The Lake Regions of Central Africa, a Picture of Exploration (Classic Reprint)

Europe, in May, 1859. The impaired health, the depression of spirits, and, worse still, the annoyance of official correspondence, which to me have been the sole results of African exploration, may be admitted as valid reasons for the delay. In A pril, 1860, theE oyal Geographical Society of Great Britain honored me by publishing a detailed paper, forming the XXIX th volume of their journal, from which the topographical descriptions contained in the following pages have, with their kind permission, been extracted. I have now attempted to combine with geography and ethnology a narrative of occurrences and an exposition of the more popular and picturesque points of view which the subject offers. When I communicated to my friends the publishers certain intentions of writing exclusively a light work, they protested against the project, stating that the public appetite required the addition of stronger meat. In compliance, therefore, with their suggestion, I have drawn two portraits of the same object, and mingled the gay with the graver details of travel, so as to produce an antipathetic cento. Modern hinters to travelers direct the explorer and the missionary to eschew theory and opinion. We are told somewhat peremptorily that it is our duty to gather actualities, not inferences to see and not to think; in fact, to confine ourselves to transmitting the rough material collected by us, that it may be worked into shape by the professionally learned at home.
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)

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