The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-03-02
Henry M. Stanley.

expected. But he has grown old in
thought and feelings, as well as in body,
with great rapidity, during his terrible
journey. When he came down to the
mouth of the great river which he has
so thoroughly explored he could scarce
ly stand alone, so weak was he from
constant privation and from anxiety.
There were thousands of wrinkles in his
face, which had grown so thin that he
was scarcely recognizable. In his pict-
uresque way he told me: "You could
have counted wrinkle for every second
of my life. My eyes were so heavy that
L could not keep them open long at
time; the eyelids persisted in dropping"
His hands were in terrible condition,
and still show marks of the tremendous
fatigue which he had undergone, and
of the lack of proper nourishment.
When he reached the coast he weighed
but 118 pounds. For fifteen days there
after he gained half a pound of flesh
daily with the most curious regularity.
He was compelled to be extremely care
full with regard to the use of food. The
first glass of wine which he took put
him to sleep, and anything like de-
cent meal seemed to him the acme of
gluttony. For three months he and his
followers had lived on nothing but
cakes prepared from the cassava root.
For eighteen months they had been
from day to day uncertain as to food on
the morrow. Often obliged to fight for
it, they were wont to make it the study
of the day, and to be profoundly thank
full when they received it.
Mr.. Stanley's hair has become quite
gray from the extreme fatigues to which
he had been subjected, and his step is
slow and heavy, like that of a man ac-
customed to carry a great load. But
not one jot or title of his immense en-
thusiasm is in any sense abated. He is
just as vivaciouS in conversation, as
earnest in action and absorbed in his
work as he was at the end of his first
Journey. / observe with a certain sense
of regret that he mentioned in his Mar
settles address, delivered before the Ge-
ographical Society there, the possibility
of a future return to Africa. The vast,
unknown continent has fascinated him;
its wonders, which he has unveiled at
the expense of such deadly peril, seem
to tempt him to come once more among,
them. In conversation, however, he
has not expressed any opinion as to a
third journey. To him, for the present,
everything in Europe is new and strange,
and he is getting acquainted with civil
ization once more by slow degrees. For
three years previous to his arrival in
Europe the other day he had not re-
ceived line of handwriting from any
person, either in Europe or America.
blank to him. Sometimes, when strug-
Cling in the forests or wandering along
the banks of the great stream which
will be forever associated with his MEM
Dry, the image of the great world which
he had left behind him came up with
startling vividness, and was so enchant-
ing that he was compelled resolutely to
put it away. Mr.. Stanley had made up
his mind to accomplish all that the eX-
petition had been planned for, or never
to return alive. He said yesterday
"When [ started up through the i'm
mense empire against which Gordon
Pasha was at that very time making
war, | found the most frightful obsta-
cles in my path. The whole region was
in state of extreme lawlessness; armed
bands were wandering in every direc-
ton in search of plumber, and murdered
whoever they captured. But my way
lay right through that country to even
greater dangers beyond. | had only
280 men with me, and my first need was
allies. got 1000 men as helpers, and
we walked straight across the danger
Gus ground. | arranged it so that |
could not be surprised or ambushed. l
knew every foot of the ground ahead by
means of scouting expeditions before l
moved step on days march. | had
| $50 scouts on either side of the way,
ahead, a rear guard and then the main
column, and so we Travelled for weeks
and weeks, never certain of living
through the day, but determined not to
be surprised and cut off | lost only
five men out of my 1000 allies in that
march, and those live were mysterious
ly cut down when they were on picket
duty. 1t often seemed to me as if the
expedition must certainly be protected
by the hand of Providence, for we were
frequently in positions where it seemed
as if no human effort could prevent our
destruction
Stanley says that King Mtesa, of
whom we have read so much in his cor
respondence, at one time offered him
| $4,000 allies. He told him that he had
not come to fight tribes, unless they at
tackled him. His mission was one of
peace and goodwill, intended to do
good to every tribe through whose coun-
try he passed; but he should not hest
tate to defend himself and to punish
any people who beset him by the way.
This simple statement was doubtless
spread abroad among numerous peo-
pies, and may have done something to
smooth the explorers difficult and
tedious pathway.
l have spoken of Stanley's enthusi-
asm, and it seems to me that this
splendid quality is the one above all
others which has given him his COM
plete success. 1t is like fine breeze,
all the time freshening and stimulating
his soul. He had his moments of pro-
found Encouragement, perhaps, but |
doubt if they were many. The goal
was always the thought uppermost in
his mind. 81 had taken thousands of
pounds from two great Journals" he