Amply Did He Possess The Indispensable Qualities Of A
Traveller, Keenness Of Observation, Mental Energy, Unflinching
Perseverance, An Ardent Temperament, Corrected And Restrained By A Cool
And Sagacious Judgment.
Amid danger and disaster his character shone with
great lustre.
It only remains to be added, that he was an exemplary model
in his faithful discharge of all the relative duties - a good son,
husband, and parent.
We entirely concur in the following observations of a writer in the
Edinburgh Review: "We bid a mournful farewell to the sufferings and
exploits of this illustrious man; - sufferings borne with an unaffected
cheerfulness of magnanimity, which must both exalt and endear him to all
who are capable of being touched with what is generous and noble in
character, - and exploits performed with a mildness and modesty and
kindness of nature, not less admirable than the heroic firmness and
ardour with which they were conjoined. In Mungo Park, we are not afraid
to say, that the world lost a great man - one who was well qualified, and
indeed has been, one of its benefactors. His travels are interesting, not
merely to those who care about Africa, or the great schemes to his zeal
for which he fell a martyr, but to all who take delight in the spectacle
of unbounded courage and heroic ardour, unalloyed with any taint of
ferocity, selfishness, or bigotry."
Park left behind him three sons and a daughter. Mungo, the eldest, became
an assistant-surgeon in India, and soon after died.
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