The Article in the Daily Telegraph.--War between the Scientific Journals.-- Mr. Petermann backs his Friend Dr. Ferguson.--Reply of the Savant Koner. --Bets made.--Sundry Propositions offered to the Doctor.
On the next day, in its number of January 15th, the Daily Telegraph published an article couched in the following terms:
"Africa is, at length, about to surrender the secret of her vast solitudes1; a modern OEdipus is to give us the key to that enigma2 which the learned men of sixty centuries have not been able to decipher. In other days, to seek the sources of the Nile--fontes Nili quoerere--was regarded as a mad endeavor, a chimera3 that could not be realized.
"Dr. Barth, in following out to Soudan the track traced by Denham and Clapperton; Dr. Livingstone, in multiplying his fearless explorations from the Cape4 of Good Hope to the basin of the Zambesi; Captains Burton and Speke, in the discovery of the great interior lakes, have opened three highways to modern civilization. THEIR POINT OF INTERSECTION5, which no traveller has yet been able to reach, is the very heart of Africa, and it is thither6 that all efforts should now be directed.
"The labors7 of these hardy8 pioneers of science are now about to be knit together by the daring project of Dr. Samuel Ferguson, whose fine explorations our readers have frequently had the opportunity of appreciating.
"This intrepid9 discoverer proposes to traverse all Africa from east to west IN A BALLOON. If we are well informed, the point of departure for this surprising journey is to be the island of Zanzibar, upon the eastern coast. As for the point of arrival, it is reserved for Providence10 alone to designate.
"The proposal for this scientific undertaking11 was officially made, yesterday, at the rooms of the Royal Geographical12 Society, and the sum of twenty-five hundred pounds was voted to defray the expenses of the enterprise.
"We shall keep our readers informed as to the progress of this enterprise, which has no precedent13 in the annals of exploration."
As may be supposed, the foregoing article had an enormous echo among scientific people. At first, it stirred up a storm of incredulity; Dr. Ferguson passed for a purely14 chimerical15 personage of the Barnum stamp, who, after having gone through the United States, proposed to "do" the British Isles16.
A humorous reply appeared in the February number of the Bulletins de la Societe Geographique of Geneva, which very wittily17 showed up the Royal Society of London and their phenomenal sturgeon.
But Herr Petermann, in his Mittheilungen, published at Gotha, reduced the Geneva journal to the most absolute silence. Herr Petermann knew Dr. Ferguson personally, and guaranteed the intrepidity18 of his dauntless friend.
Besides, all manner of doubt was quickly put out of the question: preparations for the trip were set on foot at London; the factories of Lyons received a heavy order for the silk required for the body of the balloon; and, finally, the British Government placed the transport-ship Resolute19, Captain Bennett, at the disposal of the expedition.
At once, upon word of all this, a thousand encouragements were offered, and felicitations came pouring in from all quarters. The details of the undertaking were published in full in the bulletins of the Geographical Society of Paris; a remarkable20 article appeared in the Nouvelles Annales des Voyages, de la Geographie, de l'Histoire, et de l'Archaeologie de M. V. A. Malte-Brun ("New Annals of Travels, Geography, History, and Archaeology21, by M. V. A. Malte-Brun"); and a searching essay in the Zeitschrift fur Allgemeine Erdkunde, by Dr. W. Koner, triumphantly22 demonstrated the feasibility of the journey, its chances of success, the nature of the obstacles existing, the immense advantages of the aerial mode of locomotion23, and found fault with nothing but the selected point of departure, which it contended should be Massowah, a small port in Abyssinia, whence James Bruce, in 1768, started upon his explorations in search of the sources of the Nile. Apart from that, it mentioned, in terms of unreserved admiration24, the energetic character of Dr. Ferguson, and the heart, thrice panoplied25 in bronze, that could conceive and undertake such an enterprise.
The North American Review could not, without some displeasure, contemplate26 so much glory monopolized27 by England. It therefore rather ridiculed28 the doctor's scheme, and urged him, by all means, to push his explorations as far as America, while he was about it.
