Xiv I N T R O D U C T I O N . A man who travels to a great diftance from home, can never meet with the objedls of his refearches in the order and arrangement that he himfelf Would wiih for : how then ihould he be able to difpofe and arrange his travels upon paper, agreeably to every one’s peculiar tafte and liking? With refpecft to m j ftyle, which,-.in-'confe- quence o f my being unufed to compofftion, is fometimes fo unequal, as well as unhappy in point o f expreflion, that I have frequently been difpleafed with it myfelf, I have need, more than moil authors, to beg for the reader’s kind indulgence. In'faft, all my writing for thefe many years pail, has confided chiefly in ihort notes and memorandums, exprefled fometimes in one language and fometimes in another, (juft as my occupations and the part of the world I was in gave occafion to) and fometimes in many languages blended together in one. From this, medley I have now tranflated and exprefled in a more diftiffe ftyle, and in my native language, what I had formerly fet down,' irï thé’ manner‘abové-mentioned, b y way of memorandum only. And though I do this with pleafure, conceiving it to be a duty I owe to my curious and inquifltive countrymen, yet the performance o f this talk is by no means unattended with anxiety ; inafmuch as on account of the want of practice for many years, proceeding’ from my attention to affairs of greater importance, I do not find myfelf I N T R O D U C T I O N. xv felf able to come up to the' reader’s wilhes in this particular. Neverthelefs, though I can pledge myfelf for the principal article requifite in all compofitions of this kind, viz. for the truth of the occurrences here related, it will be of no avail, i f at the fame time, I cannot avoid being confidered as being rather unfuccefsful in the choice of my materials, in the variety and uncomrnonnefs of them, and laftly, in the ftyle and manner in which they are prefented to the. public. Indeed, it has been given me to underftand, that from one, whom a reitlefs inquifltive difpofition has enticed from his native country, to follow the calls of deftiny all round the globe, and more particularly through the land of the Hottentots and the wild and defert regions of Africa, from fuch a man accounts are expedted of a moft entertaining and wonderful import. Nor is this expectation ablblutely ill-founded. Nature has prefented herfelf to me in various fliapes, always worthy o f admiration, often enchanting, and fometimes terrible, and clothed with horror. But at the fame time Imuft apprife the reader, that a great many prodigies and uncommon appearances, about which I have frequently been afked by many, who have been brought I to entertain thefe conceits by perufing the defcriptions of others, are not to be found in my journal. Men with one foot, indeed, Cyclops, Syrens, Troglodytes, and fuch like imaginary beings, have almoft entirely difappeared
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