/88 NEW LIFE IMPARTED. 



baffled nations renewed their efforts. Footholds were gained 

 here and there. But the little settlements were like candles 

 which men sometimes, standing in their doors, hold against the 

 night. The rays did not reach far, they could not affect Africa 

 materially or answer the questions that were asked about it. 

 The hearts of men needed encouragement. The recent suc- 

 cesses of explorers have been hailed with as much joy as won- 

 der. A new life has been imparted to commercial, scientific, 

 philanthropic and Christian enterprises ; the representatives 

 of these various interests have been grand, if involuntary allies, 

 marshalled by a superior providence in the work accomplished, 

 and the future assigns them each a task which promises rich 

 rewards. Livingstone from the south and east, Baker and 

 Schweinfurth from the north, and Du Chaillu from the west, 

 have at last succeeded in letting the light in upon the heart of 

 the continent; and revelations have been made which intensify 

 popular interest in all that pertains to it. 



It is difficult to determine the commercial importance of 

 countries so thoroughly undeveloped and occupied by people in 

 the rudest barbarism. The utilization of the latent forces of 

 the continent must inevitably be the work of generations, and 

 it must be attended with greater difficulty, because its climate, 

 its inhabitants, and its history are alike repulsive to those races 

 which seem to have been commissioned especially as leaders in 

 all the industries and arts of civilization. But the world can- 

 not afford to throw away millions of square miles of fertile soil 

 and vast stores of mineral wealth. The interests of men will 

 patronize Africa, its own treasures will prevent its neglect. 

 The difficulty of access to the interior will greatly retard the 

 measures for improvement, but the importance of the inland 

 country may soon be felt to justify such expenditures as may 

 remove these difficulties, and bring all parts of the continent 

 within easy access from the sea. 



The time was when the work for Africa seemed a strictly 

 benevolent one; but the time has come when even the most 

 powerful nations recognize its importance. As the mind wan- 

 ders over this vast continent, which comes out gradually before 

 it in tracing the steps of explorers, the old impressions about 

 hopeless desolation vanish. The scorching sands of Sahara 



