•June 27, 1859.] . ADDITIONAL NOTICES. 375 



half an hour brought us to a Kafir kraal, where, for six pieces of linen and 

 some beads, I obtained permission to occupy an old hut, and considered myself 

 fortunate in obtaining a dry and sheltered spot wherein to die. 1'he same 

 afternoon Mr. Breda ceased to breathe, and in the evening the long-expected 

 help arrived. Two young Boers, relatives of one of my deceased companions, 

 brought oxen from Origstadt, and the next morning brought one of the waggons 

 from the Kamati River, leaving the other in charge of a Kafir chief. I'hey 

 committed the remains of my father-in-law to the earth and made all possible 

 haste to Origstadt, which we reached in the beginning of May. I was then 

 unable to walk, stand, or sit, having lived for twenty days upon sugar and 

 water alone. 



In the course of two months, by the Divine blessing upon a naturally good 

 constitution, 1 was able to walk without assistance and without having under- 

 gone any regular course of medicine ; but it was nearly a year before 1 fully 

 recovered from my illness. My experience will deter me from ever visiting 

 Delagoa again, and I trust that this narrative will have the effect of dissuading 

 others. 



5. Abstract of Notes on the Limpopo. By Dr. W. Way, m.d. 



Dr. Way states the result of inquiries made at Zout Pans Berg, about the 

 lower course of the Limpopo. This village is the emporium of a considerable 

 commerce, and is also a kind of Alsatia for refugees from the laws of the Cape 

 Colonies and the adjoining territories. There are many inhabitants who have 

 means of obtaining considerable knowledge of distant localities. Dr. Way's 

 conclusions are based upon the information given by one of these men, com- 

 bined with that of two Portuguese traders from Delagoa Bay : they are to the 

 effect that the Limpopo reaches the sea at a point midway between Delagoa 

 Bay and Inhambane, and is there called the " Bembe." Its position corresponds 

 with that marked Inhampura on the maps. — F. G. 



6. On Chinese Notices of their own Great Rivers. By Joseph 



Edkins, Esq. 



Communicated by Sir Roderick I. Murchison, &c. &c. &c. 



The Chinese have accounts in their books of the changes that have occurred 

 in their great rivers for many ages back. They have in modern times made 

 minute researches into the topography of ancient China to illustrate the books 

 of the classical period. The sites of old cities and the old boundaries of 

 kingdoms and provinces, with alterations in the course of rivers, have all been 

 carefully investigated for the better understanding of the classics. 



The alluvial plain in which Shanghae and Suchow are situated is represented 

 in maps by native scholars as an extensive delta, through which the Yang- 

 tse-keang formerly poured its waters by three mouths to the sea. One mouth 

 was at Hangchow, the southernmost point in the plain. Another arm of the 

 river, passing through the lake Taehu, proceeded along the Wusung-keang 

 from Suchow to Shanghae, and Entered the sea at Wusung. The third was 

 identical with the present embouchure. The old Wusung river, that always 

 led from Suchow to Shanghae, is now become shallow and narrow in many 

 parts. It was formerly a river of much greater magnitude than at present. 



Much of the carrying trade in boats between Suchow and Shanghae is now 

 done by the Hwang-pu river, a stream that passes the city of Shanghae from 

 the south, and immediately afterwards enters the Wusung river. Before 



