136 Anatomical Olscrvations on 



The cnminittee, adverting to Mr. Telford's suggestion of 

 an examination ot Mr. Donaldson, called him before them ;. 

 but found that he had never travelled any part of the coun- 

 tr\' frojn Fort Augustus, westward, to Bernera or the lochs, 

 and that his information was solely, as to that part of the 

 countrj', derived from others. 



A true copy from the record. 



(Signed) Lewis Gordon^ dep. sec. 



XXIII. Anatomical Observations on the Croccdile of the 

 Nile. By E. Geoffroy. 



JL HE following observations were read in the last sitting 

 of the Institute of Egj-pt : — Two unfortunate combats, ana 

 the loss of the battle of the 30th of Ventose, year 9, gave 

 us reason to apprehend that the enemy, favoured by the 

 misunderstanding which prevailed between our chiefs, would 

 at lensth tear from us the most valuable of our colonies, 

 which had cost us so many efiorts and sacrifices ; in a word, 

 that cel'.hrated country Egypt, which we had explored ia 

 even," direction, which we had seen covered v.'ifh monu- 

 jnents coeval with the heroic ages, and the fertility of 

 Avhich had appeared to us superior to its reputation. At 

 the moment when we were iniormed of our disasters, and 

 when the report circulated of them immediately excited 

 against us the whole population of Egypt, a crocodile was 

 brought to me which had been carried alive to Cairo, and 

 which had died three days before. At a more fortunate 

 period I had ardently desired to dissect an animal so much 

 celebrated by antient authors ; but being at that time aban^ 

 doned to those painful sensations v/hich all the French ex- 

 perienced, I hesitated a moment whether I shovild under^ 

 take this labour. Foreseeing, however, that if I let slip this 

 opportunity I might never have another, and being per- 

 suaded, as I always have been, that the courage proper for 

 travellers placed in the same circumstances as those in 

 which I then found myself, is that of resignation, I paid 

 no attention to any thing but the crocodile then before me. 

 But I was not able to proceed to ^ regular dissection, nor 

 to extend my researches to all those organs w hich appeared 

 to be worthy of notice, being prevented by a commence- 

 ment of putrefaction which the crocodile had already expe- 

 rienced, and by the obligation I was under to save and to 

 preser\'e the skin. Bcsiucs, as it had already been obsefyed 



'■■• prom An>iali:s du Museum d'Hisioiic Natuiclle, No. 7. 



by 



