k continent went Livingstone. Not dark to
him, for he loved the natives and possessed such powers of attraction
that wherever he settled he won their affections.

After taking leave of Sechele he travelled several hundred miles to
the territory of Sebituane.

On the road Livingstone and his family had a terribly anxious time.
The water in the waggons was all but finished, they were passing
through a desert land, their guide had left them. The children were
suffering from thirst; his wife, though not uttering a word of
reproach, was in an agony of anxiety for her little ones, and
Livingstone was fearful lest they should perish in this desert
country. When hope had nearly vanished some of the party who had gone
out searching for water returned with a supply. They were soon after
welcomed by Sebituane, the greatest chief in Central Africa, who gave
them food to eat, soft skins to lie upon, and made much of them.

After the death of Sebituane his son Sekeletu was equally friendly, as
may be gathered from this page of Livingstone's diary, which, by the
kindness of his daughter, Mrs. Bruce, I am permitted to reproduce.

[Illustration: REDUCED FACSIMILE OF A PAGE FROM LIVINGSTONE'S DIARY.
THE ORIGINAL IS WRITTEN ON PAPER 7 INCHES BY 4-3/8 INCHES.]

This entry in his diary was written on the eve of Livingstone's great
journey to the West Coast. Having sent his wife and family to England,
he determined to find a way from the centre of Africa to the West
Coast. It was a forlorn hope; but, says Livingstone, "Cannot the love
of Christ carry the missionary where the slave trade carries the
trader? I shall open up a path to the interior or perish."

On the 11th of November, 1853, he left Linyante, having overcome
Sekeletu's objection to let him go, and arrived at Loando, on the West
Coast, on 31st May, 1854, after a variety of adventures, and being
reduced by fever to a mere skeleton.

The sight of the sea, which gladdened Livingstone's heart, astonished
his native escort beyond description. "We were marching along with our
father," they said, "believing that what the ancients had told us was
true--that the world had no end; but all at once the world said to us,
'I am finished, there is no more of me'."

At Loando friends tried to persuade Livingstone to go to England
by sea, but he had promised Sekeletu to return with the men who
accompanied him on his great journey, and would not be turned from his
purpose. And he arrived