Accordingly, she resolved to make the proposition that she should be conveyed to some point upon the coast, where the bargain could be concluded without Mr. Weldon's coming up the country.
She had to weigh all the consequences that would follow any refusal on her part to fall in with Negoro's demands. Of course, he would spend the interval4 in preparing for his start to America, and when he should come back and find her still hesitating, was it not likely that he would find scope for his revenge in suggesting that she must be separated from her child.
The very thought sent a pang5 through her heart, and she clasped her little boy tenderly to her side.
"I was thinking of your father, my child," she answered; "would you not like to see him?"
"Yes, yes; is he coming here?"
"No, my boy, he must not come here."
"Then let us take Dick, and Tom, and Hercules, and go to him."
"Have you heard from papa?"
"No."
"Then why do you not write to him?"
"Write to him?" repeated his mother, "that is the very thing I was thinking about."
Meanwhile Mrs. Weldon had another inducement which she hardly ventured to own to herself for postponing9 her final decision. Was it absolutely impossible that her liberation should be effected by some different means altogether?
A few days previously10 she had overheard a conversation outside her hut, and over this she had found herself continually pondering.
Alvez and one of the Ujiji dealers11, discussing the future prospects13 of their business, mutually agreed in denouncing the efforts that were being made for the suppression of the slave-traffic, not only by the cruisers on the coast, but by the intrusion of travellers and missionaries14 into the interior.
It seemed a subject of bitter complaint that the markets of Nyangwé, Zanzibar, and the lake-district had been invaded by Speke and Grant and others, and although they congratulated each other that the western provinces had not yet been much persecuted18, they confessed that now that the travelling epidemic19 had begun to rage, there was no telling how soon a lot of European and American busy-bodies might be among them. Thedépôts at Cassange and Bihe had both been visited, and although Kazonndé had hitherto been left quiet, there were rumours20 enough that the continent was to be tramped over from east to west. [Footnote: This extraordinary feat21 was, it is universally known, subsequently accomplished22 by Cameron.]
"And it may be," continued Alvez, "that that missionary23 fellow, Livingstone, is already on his way to us; if he comes there can be but one result; there must be freedom for all the slaves in Kazonndé."
"Freedom for the slaves in Kazonndé!" These were the words which in connexion with Dr. Livingstone's name had arrested Mrs. Weldon's attention, and who can wonder that she pondered them over and over again, and ventured to associate them with her own prospects?
Here was a ray of hope!
The mere24 mention of Livingstone's name in association with this story seems to demand a brief survey of his career.
Born on the 19th of March, 1813, David Livingstone was the second of six children of a tradesman in the village of Blantyre, in Lanarkshire. After two years' training in medicine and theology, he was sent out by the London Missionary Society, and landed at the Cape25 of Good Hope in 1840, with the intention of joining Moffat in South Africa. After exploring the country of the Bechuanas, he returned to Kuruman, and, having married Moffat's daughter, proceeded in 1843 to found a mission in the Mabotsa valley.
After four years he removed to Kolobeng in the Bechuana district, 225 miles north of Kuruman, whence, in 1849, starting off with his wife, three children, and two friends, Mr. Oswell and Mr. Murray, he discovered Lake Ngami, and returned by descending26 the course of the Zouga.
The opposition27 of the natives had prevented his proceeding28 beyond Lake Ngami at his first visit, and he made
[Illustration: Dr. Livingstone. Page 408.]
a second with no better success. In a third attempt, however, he wended his way northwards with his family and Mr. Oswell along the Chobé, an affluent29 of the Zambesi, and after a difficult journey at length reached the district of the Makalolos, of whom the chief, named Sebituané, joined him at Linyanté. The Zambesi itself was discovered at the end of June, 1851, and the doctor returned to the Cape for the purpose of sending his family to England.
His next project was to cross the continent obliquely30 from south to west, but in this expedition he had resolved that he would risk no life but his own. Accompanied, therefore, by only a few natives, he started in the following June, and skirting the Kalahari desert entered Litoubarouba on the last day of the year; here he found the Bechuana district much ravaged31 by the Boers, the original Dutch colonists32, who had formed the population of the Cape before it came into the possession of the English. After a fortnight's stay, he proceeded into the heart of the district of the Bamangonatos, and travelled continuously until the 23rd of May, when he arrived at Linyanté, and was received with much honour by Sekeletoo, who had recently become sovereign of the Makalolos. A severe attack of fever detained the traveller here for a period, but he made good use of the enforced rest by studying the manners of the country, and became for the first time sensible of its terrible sufferings in consequence of the slave-trade.
