It appears, however, that he had not quite abandoned the thought of China.

Mr.Moir, his former pastor, writes that being in London in May, 1839, he called at the Mission House to make inquiries about him.

He asked whether the Directors did not intend to send him to the East Indies, where the field was so large and the demand so urgent, but he was told that though they esteemed him highly, they did not think that his gifts fitted him for India, and that Africa would be a more suitable field.
On returning to London, Livingstone devoted himself with special ardor to medical and scientific study.

The church with which he was connected was that of the late Rev.Dr.Bennett, in Falcon Square.

This led to his becoming intimate with Dr.Bennett's son, now the well-known J.Risdon Bennett, M.D., LL.D., F.R.S., and President of the Royal College of Physicians, London.