Captain Cook and his people were often in danger from the anger of the strange tribes they met, but we can have only admiration for the gentle behaviour of the people whose home Cook visited on this occasion, as described in his account of the expedition. There are many dramatic scenes in Cook's _Voyages_. Captain Cook was not only brave, he had extraordinary perseverance. Many of us find stories of travels, discoveries and explorations among the most interesting books in the world. We travel, too, with the great explorers, by means of these books, and have a share in their dangers, escapes, and discoveries. Explorers are always courageous, and often men of noble character. A few women have been noted explorers, but only a few, partly because travelling alone and in danger, is more difficult for a woman than for a man. Miss Mary Kingsley is {206} one of these notable exceptions. Here are the names of a few books of travel and discovery, old and new: _How I Found Livingstone in Central Africa_, by Henry M. Stanley; Sir Richard Burton's _Pilgrimage to Mecca_; _Travels in West Africa_, by Mary H. Kingsley; the _Journals_ of Captain R. F. Scott, the explorer who reached the South Pole to find that the Danes, led by Amundsen, had been a few days before him, the account is often called _Scott's Last Expedition_, a very noble book; and a fascinating volume by T. E. Lawrence, _Revolt in the Desert_. The discoverer of the Mississippi was La Salle. We may read of him in Parkman. Two books of early travels in Canada are Sir Alexander Mackenzie's _Voyages from Montreal Through the Continent of North America_, and Alexander Henry's _Travels and Adventures in Canada and the Indian Territories_. {207} PART VII ESSAYS, CRITICISMS, LETTERS, DIARIES {209} CHAPTER XXX CHARLES LAMB AND HAZLITT: ESSAYISTS AND CRITICS Charles Lamb is a friend of yours whom you may not know yet; but, when you meet him, you will soon find yourself thinking of Charles Lamb as a friend. He is one of the rare persons who attract and deserve everybody's love. Charles Lamb lived all his life in London, where he was born; he went to a famous school, often called the Bluecoat School, because the boys were dressed after that fashion. His first home was in the Temple. "I was born and passed the first seven years of my life in the Temple. Its church, its halls, its gardens, its fountain, its river, I had almost said--for in those young years what was this king of rivers to me but a stream that watered our pleasant places?--these are my oldest recollections."