I have finished my book, ended the task that I have set myself to do, and I hope I have been able to convey to my readers some of the fascination that Africa has always held for those who have once visited her shores. But hitherto it has been the fascination of the mistress, never of the wife. She held out no lure, for she was no courtesan. A man came to her in his eager youth asking, praying that she would give him that which should make all life good; and she trusted and opened her arms. What she had to give she gave freely, generously; there was no stint, no lack. And he took. Her charm he counted as a matter of course, her tenderness was his due, her passion was for his pleasure; but the fascination he barely admitted could not keep him. Though she had given all she had no rights, and when other desires called he left her, left her with words of pity that were an injury, of regret that were an insult.
But all this is changing. Africa holds. The man who has once known Africa longs for her. In the sordid city streets he remembers the might and loneliness of her forests, by the rippling brook he remembers the wide rivers rushing tumultuous to the sea, in the night when the rain is on the roof plashing drearily he remembers the gorgeous tropical nights, the sky of velvet far away, the stars like points of gold, the warm moonlight that with its deeper shadows made a fairer world. Even the languor and the heat he longs for, the white foam of the surf on the yellow sand of the beaches, the thick jungle growth densely matted, rankly luxuriant, pulsating with the irrepressible life of the Tropics. All other places are tame. The fascination that he has denied comes back calling to him in after years. Thus “the whirligig of time brings in his revenges.” This mistress he will have none of has spoiled him for all else. And here the analogy fails. Africa holds, and the man whom she holds may yield to the fascination not only without shame, but with pride. Before her lies a great future; to the man who knows how to use her gifts she offers wealth and prosperity. To be won easily? Well, no. These gifts lie there as certainly as there is a sky above us, as that the sun will rise to-morrow, but there lie difficulties in the way, obstacles to be overcome. Africa offers the opportunities—success is for the
“One who never turned his back but marched breast forward,
Never doubted clouds would break,
Never dreamed though right were worsted wrong would
triumph,
Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better,