The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-04-25

The remarkable letter of DIR. Livingstone
to the editor of the HERALD, which reached
us through the English Foreign Office, shows
the man in his real character, and is another
proof, if proofs were needed, of his devotion
to what he regarded as his life work. The
horror of the slave trade in Central Africa is
the subject of this letter, as it was the theme
which mostly occupied his thoughts. The
singular freshness of his style, the force of
his reasoning and the simplicity Of his illus
trations cannot fail to excite admiration,
while the keenness with which he
refers to men and things and events
in England and America serves to show how
he continued to think Of home and progress at
home, though he felt compelled to serve hu-
mainly In far distant land. DR.. Livingstone
was much more of philanthropist than
traveller and geographer, but in pursuing his
work of humanity he did not overlook or for
get his duty to science and discovery. He
was simple man, who did the work he found
to do with all his might, and the account he
has given of that work in his letter to the
HERALD will go far to make both the man and
his work better understood.
DR.. Livingstone, though weak of body, as
he evidently must have been was chirrupy in
mind when he penned this letter. The zest
with which he tells the story of the poor
Englishman who learned African speculation
from books of travel and found his snuff
boxes with the looking glasses in them drug
in the market of the ignorant heather is a
proof of his lightness of spirit. But then,
again, the reproofs he administers to the
English missionary clergy who settled down
at Zanzibar instead Of pursuing their
work where it could best be pursued,
show the earnestness which was the chief
trait in his character. It is graceful tribute
DR.. Livingstone pays to the industry and in
telligence of the African women, and in his
eyes they were evidently much less heather
than the Colonel Aboo who went about the
world in the character of ga prosecuted Chris
tian," but who in reality chad no more
Christianity in him than door nail"
But we need scarcely recount any part
of DR.. Livingstone's letter. No reader
of the HERALD would neglect to follow
him in his account of the occupations of an
African day. Never before has the inner life
of the people of Central Africa been described
by one who knew it so well and in these few
lines has recorded the gathered wisdom of a
long experience. And then the life of
the Arabs and the harems of the slave
traders also come in for their share
Of description, and thus we only begin
to understand why the slave trade
of Central Africa was so terrible in the eyes of
DR.. Livingstone and of civilization. And just
here we notice a remarkable idiosyncrasy Of
this strong, earnest man, at which we are
first disposed to smile, but the logic Of which
we at last are forced to concede. Like the half
caste Arab prince who advanced the opinion
that all women are utterly and irretrievably bad,
DR.. Livingstone almost thought oil men were
slaveowners at heart. Even the sympathy in
England for the Southern cause he at
tributed to the liking to become slaveowners
But we leave the letter to our readers, who
will find every line Of it an interesting revela-
ton worthy of perusal and productive of a
wider charity than the modern world has
known.
WALL STREET AND THE VETo.-Olr great
rendezvous of speculative spirits is swayed
one way or another by so many varying
currents that it is seldom thoroughly
safe guide as to the movement of any single
current of the number; and what is true of
the street generally is more particularly true of
that portion of its activity which is exercised
81 he a. SC
in great degree, at the mercy of one operator,
its changes indicate rather his whims and
fancies and projects than the legitimate effect
Of events. On Thursday stocks went down
somewhat more rapidly than they have gone
lately, and this was attributed to the Presi-
degree to apprehensions drawn from that
document. The veto was shock, andstartled
the street and people who did not very
keenly perceive all the results likely to flow
from the defeat of imitation apprehended
more than they felt Inflated prices must of
q measure that tends directly to increase the
purchasing power OF our paper money and,
as holders realized that prices must go down,
there was disposition to anticipate the
unpleasant consequence, and this precipitated
the fall. Yesterday the market recovered
higher than those indicated the day BEFORE
all of which seems o proper and desirable
consequence Of the veto. The property which
Wall street nominally buys and sells every
day is not worth any less because Of the veto,
but the figures that presumably represented
its value will be changed.
The APPROACHING VISIT OF THE GEAR TO
LONDON 1t is now said that Prince Gortscha-
Loft General Schnuvalnff the GRIND Dukes