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Evening Star, Issue 3048, 25 November 1872, Page 4

Dr Livingstone’s Choice of a Grave.—A correspondent of the Glasgow Herald writes .-—Here is an anecdote related by Mr Stanley, which seems to me characteristic of our great traveller ; but of this I shall give, not Mr Stanley’s own words, but the substance of what he said. Your readers will judge for themselves One day, during the long excursions which Livingstone and Stanley made together, the party had ridden for hours through a dense brake, in which the stalks of grass rose above their heads. Suddenly they came to an open space, in the centre of which was a tree, and over which green herbage grew. The spot was at once refreshing to the eye and soothing to the mind. Gazing on the scene for a few minutes, Dr Livingstone then turned to his companion and said—“There’s where 1 should like to lie,” The youthful and vigorous American replied— “ Doctor, you must not think of dying, but of living and finishing your discoveries.” 'ihe elderly traveller still went on in the same strain, saying that he always thought of the grave as a still and peaceful place—the end of life’s vain tumults—and that this spot en-

tirely realised his anticipations. Probably it recalled the spot on the Zambesi where he buried his wdfe. Mr Stanley still refused to take the same sombre view of the matter, and he said—“ But, Doctor, you must not think of dying in Africa—certainly not to be buried there. Yout must ba in St. Paul’s, or Westminister Abbey : that is the place for you,” This appeal had not the effect of dispelling Dr Livingstone’s melancholy mood. I think Mr Stanley is even now unable to understand why the great traveller should be as contented to lay his bones in a quiet resting place in Africa as to have them laid in either of our national mausoleums. It seems to me that the story- simple though it be—is eminently characteristic of the two men, and therefore I make it public.

The Education of Women in Tasmania.—Tasmania has just had her annual educational field-day, and it was of unusual interest, because for the first time the female ses was admitted to the competition, and seven of the girls earned the degree of Associate of Arts. Bishop Bromby was particularly eloquent on the subject. The Bishop, quoted with approval Charles Kings ley’s dictum that if “it were necessary that only one of two parents should be sensible and well educated, it would be most for the public good that that parent should be the mother.” There is undoubtedly much to be said on the Bishop’s side, George Herbert declared tljat pne good mother was worth a hundred schoolmasters, Napoleon the Great, who had the shrewdest mind of the day, averred, when Franco was at the height of her glory, that her great want was mothers. Not only is it that the influence of home life under a well-educated woman leaves an indelible impression op the tender mind of the child, but the something we call genius—tact, quickness, noun —is traced as a rule from the parent, Who ran to help us when we fell, And kissed the place to make it well. Even Pitt, it is said by his historian, owed more to the clever mother than his stately father, the great Chatham. In the Siddons family dramatic genius y r as received and transmitted by the female side. It was his mother of whom the elder Matthews learned elocution. But all this is by-play. The question is—When will our Melbourne University admit our Melbourne girl graduates to their degrees? -Dally Telegraph.