the obtaining the necessary rights, privileges, and franchises of the Panama route, which, in the opinion of the Commission, would not cost the United States less than that required for the carrying out of the new scheme, the Commission has concluded in favour of the Nicaraguan route. AUSTRALIA. The Australian Aborigines. In response to a memorial, signed by all the British anthropologists and many representatives of other sciences, the Government of South Australia has granted a year's absence to Mr. Gillen, one of the inspectors of aborigines, and the Government of Victoria has provided a s substitute for Professor Baldwin Spenser during his absence from Melbourne, in order that these experts may be free to continue their investigations into the habits and folklore of the natives of Central Australia and the Northern Territory. The explorers start in February for the tribes of the MacDonnell Ranges, which will be studied more minutely than before, afterwards proceeding towards the Gulf of Carpentaria, along the Roper river, and, if time permits, down the Daly and Victoria rivers. The task before them is rendered more difficult by the suspicious nature of the natives of the Northern Territory, as compared with the aborigines of the centre, among whom Mr. Gillen is known and trusted. The sum of £1000 has been contributed by the proprietor of the Melbourne Age towards the ordinary expenses of the expedition, which has also been allowed by the South Australian Government to make use of the depots and staff of the TransAustralian Telegraph, for forwarding and storing supplies. NEW BOOKS. Tracels in England. By RICHARD LE GALLIENNE. With six Illustrations by HERBERT RAILTON. London: Grant Richards, 1900. Pp. 291. Price 6s. The name of Mr. Le Gallienne is well known to students of George Meredith, of Omar Khayyam, and of Kipling, and is familiar also to general readers on account of the delicate portraiture of his quaintly pretty Bcok-Bills of Narcissus. And though some of his smaller brochures gave occasion to his readers to look at each other "with a wild surmise," his Prose Fancies and fine English Poems are justly admired. Indeed the beautiful "What of the Darkness?" in the lastnamed work, is one of our favourite poems. The volume before us represents an excursion, in more senses than one; and we could wish that Mr. Le Gallienne had been content to employ a more correctly descriptive, if less pretentious, title. Having given us, in 1893, the Religion of a Literary Man-such as it was-he might suitably have called the present little volume the Recreation of a Literary Man, for such, and such only, it is. On inspection, the Travels resolve themselves into a bookish itinerary of a brief cycle-tour, undertaken in the summer of 1899, and extending, not from Berwick to Land's End, but only from the author's home at Hindhead (near Haslemere), west to Salisbury, and north to the Wrekin. Nor within that compass does Mr. Le Gallienne make any effort to supersede Baedeker's excellent Handbook. Bacon, as every one knows, held that "travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education"; but our cycling Bookman set forth with the avowed object of being out in "green places, and moving through summer-scented air," to enjoy as much sunshine as bountiful heaven might provide. Nevertheless, for purposes of Travel, the little volume is by no VOL. XVII. Ꭰ 66 means as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean": its author has the eye of a poet, and a pretty turn for description; and he lovingly discourses on many a familar name and scene. As Gilbert White "was the one and only patron saint" for the journey, we are naturally conducted first to Selborne, in the churchyard of which place "our Gilbert " lies buried; and just as naturally our author's interest is aroused by the sight of a stuffed nightjar (fern-owl, or churn-owl) in the inn a bird whose manners White so often studied. At Stratford he sees Sarah Bernhardt make her exit from the theatre, while all the place seemed lovesick; and then betakes himself to the parlour of the Red Horse Inn, to meditate on Washington Irving and the Sketch Book, with its inimitable account of Stratford. At Hursley the graves of Richard Cromwell, the Amiable, and John Keble, poet and divine, are visited; and a chapter is devoted to a description of Hazlitt's Winterslow. In Salisbury cathedral are preserved some volumes from the library of Izaak Walton ("an excellent angler, and now with God"); and our traveller, who recently edited the Compleat Angler, and is more enamoured of the book than of the sport, had the pleasure of handling them. Kelmscott, the home of William Morris, is visited; and likewise the grave-"just a sarcophagus of plain stone, with a touch of simple beauty in its shape, and 'William Morris, 1834-1896."" Lechlade, where Shelley boated, and Tabley, the home of Lord De Tabley, poet and botanist, are duly pictured. The volume is dedicated to William Sharp, in the following pretty lines: "Will, you have travelled far and wide On many a foreign country-side, Tell me if you have fairer found Than honeysuckled English ground; Or did you, all the journey through, Find such a friend, dear Will-as you?" J. A. S. B. Travels in the Sea of the Little Lands. By F. W. The Caroline Islands. CHRISTIAN. London: Methuen and Co. Pp. 341. Price 12s. 6d. net. Last year the members of the Society had the pleasure of hearing Mr. Christian lecture on the above subject. He has written this masterly volume on a part of the world the scientific literature of which is rather scant. Admiral Cyprian Bridge in a learned introduction calls for more attention and systematic study being devoted to the South Sea Islands. Mr. Christian has helped very considerably to fill