The Journal of a Mission to the Interior of Africa, in the Year 1805. Mungo Park
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enumeration of the various facts contained in Park's Travels, which are relied on as favourable to the cause of the Abolition, accompanied by the proper references, see A concise statement of the question regarding the Abolition of the Slave Trade. 3d Ed. 1804, p. 99–106. A work, containing the most complete summary of the arguments upon this great subject, which has yet appeared.]
The fair result of the foregoing enquiry, relative to Park's opinions with regard to the Abolition, appears to be shortly this; that he was at no time the friend or deliberate advocate of the Slave Trade; but that, his respect and deference for Mr. Edwards led him, in a certain degree, to sacrifice his own opinions and feelings upon that subject; and that he became, perhaps almost unconsciously, the supporter of a cause of which he disapproved. That he should have been under any temptation to suppress or soften any important opinion, or to deviate in any respect from that ingenuousness and good faith which naturally belonged to his character, is a circumstance which cannot be sufficiently lamented. But if there are any who feel disposed to pass a very severe censure upon Park's conduct, let his situation at the time when he was preparing his Travels for the press, be fairly considered. He was then a young man, inexperienced in literary composition, and in a great measure dependent, as to the prospects of his future life, upon the success of his intended publication. His friend and adviser, Mr. Edwards, was a man of letters and of the world, who held a distinguished place in society, and was, besides, a leading member of the African Association, to which Park owed every thing, and with which his fate and fortunes were still intimately connected. It is difficult to estimate the degree of authority which a person possessing these advantages, and of a strong and decisive character, must necessarily have had over the mind of a young man in the situation which has now been described. Suggestions coming from such a quarter, must have been almost equivalent to commands; and instead of animadverting very severely on the extent of Park's compliances, we ought perhaps rather to be surprised, that more was not yielded to an influence which must have been nearly unlimited.
Before we dismiss this subject, it may be proper to add, that some time subsequent to the publication of his Travels, Park appeared to be fully sensible that the manner in which he had treated the question of the Slave Trade, was liable to some objections; and evidence now exists, that upon some occasions when his authority had been appealed to as being favourable to that system, he expressed his regret that an improper stress had been laid upon certain passages in his Travels, and that a meaning had been attributed to them, which it was not intended that they should bear.
It remains to be enquired, whether there is any just foundation for the opinion which has prevailed with regard to the degree of assistance given by Mr. Edwards in the actual composition of Park's work; as to which very few remarks will be necessary. The intimate connection of Mr. Edwards with Park, the interest which he took in the success of his publication, and the influence which he appears to have exerted with respect to its contents, make it quite evident, that he must have seen, and been consulted upon, every part of the work; and there can be no question but that he, at least, revised and corrected the whole manuscript before it was sent to the press. It was avowed by Park himself, that as occasion offered, he had incorporated into different parts of his work, by permission of Mr. Edwards, the whole of the narrative prepared by the latter for the use of the Association. [Footnote: Park's Travels. Preface, p. ix.] A person accustomed to literary composition, and confident of his own powers, would hardly have chosen to avail himself of this assistance; which would be attended only with a slight saving of labour, and might probably have the unpleasant effect of a mixture of different styles. No such disadvantage, it maybe observed, has in fact resulted from the course pursued in the present instance. No inequalities are apparent in Park's narrative; nor are the passages which have been inserted from Mr. Edwards's Memoir, to be distinguished from the rest of the work. The style is throughout uniform, and bears all the marks of a practised pen. Generally speaking indeed, it is more simple, and consequently more pleasing, than that of Mr. Edwards's avowed compositions. But, notwithstanding its general merits, it is altogether perhaps too much laboured; and in particular passages, betrays too much of the art of a professed writer. [Footnote: It would be easy, but invidious, to produce passages from Park's work more or less marked with some of the characteristics of Mr. Edwards's style, and, in particular, with that tendency to ambitious ornament, which is so conspicuous in many parts of the History of the West Indies.—The following extract from Park's chapter on the state of Slavery in Africa, may be sufficient. "In a country divided into a thousand petty states, mostly independent, and jealous of each other, where every freeman is accustomed to arms, and fond of military achievements; where the youth who has practised the bow and spear from his infancy, longs for nothing so much as an opportunity to display his valour, it is natural to imagine, that wars frequently originate from very frivolous provocation. When one nation is more powerful than another, a pretext is seldom wanting for commencing hostilities. Thus, the war between Kajaaga and Kasson was occasioned by the detention of a fugitive slave:—that between Bambarra and Kaarta by the loss of a few cattle. Other cases of the same nature perpetually occur, in which the folly or mad ambition of their princes and the zeal of their religious enthusiasts give full employment for the scythe of desolation." (Park's Travels, p. 290.)—On reading this passage, and the chapter from which it is taken, it may deserve to be remarked, (with reference to former observations as to the bias under which Park's work was written) that in enumerating the causes of the wars which desolate Africa, the Slave Trade is never once mentioned.]
From these observations, combined with the several facts before stated, it seems clearly to follow, that Mr. Edwards had a large share in Park's work; and, without attempting to ascertain in what degree he assisted in the composition, it may safely be affirmed that the assistance afforded was considerable and important. [Footnote: See Appendix, No. III.]
It would be a subject of sincere regret to the author of this biographical sketch, if he thought that this opinion (which he does not feel himself at liberty to suppress,) was likely to detract in any material degree from Park's well-earned reputation. But he is satisfied that there is no just cause for such an apprehension. It is unquestionably most desirable, that the adventures and discoveries of distinguished travellers should be given to the public, as far as circumstances will permit, in the language of the parties themselves; and there is no judicious reader, who would not decidedly prefer the simple, but authentic, narrative of an eye-witness, to any account of the same transactions from a different hand, however superior in literary merit. But the custom of employing professional writers upon similar occasions, has become so frequent, that the resorting to such assistance in any particular instance can no longer be considered as a just subject of animadversion; and, in forming our judgment upon books of voyages and travels (in which this practice is most common), we must in general rest satisfied, if we can obtain a reasonable assurance, that the compiler has made a correct and proper use of his materials. That this duty has been faithfully and conscientiously performed in the case of Park's Travels, there is not the slightest reason to doubt. The authenticity of the work is apparent, not only, as has been already stated, from the internal evidence of many parts of the narrative, but from the known character of Park, as well as of Mr. Edwards, his associate; who (there is every reason to believe) was a man of honour and veracity, and incapable of concealing or wilfully misrepresenting any important fact or circumstance.
It must further be recollected, that the essential merit of works of this description, consists in the authenticity and importance of the information they contain; compared with which, the beauties of style and composition are only of secondary and very inferior importance. The literary character of Park forms a small part of his general reputation. This must always rest upon grounds altogether independent of the merits of his work as a composition; and whatever may be hereafter thought of his claims to distinction as a writer, his fame as a geographical discoverer, an explorer of unknown countries, and a man of courage and capacity in the most arduous and trying situations, must ever remain undiminished.
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After the publication of his Travels, Park began to think of settling himself in life. During his last residence in Scotland in the Summer and Autumn of 1798, he had formed a matrimonial engagement with the eldest daughter of Mr. Anderson of Selkirk, with whom he had served his apprenticeship. He returned therefore to Scotland in the Summer of 1799, and was married on the 2d of August in that year. This union, which connected