," he said, "to build a house for God, the
defender of my town, and that you be at no expense for it whatever." Two
hundred of his people were employed in this work.

Livingstone had hardly had time to forget his building troubles at
Mabotsa and Chonuane, when he began this new enterprise. But he was in
much better spirits, much more hopeful than he had been. Writing to Mr.
Watt on 13th February, 1848, he says:--

"All our meetings are good compared to those we had at
Mabotsa, and some of them admit of no comparison whatever.
Ever since we moved, we have been incessantly engaged in
manual labor. We have endeavored, as far as possible, to
carry on systematic instruction at the same time, but have
felt it very hard pressure on our energies.... Our daily
labors are in the following sort of order:

"We get up as soon as we can, generally with the sun in
summer, then have family worship, breakfast, and school; and
as soon as these are over we begin the manual operations
needed, sowing, ploughing, smithy work, and every other sort
of work by turns as required. My better-half is employed all
the morning in culinary or other work; and feeling pretty
well tired by dinner-time, we take about two hours' rest
then; but more frequently, without the respite I try to
secure for myself, she goes off to hold infant-school, and
this, I am happy to say, is very popular with the youngsters.
She sometimes has eighty, but the average may be sixty. My
manual labors are continued till about five o'clock. I then
go into the town to give lessons and talk to any one who may
be disposed for it. As soon as the cows are milked we have a
meeting, and this is followed by a prayer-meeting in Secheles
house, which brings me home about half-past eight, and
generally tired enough, too fatigued to think of any mental
exertion. I do not enumerate these duties by way of telling
how much we do, but to let you know a cause of sorrow I have
that so little of my time is devoted to real missionary
work."

First there was a temporary house to be built, then a permanent one,
and Livingstone was not exempted from the casualties of mechanics. Once
he found himself dangling from a beam by his weak arm. Another time he
had a fall from the roof. A third time he cut himself severely with an
axe. Working on the roof in the sun,