Ralph Temple

“ A restless night passed in this way was succeeded by a day of laborious toil in making part of the circuit of the crater. Sometimes along narrow pathways, crossing unsightly seams by a natural bridge of only a foot in breadth, where a sudden stumble might have precipitated them into some horrible gulf of fire, or into some deep sunken cavern; sometimes along a tract like a wide, desolate sea-beach; sometimes by a lake of fire, so furiously boiling, and splashing, and casting up jets of liquid lava, that the travellers were compelled to fly for their lives ”

“ The native saw this, and yet strove to appear unconcerned, and with a forced laugh said, "You are playing: from daylight until now, you and I have walked; we have wasted our strength now in looking for water for the others. But a short time, and we shall be dead; and you say, search for men whom I cannot find; you tell me look, and I know not where to look." Grey now lost all patience with him, and replied, "Kaiber, deceive as you will, you cannot deceive me; follow back our tracks instantly to the point from whence we started; if you do not find them, as the sun falls you die." ”

“ The lands through which they sailed were remarkably beautiful and fertile; but their journey was not without its dangers; for they were often embarrassed by the sudden contractions and enlargements of the river, and often menaced by the natives, who wandered armed upon its banks. Such was the peculiar character of the navigation that they rose every morning with great doubts on their minds whether they were not thus early destined to witness the wreck and defeat of the expedition. The men generally placed themselves slowly and cautiously in the boat, so as to leave no part undefended. ”

“ In one of his letters, in reply to the charge that he had waged war against his native country, he says:—"I was indeed born in Britain, but I do not inherit the degenerate spirit of that fallen nation, which I at once lament and despise. It is far beneath me to reply to their hireling invectives. They are strangers to the inward approbation that greatly animates and rewards the man who draws his sword only in support of the dignity of freedom. America has been the country of my fond election from the age of thirteen, when I first saw it. ”

“ Morrison, a naturalist, one by one succumb to the unwholesome climate. Left now with only the servants which accompanied the expedition, the indomitable Clapperton pursued his way, and had the happiness to reach the spot at which his previous journey, commenced from the other side of the continent, had ended. Here, as if the work allotted to him in this world was ended, this brave man gave way under the effects of toil and privation. Nothing can convey a more touching testimony to the character of Clapperton than the narrative of his end, given by his faithful serf ant, Richard Lander. ”

“ The whale dived under again and disappeared, and the ship foundered in ten minutes from the first collision. But five souls out of the twenty were saved.
In another authentic instance, when a boat was chasing a whale, he suddenly turned to windward, and made directly for his pursuers, who were so excited by the chase as to be blind to danger. On, therefore, they madly rushed, without trying to avoid the infuriated monster, so eager were they to plunge their irons into him, till the boat struck with such force upon the whale's head as to throw the oarsmen from their thwarts. ”

“ A mile or two further, they descended two or three hundred feet on to a sunken plain, rent here and there by earthquakes, and strewn with great boulders of lava, sounding hollow and unsafe under the tramp of their horses, who began to show signs of a consciousness of danger. They then obtained for the first time an idea of the great Hawaiian volcano—not like other volcanoes, the top of a mountain with broad base and furrowed sides, but a hideous fire- eaten pit, variously estimated from nine to fifteen hundred feet deep, and from nine to fifteen miles in circumference. ”

“ Soon all was in readiness: the bells which usually tinkled on the dogs' necks were unhooked and packed in the sledges; an active looking man sprang forwards and set off at a round trot over the snow, and a single crack of the whip sent four sledges, each with a train of four or five dogs, after him, while two other men brought up the rear. For a time the muffled sound of the sledges was heard as they slid over the snow, while now and then the whine of a dog broke upon the ear, as the impatient drivers urged them along. ”

“ I asked if I could have any reindeer tongues, which are commonly dried for sale, and served up even at the tables of the great; but was answered in the negative. 'Have you no cheese made of reindeer's milk?' said I. 'Yes,' replied she, 'but it is a mile off.' 'If it were here, would you allow me to buy some?' 'I have no desire,' answered the good woman, 'that you should die in my country for want of food.'" On arriving at her hut Linnæus perceived three cheeses lying under a shed without walls, and took the smallest of them, which she after some consultation, allowed him to purchase. ”

“ Poverty is without half its mark, unless it be contrasted with wealth; and what we might have known to be true in the past days, we had forgotten to think of, till we were thus reminded of what we truly were, as well as seemed to be." Such was the condition of the party as they approached the "Isabella," following the whaler's boat, the officer of which jumped up the side and in a minute the rigging was manned; while Ross and his remnant of the crew of the "Victory," saluted with three cheers as they came within a cable's length. ”

“ The story of the life of James Holman, the blind traveller, is probably without a parallel in the history of enterprise. It might be supposed that total loss of sight would at least prove an insurmountable obstacle to adventure in uncivilized countries; but, seized with a passion for wandering almost amounting to a new sense, this extraordinary man not only determined on undertaking a journey alone, and chiefly overland, around the world, but actually accomplished a considerable portion of his project, only at length relinquishing it from causes over which he had no control. ”

