第95章

TherewasonlyonesteppracticableiftheimprovementofAfricaweretobeattempted。Egyptwastheonlycountrythatcouldformagovernmentbytheextensionofherfrontiertotheequator。Thiswouldinsurethesafetyoffuturetravellerswherehithertothelifeofanindividualhadnoguarantee。

Thisannexationisnoweffected，andourrelationswiththeKhediveassureusthattheheartofAfricawillbethrownopentothecivilizinginfluenceoftheNorth。

WhentherailwayshallbecompletedfromCairotoKhartoum，therewillbedirectcommunicationbyrailandriver。Countriesthatareeminentlyadaptedforthecultivationofcotton，coffee，sugar，andothertropicalproductionswillbebroughtwithintheinfluenceofthecommercialworld，andthenatives，nolongerkidnappedandtornfromtheirhomes，willfeelthebenefitsofindustry，astheynowfeeltheblessingsofprotection。

Itiswellknownthatthegreatestdifficultieslieinthefirstfootstepsofagreatenterprise；butthosedifficultiesareovercome，andpatienceandperseverancewillatlengthperfectthegoodwork。TheimpressionofcivilizationmustbegraduallyandslowlyengraveduponCentralAfrica，andthosewhoworkinthisapparentlyhopelessundertakingmustnotbeappalledbythedifficultiesofthetask。

InthesharethatIhavetakenduringnineyearspassedinAfrica，I

havesimplyrepresentedoneofthoseatomsofwhichGreatBritainiscomposed。IdeeplyregretthatpersonallyIhavenothadthehonourofservingmyQueen，butItrustthatindirectlyIhaveworkedoutthatprinciple，whichEnglandwasthefirsttoinitiate，expressedintheword”Freedom，”which，wemaintain，isthenaturalinheritanceofman。

MingledwiththeregretthatIwasnotintheserviceofHerMajesty，isthepleasurethatIfeelintestifyingtotheablemannerinwhichtheRoyalNavywasrepresented，throughoutalongandtryingexpedition，byLieutenantJulianAlleyneBaker，R。N。Thisenergeticyoungofficerrenderedmethegreatestassistance，andhasleftavividimpressiononthemindsofthenatives，andoftheEgyptiantroops，oftheactivity，andthestraightforward，manlycharacterthathasalwaysdistinguishedBritishsailorsinwhateverdutytheyhavehadtoperform，whetheronseaorland。

IreturnmyacknowledgmentsofthefaithfulandcourageousservicesofLieutenant-ColonelAbd-el-Kader，andotherofficerswhoaccompaniedmethrougheverydifficultywithpatienceanddevotion。

IalsothankMr。Marcopolo，myintelligentandtrustworthysecretaryandchiefstorekeeper，atthesametunethatIacknowledgetheservicesofthoseindustriousEnglishengineersandmechanicswhosothoroughlysupportedthewell-knownreputationoftheirclassbyadeterminationtosucceedineveryworkthatwasundertaken。Theirnewsteamer，theKhedive，remainsupontheWhiteNileanexampleoftheirenergyandcapability。

Lastly，ImustacknowledgetheableassistancethatIhavereceived，incommonwitheverypersonconnectedwiththeinlandexpedition，frommywife，whocaredforthesickwhenwewerewithoutamedicalman，andwhosegentleaidbroughtcomforttomanywhosestrengthmightotherwisehavefailed。Duringaperiodoffourteenmonths，withadetachmentof212officersandmen，exclusiveofmanyservantsandcamp-followers，I

ONLYLOSTONEMANFROMSICKNESS，andhewasatanout-station。

Inmomentsofdoubtandanxietyshewasalwaysathoughtfulandwisecounsellor，andmuchofmysuccessthro

后续内容为VIP可读请开通VIP，或购买此章节