received a hearty welcome from my old, and I may add, faithful friend (Moselekatse), who, immediately after salutations were over, said, he hoped he should be able to congratulate himself with the hope that I had come to make a long sojourn with him.

OBJECTS OF THE VISIT EXPLAINED.

'I was gratified with having at an early period an interview with him on the object of my visit; that I was come to tell him that the great teachers in England having heard of his kindness to me, and willingness to be instructed, had resolved to send him two teachers. He promptly remarked, "You must come too. How shall I get on with people I do not know, if you are not with me?" and, snapping his fingers, added, "By all means, by all means bring teachers; you are wise, you are able to judge what is good for me and my people better than I do. The land is yours, you must do for it what you think is good," &c. I resumed, by adding that all I would ask was a place where there was a command of water, where the missionaries could live, make gardens, &c., and have many people to teach; that they would not look to him for food, but would plant, sow, and purchase what they might require. The subject was repeatedly referred to during my stay, and in no case did he deviate from what he assented to. I had now obtained the object of my desire-not that I ever doubted that the proposal would be acceptable, but I felt impressed with the importance of having from him a public sanction, so that, whatever might happen either to him or myself, missionaries might proceed to their destination with the greater confidence.

'During the whole period of my stay I continued to preach twice every Sabbath, besides many other opportunities being afforded of communicating divine knowledge, and which, like bread cast upon the waters, will, we are encouraged to hope, appear after many days.

'Feeling sure that, by the time messengers could arrive at Linyante, Livingstone would be there, or at no great distance, I requested Moselekatse to send a small party of men to that place, in order to convey letters, the Bible in Sechuana, and a bag of garden seeds, &c. Ten men under an officer were instantly sent off, with instructions that, should they find that Dr. L. had not arrived, they must descend the southern bank of the river till they should meet or hear something about him. Poor fellows, they would, from Dr. L.'s detention at home, search for him in vain, and I only hope some day to hear of the safe return of the party.

PREACHING TO THE MATABELE: THEIR MORAL DEGRADATION. 'The death of a human being is a very insignificant affair to the minds of these heathens. No more is thought of it than if a dog had died. There is no more inquiry in their minds as to where man goes, or what he becomes. The contrast in this case is now very great between them and the Bechuana tribes, who have had the gospel for so many years. It is, however, pleasing to see that when death and immortality are referred to, the attention of my hearers is more than usually fixed, and there is never the slightest objection raised to my holding Divine service. On one occasion, when it was extremely cold, so much so that Moselekatse did not expect that I should, as usual, call the people together, I stated to him that I should do so when the sun got warm. He remarked, "that my words were good-that it was God's service, and that I must know well what would please God, as I knew him, and knew what was acceptable to him; that he was glad I continued to teach, as my instruction were all good." "Blarney,”

some might say; but blarney or no blarney, I was thankful that I needed not to solicit permission to perform an important duty, but was able to say, "I intend doing so and so." As we had in our company a number of good singers, the singing was as effectual in collecting the people as a bell in a steeple. The attendance was invariably good. The Matabele are a disciplined people, and during Divine service the most perfect docorum is maintained, and I cease not to hope and pray that the seeds of Divine truth scattered among them may bring forth a harvest which may not be reaped till long after I am gathered to my fathers. The sights I witnessed, mental and physical, the entire absence of all that is morally lovely and of good report, the reckless prodigality of human life, and deeds perpetrated with a moral turpitude which made me melancholy, but never once excited fear of my personal safety. To them the future is shrouded in darkness. They have, or rather some of them have, what may be called a glimmering idea, that when man dies he goes down to where the spirits of the dead are, Some think they become serpents; but after much inquiry I find that their thoughts on the future are something like the ignis fatuus, or so evanescent that they or their language fail to convey an idea on which one can fix the mind. The sum total of all their delightful aspirations is Moselekatse, and nothing but Moselekatse. At his orders, his warriors will any day rush into certain death. To die for the safety or the honour of Moselekatse, the son of Machobane, this is all their glory; yet, they admit that it would make men more happy if they could be made to live according to the doctrines they have heard from me.

BLEEDING THE LADIES OF THE COURT.

