Beschreibung:

LIVINGSTONE, David (1813-1873). Unpublished autograph letter signed to John Kirk, Newstead Abbey, 23 February 1865 , thanking him for a letter about Tom (his son), asking about an African name, referring to (Carl) Peters, 'It is good that he gave you an instance of his own ignorance in the pronunciation and meaning of penu ', asking for news of Kirk's 'poison paper' and mentioning in a postscript that Sir Roderick (Murchison) has not replied, 'If you hear of anything let us know at once please as something may be done', written on a bifolium, 3½ pages, 8° (small split and traces of paste at centre fold), framed and glazed . An interesting letter showing some of Livingstone's preoccupations while working on the manuscript of the narrative of his second Zambesi expedition, on which John Kirk (1832-1922) had accompanied him as physician and botanist. Livingstone's host at Newstead Abbey was William Frederick Webb, an old friend from Kolobeng. He generously invited Livingstone and his children to stay there while he wrote his account. Webb himself was interested in the experimental breeding of fish, to which Livingstone refers. Sir Roderick Murchison, together with Kirk, had visited Newstead some weeks earlier and had written to invite Livingstone to undertake the search for the source of the White Nile. But Livingstone's letter of acceptance had been met with silence - perhaps due to Murchison's mistrust of his insistence on combining exploration with missionary work, and Murchison's backing for the expedition was not confirmed for some weeks. Livingstone's published letters to Kirk include other instances of his irritation at the German explorer, Dr. Carl Peters, and the deficiencies in his comprehension of the Tette dialect about which Livingstone and Kirk compared notes while working on their respective reports. The present letter also mentions Colonel (Thomas) Steele, the big-game hunter who had made Livingstone many gifts of valuable equipment for surveying.