THE LAST FRONTIER 



and polished wire around the neck; so he adorns 

 himself in qualities instead. It is quite an engaging 

 and diverting trait of character. The attitude of 

 mind it both presupposes and helps to bring about 

 is too complicated for my brief analysis. In itself 

 it is no more blameworthy than the small boy's 

 pretence at Indians in the back yard; and no more 

 praiseworthy than infantile decoration with feathers. 

 In its results, however, we are more concerned. 

 Probably each of us has his mental picture that 

 passes as a symbol rather than an idea of the different 

 continents. This is usually a single picture a 

 deep river, with forest, hanging snaky vines, ana- 

 condas and monkeys for the east coast of South 

 America, for example. It is built up in youth by 

 chance reading and chance pictures, and does as well 

 as a pink place on the map to stand for a part of the 

 world concerning which we know nothing at all. As 

 time goes on we extend, expand and modify this 

 picture in the light of what knowledge we may ac- 

 quire. So the reading of many books modifies and 

 expands our first crude notions of Equatorial Africa. 

 And the result is, if we read enough of the sort I 

 describe above, we build the idea of an exciting 

 dangerous, extra-human continent, visited by half- 

 real people of the texture of the historical-fiction 

 hero, who have strange and interesting adventures 



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