'About the 20th October, the weather became exceedingly warm, and, living in the public cattlefold, the multitude of flies were very troublesome. Some of the king's wives had been complaining of severe headache, and made suit to their lord and master that I might relieve them by the use of the lancet. They knew that on my former visit I had bled Moselekatse, which had done him much good, and presumed he would allow the same operation to be performed on them. Two of their number, though apparently fat and hearty, were really suffering from an affection of the lungs and dizziness, while three others were suffering from incessant headache. Seeing nothing like a seat on which my patients could sit (the Matabele never saw a chair till I took them one), I ordered a camp stool to be brought from my waggon. On requesting one of the wives to be seated on it, she started aside, exclaiming, "No, no," adding, that the thing was impossible. I remarked that it was Ma-Mary's (Mrs. Moffat's) chair, and that, as she sat on it, why could they not do so. “No, no, no,” was reiterated; adding, “We cannot sit on that seat, for Moselekatse has sat on it." After laughing at them, and they at my ignorance of the reverence due to their royal master, I sent for one of my water-barrels, on which one of the fat dames sat down. Though it is sometimes difficult to find the proper vein in a round fat arm, blood soon flowed freely into a broken calabash, to the surprise of all, and almost horror of the man whose duty it was to hold the vessel. After more than sufficient blood had been allowed to flow, I withdrew the bandage. "No, no," exclaimed my patient, "let it flow." I remonstrated, adding, "You will faint." "Atch, atch," she exclaimed; "I have drunk much beer this morning, and therefore I cannot faint." In a couple of minutes she laid her head down on my arm. A little cold water soon revived her, when I asked those who were looking on if they thought they were wiser than I was.

The next that followed acted precisely in the same way, to the no little diversion of the attendants. Those, however, that followed, submitted with greater good sense to my judgment. It is the custom of the Matabele, when they intend to be bled, to fortify themselves for the operation by drinking quantities of beer. True, it does require some courage to meet the Matabelian phlebotomy. The operator raises the vein with an awl, and then cuts it asunder, and of course my way was comparatively painless. I have not been able to learn the precise number of Moselekatse's wives-probably between two and three hundred. They appear to be a thoughtless set, and of whom, it may be said, "they laugh and grow fat." One of his wives, the favourite, had been sick for a twelvemonth, and it required but little skill to see that she was a great sufferer. Having bled her twice, I brought her under a course of medicine for more than two weeks. She was restored. This circumstance of course produced a very fovourable impression on Moselekatse's mind, and I dare say dubbed me physician to his Majesty.

GENERAL HEALTHINESS OF THE PEOPLE.

'A doctor would find it difficult to live among the Matabele, for I never met with a more healthy people. No cutaneous diseases, so prevalent among the Griquas and inhabitants along the Great River; no consumptions; pulmonary complaints exceedingly rare, rheumatism, &c. &c., and this the more to be won. dered at, as the cold and damp eastern winds during winter, sometimes amounting to gales, are severe, and the transitions of temperature extreme. Epidemics occasionally prevail, and the fever, sometimes so destructive on and near the Ngami Lake, and the Linyante country, but it is not annual, nor so severe, which may be ascribed to the elevated character of the region inhabited by the Matabele. Not having, however, spent a whole summer in their country, I am unable to give any observations on that part of the season-the most critical. But from all I could learn, though the luxuriance is redundant, like most tropical regions, and the sun passing twice overhead during one summer, they say the summers are short, i.e. the heat does not oppress to the degree that might be expected; but this is only report. The tropical rains commenced before I left, and the thunder-storms were very heavy, sending down the rivers roaring like cataracts, while the atmosphere felt hot and steamy; but where the country is undulating and hilly, the water soon runs off into the many rivers running towards the north-west, and eventually north to the Zambesi, into which, after in many cases uniting, they empty themselves. At no great distance to the south-east of the present residence of Moselekatse, the rivers run towards the Limpopo, which is joined by the rivers Shashe, Belahale, and Umterikue, after which it is called Sabe, or Sabie, till it falls into the Indian Ocean, and which shows that the elevated country inhabited by the Matabele is that which stretches towards the Victoria Falls to the north. From its elevated position, which includes the mountain range of the Mashona tribes, it is perhaps the most healthy betwween the tropic of Capricorn and the Equator.

THE AIM OF THE MISSIONARY DISTINCT FROM THAT OF THE TRADer. 'Referring to my intention of looking out for a fountain, or suitable locality where missionaries might at once commence operations, Moselekatse said the land was before me; but as I had seen, though there was no want of water in the many rivers, there were no fountains. I embraced the opportunity of reminding him

