Courteous reader, here thou hast the outlines of an amazing landscape given
thee; thou wilt see that the principal parts of it are but faintly traced,
some of them scarcely visible at all, and that the shades are wholly
wanting. If thy soul partakes of the ardent flame which the persevering
Mungo Park's did, these outlines will be enough for thee; they will give
thee some idea of what a noble country this is; and if thou hast but
courage to set about giving the world a finished picture of it, neither
materials to work on nor colours to paint it in its true shades will be
wanting to thee. It may appear a difficult task at a distance, but look
close at it, and it is nothing at all; provided thou hast but a quiet mind,
little more is necessary, and the genius which presides over these wilds
will kindly help thee through the rest. She will allow thee to slay the
fawn and to cut down the mountain-cabbage for thy support, and to select
from every part of her domain whatever may be necessary for the work thou
art about; but having killed a pair of doves in order to enable thee to
give mankind a true and proper description of them, thou must not destroy a
third through wantonness or to show what a good marksman thou art: that
would only blot the picture thou art finishing, not colour it.
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