The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-04-20

out also IN the quhllty OF the WORKS.
Livingstone and His Labors.
| The highest honors that can be achieved by
an Englishman were paid on Saturday to the
memory Of DR.. Livingstone. Surrounded by
many of the famous men in England, his body
was received by the authorities Of Westmin-
ster and committed to the dust under the walls
of the venerable Abbey. The Queen and the
Prince of Wales sent tokens of sympathy, and
the English nation accepted the charge of his
funeral. So he sleeps at last in what
has been called the great temple OF peace and
reconciliation. Many illustrious men lie be-
side him, but no one Of this generation, at
serving fame. 1t was Nelson who resolved to
come out of battle peer or be carried out
. Of it to Westminster Abbey. These were the
ultimate honors to that heroic soul. This
ultimate honor has been won by Livingstone
by achievements no less renowned and no less
deserving the affectionate remembrance of
mankind than the victories of Copenhagen
and the Nile.
This is not the time to sum up the results
Of the life of Livingstone. We do not have
the final results of his discoveries, and some
time must elapse before we have the informa-
ton upon which the judgment of geographers
and men of science will be based. In the
meantime the quaint letter addressed to Mr..
Stanley, our correspondent. and which we
print this morning, will have a melan-
choly interest. It has the earnest playful
ness of character, the truthfulness and
affectionate sincerity, which seem to have
marked this remarkable man. This easy
freedom of confidential intercourse gives the
letter value which formal report of dis
coveries and achievements would not possess.
1t seems clear from the hints given by the
Doctor that his discoveries will destroy the
legends Of Portuguese geography, dissolve
mountains and lakes which have lived for GEN.
turtles on maps of Africa, and seem to have
been as baseless as the fabrics of vision. II
have been the unfortunate MEANS" says the
Doctor, ''of demolishing two empires in Portu-
guase geography" and it would not surprise
Us to learn that the modern inventions which
are called maps must give place to the chron-
, icles Of the ancient travellers, who have long
since been despised as fable writers. 1t would
be an odd and striking comment upon our civil
ization to learn that the more we discover the
more closely We approach the attainments of
men who lived more than two thousand years
ago that il has taken twenty-three centuries Of
adventure TO confirm the narratives of Herod-
otus. How far the results Of Livingstone
labors viii change the map Of Africa remains
10 be seen. II seems likely that he has
solved the problem Of the Nile. That in
itself would be q monument of enduring
fame. But he has also given Africa new
life. 1t Is no longer the forbidding, deadly
land of miasma, fever and cannibalism. We
see something more attractive than the useless
gorillas of NJ du Chaillu. Africa is home
for men of courage and enterprise. rich,
ripe, necessary Continent with every
thing to tempt the founders Of
an empire. There are nationalities
who have already attained rude but in
teresting and progressive civilization, and
there is no reason why this Continent should
not be made the seat of enlightenment and
peace, like our own Continent of America,
which was unknown and abandoned to the
savage Indian four centuries ago.
This seems to be the browning result of the
labors Of Livingstone. He has achieved more
than was ever achieved by a discoverer. He
has opened q new continent SO that while the
tired, lonely, devoted old man is carried to
rest we feel that his work is not done. We
have seen only its beginning. Civilization
4 ali Av thn
and seeks the paths laid down by
the genius of Livingstone. In the
South the British hold dominion. On the
West Coast the powerful and barbarous Ash
antee kingdom has been overturned by q
British army, and we presume that this coast
win pass under the judicious rule Of England.
In Liberia we have an interesting experiment
in self-government, while the Khedive of
Egypt seems resolved to restore the splen-
dor of the Pharaohs, and to extend
the dominions of his kingdom into
realms which never obeyed Pharaoh. The
French have made Algeria prosperous colony,
and the Spanish may at any time renew their
questionable strife with Morocco. All the
signs show that Africa is assailed by the in
fuences of civilization; that to them
she must surrender and become q USE
full, wholesome and prosperous home
for many millions now crowded into
Europe and Asia. II we regard this as GER
tainly we do regard ii, Ms one Of the noblest
works Of our time, so we must honor above
all men, N the pioneer in the work, the guide
who has gone before to point the way. the de-
voice who loved his duty well enough to die
for il. the self-denying. earnest gentleman
who now sleeps under the gray and honored
walls of Westminster
RKrAvuo THE HrGHwAYS-A reform in