160 THE CAMEL. 



better, for the practice of full, clear, and accurate 

 description. In travelling in strange lands, 

 where all — nature, art, man — is new, the con- 

 tinual succession of novel objects is unfavorable 

 for obtaining distinct and above all permanent 

 impressions, and the most tenacious memory- 

 can hope to retain but a small proportion of the 

 images received. It is wonderful how the pe- 

 rusal of a good book of travels over the same 

 ground, or a glance at your journal, if reasona- 

 bly full, will refresh and revive the fading pic- 

 tures, which it has cost you so much time and 

 toil to obtain, and scarcely any sacrifice is too 

 great to secure an object so important. Let no 

 excuse of lassitude, no impatience of the incon- 

 veniences of writing on your knee in the open 

 air, with insects buzzing about your ears, and the 

 wind scattering your papers and sanding your 

 page before it is filled, deter you from conscien- 

 tiously setting down every thing that has struck 

 you during the day as worthy of being seen. 

 Trust nothing to the memory. Make no vague 

 entries, such as ' fine scenery after sunrise,' ^ re- 

 markable rock far off to the right,' ' singular ap- 

 pearance in the sky this morning,' and so forth, 

 foolishly imagining that you will remember the 

 details, and have the energy to write them out 

 to-morrow. Making a matter ' the order of the 

 day, for to-morrow, amounts, in congressional 



