And when the Great Day comes, none will more
surely receive that best of all forms of repayment, "Inasmuch as ye did
it unto the least of these my brethren, ye did it unto Me."
Livingstone, who had now got the troublesome uvula cut out, was
detained at the Cape nearly two months after his family left. He was so
distrusted by the authorities that they would hardly sell powder and
shot to him, and he had to fight a battle that demanded all his courage
and perseverance for a few boxes of percussion-caps. At the last moment,
a troublesome country postmaster, to whom he had complained of an
overcharge of postage, threatened an action against him for defamation
of character, and, rather than be further detained, deep in debt though
he was, Livingstone had to pay him a considerable sum. His family were
much in his thoughts; he found some relief in writing by every mail. His
letters to his wife are too sacred to be spread before the public; we
confine ourselves to a single extract, to show over what a host of
suppressed emotions he had to march in this expedition:
"_Cape Town, 5th May_, 1852.
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