VI 
IM’KOIH'CTTON. 
insects that flutter up and down over the blossoms in those windless dells; and have paused amid (lie solemn stillness 
Of a New Zealand forest to listen in vain for some sound of life. I have tracked Australian wildernesses, and regions 
lair to look upon, fresh from the hand of Nature, where white man’s foot had never trod before. Craters, and caverns, 
and catacombs, I have explored; climbed many a rugged mountain, and crossed many a nameless river. From the high 
peaks of St. Helena, and the volcanic slopes of Ascension, I have watched the golden sun go down in a blaze of glory; 
and gazed upon the dark ships as they speeded homewards with their precious freight, till they looked as specks on the 
Atlantic, lliiu, too, hau* 1 lingered by the willow-bordered grave of the great Napoleon, and marked the end 
human ambition. 1 can tell \ou o( the cold, grey wastes of ocean, that in melancholy tumult are eternally howling 
round 1 lie ice-bound regions of the Antarctic; where the storm-wind drifts its burden of snow, as a white mantle, over the 
1 ^ i ices of Cape Ilom, and the ban owing shriek ot the albatross is alone heard over the moaning of the waters: and 
0< thc tempt ** t ' dr,ven ,nll<ms ’ that l asl b »n their giant magnificence, Africa's “Cape of Storms:” there 1 have been amidst 
stcues of ahipwitek, of dangci, and ol death. Each spot, each varied region, possesses an interest of its own,— an 
individual charm or terror altogether separate from the rest: thus it is with Africa. Had 1 wandered the whole world 
over besides, I should have known lmt little more of the “ impressions” a personal acquaintance with that region stamps 
upon the mind, than if I had never strayed from the home of my fathers. 
Africa is vast and grand; every feature of its savage scenery is based on a scale of magnificence. To me it. has 
always been a country of peculiar interest; and I have in some slight degree been enabled to gratify my early desire of 
visiting its shores, and looking upon its mountains, rough and steep, 
“ Heaving to the clear blue sky 
Their ribs of granite, bare ami dry.” 
My readers may think me an enthusiast, but that enthusiasm arises from an ardent admiration of whatever is beautiful 
Ihioughout nature, combined with a love ot novelty that leads me to seek “ fresh fields and pastures new.” There 
is a charm, a freedom about such a life, which those who live and the surrounded by all the artificial refinements of an 
over-civilised country can never know. My readers may set me down as a savage, when I remark, that I have had more 
real enjoyment ot existence, more of nature, and less of care, during the many months 1 have passed amongst Kafirs and 
Xo\ Zcalandeis, Ilian 1 ever had amid the anxieties and conventionalities of more refined life:_ 
“ Then, couched a night in hunter’s wattled shieling, 
How wildly beautiful it was k> hear 
The elephant his shrill reveille pealing. 
Like some far signal-trumpet on the ear! 
\\ bile tlic broad midnight moon was shining clear, 
How fearful to look forth upon tin! woods, 
\nd see those stately forest-kings appear. 
Emerging from their shadowy solitudes, 
Ah if that trump had woke Earth’s old gigantic broods!" 
But. I must conclude. In the ensuing pages I have endeavoured to give, in as concise a form as possible, some 
remarks on the history, character, and customs of the various African tribes that have afforded material for my pencil; 
and I sincerely trust that, by the united aid of the descriptions and illustrations, my indulgent readers who do not feel 
inclined themselves to penetrate the wilds of Kafirland, may be enabled to form a more correct knowledge of its singuh 
inhabitants than they have hitherto possessed. 
ar 
G. F A 
