■chap, xii.] DISCOVERY OF THE ALBERT WYANZA. 
331 
road rather than return defeated. Was it possible that 
it was so near, and that to-morrow we could say, “ the 
work is accomplished ? ” 
The 14th March. The sun had not risen when I 
was spurring my ox after the guide, who having been 
promised a double handful of beads on arrival at the 
lake, had caught the enthusiasm of the moment. The 
day broke beautifully clear, and having crossed a deep 
valley between the hills, we toiled up the opposite 
slope. I hurried to the summit. The glory of our prize 
burst suddenly upon me ! There, like a sea of quick¬ 
silver, lay far beneath the grand expanse of water,—a 
boundless sea horizon on the south and south-west, 
glittering in the noon-day sun ; and on the west at 
fifty or sixty miles distance blue mountains rose from 
the bosom of the lake to a height of about 7,000 feet 
above its level. 
It is impossible to describe the triumph of that mo¬ 
ment;—here was the reward for all our labour—for the 
years of tenacity with which we had toiled through 
Africa. England had won the sources of the Nile ! 
Long before I reached this spot, I had arranged to give 
three cheers with all our men in English style in honour 
of the discovery, but now that I looked down upon 
the great inland sea lying nestled in the very heart of 
Africa, and thought how vainly mankind had sought 
these sources throughout so many ages, and reflected 
that I had been the humble instrument permitted to 
unravel this portion of the great mystery when so many 
greater than I had failed, I felt too serious to vent my 
feelings in vain cheers for victory, and I sincerely 
thanked God for having guided and supported us 
through all dangers to the good end. I was about 
1,500 feet above the lake, and I looked down from the 
steep granite cliff upon those welcome waters—upon 
that vast reservoir* which nourished Egypt and brought 
fertility where all was wilderness—upon that great 
source so long hidden from mankind; that source of 
bounty and of blessings to millions of human beings ; 
