greatest dread of the illnesses which they say are sure to be in store
for them if they visit the coast.]

_19th June, 1866._--I gave the sepoys light loads in order to inure
them to exercise and strengthen them, and they carried willingly so
long as the fright was on them, but when the fear of immediate
punishment wore off they began their skulking again. One, Perim,
reduced his load of about 20 lbs. of tea by throwing away the lead in
which it was rolled, and afterwards about 15 lbs. of the tea, thereby
diminishing our stock to 5 lbs.

[Dr. Livingstone's short stay in England in 1864-5 was mainly taken up
with compiling an account of his travels on the Zambesi and Shiré:
during this time his mother expired in Scotland at a good old age.
When he went back to Africa he took with him, as part of his very
scanty travelling equipment, a number of letters which he received
from friends at different times in England, and he very often quoted
them when he had an opportunity of sending letters home. We come to an
entry at this time which shows that in these reminiscences he had not
thus preserved an unmixed pleasure. He says:--]

I lighted on a telegram to-day:--"Your mother died at noon on the 18th
June."

This was in 1865: it affected me not a little.

FOOTNOTES:

[9] Further on we found it called Nkonya.