e purpose.

Though collections were made, it was always distinctly understood that,
however desirable these and our explorations might be, "Her Majesty's
Government attached more importance to the moral influence that might be
exerted on the minds of the natives by a well-regulated and orderly
household of Europeans setting an example of consistent moral conduct to
all who might witness it; treating the people with kindness, and
relieving their wants, teaching them to make experiments in agriculture,
explaining to them the more simple arts, imparting to them religious
instruction as far as they are capable of receiving it, and inculcating
peace and good will to each other."

It would be tiresome to enumerate in detail all the little acts which
were performed by us while following out our instructions. As a rule,
whenever the steamer stopped to take in wood, or for any other purpose,
Dr. Kirk and Charles Livingstone went ashore to their duties: one of our
party, who it was intended should navigate the vessel and lay down the
geographical positions, having failed to answer the expectations formed
of him, these duties fell chiefly to my share. They involved a
considerable amount of night work, in which I was always cheerfully aided
by my companions, and the results were regularly communicated to our warm
and ever-ready friend, Sir Thomas Maclear of the Royal Observatory, Cape
of Good Hope. While this work was going through the press, we were
favoured with the longitudes of several stations determined from observed
occultations of stars by the moon, and from eclipses and reappearances of
Jupiter's satellites, by Mr. Mann, the able Assistant to the Cape
Astronomer Royal; the lunars are still in the hands of Mr. G. W. H.
Maclear of the same Observatory. In addition to these, the altitudes,
variations of the compass, latitudes and longitudes, as calculated on the
spot, appear in the map by Mr. Arrowsmith, and it is hoped may not differ
much from the results of the same data in abler bands. The office of
"skipper," which, rather than let the Expedition come to a stand, I
undertook, required no great ability in one "not too old to learn:" it
saved a salary, and, what was much more valuable than gold, saved the
Expedition from the drawback of any one thinking that he was
indispensable to its further progress. The office required attention to
the vessel both at rest and in motion. It also involved considerable
exposure to