In Wildest Africa ^ 



succession. But to-day for the t^rst time a member of 

 the complex society of civilisation takes delight in this 

 mountain rising amidst all this primeval beauty. 



Who could possibly set down this poetry upon paper— 

 the poetry of the velt and its wild inhabitants, the moods 

 of East African Nyika ? The master of colouring has not 

 yet arisen who could give us a picture of these mighty 

 gatherings of wild herds, and of these deserts that seem 

 overcrowded with animal forms, that yet live so peacefull) 

 together, nor can the master of the pen, though he may 

 have been able by his words to conjure up some idea of 

 them in the mind. 



One who has perhaps felt and enjoyed their spell more 

 than any one else is Alfred Brehm. But he has travelled 

 only in regions that had long been under the influence of 

 man and his activity. He has only once seen the king of 

 beasts, and has never looked upon the giraffe— whose 

 beautiful eyes the Arab compares with the eyes of his 

 beloved— and man)- other forms of the African fauna.^ 

 Nevertheless he has done wonders, thanks to his deep 

 feeling for his subject, his intimate understanding of it, 

 and his incomparably poetical jxjwer of description. He 

 has given us imperishable pictures in words that are amono- 



' So too, for example, Wissniann never killed a lion. This is sufficient 

 proof of the difficulty of observing animal life. The author may take this 

 opportunity of calling attention to the remarkable work of this departed 

 explorer, /,/ c/ci JVi/dmssen Afrlkcu, and thinks himself fortunate in the 

 possession of a letter from his hand approving of his method of ob- 

 servmg annnals. This letter expresses in words that go to the heart 

 the love for and understanding of the beauty of the African fauna that 

 characterised this successful and distinguished explorer. 



268 ^ 



