Introduction

KING SOLOMON'S MINES

by H. RIDER HAGGARD

DEDICATION

This faithful but unpretending record

of a remarkable adventure

is hereby respectfully dedicated

by the narrator,

ALLAN QUATERMAIN,

to all the big and little boys

who read it.

PREPARER'S NOTE
This was typed from a 1907 edition published by Cassell and
Company, Limited.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

The author ventures to take this opportunity to thank his readers

for the kind reception they have accorded to the successive

editions of this tale during the last twelve years. He hopes that

in its present form it will fall into the hands of an even wider

public, and that in years to come it may continue to afford

amusement to those who are still young enough at heart to love a

story of treasure, war, and wild adventure.

Ditchingham,

11 March, 1898.

POST SCRIPTUM

Now, in 1907, on the occasion of the issue of this edition, I can

only add how glad I am that my romance should continue to please

so many readers. Imagination has been verified by fact; the King

Solomon's Mines I dreamed of have been discovered, and are putting

out their gold once more, and, according to the latest reports,

their diamonds also; the Kukuanas or, rather, the Matabele, have

been tamed by the white man's bullets, but still there seem to be

many who find pleasure in these simple pages. That they may

continue so to do, even to the third and fourth generation, or

perhaps longer still, would, I am sure, be the hope of our old and

departed friend, Allan Quatermain.

H. Rider Haggard.

Ditchingham, 1907.

INTRODUCTION

Now that this book is printed, and about to be given to the world, a

sense of its shortcomings both in style and contents, weighs very

heavily upon me. As regards the latter, I can only say that it does

not pretend to be a full account of everything we did and saw. There

are many things connected with our journey into Kukuanaland that I

should have liked to dwell upon at length, which, as it is, have been

scarcely alluded to. Amongst these are the curious legends which I

collected about the chain armour that saved us from destruction in the

great battle of Loo, and also about the "Silent Ones" or Colossi at

the mouth of the stalactite cave. Again, if I had given way to my own

impulses, I should have wished to go into the differences, some of

which are to my mind very suggestive, between the Zulu and Kukuana

dialects. Also a few pages might have been given up profitably to the

consideration of the indigenous flora and fauna of Kukuanaland.[*]

Then there remains the most interesting subject--that, as it is, has

only been touched on incidentally--of the magnificent system of

military organisation in force in that country, which, in my opinion,

is much superior to that inaugurated by Chaka in Zululand, inasmuch as

it permits of even more rapid mobilisation, and does not necessitate

the employment of the pernicious system of enforced celibacy. Lastly,

I have scarcely spoken of the domestic and family customs of the

Kukuanas, many of which are exceedingly quaint, or of their

proficiency in the art of smelting and welding metals. This science

they carry to considerable perfection, of which a good example is to

be seen in their "tollas," or heavy throwing knives, the backs of

these weapons being made of hammered iron, and the edges of beautiful

steel welded with great skill on to the iron frames. The fact of the

matter is, I thought, with Sir Henry Curtis and Captain Good, that the

best plan would be to tell my story in a plain, straightforward

manner, and to leave these matters to be dealt with subsequently in

whatever way ultimately may appear to be desirable. In the meanwhile I

shall, of course, be delighted to give all information in my power to

anybody interested in such things.

[*] I discovered eight varieties of antelope, with which I was

previously totally unacquainted, and many new species of plants,

for the most part of the bulbous tribe.--A.Q.

And now it only remains for me to offer apologies for my blunt way of

writing. I can but say in excuse of it that I am more accustomed to

handle a rifle than a pen, and cannot make any pretence to the grand

literary flights and flourishes which I see in novels--for sometimes I

like to read a novel. I suppose they--the flights and flourishes--are

desirable, and I regret not being able to supply them; but at the same

time I cannot help thinking that simple things are always the most

impressive, and that books are easier to understand when they are

written in plain language, though perhaps I have no right to set up an

opinion on such a matter. "A sharp spear," runs the Kukuana saying,

"needs no polish"; and on the same principle I venture to hope that a

true story, however strange it may be, does not require to be decked

out in fine words.

Allan Quatermain.

Read next: CHAPTER 1. I MEET SIR HENRY CURTIS


Table of content of King Solomon's Mines


GO TO TOP OF SCREEN

Post your review
Your review will be placed after the table of content of this book