2 INTRODUCTION. 



my fingers, I could not contemplate the delicate confor- 

 mation of its roots, leaves, and capsules, without admi- 

 ration! Can that Being who planted, watered, and 

 brought to perfection, in this obscure part of the world, 

 a thing which appears of so small importance, look with 

 unconcern upon the situation and sufferings of creatures 

 formed after his own image ? Surely not. Reflections 

 like these would not allow me to despair ; I started up, 

 and disregarding both hunger and fatigue, travelled for- 

 wards, assured that relief was at hand ; and I was not 

 disappointed*." And with the disposition to wonder 

 and adore, in like manner, can no branch of Natural 

 History be studied, without increasing that faith, love, 

 and hope, which we also, every one of us, need in our 

 own journey through the wilderness of life. 



There are some points in which the structure and 

 powers of the winged tribe demand more attention and 

 admiration than those of any other class, inasmuch as 

 the object to be obtained is a more extraordinary one, 

 and the difficulties to be overcome, such as the utmost 

 ingenuity of man has been found utterly unable to meet. 

 Let us suppose a person to have grown from infancy to 

 manhood without ever having heard of a bird. He sees 

 that the light snow-flake is unable to remain suspended 

 in the air; that the still lighter thistle-down, when no 

 longer supported by the breeze, has a tendency to fall 

 to the ground ; and yet he is told, that there are tenants 

 of the air, countless as those of earth and water ; that 

 some of considerable size and weight can journey on their 

 way above the clouds, with a facility and speed far exceed- 

 ing that of the swiftest footed animal. He may, indeed, 

 from observing that cork and light bodies, when plunged 

 in water, rise to the surface, conceive the possible exist- 

 ence of a lighter substance than air, capable, by the 

 same laws of nature, of rising above the earth. If a 

 philosopher, he may even discover the inflammable and 

 lighter gas by which a balloon ascends, with the weight 



* PARK'S Travels in Africa. 



