Before we come to the last adieus, it is well to glance at the remarkable effect of Dr. Livingstone's short visit, in connection with his previous labors, on the public opinion of the country in regard to Africa. In the first place, as we have already remarked, there was quite a revolution of ideas as to the interior of the country. It astonished men to find that, instead of a vast sandy desert, it was so rich and productive a land, and merchants came to see that if only a safe and wholesome traffic could be introduced, the result would be hardly less beneficial to them than to the people of Africa. In the second place, a new idea was given of the African people. Caffre wars and other mismanaged enterprises had brought out the wildest aspects of the native character, and had led to the impression that the blacks were just as brutish and ferocious as the tigers and crocodiles among which they lived. But Livingstone showed, as Moffat had showed before him, that, rightly dealt with, they were teachable and companionable, full of respect for the white man, affectionate toward him when he treated them well, and eager to have him dwelling among them. On the slave-trade of the interior he had thrown a ghastly light, although it was reserved to him in his future journeys to make a full exposure of the devil's work in that infamous traffic. He had thrown light, too, on the structure of Africa, shown where healthy localities were to be found, copiously illustrated its fauna and flora, discovered great rivers and lakes, and laid them down on its map with the greatest accuracy; and he had shown how its most virulent disease might be reduced to the category of an ordinary cold. In conjunction with other great African travelers, he had contributed not a little to the great increase of popularity which had been acquired by the Geographical Society. He had shown abundance of openings for Christian missions from Kuruman to the Zambesi, and from Loanda to Quilimane. He had excited no little compassion for the negro, by vivid pictures of his dark and repulsive life, with so much misery in it and so little joy. In the cause of missions he did not appeal in vain. At the English Universities, young men of ability and promise got new light on the purposes of life, and wondered that they had not thought sooner of offering themselves for such noble work. In Scotland, men like James Stewart, now of Lovedale, were set thinking whether they should not give themselves to Africa, and older men, like Mr. R.A. Macfie and the late Mr. James Cunningham, of Edinburgh, were pondering in what manner the work could be begun. The London Missionary Society, catching up Livingstone's watchword "Onward," were planning a mission at Linyanti, on the banks of the Zambesi. Mr. Moffat was about to pay a visit to the great Mosilikatse, with a view to the commencement of a mission to the Matebele. As for Livingstone himself, his heart was yearning after his friends the Makololo. He had been quite willing to go and be their missionary, but in the meantime other duty called him. Not being aware of any purpose to plant a mission among them, he made an arrangement with his brother-in-law, Mr. John Moffat, to become their missionary. Out of his private resources he promised him £500, for outfit, etc., and £150 a year for five years as salary, besides other sums, amounting in all to £1400. Nearly three years of his own salary as Consul (£500) were thus pledged and paid. In one word, Africa, which had long been a symbol of all that is dry and uninviting, suddenly became the most interesting part of the globe.
As the time of Dr. Livingstone's departure for Africa drew near, a strong desire arose among many of his friends, chiefly the geographers, to take leave of him in a way that should emphatically mark the strength of their admiration and the cordiality of their good wishes. It was accordingly resolved that he should be invited to a public dinner on the 13th February, 1858, and that Sir Roderick Murchison should occupy the chair. On the morning of that day he had the honor of an interview with Her Majesty the Queen. A Scottish correspondent of an American journal, whose letter at other points shows that he had good information[57], after referring to the fact that Livingstone was not presented in the usual way, says: