"Alas! It is your very good qualities which puzzle me. They are varied, but each one of you has an equal share. How then, without being inexcusably unjust, can I choose between you? In a state of embarrassment, similar to that of the shepherd, Paris, of old, I know not on whom to bestow the apple. If one of you had only made himself famous by some conspicuous action, my mind would be more at ease, but, situated as you are in this civilized Paris of ours, and so long as the country is at peace, what test can I impose upon you, or what proof can you offer me? As matters stand, you are simply men of the world, whose first duty is to be as little conspicuous as possible. I, therefore, have nothing to expect, nothing which could put an end to my hesitation. You see, do you not, that I am approaching—no, not yet? Well, at last I am coming to the root of the matter, without further circumlocution or beating about the bush. The daughter, the wife, the friend of the famous explorers of our age comes once more upon the scene. "I have made up my mind definitively to traverse Africa, not that portion which all the world knows, and which commences at Alexandria and finishes at the desert; but the desert itself, and those strange territories which are to be found by those who have the courage to cross it. The longing, nay, I may say, the necessity which has taken possession of me, and impels me to see for myself these imperfectly explored regions—to what can I attribute it? To the education I have received, to the conversations to which I have listened, and the circle in which I have lived? Or, is it not rather that I am obeying an impulse which attracts me towards the spot where M. de Guéran perished? Does not this contemplated journey seem almost like a 'pilgrimage?' I cannot explain it, and, after all, it is of but slight importance as far as you are concerned. What really does concern you, gentlemen, is, that for some time past I have thought of you as my companions. Yes, it would be impossible for me alone to conquer the difficulties and encounter the dangers which I foresee. As for surrounding myself with hired attendants or companions, I should never dream of any such thing. They would only desert me half-way. No! courage and devotion are not to be bought. With you it is different. I have been brought in contact with you, I have watched you narrowly, and I have come to the conclusion that you are the only persons who are capable of aiding me in the accomplishment of my self-imposed task.