Livingstone was the first European to feast his eyes on the great Victoria Falls: “Five columns of smoke [i.e., mist] arose.… The whole scene was extremely beautiful; the banks and islands dotted over the river are adorned with sylvan vegetation of great variety and form … scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight.” During his first visit back to the British Isles (1856–1858), Livingstone became a national hero. He was awarded a gold medal from the Royal Geographical Society,