I was obliged, at
last, to come to the conclusion that the contemplation of Nature
alone is not sufficient to fill the human heart and mind. I got
on pretty well when I received a parcel from England by the
steamer, once in two or four months. I used to be very economical
with my stock of reading lest it should be finished before the
next arrival, and leave me utterly destitute. I went over the
periodicals, the Athenaeum, for instance, with great
deliberation, going through every number three times; the first
time devouring the more interesting articles; the second, the
whole of the remainder; and the third, reading all the
advertisements from beginning to end. If four months (two
steamers) passed without a fresh parcel, I felt discouraged in
the extreme. I was worst off in the first year, 1850, when twelve
months elapsed without letters or remittances. Towards the end of
this time my clothes had worn to rags; I was barefoot, a great
inconvenience in tropical forests, notwithstanding statements to
the contrary that have been published by travellers; my servant
ran away, and I was robbed of nearly all my copper money.
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