2 
INTRODUCTION. 
traveller, Mungo Park, was at one period of his 
perilous course, fainting in the vast wilderness of 
an African desert, naked and alone, considering his 
days as numbered, and nothing appearing to remain 
for him but to lie down and die, a small moss flower 
of extraordinary beauty caught his eye. “ Though 
the whole plant/' says he, “ was not larger than one 
of my fingers, I could not contemplate the delicate 
conformation of its roots, leaves, and capsules, with- 
out admiration ! Can that Being, who planted, 
watered, and brought to perfection, in this obscure 
part of the world, a thing which appears of so small 
importance, look with unconcern upon the situation 
and sufferings of creatures formed after his own 
image ? Surely not. Reflections like these would not 
allow me to despair ; I started up, and disregarding 
both hunger and fatigue, travelled forwards, assured 
that relief was at hand; and I was not disap- 
pointed V And with the disposition to wonder and 
adore, in like manner, can no branch of Natural 
History be studied, without increasing that faith, 
love, and hope, which we also, every one of us, need, 
in our own journey through the wilderness of life. 
There are some points in which the structure and 
powers of the winged tribe demand more attention 
and admiration than those of any other class, inas- 
much as the object to be attained is a more extra- 
ordinary one, and the difficulties to be overcome, 
such as the utmost ingenuity of man has been found 
utterly unable to meet. Let us suppose a person to 
have grown from infancy to manhood, without ever 
having heard of a bird. He sees that the light 
* Park’s Travels in Africa. 
