AFRICAN DISCOVERIES. 513 



The positive assurance in Sir James Alexander's own hand-writing, 

 that he never did fly from a baboon while on his African expedition of 

 discovery, is so completely satisfactory, that it was altogether unnecessary 

 to render it doubly so, by connecting it with the circumstance of his not 

 having been attached by one. In truth, we must candidly admit, that 

 our first impression was too hastily formed, for although Sir James, up- 

 on the strength of facts of which he was immediately cognisant, states 

 that these baboons murder travellers by biting them to death in the neck, 

 and that they are more to be dreaded than the poisoned arrows of the 

 Boschmen, our assumption nevertheless, that he had a salutary dread of 

 these monsters, cannot be supported by a course of legitimate induction, 

 although in these times of liberal criticism we think the inference to 

 that effect will not be regarded as very far-fetched. 



Sir James goes on to observe, — "Again he sneers at my assertion that 

 when the rhinoceros is quietly pursuing his way among the mimosa-bush- 

 es, his horns strike against each other. It appeared to me they did so, 

 — the natives confirmed this, — and will your reviewer maintain that both 

 horns are so firmly fixed in the bone of the head that they cannot touch 

 each other at any period of their growth, and when the skin of the rhi- 

 noceros is not stiffened with passion ? " We cannot help feeling that 

 this is rather a delicate subject to handle, because it involves the personal 

 observation of Sir James; from the specimens however of the two-horned 

 rhinoceros which have come under our own notice, we should certainly 

 have inferred that if the animal were quietly moving amongst the mimo- 

 sa-bushes, a clapping noise would not be produced by the horns striking 

 together, but the individuals examined by us unfortunately happen, in all 

 cases, to have had the skin stiffened, and though not exactly from the 

 same cause as that alluded to by Sir James, yet, as it appears that this 

 condition is opposed to the above phenomenon going forward, it would 

 not be fair, upon such data, to throw any doubt upon Sir James Alex- 

 ander's statement, backed by that of the natives. We do not, however, 

 think much importance should be attached to the latter circumstance, 

 for had it appeared to our traveller during his African peregrinations, that 

 the side of the moon which illumines that portion of the earth presented 

 an aspect very much resembling green cheese, it is more than probable 

 that the natives would have coincided in this opinion, had Sir James con- 

 sulted them upon the subject. To have differed from him indeed, would 

 have been equivalent to calling in question his powers of correct discri- 

 mination, and this would have been tantamount to calling in question 

 the discrimination of the Geographical Society, in deputing Sir James 

 to be their representative. 



Vol. III.— No. 34. n. s. 3 k 



