Religion & morality > David Livingstone

Amid the Great Waters,
63
“ With the stars he holds communion,
Talks with spirits just and good,
He is king of all the waters,
See ! he rides upon the flood !
All the river-horses fear him,
Alligators from him fly,
Water-snakes will not come near him :
Would you know the reason why ?
“ lie has medicine to charm them,
Medicines of wondrous power,
Not a living thing can harm him ;
Happy is the day and hour
That has brought him o’er the river,
With the words of love and peace.
May he dwell with us for ever,
Make our wars and troubles cease.”
Tt was the time of the annual overflow of the river,
which had lasted longer, and been more extensive
titan usual. The mid-channel of the Chobe could
only be detected by the open spaces left between the
rushes and tall papyrus plants, which were closely
bound together by creeping convolvoli; between
these, here and there, were lanes and openings which
led into what seemed a broad lake, but which, in the
dry season, was marshy land. Finding it impossible
to bring his waggons on through this watery wilder¬
ness, Livingstone, many of whose men had been struck
down with fever, and his oxen bitten by the tsetse,
and his_Bushmen guides had left him for their drier
and more congenial homes, embarked with one of the
strongest of his weak companions, with the hope of
striking upon the main channel of the river, and