" Thus another qualification was acquired for his
very peculiar life-work. Sundays were not times of refreshing, at least
not beyond his closet. "The captain rigged out the church on Sundays,
and we had service; but I being a poor preacher, and the chaplain
addressing them all as Christians already, no moral influence was
exerted, and even had there been on Sabbath, it would have been
neutralized by the week-day conduct. In fact, no good was done." Neither
at Rio, nor on board ship, nor anywhere, could good be done without the
element of personal character. This was Livingstone's strong conviction
to the end of his life.
In his first letter to the Directors of the London Missionary Society he
tells them that he had spent most of his time at sea in the study of
theology, and that he was deeply grieved to say that he knew of no
spiritual good having been done in the case of any one on board the
ship. His characteristic honesty thus showed itself in his very
first dispatch.
Arriving at the Cape, where the ship was detained a month, he spent some
time with Dr.
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