Some Further Recollections Of A Happy Life

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Marianne North was a Victorian figure of some consequence. An amateur botanist and painter, she journeyed to the world's farthest reaches, to its ancient and new civilizations. She also wrote one of the major travel accounts of the Victorian period. Written after she retired from travel because of ill health, Recollections of a Happy Life incorporates journals and letters from throughout her travelling years. The huge manuscript left at her death was reduced and edited by her sister and published in 1892 in three volumes. Volume 1 is reprinted here. In a new Introduction, Susan Morgan raises issues of gender, imperialism, and the Victorian approach to science.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1893 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER V PALESTINE AND SYRIA 1866 Started with the smallest possible luggage in a great Eussian steamer for Jaffa, finding Frank Skinner and his mother were to be our companions on board. We were a merry little party, and we did our best to understand the poor old captain, whose French was twothirds Eussian, an over-allowance of incomprehensibility quite impossible to fight against; though he strove hard to entertain us it required some tact to laugh and cry in the right place. He showed us a quantity of sketch-books filled by himself from his cabin window with elaborately-finished pencil sketches, but as he was perpetually thumbing and turning them over, they were beginning to have marvellous atmospheric effects but very little outline. We stayed a few hours at Port Said, looking at the big stones, and when we reached Jaffa wondered how we should ever get through the surf and rocks and the rogues at the landing-place. We had almost given up trying in despair when the first boat brought our remedy in Hadji Ali, a dragoman we had seen on the Nile, who was just packing off his party for Constantinople, and had all his tents and horses ready to take us on. Of course he was delighted at a fresh start, and we to find a protector in a man whose name was so well known and spoken of, so he piloted us through the rocks, surf, and streets, and out to the beautiful garden plain beyond, where we found his late party taking their last luncheon in his tents, and they gave him the best of characters and to us some food, after which we went to the Consulate to rest through the heat of the day, while they packed themselves off. The Consul himself had lately died, but his son was efficient and hospitable, and had letters in his keeping for us. There was...