Geographical Society of Paris. 73 



made, and the likelihood of important information being obtained in 

 the pursuit of it, were grounds sufficient to warrant an undertaking 

 of the object. He had now said sufficient to put the Society in pos- 

 session of the nature of the views he entertained with respect to the 

 opening in a new region of a new campaign in geology, if he might 

 so speak ; and which he hoped to do by inducing his fellow- members 

 of the Council to communicate with such members of the great mag- 

 netic body as were connected with Dublin — as, for instance, Prof. 

 Lloyd — and through them to the Council of the British Association, 

 to enable certain experiments as to the elasticity of the earth's crust 

 to be made, and the velocity of the elastic wave through it deter- 

 mined ; to induce hereafter observations to be made in all the mag- 

 netic observatories (and possibly some new geological observatories 

 founded), and observatories continued, both during the continuance 

 of the magnetic survey and after it had terminated, for the use of 

 the geologist, viz. observations of all the motions, whether diurnal, 

 secular, or cataclysmal, that take place in the earth's crust. He be- 

 lieved that such observations would be replete with interest to geo- 

 logy and to physics ; and he conceived that the application would 

 be met by the British Association with that ready response which 

 had always been given by it to every project that seemed to be cal- 

 culated for the benefit of science. 



GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF PARIS. 



The first general meeting of this Society was held on Friday, the 

 22nd of May last, when, on the report of the special committee ap- 

 pointed to decide on the most important discovery in Geography du- 

 ring the year 1843, the gold medal of the Society was awarded to 

 our countryman Dr. Beke, the author of Origines Biblicx, and an 

 old correspondent of this Journal*. 



It may be in the remembrance of our readers, that at the general 

 meeting last year of the Royal Geographical Society of London, Dr. 

 Beke was honoured with a similar award of the gold medal of that 

 Society. 



These marks of approbation conferred on Dr. Beke by the two 

 principal geographical societies of the world, are the best proofs of 

 the value of the additions made by him to our knowledge of a por- 

 tion of Eastern Africa, which has of late attracted so much atten- 

 tion both in England and in France. The following summary of 

 the researches thus appreciated and rewarded, was given by Sir 

 Roderick Murchison, the late President of the Royal Geographical 

 Society, in his anniversary address in May 1844 : — *" 



" Of all Abyssinian travellers since the days of Bruce, Dr. Beke, 

 as an individual, having most improved our geographical acquaint- 

 ance with that country, I may be permitted to say a few words ex- 

 planatory of his labours. He landed at Tajurrah in November 1840, 



* See Phil. Mag., vol. Hi. p. 103; iv. p. 107, 280; vi.p. 401; vii. p. 40; 

 viii. p. 506 ; ix. p. 34; xi. p. 66, 344; xiv. p. 426. 



