cal science, or, if my life was to be spared, to
clear up not only the secrets o f the Great River
throughout its course, but also all that remained
still problematic and incomplete o f the discoveries
o f Burton and Spek e, and Sp ek e and
Grant.
Thè solemn day o f the burial o f the b od y o f
my great friend arrived. I was one o f the pallbearers
in Westminster A b b e y , and when I had
seen the coffin lowered into the grave, and had
heard the first handful o f earth thrown over it,
I walked away sorrowing over the fate o f David
Livingstone.
I laboured night and day over my book,
‘ Cooinassie and Magdala,’ for I was in a fever
to begin that to which I now had v òwed to devote
myself. Within three weeks the literary
w o rk was over, and I was free.
Soon after this I was passing b y an old bookshop,
and observed a volume bearing the singular
title o f i How to Observe.’ Upon opening
it, I perceived it contained tolerably clear instructions
o f “ How and what to observe.” It
was v e ry interesting, and it whetted my desire
to know more; it led me to purchase quite an
extensive library o f books upon Africa, its g e o graphy,
g eo lo g y , botany, and ethnology. I thus
became possessed o f over one hundred and thirty
books upon Africa, which I studied with the
zeal o f one who had a living interest in the
MY NEW MISSION. 3
subject, and with the understanding o f one who
had been already four times on that continent.
I knew what had been accomplished b y African
explorers, and I knew how much o f the dark
interior was still unknown to the world. Until
late hours I sat up, inventing and planning,
sketching out routes, laying out lengthy lines
o f possible exploration, noting many su gg e s tions
whfch the continued study o f my project
created. I also drew up lists o f instruments and
other paraphernalia that would be required to
map, lay out, and describe the new regions to
be traversed.
I had strolled over one day to the office o f
the D a ily Telegraph, full o f the subject. While I
was discussing journalistic enterprise in general
with one o f the staff, the Editor entered. W e
spoke o f Livingstone and the unfinished task
remaining behind him. In reply to an eager
remark which I made, he asked:—
“ Could yo u , and would y o u , complete the
work? And what is there to d o ? ”
I answered:—
“ T h e outlet o f L a k e Tanganika is undiscovered.
W e know nothing scarcely— excep t what
S p ek e has sketched out— o f L ak e Victoria; w e
do not even know whether it consists o f one
or many lakes, and therefore the sources o f the
Nile are still unknown. Moreover, the western
half o f the African continent is still a white blank.”