Descending the course of the Chobé to the Zambesi, he next entered Naniele, and after visiting Katonga and Libonta, advanced to the point of confluence33 of the Leeba with the Zambesi, where he determined34 upon ascending36 the former as far as the Portuguese37 possessions in the west; it was an undertaking, however, that required considerable preparation, so that it was necessary for him to return to Linyanté.
On the 11th of November he again started. He was accompanied by twenty-seven Makalolos, and ascended38 the Leeba till, in the territory of the Balonda, he reached a spot where it received the waters of its tributary39 the Makondo.
It was the first time a white man had ever penetrated40 so far.
Proceeding on their way, they arrived at the residence of Shinté, the most powerful of the chieftains of the Balonda, by whom they were well received, and having met with equal kindness from Kateema, a ruler on the other side of the Leeba, they encamped, on the 20th of February, 1853, on the banks of Lake Dilolo.
Here it was that the real difficulty commenced; the arduous41 travelling, the attacks of the natives, and their exorbitant42 demands, the conspiracies43 of his own attendants and their desertions, would soon have caused any one of less energy to abandon his enterprise; but David Livingstone was not a man to be daunted44; resolutely45 he persevered46, and on the 4th of April reached the banks of the Coango, the stream that forms the frontier of the Portuguese possessions, and joins the Zaire on the north.
Six days later he passed through Cassangé. Here it was that Alvez had seen him. On the 31st of May he arrived at St. Paul de Loanda, having traversed the continent in about two years.
It was not long, however, before he was off again. Following the banks of the Coanza, the river which was to bring such trying experiences to Dick Sands and his party, he reached the Lombé, and having met numbers of slave-caravans on his way, again passed through Cassange, crossed the Coango, and reached the Zambesi at Kewawa. By the 8th of the following June he was again at Lake Dilolo, and descending the river, he re-entered Linyanté. Here he stayed till the 3rd of November, when he commenced his second great journey, which was to carry him completely across Africa from west to east.
After visiting the famed Victoria Falls, the intrepid48 explorer quitted the Zambesi, and took a north-easterly route. The transit49 of the territory of the Batokas, a people brutalized by the inhalation of hemp50; a visit to Semalemboni the powerful chief of the district; the passage of the Kafoni; a visit to king Mbourouma; an inspection51 of the ruins of Zumbo, an old Portuguese town; a meeting with
[Illustration: With none to guide him except a few natives.]
the chief Mpendé, at that time at war with the Portuguese, these were the principal events of this journey, and on the 22nd of April, Livingstone left Teté, and having descended52 the river as far as its delta53, reached Quilimané, just four years after his last departure from the Cape. On the 12th of July he embarked54 for the Mauritius, and on the 22nd of December, 1856, he landed in England after an absence of sixteen years.
Loaded with honours by the Geographical55 Societies of London and Paris, brilliantly entertained by all ranks, it would have been no matter of surprise if he had surrendered himself to a well-earned repose56; but no thought of permanent rest occurred to him, and on the 1st of March, 1858, accompanied by his brother Charles, Captain Bedingfield, Dr. Kirk, Dr. Miller57, Mr. Thornton, and Mr. Baines, he started again, with the intention of exploring the basin of the Zambesi, and arrived in due time at the coast of Mozambique.
The party ascended the great river by the Kongone mouth; they were on board a small steamer named the "Ma-Robert," and reached Teté on the 8th of September.
During the following year they investigated the lower course of the Zambesi, and its left affluent the Shiré, and having visited Lake Shirwa, they explored the territory of the Manganjas, and discovered Lake Nyassa. In August, 1860, they returned to the Victoria Falls.
Early in the following year, Bishop58 Mackenzie and his missionary staff arrived at the mouth of the Zambesi.
In March an exploration of the Rovouma was made on board the "Pioneer," the exploring party returning afterwards to Lake Nyassa, where they remained a considerable time. The 30th of January, 1862, was signalized by the arrival of Mrs. Livingstone, and by the addition of another steamer, the "Lady Nyassa;" but the happiness of reunion was very transient; it was but a short time before the enthusiastic Bishop Mackenzie succumbed59 to the unhealthiness of the climate, and on the 27th of April Mrs. Livingstone expired in her husband's arms.
