CHAPTER XV. Character, Appearance, Etc.--Some Stories of Him

CHARACTER, APPEARANCE, ETC.--SOME STORIES OF HIM

Untiring energy as a hunter--His modest requirements--Rifles--A story of his practical nature--Sir Alfred Pease on Selous as a hunter and naturalist--The average of shots required in various lands--Selous as a hunter--His love of the shot-gun--Perseverance to excel--The Brocklehursts--A lover of cricket--Bicycling--The triumph of physical fitness--His personal magnetism--Memory--Powers as a story-teller--Diffidence--Inclined to melancholy--The spring of perennial youth--The force of heredity--Slatin Pasha's estimation of Col. Marchand--Selous' opinion of Marchand--Powers of speech--His independence of thought and action--Literary gifts--Kindness of heart--Hatred of crowds--The perpetual call of the wild--Home-sickness--The nostalgia of travel--A great reader--His preferences in literature--Personal friends--Hospitality at home--Lewanika's fears--His attitude towards religion--Roosevelt on Selous--Selous' great influence as a pioneer--A noble life and a fitting end 352

INDEX 377

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FREDERICK COURTENAY SELOUS AT THE AGE OF 59 Frontispiece TO FACE PAGE THE PLAINS OF THE ORANGE FREE STATE IN 1871 64 SELOUS AS A YOUNG MAN, IN HUNTING COSTUME 80 ELEPHANTS 112 BUFFALOES ALARMED 144 ON THE MASHUNA PLATEAU 176 THE BATTLE OF THE STRONG 192 LIONS CHASING A KOODOO BULL 224 THE WANDERING MINSTREL 240 OSBORN'S CARIBOU 256 MT. KENIA FROM THE SOUTH 272 BULL MOOSE ABOUT TO LIE DOWN 288 MT. KILIMANJARO FROM THE NORTH 304 A SHOT ON THE PLAINS, BRITISH EAST AFRICA 320 FARU! FARU! 336 THEY CANNOT BREAK HIS SLEEP 368

THE LIFE OF FREDERICK COURTENAY SELOUS, D.S.O.