At a later date he saw reason to doubt the sincerity of some of the professions of these gentlemen.  Ingenuous and trustful, he could at first think nothing but good of those who had shown him such marked attention.  Afterward, the inexorable logic of facts proved too strong, even for his unsuspecting soul.  But the kindness of the Portuguese was most genuine, and Livingstone never ceased to be grateful for a single kind act.  It is important to note that whatever he came to think of their policy afterward, he was always ready to make this acknowledgment.

Arrived at Loanda, 31st May, 1854, with his twenty-seven followers, he was most kindly received by Mr. Edmund Gabriel, the British Commissioner for the suppression of the slave-trade there, and everything was done by him for his comfort.  The sensation of lying on an English bed, after six months lying on the ground, was indescribably delightful.  Mr. Gabriel was equally attentive to him during a long and distressing attack of fever and dysentery that prostrated him soon after his arrival at Loanda.  In his Journal the warmest benedictions are poured on Mr. Gabriel, and blessings everlasting besought for his soul.  One great disappointment he suffered at Loanda—­not a single letter was awaiting him.  His friends must have thought he could never reach it.  This want of letters was a very frequent trial, especially to one who wrote so many, and of such length.  The cordial friendship of Mr. Gabriel, however, was a great solace.  He gave him much information, not only on all that concerned the slave-trade—­now more than ever attracting his attention—­but also on the natural history of the district, and he entered con amore into the highest objects of his mission.  Afterward, in acknowledging to the Directors of the London Missionary Society receipt of a letter for Dr. Livingstone, intrusted to his care, Mr. Gabriel wrote as follows (20th March, 1856): 

“Dr. Livingstone, after the noble objects he has achieved, most assuredly wants no testimony from me.  I consult, therefore, the impulse of my own mind alone, when I declare that in no respect was my intercourse more gratifying to me than in the opportunities afforded to me of observing his earnest, active, and unwearied solicitude for the advancement of Christianity. Few, perhaps, have had better opportunities than myself of estimating the benefit the Christian cause in this country has derived from Dr. Livingstone’s exertions.  It is indeed fortunate for that sacred cause, and highly honorable to the London Missionary Society, when qualities and dispositions like his are employed in propagating its blessings among men. Irrespective, moreover, of his laudable and single-minded conduct as a minister of the Gospel, and his attainments in making observations which have determined the true geography of the interior, the Directors, I am sure, will not have failed to perceive how interesting and