who the missionaries were; that their object was not to live only, nor to eat the food of the king; not to buy nor sell, except for the supply of their immediate wants; that their object was solely to teach him and his people to know and to serve the only living and true God; that he must on no account expect that the missionaries are to be directly or indirectly the means of supplying him with either guns or ammunition; that, if he entertained any such expectations, he must tell me at once, and I should pack up and be gone. I continued, “Ask of your officers, men, and warriors, what they have heard from me from Sabbath to Sabbath, and they will tell you the kind of work you must expect from a teacher. You must not be disappointed if every teacher is not able to do some things which you have seen me do. All men are not alike, even among the Matabele. To some God has given a mechanical genius, and to others wisdom of another kind. The missionaries who I hope will come may not excel in everything, but they will be wise, and, probably, wiser and better than I am, and whose work would be to make you and your people wise, and teach them how to escape the wrath to come." After I had said much more to the same purpose, he remarked, “You speak the truth. Some can understand and do things others cannot do; and about missionaries taking no part in obtaining for me supplies of ammunition, I say a law must not be broken. I confide in your judgment as to what I ought to expect." I then reminded him that I was now getting old, having been in the service of God, among the heathen like the Matabele, these forty years, and that I began to feel the toil of such long journeys, when I had to do so much with my own hands; and were it not the prospect of seeing missionaries established in this country, he should see my face no more, as I had much work to do for Jesus, the Son of God, where I was, and when I should cease to be able to serve Jesus in doing good to my fellow-men, I should withdraw into solitude, and think and talk daily of heaven, where I hope to live for ever. On hearing these words, he stared at me, and his wives and nobles stared, as if they thought I was raving. Poor things, they wonder how easily one can talk of death. Moselekatse said, “You are young-talk of death? why, you are vigorous as ever." I interrupted by saying, "You may think so, but I do not feel so, which makes me most anxious to do for you and your people all I can do before I die." He interrupted, with a succession of most emphatic negatives, adding, “You must not die, but live;" and then dropped the subject by introducing others which had been waiting to be brought forward by some of his nobles.

PARTING WORDS WITH THE GREAT CHIEF AND HIS PEOPLE.

In the beginning of December, I began to think of preparing for my return home, and requested Moselekatse to mention some things which, on former occasions, he had manifested a wish that I should bring with me when I should return with the missionaries. I had warned him again and again that he must not expect that teachers would ever become traders; but I should, in the entire absence of means by which he could obtain some things which he expressed a strong desire to have, bring them with me, but only on condition that in future he must look out for foreign supplies to those whose business it was to trade with the natives, and I would especially urge on him the necessity of making arrangements to carry on a trade with those who intended opening up intercourse with the tribes on the Zambesi river. As he had during my visits obtained a knowledge of, and a taste

for, various articles, and the value of many tools he had seen me use, he wished me to bring a waggon-load. I told him I could not undertake to do so, as I should not be able to find much room for more real necessaries than such as I and the missionaries were obliged to take for our own use. To this he promptly answered, “I am rich, and can pay for all, and send plenty of oxen to bring them, and to assist the missionaries on their journey hither." This I admitted, adding, that as to ivory, the distance was so far, and the roads so bad for waggon travelling, that I was afraid of a heavy waggon and meagre oxen, which might leave me in the desert; that I could have no objections to his doing as he had done on my last visit-pay the expenses of the journey. I assured him that anything beyond the expenses of the journey should be returned to him in value. I repeated what I had stated before as to what missionaries were. I could have no objections to further his wishes, and give his orders, as far as writing was concerned, but that he must look to traders who might be induced to go so far, and on no account to teachers, whose duty it was to impart to him and his people the knowledge of Divine things; that while I could assure him of their willingness to meet his wishes, they would on no account engage to supply him with anything in the way of trade; that as several individuals had approached his dominions for purposes of hunting and trade during my two last visits, aware, as he knew, that they were safe while I was at head-quarters, he might easily engage one of such to bring him the supplies he wanted, as he said he wished to imitate the white people; or the missionaries, when they came, might be able to point out some individual to whom he might commit his commissions, as they had done at the Kuruman in the case of Mr. Hume; and, further, if he entertained any idea that missionaries would be his agents in worldly things, he must tell me so, and he and I must now part company; that, much as I esteemed him, and much as I felt thankful to him for his many acts of kindness, I should much prefer not undertaking such a long and hazardous journey. I had come cheerfully, and would, if spared, come again with the teachers with increased pleasure, but then it must be for his soul's sake, and those of his people, as Jesus has commanded us to go and teach all nations. "How I love you!" he interrupted; "how can you say you would not come again? I wish I could reward you for your kindness. You have never tired of working for me since you came here, and as you did on your former visit. You give medicine to the sick, and you have cured my favourite wife. All the doctors in the land have been called, but they could do nothing. I pay, I feed them, but they are fools. My wives say, 'Let us have Moffat.' You help those who do not like to ask, and you have done many things for me and my people of which I only heard when they were done. You work the whole day, and write at night; when do you sleep?" As he found me rather stern in refusing anything but a small remuneration to defray journeying expenses, he told me he had sent some ivory to my waggon, which he begged me to accept as his thanks, as he had nothing else with which to express his gratitude. On the last Sabbath of my sojourn the attendance was large. The immediate prospect of separation led me to speak of a separation at the last day, which would be eternal. I recapitulated what I had said during the repeated opportunities which I had of addressing them on subjects of everlasting importance, and which I told them, if they did not believe, they would witness against them in the day of judgment. They would then see that the book (the Bible, which I held in my hand) was the book of God, which all