a grain’s-weight but what was pure manliness. His
frame was as grand and trne as his natnre. And yet,
while I was only waiting for a few finishing touches to
a steamer that was building in the port of Leopoldville,
to take him with me—he was too trusty a man to be
left behind when the Upper Congo was still vacant—
he forgot something at a camp ten miles from Leopold-
LEEUTDKAST GRAKG.
ville. Travelling hack in a pelting rain-storm which
overtook him, he was wetted, and afterwards chilled
for want of an immediate change of clothing. He fell
ill, and daily grew worse, and the first grave at Leopoldville
was dug to bury the remains of this noble man.
Dr. Allard deserves warm praise from me, as one of
the most amiable men living, and as one of the most
painstaking physicians it has been my lot to meet. To
some men work is as necessary as food, and to this
gentleman’s active mind any restraint in the pursuit
of some task it had set upon accomplishing would be a Europeans
cruel deprivation. Fortunately we have been ablem
to accommodate him in this respect; and the construction
of the hospital at Boma has been an intense
gratification to him. It was essential for the general
good of wayworn travellers and sick officers that some
such commodious building as this, with its ample
verandah, airy rooms, and civilised conveniences, should
DR. ALLARD.
be within easy reach of men distressed by bodily fatigue,
enervated by climate, or reduced by wretched diet.
But without Dr. Allard it would have been most difficult
to have found a person on the Congo capable of
directing the construction. To him, however, it was
a labour of love, and a sick man must indeed be far
gone if, with Dr. Allard’s cheeriness and the pleasant
surroundings of bed, board, and attention, he cannot
recover. .Years.of acquaintance with him have but
deepened my sense of his rare and invaluable qualities.