And it is
better to go in now than to do it in vain afterward."
"I have still a seriously long task before me." Yet he had lately been
worse in health and weaker than he had ever been; he was much poorer
than he expected to be, and the difficulties had proved far beyond any
he had hitherto experienced. But so far from thinking of taking things
more easily than before, he actually enlarges his programme, and
resolves to "finish up by going round outside and south of all the
sources." His spirit seems only to rise as difficulties are multiplied.
He writes to his daughter Agnes at the same time: "You remark that you
think you could have traveled as well as Mrs. Baker, and I think so too.
Your mamma was famous for roughing it in the bush, and was never a
trouble." The allusion carries him to old days--their travels to Lake
'Ngami, Mrs. Livingstone's death, the Helmores, the Bishop, Thornton.
Then he speaks of recent troubles and difficulties, his attack of
pneumonia, from which he had not expected to recover, his annoyances
with his men, so unlike the old Makololo, the loss of his letters and
boxes, with the exception of two from an unknown donor that contained
the _Saturday Review_ and his old friend _Punch_ for 1868.
Pages:
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806