VI THE LATE 



On his return to Europe from the Far West, Mr 

 Ruxton, animated with a spirit as enterprising and 

 fearless as that of Raleigh, planned a scheme for the 

 exploration of Central Africa, which was thus char- 

 acterised by the president of the Royal Geographical 

 Society, in his anniversary address for 1845: "To 

 my great surprise, I recently conversed with an ardent 

 and accomplished youth, Lieutenant Ruxton, late of 

 the 89th regiment, who had formed the daring project 

 of traversing Africa in the parallel of the southern 

 tropic, and has actually started for this purpose. 

 Preparing himself by previous excursions on foot, in 

 North Africa and Algeria, he sailed from Liverpool 

 early in December last, in the Royalist, for Ichaboe. 

 From that spot he was to repair to Walvish Bay, where 

 we have already mercantile establishments. The 

 intrepid traveller had received from the agents of 

 these establishments such favourable accounts of the 

 nations towards the interior, as also of the nature of 

 the climate, that he has the most sanguine hopes of 

 being able to penetrate to the central region, if not of 

 traversing it to the Portuguese colonies of Mozambique. 

 If this be accomplished, then indeed will Lieutenant 

 Ruxton have acquired for himself a permanent name 

 among British travellers, by making us acquainted 

 with the nature of the axis of the great continent of 

 which we possess the southern extremity." 



