G 



MOTIVES FOR EXPLORING AFRICA. 



our march to the Tanganyika Lake was a paper 

 (De Azania African littore Orientali, Commen- 

 tatio Physiologica, Bonviae, Eormis Caroli Gen- 

 gii, mdccclii.) kindly sent to me by the author, 

 Mr George F. de Bunsen. It quoted that same 

 passage which was a frequent solace to me 

 during our 18 months' wanderings, and I still 

 preserve the pamphlet as a memory. 

 Nor had I forgotten Camoens : — 



' And there behold the lakes wherein the Nile 

 is born, a truth the ancients never knew ; 

 see how he bathes, 'gendering the crocodile, 

 th' Abassian land, where man to Christ is true . 

 behold, how lacking ramparts (novel style !) 

 he fights heroic battle with the foe. 

 see Meroe, island erst of ancient fame, 

 Noba amongst the peoples now its name.' 1 



Lusiad, Canto x. 95. 



1 When the Portuguese counselled the Abyssinians to wall 

 their settlements against the Gallas, the former replied like 

 Spartans, ' No ; we keep stones to build churches and temples, 

 but we defend our country with our arms and hands ! ' The 

 Coptic ' Nob ' signifies gold (Eitter Erdkunde, French transla- 

 tion, 142), the Camoensian 'Noba' is therefore more correct 

 than our modern Nubia, which we find in the monk Burchard 

 (a.d. 1250), '^Ethiopia qua? hodie Nubia dicitur.' De Barros 

 (1. iii. xii.) prefers ' a gente dos Nobis.' I have been tempted 

 to add a stanza which is not translated from Camoens. 



95 0) 



And see the twain from Albion's chalky shore 

 go forth th' Egyptian mystic veil to rend : 

 the farthest font of Nilus they explore, 



