omise better than the west. That great river, the Zambesi,
might be found to be a navigable highway to the sea. He would return to
Linyanti, and set out from it to find a way to the eastern shore. Loaded
with kindness from many quarters, and furnished with presents for
Sekeletu, and for the chiefs along the way, Livingstone bade farewell to
Loanda on 20th September, 1854.

The following letter to Mrs. Livingstone, written a month afterward,
gives his impressions of Loanda and the neighborhood;

"_Golungo Alto, 25th October_, 1854.--It occurs to me, my
dearest Mary, that if I send you a note from different parts
on the way through this colony, some of them will surely
reach you; and If they carry any of the affection I bear to
you in their composition, they will not fail to comfort you.
I got everything in Loanda I could desire; and were there
only a wagon-path for us, this would be as good an opening
into the interior as we could wish. I remained rather a long
time in the city in consequence of a very severe attack of
fever and dysentery which reduced me very much; and I
remained a short time longer than that actually required to
set me on my legs, in longing expectation of a letter from
you. None came, but should any come up to the beginning of
November, it will come after me by post to Cassange.

"The [Roman Catholic] Bishop, who was then acting-governor,
gave a horse, saddle, and bridle, a colonel's suit of
clothes, etc., for Sekeletu, and a dress of blue and red
cloth, with a white cotton blanket and cap to each of my
companions, who are the best set of men I ever traveled with
except Malatzi and Mebalwe. The merchants of Loanda gave
Sekeletu a large present of cloth, beads, etc., and one of
them, a Dutch-man, gave me an order for ten oxen as
provisions on the way home to the Zambesi. This is all to
encourage the natives to trade freely with the coast, and
will have a good effect in increasing our influence for that
which excels everything earthly. Everything has, by God's
gracious blessing, proved more auspicious than I anticipated.
We have a most warm-hearted friend in Mr. Gabriel. He acted a
brother's part, and now writes me in the moat affectionate
manner. I thank God for his goodness in influencing the
hearts of so many to show kindness, to whom I was a t