60 Geography. [Chap. V^ 



by none but those who have compared them to- 

 gether. The successive works of Gordon, Bowen, 

 Middleton, CoIIj^er, Salmon, Guthrie*, and Payne, 

 held an important rank at the dates of their respec- 

 tive publications. The extensive geographical 

 work of Mr. Busching, of Germany, may be con- 

 sidered as, on the whole, the most laborious and 

 complete of the age. To these may be added the 

 large and very respectable work of professor Ebe- 

 ling on the geography of America |, and that of 

 Bruns on Africa. 



The elucidations of Ancient Geography, by se- 

 veral modern writers, are higlily interesting and 

 valuable, and deserve to be regarded among the 

 signal improvements of the eighteenth century. 

 The service rendered to science in this way by 

 M. d'AnvilleJ is too well known to require eulo- 



* This work, it is said, was not compiled by Guthrie, whose 

 name it bears, but by another person, who had the permission to 

 avail himself of the popularity of that gentleman's character. 

 The stratagem succeeded ; the work, with all its deficiencies and 

 errours, immediately gained general patronage, and entirely sup- 

 planted Salmon's Geographical Grammar, which had before en- 

 joyed universal favour. 



f I'he diligence and success with which professor Ebeling has 

 laboured to elucidate the geography and history of the American 

 States, are worthy of the highest praise. There is no doubt that 

 the information which he has collected, and has been for some 

 time engaged in laying before his countrymen, on this subject, 

 though in some respects imperfect and erroneous, as was unavoida- 

 ble, is } ct by far the most accurate and full that was ever given to 

 the public by a Pluropcan. 



X Jean Baptiste Bourgnignon d'Anville, geographer to the king 

 of France, was born in 1697. He was one of the most diligent 

 itnd enthusiastic geographers that ever lived. He is said to have 

 I.ibourcd Hfttcn hours a day, inx fifty years, to improve this favou- 