“ Friendly advisers had assured him that it was easy to travel with heavy baggage in any part of Asia by simply joining a caravan of the merchants; but Jacquemont had too good a knowledge of the character of the petty princes of northern India to trust to this advice. "These princes," he says, "rob the merchants, but they rob with considerable discretion. They look upon them as the geese that lay golden eggs; yet they do not kill them, but only insist on their dropping some of their precious burden. But the mere traveller who passes never to return is stripped of his last rag." ”

“ Between Thayendanegea and Lord Edward a strong friendship had sprung up, and the Indian proved a faithful friend. They crossed the great Lake Ontario together, and passed through a number of Indian villages. Everywhere the wild tribes treated them with kindness and respect. With the Bear Tribe at Detroit they stayed some time, and Fitzgerald gives a glowing account of their happy lives, and the simplicity of their manners. So strong, indeed, was the attachment that sprang up between them that the Indians determined to adopt the stranger into their tribe, and make him one of their chiefs. ”

“ The men hired to guard the baggage absconded under cover of the darkness; wolves attacked their horses and cattle in the night; the country was infested by lawless bands of soldiers, which made it dangerous to travel after dusk; and in the day-time the heats were intolerable. At length they reached Astrabad. The tide of the Shah's fortune had now turned; the rebels were subdued, and Hanway was fortunate enough to obtain from the general, in goods and money, as directed by the Shah, nearly the whole of the original value of his caravan, with which he once more embarked on the Caspian. ”

“ At one moment pointing to the boat, at another shaking his clenched hand in the faces of the most forward, and stamping with passion on the sand; his voice, that was at first distinct and clear, was lost in hoarse murmurs. Two of the four natives remained on the left bank of the river, but the third followed his leader (who proved to be the remarkable savage he had previously noticed) to the scene of action. ”

“ Lander himself was in a fever and almost unable to stir, but he was assisted by an old black slave. Meanwhile his patient's sleep was always short and disturbed, and troubled with frightful dreams. Lander read to him daily from the New Testament, till, one day calling him to his bedside, Clapperton told him that he should shortly be no more, and that he felt himself dying. "God forbid, my dear master!" exclaimed Lander; but the dying man only answered by bidding him not be so much affected, as it was the will of the Almighty. ”

“ Along the valley lay a clear pure lake, in the centre of which played a number of fountains which threw their waters many feet above its surface, and sending their waves rippling away to the pebbly shores, made the mountains and groves that were reflected from its bosom, seem to leap and clap their hands for joy at the sacred quiet that reigned amongst them. ”

“ Seated on the floor was the corpse of an apparently young man, holding a steel in one hand and a flint in the other, as if in the act of striking fire upon some tinder which lay beside him. In the fore part of the vessel several sailors were found lying dead in their berths, and the body of a boy was seen crouched at the bottom of the gangway stairs. Neither provisions nor fuel could be discovered anywhere; but Captain Warrens was prevented, by the superstitious prejudices of his seamen, from examining the vessel as minutely as he wished to have done. ”

“ Pleased with his attendant, the king, when they had arrived at their destination, asked permission for Bruce to remain, to which the captain of the ship consented. Bruce rose rapidly in the favour of the Maori sovereign; and on his part seemed to have acquired a liking for the country, and for the manners and habits of its people.
It is well known that the Maories have at all times displayed so great an aptitude for civilized life as hardly to have been regarded by Europeans as savages, but the superiority of their white visitor, who was indeed a man of no ordinary talent, was speedily felt. ”

“ For some days they struggled on, skirting the shore, and at night landing for rest and shelter; when one morning all were filled with joy by hearing the look-out man announce a sail in the offing. Instantly the boats were launched, signals made by burning wet powder, and the crew embarking made for the direction of the welcome sail. It was a dead calm; but they made progress, and the calm was far more welcome than the slight breeze which sprang up as the morning advanced. ”

“ I was then, as now, convinced that many people travelling together for the purpose of exploring a barbarous country, have the less chance of succeeding; more especially when they go armed, and take with them presents of value. The appearance of numbers must naturally excite the natives to resistance, from motives of jealousy or fear; and the danger would be greatly increased by the hope of plunder. The death of the whole party, and consequently the failure of the expedition, will be the probable result of such a plan. ”

“ The shade of the cliffs over their heads, and the noise of the surfs breaking at their feet, were the directions by which their course was steered parallel to the coast.
Bass kept the sheet of the sail in his hand, drawing in a few inches occasionally, when he saw a particularly heavy sea following. His friend was steering with an oar, and it required the utmost exertion and care to prevent "broaching to" they knew that a single wrong movement, or a moment's inattention, would have sent them to the bottom. ”

“ The sledge in which he travelled side by side with the feld-jager was covered with a head like that of a cradle, with curtains in front to protect them from the weather, while the part which was extended over their feet formed a seat for the driver. On commencing their journey they gallopped with four horses abreast, and it appeared to be a great object with his companion to keep them up to that pace. In consequence on the first day of their journey one of the horses fell with fatigue, and was left for dead by the road-side, a prey to the wolves which swarmed in those inhospitable regions. ”