shall never meet again on earth. But what a meeting in heaven!
Any two of us to meet so would be, more than we can conceive, to be made
perfect, and never more to part." And when writing to the bereaved
husband after the blow had fallen, he says: "Surely we ought not to think
it strange if the brightest gems are sometimes removed from the workshop
to the immediate presence of the Great King."

But the grief, though borne in such a spirit, probably made him
susceptible to the only illness he experienced while in Natal. The
immediate cause was riding in the burning sun of a southern February, and
the drinking cold water, the result of which was a fever, that kept him
at home for about a month.

There was at this time a strong desire to send a mission into independent
Zululand, with a Bishop at its head. Bishop Colenso was at first
inclined to undertake the lead himself, resigning Natal; and next a plan
arose that Archdeacon Mackenzie should become the missionary Bishop. The
plan was to be submitted to the Society for the Propagation of the
Gospel, and for this purpose the Archdeacon was despatched to England,
taking Miss Mackenzie with him; but the younger sister, Alice, having so
recently arrived, and being so valuable as a worker among the natives,
remained to assist in the school of young chiefs who had been gathered
together by Bishop Colenso.

The time of the return of the brother and sister was just when Dr.
Livingstone's account of the interior of Africa, and of the character of
the chiefs on the Zambesi, had excited an immense enthusiasm throughout
England. He had appealed to the Universities to found a mission, and
found it they would, on a truly grand scale, commensurate with their
wealth and numbers. It was to have a Bishop at the head, and a strong
staff of clergy, vessels built on purpose to navigate the rivers, and
every requisite amply provided. Crowded meetings were held at each
University, and the enthusiasm produced by the appeal of Dr. Livingstone,
a Scottish Presbyterian, to the English Universities, as the only bodies
capable of such an effort, produced unspeakable excitement. At a huge
meeting at Cambridge, attended by the most distinguished of English
Churchmen, Archdeacon Mackenzie was present. His quiet remark to the
friend beside him, was, "I am _afraid_ of this. Most great works have
been carried on by one or two men in a quieter way, and have had a more
humble beginning." In fact