CONTAINING RECOLLECTIONS OF THAT
GREAT AND MYSTERIOUS LAND, THE GRAVE
OF SO MANY BRAVE ENGLISHMEN, IS AFFECTIONATELY
DEDICATED




PREFACE


Everything of interest that has happened to me in life chances to have
been in connection with South Africa. In that land, where some of my
happiest days have been spent, I have also experienced long periods of
intense excitement and anxiety; there I have made acquaintance with all
the charm of the veldt, in the vast country north of the great Zambesi
River, hearing the roar of the lions at night, and following their
"spoor" by day; and last, but not least, I have there made some very
good friends. Only a few years ago, when peacefully spending a few weeks
at Assouan in Egypt, I was nearly drowned by the capsizing of a boat in
the Nile; again the spirit of the vast continent (on this occasion far
away to the north) seemed to watch over me. For all these reasons I
venture to claim the indulgence of the public and the kindness of my
friends, for these recollections of days in South Africa, in which shade
and sunshine have been strangely mingled, and which to me have never
been dull. To sum up, I have always found that life is what you make it,
and have often proved the truth of the saying, "Adventures to the
adventurous."

I am indebted to Colonel Vyvyan for statistics respecting the Mafeking