On no heads was it ever discharged more freely
than on these Transvaal Boers. He made a formal representation of his
losses both to the Cape and Home authorities, but never received a
farthing of compensation. The subsequent history of the Transvaal
Republic will convince many that Livingstone was not far from the truth
in his estimate of the character of the free and independent Boers.
But while perfectly sincere in his indignation over the treatment of the
natives and his own losses, his playful fancy could find a ludicrous
side for what concerned himself, and grim enjoyment in showing it to his
friends. "Think," he writes to his friend Watt, "think of a big fat
Boeress drinking coffee out of my kettle, and then throwing her tallowy
corporeity on my sofa, or keeping her needles in my wife's writing-desk!
Ugh! and then think of foolish John Bull paying so many thousands a year
for the suppression of the slave-trade, and allowing Commissioner Aven
to make treaties with Boers who carry on the slave-trade.... The Boers
are mad with rage against me because my people fought bravely.
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