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H. M. STANLEY—EXPLORER By Jacob Wassermann
This new study of Stanley—published in German under the title of Bula Matari, a more effective title than H. M. Stanley (Cassell, 12s. 6d.), under which the admirable translation by Eden and Cedar Paul appears—is the work of an enthusiastic admirer, who can nevertheless see on occasions that his idol may have feet of clay. He even doubts whether Stanley knew as much of African nature as he imagined. His three expeditions are described with all the skill of one who has specialized in historical romance, but despite his hero-worship the figure of Stanley does not hold the stage nearly so success- fully as do his predecessors or even as those contemporaries whom he set out to " relieve," in each case much against their will. Dictatorial, abrupt and ruthless, Stanley was impatient of criticism or opposition, and was obsessed with a desire to prove his veracity in face of a scepticism which was not always unjustified. His temperamental clash with Emin, whose dignified bearing was in sharp contrast to that of the " modern conquistador," as the publishers curiously choose to describe Stanley, is well brought out : but the life of Stanley still remains to be written. The contradictions in his character and in his actions remain unexplained, and there is probably another side to Stanley's transactions with Tippu- Tib, a character much under-rated by the author, which would throw a flood-light on the contemporary history of Africa and would unravel some of the mystery which still lingers round Emin's death. Both Tippu-Tib, and Emin suffer from being interpreted through Stanley's eyes, and Herr Wassermann has not apparently discovered that his journals are not always a reliable guide. It is an interesting volume nevertheless, and the English edition is enhanced by the inclusion of an index, though the change of illustrations does not strike us as being an improvement.
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