A second investigation60 of the Rovouma soon followed and at the end of November the doctor returned to the Zambesi, and reascended the Shire. In the spring of 1803 he lost his companion Mr. Thornton, and as his brother and Dr. Kirk were both much debilitated61, he insisted upon their return to Europe, while he himself returned for the third time to Lake Nyassa, and completed the hydrographical survey which already he had begun.
A few months later found him once more at the mouth of the Zambesi; thence he crossed over to Zanzibar, and after five years' absence arrived in London, where he published his work, "The exploration of the Zambesi and its affluents62."
Still unwearied and insatiable in his longings63, he was back again in Zanzibar at the commencement of 1866, ready to begin his fourth journey, this time attended only by a few sepoys and negroes. Witnessing on his way some horrible scenes which were perpetrated as the result of the prosecution64 of the slave-trade, he proceeded to Mokalaosé on the shores of Lake Nyassa, where nearly all his attendants deserted65 him, and returned to Zanzibar with the report that he was dead.
Dr. Livingstone meanwhile was not only alive, but undaunted in his determination to visit the country between the two lakes Nyassa and Tanganyika. With none to guide him except a few natives, he crossed the Loangona, and in the following April discovered Lake Liemmba. Here he lay for a whole month hovering66 between life and death, but rallying a little he pushed on to the north shore of Lake Moero. Taking up his quarters at Cazembé for six weeks, he made two separate explorations of the lake, and then started farther northwards, intending to reach Ujiji, an important town upon Lake Tanganyika; overtaken, however, by floods, and again abandoned by his servants, he was obliged to retrace67 his steps. Six weeks afterwards he had made his way southwards to the great lake Bangweolo, whence once more he started towards Tanganyika.
This last effort was most trying, and the doctor had grown so weak that he was obliged to be carried, but he reached Ujiji, where he was gratified by finding some
[Illustration: "You are Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"]
supplies that had been thoughtfully forwarded to him by the Oriental Society at Calcutta.
His great aim now was to ascend35 the lake, and reach the sources of the Nile. On the 21st of September he was at Bambarré, in the country of the cannibal Manyuema, upon the Lualaba, the river afterwards ascertained69 by Stanley to be the Upper Zaire or Congo. At Mamobela the doctor was ill for twenty-four days, tended only by three followers70 who continued faithful; but in July he made a vigorous effort, and although he was reduced to a skeleton, made his way back to Ujiji.
During this long time no tidings of Livingstone reached Europe, and many were the misgivings71 lest the rumours of his death were only too true. He was himself, too, almost despairing as to receiving any help. But help was closer at hand than he thought. On the 3rd of November, only eleven days after his return to Ujiji, some gun shots were heard within half a mile of the lake. The doctor went out to ascertain68 whence they proceeded, and had not gone far before a white man stood before him.
"You are Dr. Livingstone, I presume," said the stranger, raising his cap.
The two shook each other warmly by the hand.
The new arrival was Henry Stanley, the correspondent of the New York Herald73, who had been sent out by Mr. Bennett, the editor, in search of the great African explorer. On receiving his orders in October, 1870, without a day's unnecessary delay he had embarked at Bombay for Zanzibar, and, after a journey involving considerable peril74, had arrived safely at Ujiji.
Very soon the two travellers found themselves on the best of terms, and set out together on an excursion to the north of Tanganyika. They proceeded as far as Cape Magala, and decided75 that the chief outlet76 of the lake must be an affluent of the Lualaba, a conclusion that was subsequently confirmed by Cameron.
Towards the end of the year Stanley began to prepare to return. Livingstone accompanied him as far as Kwihara, and on the 3rd of the following March they parted.
"You have done for me what few men would venture to do; I am truly grateful," said Livingstone.
Stanley could scarcely repress his tears as he expressed his hope that the doctor might be spared to return to his friends safe and well.
"Good-bye!" said Stanley, choked with emotion.
"Good-bye!" answered the veteran feebly.
Thus they parted, and in July, 1872, Stanley landed at Marseilles.
Again David Livingstone resumed his researches in the interior.
