My Dear Friend,<br><br>Have you done well in asking me to introduce to the public the charming volume in which you relate the history of the three years of your eventful and useful life which you spent in Mozambique? It is not without misgiving that I have decided to write this introduction, a task which should have fallen rather to one of your seniors in the exploration of the Dark Continent, if not to one of your rivals in hunting lions and other African big game.<br><br>If I yield to your affectionate entreaties it is because I feel that the work will be a real pleasure besides a duty of friendship; and, conscious of my incompetence, I also find encouragement and consolation in the thought that the reader who has read many others will not cut the pages of this preface, but will quickly pass on to the animated pages of your book.<br><br>For the sake of those brave and conscientious readers who will wade right through this preamble, I want to give you the reasons for this whim, which has nothing paradoxical about it.<br><br>As you are aware, I have never done any shooting in the tropics, and sportsmen will understand the extent of my regret. I am not, however, jealous! I have eagerly read all the accounts of the travels and hunting experiences of great explorers, of those lucky sportsmen, those "fine shots" who have enjoyed most delightful sport in all parts of the world.