in a gap, especially in the direction of ethnography and philology, on which subjects he is well qualified to speak, having previously spent some six years of travel and exploration in Samoa, Tahiti, and the Marquesas. In these wanderings he made the acquaintance of Mr. Louis Beck and the late Mr. R. L. Stevenson. The author gives a short chronological sketch of the history of discovery and subsequent occupation of the Carolines, which embrace over 600 islands, extending over a land and sea surface of some 1,800,000 square miles. He then treats of his various journeys to the principal island groups, paying special attention to the character, manner and customs, dress, dwellings, and the folklore of the natives, not even omitting the languages and dialects which he gave his careful study, and has compiled a Ponapean dictionary of over four thousand words, a laborious task in itself. The natives, he says, are almost without exception, favourably inclined to the British people, and everywhere he went he was treated with respect and confidence; but we must credit him with gaining and deserving these attributes. He paid several visits to the ruins of Nan-Matal in the island of Ponape, and these he explored and excavated with as much thoroughness as the hostility, due principally to native' superstition and the slack rule of the Spanish, of the king would allow. His descriptions of the beautiful and intensely interesting scenery among the labyrinths of lagoons should please the most artistic taste. In a lengthy appendix he classifies the philology, native diseases, flora, land and water fauna, etc. Geographers and others are indebted to Mr. Christian for issuing the results of his travels, the cost of which was entirely borne by himself. The volume is well printed, contains many beautiful illustrations and a map, but no index. From Cape Horn to Panama. A Narrative of Missionary Enterprise among the Two men have made the missions of the South American Missionary Society (Anglican) famous-Captain Allan Francis Gardiner, R.N., their founder, and Charles Darwin, their admiring critic and supporter till his death. Beginning at the volcanic region, Cape Horn, called therefore Tierra del Fuego by the early Spanish navigators, the missions, to the neglected native tribes of South America and also to the European settlers, have dotted the great continent right up to Panama. After visiting the Fuegian Archipelago, Captain Cook and Charles Darwin alike doubted if the savage inhabitants possessed even an articulate language. The missionaries, under the Bishop of the Falkland Isles, have answered that so effectually that Darwin applauded their work as Christian civilisers, and by his support of them offered, as R. H. Hutton wrote in the Spectator, "about as emphatic an answer to the detractors of missions as can well be imagined." Our honorary fellow, Mr. Robert Young, F.R.S.G.S., tells the detailed story with sympathetic pen, in this small quarto volume, illustrated with maps and pictures of the natives of the South American Continent. It is done right well from the missionary point of view, and the scientific reader will find new facts of value even to him. Wild Sports of Burma and Assam. By Colonel POLLOCK and W. S. THOм. London Hurst and Blackett, Ltd., 1900. Pp. xx +507. Price 16s. net. This interesting volume is a very important addition to the large library of books that have already been published on wild sports. The authors, Colonel Pollock and Mr. Thom, may be considered the pioneer sportsmen of Lower and Upper Burma respectively. They held high Government appointments, and had ample opportunity for sport and also for making a study of the habits of the wild animals they hunted. Colonel Pollock did most of his shooting from the howdah, being in a position to procure extra elephants when required, besides keeping several of his own. These useful animals are requisite to successful sport in Lower Burma, as their great bulk and strength enables them to crash through the dense jungles which are entirely impenetrable to a man on foot, and they thus beat up the game which the sportsman from his elevated position on the elephant's back has a better chance of shooting. Mr. Thom did most of his shooting on foot, as the forests of Upper Burma are more hilly and less dense, the vegetation being in many parts annually burnt. This sport seems to have been most exciting and dangerous, as while tracking a wounded bull or tusker he was often charged by the animal, and was also liable to come suddenly face to face with a tiger or leopard when least expecting it. It must also have been most laborious work in a climate very hot, if not unhealthy, and he must have suffered much from such insect persecutors as gadflies, sandflies, and mosquitoes, which at certain seasons of the year drive the big game-buffaloes, gaur, and even elephants-nearly mad. But all these dangers and discomforts and many other hardships must be made light of by the sportsman who would exploit the big game of any country. The different varieties of game with which this book deals are too numerous to mention in detail here, the principal among them being two varieties of elephants, singlehorned and two-horned rhinoceros, gaur (miscalled bison), wild cattle, buffaloes, and wild pigs, also sambur and four or five other kinds of deer. The carnivora are represented by tigers, panthers, leopards, bears, wild dogs, and many kinds of wild cats. The small game consists of pigeons, doves, and pheasants in great variety, also godwit, curlew, crane, pea-fowl, jungle fowl, francolin, plover, and five kinds of quail. Water-fowl are innumerable, such as ducks, geese, and teal, and at certain seasons the snipe-shooting in suitable localities is second to none in the