CHAPTER XXX 



AN ECHO OF THE CALL 



" CURIOSITY, the inquisitive desire to come to close 

 quarters with what is out of sight, primarily 

 accounts for the passion for travel and exploration," 

 writes Mr. Sidney Lee. 



Deep in the heart of every man worthy the 

 name, there exists a longing which dates far back 

 into the dim red dawn of all created things. Some 

 there are who never suspect the existence of so 

 troublesome a possession. It dies stillborn, and 

 they fatten like stall-fed oxen during sleek years of 

 self-imposed indulgence. Others, and these are the 

 most to be pitied, feel it strong within them. 

 Bound, perforce in the fetters of a commercial age, 

 they must shut their ears, and throughout a lifetime 

 are unable to satisfy its craving. 



It is a longing which affects mankind in different 

 ways. It lies dormant, unsuspected, till on a 

 sudden it wakes at the glory of a brown-red moor 

 backed by purple hills ; a touch of winter in the 

 autumn woods ; the call of a wind in spring time ; 

 the lilt of an old song ; or the light in a woman's 

 eyes. Warfaring men, to whom comes no rest, 

 are driven forth by it to found empires or die 

 unknown deaths. 



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