PREFACE

 As indicated on the title-page, "The Boy Travellers on the Congo" is condensed from that remarkable¹ narrative², "Through the Dark Continent," by one of the most famous explorers that the century has produced. The origin of the present volume is sufficiently³ explained in the following letter:

"Everett House, New York, December 1, 1886.

"My dear Colonel Knox,—It is a gift to be able to write to interest boys, and no one who has read your several volumes in the 'Boy Traveller' series can doubt that you possess this gift to an eminent⁴ degree. While reading those interesting and valuable books of yours, I have regretted that they were not issued in the time of my own youth, so that I might have enjoyed as a boy the treat of their perusal⁵. Now, the Harpers desire a condensation⁶ of my two volumes, 'Through the Dark Continent,' to be made for young folks, but I have neither the time, nor the experience in juvenile⁷ writing, for performing the work. I suggest that you shall produce a volume for your series of 'Boy Travellers,' and assure you that it would delight me greatly to have you take your boys, who have followed you through so many lands, on the journey that I made from Zanzibar to the mouth of the Congo.

"There is too much in my work in its present form for their mental digestion⁸; but, narrated⁹ in that chaste¹⁰ and forcible style which has proved so entertaining to them, they would certainly find the journey through Africa of exceeding interest when made in your company. By all means take Frank and Fred to the wilds of Africa; let them sail the equatorial lakes, travel through Uganda, Unyoro, and other countries ruled by dark-skinned monarchs¹¹, descend¹² the magnificent and perilous¹³ Congo, see the strange tribes and people of that wonderful land, and repeat the adventures and discoveries that made my journey so eventful. You have my full permission, my dear friend, to use the material in any way you deem proper in adapting it to the requirements of the 'Boy Travellers.'

"Sincerely yours, as always,

Henry M. Stanley.

"To Colonel Thos. W. Knox."

[Pg 2]

The preparation of this book has been a double pleasure—first, to comply with the wishes of an old friend, and secondly¹⁴, to carry the boys and girls of the present day to the wonderful region that, until very recently, was practically unknown. I have the fullest confidence that they will greatly enjoy the journey across equatorial Africa from the eastern to the western sea, and eagerly peruse¹⁵ every line of Mr. Stanley's narrative of discovery and adventure.

The portrait of Mr. Stanley is from a photograph taken early in 1886. The maps on the inside of the covers were specially¹⁶ drawn¹⁷ for this work, and the publishers, with their customary liberality, have allowed the use of wood-cuts selected from several volumes of African travel and exploration, in addition to those which originally appeared in "Through the Dark Continent."

In the hope that "The Boy Travellers on the Congo" will be as cordially received as were its predecessors¹⁸ in the series, the work is herewith submitted to press and public for perusal and comment.

T. W. K.

New York, May, 1887.

1 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

2 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

3 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

4 eminent   

adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的

参考例句：

• We are expecting the arrival of an eminent scientist.我们正期待一位著名科学家的来访。
• He is an eminent citizen of China.他是一个杰出的中国公民。

5 perusal   

n.细读，熟读；目测

参考例句：

• Peter Cooke undertook to send each of us a sample contract for perusal.彼得·库克答应给我们每人寄送一份合同样本供阅读。
• A perusal of the letters which we have published has satisfied him of the reality of our claim.读了我们的公开信后，他终于相信我们的要求的确是真的。

6 condensation   

n.压缩，浓缩；凝结的水珠

参考例句：

• A cloud is a condensation of water vapour in the atmosphere.云是由大气中的水蒸气凝结成的。
• He used his sleeve to wipe the condensation off the glass.他用袖子擦掉玻璃上凝结的水珠。

7 juvenile   

n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的

参考例句：

• For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人，他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
• Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。

8 digestion   

n.消化，吸收

参考例句：

• This kind of tea acts as an aid to digestion.这种茶可助消化。
• This food is easy of digestion.这食物容易消化。

9 narrated   

v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some of the story was narrated in the film. 该电影叙述了这个故事的部分情节。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Defoe skilfully narrated the adventures of Robinson Crusoe on his desert island. 笛福生动地叙述了鲁滨逊·克鲁索在荒岛上的冒险故事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 chaste   

adj.贞洁的；有道德的；善良的；简朴的

参考例句：

• Comparatively speaking,I like chaste poetry better.相比较而言，我更喜欢朴实无华的诗。
• Tess was a chaste young girl.苔丝是一个善良的少女。

11 monarchs   

君主，帝王( monarch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Monarchs ruled England for centuries. 世袭君主统治英格兰有许多世纪。
• Serving six monarchs of his native Great Britain, he has served all men's freedom and dignity. 他在大不列颠本国为六位君王服务，也为全人类的自由和尊严服务。 来自演讲部分

12 descend   

vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降

参考例句：

• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。
• We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。

13 perilous   

adj.危险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。
• We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机，我们如今已安然无恙。

14 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

15 peruse   

v.细读，精读

参考例句：

• We perused the company's financial statements for the past five years.我们翻阅了公司过去5年来的财务报表。
• Please peruse this report at your leisure.请在空暇时细读这篇报道。

16 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

17 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

18 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》