world. The description of mahseer fishing given in this book will prove most interesting to those who love sport with the rod. This book, besides describing many individual exploits of the authors, is also a sporting guide to Burma and Assam, giving as it does full directions regarding the sportsman's outfit, battery, servants, etc., and all the practical information required by those who essay a sporting trip to those parts, and will probably be a text-book of Burmese sport for all time. Arabia, the Cradle of Islam. Studies in the Geography, People, and Politics of the Peninsula, with an Account of Islam and Mission Work. By Rev. S. M. ZWEMER, F.R.G.S. Introduction by Rev. JAMES S. DENNIS, D.D. Edinburgh and London: Oliphant, Anderson and Ferrier, 1900. Pp. 434. Price 7s. 6d. Mr. S. M. Zwemer is an American of Dutch descent who has spent ten years in Arabia and the Persian Gulf as one of the missionaries of the Reformed Church in the United States. The example and early death of the Hon. Ion KeithFalconer, who founded the Aden and Sheikh-Othman Mission of the Free Church of Scotland, led him and Mr. James Cantine, while students under Professor Lansing, to project and carry out a mission to North Arabia at Busrah. Mr. Zwemer has mastered the bibliography of Arabia-of which he gives full and classified lists-in a way no other writer has ever done, having command of Dutch, German, and French, in addition to his familiarity with Arabic, and his long personal experience. The result is this volume, which we do not hesitate to pronounce the best book on Arabia from every point of view-scientific, literary, and missionary. It is well illustrated, especially by such maps as Ptolemy's, Niebuhr's, Palgrave's, and plans of Mecca, Medina, besides maps of Arabia as it now is, and of the islands of Bahrein. The volume cannot, indeed, rank in style with Palgrave's, or with Doughty's Arabia Deserta, but it contains and corrects these, while it introduces us to the book of Snouck Hurgronje, the Dutch scholar, who resided in Mecca for a long time. To utilise that book on the pilgrimage to Mecca, Ion Keith Falconer learned Dutch and lectured on it when Lord Almoner's Professor at Cambridge. Mr. Zwemer's tribute to the value of British rule and administration from Aden all around the Arabian coasts is hearty, and he deprecates the attempts of France and Russia to interfere in the Persian Gulf. We do not know a better short account of Islam, its tenets, and its evil influence. Mr. Zwemer, whose younger brother and Dr. George Stone "laid down their lives for Arabia," like Ian Keith-Falconer and Bishop Valpy French, writes with the breadth of a scholar, as well as the enthusiasm of a true Christian. Scotland.-Part I. Edinburgh, Glasgow, and the Highlands. By M. J. B. BADDELEY, B.A. With 49 Maps and Plans by Bartholomew. 9th edition. London Dulau and Co. 1900. Pp. 346. Price 6s. 6d. net. This is a new edition of a part of the well-known "Thorough-Guide" series. It has been enlarged, undergone thorough revision (a special note is made of the extension and revision of the Cairngorms and Kingussie mountains and districts), and contains additional maps and plans. Its completeness should please the most fastidious taste. Ein Sommer auf Island. Von Dr. B. KAHLE, a.o. Professor an der Universität Heidelberg. Berlin: Ad. Bodenburg, 1900. Pp. 285. Price M. 4. This book is more accurate than many travellers' description of Iceland; but it adds no important detail to our knowledge of the country or of the people. Its author has visited several noteworthy localities, and his translated extracts from the Icelandic classics are copious. The map that he reproduces is out of date, and his illustrations are poor, some of them being quite devoid of interest. Paterson's Guide-Book to the Rhine and its Provinces. With Maps and Plans. Edinburgh and London: Oliphant, Anderson and Ferrier, N.D. Pp. xiii + 174. Price 1s. 6d. The descriptions are detailed in routes, of which there are twenty-five given ; these are clearly indicated on a general map. Other maps and plans add to the utility of this handy guide, the price of which is certainly moderate. L'Exploitation de notre Empire Colonial. Par LOUIS VIGNON. Paris: Librairie Hachette et Cie., 1900. Pp. 355. The title of this book seems to be a misnomer, for a perusal of its contents discloses an interesting and instructive account of how France has failed to exploit or develop its colonies, and also how the author proposes to remedy the errors which have had such grievous consequences in the past. His statements of facts are based on official documents, and leave little to be desired in the way of plain speaking. Every one from the French nation, the Government, and the Ministers for the Colonies for many years back down to the Colonists themselves, comes in for some censure and rebuke. Indeed, if it had not been admittedly a Frenchman who wrote the book, it might have been suspected that some of the statements were a joke, or the utterances of a malignant, false-speaking enemy, say, a son of "perfide Albion" or a Prussian. For instance, we are told, "la commune du Pontdu-Cheliff (in Algeria) a dépensé en dix ans 50,000 francs pour ses routes sans construire 3 mêtres de chemins, se bornant à transformer une partie des électeurs en agents vicinaux rétribués." Again we read, "En octobre et novembre 1893 M. Delcassé, favorable au système des compagnies, accorde à M. Verdier, vieux négociant africain, une importante concession à la côte d'Ivoire et à M. Daumas, depuis longtemps établi au Congo, une autre concession dans le bassin de l'Ogowé Deux ans plus tard ses successeurs M. Chautemps et Guieysse, qui professent l'opinion contraire à la sienne, révoquent purement et simplement ses concessions. |