sionary Society
receipt of a letter for Dr. Livingstone, intrusted to his care, Mr.
Gabriel wrote as follows (20th March, 1856):

"Dr. Livingstone, after the noble objects he has achieved,
most assuredly wants no testimony from me. I consult,
therefore, the impulse of my own mind alone, when I declare
that in no respect was my intercourse more gratifying to me
than in the opportunities afforded to me of observing his
_earnest, active, and unwearied solicitude for the
advancement of Christianity._ Few, perhaps, have had better
opportunities than myself of estimating _the benefit the
Christian cause in this country has derived from Dr.
Livingstone's exertions_. It is indeed fortunate for that
sacred cause, and highly honorable to the London Missionary
Society, _when qualities and dispositions like his are
employed in propagating its blessings among men._
Irrespective, moreover, of his _laudable and single-minded
conduct as a minister of the Gospel,_ and his attainments in
making observations which have determined the true geography
of the interior, the Directors, I am sure, will not have
failed to perceive how interesting and valuable are all the
communications they receive from him--as sketches of the
social condition of the people, and the material, fabrics,
and produce Of these lands. I most fervently pray that the
kind Providence, which has hitherto carried him through so
many perils and hardships, may guide him safely to his
present journey's end."

The friendship of Mr. Gabriel was honorable both to himself and to Dr.
Livingstone. At a very early period he learned to appreciate Livingstone
thoroughly, he saw how great as well as how good a man he was, and felt
that to be the friend of such a man was one of the highest distinctions
he could have. After Livingstone left Loanda, and while he was detained
within reach of letters, a brisk correspondence passed between them; Mr.
Gabriel tells him about birds, helps him in his schemes for promoting
lawful commerce, goes into ecstasies over a watch-chain which he had got
from him, tells him the news of the battle of the Alma in the Crimea, in
which his friend, Colonel Steele, had distinguished himself, and of the
success of the Rae Expedition in finding the remains of the party under
Sir John Franklin. In an official communication to Lord Clarendon, aft