The epithet would suit her if seriously applied, for she had
undoubtedly a clear, strong intellect, a cool judgment, and a resolute
purpose; but it would be thoroughly inapplicable in the satirical sense
in which it is commonly used. There was nothing masculine about her. On
the contrary, she was so reserved and so unassuming that it required an
intimate knowledge of her to fathom the depths of her acquirements and
experience. "In her whole appearance and manner," we are told, "was a
staidness that seemed to indicate the practical housewife, with no
thought soaring beyond her domestic concerns."
This quiet, silent woman, travelled nearly 20,000 miles by land and
150,000 miles by sea; visiting regions which no European had previously
penetrated, or where the bravest men had found it difficult to make their
way; undergoing a variety of severe experiences; opening up numerous
novel and surprising scenes; and doing all this with the scantiest means,
and unassisted by powerful protection or royal patronage. We doubt
whether the entire round of human enterprise presents anything more
remarkable or more admirable. And it would be unfair to suppose that she
was actuated only by a feminine curiosity. Her leading motive was a
thirst for knowledge. At all events, if she had a passion for
travelling, it must be admitted that her qualifications as a traveller
were unusual.
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