In a word, without going over all the journals in the world, there was not a scientific publication, from the Journal of Evangelical Missions to the Revue Algerienne et Coloniale, from the Annales de la Propagation de la Foi to the Church Missionary29 Intelligencer, that had not something to say about the affair in all its phases.
Many large bets were made at London and throughout England generally, first, as to the real or supposititious existence of Dr. Ferguson; secondly30, as to the trip itself, which, some contended, would not be undertaken at all, and which was really contemplated31, according to others; thirdly, upon the success or failure of the enterprise; and fourthly, upon the probabilities of Dr. Ferguson's return. The betting-books were covered with entries of immense sums, as though the Epsom races were at stake.
Thus, believers and unbelievers, the learned and the ignorant, alike had their eyes fixed32 on the doctor, and he became the lion of the day, without knowing that he carried such a mane. On his part, he willingly gave the most accurate information touching33 his project. He was very easily approached, being naturally the most affable man in the world. More than one bold adventurer presented himself, offering to share the dangers as well as the glory of the undertaking; but he refused them all, without giving his reasons for rejecting them.
Numerous inventors of mechanism34 applicable to the guidance of balloons came to propose their systems, but he would accept none; and, when he was asked whether he had discovered something of his own for that purpose, he constantly refused to give any explanation, and merely busied himself more actively35 than ever with the preparations for his journey.
《每日电讯报》上的一篇文章——学术刊物之间的争论——彼得曼博士支持他的朋友弗格森博士——学者科内尔的答复——众人纷纷打赌——给博士提的各种建议
第二天，1月15日，这一期的《每日电讯报》中刊登了一篇妙笔生花的文章：
“非洲终于要公开它那辽阔荒野的秘密了。一位现代俄狄浦斯①将告诉我们60个世纪的学者文人没能识破的这个谜底。 过去探寻尼罗河发源地 （fontesNiliquoereres）总被视为异想天开，一个实现不了的梦。
①希腊神话中的英雄人物。
“巴尔特②博士沿着丹纳姆③和克拉珀顿④开辟的道路一直到了苏丹；利文斯通⑤博士从好望角到赞比西亚盆地反复进行了不屈不挠的调查；伯顿⑥上尉和斯皮克⑦上尉发现了内陆大湖；他们为现代文明打通了三条道路。三条道路的交叉点可谓是非洲的心脏。但至今还没有一位旅行家能涉足该地区。我们的全部力量正应该使在那儿。
②1821—1865，德国地理学家、非洲探险家，着有五卷本巨着《中北非游记和发现》。
③1786—1828，英国早期探险家，曾任塞拉利昂总督。
④1788—1827，苏格兰探险家，着有《1822，1823和1824年北非旅行和发现记事》。
⑤1813—1873，英国传教士、探险家，在非洲南部、中部和东部旅行，传教达30年之久。
⑥1821—1890，英国探险家，曾翻译《天方夜谈》。
⑦1827—1864，英国探险家，第一个发现东非维多利亚湖的欧洲人。
“不过，这些勇敢的科学攀登者们未竟的事业就要由弗格森·弗格森博士的大胆尝试来完成。他以往的神奇探险活动早已得到了读者们的赏识。
“这位无畏的发现者打算乘气球由东至西穿越整个非洲。据可靠消息，这次惊人旅行的出发点将设在非洲东海岸的桑给巴尔岛①。至于终点，只有上帝知道了。
①位于坦桑尼亚东北部，港口城市。
“这次科学探险的计划已于昨天正式提交给皇家地理学会。学会大会表决通过拨发一笔2500英镑的款项作该活动的费用。
“这次尝试是地理探险大事记中史无前例的，我们将随时向读者提供消息。”
正如我们所料，该文引起了巨大反响。它首先激起怀疑的浪潮：弗格森博士被当成是一个纯粹虚幻的人物，是巴纳姆②博士的发明。后者在美国“工作”了一段时间，现在又准备打英伦三岛的“主意”了。
②1810—1891，美国游艺节目演出经纪人，常搞些稀奇古怪的展览、演出等，自称“胡诌王子”。
日内瓦出版的《地理学会学报》二月号上刊登了一篇风趣的答读者信。文章巧妙地戏谑了伦敦皇家学会、旅行者俱乐部和那条鳟鱼。
但是，彼得曼博士在哥达出版的“公报”中发表的文章，使日内瓦的这家学刊彻底闭上了口。彼得曼博士自己了解弗格森博士，而且愿意为他的勇敢朋友的无畏尝试担保。
另一方面，很快就不可能再有怀疑了：旅行的准备工作正在伦敦进行着；里昂的几家工厂已接到生产制造气球用塔夫绸的大量订单。最终，不列颠政府允许弗格森博士使用《决心号》运输舰。该舰的舰长叫皮耐特。
随即，成千上万件鼓励信、贺电纷至沓来。有关探险队举动的详情细节随着准备工作的进展全部发表在巴黎地理学会的学报中。在V·A·莫尔特一布伦①先生主编的《旅行、 地理、历史和考古新年鉴》中登出了一篇引人注目的文章。W·科内尔博士在《德国地理学报》上发表的一份详细分析报告，令人信服地证论了这次旅行探险的可行性、成功的机会、困难的性质和空中航行这种方式带来的种种好处。他仅仅对出发地点提出了批评。他指出，从马苏亚这个阿比西尼的小港口出发更好些。1768年，詹姆士·布鲁斯就是从马苏亚出发去寻找尼罗河源头的。另外，他毫无保留地赞赏弗格森博士的这种积极进取精神和这种想到、做到、决不回头的坚强毅力。
①法国地理学家，其父是巴黎地理学会的创始人和第一任董事长。
《北美评论》看到英国得到这样的荣誉尤为不快。它把博士的计划当成了笑话，并不怀好意地怂恿博士半途中径直飞到美国来。
总而言之，从《福音教会公报》到《阿尔及利亚与殖民地杂志》，从《传教年鉴》到《传教士新闻》，没有哪家科学杂志不用各种形式详叙此事的，更不用说全世界的报刊了。
在伦敦，甚至在全英国，人们纷纷拿下面的问题打赌：第一，弗格森博士存在不存在；第二，旅行会不会进行；第三，这次探险活动能不能成功；第四，弗格森博士可不可能回得来。许多人投下了巨额赌注，活像是在埃普索姆②的赛马会上。
②英国的一个城市，以赛马闻名。