After remaining five months at Kwihara he gathered together a retinue77 consisting of his faithful followers Suzi, Chumah, Amoda, and Jacob Wainwright, and fifty-six men sent to him by Stanley, and lost no time in proceeding towards the south of Tanganyika. In the course of the ensuing month the caravan47 encountered some frightful78 storms, but succeeded in reaching Moura. There had previously been an extreme drought, which was now followed by the rainy season, which entailed79 the loss of many of the beasts of burden, in consequence of the bites of the tzetsy.
On the 24th of January they were at Chitounkwé, and in April, after rounding the east of Lake Bangweolo, they made their way towards the village of Chitambo. At this point it was that Livingstone had parted company with certain slave-dealers, who had carried the information to old Alvez that the missionary traveller would very likely proceed by way of Loanda to Kazonndé.
But on the 13th of June, the very day before Negoro reckoned on obtaining from Mrs. Weldon the letter which should be the means of securing him a hundred thousand dollars, tidings were circulated in the district that on the 1st of May Dr. Livingstone had breathed his last.
The report proved perfectly80 true. On the 29th of April the caravan had reached the village of Chitambo, the doctor so unwell that he was carried on a litter. The following night he was in great pain, and after repeatedly murmuring in a low voice, "Oh dear, oh dear!" he fell into a kind of stupor81. A short time afterwards he called up Suzi, and having asked for some medicine, told his attendant that he should not require anything more.
"You can go now."
About four o'clock next morning, when an anxious visit was made to his room, the doctor was found kneeling by the bed-side, his head in his hands, in the attitude of prayer. Suzi touched him, but his forehead was icy with the coldness of death. He had died in the night.
His body was carried by those who loved him, and in spite of many obstacles was brought to Zanzibar, whence, nine months after his death, it was conveyed to England. On the 12th of April, 1874, it was interred82 in Westminster Abbey, counted worthy83 to be deposited amongst those whom the country most delights to honour.
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1
respite
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| n.休息，中止，暂缓 | |
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undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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ransom
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| n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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postponing
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| v.延期，推迟( postpone的现在分词 ) | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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dealers
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| n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者 | |
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dealer
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| n.商人，贩子 | |
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prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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missionaries
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| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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averred
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| v.断言( aver的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；证明…属实；作为事实提出 | |
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exterminated
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| v.消灭，根绝( exterminate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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persecuted
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| （尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人 | |
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epidemic
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| n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的 | |
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rumours
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feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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opposition
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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affluent
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| adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的 | |
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obliquely
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| adv.斜； 倾斜； 间接； 不光明正大 | |
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ravaged
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| 毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫 | |
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colonists
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| n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 ) | |
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confluence
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determined
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ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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Portuguese
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| n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语 | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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tributary
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| n.支流；纳贡国；adj.附庸的；辅助的；支流的 | |
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penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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arduous
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| adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的 | |
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exorbitant
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| adj.过分的；过度的 | |
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conspiracies
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| n.阴谋，密谋( conspiracy的名词复数 ) | |
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daunted
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| 使（某人）气馁，威吓( daunt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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persevered
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| v.坚忍，坚持( persevere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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caravan
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| n.大蓬车；活动房屋 | |
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intrepid
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| adj.无畏的，刚毅的 | |
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transit
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| n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过 | |
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hemp
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| n.大麻；纤维 | |
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inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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delta
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| n.（流的）角洲 | |
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embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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geographical
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| adj.地理的；地区(性)的 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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miller
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| n.磨坊主 | |
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bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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succumbed
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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debilitated
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| adj.疲惫不堪的，操劳过度的v.使（人或人的身体）非常虚弱( debilitate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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affluents
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| n.富裕的，富足的( affluent的名词复数 ) | |
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longings
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| 渴望，盼望( longing的名词复数 ) | |
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prosecution
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| n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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66
hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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67
retrace
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| v.折回；追溯，探源 | |
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68
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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69
ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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70
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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71
misgivings
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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72
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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73
herald
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| vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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75
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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76
outlet
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| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
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77
retinue
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| n.侍从；随员 | |
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78
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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79
entailed
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| 使…成为必要( entail的过去式和过去分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
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80
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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81
stupor
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| v.昏迷；不省人事 | |
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82
interred
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| v.埋，葬( inter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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83
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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