TRANSLATOR'S NOTE ix

The husband of one wife only, the Tuareg warrior looks up to that wife with something of the chivalrous

devotion of the knights of the Middle Ages, presenting in

this respect a very marked contrast to his Mahommedan

neighbours, of whom, by the way, the Frenchman has the

lowest possible opinion ; charging them with a total dis-

regard of morality, beneath the cloak of an assumed religious

zeal. On the so-called marabouts he is especially severe, giving many instances of the evil influence they exercise

over the simple-minded natives.

It would be unfair to the author to spoil the interest of

his narrative by any further revelations of its contents ;

suffice it to add, that in spite of his all too-evident bias against the English, he is unable to deny that he was

kindly treated by the individual members of the Royal

Niger Company, with whom he came in contact. His

only wish, he naively remarks, is that some of the warm-

hearted men who welcomed him back to civilization had

belonged to his own nationality. There is something truly

pathetic in the plea with which the courageous young

explorer winds up his record of his year of arduous work,

and yet more arduous waiting, hoping against hope for

the instructions from home which never came. He knows,

he says, that all the countries suitable for colonization —

Australia was the last of them — are already occupied by

" our rivals," but there is still room, he thinks, for French

"colonies of exploration," where talented young men, unable to find a career in their native country, may

usefully employ their energies in turning the natural

wealth of French acquisitions to account. That is all he

hopes for ; but he cannot help adding a few touching