这样以来，相信的、不相信的，外行、内行，所有的人都把眼睛盯住了弗格森博士。他不自觉地成了众人心目中的英雄。博士乐意提供有关远征探险的详细情况。他平易近人、淳朴自然，可以说是世界上最诚恳的人了。不止一位胆大的冒险家找他毛遂自荐，想与他同甘共苦，但都被他不加解释地一律回绝了。
许多研究气球转向机械结构的发明家向他推荐自己的发明，但他一个也不愿接受。有人问弗格森博士是不是已经发明了什么新的转向系统，但他概不回答。他更加积极地忙于探险的准备工作。
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solitudes
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| n.独居( solitude的名词复数 )；孤独；荒僻的地方；人迹罕至的地方 | |
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enigma
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| n.谜，谜一样的人或事 | |
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chimera
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| n.神话怪物；梦幻 | |
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cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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intersection
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| n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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intrepid
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| adj.无畏的，刚毅的 | |
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providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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geographical
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| adj.地理的；地区(性)的 | |
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precedent
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| n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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chimerical
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| adj.荒诞不经的，梦幻的 | |
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isles
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| 岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
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wittily
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| 机智地，机敏地 | |
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intrepidity
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| n.大胆，刚勇；大胆的行为 | |
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resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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archaeology
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| n.考古学 | |
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triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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locomotion
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| n.运动，移动 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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panoplied
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| adj.全套披甲的，装饰漂亮的 | |
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contemplate
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| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
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monopolized
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| v.垄断( monopolize的过去式和过去分词 )；独占；专卖；专营 | |
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ridiculed
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| v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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secondly
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| adv.第二，其次 | |
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contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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actively
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| adv.积极地，勤奋地 | |
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