field and in the bivouac. The explorer, on the other
hand, is denied the solace of physical diversion or
mental companionship. His native followers, with
rare exceptions, only weary and disgust him by their
baffling, half-hearted ways. No bugle arouses him for
his morning march. No band cheers him at his halt,
or when the day is done. He has to press on alone,
often despairing, his life in his hand, and with the
discouraging reflection, that, after ali, his efforts may
prove without fruit, through mishap to himself or to
his manuscripts. But the Englishman is born to the
inheritance of possessions yet unexplored. Thè more
tenderly he is nurtured, and the more happy his home,
•the readier he is to court privation and danger, in
order to plant his country’s flag in some hitherto untrodden
tract, and add to the scientific, geographical,
or commercial prestige of his native land.
I t was this natural and heroic bent that fired the
youthful Frank Hatton to aspire to win a place upon
the honourable roll of explorers, amongst whom the
indomitable Stanley had always been his favourite
hero. Few though the relics recovered of his diaries,
they show a culture of mind, an intelligence of aim,
a singleness of purpose, an originality of thought, a
decisiveness of action, and a fitness to lead, which
were remarkable in one so young ; whilst his letters
exhibit throughout that touching love for home-ties
and associations, which is so often found combined
with roaming propensities in the adventurous Englishman.
Another trait in the youthful Hatton’s character
was his strong leaning towards scientific research, and
this had been developed by careful training under
experts of repute, the results of which are noticeable
in the work which he accomplished for the Company.
An explorer without scientific acquirements is an
artificer bereft of his best tools, and on this account
alone it is to be regretted that so acute an observer
and practical a worker in the hive of manhood should
have been thus prematurely cut off. His discoveries
and suggestions are nevertheless already bearing fruit. t
Mr. Pryer, the able Resident at Elopura, points out
that Mr. Hatton was on the eve of a successful investigation
when the sad accident happened th a t cost
him his life ; and the discovery of gold since made
by Mr. Walker on the Segama River establishes the
accuracy of Mr. Hatton’s prognostications.1
Peace to the youthful explorer’s ashes ! As the
broad banana leaves and the feathery palms of Sanda-
kan wave over his untimely grave, they whisper anew
the old truth, th a t high aims, a firm purpose, and
honest work, ennoble the man, even when fate denies
him the fruition of his reward.
W alter H. M edhürst.
Formosa, Torquay,
November, 1885.
1 Since the above lines were written a geographical chart of Mr.
Walker’s operations on the Segama River and its tributaries has
reached London. On comparing his work with Mr. Frank Hatton s
latest explorations, two remarkable coincidences are noticeable, namely,
that when Mr. Hatton was thwarted, by an impassable swamp, in his
efforts to reach the Segama overland, he had all hut come upon the
gold since discovered in the regions of the Upper Segama; and when
the accident occurred that proved fatal to him he was close to the
gold deposits subsequently met with on the Lower Segama.—W. H. M.