May 25, 1857.] AFRICA— BARTH. 441 



the few of our countrymen who have acquired the difficult language 

 of China, and he long filled the highest offices which an English- 

 man can discharge in relation to that singular country. The fruits 

 of his literary labours have been several works, which have the rare 

 merit of being at once popular and scientific. As one of the most 

 important of these, his ' China and the Chinese,' is by far the best 

 account of the empire in any language, T am glad to find that a 

 third edition of it has just been published. 



Africa. 



The additions to our acquaintance with the interior of Africa 

 since the last anniversary, when my predecessor delivered the 

 Patron's Gold Medal to Dr. Earth, have been considerable. That 

 meritorious explorer of vast regions has since issued to the public 

 three volumes, which, recording his earlier wanderings, are to be 

 followed by two others, completing a woik which will doubtless 

 be considered the worthy termination of so many years of patient 

 research under great privations. The maps which accompany the 

 narrative have been executed by Mr. Petermann, from the careful 

 itineraries of Earth, the astronomical determinations by Yogel of 

 the positions of Murzuk, Kuka, and Zinder having formed the base. 

 Dr. Overweg's determinations of latitude have been made use of 

 as regards the route from Tripoli to Tintellust and the route to 

 Musgu ; and I learn from Dr. Earth that all these points will be 

 discussed at the close of the work. I reserve, therefore, my full 

 observations on the whole of the labours of the only Eritish traveller 

 who ever returned from Timbuctoo, until we have before us the 

 concluding description of his arduous journeys. In the mean time, 

 however, it may be truly said, that the volumes already published 

 contain much valuable information, and show that Dr. Earth was so 

 completely at home among the natives, with seven of whose lan- 

 guages he was familiar, and made such very diligent inquiries, that 

 the information thus gathered, is far more ample and minute than 

 that of his precursors ; the itineraries, which have been compiled 

 from hearsay evidence, being entitled to especial weight. It is 

 particularly worthy of notice that the tracts which this traveller ex- 

 plored to the south of Lake Chad were found to be level, and abound- 

 ing with lagoons, swamps, and long flooded tracts, analogous to those 

 which Livingstone found to the south of the Equator, whilst the 

 watershed between the affluents of Lake Chad and the river Benue, 

 would seem to be little more marked, than that between the Zam- 



