124   MEMORIES OF MY LIFE

sportsman, and had been sent to England to push his way to fortune as he best could. His capital wherewith to begin consisted of a crate of live capercailzie, two bear cubs, and the skin of one of their parents. He was then so naive that, seeing an auctioneer's placard about a forthcoming sale of farm stock, in which was included" 20,000 Swedes," he, not knowing that in the language of farmers " Swedes " meant " turnips," confessed afterwards to a thrill of terror lest they should be his compatriots, and lest he himself might be pounced upon and sold as a slave together with them.

I was most fortunate in securing Andersson, because a second in command proved at times to be a necessity, and he always did his part admirably. He was remarkably strong and agile. When on board our full-rigged sailing-ship he began for amusement to climb the rigging. A sailor followed him, as is the wont of sailors, with a piece of twine to lash his feet as soon as he had gone as high as he dared, and to keep him bound there until he had consented to " pay his footing." Andersson perceived the game, and completely vanquished the sailor by descending from the maintop to the deck, hand over hand down the mainstay, which was too daring a feat for the sailor to emulate. Consequently Andersson became highly respected by all the crew.

One of the effects of association with the leading members of the Royal Geographical Society was to

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much wider and more earnest than that of the coteries among which I had chiefly lived, and that many men were thoroughly able to understand and criticise