. The lake regions of central Africa. A record of modern discovery . t in the heart of Africa;and as they clasped hands, the hoary secret of theNile was unriddled! All of them hail numberlessdifficulties before as well as behind them; but theirhearts were undismayed, and swelled only withpride at what had been accomplished for science andfor their native land. The travellers from Zanzibarbore the marks of their long journey—battered andtorn, but sound and seaworthy. Speke, Bakertells us, appeared tin- more worn of the two; hewas excessively lean, but in reality in good toughcondition. He bad w
. The lake regions of central Africa. A record of modern discovery . t in the heart of Africa;and as they clasped hands, the hoary secret of theNile was unriddled! All of them hail numberlessdifficulties before as well as behind them; but theirhearts were undismayed, and swelled only withpride at what had been accomplished for science andfor their native land. The travellers from Zanzibarbore the marks of their long journey—battered andtorn, but sound and seaworthy. Speke, Bakertells us, appeared tin- more worn of the two; hewas excessively lean, but in reality in good toughcondition. He bad walked the whole way fromZanzibar, never having once ridden during thewearying march. Grant was in honourable rags,his bare knees projecting through the remnants oftrousers thai were an exhibition of rough industryin tailor-work. He was looking tiled and feverish,but both men bad a fire in the eve that showed thespirit thai had led them through. The firsi greet-ings over, bakers earliest question was, Was thereno leaf of the laurel reserved for him? Yes; thei •. THE EXPLORERS DIFFICULTIES. 47 was. Below the Karuma Falls, Speke and Granthad been informed, the stream from the VictoriaNyanza fell into, and almost immediately emergedagain from, another lake, the Luta Nzige, whichmust therefore be the ultimate reservoir of the Nilewaters. No European had ever seen this basin, oreven heard of it before; and Baker determined thatthis should be his share of the prize. A new class of obstacles and risks, however, meetus when we undertake, as we must do here, a landjourney in intertropical Africa. There is no longer,as in the desert, the peril of death from thirst orstarvation; for the country abounds in game, andour course does not throughout lie through intermin-able swamp, as in the river navigation. But from thevery beginning we are beset with hindrances and an-noyances small and great. An army of porters mustbe got together,—Stanley numbered his by the thou-sand,—drilled, and
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