Stanley's Story; Or, Through the Wilds of Africa: A Thrilling Narrative of His Remarkable Adventures, Terrible Experiences, Wonderful Discoveries and Amazing Achievements in the Dark ContinentFeather, A. G., Col.
History
Stanley's Story; Or, Through the Wilds of Africa: A Thrilling Narrative of His Remarkable Adventures, Terrible Experiences, Wonderful Discoveries and Amazing Achievements in the Dark Continent
Feather, A. G., Col.
Africa, Central -- Description and travel; Livingstone, David, 1813-1873; Stanley, Henry M. (Henry Morton), 1841-1904
It appears that he had a sort of roving commission from the “Herald,”
and now undertook a journey on foot with a few traveling companions of
his own country, by which it was contemplated to pass through Asia
Minor, the provinces of Russian Asia, the Khanates, Bokhara, and Kiva,
Eastern Turkestan, and so through China to the coast. This project came,
however, to a disastrous end. The little party had not penetrated more
than about an hundred miles from Smyrna, when it was attacked by Turkish
brigands, completely plundered, and compelled, in consequence, to
return. Arriving at Constantinople in a most sorry plight, the members
of the party were kindly received by the Hon. E. Joy Morris, then United
States Minister to the Turkish Sultan, and their wants supplied by a
check upon the generous Minister’s private banker. An account of the
affair, written by Mr. Stanley, had appeared in a public journal of the
country, so that Mr. Morris had been apprised of the facts--afterwards
fully substantiated in a court of justice--before the travelers
appeared, in shabby attire, attesting a needy situation.
On the return of Mr. Stanley to Constantinople, a few years after this
event, and during the last year of Mr. Morris’ official residence in
Turkey, he called upon that gentleman. He had then just come from Egypt.
We here give Mr. Morris’ description of Stanley, in his own words:
“The uncouth young man whom I first knew had grown into a perfect man of
the world, possessing the appearance, the manners and the attributes of
a perfect gentleman. The story of the adventures which he had gone
through, and the dangers he had passed during his absence were perfectly
marvellous, and he became the lion of our little circle. Scarcely a day
passed but he was a guest at my table; and no one was more welcome, for
I insensibly grew to have a strong admiration and felt an attachment for
him myself. Instead of thinking he was a young man who had barely seen
twenty-six summers you would imagine that he was thirty-five or forty
years of age, so cultured and learned was he in all the ways of life. He
possessed a thorough acquaintance with most of the Eastern countries,
and, as I took an interest in all that related to Oriental life, we had
many a talk about what he had seen and what I longed to see. He stated
to me that he had a sort of roving commission for the ‘Herald,’ but that
he had exhausted all known countries, and was at a loss to understand
where he should go next. I said to him, ‘Stanley, what do you think of
trying Persia? That is an unexplored country, and would well repay a
visit, if you could get back with your life.’ Stanley thought over the
proposal, and rapidly came to the conclusion he would go. I busied
myself in procuring him letters of introduction to the Russian
authorities in the Caucasus, in Georgia, and in other countries through
which he would have to pass. He saw the Russian Ambassador at
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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